Deep Sea Embers

Shirley stared at the scene in front of her in stunned silence, as if facing a weird nightmare, not knowing how to react for a moment.

Shireen slowly extended her right hand to her. Shirley walked over subconsciously, as if she wanted to grab the other person's finger. However, before she came into contact with Shireen, the elf girl's arm was completely covered with a bark-like substance. Covered - at the last second, Shirley only touched a rough and hard branch, and then, this "branch" began to grow rapidly, and grew higher and higher toward the sky...

Shireen's face gradually disappeared among the rapidly growing branches. At the last moment before complete transformation, she opened her eyes slightly, as if she suddenly understood something. She looked at Shirley, as if she wanted to tell the future or something - then, her expression was frozen at this moment, and completely blended into the trees.

Now, she has transformed into a small tree with slender branches.

Shirley stared blankly at this incredible scene, subconsciously recalling the entire process of the other person's transformation into a tree, and the last look the other person looked at her. For a long time, she stood there motionless.

what happened? Why is this happening? How could the elf... turn into a tree?

A slight wind sound suddenly came from nearby, and the wind sound was mixed with the malicious intent that was getting closer. Shirley finally woke up from her stupor. She suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction of the malicious sound. In the dark dense forest, she saw someone. Dark red light and shadowy mist like smoke appeared vaguely, and then quickly disappeared.

Agou instantly sensed the aura that disgusted him - the aura of the deep devil.

"The Cult of Annihilation! They were hiding in the shadow of those sun remnants!"

Hearing Agou's growl, Shirley finally realized what had happened——

It was the Annihilation cultists who attracted those "sun remnants" here. It might be cooperation or simple use. They wanted to use the hands of those sun remnants to get rid of themselves and Shireen, but the situation developed beyond their expectations. When a sun When the remnant tried to erode his own consciousness, the captain's flames were alarmed, and backfired and killed all the attackers - before, the strong presence of the sun's remnant covered the aura of those Annihilation cultists, but now the latter found that they had been exposed, so Decisively chose to run away.

Shirley glanced towards the dark forest, but suddenly hesitated before taking a step. Her eyes swept across the surrounding open space, and she saw that the sun remnants killed by the spiritual fire were all curled up into twisted ashes. And it is gradually dissipating in the air, and some remaining green flames are slowly burning among the ashes, and gradually fade and extinguish.

The captain's flame faded - it was a power beyond his control.

Shirley knew very well that the "victory" just now had little to do with her, and she was even less sure whether the flames would appear again the next time she encountered danger. Maybe... the captain left it to her. "Seal" can only take effect once?

If you chase after them rashly, it would be great fun if you find that you can't beat them when they actually fight.

However, her hesitation only lasted for a second or two. Before the smoke, dust and fog in the dense forest were completely out of Agou's perception, she gritted her teeth, then took a sip to the side and stepped towards the dark depths.

She ran past the small tree transformed by Shireen. The twigs from the treetops hung down and swept over Shirley's shoulders. The twigs and leaves swayed, making a subtle rustling sound.

After running in the dense forest for an unknown amount of time, Shirley and Agou finally slowed down.

"Their aura was scattered in front, and it faded very quickly." Agou raised his head, his ugly head turning left and right in the air, and the blood-colored glimmer in his eyes flickered. "There must be some of them who are good at it." The demon species that hides its aura may be a death bird... Tsk, it's very troublesome."

"Have you lost the chase?" Shirley muttered unwillingly, "I thought I could finally catch one or two this time..."

Agou shook his head and didn't say anything. He just tried again to discern the true direction of the aura disappearing.

However, at this moment, footsteps suddenly coming from a certain direction in the forest interrupted its and Shirley's movements.

Shirley became nervous for a moment, lifted the chain and hunched over to look in the direction of the sound, but the next second, the figure that appeared behind the trees and shrubs was not the cultist she expected -

An elf girl wearing light hunting clothing and holding a strange long-handled battle ax walked out of the dense forest.

Shirley's tense posture was a little stiff for a moment. She looked at the elf girl walking out of the forest in amazement, and looked at the other person's familiar face. Even though she knew that she was in a weird "dream", she still felt a strange feeling. This absurdity quietly emerged from the bottom of her heart, and then she heard the elf girl speaking to herself with a hint of surprise -

"You didn't receive the order to evacuate? Why are you still operating outside the Silent Wall?!"

Shirley opened her mouth, and countless words seemed to pop up in her stomach in an instant. She wanted to say it, but when the words came to the end, she couldn't organize a word. She looked at "Shilin" who appeared in front of her again with strange eyes. ", instinctively wanting to say hello, but quickly realized that the other party didn't know her at all - this was no longer the "Shireen" who took her to the Wall of Silence before.

And during this dazed moment, Shirley heard the second sound of footsteps appearing behind the elf girl. She unexpectedly looked towards the direction where the sound came from, and saw a man wearing a black dress and holding a girl in his arms. The familiar figure of the giant rabbit doll appeared in her sight.

"Miss Lucretia...?"

"Shirley?" Lucretia walked out of the forest. After seeing the familiar figure at the fork in the road ahead, the "sea witch" couldn't help showing a surprised expression, "I didn't expect..."

This unexpected meeting made both of them a little surprised for a moment. Shirley pulled Agou and looked up and down at the "Miss Witch" who suddenly appeared, and then looked at the elf girl standing aside. After a moment, she cautiously backed away. Half step: "Just to be on the safe side——"

Lucretia also spoke immediately: "Confirm identity."

Shirley said quickly: "Where was Alice's head at noon yesterday?"

"In the pot," Lucretia answered without hesitation, then asked, "My father's biggest hobby now?"

“Fishing, walking the dog and feeding the pigeons – passed.”

"Yes, it passed." Lucretia looked relieved. She slightly lowered the "baton" she was holding tightly in her hand, and then casually placed the rabbit doll in her arms on the ground, "This dreamland Very weird, a little more caution never hurts.”

Shirley nodded, and at this moment, the elf girl "Shilin" on the side finally spoke: "Do you know each other?"

"Yes, friend," Lucretia replied casually.

Shirley couldn't help but glance at the familiar face of the elf next to her with a somewhat complicated expression. Then, she looked at Lucretia and said quickly: "Did you notice those Annihilations when you came here?" Any trace of the cultists?”

"The Cult of Annihilation?" Lucretia frowned upon hearing this, "I didn't notice—have you met them?"

"Not only the Annihilation Cultists, I also met a bunch of sun bastards," Shirley said regretfully. "Unfortunately, those Annihilation Cultists ran away in the end..."

Then, she quickly told Lucretia what she had just experienced, including how she was almost contaminated by a sun residue and how the captain's flame appeared to solve the crisis.

But she did not mention the "Shireen" who was with her, nor did she mention the incredible scene when that "Shireen" finally turned into a small tree.

Because another elf girl named "Shireen" was standing nearby and listened curiously to the exchange between her and Lucretia.

Before understanding what these "Shireen" are about, we must try our best to avoid causing them to undergo unpredictable changes.

"Agou and I chased all the way here, and we caught up with them immediately, but they still escaped." After telling her own experience, Shirley couldn't help but shook her head with regret, "Some of them were 'suicide birds'. ’, that is a demon that is good at concealing its aura and confusing perception, Agou is not good at dealing with that thing."

Lucretia raised her head and looked thoughtfully at the surrounding forest scenery that seemed to be the same no matter which direction she looked in. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly said: "They shouldn't have gone too far... You just mentioned, Did they escape after seeing the spiritual fire killing those sun remnants?”

"That's right," Shirley nodded, "He ran so fast that he didn't even care about his 'allies'."

"So, they were frightened by my father's flames and must have been full of fear when they ran away, right?"

"...It should be so," Shirley said uncertainly, a little confused at the same time, "Is there any problem with this?"

Lucretia did not answer her, but looked down at the rabbit doll sitting on the ground in a daze: "Rabbi, I know you are listening."

The rabbit doll shook its body slowly and made a small complaint: "Rabbi doesn't like cultists, their minds are stinky, and they have very disgusting things..."

Lucretia did not speak, but silently raised the baton in her hand.

The rabbit doll immediately stood up, patting the soil on its body and kept mumbling: "Okay, okay, Rabbi knows, Rabbi will go find them... You must remember to bring Rabbi back!"

"Go... while their fear is still lingering."

The rabbit doll said "Oh", and then it exploded with a bang in front of Shirley's face. A ball of white smoke with rough lines in a hand-painted style surged out of its body and rose and spread. In an instant Shrouded in its funny and terrifying figure - as the smoke dissipated, the figure of the rabbit doll also disappeared from Shirley's sight.