Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

Elus was talking nonchalantly while standing by the lake, sometimes when she talked about topics she cared about, her tone would suddenly bring a smile. And I just sat on the side, sometimes looking at her, sometimes looking at the lake, quietly being a listener.

They are always working hard with a lot of energy, from the snowy mountains in the north to the foreign countries in the east... Bickering all the way, they regard each other as companions from the bottom of their hearts, so they walk side by side.

The voices of the boys and girls transcended the lake and reached my ears across time and space.

"Let's make a big fuss!" Charlotte rolled up her sleeves vigorously, kicked open the iron gate in front of her, burst into the courtyard with a burst of flames, and the three people behind her had black lines on their faces. Following up, the three stopped in front of a castle. The girl with long blue hair breathed a sigh of relief, and her eyes locked on Charlotte.

"Hey, when can you calm down, you idiot, we were almost discovered!" As soon as the words fell, the girl put down the wine bottle, and mercilessly punched the blond boy on the head.

Charlotte rubbed the back of her head with a complaining expression, trying to get Elus to speak for herself, but found that Elus shook her head seriously, stretched out her index finger and nodded Charlotte in a critical way . However, after a lot of tinkering with the silver-haired boy, he found that he couldn't sneak into the castle, so he finally kicked open the door and broke in by primitive means.

It was like this along the way, each time they fought against the devil's subordinates in such a strange way, collecting information about the devil, and going around all the way.

I don't know how long this journey has been, and finally, when they were at a loss during the journey, they returned to the original town of this magician-the town of their hometown. That day, the residents of the small town greeted the adventurers who had fought against the demon king's subordinates one after another. The tired travelers returned to their hometown, except for Ning Zi, who disappeared as soon as he came back. The store manager stood quietly in the corner, as if he had expected that they would come back one day.

Charlotte saw the store manager standing in the crowd at a glance, and hurried towards him. However, in the next second, a man with a long stubble rushed out from behind the store manager, angrily walking towards the bewildered Charlotte.

"Old... Dad?" When Charlotte saw this man, she instantly lost the pride on her face just now, and instead stepped back to take the opportunity to escape.

"You boy...you disappeared for me without saying a word?" As if guessing what Charlotte was thinking, the man grabbed his collar, and Charlotte's heels immediately couldn't touch the ground. .

"Sorry dad!! I'm sorry!"

"Hmph, back then you could only create a flame the size of an egg... Knead two flames the size of an egg and you could happily run around the streets and show off everywhere. At this level, who gave you the courage to find What devil did you fight??" Charlotte's father rubbed Charlotte's head vigorously, and Charlotte immediately put on a compromising look, reaching out to stop his father's hand.

"Let's talk about it when we get home... let's talk slowly when we get home..."

And the silver-haired boy had no time to laugh at him at this time, because he was also in a similar situation.

"I think you are looking for death for me! Your son who is a carpenter can be a magician for me, right? When I was in the town, I was restless all day long. I made a bunch of broken ice as a means of transportation, and now I ran outside And get into a lot of trouble. Do you know how many warnings I've received from the Magic Control Association?!"

This middle-aged man with silver hair curled his hands into a half-fist, and played with the back of the silver-haired boy's head. The silver-haired boy raised his hands begging for mercy. There seems to be laughter everywhere in the town, which is not always the case.

Elus took a few steps back, feeling that she was the only one isolated from the scene. She lowered her head in bewilderment. However, the pointed hat was suddenly taken off gently by someone, and the weight of a book was placed on her head. Elus rubbed her head involuntarily, then quickly raised her head and looked back.

"You bastard, don't just leave me alone, Elus. How come you still look like this after so long? Hmm?"

I don't know when the store manager slipped behind him. The squinting old man put his waist on his waist, and put the "murder weapon" in his hand on his shoulder openly. As for the book held in her hand as the murder weapon, Eluse naturally knew it... In the past, after her father died at the hands of the black magic cultists, that is, the disciples of the devil, Eluse left She got the protection of the gods so that she would not be eroded by any curse, and gave the book to the store manager, hoping that the store manager would give it to her when Elus grew up.

Could it be... Is the store manager going to give it to himself today? Elus speculated, her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"The store manager is right~ Besides, Riko thinks that the store manager will take care of you even though he said it was entrusted by your parents, but he actually treats you like his own daughter~" The woman in a red dress shook her head Blinking her eyes, and appearing behind the old man like an elf, Elus was a little taken aback.

The store manager coughed rather concernedly, but Riko's smile grew stronger, she tilted her head, and gave Elusi a wink. Both of them felt a little embarrassed immediately.

"Forget it! I won't give you this book today!" The store manager said angrily, then turned around and walked towards the tavern.

"Hey store manager, did you plan to hand it over to her today?" Riko followed up with some concern, and Elus suddenly felt a little lost, but seeing the store manager who hugged her hands angrily, she followed tirelessly Lizi, who was asking about something next to the store manager, for some reason, felt a warm current in her heart.

"That...seems pretty good."

I looked at Elus quietly, her face was filled with a look of pleasure that made me feel happy just by looking at it. Thinking about it carefully, Elus seems to have always been very good at conveying her feelings to those around her.

"But... Your ultimate goal is to defeat the Demon King... Why did you choose to come back at this time?" I was a little puzzled, and raised my eyes to ask Elus.

"Well, because at that time ~ the demon king's subordinates have disappeared. Of course, we have never found the real body of the demon king, not even once." Speaking of this, Elus took a look at me as a matter of course, Said, "Besides, it is difficult to maintain a normal life in the outer town... From this point of view, we can only return to this town where magicians support each other~"

On the lake, the store manager took them back to the tavern, and the four of them continued to take on many difficult tasks as a team, and used the rewards they received to make ends meet.

I don't know if it's because they don't know how to stop when they are born, they often get into trouble because they go too far, and they are seized by the Magicians Control Association. The store manager often called Charlotte to the tavern, and then reluctantly handed over the documents he had received to Charlotte. Over time, the store manager simply set up a mailbox in the corner to store the warning documents sent to Charlotte and the others.

"Speaking of which, not only are you so thick-skinned that it's unbelievable, but the guys from the Magic Control Association are really carefree..." the store manager looked at Charlotte who came to pick up the documents again, and commented helplessly.

It seems that there are two magicians whose goal is to defeat each other since they were young, and the townspeople are discussing whether they will be so powerful when they grow up, but some people say that the future generations always repeat what their predecessors have done. road.

Everything seemed as if the journey had never started, and they returned to the life before they embarked on the journey.

"If that's the case, it's not bad. No... Living in this kind of town should feel pretty good!" I commented from the bottom of my heart, but Elus' expression gradually became gloomy.

"Yeah...me too, I like this place the most."

Suddenly, Elus, who was standing beside me, waved the staff in her hand, and the picture on the lakeside disappeared immediately. I didn't understand why she did this, I saw her red lips slightly parted, but the words were stuck on her lips. There was still only her slight panting. She seemed to be remembering something, and just as I was about to stand up, I was suddenly hit by a strange drowsiness, my body went limp, and I fell into darkness.

＊＊＊

——"Elus!!"

Someone's voice came from the darkness, I moved my heavy eyelids, and felt a rush of heat, inexplicable fear and uneasiness climbed into my heart, and the emptiness and silence made me wake up from my dream. I sat up hastily, and the panting sound from my mouth squeezed into my ears over all other sounds.

The soft mattress is pressed against the palm, the slender hair is scattered and draped over the shoulders, and the soft fabric of the pajamas is stained with sweat so that it is already clinging to the skin on the back. Under the thick smoke spreading from nowhere, I couldn't help coughing lightly. What happened? As I was thinking this, I stretched my knees and got off the bed, habitually put on a cloak, put a black pointed hat on my head, and then prepared to walk out of the bedroom——

However, no matter how much I turned the doorknob, the door still did not move. I suddenly realized that something was wrong, and quickly stretched out my weak and trembling left hand. The magic power was tilted out through the magic circle displayed in the palm, and instantly melted the door. As a result, more intense black smoke broke into the room, choking me back a step, and I quickly reached out and waved it.

The dense fog gradually dissipated with the wind, and the picture outside the room came into view immediately. My hand covering my mouth trembled suddenly, and the beating of my heart trembled faster——

The scenery residing outside the room made me so strange that my heart felt empty. Houses trembling violently in the glare of the flames, grasses that were burnt to the point of scorching red and torn Achilles tendons, fallen dead trees, and the open space where children were playing and laughing were covered with carpets piled up with corpses...the door of the store was closed The shop was brutally kicked open by the cold-blooded shadow, and the shop owner buried his head and begged miserably for mercy, but was stabbed in the neck with a knife, and the counter was splashed red with blood.

Not only inside the store, but also screaming horribly everywhere, the world I was familiar with has turned into a fiery red purgatory. The town is full of black smoke, blood and flames.

I stood there in a daze, staring at the picture scroll from hell. There is nothing but despair and the dead to greet him. My frozen brain suddenly started to function, I turned my eyes away from the corpse, turned my back to the corpse behind me, and ran forward. Walking along the lakeside where one can usually sit for an afternoon, passing by the noisy squares of the past, running around in the streets and alleys, but everywhere there are only corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses...

Suddenly, with the sense of danger climbing up my back, several black shadows quickly sprang from my side. I stepped back, the blade in front of me flashed past my eye sockets, and then another ax light came towards me. The top of my head struck, and after dodging, I hurriedly raised my staff to block the silver light flashing towards my waist, and at the same time silently recited the incantation. The magic circle unfolded from the position where the wand and the dagger collided, propped up a protective shield, and instantly pushed the man closest to me to the wall.

I pointed the staff at the black shadow rushing from the side, and the imprisoned magic rose from the ground like a rope, binding them in place. Then I went on, hoping for someone I knew, and clinging to hope. Pushing open one door after another, looking eagerly for something, familiar people fell to pieces in a pool of blood... But I found that it was just cruel scenes repeatedly presented in front of my eyes.

Like an inescapable curse, it stared at the town, broke into the streets arbitrarily, lamented, flattered, satirized, mourned, and sowed death in every corner.

Finally, the end of the road... I came to the shop I often go to. A scene of a silver-haired boy smiling subtly at the front desk flashed before his eyes. With trembling hands, I pushed open the store door, and the brass bell hanging on the door rang. At the same time, blood-colored drops dripped onto my palm.

The smell of blood came to my face accompanied by bright red. I walked into the store slowly, and the sound of my heartbeat squeezed into my ears. Spotted pale face. Ace just fell there. Broken glass shards of wine bottles were scattered on the ground and dug into the soles of my feet.

"How about it? Now admit that I am amazing, and if you apologize to me again, I will let you go."

"Calm down, if you fail to observe the key point because of impulsiveness, you will never win."

Mingming was so depressed that his whole body felt chilly, but the tears were hesitant and refused to fall, only he could hear himself panting continuously.

"Okay...let's talk about it after I finish drinking this glass of wine."

Behind the familiar face, the shop's warehouse door was so damaged that it was unsightly, and it was completely open-in the warehouse, his father's body lay twisted there, with hills of severed arms piled up on his body.

Until the last moment, they must have been trying their best to protect the children in the town... But both those who protect others and those who are protected are now cursed by the virus, entangled, and collapsed there.

I shook my head again and again, repeating the word "no" in my mouth, turned around and ran out of the shop, the copper bell rang in my ears horribly over and over again, and the glass shards under my feet pierced deeper every time I stepped on the ground. Into the soles of the feet. I don't know how long this virus-like curse lingered on my body. I was finally freed, but I also lost all the strength in an instant——

I walked into the tavern where I spent boring days on weekdays, passed the bodies of acquaintances, and then, my sight suddenly lost focus, and I stepped back again and again, the blood spreading to my feet blurred the outline... The girl on the ground, her rosy cheeks lost their blood and turned pale, making her lips more red than before. The red dress on her body looked even brighter at this moment, as if the blood-colored ground was covered with her long skirt.

"Oh my, Riko is just like Elus' mother~"

"...You are not!"

The sound was amplified several times and rang in the ears. I immediately looked away, shaking my head from side to side. However, his heartbeat suddenly stopped because of what he saw in front of him.

"You can do whatever you want, I, will never hinder you."

"Although I said so! However, the Magician Control Association has sent a lot of documents recently. You guys should restrain yourself! Really, I have to worry about you when I am old."

The old man in ragged clothes lay quietly beside the girl with wide-eyed but dull eyes. There is still an obsession in the pale lips, and it seems that he was holding something tightly in his hand a second ago, but now, there are only purple fingers that pinch something tightly. The torn cover of a certain book fell on the old man's heels.

——He died protecting the book my parents left me. I came to this conclusion easily. After feeling weak all over my body, I was overwhelmed by guilt.

"It's just the trouble caused by this, you have to learn to deal with it yourself."

Misunderstood from the beginning, idiot... what we have to deal with is not a warning from the Magic Control Association at all. When we were hunting down the demon king's subordinates, they were always waiting for an opportunity... Now, just like this, the black magic cultists broke into this town and devoured everything.

My hands trembled, and I couldn't help shaking the store manager's body, but what I got back was only the shaking of the body, and he didn't wriggle his lips like I expected, and told me in a serious way, "I won't punish you... originally I'm going to sneak peek at you."

I closed his eyes, picked up the pages of the book that fell on the ground, dragged my heavy legs, put my whole body weight on the staff, and left the tavern as if fleeing. On the street outside the door, a disturbing black mist floated from the ominous crimson sky in the distance, gathering towards the church in the center where people worship every morning, getting bigger and bigger, as if trying to swallow it Drop everything in front of you.

I stared blankly at the black mist gradually approaching me, knowing that touching the black mist is definitely not a good thing, but I didn't have any intention of running away. The brain is blank, and the virus may have eroded itself unintentionally. Instead, I seemed to be waiting to be swallowed by the black mist... I lost hope of holding on, and my palm was empty.

Suddenly, my arm was grabbed by the warm palm. I looked down at my feet, and I immediately raised my eyes. The stubborn eyes under the swaying blond hair pulled me away, like a doused torch being lit by the flame again, and I followed him to the front run. The black mist behind him anxiously spread to the front of the building.

"You are still alive... Only you are still alive..." The tense thread in my heart seemed to be cut by someone, tears burst out of my eyes, and my vision was instantly wet.

"Elus." Charlotte's voice was a little hoarse, it sounded like she had cried, "We must take that book back..."

My hand held by him couldn't help trembling. I knew which book he was referring to. I raised my hand and glanced at the cover of the book I was still holding tightly. The tear marks on the edges are very abrupt. The store manager's fingers that were clenched black and purple flashed through his mind, and he felt nauseated.

"If you can't be with me... then, leave it to me as your companion. No matter what, you can't let him fall into the hands of the demon king's followers, right?"

I didn't respond to him, and he didn't intend to speak again, as if to give me time to think. Once the pain in the soles of the feet calmed down, it spread and spread up. However, I failed to give my own response, and suddenly something flew straight from the alley passing by and hit me. The warmth of the palm gradually disappeared, and in the sight of falling into the darkness, the temperature also suddenly disappeared.

Just like on that snow-capped mountain, Charlotte and I, who were separated, kept moving forward holding each other. It's just that I gradually welcomed the warmth that time, but this time, I fell into the cold step by step.