Stray

But things didn't turn out as they thought.

They soon followed the well-connected underground waterway to the courtyard of Edwards' house. Nemo used a shadow shield to cover everyone's breath - it went well here. But for Mrs. Edwards' situation, Adrian, who slipped out for a spin, found nothing. Everything was astonishingly peaceful.

"It makes sense. Whatever she wants to do, if we can find out easily, then it'll be safe from Della Lane." Oliver poked carefully at the dinner in front of him—the sticky The moss and strange mushrooms mixed together, dried by the flames, looked more like witchcraft than food. They are not short of water, and Ann and Oliver's skills in summoning water polo can be called perfect. Although direct summoning takes a lot of mana compared to the magic circle water bag, they really don't worry about this cost at the moment - the water polo that Oliver calls can even make them take a cold bath, the kind that has no time limit.

But that didn't make the mood much warmer.

Nimo refused to eat. He and the grey parrot stubbornly shut their mouths, keeping their distance from the unpleasant mass of color. Now his body can't even be destroyed by the superior demons, but his mind is likely to be crushed by these so-called food stuff - especially when Ann picked up a fat four-eyed mouse and showed him a meaningful expression When smiling.

I shouldn't starve to death anyway, Nemo judged in his heart not so sure.

In contrast, Oliver's receptivity is surprisingly high. Nemo looked at him sullenly—Oliver nibbled at the pile of roasted concoction with no expression on his face, as if performing some serious ritual.

"You guys are still too young." An swiftly cut open the small monster that fainted on the ground, "Back then I even vomited... forget it."

Oliver stopped chewing, his face a little blue. Adrian's eating habits were very gentle - he acted as if he had not heard anything, as if he was enjoying a palace dinner.

Nimo watched Ann throw a handful of gray-black viscera into the drain, and moved out in a complicated mood.

"Actually, the taste is not too bad." Oliver finally managed to swallow what was in his mouth, "The main problem is the material, and we don't even have salt."

"Don't think about it, now they must be looking for us on the ground. Just put up with it for another five or six days - it's not difficult."

Nimo finds it difficult.

Except for Adrian, who takes some time every day to venture to the ground to investigate, the others stay where they are. People from the Holy See came to explore the underground water a few times, but they were all deceived by Shadow Shield and An's little tricks. However, it is difficult for people to lift their spirits in a dark environment, especially where it is difficult to distinguish between day and night, which makes it easy for people to lose the concept of time. All Nemo can do is sleep and chat, but even if he smashes his previous life experiences, he can There are really not many topics to choose from. Ann was obviously not very interested in the daily life of ordinary townspeople, but Oliver listened carefully.

The third time he was describing the neighbor's dog to Oliver, Ann finally spit out that sentence.

"It's tonight." Her voice was clear, still full of energy.

Adrian was more reserved than at first—in fact, for the last time, he frowned and said nothing. Nemo even worried that he would never come back after going out one day.

He would also begin by briefly recounting Mrs Edwards' actions, but anyone could hear that he was getting similar results every day. Mrs Edwards' life was no different. She handled her guests politely, cared for her paralyzed son, and went out every day to buy fresh fruit and vegetables—with the regularity of an old pocket watch that was wound up.

So Adrian simply stopped talking.

The atmosphere of waiting for another boot to hit the ground was really tough.

"If nothing happens tonight, we'll go first," whispered Ann, "Curiosity is one thing, but hopefully you'll understand—we're waiting appropriately Escape opportunities, curiosity is never the point.”

Adrian looked at the sewage in the canal and nodded slightly.

On the surface, people have long been prepared. Even if something happened to the Church of Confession before, the knights who belonged to the Holy See patrolled around with cold expressions, but they did not weaken the enthusiasm of the people at all. The sun had just set, and the cornflower blue belonging to the evening slowly swallowed the glow. The wooden racks on which the offerings were burned were piled with flowers, and the air was filled with the peculiar smell of the festival—a mixture of alcohol, flowers, old leather and all kinds of sweet perfumes, it penetrated the nose of every pedestrian on the street and turned into one. An unreasonable, almost drunken pleasure.

No one cares about how many racks there are for offerings. The fireworks before the festival and the carnival after the festival are the highlight.

Mrs. Edwards came back early today, her basket full of fresh fruit empty. Cahill was in the living room, carefully reading a heavy biography. The tea was prepared on the table on the side, and the most suitable temperature was maintained on the tray with the magic circle.

"Didn't Your Highness Bishop ask you to give the opening speech of the sacrificial ceremony?" Mrs. Edwards put down the basket in her hand and asked softly.

She didn't touch the cup of tea.

Cahill raised his head with the same smile as ever. "I can't catch up," he said, carefully putting down the book in his hand and gently brushing off the dust sticking to the cover.

"It's early."

"You know I can't make it, don't you?"

Mrs. Edwards' expression darkened, and her gentle smile slowly disappeared. She opened her mouth, her lower lip trembled, and she didn't say the next sentence for a long time.

"I only discovered that circle recently." The smile on Cahill-Deralainen's face was even more obvious, and he didn't seem to be worried about his situation at all. "There's absolutely no need for you to do that. It's really good at hiding, but you can't handle that blood loss. You know that circle doesn't work for me, does it?"

"It wasn't for me. You already knew that, and all this—from that mission, to the timing of it, was to help him... oops, don't show that Expression. I can understand, after all you've watched him grow up and Adrian Cross is like your second son."

It is still the small living room of the past, but the air with residual warmth in the summer evening suddenly becomes cold and sticky.

"It's a pity that the contract failed." Della Laineen sighed slowly. He got up from his wheelchair, replaced himself with a more comfortable chair, and folded his legs.

"...You're half right." The tenderness in Mrs Edwards' voice disappeared completely, and she sat down opposite the demon and smiled.

The rose bushes were instantly swallowed up by the white flames, and the light of the magic circle was particularly eye-catching in the gradually darkening night. At the moment when the magic circle was activated, the room was as bright as day for a few seconds, as if it was illuminated by the lightning of midnight.

"That magic circle is not a simple signal bomb, I can at least use this life to trap you for a while." She said slowly, "Do you know how many judge knights are patrolling now? Especially When the festival is about to begin - they will come sooner than anyone else."

Dara Lane sighed louder.

"I'm not the type to take out my anger when I fail—you should know, after all, your son chose me. kind person."

Mrs. Edwards looked away.

"I've always been curious," said the demon in a softer tone, "how did you find out? I have all the memories of Cahill Edwards. You're just his foster mother, There is no subtle relationship between blood, and I do love you - I have traveled the world and tried all kinds of love. My love for you is never false, and my usual actions should be flawless."

His voice was warm and simple, making it a little creepy.

"Can you tell me why?  …Please."

Mrs. Edwards finally turned her face, her expression still very cold, but her eyes were full of tears. They rolled down the deep wrinkles on her cheeks and turned into dark water stains on her dress. She stared at the familiar face in front of her, which tore her chest with searing pain like a soldering iron to the heart.

“…because there is no fear in your eyes.”

She answered the devil's question with difficulty.

"Maybe you really know 'love'. But as strong as you shouldn't understand...I didn't find it out of some 'mother's intuition', man." She paused for a while, trying to calm down breathe. "Man...sometimes there is fear and pain in the very act of 'living'. Like me right now."

Dara Lanene stood up, approached the sobbing old woman, and took her small, cold hand.

"Like me now," she repeated in a low voice. "My son, he must have been desperate at the end...I know him better than anyone. He knows what he's called into the world, he knows everything he betrays his beliefs."

"But he died for you."

"I know. But I have no obligation to accept... It is the parent's responsibility to correct the child's mistakes in a timely manner."

"Am I a 'mistake'? You know, it's very disrespectful to question - you king of Garland, he's going mad and more people die. He's really gone mad, and you It's sweet." The devil said in a meaningful way.

"Just for the 'right'?" The old woman forced a tearful smile as she rubbed the young hands that had once belonged to her son. "How am I going to step on his despair and live? I just... can't stand it. I said that people are afraid of 'living', more than death."

"So it is." Della Lainen stood up and saluted the old man with a look of grim joy on her face. "Thank you very much for your teaching. You can say that - the one that ends the contract once and for all."

The old woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Cahill," her voice fell unexpectedly. "I'm very—very disappointed in you."

Outside the window, through the pale flames, the cheers of people accompanied by fireworks suddenly rose. Inside the room, the carpet around the demon began to burn—the flames licked the dry carpet and quickly climbed up the bookshelf, spreading at an unnatural rate. The demon didn't leave, he held the old woman's hand again.

"Shh...don't be afraid," he said softly, "I have one more question, one last question. If you answer, I can give you a dream."

The air in the house began to distort from the heat, and Mrs. Edwards slowly raised her head.

"What is the most regretful thing in your life?" In the firelight, Della Lane's eyes sparkled. "I'm curious."

The old man smiled wearily, and she surrendered the memory obediently.

The flames are gone, the smoke is gone. Everything in the illusion became clean and new, and the young Mrs. Edwards looked tired. She took off the uniform of the Holy See and walked into the child's room into the night.

"Why haven't you slept yet?" she asked. "Cahill, it's getting late."

The ginger-haired boy looked only six or seven years old, wrapped in a quilt and huddled in the corner of the bed.

"There are monsters under the bed." He inhaled nervously, "Mom, can you help me see?"

Mrs. Edwards did not bend, she glanced at the shadow hastily. "That's all fake, baby." There was a hint of perfunctory in her tone. "I've told you so many times that it's all fake. Be a good boy, okay?"

"Don't disappoint Mom."

How many times did she say that?

Her son has grown up, cheerful and brave. Cahill Edwards has been out and about for a long time, helping one desperate person after another.

After he went to the battlefield, she was bored and wanted to make a new bed for her son. As the workers lifted the old big bed, the plank was broken in two—thick and grotesque skeletons embedded in the thick planks. It's just a low-level demon that only feeds on fear, with a lifespan of only a few years, and she can get rid of it with one hand.

And it's grown so big, it looks like it's already dead.

The old woman stepped forward tremblingly through her youthful apparition. She stretched out her arms and embraced the small figure in vain.

"It's okay to disappoint me," she whispered, "It's okay to disappoint everyone."

"You can tell the pain, it's not wrong. If I told you sooner... If I told you this truth earlier, would you end up suffering less?"

"Sorry," she murmured, "Sorry, child."

"Sleep." The demon lifted her up and kissed her forehead. "Good night, Mom."

The old house finally collapsed in the sky.

And the unnatural light had already attracted crowds lounging in the neighborhood, and people in costumes crowded the street where Edwards lived. Arguments erupted one after another.

"I can really break the magic circle—" Nemo, who was in the crowd, stared at the flame anxiously, as if he was about to rush in.

"It's too late." Adrian turned his back to them, facing the burning ruins. "The moment the magic circle was launched was too late... She really didn't leave anyone a chance."

His voice trembled for the first time.

Above the flames, the huge shadow of the superior demon became more and more clear-people let out suppressed exclamations, and some began to flee.

"Edwards has a superior demon!"

"That's the Edwards house, I don't believe it, Mr. Edwards has a speech tonight—"

Beautiful fireworks illuminate the night sky. Under the fireworks, the Knights of Judgement broke through the crowd and quickly reached the burning house. The white light of the magic circle has begun to weaken, but it has not had time to disperse.

"Now it's my turn." Adrian didn't move even though he heard the familiar sound of armor rubbing. He slowly pulled up the left sleeve, revealing a strange and terrifying engraving.

"Get the deal done, Della Layne."

(m..=)