Stray

It all happened too suddenly.

Oliver wriggled when the spear rain came, and subconsciously wanted to draw his sword to stop it. But before his hand touched the hilt, the two blue birds fell to the ground. He watched helplessly as they gushed blood and turned to tiny ashes in front of him. The once-beautiful creature left nothing but dark bloodstains on the ground—not even a cyan feather.

Just a few seconds ago, Oliver could see their slightly open beaks, but what followed was a desperate silence.

He turned his gaze to the mayor's son - the large young man's expression remained calm, but his face became almost as pale as his hat. He slowly made a gesture on the cover of the holy book, and the red light film gradually became transparent. The only remaining blue bird stood in a pile of ashes, no tears, no sound, no expression on his feathered face - he just stood there, letting the spear piercing through his body let out warm blood , as if even the pain has been lost.

He raised the pair of wings on his arms very slowly, babbling weakly.

"Okay." The girl translated dryly, her voice flat and not fluctuating. "...it says so."

Blue Bird did not pull the spear. He struggled for a long time, barely flying, throwing a string of scarlet blood in the air. The weather was fine today, and the cyan figure should have blended into the sky gracefully and perfectly. But the black spear pierced his arm, and he flew crooked.

Although the sun was shining brightly, Oliver suddenly felt a little cold. He removed his fingers from the hilt of the sword and shrank back to make sure that the shadow was actually covering him—and then he noticed that the shadow itself was shaking.

He turned his head quickly - Nemo wasn't looking at him, he wasn't even looking anywhere. The black-haired youth covered his ears tightly, his face was expressionless, and his eyes were looking at a certain point in the void. The fingers of his hands were even wrapped around a lot of small shaking shadows, helping him to block every gap that might burrow into the sound.

Oliver reached out and lightly grabbed each other's forearms. "He flew away." He lip-mouthed slowly.

Nimo finally let go of his hands, and the shadows disintegrated in the sun. He was still staring at some unknown corner, as if trying desperately to stabilize his emotions.

"You can't hear, can you?" Nemo said in a very soft voice. "I envy you, Ollie."

The "silent" screams and screams.

Nimo didn't dare to look at Oliver, he was afraid that he would lose control of his emotions. Blue Bird's tune is shocking. He has felt the warmth and love in it before, and he has indeed experienced the melody of anger and hatred. But this was the first time he had heard despair and grief—he was better off being nailed to the wall by Witherspoon's pillar. The melody made everything wet and cold, like a rotten coffin, cold and sour overnight tea, or thick dust on the ruins.

It reminded him of old Patrick's last. The moment his loved one's hand became cold and stiff in his hand, it was like the emptiness of the ground disappearing.

The people who can't hear just look at the sad singer, unmoved - in each other's eyes, they may be the coldest creatures in the world.

"Call everyone immediately." The mayor's son straightened his hat and did not look at the bloodstains left on the ground. "I have something important to say."

Nemo moved his fingers as the shadow circled and folded to his will. It held him and Oliver, completely masking their breath and presence. He stayed in the curled position for a long time, but his legs didn't feel sore, and Nemo couldn't tell whether it was comfortable or stoneless.

The soldiers in white disperse solemnly. Teague, the mayor's son, sat down slowly. He didn't mind that his white clothes were soiled by the dust on the threshold. He stared at the pool of blood for a while, and his expression became more dazed, as if he had just realized himself. did something. For a long time, he turned his eyes stiffly, opened the holy book, and silently recited the words above.

His voice was small, but Nemo could hear it very clearly.

“…We will always love our loved ones, our friends, our lovers. We will always protect them…”

The mayor's son recited the two sentences on the back cover of the canon over and over again, as if they were spells to dissipate the smell of blood.

Nimo leaned in Oliver's direction unconsciously, and the other party's body temperature was constantly pouring in. It was probably the only thing that warmed him right now—and Oliver stretched out an arm in silence, half-circling his shoulders.

"If I could," Oliver whispered, "I wish I could hear it."

They leaned against each other quietly, watching the people in teaching uniforms gradually gather in the courtyard, and the sun moved westward, gradually turning golden red. The two remained silent until the communication crystal flickered through the fabric.

Oliver took it out of his chest pocket, and Nemo was happy to find something to distract him—that would be Ann, he thought silently, hoping she was all right—

"It's me." The knight commander's voice came from the crystal.

They exchanged unexpected glances, then stared at the delicate spar.

"How are you over there?"

"The mayor's son has declared war on the blue bird. This time it may not be a small friction...they killed the blue bird's messenger."

"Sure enough... I know why they didn't run after us." Adrian's voice was a little lower, "There is a companion stone of bone jade in this town."

"What's that?"

"Weapon." The former knight commander explained succinctly, "The bone jade comes from the bottom of the abyss and is usually in the hands of the royal family. Its companion stone is only a stone that has been irradiated by mana. Few, but their power is very limited, and they generally open one eye and close the other."

"What does this have to do with whether they catch us or not?"

"Used properly, they can transform ordinary surface magic into real abyss magic, and I found that circle, and it's working... Mr. Ramon, you've heard of 'Nightmare Praise' '?"

“…no.”

Adrian on the communication crystal side sighed: "It can...without destroying the body, it can directly bring the enemy to sleep-like death. It is a medium-range indiscriminate attack spell."

"Indiscriminate attack?" Before Oliver could speak, Nemo directly grabbed the conversation. "They are going to attack Blue Bird's tribe?"

"I'm afraid so, after all it is not suitable for use in the battlefield."

"But the mayor just said he didn't want to fight the blue bird—"

"But it's definitely not a whim." Adrian said calmly, "The transformation circle has just been completed today, there are many traces of older changes, and it can be seen that the producer has hesitated for a long time. It makes sense - if the clan is destroyed, the town of Vincennes can sell the body directly, they really don't need to worry about us 'spreading rumours'."

"Mr. Cross, can you break it?" Oliver said, loosening Nemo's shoulders.

"If I had the power, I could. I'm afraid no one can now—it's activated and rather unstable, only the caster can disarm."

"We'll let Jesse know. They won't fight until noon tomorrow, and we still have time." Oliver said quickly.

"Time to stop?" Adrian paused, "Mr. Ramon, to be honest, I don't think they'll stop."

"You stay at the circle first, I... I'll think of a way." Oliver gritted his teeth and said, "There will always be a way."

Adrian let out a light sigh, then his voice raised a little: "Jesse Dylan?!"

"Hi dear." A languid voice came from the crystal, "Unfortunate news that I was chased out by the birds - thank you for the communication crystal, otherwise I wouldn't have known Which coordinates to teleport to."

"What's the situation?" When Oliver was about to terminate the call, he took the crystal closer.

"They killed the messenger, and the younger ones are crazy." Jesse said lightly, as if talking about today's weather. "Look, they even kicked me out! If I knew I wouldn't return the book, I caught them right when I came out of the Holy Land."

He chuckled, like it was a very funny joke.

"So I only have one piece of information left—" Jesse extended, "They don't seem to plan to attack on time, after all Vincent broke the rules first—tell me, Mr. Ramon, that Don't you help the idiots to think that the blue bird will keep the tradition under such circumstances?"

They really think so. Nemo turned his head wordlessly—

Residents, all dressed in white teaching uniforms, crowded together like bewildered doves before the hustle and bustle of the town's houses. He was careful to hide shadows in inconspicuous corners.

"Lavinia is on top." The mayor's son had a straight back at the moment, and his voice was very loud under the influence of the magic circle. "Under the blessing of God, we are gathered here..."

"I have an idea." Jesse seemed to have snatched the communication crystal from Adrian, his voice full of laughter against the background of the town's son's speech. "Look, we're running out of time now—plans are never as fast as change, aren't they, Mr. Ramon?"

"Speak the point." Oliver squeezed the answer from between his teeth.

"Remove the blessing of Vincent Town before the bluebirds do it! If it's just to rudely destroy the blessing, we have a pretty good candidate - no one is better for this than a demon warlock Work. You only need to sacrifice half of the people to ensure that the other half will definitely survive. This is much more cost-effective than killing them all, isn't it? After those stupid people turn back into blue birds, they probably won't be able to stand up."

Oliver turned his eyes slowly to Nemo - Nemo stared at the crystal, clenching his teeth.

"I saw a... uh, rough but powerful circle here. If I guess right, this is the prelude to their genocide. No one will blame you, dear Nemo. You are much stronger than them, and you certainly have the power to decide what is 'justice'."

Nemo closed his eyes.

In the darkness, the slender flow of magic power ripped from people's bodies, covering the entire town like a spider web. The silver incantation thread with a faint golden light is fragile and beautiful... It seems that it will be broken with a touch.

"You are saving them, don't hesitate. As long as you are willing to do it, we can give Lavinia an answer today. Besides, the blue birds will never kill these people. , there will always be a few left-"

Nemo took a breath and raised his eyes—before the mayor's house, young parents were holding their children and tiptoed in the direction of the house. The girl with long braids who pointed them across led her younger siblings, and one of the boys was holding a straw for blowing soap bubbles. People listened to the words of the big young man quietly, without enthusiastic cheers or applause, and even showed some numbness and dazedness. They seem to have grown accustomed to this kind of conflict.

"...You look up to me." Nemo was silent for a long time and replied very slowly. "I'm just a mortal."

"But you can really spoil a blessing, right?"

"I wouldn't do that," said Nemo, his stomach cramping from uncertainty and tension, and he forgot to even breathe. "They will die, and those who survive will lose everything. I have no right..."

"I have no right to decide that other people's lives 'should' be sacrificed, Dylan."

"You know," Jesse Dillon's tone was rarely calm, "because of your decision, none of them may survive."

"That's their choice." Nemo raised his voice, his guts huddled together, waves of nausea hitting his throat. But Nemo clenched his fists and pressed them down. "As soon as a person wants to stop, we're there to help. They haven't tried, they haven't had a choice."

The fate of the blue bird should not be a multiple choice question. Despite his inability to predict the future, heavy uncertainty squeezed his nerves. But if he is as powerful as Jesse Dillon claims to be - then there must be another solution.

Demon Warlocks cannot maintain human form. Humans cannot fall in love with monsters. Lavinia can't wake up... Blue Birds can't get a happy ending. They have seen too many impossibles, but the world is far crazier than they imagined, full of tiny miracles. A more appropriate answer must be somewhere, he just hasn't found it yet.

At least this time, he didn't want to give up.

Oliver grabbed the communication crystal and decisively closed the communication. Perhaps Oliver wouldn't agree with his dangerous insistence, and Nemo subconsciously avoided the other's gaze. As a result, both hands held his face and forcibly turned his face over.

The emerald green eyes looked at him warmly and directly, and there was no disgust or disappointment on Oliver's face. On the contrary, there was even a smile on the corner of his lips.

"I agree. We're not there to 'save' them." Oliver whispered earnestly, his voice firm and clear. "We're here to 'help'."

(m..=)