Stray

"I thought you would choose to go with you." An Wang looked at the remaining members of the Tumbleweed—their leader was carrying his back, unloading the camping gear from the Fuller goat. Simple Utensils. The night became more and more intense, and she couldn't see his expression at all, and even the outline of his body was a little blurred.

"I'm not the most suitable choice. Mr. Cross knows the Church of the Abyss better, and he can't fight alone." Oliver broke off a twig, simply stripped the bark, and looked around. terrain. "Ann, can you help me draw three hidden circles on the west side? The simplest one will do."

"Yes." An nodded cheerfully, "Great, you didn't become a dizzy fool. Speaking of which...you don't tell Nemo in advance, aren't you afraid he will care?"

"I didn't plan to deceive him, but I couldn't do it at first." Oliver shook his head, he dipped the liquid material in the glass bottle with a branch, and carefully drew a fixed circle on the tree. "I don't want to put too much pressure on him, he's nervous enough - when he manages to get in, Mr. Cross will find a chance to pick him up."

"Really considerate." Ann exhaled from her nose, a little more smile in her voice.

"After all, Duran Fergil is unknown." Oliver tilted his hand, and the magic circle on the bark exploded with green smoke. He adjusted his mood and dipped the branch in the glass bottle again. "But in the branch, Mr. Cross said he was a 'real exorcist'... Mr. Cross is not the type to lie easily, and you don't seem to be surprised?"

"Ah, that thing." Unlike Oliver, who was tied up, Ann simply drew three hidden magic circles in the corner. "Actually I'm not sure...but since Cross said that, it should be right."

Oliver finally finished drawing the camouflage circle he had just learned from the knight commander. A thin layer of sweat was secreted from his forehead. He raised his sleeves and wiped it. The degree of completion is extremely demanding, and his arms are sore when he draws. "How to say?"

"Those things on him." Ann took out a bag of preserved fruit from the Fuller goat and chewed it slowly. "Very complete exorcism materials, that is not the depth that can be learned by casual disguise."

"I thought it was a painting tool." Oliver started to build the first simple tent, "But he is a demon warlock? Nemo should not be wrong."

"Who knows?" Ann shrugged and patted the white icing on her hands. "To be honest, I'm also a little concerned... If I'm not mistaken, he's not a simple 'amateur exorcist', but the most ruthless-"

Her voice stopped for a moment - Oliver's response was not slow this time. All the magic circles just drawn came in handy, concealment and camouflage were activated at the same time, and the silence and darkness completely eliminated their breath.

Two people attached two trees to each other, staring at the team that suddenly appeared not far away.

The team was small, but it felt very bad. It was so dark that they couldn't see what those people were riding, but they didn't look like horses. A flag was fluttering at the front of the procession, and the entire procession was dressed in black cloth armor, with only the meager light provided by the floating lanterns on either side of the procession.

Oliver realized something was wrong - the team wasn't far from them, but they didn't make a sound. Not even the sound of the mount hitting the ground.

Like a team of shadows moving forward.

Oliver held his breath subconsciously, even if he was sheltered by a hidden magic circle, he still did not dare to be careless. A faint smell of cold and decay floated from not far away, like a moldy and rotten coffin. That blurry-faced cavalry team just stepped into the dead forest, and its movements did not stop for a moment. They moved forward lightly, as if gliding through lifeless ground, and finally their figures melted perfectly into the night.

"The Silence Knight." Ann spoke out first, keeping the volume as low as possible. "I'm afraid things won't go well this time... Hope Cross and Dylan go far enough."

Adrian has really gone far enough. He drew his magic from the blood of sacrifice on the back of his neck to maintain a floating circle that could support two people—they were orbiting them like planets, making sure they wouldn't instantly turn into rotten mummies.

And the master of that magic is pulling one side of the long blond hair behind his ear, and the other hand is tightly clasping the hand of Adrian Cross.

"...Why?" The knight commander finally spoke up. The hand that held it was dry and warm, and the skin was smooth, not as calloused and scarred as his own—but it had an unpleasant stickiness and the unpleasantness of a slug crawling across it. "I remember spiritual sacrifice without this step."

"I'm not after you? Look how romantic." Jesse's blue eyes sparkled, "and you know, maintaining this kind of thing is very magical—I can't stand right now too stable."

"If the two of us were twenty years younger, this pursuit might be romantic."

"I'm only twenty-seven-!"

"Yes, that's what I meant."

"You're going too far." Jessie snorted, exerting some strength in her hands. "It is said that humility and courtesy are the virtues of a knight of judgment. What about your virtue?"

"Together with my removal order."

"..." Jesse sighed, looking up at the sky still covered with thin clouds. The next second he threw a dagger with a warm white light that broke through the darkness and produced a hoarse scream in a corner a few steps away. Adrian stopped knowingly, and the two immediately formed a back-to-back formation.

"Interesting." Jesse said briskly, "It came so quickly."

"They are all small characters." Adrian opened his right hand, and his five fingers danced for a few seconds - a magic circle was forming on his palm, and it was getting bigger and bigger. When the magic circle stabilized and began to rotate slowly, he slammed it directly to the ground. The array did not sink into the soil, and then countless needles of light emerged from the soil. This time, a dozen screams came from the darkness nearby, followed by the rustling sound that quickly disappeared.

"It's quick to come, and it's quick to escape." Jesse put away the dagger, "Maybe it's my delusion... They seem a little flustered?"

"Perhaps." Adrian didn't seem too interested in the question, and he quickly resumed his forward stance. And Jesse didn't move, he couldn't go very far—after taking two steps, the knight commander turned his head in dissatisfaction. Even in the dark of night, the wrinkles between his brows could still be clearly seen.

However, the "cause of panic" of the monsters also surfaced at this time. The suffocating smell of rotting suffocated the two of them in an instant. Something pale bulged out of the soil, followed by thick white bones still stained with carrion—

What was drilled out of the soil looked like the skeleton of some kind of carnivorous fish. It's just that its height is more than ten meters, and there is a piece of nearly black flesh pulsing, and the thick stench brought by the pulsation makes the air instantly thick several times - different from normal fish bones, as the skeleton stretches out, There are several "feet" with only bones left. Half of those insect-like bones were still buried in the soil, curling up aimlessly, like a poisonous spider twitching wildly before dying.

"I'm curious." Jesse threw down three daggers, they hit the same spot one after another, and the white light directly shattered the knuckle of one foot. "Why don't you consult with Mr. Wright?"

"What to discuss?" Adrian finally took off the bow on his back and fired several dazzling arrows again.

"You have such an excellent talent, it's a pity to waste it - there are not many people who can temporarily transform the magic circle." Jesse turned his head, the attack in his hand did not stop at all, his blue eyes were in the moonlight A dim light shone down. "Although surface magic and abyss magic are completely different in nature, they are also close. According to your talent, you will soon be able to master the use of abyss magic. Then you don't need to..." He deliberately paused for a few seconds, his tone became very ambiguous. "...It's up to me."

"If I heard correctly." Adrian's voice became colder, and the arrows of light penetrated the monster's bones, accurately piercing the pulsating flesh. "You are advising me to become a demon sorcerer?"

The monster began to struggle more fiercely, and rows of dead trees were swept away by the bones.

"Yeah, Mr. Wright doesn't seem to need that much power anyway, he won't care about the loss." Jesse deftly dodged the flying debris like an invisible chain Like being tied to Adrian's side, it didn't go beyond the protection range of the magic circle at all. "He can voluntarily give you a little flesh and blood, and then don't make a contract. In your case, it will not be much twisted, at most a tail or something - maybe it is unexpectedly suitable."

"Are you sleepy, Mr. Dylan?"

"What?"

"The dream speaks loudly." The former knight commander sounded very unhappy, he drew his bow again, this time the light arrow looked more like a giant light spear. "It's impossible for me to accept such an offer."

"Because 'demons are evil'?"

"No, because I'm not going to betray my beliefs. Please stop joking about this." Adrian was very determined, pulled the bow more fully, and then let go hand.

The spear pierced the flesh. The monster's whole body made a strange clicking sound, it had a long mouth, and the surface of the pitch-black light ball flashed with a red arc like lightning, and it was about to bombard.

Jesse stopped attacking.

"But your faith has betrayed you. You see, if I take away my 'sacrifice' now..." The blond young man with a height similar to Adrian approached, making a quick move and clasping his fingers directly The exposed nape of the upper knight commander. As the giver, he could destroy that bloodstain with just a touch of his finger. "You'll turn into a dead bone in no time. How unreasonable."

"There is no 'betray'." Adrian shook his head, he stretched his right arm, and a pure white light shield covered the two of them.

The ball of light blasted down. The land around the two instantly turned into dark and sticky debris, splashing everywhere. The place where the two of them stood was intact, and at first glance it looked like a strange and small stage. The monster let out an angry neigh, and it dragged its injured bony foot into the dirt again.

It is undoubtedly aware of the gap in strength, and wisely chose to retreat - the bulge in the soil is getting farther and farther.

And Jesse raised his eyebrows, his face was closer, the tip of his nose almost hit the tip of the other's nose - the former Judge Knight did not avoid, those dark brown eyes against the light shield It's close to black, but that doesn't diminish the awl-like gaze.

"There is no 'turning away'." Adrian repeated. He even gave a faint, mocking smile. "God has no obligation to 'respond', and naturally there is no such thing as 'betrayal'."

"Hey? Don't you crazy believers like the 'God loves the world' the most?"

"I can't represent others without authorization, but I personally do not agree." Adrian's voice was low.

"...The Radism can make you a judge knight commander, which is really forgiving."

"Because I really love Chenni." Adrian seemed to ignore the beautiful face that got closer and closer.

"Sorry, as an atheist, I can't understand your thoughts at all." Jesse was now very close to him, lips quivering, warm breath on his cheek.

Adrian finally took a half step back and broke free of the opponent's fingers. He sighed and stretched out his hands - white threads of light intertwined above his palms, emitting a soft, warm glow.

"Is it beautiful?" he asked calmly.

"… okay?" Jesse's eyebrows rose higher and higher.

I'm just a trivial moment. It's a bit arrogant to believe that it loves me too, I think."

"It is enough as long as it exists."

"Okay, I see." Jesse whispered, "You're not a fanatic, you're just a masochist."

"I'm still saying that, do what you think." Adrian took another step forward, walking in the air above the gap bombarded by the monsters. "There is too much noise, we have to get out of here quickly."

This time Jesse followed up honestly, those blue eyes casually swept the magic circle flying around the two of them, and finally locked on Adrian's back. It's a pity that all the prepared remarks were blocked by the other party's few words. Jesse sighed disapprovingly.

"But about the arrogant part." The blond young man's smile disappeared, and he muttered in a volume that he could only hear. "I agree with your point of view."

A few kilometers away.

"If I remember correctly," Nemo tried not to sound too confused, "you said 'there are other barriers behind'?"

They have been traveling for a long time, and it is estimated that it is late at night. However, apart from the bad scenery along the way, this journey is very smooth in other aspects. Nemo also stepped on four or five inactive multi-eyed slime molds along the entire road, and received four or five extremely aggrieved "chucks". Other than that, the only living things he had ever seen were Virgil and the thorny corpse bird on his shoulder.

"Strange, it stands to reason that there should be a large guardian demon nearby." Virgil scratched his head, "This is not normal."

Nimo felt the staff in his hand slipped a lot, and his palms must be sweating rapidly.

"Be careful anyway." Duran Fergill's voice was low, "We'll be there soon...shh."

His left hand suddenly made a quiet gesture. He picked up the paintbrush in his right hand and quickly threw a string of rough traces in the air. The air seemed to be colored by the pen, and then the handwriting turned into a faint shadow, isolating them in the darkness.

Nimo lowered his hand silently, and secretly rejoiced for a few seconds - he was so nervous that he almost forgot to cast spells directly.

They were close enough to the Silent Church by now, close enough to see what it generally looked like. For a large church, its shape is very irregular, and the slightly twisted building reveals a bleak and eerie beauty. A long dark carriage was heading towards the church, the driver's face wrapped in a wide white cloth, but he - or she - clearly did not intend to waste energy dealing with the cage behind the carriage. Five or six figures who were not very sturdy were crowding together, and the sound of the chains rubbing against each other was particularly clear in the silent night.

These are young people who look young, but Nemo can see clearly. The oldest in the cage looked like he was at most the same age.

"What is that?" Nemo swallowed quietly, trying to ease his nervousness.

"It's a sacrifice for the Demon King." Vergil's face was extremely ugly, "Damn, the time is obviously wrong... Now we are in trouble."

(m..=)