The children formed a huge team, leading Irene, who volunteered to be a sacrifice, towards the city lord's palace.
Along the way, all the children who heard that they would soon have enough food and would no longer have to endure the food shortage caused by the silence of the flames unconsciously joined the team and supported the entire process. If anyone attempts to block this process, they will be met with hostility from everyone and trigger further conflicts.
"Stop, you have no idea what you're doing."
The dean also discovered this matter. He was firmly opposed to the matter of sacrifice. Of course, he would not just watch the matter happen in front of his eyes. He quickly stopped in front of a group of children in an attempt to completely stop the matter.
However, the dean's words could not reach the ears of the children who were already on the verge of madness under the torment of hunger. At this moment, what the dean was trying to block was no longer the familiar group of children in his memory, but more like hell. A hungry ghost who has just come out of the cage and is about to choose someone to devour.
What was waiting for the dean were stones one after another. Perhaps out of concern for the dean's former majesty, no one of the children came forward to argue with him. They just picked up the stones from the nearby ground and threw them at the dean. .
The stones fell towards the dean like a rain of arrows, and the sharp edges cut open the dean's skin, staining his body with blood. Under the severe blow of the stones, he could only hold his head and run away to avoid further harm. Big damage.
Looking at the group of children going away, Dean Cavo could only stand there blankly, with a bit of confusion and disbelief still remaining in his eyes.
It wasn't until Ms. Madeley discovered that the dean was injured and ran over to bandage his wound that the dean came back to his senses slightly. However, he was depressed and depressed, and he looked dozens of years older.
"Why do they do this? Is it something to be proud of using the lives of brothers and sisters who share sympathy with each other to buy food for themselves?" Dean Cavo murmured, and his words were actually full of concern for what was happening now. incredible.
"This matter has nothing to do with pride, but with survival. They just want to live. Once they see the hope of living, they will do whatever it takes." Ms. Madeley said while bandaging the dean's wound. Enlighten the way.
The dean just shook his head and pushed away Madeli's hand that bandaged the wound: "Just to survive? We are Erathians, bathed in brilliant glory above our heads, stepping on the sacred ground under our feet. In doing so, we are in conflict with the beasts. What's the difference? No one should be treated like this. I would rather die than enjoy the food bought with the blood of others after losing the pride of the Erathians."
Looking at the back of the dean who limped away without caring about bandaging the wound, Ms. Madeli just let out a deep sigh.
When the children gradually lost control, Madeleine did not step in to stop the incident. A certain part of her heart agreed with the city lord's proposed sacrifice, and she even secretly hoped that that moment would come soon.
Not only the children were suffering from hunger, but Madeleine was also the same. Madeleine, who was responsible for managing the food, knew clearly that the food was decreasing day by day, and she ate less than the average child.
Madeleine could endure the pangs of hunger if she were alone, but her children and her husband could not. Her husband repeatedly requested, or rather forced, her to bring back more food, and Madeleine had no choice but to do so. This also made the already small amount of food even more depleted, and she would inevitably eat it all before the deadline. Guang, because of this, she no longer resists the city lord's request.
Seeing that the moment of sacrifice was coming, the city lord would also bring out enough food as promised, so that no one would go hungry anymore. Madeleine couldn't help but smile with joy, and she couldn't wait to share the good news with her husband.
If those children had the motivation to live because they saw the hope of getting food, then Madeleine's hope of living rested entirely with her husband. Madeleine, who loved her husband deeply, knew that she owed him a lot and would probably never pay him back.
Back home, Madeleine woke up her sleeping husband and couldn't wait to tell him: "We have found a way to solve the food problem. Maybe it won't be long before the city lord will provide enough food, and we don't have to worry about this matter anymore." ”
When Madeleine woke him up, the drunk man was slightly stunned at first. It took him a while to fully understand the meaning of Madeleine's words. He couldn't help but said angrily: "Just because of this, you woke me up?"
The joy on Madeli's face gradually dissipated, and she could only say apologetically: "I'm sorry... I thought you would be happy to hear the news."
"Why am I happy?" Madeley's words were met with an angry rebuke from her husband, "Everything we are encountering now is all harm! We didn't have to starve at all. When I was promoted to the sixth level , or even when promoted to the seventh level, what does a mere city lord mean? It was you who dragged me down and caused us to fall into this situation."
At the end of the sentence, the drunk man's eyes showed a bit of loneliness, and he picked up the wine and started drinking: "This is not the life I should have... My destiny has changed because of you. I know you want to repay me. , but do you think I need your repayment? Do I need your pity? "
"You didn't mean that." Madeleine held her husband's hand and whispered in his ear, "I know those are just your angry words. I don't blame you for the scolding, because I know that deep down in your heart, You must love me. No matter what you become now, in my eyes, you will always be the hero who rescued me from the Diya people's trap."
"I hate you." The drunkard threw her hand away, "If it hadn't been for you that day, I wouldn't have been harmed by the Diya people's trap, and I wouldn't have lost my strength and ended up where I am now. My life will take a completely different road, instead of being as bleak as it is now... Why didn't you die that day? Why are you still alive?"
Madeleine bit her lip and asked, "Then do you regret...the choice you made that day?"
"I wish you died that day. I wish I had never met you."
The drunkard drank heavily and fell asleep again within a short while, leaving Madeleine standing there blankly.
Madeli's arms began to tremble uncontrollably. She wanted to cover her head and cry loudly, but in the end she just knelt on the ground. Only the angry flame in her eyes did not go out. She stood up and stared at the drunk man indifferently. At this moment, she only felt that something was quietly broken. She whispered in a sad voice:
"Okay... If you want me to die, then I will die for you! But even if I die, I will not die in vain. I want you to hate me forever! I want you to always remember me!"
Madely walked out of the door in silence and returned to the Griffin House. She immediately saw Valente, who was looking for help everywhere and was jumping anxiously.
"Mother, those children are crazy. They plan to sacrifice Irene in exchange for food. You can't let them do this. Find a way to stop this quickly."
Seeing his mother's figure, Valente quickly ran over dragging his injuries. He was so helpless that he didn't know who to ask for help. All the children agreed with this matter, and no one was willing to listen to his words or stop him. The result was just a needless beating.
"As long as it's not Irene, they can sacrifice anyone. Why did things end up like this? You must stop them." Valente begged helplessly to his mother, trying to get some help from the silent Madeleine. Ask for help.
The only answer to Valente was a pair of arms grabbing him. Before the boy could react, his mother pushed him to the ground completely, and her hands were completely wrapped around his neck.
The force exerted by the arm became stronger and stronger, like an indestructible rock, firmly welded to Valente's neck. Valente couldn't breathe at all, his chest was like a bellows that was about to explode completely, and he was constantly being hit by hammers. Everything in Valente's eyes became more and more blurry. At first he thought his mother just wanted to make a joke, but when he saw his mother's ferocious and angry face, he realized that all this was not a joke. His mother, at this moment, planned to end his life.
All the strength in his body seemed to be getting away from Valente little by little. He wanted to pull away his mother's hand, but at this time he couldn't muster the strength at all. The surrounding scenery became blurry and unrealistic, caused by lack of oxygen. The hallucination made his consciousness gradually fade away, and only his mother's face was so clear.
Above the sky, the saint no longer wanted to look, but the devil refused to let him go and whispered in his ear:
"When fate holds your throat, and when the people closest to you want to kill you, do you have the courage to abandon the cowardice in your soul and stand up against the world?"
As if in response to the devil's words, the boy, who was lying on the ground and struggling continuously, and his breath became weaker and weaker, suddenly touched a stone on the ground with his right hand. His survival instinct prompted him to wave the stone in his hand. Hit Madeli's head.
With a muffled sound, blood fell from Madeli's head, and even the stones were dyed red. The hand holding Valente suddenly lost its strength, and her whole body fell to the side.
Valente got up in a hurry. He still didn't understand what happened. The only thing on his face was panic.
"what did I do……"
He stared blankly at the blood-stained stone in his hand, threw it down hurriedly, then got down and pushed his mother who fell to the ground, shouting her name loudly, trying to awaken her consciousness.
With Valente's unremitting efforts, Madeleine finally woke up from her coma. She saw Valente next to her at a glance, her face became ferocious and terrifying again, and she stretched out her hand to pinch him again.
What awaits Valente is his fate. It wasn't until the boy had completely lost all breath that Madeli let go of her hand, as if the burden on her body had finally been lifted. She walked alone to the river outside Mingyue City, jumped off the bridge, and her body was submerged in the water. In the fast flowing water.
"Have you ever seen true evil?"
The devil finally spoke. The sad saint was just about to speak out when he saw the devil's eyes burning with flames. The only sound coming from the wind was the devil's angry voice asking:
"Why do people choose to be cowardly? Why can't people become heroes?"
It's not a walking corpse, nor any other name. This is the first time that the saint has heard the word "person" from the devil's mouth. However, the saint can't be happy anyway, and his heart is also full of anger: " Cowardice? Is this what you see?"
The Demon King raised his hand and said, "Otherwise, what else is there?"
"What I see is persistence in the face of difficulties and disasters, a beautiful heart that stands up for others, the unshakable pride of the Erathians, and the attachment that is unwilling to hurt the one you love until death. Why do you think all of this is cowardice?"
The saint answered loudly without any doubt, not caring whether his answer would anger the Lord of Hell and lead to death.
The radiance symbolizing hope condensed on the saint's body. At this moment, his eyes burst out with a solid will: "But there is one thing that I can really see clearly, and that is what real evil is. "
The Demon King raised his eyes, and he seemed to feel a different kind of aura from the saint at this moment, an aura that he was very familiar with.
At the same time, Sania, who was helpless for a moment because Erin was taken away, finally reacted and was ready to seek help from others.
"Who is willing to help Eileen at this time? By the way... Valente will definitely be willing. He has always loved Eileen and will definitely be willing to try his best to help."
Sania reacted and tried to find Valente's figure, but all she found was the corpse of a young man lying in the open space with his eyes wide open and his body cold.
"What happened here?" Sania's voice was trembling. No one could solve her doubts. Time was tight and she had no time to carefully examine the abnormalities of the young man's corpse. "The dean has always disagreed with this matter. He will definitely be willing to help. Erin.”
Sania came to the dean's reception room, and as soon as she opened the door and entered, she saw the corpse of the old man who hanged himself from the beam and held on to the pride of the Erathians until his death.
"How could this happen..." Sania was so anxious that she almost cried. The tragedy in front of her was shocking, and she ran out in a hurry. "Maybe there is someone else who can help Irene, by the way... the manager Madeleine, she There must be something that can be done.”
With the help of several city lord guards, Sania finally saw Madeli, a woman's body lying on a stretcher, her soaked body covered in mud and sand.
The world seemed to have completely abandoned Sania. She sat on the ground in despair. Faced with this predicament that almost completely swallowed her up, she couldn't find any way out.
No... Sania seemed to have thought of something, and the light of hope shone in her eyes again. There is another person who can save Irene now, and that person is the saint who brought her here. If the saint returns, he will definitely be able to save Irene.
Thinking of this, Sania closed her eyes, silently recited Isaac's name in her heart, and prayed devoutly to the saint.
(End of chapter)
