Eight people swarmed forward.
Not to mention that now is not a good time to pay attention to the virtues of chivalry, and none of them are really heirs to chivalry.
But even with the "advantage" of eight against one, they could barely do any real damage to the witch.
"Bang!" Horno's air spell was always the fastest, but it sped away but was dissipated in the air with a wave of her hand by the White Witch.
"They are not on the same level at all -" Adolphus muttered, and then he, Henry, Erica and Stephen dispersed the formation and tried to approach the witch in the center from all directions.
"Fake attack, cover them." As the sage was the vanguard, Horno took over the command position. She had faced many battles in her past travels, so she was familiar with this.
"Solley!" "Bang - hoo -" The magical attack of wind and fire that changed its angle was shattered again.
The same was true for the crossbows fired by Mira and Filippo immediately afterwards - the Luoan girl obviously still hesitated in her heart. She aimed at the opponent's shoulder instead of the more deadly heart and head, but this kind of She quickly regretted her reservations.
The defense with no blind spots makes their attacks with long-range hands unable to even achieve the purpose of interference. If she was aiming at key parts such as the head and heart, the white witch would look here to respond, but Mira's reservation prevented her from paying attention at all - this caused considerable damage to her forward teammates. serious consequence.
"Oh -" The one who rushed forward was Adolphus on the left. He was wearing plate armor and holding a shield, and driven by an inexplicable resentment in his heart, he accelerated his speed and rushed forward first.
"Hey!" Camilo noticed the fact that Mira's attack failed to distract him and quickly used his staff again and hurriedly threw four fireballs to cover the Paladin.
"call--"
- But he was too late.
When the first wave of attacks were all initiated by their side, the witch held the shining white short spear in her hand flat, and when she brought it within twenty meters of Adolphus, she suddenly raised it.
"Bang!" The short spear floating in the air accelerated in mid-air and rushed towards Adolphus.
"Don't hit it hard!" Henry, who noticed all this, warned loudly. The short spear that came quickly was filled with an ominous aura. But Adolphus's shield was tied to his forearm, so he had no choice but to hit him directly with the shield. Measure roll.
"Bang——" "Uh——" Adolphus, who weighed more than 100 kilograms in armor, was just rubbed by the spear on the edge of the shield in his hand, and he flew back several meters. distance.
"Crack--Crack!" He fell heavily to the ground. "Cough cough - cough cough cough -" Then he started coughing uncontrollably.
The upper right quarter of the metal-skinned Kite Shield was completely shattered, and the two-centimeter-thick wooden core began to smell like burning with dark red embers. The belt that bound his forearm broke and the rivets flew open. Adolphus felt that his entire left hand was in pain. If he hadn't been wearing plate armor, half of his body would have been crippled.
"Keep the distance, keep the distance!" Captain Stephen, who was approaching, came over immediately. He was strong and held the paladin with one hand and ran back. The four long-range shooters and the little unicorn all ran to Adolphus' side, while Henry and Erica, who were farther away on the other side, also returned to this side.
They pulled away to a distance of about thirty-five meters, and then people began to check Adolphus's injuries.
"Ahem, I'm fine." The strong-willed Paladin waved his hand to his teammates and climbed up with strength. He felt a sense of fear in his heart. Although the short spear only flew a short distance after passing through the shield and dissipated in the air, the extra few meters was enough to shoot him right through.
"Thank you." He nodded to Henry. If the sage hadn't reminded him in time, he would have died by now because he was overconfident in the armor he was wearing.
"I..." Mira hesitated, obviously thinking that this was her responsibility. "Now is not a good time to talk about this." Horno interrupted her.
"information?"
"Some form of magic shield appears about one meter away from the center of the body's radius. My guess is that it is a powerful witchcraft that can feed the applied force back to the incoming object to offset it."
"But it can only be in the direction that she can pay attention to." The professional words that Horno spouted out at a rapid speed made most people confused, except Henry and Erica.
"Where's the spear?"
"Composed of magic power, the attack radius does not exceed 25 meters."
"She is different from... a real witch." Horno shook his head: "Although her magic and magic are powerful, they are not black magic."
"There is another thing that I find very strange. Her magic short gun disappeared very abruptly when it was 25 meters away. It was as if it was given by the surrounding environment-" Horno frowned, she could not find it. A suitable Lamani word.
"Swallowed." Henry added in a steady tone.
"Uh-" The simple description allowed others to understand it, and the questions started from there.
"But this, speaking of the surroundings, although she is indeed out of place, isn't she a witch's clone?" The person who asked the question was Filippo: "Your statement, doesn't it seem that she is devouring herself? ?”
"..." Everyone fell into silence.
"The fragrance of flowers..." Mira suddenly said: "The fragrance of flowers...is gone."
"Speaking of the small animals around them, they are also gone-" People raised their heads and started to look around, only to realize that the entire environment began to dim.
The icy death forest on the periphery began to spread and devour this area like a disease. The black and icy ground had extended inwards much more than when they first encountered it. The magnolias have withered, and the sounds of birds and other small animals have disappeared.
It was as if the only remaining light was about to be swallowed up by darkness.
Everyone turned around and looked at the White Witch who was still standing in the center.
She just stood there quietly and didn't attack.
"You... have no intention of fighting?" Filippo stood up and asked her with a slight hesitation.
"It's not unintentional." The witch smiled bitterly: "It's just that I don't understand."
"What on earth are you..." Mira also stood up. When she met the other party's lavender eyes, she suddenly felt a lightning strike in her heart: "Ah——" Luo Miss An suddenly shouted.
"that person."
"Who are you."
"Mira!" She staggered forward a few steps. Filippo behind her became anxious, and Henry and Erica also stepped forward to protect the white-haired girl on both sides.
"You're the one who's crying." She said. This extremely Mira-style wording made most people confused. Only Horno and Henry reacted - the former also stood up and walked over. , and the latter frowned, and then looked at the witch in the center of the field.
"...Yeah." She was silent for a while, then suddenly lowered her head and smiled lightly.
"——" A gust of wind blew, and the magnolia flowers that withered quickly fell from the branches in just a few seconds. As if they had experienced a long time in an instant, they dissipated into powder with the wind.
The cold periphery invaded again, and the white warm area shrank further. The people who stayed behind tightened their cloaks, then stood up and walked over.
"What the hell is going on? We didn't do anything -" Stephen shouted anxiously in his loud voice.
"It's not you, it's her." The white witch said, "She is here, swallowing me up."
"But you're not -" The white-haired girl tried hard to organize her words. She couldn't find the right words to describe all of this - but the other party suddenly moved, and she walked slowly towards this side.
"Qiang——" Everyone clenched their weapons. Although she had no intention of continuing after only one round of fighting, the power she showed was enough to make people fearful.
"...Humans are always like this, aren't they?" the witch said with a faint smile.
"I am just a fragment." She said to Mira: "I am not another her, I am just a small fragment in her huge and complex mind."
"A worthless fragment." The witch turned around and looked behind her. The originally green leaves began to wither and disappear in the wind.
"I share her memory, so I also understand what she saw and heard. She sealed it all to maintain the original appearance, but I don't."
"I possess a lot of knowledge, which she gained from contact with other creatures. She can peer into the hearts of humans, although she does not understand what it means."
"She doesn't need to understand either."
"I just instinctively put together the things that people think are beautiful in their hearts and made such a fragment." The witch lowered her head.
"What is your purpose? If you don't want to continue fighting -" Adolphus, who was somewhat traumatized, seemed a little aggressive when he spoke, combined with the previous things that had shaken his faith.
"Purpose?"
"The purpose of my being created by her, or the purpose of my own existence here?" she said, and then continued before the other party could answer: "The reason why she created me is very simple. She doesn't know much. It's just that It’s like a poor painting drawn by a child, hoping that his mother will like it.”
"It's just such a simple thought." The witch looked at Horno, but there was no hatred in her eyes, only a touch of bitterness.
"As for myself, I think all I need is an answer."
"If you answer, it doesn't hurt to tell you where she is." "Uh-" The unexpected words made everyone look at each other.
"Are you going to betray yourself?" "How do we know if you are lying to us." The two voices came from an old man and a young man. After Stephen and Filippo finished speaking, they suddenly looked at each other again, both of them a little confused.
"...It's just the definition of being human."
"Betrayal, deception, these are evil behaviors. As an evil being, it is my duty to do such things. A simple view of good and evil - well, this is exactly what I want to ask. Are you - "She glanced at everyone.
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"..." Everyone fell into silence.
"Such a thing?" Only Mira still asked.
"Come and destroy her, that kind of thing."
"Uh-" People fell silent, and only Filippo, who was relatively simple-minded, quickly replied: "Isn't it very simple? You have hurt mankind and killed so many people. You are evil. exist."
"So this is just a simple revenge? Because some human beings were eliminated?" the witch asked, and Filippo retreated - the young man didn't know how to answer this question.
"Shrunk!" Mira suddenly shouted, and everyone looked back. The originally huge area has now been eroded by the outside to a diameter of less than ten meters.
"There's no time to waste here anymore. She's finished anyway. Let's go and solve this problem!" Stephen yelled. He seemed a little anxious. A series of unimaginable things made the mercenary leader feel quite anxious. He felt insecure and wanted to resolve everything quickly and return to his familiar daily routine.
To deal with some more familiar opponents.
"How to solve it? We don't even know where the witch is, and now the horse has run away with supplies and spare equipment." Filippo, who had spoken in unison with Stephen before, refuted him this time. When they were far away before You can judge the location by following the sky color, but now that you are under the dark clouds, you lose the basis for judgment.
"You brat!" The mercenary leader glared angrily and raised his eyebrows, but then another voice interrupted their budding quarrel.
"Threat." The word that came out of Adolphus's mouth, who had calmed down, seemed to go far beyond simply describing the scene in front of him.
"She is a threat to all living things. She is too cruel and must be destroyed."
"Is it really still a simple view of good and evil? Anything that threatens you is evil and must be eliminated - this answer is not enough." She smiled and shook her head: "If the answer is just that simple, then I There’s no need to ask you.”
"Good and evil, what you protect is good, and what you fight is evil. If everything could be as clear as this in black and white, it would be simpler."
"But let me ask you."
"Can the people she killed compare to those killed by humans themselves?"
"Are the crimes she committed comparable to the crimes caused by so-called tyrants in human history?"
"The city you defend was brought about by bloodshed and killing. When you maintain your lives, other lives will be taken away. Fundamentally speaking, what is the difference between what you do and hers?"
"If life is to survive, it must be taken away. Life itself is so cruel. Since there is no difference in the way it is done, why is it defined as evil, as someone who opposes life, and must be eliminated?" The witch said, She obviously knocked down most of the people, and they were all silent. There seemed to be no other way to refute it except to forcefully refute the sophistry of denying her existence and thus denying any of her remarks.
"Alas -" the pure white witch let out a long sigh: "I didn't expect that such a humble 'why' could not be answered."
The aperture has shrunk to less than two meters, and the people standing slightly behind can feel the cool air.
Mira looked at Henry, Erica also looked at Henry, and the same was true for Horno.
"She is incomplete." The sage spoke in a steady tone. Just listening to his voice was enough to make others feel at ease.
The witch looked at him.
"Life, humanity, and all life in this world, indeed, as you say, exist by taking away other lives."
"The enemy that persecutes human beings the most in this world is not any alien race, any terrifying beast, witch, or devil, but human beings themselves."
"We are always good at writing, and people are most fond of those stereotyped stories about fighting monsters with no face, no language, no communication and no emotions. Because pure and absolute good and evil are the easiest to accept. In comparison, The fact that the enemies are all human, and that many of them are not actually completely bad guys, is annoying."
"What you said is correct. Life itself is so cruel and violent, and taking other lives in order to survive is a cliché story repeated over and over again."
"But life is also above this."
"Humans are also above this."
“The counterpart to taking is giving.”
“The counterpart to killing is sacrifice.”
"The counterpart to hatred."
The sage said: "There is love."
"The farmer, who was so small and cowardly that no one else would even look at him again, stood up and sacrificed himself when the dragon was about to harm others." Mira thought of what she saw and heard on the edge of the cliff outside Scotti Town.
"Even in the corrupt political institutions, among the aristocratic circles that only know intrigues all day long, there are still people who are doing practical things, putting in more effort than their remuneration, without asking for anything in return." Mira thought of Benito, and Margaret, the nominal leader of the little explorer mercenary group, has now become a close friend.
"Life knows sacrifice and dedication."
"A coward will take courage for the sake of the one he loves."
"Those who fight on the front line may not necessarily be noble and glorious guys, they may just be mercenaries who are paid to do things that ordinary people look down upon." Stephen took a deep breath.
"What we have, we will be here at this moment."
"I will defend it."
"Not any country, not any institution, not any church, group or individual."
"But as a continuation of life."
"Darkness, cruelty, violence, all these things will not disappear even if she is eliminated, but there will still be someone, who will firmly refuse to sink in it."
“Even if you try your best and it’s just a stepping stone, it can open up a new path for those who come after you.”
"That's what I believe."
"What I believe in and what I stand for, the reason why we are here, the why."
“What we want to preserve is not any existing polity and any existing state.”
"But the future."
"What we believe in is not any empire or church, but these people who always refuse to sink no matter what difficulties they encounter."
"Life is imperfect, humans are imperfect."
“But it’s life that continues with this imperfection, unfairness, and cruelty.”
"This is the survival and future of life as a whole."
"She is incomplete, so she will not understand this. The only thing she can do is to ensure her own survival."
"She will devour even you."
"Life is a ray of light in the cruel cold darkness. Although it is not very bright, it is better than complete darkness."
"She is chaos and can only bring destruction to everything."
"In the end, there will be no other individual in this world except her."
"That's the difference between us, that's it."
"Why," the sage said, the last syllable echoing among the trees.
The light around the white witch was only the area where her feet stood, and the wild grass that had turned green again had withered and turned black again.
"Not completely -?" She kept her head hanging down, and a few minutes after Henry finished speaking, she took a long breath and repeated the sage's words softly.
"This is indeed a sufficient answer." The witch raised her head, and a warm smile appeared on her face that was very similar to Horno. The gentleness does not carry a mature and calm aura like it did at first, but has a radiant innocence.
"Just relying on the accumulated knowledge cannot be regarded as true understanding, and it cannot be regarded as true wisdom."
"Thank you, teacher." She bowed to Henry.
The light on the witch began to dissipate, and she was sucked into the earth at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"I can." She looked at Horno.
"Can I hold your hand?"
"..." The elf walked up wordlessly.
"It's so warm."
"...I see, that's it."
"This is the feeling of life..."
"I touched it with my own hands, and it felt really different -" She lowered her head, and her tears began to fall to the ground.
"The location, I told you with my magic power."
"If there is such a thing as an afterlife, I hope that we can really become a family."
"Mother."
A gust of wind blew, and the light dispersed into quicksand, little by little, and eventually returned to the earth.
Between the desolate heaven and earth, only coldness and death remain.
"The last of her humanity was gone."
"Um."
"This is a good thing for you."
"Well..." Horno clenched his fists and shrank them in front of his chest, wanting to remember the warmth in his palms before it completely dissipated.
