"Who are you?" Laite asked in a calm tone, being extra careful not to turn his head to look.
He was not in a hurry to surge up the unexpectedly large amount of red magic power in his body.
After all, the human who seemed to be the young boy behind him accurately reported his identity and name. He should not be an enemy. Even if he was an enemy, he must know all his information.
In other words, either there is no need to fight, or there is no possibility of victory.
"My name is Fansuo, and I am a friend of the Imperial Crown Prince Yin Fante and his teacher Aaron. Of course, I am also a lost person, the... former... former cardinal of the Church of the Dark Night. I am here to pick you up. , Mr. Laite, this is an order from the empire. But..." Fansuo said, seeming to have caught a certain smell, he put his head close to Laite's body and sucked hard a few times.
Then, he wondered:
"The smell on your body is very complex. It seems that you have gone through various difficult challenges to get here. But why do you have that familiar smell of 'snow'?"
"'Xue Mu', right?" Laite asked knowingly.
He hesitated for two steps on the spot, stepping on the soft soil, pushing away the sunflowers with his hands, and his black eyes became dim.
But then, the pure and childish face of "Xue Mu", Feng, flashed through his mind. Feng's innocent smile, which he didn't know was real, suddenly flashed in his mind, and he suddenly laughed out loud.
Laite suppressed his bitter smile, looked up at the extremely pure blue sky, stared at the scorching white sun hanging high above, and continued in an unusually relaxed tone:
"He is dead."
"Dead? Oh, okay."
Fansuo's response was particularly calm and normal. This was a common attitude for people from the wasteland when facing death.
For the humans struggling in this continent polluted by "some mysterious and extraordinary force", they will gradually become numb in the face of lives that are withering like dandelions. For the lost people whose hearts have become mechanical or semi-mechanical, "emotion" is not a product they should have, and even, to a certain extent, it is a poison.
However, when faced with Laite, who was covered in a silver-white tactical armor and appeared to be extremely strong and with unusually "graceful" body contours, the cardinal of the Church of Dark Night, the young Fansuo who was proficient in music and painting, actually had something in his mind. A human sadness.
This is human emotion and a dangerous product, but why do I feel sad here in the sea of flowers covered with sunflowers?
Fansuo was puzzled and his brain was running rapidly, trying to come up with an answer in a very short time.
However, he is not a wise man, nor is he a human being who has experienced vicissitudes of life, nor is he a god who is addicted to emotions and falls into a deep sleep from which he cannot extricate himself.
In the final analysis, he is just an "ordinary" lost person. Among the twelve most powerful cardinals of the three major churches, he is the weakest, but the most valuable being.
Thinking of this, Fansuo subconsciously touched his cheek with his other hand, and there was a feeling of moisture wherever his fingertips touched!
He would never have thought that he, a lost person who should have lost his emotions, would actually be crying.
After realizing his embarrassment, Fansuo twitched violently and retracted the hand on Laite's shoulder.
What made him even more confused was that the moment his palms separated from Laite's body, the sadness that lingered in his mind and spirit immediately dissipated, and the tears on his cheeks seemed to be quickly heated. Evaporated and disappeared.
"It's 'Shang'." Fansuo asked:
"Laite...Sir, why is there such a strong 'sorrow' in your body? This is contrary to common sense."
"It should be...it was contaminated on the way to here through the 'Vita Water', right?" Laite speculated, turned around and made a shrug unique to the West Continent country.
"Unlikely." Fansuo shook his head and denied:
"It stands to reason that there will be a lot of 'sorrow' in the 'Vita Water' itself. Because its formation is originally related to 'life' and 'death'. But this is the closest place to the 'mechanical element'. The place where the female gods belong. Rumor has it that when the Creator created the Seven First Gods in his nightmare, he blessed them with the 'Glory of the Holy Spirit', which maintains the eternal existence of the gods and radiates endless holy energy outwards. material, and she also wrote the article "Gods are sacred and can drive away all evil spirits" into the "Principles". Therefore, the closer you get to the realm of gods, the evil will recede and the light will be abundant. "Sorrow" It will definitely be purified and become a rare existence."
"So, even if there is strong 'sorrow' in 'Vita Water', it will disappear here. And you..." Fansuo subconsciously took a half step back and pointed at Laite's star filled with " "The Lost One" said the heart of the flavor:
"The 'sorrow' emanating from you comes from your body and soul. I don't know what happened to you, or whether you have undergone some kind of transformation, or what an extraordinary existence you are. 'Sorrow' is so full and eroding all the time. Although you are standing in front of me, your spirit does not seem to be affected at all, which makes me admire you enough."
"Are you energetic..." Laite recalled:
"It seems that in Migov Hospital and in the city of Chekavsk, they said that I have mental problems, but I will not have a mental breakdown. And when I was fighting Yatto and Dylan... yes, I encountered all these problems during the fight. It was an accident. I am not naturally susceptible to mental manipulation, and it is difficult to be affected by 'seduction' and 'charm' powers."
"Although sometimes I still think that everything that is happening now and coming to this world is my nightmare, or a fantasy that I can never get out of, but now that I have reached this point, I can immediately enter the realm of the 'Daughter of the Mechanical Element' , I don’t care about this anymore.”
As he spoke, Laite sighed softly and forced out a melancholy smile. Then, before Fansuo, who was opening his mouth, could make a sound, he interrupted:
"Tell me about your purpose, Fansuo. I think you were entrusted by someone to wait here to greet me."
"Indeed." Fansuo nodded and said:
"This is not something difficult to guess. You should be familiar with the information about the 'Daughter of Tool Yuan'. It is mentioned in the 'Diary of the Decider' that we have fully interpreted. Open the channel. The stone gate to the God's Realm requires two of the three emblems, which are the 'Burning Emblem', the 'Dark Blood Emblem' and the 'Tomorrow Emblem'. But they are now in the hands of the Socra Committee, Crown Prince Yin His Highness Fante has focused all his attention on the military. He does not care about these extraordinary things of the gods, or has never cared about them. It rejects magic, is superstitious about steam and force, and faces three crucial coats of arms. , he didn’t even move at all.”
"Indeed, after I went through all the trouble to obtain the 'Heraldry of Tomorrow', the person who contacted and met me was Peter, the [scholar] of the Socratic Committee. I have never met the empire's liaison from the beginning to the end." Laite He waved his hand and said helplessly.
"Speaking of Peter, I heard Aaron and His Highness Yin Fante mention him very excitedly two days ago. He said that he died a few days ago while the empire was desperately bombing the three major church strongholds. He died on the flight to On Socra’s airship.”
"Dead? How could..." Laite was a little surprised. He recalled in his mind the very solemn and well-dressed man who showed him a little magic trick and treated him to a meal in the camp in Donusk Area B. He felt a wave of excitement in his heart. Overwhelming, feeling slightly sad and extraordinarily incredible.
After all, that kind of low-status person, even the middle- and lower-level civil servants of the Socratic Committee. He looks well-mannered, and does not seem to be an important figure like Imperial Prime Minister Holly. Moreover, he is a member of the group of rulers. It should be unlikely that he will be attacked by "unintentional people" or lost people, let alone How could he just...die if he was targeted and had an accident?
As if hearing Laite's thoughts, Fansuo immediately replied:
"It's because of the 'Crest of Tomorrow'. It's the one you personally handed to him."
"impossible?"
"How is it impossible? He doesn't even look at his own strength. You, Laite Sugra..." Fansuo said, stretched out his left index finger, pressed hard on Laite's hard heart, and said while tapping:
"You are the [Order]. You said it yourself just now, and you will not be easily affected by mental influences. Moreover, you still have the red magic power in your body that belongs to the power of the apostle of God. Naturally, nothing will happen to you. But it is said that he died in a miserable state. .”
"How miserable?" Laite asked curiously.
"It is said that under the influence of the 'Crest of Tomorrow', he started to have nosebleeds not long after he stepped onto the airship. At first, he didn't seem to take it seriously, thinking it was because of the hot weather, but not long after, his whole body started to bleed red. The spots are itchy and unbearable.”
"Not long after, his whole body began to fester. First, a red and pure viscous substance oozed out, and then a dark purple, foul-smelling liquid dripped onto the floor and even burned a small piece."
"At that time, he was quickly pushed into the small room behind the airship and was blocked. But soon, his eyes became bloodshot and turned red again, like the most vivid rubies."
"Only fifteen minutes later, before even the exclusive doctor of the Socra Committee had time to rescue him, he vomited acid water, blood, and finally even 'pieces' of internal organs from his mouth. This process lasted for half a year. When I was young, I heard that no one had dared to get close to Peter during this period. Finally, after the airship landed at the 'Mechanical Element Factory', the members of the Sugra Guard who rushed into the small room in full gear saw only a red ball-shaped ball of flesh. , and there are countless withered rattan-like things sticking out around it."
After speaking in one breath, Fansuo slapped his chest hard, trying to suppress the feeling.
During the narration just now, he felt like he was at the scene, watching in person the "miracles" that happened to Peter.
But looking back at Laite, his expression didn't seem to fluctuate much. His mood had changed from the surprise just now to the calm one now.
Standing there with his hands folded in front of his chest, after thinking for a few seconds, he slowly said:
"Death... is always inevitable, right? I think we should still look forward. I know the general content of the 'Determinator's Diary'. Just now you mentioned that three crests are needed to open the stone gate in the realm of gods, right? .If I don’t have a crest, I’ll need the red magic power in my body.”
As he spoke, Laite clenched his left hand into a fist, slightly surging the inexplicably full red magic power in his body.
In an instant, his sharp-edged fist was covered with a layer of faint blush.
"Yes." Fansuo did not hide his purpose, but said without any concealment:
"We need you, that is... the Imperial Crown Prince Yin Fante needs you. Just now, Yin Na has dispersed a small piece of quicksand with her 'confused song' and brought us here. Now, there is only one last step left. .”
"Moreover, now I have seen the situation clearly. The empire's battle to eliminate the Church of the Lost will inevitably lead to victory. Therefore, as a person who serves the empire, I also accepted the request of one of your 'old friends' to come to Sunflower Flower The edge of the sea is waiting for you, guiding you to the place where the stone gate exists. As the saying goes..." Fansuo raised the corner of his mouth, showing a seductive smile, and said:
"Don't you want to see the realm of gods with your own eyes?"
"Of course I do." Laite said without hesitation.
"Then go forward and go straight along this small path. When we reach the end, we will see the bottom of the lake that has turned into green grass. The altar and stone gate will descend with the sound of singing."
With that said, Fansuo walked quickly behind Laite, pushed aside a small patch of sunflowers that were growing particularly lush, and walked over.
Following Fansuo, Laite took a few steps forward. As the last piece of sunflowers was pushed away, Laite actually saw a road made of cement, located among the sea of sunflowers, leading to a looming circle in the distance. Path leading to the altar area.
Standing in front of Laite with his back to him, Fansuo stared at the path and couldn't help but said:
"You know, Laite. Looking at the path leading to the divine realm, I remembered a sentence."
"What?" Laite asked curiously.
"Era 207 in "The Secret Book": The Creator fell into a deep sleep, the gods escaped into the darkness, and we are tortured by 'humanity'. We are destined to live as darkly as the abyss and die as lonely as the wilderness." Fansuo replied. , the voice was particularly gloomy.
Hearing this, Laite opened his mouth slightly and his eyes were slightly distracted, trying to echo something. Before the words came out, he heard Fansuo's chuckle and the "flashing" excited voice:
"But, your arrival is enough to prove something worthy of joy."
"What's the matter?"
"The 'Dawn of Erathia' is completely over, and the tragic war of 'The Coming of Silence' is also about to end!"