Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

It was like a tiny seed, buried in the girl's heart, quietly sprouting, growing, and crawling all over the girl's heart.

She plucked the strings of the guitar clumsily, as if she could only hear the melody she played. No matter how monotonous or clichéd it was, the girl would feel happy. She had no music teacher, only the bard's experience written in words and the teaching crystals that flowed from the academy. She practiced over and over again with the unsystematic textbooks, unwilling to let go even if her fingers were covered with scars.

How I want to hear the stories of those heroes again, listen to them climbing over mountains and seas of clouds, crossing plains and deep valleys, stepping into temples and ruins, defeating powerful enemies, obtaining treasures, and exploring mysteries. It seems that as long as I hear those beautiful music and those military poems composed for the heroes, my small and weak body will gain strength, a strength to keep me alive, just like the flame burning in the chest.

Be a hero.

Go be everyone's hero.

That is the girl’s sincere and eternal dream.

So, the girl began to train her naturally thin body, learning how to become a "professional" from books, manuals and notes, and tempering herself towards becoming a bard. She learned how to sing magic with singing, how to attack, and how to make herself less vulnerable to injury.

As an "adventurer" course, it is closer to a nightmare for the girl: not only do she have to identify the many animals and plants that exist in the wilderness and learn how to deal with monsters and beasts, but she also has to use a variety of poisonous herbs to strengthen her physique; soak her body in hot water mixed with minerals, medicinal juice and many materials from the monster's body to enhance her tolerance to pollutants, high temperatures and severe cold; force highly irritating potions into her stomach to gradually improve her ability to digest food... Only after experiencing a lot of vomiting, skin ulcers, high fever, mental depression and other symptoms, can she be considered truly qualified.

Adventurers who are determined to enter the secret realm, in addition to training as professionals, often need to use these painful courses to enhance their ability to adapt to the environment, so as to ensure their survival in the nightmare wilderness. Many strong adults also find it difficult to withstand this painful torture. They either increase their mortality rate in the dungeon or simply choose to become a soldier or guard and give up the adventurer's career, not to mention the weak girl since childhood - every day seems to be hovering on the verge of death. If there were no doctors on call, she would probably have died of exhaustion long ago.

The girl's father said nothing about it.

He just provided the girl with what she wanted day after day - even those things were not provided by him personally, but were delivered to where the girl needed by the servants in the mansion - let alone stopping the girl's almost suicidal behavior, he never even appeared in front of the girl again after that, as if he had forgotten that he had such a daughter.

The girl didn't care.

She just took steps day after day, steps towards the title of hero.

As long as her health improved, the girl would go on adventures in the lonely and monotonous courtyard, learning from the heroes in the stories and their extraordinary adventures in childhood. She knew better than anyone else that in this cold and quiet courtyard, where few people came, there was a small and inconspicuous corner, which was blocked by an ancient stone bolt and had only a small gap. It was almost impossible for an adult to pass through it directly, but it was easy for the girl. Her soft and flexible body could pass through it without any hindrance, and she could climb from one side to the other.

The girl didn't know where that place was. After all, she had never been to any place outside the mansion since she could remember, let alone what places there were in this world and what they looked like.

No matter where it was, for the girl, it was the first time she had ever seen a place other than the mansion.

The blue sky stretches infinitely into the distance, swaying with wisps of floating clouds.

The tender green of Asakusa permeates the earth, and the white flowers are in full bloom.

The stone pillars under the vast sky are entangled with some green vines. The bricks and stones that no one has ever stepped on for thousands of years, and no one knows who has stepped on them in the past.

The small temple with red wooden roof and dark grey walls is located right in the center of the field of vision.

Is there a story sleeping there, a long poem from a distant time?

Stepping onto the smooth stone slabs, crossing the corridor formed by handrails and stone pillars, the girl walked through a time unknown to anyone, gently pushed open the door that had been dormant for who knows how long, and stepped into the small hall.

That is the story of a girl and a dragon meeting at the end of summer.

Chapter 66: The Footsteps of the End

Crystal clear tears rolled down the corners of his eyes.

The crystal tears filled her eyes, slid down her cheeks, gathered at her chin, and finally dripped onto her chest, splashing colorless water droplets.

"what……"

I couldn't help but reach out and stroke my wet cheek.

What's wrong with you?

There was no unreadable sobbing, no sobbing, but the vision became blurry and tears could not stop flowing from her eyes. Along with the memories, there were uncontrollable emotions. She had understood everything, but it was hard to accept. She accepted what she had missed, accepted the fact that she had failed again, and also accepted the situation that she had started over. But she couldn't accept it. Why, why did you do this for yourself, Ella Hepper?

——I don’t like you like this.

How could I possibly like you like this?

You who call yourself a slave, you who regard yourself as an object, you who never cherish your body, you who always stand in front of yourself even though you are obviously fragile, you who think too little of yourself, you who hurt yourself for me time and time again, you who die in front of yourself time and time again, just to use that life to pave a way for me.

——What I like is...

……

Eh?

It was not until this moment that Lunicia suddenly thought of something.

--I like……?

The body trembled slightly, and she turned her face to the side where Ella Heper was. The pink-haired half-elf traveler was still standing in the place she remembered. She was reaching out her hand with worry, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of Lunicia's eyes. She was here, she was still here, at least this time, she had not chosen to give up her life, using the ethereal candlelight to bring a little narrow light, leaving only the sad Lunicia alone.

She would never forgive, no matter how many times she said sorry, she would never forgive Ella who gave up hope so easily, Ella who pierced her heart for her, she would never accept such an ending.

Just as she couldn't forgive herself for failing once again.

"What's wrong with you, Lady Luna...?"

Ella brushed Lunicia's cheek and wiped away her tears. Worry and anxiety made her close to Lunicia's body. The breath of the two intertwined in the cold winter of Muirand. Lunicia said nothing, neither answered Ella's question nor did she rush to tell her two travel companions everything like she did last time or the time before that. She just smiled apologetically at Ashlee, then bent down slightly and gently hugged Ella Hepper's body, with her hands wrapped behind her shoulders, hugging the travel companion in her memory.

“Eh?! Lady Luna——”

The incense-like scent coming from in front of her and the feeling of her nose touching Lunesia's neck made Ella's body stiffen, as if she was in a panic and at a loss.

"Let me hold you for a little while... just for a little while."

"Ah... well... as long as Lady Luna likes it."

——Don’t say such things.

On this day, the holy warrior Lunisia made up her mind and made a new oath to the gods.

She prayed that everything would end this time.

She hopes Ella Hepper can be happy.

……

"So, Lady Luna, where are we going now?"

"I know a place where you can leave your luggage. When you get there, there are things I want to tell you."

"Know……?"

Ella and Ashlee looked at each other. Ashlee still had her usual cold expression, but Ella couldn't hide her doubts: in their opinion, Lunisia, like them, was in this city for the first time, but she seemed to be familiar with everything here. Moreover, what she did seemed to have a strong purpose. The things around her could not attract her attention or divert her attention. She just ran all the way to the focus she had set.

Lunicia looked around, but she didn't see the figure she expected to see.

——Julio de Howard is not here after all…

She still remembered the term "Julio's Report". It seemed that it was because of this report that Galezo de Barbacro and his party learned about the abnormal situation earlier than them. She thought that she missed the bus and didn't meet Julio himself, but now it seems that this is not the case. It is very likely that he did not return to Muirand after the last time, but stayed in what he called the "northern defense line" to observe the situation. Moreover, his report was sent back to Muirand long before Lunicia and her party, so that the nobles in the city knew the relevant news in advance.

In this way, perhaps the things that will not be affected by the time reversal, in addition to Lunisia and the evil god three days later, there is another one, that is, the corpse of the evil god who is constantly approaching Myurand.

While Lunicia was lost in thought, the aerial train was running smoothly, with no changes from any previous time. Lunicia said nothing, while Ella and Ashetheline were the ones enjoying the scenery.

"Ashe."

"Hmm? Did you see the bird?"

"No, is there something over there..."

“That should be smoke.”

Smoke? Lunisia looked up with some concern. Although the existence of the thick fog had not been emphasized recently, Lunisia had roughly understood that it was actually the proof of the leakage in the northeast area. Due to the dual induction of the evil god's corpse from the north and the ritual in the city, the northeast area had actually begun to leak out pollution uncontrollably. It was for this reason that Lunisia was particularly sensitive to words like "smoke" recently.

Moreover, her "divine perception" was aching for some reason. Was there an undead creature nearby? Or was it something else? Under the gradually increasing pressure, she couldn't help but get nervous.

However, just as she was about to ask something and looked over, the carriage of the skytrain suddenly shook violently.

"Varied--"

Lunicia and Ella stood up from their seats almost at the same time, steadied their bodies in a fighting posture, and directly grasped the hilts of their swords - that was definitely not an ordinary shake just now. A chill that went straight from the spine to the brain made Lunicia certain of this without a doubt. However, she still didn't know what had happened, so she didn't rush to draw her weapons in the crowded carriage to avoid accidentally injuring ordinary passengers around her.

squeak----!

After the train stopped suddenly, a teeth-grinding sound of metal friction suddenly rang out, and at the same time, the train car began to deform visibly, as if something was squeezing the car from the outside. However, in the blink of an eye, the dent exceeded the endurance limit of the car material, and the metal barrier was torn open directly. The sickle-like white bone spurs tore open the bottom of the car like a long sword. Before Ella and Lunicia could react, the "scythes" quickly retracted, pulling several passengers along with the bottom of the car. Several unlucky passengers fell directly through the hole.

Only then did Lunicia manage to look out of the hole and see the attacker's true form.

It looked like a giant centipede, nearly fifteen meters long.

No, no, it was just that its outline was somewhat similar to that of a centipede. One could tell at a glance that it was something completely different from an ordinary insect. The main body of the monster seemed to be a human spine, but it did not seem to be such a clear entity. To be precise, it looked like a gray-white swamp in the shape of a human spine, with a gurgling sound constantly emerging from its surface. What emerged with the sound were not bubbles, but human faces, twisting and struggling, making piercing wails, and then being swallowed by its gray-white surface, replaced by another face that emerged like a bubble.

What had just torn the carriage apart were the countless ribs on both sides of its body, like the legs of a centipede, with extremely sharp tips, which were stuffing the captured human into its body. It seemed to have no clear head, and at the two ends of its body, where the head and tail should be, there was a large ball that looked like countless eyeballs stuck together, which made people feel creepy at a glance.

The carriage was instantly filled with chaos, and the passengers fled in a panic in the direction away from the hole, as if this would allow them to avoid being targeted by the eating monster. However, they would never have imagined what would happen next: along with the sound of shattering windows, another "centipede" with a head full of eyeballs crashed directly into the carriage. While it greedily devoured the living, many pale corpses shaped like ghouls also crawled into the carriage along its body, pouncing on the passengers closest to them.

"Ella! You take care of the one at the back, I'll deal with the one below! Ashley, help clean up the zombies!"

"Please take care, Lady Luna!"

"Is that a 'contaminant'? That's really rare."

They had no objection to Lunicia's order - if the two monsters continued to wreak havoc, the entire train would crash, which was something they didn't want to see.

Just as the "centipede" below raised its body again, intending to extend its body from the attached building into the train, Lunicia had already rushed out of the carriage, holding up a white blade, and slashed at the huge and gray body.

She had seen—no, she knew what it was.

"This kind of thing is called 'centipede evil spirit'."

Galeazzo's commentary seemed to be right next to my ear.

"Does it sound similar to the centipede monster?"

"They were all named after centipedes."

"Yes, that's right. These are the big guys that crawl out of the abyss. They can't be compared with the zombies. It's quite difficult for ordinary soldiers to kill them. They can only rely on heavy firepower support. In addition, they are called 'parasites' and 'centipedes that detect leaks'. If they are found, it means..."

This means that the situation within the Northeast region has become quite serious.

puff--

It didn't sound like the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through flesh.

Rather than the sound of splitting flesh, the Avenger was more like tearing a dead tree. The feeling on her wrist was not as smooth as when she cut other things. Logically speaking, a sharp weapon like the Avenger would not give Lunicia too much feedback when cutting other things, except for the touch produced when it collided with other hard objects. But now she felt like she had stuck the sword into a quagmire. Although there was no obstruction, it made her feel sick.

The "centipede" poses a huge threat due to its huge body. Ordinary soldiers cannot withstand its attack head-on, and their counterattacks are unlikely to have any significant impact on such a large monster. However, it is not known for its defensive power, so the "Avenger" can split its shell without any hindrance and open a huge wound on its body.

“Hiss—hiss—!”

Lunisia couldn't understand why that thing, which obviously had no clear vocal organs, could make such a clear cry? But she didn't have the energy to pay attention to such things now. The other party was a powerful evil spirit that was only slightly weaker than the Mummy Lord. She had to concentrate all her attention to ensure that she had a certain chance of defeating it.

The sharp wind brushed past her. Even without looking back, Lunicia knew that it was the result of the opponent's counterattack - the opponent threw his entire body towards her, waving countless bone spurs, as if trying to strangle Lunicia's body and pull it into his body to devour and digest it. However, Lunicia's movements were more agile, and she barely dodged the attack, causing him to fall on the building, smashing countless glass windows.

Fortunately, today is a holiday, a day off, otherwise, with just this one blow, the "centipede" would find an opportunity to devour the living people in the building.

It is a messenger of destruction that knows no fatigue, no pain, and only moves to devour lives. Its entire body is lying on the building, and it pierces its bone-spur-like legs into the windows and cement brick walls and begins to crawl on the outer wall of the building.

Gala, Gala...

The sound of bones rubbing against each other was endless, which was terrifying and disgusting.

But compared to this, Lunicia has something more to worry about: she can't fly, and she doesn't have the ability to walk directly on the wall. When both sides use the outer wall of the building as a foothold, she can only insert the giant sword into the wall and then swing her body out like a horizontal bar. Compared with the "centipede" that can crawl directly on the wall, she is undoubtedly at an absolute disadvantage in mobility.

Looking at the countless eyeballs that suddenly flew towards her, Lunicia gritted her teeth, and without hesitation, she turned sideways to break the window beside her and threw herself directly into the building.

Wow——!

The sharp edges of the glass did not hinder Lunicia's movements at all. She rolled to the side almost immediately. At the same time, the head of the "centipede" made of eyeballs also rushed into the office, knocking over wooden tables and chairs, overturning the water dispenser, and causing documents to fly all over the sky.

It found that it had missed its target, so it twisted its upper body and pounced towards Lunicia again.

At the same time, Lunicia had adjusted her posture, holding the giant sword in her right hand and touching her right wrist with her left hand.

"Supreme Zelti, please grant me the holy power to slay the evil spirits!"

Crushing the wooden floor beneath her feet, Lunicia's body rushed out like a cannonball towards the body of the "centipede" that was extending into the building. The white blade flashed, and at the moment the blade touched the gray-white body, the majestic divine power suddenly exploded, burning the miasma and sweeping across the evil body. At the same time that the "Supreme Slash" exploded on the back of the "centipede", the aftermath almost made the entire building tremble!

"hiss----!!!"

A shrill cry came from nowhere, and the half of the "centipede"'s body outside the building slammed into the outside of the building. The half of the body broken inside also spun around with a scream, breaking countless walls and load-bearing columns in the building, causing most of the floor to be thrown into chaos. On the cross-section, countless distorted human faces emerged, with empty mouths open, emitting endless wails. The melted human torso was exposed from the cross-section like its nerves and blood vessels, twitching and swaying aimlessly.

After directly enduring the fierce attacks of "Protection from Good and Evil" and "Supreme Slash", it was still alive. Not only alive, it even had strength left. And because its huge body was broken into two parts, it seemed that its mobility was even better than before!

"Tsk!"

If only I had known I would have just blown off half of its head, Lunicia thought with some regret.

Just as she raised the sword again and was thinking about which side to attack first, outside the almost completely destroyed wall, high in the sky outside the building, there was a sound of something falling straight down, tearing through the air, with a sharp and pleasant whistle.

"Lady Luna, leave this to me!"

puff----!

Along with the sound of a sharp blade splitting rotten wood came the sound of a huge object crashing to the ground, and a howling sound that made people feel uncomfortable just by listening to it. The machine vehicle was jolted violently by the fall of the large mass of the object, and the alarm was activated, emitting piercing warning sounds one after another, and it seemed that the screams of passers-by below could be heard faintly.

"...Please! Ella!"

Even if she didn't look, Lunicia knew what was happening - Ella Hepper descended from the sky and pierced the half of the "centipede"'s body with "Sin and Punishment", nailing it to the ground, and moving the battlefield to the highway. She chose to take the initiative to share half of the pressure with Lunicia.