Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"Eat, you can eat as much as you want today!"

This is not an illusion.

This is not just empty talk.

If words themselves do not have any power, if the Danu language, which has no mystery at all, is just a ridiculous lie, then the black bread in their hands and the wooden bowls that emit heat in their hands are undoubtedly symbols of "truth".

These words were like a burning spark thrown straight into a pile of dry firewood.

There were a few sporadic noises at first, and then a loud uproar broke out from the crowd. Some people were crying, stuffing black bread with water into their mouths, tears streaming from their eyes; some people were shouting meaninglessly, until their mouths were dry and they remembered to eat; some people were cheering, praising something loudly, but not the goddess of death; some people were silent, just stuffing bread into clear water, making a paste and drinking it all...

There is only one exception.

Only Ernest was an exception. He looked middle-aged with white hair and beard. He suddenly found that there was such a terrible gap between himself and other people - he could understand the grief and joy of his compatriots, but could not understand another kind of emotion, a "fanasis" that seemed to have been brewing for a long time.

He felt like a lone boat in a storm, helpless and ready to be overturned at any time.

The only reassuring thing he could feel now was that his wife and son were not here - he had asked them to go to the edge of the ruins to find some rubble to prepare a new fire, and they had not returned yet, but he thought they would not encounter any problems.

He stared at the bread in his hand absentmindedly, and felt that it was not like black bread, but rather a black skull that was smiling at him.

When the refugees finished the bread in their hands and drank the water in the bowl, the noises between them gradually died down, with only some low whispers still going on. However, it was unimportant and no one cared what they were saying. Almost everyone's eyes were focused on the wooden platform and on the black-haired man. Most officials would leave here impatiently after handing the food to the person in charge, but he was different. He just watched the refugees quietly finish their meal without any intention of leaving here immediately.

"Comrades, you have suffered during this period!"

Alexis paused, then continued, "You have not had a full meal since you came here. After such a long time, you don't even have a decent tent to live in. It's almost the Snow Moon and the Yin Moon, but you can't even light a few more fires... You must be confused, distressed, and at a loss. Why can't such a big city like Nosavi provide food for less than a thousand people?"

The question was so loud that whispers quickly broke out from the audience. People couldn't help but exchange their opinions in a low voice, completely ignoring the satisfied expression on Alexis Pentellier's face.

"Let me tell you, comrades! You have the right to know the truth!"

While he was balancing his arms and shouting, he asked a male assistant beside him to bring up a small box. He took out several documents from the box, which were covered with words and corrections.

"These are relief orders issued directly by the Ivanov family, these are Tweck's accounts, these are Count Kurildel's orders, these are Nosavi's accounts... They are all private account books that are kept secret. We took great pains to get them out of private homes and the hands of cruel officials. What do they prove?"

Alexis sneered and continued, "Grand Duke Ivanov only prepared 700 servings of food for one day from the beginning! These foods were transported from the granary or distributed to subordinates in the form of il, and then those officials, those parasites on the earth began to exploit and deduct! Of the 700 servings of food or il, only 500 were left when they reached Nosavi. After passing through Kuridel's hands, 400 were left. After passing through the so-called 'Refugee Issues Workshop', only 200 were left! This is why you can only share a piece of bread among five people every day!"

The refugees were suddenly in an uproar when they heard Alexis's voice, which was particularly loud for some reason.

They had indeed speculated about the matter, but there was a world of difference emotionally between speculating and actually hearing it spoken out loud.

Ernest was also extremely angry, but he also felt something strange—almost everyone’s eyes were shining, and except for him, no one seemed to doubt Alexis’s statement.

"They had no intention of accepting you from the beginning. Aren't most countries accepting refugees to absorb them as population and use them as labor? But they don't even intend to do that. 60% of the people in this city used to be refugees and immigrants, but the current city lord is afraid that you will steal the jobs of the locals, so he won't let you enter the city to find work... They also don't plan to let you reclaim forest land and develop this ruin called the North District. Why? Because Count Kuridel is afraid. He is afraid that after you take root here, you will pose a threat to his 'stability'! He is afraid that he can't control you!"

"So... then what exactly does he intend to do with us...?"

A trembling question reached the wooden platform, and this question made Alexis's face look even angrier.

"Good question! He plans to let you live here forever, and only give you one-fifth of the food. No new tents, no campfires, until you all die here! In this way, he can ignore the church's accountability and doesn't have to worry about your problems!"

This answer caused an even greater uproar among the crowd. Almost all the refugees seemed indignant. The flames of anger and hatred quickly ignited in the firewood pile, burning with crackling sounds, and the flames were able to almost illuminate the dark sky.

This made Ernest feel even more uncomfortable.

This time, Alexis's speech didn't even provide any evidence, and it sounded completely untenable, but even so, the atmosphere among his compatriots was instantly ignited by him - this was even more incredible, he knew very well what kind of condition his compatriots were in, they had been malnourished for a long time, and seemed listless and lacked strength when performing necessary labor, but now they could burst out with such amazing momentum?

This is impossible!

Even if they were really furious to the extreme, they could only roar and cry weakly at best, and there was absolutely no way they would behave like they were doing now!

He was terrified that a storm had arrived and all he could do was toss and turn on the sea.

"Comrades! We are the successors of the Nasaran Kingdom. The usurpers divided the land of Nasaran. The four major families of Muirand in the north, the Ivanov family of Mariai, and many other principalities, together usurped the glory of the Nasaran Kingdom... In the past, Nasaran was an extremely powerful country. Even in the natural disasters that displaced everyone, they were able to preserve their territory and keep their people from hunger and cold. But what about those usurpers? After they usurped the glory of Nasaran, didn't they only care about their own enjoyment? When the natural disasters came, didn't they ignore their own people?"

——No, no!

Grand Duke Hailding and the members of the Goddess Church fought desperately to resist the cold wave and tornado, and even he himself died in the battle with the ice element. Yet, the man in front of him was accusing the dead with non-existent crimes and slandering an old friend?

Ernest was really angry, but no one heard what he said. There was only Alexis in their eyes, only Alexis in their ears, and only Alexis in their world.

"Comrades, we all live in the glorious territory of Nasaland. You are all citizens of Nasaland. We, the Restoration Society, are willing to help every citizen of Nasaland. We have prepared food, water, warm shelter, a home for you to return to, and everything you deserve! Are you willing to fight alongside us, and work with us, the Restoration Society, to take back the glory of the kingdom from the usurper?!"

"willing……"

First there was a small sound.

"willing."

Soon, more and more people began to respond. They seemed to be connected by invisible threads, with only the same idea in their heads.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

First there was a sound, and then it developed into a wave of sound. Everyone was shouting, and everyone was in the vortex of fire.

Except for Ernest, he only felt cold hands and feet.

"Kupos, unbox!"

Following Alexis's order, a sturdy man smashed open the boxes piled there one by one with his fists. Some of them contained spears, and some contained simple armor. Those were undoubtedly mass-produced equipment for use by militia or guards.

"If you are willing, then arm yourself! Start by overthrowing the incompetent Kurildel and the corrupt Nosavi, and let them see your wrath!"

“No! No!!”

At this moment, Ernest's voice even drowned out everyone else's voice.

Even he himself didn't understand why he could make such a huge sound with such a thin body.

Almost everyone was looking at him, even Alexis.

"Everyone...what are you talking about?"

His voice was trembling, yet extremely clear.

"You want to... kill someone...? Just because of two words he said...?"

"A girl was willing to negotiate with the city hall for you... She used all her own money to buy food for us... But you, in this short wait, forgot about the Goddess's church, patience and hope, and only thought about... destroying everything?"

"My fellow countrymen... tell me... what happened to you?!"

no answer.

There were just thousands of eyes staring at him, in silence, so silent that even the sound of the wind was clear enough.

But Alexis was different—he laughed out loud.

"Comrades, it seems there is a coward here. What do you think should be done with him?"

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

Waves of sound came one after another, and the extinguished fire burned again, just because of one sentence.

People couldn't wait to stand up, they waved their fists, and they rushed forward.

And Ernest simply closed his eyes in pain.

It wasn't that he was afraid of death and pain, he just couldn't stand that crazy flame.

Chapter 21 Nightmare Journey

The blood splattered on the face, the warm touch mixed with the unignorable fishy smell, making people feel uneasy and hard to ignore.

Lunicia felt at a loss, her expression filled with confusion and panic, her eyes almost out of focus, and she could only watch everything happening in front of her - monsters were slaughtering in the crowd, monsters called ghouls were tearing lives in half one after another, drinking blood, gnawing on flesh and bones, the gushing blood was like raindrops falling from the air, dripping on Lunicia's face, dyeing that beautiful face a strange bright red.

She raised her sword and swung it at the frenzied monsters, even though it was in vain.

She saw the little girl being chased by the monster, and she rushed forward quickly, with the holy light gathering on the blade, splitting the ghoul's body in half with just one sword. She held the little girl's body in her arms, wanting to say to her, "It's okay." She wanted to say to her, "I will protect you."

All that greeted her was scattered blood.

The sharp blade pierced the little girl's chest, and the force from behind pushed her small body upwards. Her face was filled with confusion, pain, and fear. She helplessly reached out to Lunicia, blood gushing out of her chest and mouth. The last bit of her life force condensed on her lips, which opened and closed gently, and she whispered:

"help me."

Lunicia tried to reach out her hand, but could only catch a floating blood-red butterfly.

She saw it, the corpse of Willy "Birch Sword" Perry laughing wildly, even though he had lost everything above the bottom of his nose.

Mutilated bodies were everywhere, all of them were people she was familiar with.

Willie Perry.

Morgan Murphy.

Kyle Onsares.

Daniel Fisterm.

She tried to call their names, tried to call the knights who had accompanied her from Zerhar to the Waterwheel Canal, but their souls turned a deaf ear to her. They simply stood beside their broken bodies, turned away, and walked step by step towards the end of the horizon.

Everything was broken, like a cracked mirror. With just a slight touch, it would turn into flying lights and disappear in the dark and boundless world. She recognized this place. It was not pitch black. It was just nothingness. It was just something that looked like darkness at first glance, but even darkness did not exist. It was just "nothing". That was all.

She was back to a familiar place. This was the place where she had arrived in the narrow space between life and death after being torn into pieces by the Blasphemous Twins.

Lunicia didn't understand why she came here again.

However, there seems to be something different here from that time.

She saw the figure of the girl.

She has overly pale, smooth skin, long black hair that falls to her legs, her arms, chest and abdomen below are replaced by delicate and slender black machines, she has a face similar to her own and a pair of beautiful golden eyes. She is such an incredible girl.

He is also his only travel companion.

"Ash!"

A glimmer of hope appeared in her heart. Her steps became lighter and she ran quickly towards the ephemeral figure.

Of course the mechanical girl heard the call, she raised her head and looked at Lunesia running towards her.

This stunned Lunicia, who was already very close.

She had never seen such an expression on her travel companion's face - even though her expressions could be considered rich, they were always accompanied by a hint of coldness, which not only did not diminish her beauty, but instead gave her a different kind of brilliance, the kind of indescribable beauty that was like that of an exquisite doll - but she was different now, her face was intertwined with sadness, tenderness, regret, attachment, surprise and... an emotion that Lunicia had never seen before and had no idea what to expect.

She was like a living human being, not a created machine, and now she was more in line with her definition in Lunicia's mind.

This expression only made Lunicia feel uneasy.

"Ashe...?"

She reached out, wanting to hold Ashlee's hand as usual, and held that cold and slender black palm.

"Sorry……"

Nothing was touched.

Leaving behind this voice that was intertwined with countless emotions, her body shattered like a flash in the pan and dissipated into the empty sky.

In this empty world, Lunicea was left alone again.

……

"Luna..."

The first time, the people being swapped were indifferent.

"Luna...?"

The second time, the person being called merely fluttered his eyelashes and still showed no sign of waking up.

“Luna…!”

After the third time, the person being called finally blinked and sat up in a daze. Before she could say anything or do anything, a cold and slender, yet gentle hand reached out and gently stroked her cheek, with the fingertips wiping the corners of her eyes.

"Luna, are you...crying?"

"what……"

Only after being reminded of this did Lunicia reach out to touch her cheeks - there were not just tears in the corners of her eyes, but tears were rolling down her cheeks, gathering at the tip of her chin, and then falling drop by drop, as if stars were cutting through the sky, leaving some water marks on the simple bedding.

"Hug, sorry..."

"...?"

Ashlee tilted her head.

"Why are you apologizing? Luna didn't do anything wrong."

Just as Lunisia was about to do something, her body involuntarily fell forward, just like before she fell asleep, but this time it was not because of her own fatigue, but because Ashethelin's palm was against her back, gently holding her body in her arms. Ashethelin condensed a white handkerchief with one hand and slowly wiped Lunisia's face, while the other hand gently stroked her back, patting her from time to time, soothing her with skillful techniques.

"Ashe?"

"You cry when you wake up. Maybe you had a nightmare, right?"

"……Um……"