Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

All of this seemed particularly dazzling under the light of the eclipse.

She ran and ran. She had no impression of this strange city, but she finally understood that she was getting closer and closer to her destination.

Running and running, the road gradually became wider and neater, which was a sign that we were approaching the city hall.

In this chaotic and dilapidated city, the only places that were particularly clean were the City Hall and the wealthy areas.

"Ashe, can you take Carlos and wait here for me?"

"?"

Ashlee tilted her head. She didn't see any reason for her to stay here instead of following Lunicia.

"I have a bad feeling...something bad might be waiting for me ahead."

This was the truth - in fact, from the beginning, Lunicia had been feeling uneasy, which was a rare experience for her. After all, the Central Cathedral where she had lived, studied and lived could be said to be one of the friendliest areas in the world. Living in such a place, she had no chance of encountering danger at all, and the crisis radar buried in her brain, which had been polished too sharp, naturally had no time to play a role.

"In this case, shouldn't Luna need my help even more?"

"You still have to protect the children. I'll come find you once I've eliminated the danger, okay?"

Ashlee looked at the still trembling child in her arms and did not insist any longer.

Even she couldn't guarantee that she could fight while taking Carlos' safety into consideration.

Lunicia finally breathed a sigh of relief. She gripped the hilt of the giant sword and forced a smile towards Ashlee: "Well, I'll be back soon."

"'Bon voyage', Luna."

……

In reality, Lunitia lied.

No, it cannot be called lying. After all, those who have sworn the "White Knight" oath cannot lie for the rest of their lives. If they violate the oath they swore when they became a paladin, then unless there are no unexpected circumstances, at best they will lose all their abilities and become a powerless ordinary person overnight. At worst, they will degenerate into an oath breaker and become the enemy of all living things and all good people.

Lunicia simply didn't tell the whole story, which was far from being a lie.

What she felt was more than just a "bad feeling" - "disaster", "terror", "something I absolutely don't want to face in my life", these words can barely describe the possibility that Lunicia felt now. Her body was trembling, and her will was wavering. There was no doubt that at the end of the road, in front of the city hall, she would definitely see something she never wanted to see.

This has gone beyond the scope of a simple sixth sense, but is the "divine blessing" possessed by a "saint".

As a bird in a cage, as a girl living in an unknown courtyard of the Central Cathedral, as a listener and confidant who builds a bridge of communication between the gods and the human world, she is endowed with the ability to "sense danger" - even after Zelti's last message, this ability is becoming weaker and weaker, as if symbolizing the end of her sainthood, she can still clearly feel the danger she will face by doing this, and this feeling urges her, urging her to turn around and run away without looking back.

But, she couldn't do that.

"If I choose to escape from the truth for the sake of comfort, my life will be meaningless."

These are the words someone left before leaving.

This is the way of survival that the woman, her swordsmanship teacher and friend of the caged bird, has insisted on throughout her life.

Even though she is gone, her life or death unknown, her words still echo in Lunisia's ears, inspiring her to move forward and serving as motivation for her to swing her sword against what she believes to be "evil".

The exit of the alley was getting closer and closer. The strong smell of blood stimulated Lunicea's nostrils, and the scarlet light of the eclipse seemed to become more and more dazzling as she walked forward.

Her palms involuntarily tightened around the hilt of the sword and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

And then—her eyes widened.

At the height of the eclipse, in the square filled with blood mist, on top of the sea of ​​blood and corpses, a lonely figure trampled on the throne made up of the corpses of guards, refugees, unidentified armed men, and Leviathans. She was wearing heavy armor and holding swords in both hands. She looked so cold and ferocious.

The woman who used to be Lunesia's swordsmanship teacher was standing there.

Chapter 30 Do I still have a place in your life?

"It's our first meeting. From now on, I will teach you swordsmanship and fighting methods... Don't be nervous, I won't be too strict."

……

"Lunicia? That's a good name - I'll call you Luna from now on. Thank you for your guidance."

……

"How do you feel today? Ah, are your muscles sore from swinging the sword? But for you, if you want to live in this world without too much hardship, the level you just experienced is essential, so don't be lazy."

……

"The weight of the practice sword has become lighter? How could that be? It must be an illusion as you become more proficient in it."

……

"How about it, little princess, do you want to go for a drink together today? Huh? Don't you like this name?"

……

"Here, I brought you some milk, which can be used as a substitute for beer. Grow taller quickly, and it will become easier for you to swing the sword, so I won't have to protect you like this all the time... Although I really want to do this all the time... No, it's nothing."

……

"The outside world is cruel, and so is the adult world. It's okay if the little princess doesn't need to know about that kind of thing... Well, I'll teach you one more trick tonight... Don't want to? Want to drink with me? You can only drink milk, right?"

……

"This is the weapon I picked for you. It's called 'The Equalizer'. How about it? Isn't it cool? As long as the little princess holds it, she will probably feel at ease... When I'm not around, how about just treating it as me? Even if I can't come back one day, it will protect you on my behalf... Ah, don't cry, that kind of thing can't possibly happen, right?"

……

"...I'll be back soon this time too, don't worry."

"You can't pull at my clothes like that. You're not a child anymore. Even though I still call you little princess..."

"Feeling uneasy? I'm very strong, and I can defeat any enemy with one sword. Let's drink together after I come back. You can't use milk as a substitute this time. Just treat it as a coming-of-age ceremony."

"Wait until I come back... no matter what I become."

……

Dizziness, confusion, uneasiness, doubt - the dark emotions were boiled, stirred together, interwoven into a dark web, lingering in the deepest part of the sea of ​​thoughts, and then condensed and gathered little by little, until finally only one color remained.

The dazzling and pure new green is the color of joy.

"senior……!"

——No, that’s not right. That’s not it.

——I would call out that, how could it be such a strange name?

"Sister Setin...!"

I want to rush over, I want to hug her tightly, I want to put my forehead against hers like we used to, I want to ask her where she has been, I want to ask her if she is doing well, I want to ask her if she can finally come back -

Even though her body was covered in blood, even though she was wearing armor that she had never seen before and was surrounded by an ominous aura, even though her black hair had turned completely white and her beautiful black pupils had turned a mysterious gold, even though there was only frost on her face, Lunicia was still certain that this was her swordsmanship teacher, her predecessor, and the only two relatives she had left in this world, sisters who were not related by blood.

In an instant, a crack appeared in the frost covering his face.

But in the next moment, those cracks were repaired as before, and her face was still cold and ruthless.

"...Don't come over here again..."

The pale lips opened and closed gently, uttering a soft murmur.

Lunicia didn't hear anything. She just continued to move forward according to her thoughts. She just couldn't wait to hug that body which was a little thinner than before, to laugh, or to cry. She was willing to do either, as long as she could touch those familiar fingertips again, it didn't matter what happened afterwards.

—Tell me, this is not a dream, is it?

——She is real, not my hallucination, right?

She was not an illusion, but someone who really existed there.

"...Don't come near me again, Lunicia Agris!"

Because, it was impossible for the illusion to make such a low roar, nor could it raise the huge black sword like this and put the blade against Lunicia's neck. Just a slight shake would be enough to cut her carotid artery, causing her to bleed on the spot and become part of the corpse throne.

"Sister Sestine...?"

Lunicia seemed to be thrown back into the haze of a dream. Even though a slight pain came from her neck and a small but bright wound quietly appeared on her white skin, she still didn't understand what happened - would her beloved senior talk to her in such a tone? Suppressing the rage and restraining the anger, but still full of unfriendly low roars.

Would her dearest sister call her in this way? Even when they first met, she never called out the last name that symbolized "adopted", and even if Lunicia would protest, she insisted on calling her "little princess".

--why?

"I'm not your 'Sister Sestine', Lunethia."

Her voice was full of ice, and her golden eyes revealed only danger.

"I am Saistin Peranxtin, affiliated with the Iron Leviathan. There is no reason for me to walk with you anymore."

--why?

Even though Seastin's words were so straightforward, there was still only confusion and puzzlement on Lunicia's face.

She didn't understand. Even though Setine said it so directly and straightforwardly, she didn't understand, or she didn't want to understand the meaning of those words. She just looked at Setine's face in confusion, looking at that familiar face, looking at the familiar eye mask and scar, expecting her to speak in that familiar tone again, expecting her to show a helpless expression again and call her "little princess".

However, Sestin swung the sword without any hesitation.

Spinning Slash——the most common and plain one, but it can undoubtedly cut off Lunicia's slender neck with one sword.

--when!

The black giant sword stayed firmly at the point where it collided with the white giant sword, without moving any further.

And there was a barely perceptible smile on Sestine's face.

"That's true."

No matter what Lunicia thought in her heart, no matter how reluctant she was to confront Sestin with a sword, no matter how much Lunicia hoped to hear those gentle words again, her well-trained body eventually reacted before her brain could think. In the moment of life and death, her arms moved involuntarily, and she completed a set of actions of drawing the sword and blocking.

"Sister Sestin..."

——What kind of questions will she ask me?

This is what Sestin thought in his heart.

——Ask me why I am here? Ask me what I have been through before? Ask me what my current situation is?

She formulates answers to corresponding questions, and no matter what Lunicia asks, she thinks she has the perfect answer to provide.

"come back."

Lunicia didn't ask anything.

She simply put down her sword and held out her hand, that was all.

She didn't seem to think that there was any need for her to ask any more questions, or perhaps she understood that even if she did ask something, it would not bring back a smile from that cold face, nor the warmth from her suppressed voice.

"If I choose to escape from the truth for the sake of comfort, my life will be meaningless."

This was the teaching given to her by the person in front of her, and she had a different understanding of the world - in the final analysis, whether it was killing enemies, slaughtering monsters, or being furious, it was all to protect what she wanted to protect, and to avenge those things she failed to protect. Compared to not being able to get the truth, she hated adding a few more wounds to the figure in front of her that seemed to be scarred. That was undoubtedly an important person in her heart.

What is that? A plea, or an order?

No matter which one it was, the expression that Lunicia showed now was too "cute" for Systine, so much so that the ice on her face almost cracked again, and this time the crack was finally repaired by her.

"I reject."

She finally gritted her teeth and gently pushed away Lunicia's hand, leaving the latter with a confused look on her face.

"Aren't you really curious? What exactly happened in this city?"

At first she sounded a little helpless, and then her tone returned to being cold again.

Chapter 31 The Situation is Complicated

Lunicia's outstretched hand froze for a moment, and then slowly dropped down.

——Has she...changed?

Her fingers stopped at the side of her legs, gently pinching the hard bright silver skirt armor, wiping off the blood stains that were accidentally stained on it. Lunicia didn't dare to stare at Sestin's face with her eyes anymore. She was afraid that she would see an unfamiliar expression in her sight, afraid that the familiar person would no longer be familiar. She didn't want any of it, whether it was a change in her mood or the passage of time. All she wanted was the original "predecessor".

——If it were in the past, she would have gently slapped my hand away and pulled me into her arms.

Maybe he would even give her a kiss - a kiss for adults, just like she had done before.

If it were her, she would definitely do that.

Lunicia bit her lip lightly.

She doesn’t seem like herself now, and I don’t seem like myself now.

Lunicia originally thought that she was an optimist who was fearless and reckless. When she saw something that didn't go her way, she would take up her sword and face it. She would get angry and be impulsive, but she probably wouldn't be sad, wouldn't care about others, and probably wouldn't show an expression like she has now.

However, from the moment she opened her eyes, from the moment tears filled the corners of her eyes, she finally discovered the vulnerable side of herself that she had never realized before.

Even Lunicia didn't know that she would show such an expression.