Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

——It’s great that you, my brother, can leave home.

——It’s great that in the end, it’s not my brother who has to die, but myself.

"Miraiam, open your eyes."

Half of the words were in a tone of pity, and the other half were full of complete cruelty and ruthlessness. Amidst the mixture of two completely contradictory emotions, Grand Duke Ivanov reached out his hand and forcibly pried open Miriam's eyes, which were becoming increasingly heavy and difficult to open, so that he could use his hazy vision to take in what was about to happen next.

I can hear someone walking down the stairs step by step.

I could see someone walking in through the stone door. It was a female silhouette without any distinctive features, with the light behind her. She was completely unrecognizable due to the extremely blurred vision caused by excessive blood loss.

Even so, Miriam's body began to tremble violently.

Because, with just one glance, even if it was so blurry, he could still recognize the identity of that figure.

——That was his mother, gentle and kind, good at singing and playing the piano, and who loved telling fairy tales about the starry sky.

——That was his mother. Her face was completely blank, without any facial features or contours, as if there had never been such a thing as a face.

—No, no, no no no no, no—that was not his mother.

——That thing was playing the piano in the deserted palace, that thing was singing a completely meaningless song in a voice that was familiar but impossible to be mistaken for, that thing was trying its best to imitate the gentleness in the ordinary people's impression but it made people feel creepy instead, that was not the mother, no matter how similar the outline was, no matter how much it reminded her of that gentle mother at first glance, that faceless thing could never be her mother.

——What is that?

At the end of her sight, Miriam saw that thing that seemed to be her mother was dissolving and mixing with the body of her familiar father. Blood, flesh, lymph, bones, organs and skin were intertwined and woven into a net that seemed to be outlined by all the colors of the human body. They were entangled and merged together.

They grew a face without a face.

After that, his consciousness fell, fell, fell into the abyss of chaos that could not be described or depicted.

Chapter 26: Where Destiny Meets (Part 2)

"Is this the first time today that we have anticipated the lighting problem in the palace?"

"Well... the third time."

Taking the bottle from Roy von Ivanov, Clermont smiled and filled his own glass.

The environment was not a good one - it was just a tavern that could be found everywhere in Puccigliari. No matter if they were clerks, blacksmiths, gamblers in the slums or the chief priest of the Red Temple, they could come here to have a drink at any time. The wine was not good either - it was not aged fine wine, and it was even mixed with water. It could be said that any bottle taken out of Roy's bag was much better than the best wine sold here.

However, Clement didn't care, and neither did Roy. Two or three pots of bad wine, with a bowl of Marie local stew, pungent spices and chili peppers, thick red oil, even if the wine was mixed with water, was enough to drive away the cold. Add three or four, five or six topics of this or that, and no one would care about those trivial matters.

"Anyway... let's just leave it like that. I don't agree with making any more renovations to the palace. I want my home to be the same as it was when I left."

"That's what you said."

"You know I'm a trouble-maker. What else can I say? I'll pour you another glass."

"Please."

"As for the side hall, let's just leave it as it is." Roy took the bottle from Clement. "We can't just tear it down... renovate it? What's the difference between renovating that place and tearing it down and rebuilding it? Aren't they the same?"

"Oh, you think so too?"

"Also...? What do you mean by also?"

"The annex."

"Have you been to that wing? What do you think of it?"

"It burned badly." Clement groaned, shaking the wine glass in his hand, "But it can be seen that it must have been a good place before the fire."

"That's right. I can't say other places are bad. They are magnificent, but that place has a particularly nice view... Don't look at me like that. Although I left there ten years ago, I lived there until I became an adult. It's impossible that I can't remember this."

"I know that too. You left Tweak when you were an adult."

"Right... then do you know what happened there?"

"I've probably heard about it. It's not a small matter anyway."

"Hehe..." Roy shook his head and smiled bitterly. He put the empty bottle aside and picked up a new one from under the table to fill it up for himself. "They said my mother died in a fire. If you ask around, everyone will say the same thing."

"……Yes."

"I don't believe this kind of nonsense at all."

Roy shook his head and continued, "Including my dad, almost everyone said: 'After investigation, Mrs. Ivanov did die in the fire, what a misfortune.' How could I believe such nonsense? Of course, there is absolutely no way I would believe it. Until the truth comes out, I will not agree to demolish the place. I can only express my condolences in this way."

"Your kindness will surely please your mother."

"Alright, alright." Roy waved his hand. "Well, you're not one of us, and you don't live in that house. You just go there for a regular meeting when something happens. Why are you so interested in the old palace every day?"

“Well, I won’t hide it from you.” Clement still smiled, lowered his eyes, and looked at the rim of the cup that he was shaking repeatedly in his hand. The turbid wine was shaking under the light of the oil lamp, reflecting the dim orange light. “Gunasalan is a magnificent and splendid country. Those incomparably exquisite magical creations and magical knowledge, any one of which can make current scholars write papers to study and analyze…”

Although it felt strange, Roy did not interrupt: not every priest would take the long-standing dispute between the divine system and the magic system seriously. Most of them would just laugh it off and would not show too much hostility towards magicians. However, it was still a bit strange for a high priest with professional certification to talk so much about a magic civilization that truly belonged to the Magic Network era.

"But those are not what attract me."

"is it?"

"It almost spans the entire Fifth Calendar, from the wild and primitive to the ancient civilization at the top of the world. What kind of life did they live, what kind of customs did they have, what shape did the magic network change their history into, how did they view the world, and how did the world view them... Perhaps the remains of those floating cities and the remains of those wizard towers can reveal these, but if I were to choose, I think most of the secrets might be buried there."

"Tweak."

"Twek has a long history. It has been the capital of the Nasarlan Kingdom from its heyday to its fall. It has the chalk wall of Erumu that never falls and the sunset hall of Gravenmore Palace. I'm afraid that Twek is the place that holds the most secrets of the ancient kingdom."

"So you care so much about that?"

"Because that's how much I love old secrets."

……

…………

........................

"So, this is how your love of old secrets manifests itself?"

Roy von Ivanov's voice was low, as if he was suppressing his anger and anxiety, but opposite him, Clement was still smiling, as if nothing had happened, and the only difference between two years ago and now was the date, and nothing else.

"What are you talking about?"

"Treason, betrayal, surrender without a fight...are these the final answers given by your passion and your faith? Answer me!"

Roy's voice was more like a hoarse growl than the expected anger. He had no regrets, no confusion, no disbelief. He had completely accepted the fact that this "friend" who worked in the same church with him and occasionally drank and talked with him had betrayed him. Therefore, he would not change his behavior because of anything. He just needed an answer before that.

"None of the things you are talking about exist."

The red and white priest's robe was stained with a lot of blood, none of which belonged to him. Clement's body and hands were full of blood, but there was not even a drop of blood on his face. That clean smile made people feel even more terrified.

"Then I'm all ears."

Roy frowned and put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

When he led his troops into the Iron Leviathan's stronghold, he found that there was almost no defense force there. Only the last few operators were left fiddling with the giant cannon "Jupiter" and seemed to be ready to overload it for the final blow. He already felt that something was wrong. After that, news of the fall of the city wall soon came from the city. The shot of "Jupiter" launched at self-destruct power was indeed amazing, but Roy did not think that the shot had the ability to really blow open the Wall of Erumu, which made the news even more weird and unbelievable.

When he was rushing back with his troops and Laurent Howard, he ran into Clement who was walking towards him. In this situation, no matter how trusting and easy-going Roy was, he could not think that the other party had "fought hard to escape from the city and came to meet Roy and his party, ready to help."

And when they saw the army of skeletons, zombies and evil spirits behind him, the hostility between the two sides instantly reached its peak.

"Your Excellency has a huge misunderstanding. I have been a member of 'Legacy of Natya' from the beginning. I would never betray them and join the other side. From a very early time, I began to let my vengeful spirits possess the soldiers responsible for opening and closing the side doors one by one, and let the vengeful spirits spread throughout Twickenham as my spies and liaisons. The information about your trip to the Rafkai Forest was also passed on in this way. In the end, I personally opened the main gate of 'Wall of Erumu' to welcome the advance of Your Excellency Alexis."

"Sir! Why would you bother with someone like him—"

Like a true superior, Roy von Ivanov stretched out his hand to stop Laurenhot who wanted to continue speaking, and turned his gaze back to Clermont.

"you know me well."

"That's true."

"Then you should know that this is not what I want to hear."

Roy gripped the hilt tightly and slowly and steadily pulled the long sword wrapped in flames out of the sheath.

"Give me a reason, a reason for you to do this - so that I can write your eulogy."

Hearing this, the smile on Clemont's face disappeared.

He held a dull black sword in his hand, raised his chin, and looked at Roy with a look of contempt and disdain.

"——The name of this sword is 'Blood of the Betrayer', one of the relics of the Nasaran royal family. Its power is described in just one line of inscription, 'Betrayal makes it sharper'. If you are willing to believe my opinion, then I will tell you that this does not mean 'betrayal can make this sword sharper', but 'tasting the blood of the betrayer can make this sword sharper'.

My name is Clermont, which is the part you know, and my full name is Clermont Ephabelier, which is the part you don't know. You don't need to show off your knowledge right now, the history of this surname should be explained by me: my family is a long-term historian serving the royal family of Nasarlan. People with the surname Ephabelier are born to inherit the history of the dynasty, just like the Shuhebelier family is born to be generals or soldiers.

Howard, Stuart, Stoke, and Byron were not originally a family line that had been passed down from generation to generation, but they gradually sidelined the royal family and took control of the kingdom's wealth and power. After the collapse of the magic network, the kingdom was unable to recover and eventually fell apart in civil strife. The four families only controlled the land now called Muirand, and were unable to advance into the Marie area. This city of Twick became the last land that the royal family could control. The Lanmenberyl family defended the enemy at the border, and the Shuheberyl family was unable to return from the expedition, so the Nasaran royal family entrusted the task of defending the city to the Ivanov family. "

Roy did not interrupt, but just held the hilt of his sword and listened quietly. He was the one who made this request, so he did not have the right to interrupt the topic first. Unless Clement Efaberil went back on his word and attacked first, Roy would never use violence before the other party finished speaking. He was not worried that the other party would really stop the conversation to attack him in this situation where a one-on-one duel was almost agreed upon. After all, he could see that the other party was more eager to reveal the facts than he was.

"At that time, the Ivanov family was in charge of the royal family's burial and mausoleum guarding. Their oath and loyalty were not doubted. However, three months after they took over the defense, on a snowy and dark night, a group of rebels unexpectedly captured the city of Twick. The defenders were completely unprepared for this attack and were quickly divided and suppressed. The entire city was occupied, and the leader of these rebels was none other than the then head of the Ivanov family.

The guards who were guarding the palace fought to the death and were all killed, while Lesvold Ivanov led a team of soldiers into Gravenmore Palace and captured all the remaining members of the royal family in the residential area, including the last king Partika XI, the princess, the princess's brother, the king's four sons and two daughters. In addition, the servants and cooks working in the palace were also taken into the main hall. A total of 177 people were forced to gather there.

What I am about to say was recorded by my respected family members who were lurking nearby at great risk.

Clement snorted disdainfully and continued:

"'I check the number of people in the palace every day. This is what I do as a historian. At this time, any small change in personnel may be related to something that happens later. Therefore, I know that the total number of people in the palace that night should be 178.'

'...Except for me, one hundred and seventy-seven people were gathered in the main hall. This was originally used for court balls and the king's speeches, but now only one hundred and seventy-seven people in pajamas were forced to gather here, including the king I was loyal to, his relatives, and his servants. As for me, I was not in the residential area when the incident happened. I walked in the corridor of the side hall and thought about it, which allowed me to escape the disaster and be able to record everything that happened next...'

'After everyone was gathered together, the traitor Lesvold Ivanov took a document from his adjutant, and then he began to read the contents of the document aloud in front of everyone:'

"...The sinful king, Partika XI, failed to rule the country, lived a luxurious life, listened to slander, despised meritorious officials, and indulged traitors, causing the ancient country to decline. We..."

'It was a roll of indictments against the King, and before the traitor had finished reading it, His Majesty, with extraordinary courage, interrupted him:'

"Don't waste your words, just tell me what you want to do, you traitor."

"Give an explanation to others who share a similar position to me."

"Then I will fight you. If I win, you will die here, and I will not pursue your troops, and they can still be used by me. And if you win, you have the right to chop off my head and report it to those hyenas outside the city and within the country who are as despicable as you."

'Your Majesty was old, but already quite powerful, and the traitor Lesvold Ivanov was only equal to Your Majesty on his own. Your Majesty took off the gem that every noble wears and can cast a forced duel from his neck and prepared to throw it at the traitor, but the traitor did not accept the duel like a noble with a sense of honor. Before the gem glowed and the spell took effect, he pulled out his own scimitar from Your Majesty's waist and stabbed His Majesty in the abdomen.'

'Unfortunately, Your Majesty was not wearing armor at the time, and the weapon he hastily put on was not a magical weapon bound to the soul. It was just an extremely sharp Hundred Forged Scimitar. Combined with the traitor's own strength, the blow was successful immediately, causing Your Majesty to suffer irreparable fatal injuries. Your Majesty reached out and firmly grasped Lesvold Ivanov's wrist, spitting blood and cursing him:'

''You bastard, don't you have any sense of honor?''

'The traitor didn't care at all. He didn't answer immediately, but grabbed the handle of the scimitar and stirred it in His Majesty's abdomen a few more times. Then he pulled out the scimitar and kicked His Majesty to the ground again.'

'It was only at this time that the family members and servants around His Majesty reacted. The men began to curse the traitors for their shamelessness, and the women screamed and cried. No matter what they did or planned to do, the rebels with spears quickly suppressed them. It seemed that they had already communicated with the master they were loyal to, and did not show any dissatisfaction with this shameful behavior.'

'After His Majesty fell to the ground, the traitor, Lesvold Ivanov, slowly replied:'

"... I have no sense of honor, and I will not abide by the laws of war. Now that you are lying here, it seems that you will soon die. It is just right that your relatives and servants will soon be accompanying you."

'Next, he didn't give anyone time to react. He swung his sword and chopped off the king's head. Then he waved his hand, and the rebels followed his command and rushed forward, using their weapons to massacre the rest of the royal family and servants. Not only the princess and the old servants, but even the five-year-old son was not spared. The massacre lasted less than five minutes, and none of the 177 people survived. After killing everyone, they spent about ten minutes piercing every corpse on the ground to make sure there were no people who were pretending to be dead or unconscious. The blood flowed all over the floor of the main hall, as if a blood sacrifice for the evil god had just been held. '

"If it were a question of loyalty, I would have drawn my weapon immediately and fought the traitor to the death. However, the mission assigned to me by His Majesty is to record the true history of the kingdom. Therefore, I have recorded these cruel and inhumane scenes in detail, hoping that they can be passed down to future generations, so that everyone can know the face of the traitor and the true situation of the kingdom's last moments."

"..."

Roy von Ivanov's face was gloomy. The long narration just now, especially the detailed and cruel scene at the end, was shocking to him. However, he did not change at all because of it. Not only him, but also the team behind him, which was not very close to him, was only slightly shaken, and no one had any intention of laying down their weapons.

"So…what is it you want to say, Clemont?"

"Back then, I just copied what your ancestors did, not even including the most outrageous parts."

"You mean to say that you are upholding justice now?"

Raising the family heirloom sword and pointing the tip of the sword at the nose of the familiar man in front of him, Roy's voice became even colder than before.

"All those who bear the name of Ivanov should pay a corresponding price for the wealth and status they enjoy - and you are no exception."

Clement Éphabelier raised the dark, dull sword in the same posture, also pointing it at the powerful enemy who was now standing against him.

"Bah!" Roy spat fiercely. "I left home at the age of 18 and wandered around the impoverished border of Mariai, investigating the people's sentiments and studying local customs, all in order to get rid of the strict life arranged for me by the 'family' and make Mariai a place of wealth again. Now you want me to atone for the sins of an ancestor whom I have never even met. Dream on!"

"Now that you say so..."

"Then let's fight!!!"

Swords pointed toward swords, and the armies of the living and the dead collided with each other.

Chapter 27: Where Destiny Meets (Part 3)

After hearing the cannon, Lunixia and her group began to hurry on their way at full speed. Although Ashethelyn and Ella Heper had their own ways to speed up, considering the presence of Lunixia and the "Arbiter", they could only walk slowly with Lunixia. Originally, it was not necessary. As a properly trained paladin, "summoning a mount" was naturally within the range of her known spells. However, considering the fierce battle that might happen later, she decided not to waste her energy on this aspect for the time being.

"It looks like there's smoke coming out of the city!"

Following Lunisia's fingertips, there was indeed billowing black smoke coming out from the direction of Twick, just like a large-scale fire. The same black smoke was rising one after another from the visible areas. It seemed that not only the capital city was fighting, but the entire Twick was now in a chaotic war. Something directly ignited the situation, causing the situation to take a sharp turn for the worse. However, no matter where, the fire and smoke were not as heavy as within the city walls. The wisps of black smoke seemed to be not only rising, but also entangled and intertwined in the air, revealing twisted and wailing human faces.

From there came a strange smell that made Lunisia feel sick.