ninth dragon stone

Veronica is now facing the biggest crisis in her 19 years of life.

Holding the sword, she pushed aside all kinds of unnamed luxuriant vegetation growing nearly waist high in the woods, and then desperately found bright red lilies and purple-black corpses that had been cut down on the ground under the cover of grass.The grass grows too fast, she thought in a daze, as if the lily bush she felled just happened, and now it's like nothing happened here.Veronica took a step forward, but a violent dizziness in front of her stopped her. She took a few breaths, found a nearby tree, and slid down.

She is lost.This morning - or earlier, her memory is now blurred and out of focus - she had set out from this place to find the edge of the forest, with daedric viscous dripping from the blade of her sword. Her armor was also stained with black blood from her companions and herself.Just breaking free from the hunting barrier, she looked at the real sky exposed between the dense leaves and felt relieved that she was on the verge of collapse. Thinking that she had finally reached the end of the nightmare, she picked up her strength again and cut off the road in front of her eyes. One Cong Lily walked forward without looking back.

Only now, after going around in a big circle, she came back again.She sat down next to the tree root, her legs almost lost all feeling, and the wound that was not properly bandaged kept bleeding, and now she was severely dehydrated, making it difficult for her to maintain continuous thinking.

No, I can't die here, she repeated mechanically in her mind, I just barely passed the exam, no, I already passed the exam, and killed three demons while all my teammates were wiped out—as long as If I can wait for someone to save me, I will undoubtedly be able to enter the Knights Templar-so I must not die-

But she could still clearly feel that consciousness was slipping out of her hands uncontrollably like a ribbon in the wind.

Gotta do something... water!She had to find something to drink, or she was sure to die before help arrived.

But now she is so weak that she can hardly move, she has no tools at hand, and she has no strength to dig underground water; there are no rivers or lakes in sight.After looking around a few times with sluggish eyes, she finally landed on the enemy she had killed earlier.She stared at the corpses, her sight and mind slowly became clear as if they were flashing back, and a crazy idea rose in her mind: blood can be regarded as something to drink, but she has never heard of anyone drinking it "That stuff" blood.Perhaps someone has tried, but none of them have the chance to live to let their experience know.But--

Veronica swallowed hard.She raised her head and looked at the top of her head. The dense branches and leaves blocked a lot of sunlight. The center of the forest was dark, cold, and unfathomable, as if time had been frozen in eternity.She and her entire team fell into a hunting trap of the demons when participating in the Templar promotion assessment, and were dragged to another space for hunting. The area where the group assessment is conducted.She didn't know if Knight Leader Rolanders, her brother, knew that he was in trouble, if he had sent someone to look for her, or where he had been.After weighing it briefly, she lowered her head and moved towards the corpses with some hesitation.

The black blood flowed down her throat and burned all the way to her stomach, as if trying to turn her inside out.She groaned in pain, twitched and rolled on the ground, but everything was insignificant compared to the deep forest.After a while, a series of indescribable hallucinations appeared in front of her eyes. She couldn't see what was flashing in her mind, but she just intuitively felt that they were dark, terrifying, and violent, which made people retreat instinctively——

Her consciousness slowly dissipated in hallucinations full of attacks and killings.

■

After Veronica woke up, she sat up slowly from the bed. What she saw was the golden sunlight spreading on the window lattice and the square outside the window. The small square bricks on the square were warmed by the sun, and the fountain in the center shone In the sparkling light, there is a flower girl chatting with foreigners sitting by the square.Her consciousness seemed to crawl out of the dark abyss after a while, and the peaceful and peaceful scene outside the window almost made her feel withdrawn.But when she saw the familiar furnishings in her room around her, reason returned to her mind and her body relaxed.

She moved a little, and felt no discomfort, and the pain from the wound was already very slight, but she was a little tired after lying on the bed for a long time.So he went to the ground with bare feet, and went to the closet to change into clothes that he could go out with.As a result, as soon as she opened the wardrobe door, she was startled by her own face inadvertently seen on the mirror inside the door.

Although her facial features have not changed much, the original normal lip color is now almost dark black, and dark and weird patterns appear in the corners of her eyes.She stared at her face, while being shrouded in strong doubts, while feeling her heart sinking into a bottomless abyss: What happened?How did this face become so ugly? !She felt that although her original appearance could not be said to be very soft and beautiful, it was better than the cold and ruthless one she is now!

She forced herself to change her clothes calmly, and immediately rang the bell beside the bed, summoning the maid and telling her to call Rolanders.She was fidgeting in the small room, and when her brother came in, she immediately grabbed him and asked, "What's wrong with my face?"

Rolanders patted Veronica reassuringly and told her to sit down first, then sat beside her and said, "You drank the blood of the demons."

"...Yes." Veronica seemed to understand something, and she seemed a little more nervous. "I was not clear at the time, and I was desperate... Has it something to do with it? Is it some kind of mutation?"

"Almost," Roland replied calmly, his unhurried tone and posture alone could calm the restless people a little, "This attempt is a bit too reckless, but fortunately your body has successfully integrated it, I Glad you're okay."

Veronica's hanging heart relaxed a little bit, but Rolandes did not expect to say: "Now that you are awake, I hope you can take the time to learn how to get along with it. You will be caught by it when you are unconscious. Control, it’s not good to hurt your comrades.”

Veronica's heart raised again. "What does it mean to be controlled by it?"

She nervously observed the expression on Rolanders' face, looking for any trace of worry and reproach; but Rolanders once again saw through her worry and showed her a relieved smile.

"Take it easy, Veronica, it's not your fault."

Then she learned that although she didn't die, her body was corroded by the black blood she drank. While gaining the powerful attack power and extraordinary resilience of the demons, she was also contaminated with their violent and irrational habits.When she fell into unconsciousness, or when the restraint of human will weakened, the violent demon blood could easily take advantage of it, causing her to lose her mind and kill.

In connection with what Rolanders said just now, she suddenly turned pale, realizing that a catastrophe might have been caused without her knowing.Fortunately, she later learned that she did not cause too much harm because of her timely handling. Only a young man of her class was hacked by her because of impatience and arrogance, and the injury was not fatal.

"Just let him have a long memory." Rolandus looked very calm when he said this, so Veronica guessed that the man was probably really fine.However, she was still curious and asked: "Who is it? I should go and apologize to him. How is his injury now?"

"Inge, you know him." When the boy's name was mentioned, the knight commander's purple eyes were tinged with a subtle smile, "His team won No. 1 in this assessment, so he left I found time to come and find you with me, I didn’t expect this to happen. But it’s also my fault, because I was too reassured about him before.” He shook his head, pulled out of his thoughts, and looked at Vero Nika, "Anyway, remember what I said. After Inge recovers from his injury and can wear armor, you will be awarded the title together with him—you all have passed the exam and will become Templar Knights. It will change. Until then, I don't want anything to go wrong."

Veronica was taken aback: "Even if I am like this now?"

"As I said, this will not change," Rolanders patted her shoulder with one hand, "Veronica, you are calm and tough enough, I believe you can control that power and let it serve you well." We use it. You are my sister, I know how sharp you can be, and I trust you."

He looked at her pair of purple eyes similar to his own, and his tone was as gentle as ever: "You know I admire the strong most, don't you?"

Veronica felt his hand press on her left shoulder and then left. She watched him get up, and the temperature on his shoulder gradually disappeared.She suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, because of Rolanders' calmness as always, and also because of his last words.

He didn't mean any harm, she thought, just what he had always expected.

She was his sister, who had lived in his expectations for a long time, and he never intended her to be a beautiful lady, rather than a strong warrior—he thought that was the meaningful thing.

Veronica grew up accepting almost everything about him, including his values.She has always followed his expectations to become what she is today, and has never regretted it.

Only this time, although she was lucky enough to survive, her face was permanently branded by a monster; she felt sad, but she didn't dare to let others know that she cared, she only hoped to get some understanding and comfort from her elder brother .It turned out that Rowlands didn't seem to care at all.Veronica chewed those few words over and over again, and suddenly felt: "Sharp"?Am I—was it just, a sword or something?

Inge's injury didn't fully heal until more than half a month later.Veronica visited him once while he was recovering from his injuries, and only then did he realize that the "non-fatal injury" that Rolanders said was really just "not fatal".She slashed Yinge's back from top to bottom with her sword, almost breaking her spine.She heard someone tell her that thanks to Rolanders' extra thoughtfulness at the time, the team brought a mage before leaving. After Inge was cut off from his horse, he was so frightened that he immediately asked the mage to freeze Veronica. Let the chaplain follow up to heal and recover Inge's life.If only a team of knights went there, Inge probably wouldn't be able to come back.

Veronica looked at her hands, feeling unbelievable that she almost took the life of her companion, what made her even more unbelievable was the tone and expression of Rolanders when he mentioned all this to her earlier . "Scared enough"?Veronica was a little hard to imagine. When Rolandes mentioned this episode to her, it seemed like a very common experience.

However, Inge laughed after hearing her words: "Of course he would say that. As long as it is something he can control, doesn't he always behave very seriously?"

"They said he was pale at the time," Veronica shook her head emotionally, "I really can't imagine the scene at that time. I don't even know why he said that to me... Afraid of increasing my sense of guilt? ?”

"Perhaps that's the case," said Inger. "It's more likely that he's just used to it, because the Templar Master always has to look the most reliable."

After thinking about it carefully, Veronica had to admit that Inge was right: she found that she couldn't imagine her brother's anxiety.She double-checked, really not: Rolanders had never seemed anxious or worried about anything to her, nor to anyone else.It seemed like everything was under his control from the beginning, even when it got too outrageous—he was sure of pulling everything out of his control back on track.

But how is it possible?It is impossible for anyone to control everything around him to such an extent, Rolanders—is his indifference a deliberate gesture?Because he is the head of the Templar Knights, he is obliged to properly handle all crises, and he must not be in a mess at any time—so he is unwilling to reveal the true self behind his back to everyone, including her own sister. ?

Knight Commander - she discovered that her brother was almost never anything else.He has always lived in this way, and even his expectations of Veronica are inseparable from it.In his not too long life so far, he has either been working hard to become a Templar or performing his duties as a Templar. There is nothing else, and every trace of his joy, anger, sorrow, and joy is also maintained in the On this basis.

"Actually, I kind of sympathize with him." Inge said leisurely, lying on the bed because of her back injury, propping her head on one hand.

Veronica nodded, her eyes fixed on the ground. "Me too."

■

At the end of the month, Inge's injury was almost healed, and Veronica was able to catch some shadows of the magic blood in her body, and no longer let it do anything wrong.The ceremony of the two of them was held separately a month later than the others. On the day of the ceremony, Veronica saw Inge in full costume, and couldn't help admiring the young man's demeanor in the bottom of her heart like everyone else.When I saw him last time, he was still recovering from his injuries, and he looked very lazy, but now it is different.His platinum hair is neatly combed, his eyes are bright and energetic, and his smiling cheek exudes the unique vigor of a young man; his slender and flexible limbs are wrapped in thin silver armor, and the saber at his waist follows the pace of walking. The steps swayed slightly, shining in the sun.He walked towards Veronica, greeted her with a smile, and added just the right compliment: "You are so beautiful today, Veronica."

No, I know that I have long since insulated myself from the word "beautiful".Although Veronica smiled and said thank you, there was still such a cold voice in her heart.

Instead, you, she thought, young (sixteen was a dreadful age), fine, handsome--what an enviable child.

... Rolanders must be very pleased to see such a young man under his command, right?

She didn't have much time to think about these useless things, because the ceremony would start soon.Her back was tense all the way and she didn't dare to relax, for fear that something might go wrong.Fortunately, everything went well, and there was only one last step left. She and Inge were required to utter their oath to join the Knights Templar in front of the altar under the witness of the bishop, and then Rolanders struck them on the shoulders with a sword. Three times, as confirmation from candidate to full member of the knight order.

Veronica did everything she should do step by step. When the sword hit her shoulder, she found that she was not as happy or excited as she imagined.She looked up at the black figure of Rolanders, he was standing at a slightly higher place and she was kneeling below, the expression of his lowered head was just as she had imagined long ago.

"God bless you," he whispered the second time the sword touched her shoulder armor.

And she replied, "May righteousness prevail."

Veronica looked at her brother's gentle and quiet deep purple eyes, and she knew that her own eyes had the same expression; she suddenly felt a little tired——

This was happening for the first time, and it had happened countless times in their minds; she had fought for an identity as Rolanders had for years, and would fight for it twice as much from now on.

At that moment, she felt a kind of confusion of getting what she wanted but losing her wish.

Inge swore after her, and went through the same process again. When Rolanders stood in front of him, it seemed that the two of them also said something, but the distance was a little far, and Veronica couldn't hear it clearly.She seemed to see Rolanders' expression slightly startled, but it was fleeting.She saw that his sword was still lightly touching the young man's shoulder, and Inge's young eyes were full of admiration and joy, as well as a smile that seemed too bright for this occasion .He really admires Rowlands - Veronica thought, he even shuddered a little when the sword touched his shoulder for the first time - is it that exciting?

never mind.Still a child after all, she thought logically.

After the ceremony was over, Veronica wanted to talk to Rolandes, so she asked several people one after another, and learned that he took Inge to the back of the church as soon as the ceremony was over, with a serious expression on his face. Say you have something to talk to him about.Veronica didn't care much about this. She walked through the church and came to the corridor of the podium building at the back, and found her brother from the window after a while.Through the window, she saw Rolanders and Inge walking through the cemetery one after the other, talking along the way.Rolanders didn't look very happy yet, the short black cloak turned up a corner from time to time as he walked briskly.Inge followed behind him, as if trying to explain something, but when he found that the other party didn't listen to what he said, he stopped in place.He crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed, this somewhat old-fashioned movement was a bit inconsistent on him; Veronica judged from the mouth shape that he called Rolanders' name.

That's disrespectful, she thought, for a newly created knight to call his captain by name... but Rolanders really stopped.Not only did he stop, but he also turned around to face Inge, as if to see what he could say.Intuition told Veronica that she should not continue to stand behind the window and watch, because this angle is not too hidden, and she could feel that the two people were arguing about something that they did not want others to know; but curiosity and The forces of doubt eventually prevailed.With a trace of guilt for prying into other people's privacy, she continued to stare at everything that happened outside the window.

Inge lowered his arms and said something very briefly.His eyes kept falling on Rolandes, with an undeniable taste.In fact, there was not much distance between him and Rolandes, just a few steps away, and he easily crossed this little distance to come to Rolandes.Standing next to Rolandes really shows that he is still a teenager. Rolandes is 8 years older than him, obviously taller than him, and his demeanor is more calm, as if he is indifferent to whatever he says.But Inge didn't care, he stuck to Rolanders' side, smiled, and put his hand on the shoulder of the older man.

Veronica behind the window clutched the curtain tightly in surprise.She never dreamed that such an uncontrollable development would take place in just a few minutes.

What made her even more unbelievable was that the kiss initiated by Inge was not only acquiesced by Rolanders, but after they separated for a while, he actually stretched out his hand to hold the back of Inge's head, and pulled him again. back.

He was actively kissing him—Rolanders, her elder brother, the knight captain who was always calm and composed, so ecstatically kissed a young boy who was newly named a paladin in the cemetery where the bishop rested—

Veronica's back was pressed against the narrow wall between the two windows, like a thief, afraid of being discovered, she even forgot that no one in the flower-filled cemetery now has leisure notice her.Breaking through some terrible secret made her heart pound, and she took a few breaths before she gradually calmed down.But even though she was not as shocked as before, she still felt a mess in her head: what happened?When did this start?What were they talking about just now?Did Rolanders—the Rolanders who lived in the role of "Knight Commander" around the clock without any dead ends—open the only door to his inner world in front of Inge?

She thought of Inge lazily saying "Actually, I sympathize with him a little bit" with his head propped up, and he walked towards her while boasting "You are so beautiful", his face was as bright as the sun, and he remembered that he knelt at the feet of Rolanders, his expression The room is full of admiration and admiration - so now what is this?She felt an irritation at being fooled, followed by an instinctive distaste for the relationship.Perhaps it was also mixed with jealousy because "the person Rolanders trusts most is not herself", she couldn't tell.But one thing is clear to her: she doesn't want to see Rolanders at all now, and neither does Inge—

At this time, a soft voice at the end of the corridor interrupted the thoughts churning in her mind: "Master Veronica, what's wrong with you? Are you uncomfortable?"

She raised her head suddenly, and found that it was a little girl about the same age as Inge, wearing the robes of a trainee priest. She had just walked through the door connecting the church, and she was leaning against the wall at a glance.Seeing the little priest approaching her with a concerned face, she immediately realized that she couldn't see what was happening outside the window, so she pressed her temple and walked towards her: "I'm a little dizzy, maybe It's too hot. Can you take me to a room where no one is around to rest?"

The little girl immediately nodded in agreement, came to her side to hold her, and led her to another direction.While pretending to be sick, Veronica spurned herself in her heart for helping Rolandes cover even though she hated it too much; in the end, she remembered the look of Rolandes just now, the gentle look she had never seen elsewhere, In the bottom of my heart, I sighed silently.

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Veronica is homophobic, but she's a closet.Candle.jpg