In the end, our alter had a thousand reluctances and 1 reluctances in his arms, but he still had to admit that he was one step ahead when he was shot, so he could only follow closely behind him, and the second heroically jumped off the plane .

Although the difference between "first" and "second" is only one step, there is a world of difference in momentum, prestige and appearance.

——At least, that's what the competitive Joan Alter thinks.

(Judging from this situation, she will probably think about it for a long time... But Mr. Nakaya is a good man, and Alter knows this in his heart, so he should not cause trouble for him.)

Watching the two gradually shrink into a black dot, I prayed this in my heart while harboring expectations and tiny worries about the future.

(Not only Joan of Arc, but I also hope that Mr. Nakaya will be safe and sound. After the incident is completed, I must anonymously present a banner of "Helping others, being chivalrous and courageous" to the mafia, and it must be gold-plated.)

(Of course, with the public funds of the Secret Service.)

The Port Mafia deserves to be the Yokohama bar, which is so much fun.Even as a policeman, I can't help thinking this at the moment.

Not only Mr. Nakaya, but even this little-known driver brother is so devoted to his job, and his spirit is commendable. I am so embarrassed that I am so embarrassed!

——My God, why don't our gangsters in Tokyo have such awareness?

In my opinion, the next time our Secret Service Section should find an excuse, tie up all the leaders of those illegal organizations and send them to Yokohama to join the port mafia to experience life, let them learn and observe, and get spiritual baptism Together with Shenghua, we will shine together for the construction of a harmonious society and create a better future together.

All in all, I want to tell the world——

A serious mafia must be the Red Cross! ! !

……

……

……

1 minute later.

"Okay, it's time for us to set off. I'll leave it to everyone on the ground. Next, we just need to fly above the Human Face Tree."

"Is...do I have to go?"

"I have to go. As a supernatural being, I have to be close so that I can provide Artoria with magic power to the maximum."

After Chuya jumped into the battlefield, I took over his heavy responsibility (?) and began to give instructions to the driver brother who was on the verge of collapse.

Out of humanitarian concern, I asked him politely:

"Well, my friend? Can you hold on?"

The driver wanted to cry but had no tears: "This, this, this, who can stand this..."

"good."

I gave him a sincere and sympathetic look, and comforted him with earnest words:

"If you can't stand it, you have to hold it up, or the sky will fall and your head will be smashed."

Pilot: "?????"

I went on to follow the instructions:

"You don't want to die, do you? Come on, I believe that human beings' desire to survive can overcome everything."

"Indeed, I can prove it with my own experience."

The Cave King actively cooperated with my performance.

Pilot: "…………………"

I always feel that he seems to have despaired of humans.

……

"Wait a minute, Master. If you just need to send you to the Human Face Tree, Jill and I can do it too?"

At this moment, Enkidu interrupted | and reminded me with a very understanding smile.

"Ah, that's right..."

Indeed, now that I have successfully joined forces with the Uruk Flying Trio, in theory, I don't need to rely on the private helicopters of the local tyrants and mafia.

(Oops, I am addicted to bullying... No, I am addicted to deepening friendship with the driver brother. If I am not paying attention, I almost forgot such a crucial basic setting.)

——That Jin Yingying, he has a plane! ! ! ! !

——With Gilgamesh, what bicycle do you need? ?No, what kind of helicopter do you want? ! !

By the way, judging from the unsurprised eyes of the Cave King, the reason why he didn't remind me immediately is probably because he was as obsessed with playing as I am... No, he is obsessed with caring for the driver brother.

Having said that, we are not some devil.Now that there is a better means of transportation, there is no need to force the little brother to sacrifice his life to accompany the gentleman.

"Okay, if that's the case, then quickly transfer..."

"Huh? What? If you need flying props, my Tianzhou Maanna can do it too."

At the same time, perhaps overhearing our conversation, the goddess Ishtar approached thoughtfully.She didn't look at us directly, but talked about him from left to right, with a vaguely uncomfortable expression on her expression, and her eyes drifted up and down suspiciously.

"Speaking of...my summoner, it seems that I was asked to help the Master over there in the end. They are 'sisters', right, you two?"

"what??"

(I have a blood relationship with the Fourth Young Master, and she is also my "sister". In this way, the summoner of Ishtar, could it be the "Second Miss" Tianchuan Xingdiao...?)

If this is the case, then Ishtar is currently in the state of signing a temporary contract with me, and it is not surprising that she helped me.

(Okay, I earned it. Even if I have to return the contract to Xingniao in the end, but in life, I don’t care about eternity, I only care about having it once.)

I just thought of this verse, and before I had time to rejoice, I saw Ishtar turned his face like a book, and changed into a domineering posture in a blink of an eye:

"Don't think too much, I haven't fully approved of you yet. Besides, I don't intend to obey the summoner's order, and now she is in danger."

"..."

If you don't want to help, what do you ask me to do? ? ?

"Hum~"

Ishtar's face became more and more radiant, and he stroked his shiny and smooth hair with his backhand, and raised his chin triumphantly:

"However, I am a goddess who knows how to accommodate? That is to say, if you beg me sincerely and offer offerings, I can't rent a sky boat. For example, let people A brilliant gem where the eyes and the heart shine together..."

"No, just disappear." ← Enkidu

"Sorry, I have no money." ← I

"So fast----?!!"

Ishtar's confident expression collapsed in a second, replaced by a full set of sand sculpture expression packs that switch at a high speed like PPT:

"Rejected so quickly—?!! Enkidu forget it, why, why are you so arrogant!!! I, could it be that I was hated???"

"No, that's not..."

But I really have no money, sister! ! !

"In summary, I choose Gilgamesh's flight."

In fact, I don't know what I'm synthesizing, but in any case, it's impossible for me to pay such a fantasy price as "gem".

It is impossible to pay, and it is impossible to pay in this life. You can only rely on Gilgamesh's spaceship and the port mafia's helicopter to maintain your life.

"I'm sorry, it's so rare that you offered to rent the Tianzhou... This goddess sister, I am really very sorry."

I politely declined the kindness of Ishtar (with payment terms), and put my hand on the arm that the cave king extended to me, preparing to let him jump onto Vimana with me in his arms.

"Farewell, sad goddess."

And Enkidu also turned his back with us, and at the same time calmly charged her with a knife:

"Ah, that's not right. Maybe we won't see each other again. 'Being rejected by a human being whom I like' is probably the fate of an evil god like you."

"All right."

Seeing that the two were not giving in to each other, the Cave King, as a mature and calm adult, spoke to stop him:

"Enkidu, there is no need to continue to provoke her. In case the other party becomes angry and attacks recklessly—"

"Wait, wait a minute———————————!"

Before we finished speaking, the Goddess's mournful cry of shame and anger sounded behind us.

"The one just now doesn't count, it doesn't count!! I admit, I don't really want to collect money... I also think about it a little bit, but I mainly want to be handsome, and I just want you to beg me!! Yes, yes , Reflect—I’m reflecting, so don’t leave me behind, really!!!”

I:"…………"

Cave King: "..."

"Heh, this is really like a textbook... ah."

After a short silence, the Cave King expressed his inner feelings lightly instead of me. At the same time, he put one hand around my back and the other hand pinched the center of his brow helplessly.

"In my opinion, this kind of personality can only cause trouble. But Akane, you like this type, don't you?"

"Yes."

With 12 points of sincerity in my arms, I stared straight into his eyes and replied:

"Actually, in my opinion, there is such a troublesome part in Edmund's character. So by analogy, I like you too."

Cave King: "........."

Very well, I won this round.

……

……

……

In the end, in an atmosphere of turbulent dark tide and tit-for-tat confrontation, our group took two god-era spaceships, Vimana and Maana, respectively, and flew towards the sky above the human-faced tree like two shooting stars across the sky.

What, you ask the driver brother?

He has turned around and returned home safe and sound. Before leaving, he thanked me a thousand times and regarded me and Brother Zhongye as reborn parents. I don't pursue any thrilling punk life anymore.

"From now on, I just want to live a peaceful life."

— These are the last words he left behind.

I wish him the best from the bottom of my heart, really.

……

"Master, we're almost there."

The time it takes to reach the Human Face Tree is shorter than I imagined.

Seeing the silhouette of the giant tree hidden in the gloomy black mist gradually become clear, Enkidu lightly landed on the corner of Vimo, lowered his body and assumed a posture of preparing for battle, with a trace of beast-like vigilance on his brows.

"This is……"

Facing the scene in front of me, I couldn't help but gasped, and clenched the Cave King's fine-quality cloak even tighter.

——It's just that I haven't seen it for a few hours, but this towering "sacred tree" has undergone earth-shaking changes.

"It's not so much a 'tree', it's better to say it's the Tower of Babylon that goes straight to the sky..."

"You insult Babylon, bastard."

Gilgamesh sat in the middle of the golden spaceship with a big horse and a golden sword, and reminded me with a displeased face.

"Huh, this king has expected this... But this scene is really uglier than imagined. Although it borrows the shell of the mother goddess Tiamat, the essence is completely different from it. How rough, What an inferior imitation! It is simply unbearable to look at!!"

"...Yes, you are right."

This time, I understand very well what he means.

Although Tiamat is listed as one of the seven "human evils", it is still essentially a mother goddess who regards all human beings as "children" and is full of love for human beings.The reason why she destroys humans mechanically is not entirely out of hatred, but because she was killed by her own children in mythology. Therefore, when she appeared as Beast, there was a "If you don't destroy humans, you will be killed by yourself." Will be killed" survival instinct.

In other words, Tiamat, which appears on the coast today, may indeed leave us all dead, but she is not our "enemy".

It's just that the mother who was abandoned in the ancient mythology is groaning sadly and hopelessly while slowly sinking into the dark sea.

—However, the leader who summoned Tiamat was different from her.

"For that leader, the so-called 'love' is probably as difficult to decipher as the ancient Uruk script."

I think back to my own siblings.

In order to save his mother, Chuyang endured humiliation and survived under his father's despotic power, tortured by his conscience, and finally deprived of his body.

In order to save himself, he resigned himself to flattery, dared not tell the truth to others for more than ten years, struggled in a dark room where the sun was out, and was finally devoured by his father.

And, in such a smoky environment, the three young masters, the fourth young masters, and the six young masters, who were cultivated by their father as natural scum seeds, became pure scumbags as their father wished. Miss Chang Xia.

In the beginning, all children are victims.

Some of them, in turn, became new perpetrators.

The chain of greed and malice is connected with each other through the medium of blood, and everyone in the Tianchuan family is strung together into grasshoppers on a rope.Chuyang and Xingniao wanted to escape, but unfortunately they were either pierced through their leg bones or pierced through their lute bones, and they were doomed to stagger and struggle during this journey.

The only one who was lucky enough to break free from the chain and get rid of the blood curse was me alone.

(No matter what the outcome, I want to take them off the island. Even a trial is much better than staying here and being buried with the whole family.)

"Is my summoner there...?"

Even Ishtar, who is not afraid of anything, can't help showing a bit of astonishment when facing the giant tree in front of him—to be precise, it is more like a dark tower. Sprint up.

She rushed and sighed loudly:

"Just kidding, how tall is this thing?! You can't see the top at a glance!! And, this seems to be... woah!!"

"Hello, Ishtar?!"

Unexpected screams fell from the sky, and this moment was no small matter. Even Gilgamesh, who was with the old god, suddenly changed his face:

"Are you still alive, little girl?! Although you don't care what you do, but if the goddess of Uruk is instantly killed at the beginning, I will feel ashamed to some extent!! What, how shameless? Specifically , about the size of a fingernail!!!”

(Well, this speech is still as unflattering as ever.)

"Kill your head instantly!!"

Faced with such outrageous words, Ishtar was naturally not to be outdone. Immediately, a heavy pendant landed in a straight line and appeared in front of us again alive and well.

But I also noticed that ominous black smoke was swirling all over her body, as if she had just suffered a high-voltage electric shock.If it were someone else, it might have been fried until it was crispy and crispy, and it could be served on a plate with a sprinkling of cumin.

"Ishtar, what is this..."

Seeing that the situation had changed, the Cave King hurriedly sped up his speech, snatching the words from Gilgamesh.

"Well... I don't know about that either."

Seeing his earnest questioning, Ishtar's ears turned slightly red, and he looked away resentfully with a guilty conscience.

"Just now, I just wanted to approach the big tree from above. But for some reason, as soon as I approached, I felt like an electric shock, 'beep, beep', and the pain was excruciating..."

Surprised, Bilibili is okay.

"When I came back to my senses, I instinctively avoided the big tree. So, I didn't figure out what it was at all... Hahaha, hahahaha..."

Cave King: "..."

Gilgamesh:"……"

Enkidu: "Gill, there should be a clay tablet in your treasury, right? Now take one out, engrave 'I am a useless goddess', and hang it around Ishtar's neck."

Gilgamesh: "Well said, I'm looking for you now."

Me: "Hahahahaha..."

This... is really a safe and trustworthy drop.Ishtar's chain may be late, but he will never be absent.

It would be useless to blame her now, the most urgent thing is to find out the true face of "Bilibili"—that is, the mysterious barrier around the Human Face Tree.Otherwise, if Arturia stabs a defensive wall that "ignores invincible penetration and is immune to all red card damage", it will be really bald.

Fortunately, this time the Secret Service Section was also accompanied by technical personnel.I sent the picture through the video equipment, and described the surrounding situation to them in detail, and soon got a eight | nine inseparable answer:

"Yuki, did you forget?According to your previous investigation, the Human Face Tree can absorb the power of supernatural life forms and turn them into its own. 』

『In other words, this ability may have been further expanded to "absorb all the abilities close to the Human Face Tree". 』

"What……?!!"

——Mother, this doesn't make people bald, it makes people want to be shaved on the spot! ! !

Despair was caught off guard. Under this series of heavy blows comparable to a bolt from the blue, even I couldn't control my tongue:

"No no no, what should we do then?! If all the abilities close to the human face tree will be absorbed, then we still need to make a P, and contact the military to drop the nuclear bomb!!!"

"Wake up, Yuki.Japan is now a nuclear-free country. 』

At first glance, the technical nerd colleague was someone who had seen the big world. The opponent's blade was almost on the back of his neck, and his tone was still calm:

『Actually... if there is a way to solve this problem, it’s not that there is no way at all. 』

"Then why don't you say it quickly?! Is it cool to breathe heavily, is it cool!!!"

"It's rare to see you so panicked, Yuuki, and I feel good about it. 』

The colleague choked on me half-jokingly, and immediately put on a serious face and said:

『Takaki, the solution is simpler than you think.No matter what kind of ability, the scope of its ability is limited.In other words, even this heaven-defying demon tree is absolutely impossible to absorb all abilities endlessly. 』

"so……?"

『Therefore, after completing an overload absorption, there should be a brief blank period.At this time, if you use the Noble Phantasm on it, the Human Face Tree will be defenseless, which is equivalent to a full|naked rolling nailboard. 』

"No, your metaphor is too hardcore."

I complained with a dull face.

"In other words."

The Cave King is not affected by the outside world at all, and he sorts out the status quo for us clearly: "Before the King of Knights uses the Holy Lance, a servant must first release the treasure to counteract the 'absorption' ability of the Human Face Tree and let it enter a temporary state. Saturation state, unable to start again in a short time."

"That's right. 』

The colleague went on to add:

『However, the size of the Human Face Tree has greatly expanded, and the targets have also been scattered.In order to ensure its eradication, both of your attacks must hit its "center" that exerts its control function. 』

"Especially for the first attack, either use an anti-city or anti-world Noble Phantasm of the same level as the holy spear to make the magic power exceed its load capacity, or output it close to the face at a very close range.Understand?You must choose one of the two, otherwise it is basically tantamount to fighting in vain. 』

"..."

You technical geeks are really strict.

"..."

"........."

"......... No, this is too strict, right???"

Looking around, Gilgamesh has the Anti-Army-Anti-City Noble Phantasm, but as a Caster, his lethality has decreased, and he cannot use EA, so it is difficult to guarantee a one-hit kill.Enkidu's Anti-Suzheng Noble Phantasm and Ishtar's Anti-Mountain Noble Phantasm are quite powerful, but right now they are both contracted by me. If I attack the Human-Mask Tree with all my strength, it will be enough to kill everyone on the spot. I squeezed dry, leaving me limp into a puddle of aqua blue slime.

As a result, the supply of magic power was cut off, and Artoria's holy spear became a squib.

It's not difficult to output face-to-face, but judging from Ishtar's situation, if the supernatural life body rashly approaches the core of the human-face tree, even the spirit base will probably be evaporated.

"Damn, now that things have come to an end, give me this..."

Mistake, I would have brought a few more friends with me if I knew it earlier.It's best to have Karna present, if it doesn't work, the big kidnapper can give it a go.

"Crooked, is there anyone? Excuse me, is there anyone who is free to come over and bombard the city's treasure??"

I hurriedly yelled on the phone, intending to ask the colleagues in charge of fighting against Tiamat to send someone over to solve the urgent problem.

However, the situation on the other side seems to be equally tense, and if you don't pay attention, it will collapse across the board.

"The opponent is Beast! !Beast of a hundred children with one punch! ! ! Do you know what Beast is? ?We've all worked our ass off, and now we're just beating our heads, no, our souls, because we've lost our heads! ! ! ! 』

Colleagues at the scene yelled at me hoarsely:

"Akane Yuki, can't you use your invincible platinum card pool to find a way——? ! ! ! 』

...What can I do, bro? ! !

Looking at the other side, Gilgamesh is spitting and arguing with Ishtar - he insists that he is the king of five-star kings, and the power of the treasure is the same as before. Babel is not a problem either.

What?You said he is a four-star?

What a joke, how could the hero king among heroes not be the peak follower! !

(Alas, the old man who pushes himself is so hard to deal with...)

(But besides him, it seems that there is no other candidate... How about just turning a dead horse into a living horse doctor and let him have a try?)

——When I was so helpless.

My right hand, which was hanging by my side, was suddenly grasped lightly with imperceptible strength.

"Cy."

With a voice as calm as lake water and tough and cold as steel, the man spoke slowly in my ear, word by word.

"You are smart, you must know what to do. At this point, we have only one choice to end your long-standing nightmare."

"..."

I felt my heart sink heavily, and my chest was in severe pain as if it was being clenched by iron claws.

He - the Cave King said "we".

he and I.

He sees the two of us as one, and he sees it as his mission to end my nightmare.That's why he announced to me in a flat voice.

"Let me go, Akane. You should be very clear that my treasure doesn't consume much mana. As long as I sneak in and find the center of the Human Face Tree, and then attack—"

"...and then. Can you guarantee a safe return, Edmund?"

"........."

no answer.

I knew he wouldn't lie to me or inject me with vague, ambiguous placebos.

——If you don’t answer, you can’t guarantee it.

"... Well, I refuse. You can't go. No one should take that risk."

"Cy."

As if trying to enlighten an ignorant child, the young man called my name again, and raised his hand slightly sadly to stroke my hair.

"Only I can go. I'm the fastest of all. I'm the only one who can hit the core for sure and potentially get away with it."

"But it's just 'could get away with it', isn't it?"

I leaned forward and reached out to grab the fabric of his chest:

"I don't believe in 'possible'. If there is a one in ten thousand chance that you will be swallowed by the human face tree—"

"I am your follower, your ability. Even if this body sinks into the bottom of the sea, I will never leave your side. If..."

"if……?"

"... Live well, Akane."

"------"

The pupils of the young man's eyes are as calm as the sea, but in the depths there are turbulent and frenzied emotions like a storm.

There is neither rashness nor recklessness, only the brilliance of determination like an oath.For the victory of this battle, he is willing to bet his life from the bottom of his heart.

However, I dare not gamble.

"... 'Oh, Valentine.'"

Almost talking to myself, I murmured in a low voice as thin as a gnat.

"'Oh, Valentine. He asked me if I loved him. Valentine, tell him if you love Maximilian.'"

"what?"

My words came out of nowhere, and even the Cave King couldn't help being startled:

"Cy, what are you talking about? Wait a minute, could it be—"

He reacted suddenly, and the blood on his cheeks faded away in an instant.

I know.I know he will understand.

Because, that is exactly Haidee's answer to the Count of Monte Cristo's "do you love me" in the book "The Count of Monte Cristo"——

"--yes!"

I continued loudly, but this time it was no longer reciting lines, but frankly pouring out the truth that had been rehearsed thousands of times in my chest:

"'I love you. I love you as one loves a father, a brother, and a husband. I love you as I love life, as I love God'—I'm sorry, but I'm not a Christian. Good. 'Because, you are the best and noblest person in the world.'"

"Varied……"

"I can't be Haidee in the book, but Haidee's heart for you is my voice. You always underestimate yourself, Edmond Dantès."

I didn't give him the slightest chance to react, and immediately began to improvise in one breath:

"Listen, it's not that I don't want to win, and I'm not against you taking risks. But you—you can't, even if it's only a one-in-a-million chance, you can't tell me that. You can't let me hold you in my arms after losing you. 'Live well' with your thoughts."

"It can't be all right. It's an irreparable loss, Edmund. Without you, there will always be a hole and a scar in my heart."

"The cards can be drawn again, the wall can be teased again, and I can still shout heartlessly 'I want it all'. But I know very well that in this world, I will never be able to talk about other things like I love you. any love affair."

"........."

"........."

"...Cy, you really..."

The King of the Grottoes——Edmond Dantès's expression was shocked, and his eyes were shaken, as if he opened his eyes and traveled back to the morning when he was 19 years old, and he seemed to see Father Faria resurrected when he looked up.

And I stood still in the same place, not dodging or dodging, and met his gaze without fear.

"it is true."

I say.

"Yes, you've met the real one. Am I clear enough? So, stop being so selfless, stop thinking 'I'm the unloved avenger, I'm the first one', OjbK??? "

"……Feel sorry."

As if the white eyelashes covered with snow trembled, the young man shook his head and sighed with a wry smile, and raised a hand to cover his cheek.

"Even though it's such a time, I feel very happy..."

"—That is to say. It's such a time, what kind of romantic comedy are you still doing there? Really."

"...???"

The sudden sarcasm hit the eardrum directly, and it was like an ice and snow empowerment in an instant, which made my mind, which was heated up by excitement, regain clarity.

That is--

"Really, you are too self-absorbed. Even if you don't talk about it, we won't just watch our lovers be separated. Because that's not romantic at all."

"Anyway, Lip and I are already used to seeing off other people's Happy End or something?"

The voice of a girl——Lilith.

When I looked back in surprise, Lip and Lilith, who were supposed to escort "Artificial White Field" away, were shoulder to shoulder, with rose and violet ribbons fluttering in the wind, just like a lovely Flowers generally stand there.

Lip blinked timidly:

"That, that, the Master said Miss Akane might need help, so let's come back... Sorry, didn't bother you, did I?"

"Okay, let's get out of the way. Affectionate heroine. Although it's only the first time we meet, I don't hate you."

Lilith, on the other hand, took the first step to grasp the status quo, and stepped forward gracefully with dexterous dance steps:

"As long as you break through that core, it's fine? Although 'your love should be guarded by yourself'—but, who made you a weak human being. Just help me a little bit. I say, you have to be self-aware , thank us well?"

"Once in a while, dancing for a love that someone desperately wants to protect...it doesn't feel bad."

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