The Witch and the Doll Swear

The city stands in the night.

The towering city walls are lit with lights, whether it is the door surrounded by a circle of colorful lights, the majestic and sacred statues illuminated by the light of the spotlights, or the most eye-catching top of the city walls, which is illuminated white by many magic lamps. A few big "onions" on the ground, these completely cover the city it guards, like the only shelter in the dark wilderness.

"Looking at it from a distance, it's really beautiful."

After taking a good rest on the airship and reading the letter sent by Elif, the girl recovered a little.

When the stripes summoned by the witch looked back at Bike City, Tingna couldn't help feeling like this.

Two days ago, Tingna never imagined that after such a short time, she would return to this city that she had no time to visit.

What's more, he didn't expect to leave this city again on the night of flying back to Bike City.

"Now, can you tell me? Miss Liliana, Miss Alice."

But it doesn't matter anymore, after these two days of incidents, Tingna's favor towards the Church of the Holy Church has fallen all the way below the bottom line of disgust.

She hates black and white houses, and now she even hates this bright city.

"Where are we going?"

"Looks like it's all right now, Miss Tina."

"...Miss Alice, may I ask, what does it mean to be fine?"

"Alice thought that you would be depressed for a long time, Miss Tingna. Most people would have lingering fears after encountering that kind of torture and treatment, even if they survived safely, and even left a serious psychological shadow, and..."

"And I killed a mother."

Alice, who was lying on the horse's neck with her legs crossed, propped up her body. Her current shape was that of the tightly bound [Holy Annihilator]. Her already sharp eyes seemed a little more oppressive because of the slightly raised eyebrows.

Liliana in the girl's arms also raised her head, those black eyes stared at Tina with a wry smile on her face.

The girl who felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by the two couldn't help reaching out and pinching the tip of Miss Witch's nose.

"... I always feel that Ms. Liliana and Alice have misunderstood me... However, I am indeed fine. This matter has not yet happened. I just learned that Glory City was attacked, and my father and mother are in danger. It bothers me so much when I don’t know.”

Indeed, being thrown into the heresy interrogation room was a nightmare experience. Although it was just pulling out nails, this kind of torture was far more painful than the girl imagined.

"Although... I persisted until two nails were pulled out, but at that time, I had already succumbed. If I have to pull out the third nail, I will definitely say whatever they want me to say."

But apart from giving the girl an indelible dislike for the Holy Church, it didn't leave a psychological shadow or anything like that.

"But I don't want to say it. I know that no matter what I say, it will become their weapon to attack Miss Liliana. I can't do this. I'm afraid that this will happen, so although my reason and body have succumbed to the pain, But my fear and hatred ran amok."

Having said that, the girl hesitated a little——

"If she died, I wouldn't have to suffer, and I wouldn't do anything against Miss Liliana. At that time... I really thought this way. Did the Shadow Demon's rampage kill her or was it me? intentionally killed her... I don't know."

——Say the words that I didn't dare to tell Liliana and Alice before.

Although she didn't know it, Tina didn't feel too much guilt about it.

She is not the kind who shouts that the life of the enemy is also precious. Please believe in the Holy Mother of Love and Peace. Before teaching her to value life, her father taught her to put safety first. What should be done to solve the incident by means other than killing.

Now, she is no longer confused.

【Life is very important, it is the most important thing for everyone. 】

But what is important also varies from person to person.

If the interrogator was alive, he would threaten her life and Liliana's safety, so after she died, Tingna could only find a faint sense of guilt in her heart.

"It does seem to be all right. As for this problem, don't worry at all. It's not Miss Tingna's fault. If you want to say why..."

"...Miss Tingna doesn't have the ability to control Shadow Demon with her own will."

"is that so……"

"There are two kinds of jobs to manipulate shadow demons. One is a shadow mage who uses the power of the shadow plane, and the other is a shadow magician who controls shadow demons. No matter which one is a field, only qualified people can set foot in it. Obviously, Miss Tingna does not have such qualifications."

"..."

Tingna looked at the starry sky in silence.

Alice's unceremonious tone, as if saying "stop dreaming", completely dispelled the last bit of guilt.

She raised her head, the snow field and the horizon of the night sky continued to extend, Alice and Liliana did not take the initiative to bring up the topic, only the sound of horseshoes galloping on the snow and dry grass, being blown away by the wind.

"...how long will it take to arrive?"

"...It won't be long, we'll get there before tomorrow, that's it."

Liliana leaned peacefully on the girl's arms, and together they looked up at the starry night sky.

The witch muttered to herself, spreading her palms in front of her eyes.

A small ring, shining yellow color.

"...This was decided before the start of this journey."

………………………………………………………………………………

Before the hands of the pocket watch approached the moment when one day changed from the next, the dappled horse came to a hill.

The destination is just ahead of this hill.

"Thank you for sending us here. The God of Light told Alice that those who work hard should be rewarded."

Speaking words that were definitely not in the teachings of the Church of the Holy Church, Alice rolled the fresh grass and apples that she got from nowhere with the whip of light and sent them to its mouth.

Heck, heck, every time the horse gnawed on the apple, the little puppet moved a little further away, so the horse took another slow step forward, leaving a long string of footprints on the snow.

"Is it a hot spring again?"

"...It's a hot spring, and it's also a ruin."

There are a large number of hot springs distributed on the west side of Elrond Grassland, and Liliana stopped and "built" five or six during the journey.

Thanks to this, before climbing to the top of the hill, Tingna judged from the steaming mist and the smell of sulfur in the night wind that it was a sulfur hot spring.

The horse stepped on the thick snow and climbed up to the top of the hill, a small flat rocky land appeared in front of the girl.

The surface of the water is shining brightly, like the moonlight falling into the earth, and like a pool of calm mercury, in the center of this rocky place, surrounded by many broken walls and ruins.

It turned out to be a smooth and regular perfect circle. The nearby buildings made of rocks had been weather-beaten, and the patterns on them were incomplete. But after pulling off the goggles, Tina could still vaguely make out a few of them with the moonlight reflecting off the snow. Torn patterns.

For example, a certain faded Holy Cross with distinctive features.

"Is it the remains of the Holy Church?"

"It should be one of the oldest temple ruins."

Tingna followed Liliana to the side of the hot spring. The little doll was still feeding the dappled horse, so she answered without looking back.

The girl made a bitter face because of this answer, and covered her bandaged fingers with her uninjured hand.

Now she is particularly disgusted with things with the word "temple".

"...Miss Tina, do you still remember the myths of the nomads?"

Facing such a girl, Miss Witch suddenly talked about the myth of the grassland.

Ting Na couldn't keep up with Miss Witch's sudden topic, so she nodded blankly.

Of course she remembered.

The nomads living in the Ellon prairie have quite complicated myths, not only the belief in Artemis, the moon of hunting, but also the deities they believe in are different for each tribe.

But before these differences, almost all myths have a common origin.

"The goddess of the grassland dispelled the blood-colored sky and defeated the demon, so the grassland ushered in an era of peace and happiness..."

"...Many myths on the continent are essentially exaggerated descriptions of things that actually happened. This is a typical example. The things described happened in the early days of the first era. Miss Tina, Scarlet Sky , Church of the Holy Church, the first era... What can you think of through these words?"

"Hmm... The Church of the Holy Church launched a war against the blood race to save the cruelly oppressed human beings?"

Tina still remembers something from history class.

When it comes to the bloody sky, apart from being often used to describe the cruelty of war, the main object of description is those nobles in the dark night who engrave fear in human blood.

"It's not appropriate to describe it as salvation. Cruel oppression is true, but it is also forced by the situation. It was the Holy Church until the magicians couldn't bear the high-handed rule of the Holy Church and set off a rebellion to establish the ancient magic empire. In the heyday of their strength, they concealed too many truths."

After feeding the horse, it floated onto Tina's shoulder, and nodded to Liliana, which seemed to say that she was ready. After getting this confirmation, Liliana took a step towards the spring water.

"But through some side details, it is still possible to deduce some truths, and it is not difficult. Why didn't the Goddess of the Prairie seal the demon instead of destroying it? What kind of demon can cover the sky with the color of blood and bring humanity Great fear?" Liliana walked towards the center of the spring step by step.

From the witch's body, the ancient and mysterious coat of arms suddenly shone brightly, and Liliana's magic light flowed from those ancient and gorgeous lines, and the illusory halo seemed to cover her with a hazy colored veil.

Alice, who was sitting on the girl's shoulders, uttered a question that even Tina, who only read a lot of novels, could blurt out the answer, held Liliana's silver pocket watch, and looked up at the moon sky with her chin on her hand.

The moon of Diana is coming little by little with the movement of the second hand, in the middle of the sky.

"Alice?"

Ting Na, who subconsciously said the name of the most well-known demon race on the mainland, did not receive a response, so she raised her head and looked up at the full moon.

...full moon?

Tina was stunned suddenly.

Today is the 25th of Starfrost Moon.

Although the girl always couldn't remember the monthly calendar calculated by the astrologers, the constellation Siva, which dyed the galaxy in icy colors, was already in the far west of the sky.

Although there is still a period of time before the end of the month, the Moon of Stars and Frost has already reached the end of the month, and the Moon of Diana that appeared in the sky should still be the crescent moon, the last quarter moon.

But the moon hanging in the night sky is as round and bright as the spring water Liliana dipped into.

On the clean and flawless surface, the lines belonging to Diana's moon can't be seen. Instead, there is a coldness that looks up at the moon in the night sky and reaches the bone marrow for some reason.

"Time is up."

Alice lowered her head to look at the pocket watch, and then looked up at the unknown moon. As the voice fell, the gorgeous pointer of the silver pocket watch stayed on the dial, in the center of the figure 3.

Three o'clock in the middle of the night, the moment of change.

Every day is the shortest, only this moment.

The only boundary between today and tomorrow.

One second ahead is the moment of yesterday's encounter with the devil.

One second back is today's moment of rest.

In this instant.

"?!"

Tina did see it.

Bloody full moon.

"Miss Liliana, Alice!"

A great panic squeezed out from every muscle, occupying the blood vessels, Tina panicked, and her heartbeat seemed to be injected with the poison made of fear and she lost her voice.

She certainly didn't hear Alice press the pocket watch, but the world froze under the bloody moonlight, the sky turned into a scarlet curtain, and the galaxy shone with dizzyingly bright brilliance, turning the pure white snow into a bloody one. grout.

In this world, only the mercury-like hot spring still retains its brilliant silvery white.

And this silvery white gradually turned red.

The iridescent colors of the aurora changed.

The coat of arms on Liliana's body turned into the color of blood, those coat of arms turned into wounds, and dark red liquid was flowing out of the coat of arms.

"Miss Liliana!"

I don't know where the power came from, which made the girl run, but she was tripped by the little puppet with the whip of light within two steps.

"Miss Tina, don't get in the way."

"But Miss Liliana!"

"This is a necessary step to remove the seal. The conditions set by those bastards in the Holy Church are really harsh. They must be female, they must be of royal blood, and they must use special magic to actively sacrifice their lives in order to become the key to open the door. More importantly, the door can only be opened under harsh astrology, for this moment, Alice and Lily have waited since the Thirteenth Holy War."

"but--"

"Lily isn't dead, how many times will it take you to remember?"

Alice was a little impatient and lashed the ground with her bare long whip.

"No but, just watch it obediently! At this time, it is unnecessary to panic because the person you like encounters a situation that you cannot understand. Or do you want Alice to give you another [Sacred Annihilation Power of Deterrence]?"

Bloody has completely enveloped the world.

Ting Na couldn't believe her eyes, how could so much blood come from such a petite body. The witch sang an ancient song, and in the song, the witch's eyes gradually dimmed.

Even Alice's now brilliant blond hair was dyed blood red, she sat on Tina's head, and the girl's strength was dispelled with a single scolding.

Satisfied looking at Tina who was no longer struggling needlessly, Alice stroked her back to express comfort.

The spring water has been dyed a faint red, and Liliana's chant has reached its climax.

"... I pay the highest respect for your return, noble countess, may your red moon shine on the earth, and may your castle last forever."

Suddenly, a blood-colored figure appeared from the spring.

Also at this moment, Tina clearly heard the sound of Alice pressing down the pocket watch.

When I didn't realize it, time froze and resumed flowing.

The iridescent magic circle condensed over the hot spring, and then.

Scarlet rain fell.

Perhaps it was due to the excessive consumption of magic power after using the outdated treasure, and Alice turned the ring on her finger a little hesitantly. In the magic circle composed of iridescent magic light, a blood cell slowly rotated, and the blood rained pouring down on the spring water. The water splashed on the ground melted into a voluptuous mist, and in the pervasive blood mist, that figure seemed to be clearer.

"……Eh?"

Tina's thoughts froze.

The memory of the Seagull Festival couldn't help but also surfaced, Liliana was always like this, everything she did seemed to have meaning beyond the surface.

——What exactly did Miss Liliana buy?

——We will know when the time comes.

That ring seemed familiar.

——What is Miss Liliana researching?

- You will know after a while.

She suddenly got the answer.

No one told her, but she understood the scene in front of her, and the answer her brain got after thinking.

The pouring rain of blood connected everything together, why did the "snow pigeon" who delivered the goods be paid so generously, and why the person in charge kept winking at him when he was inspected by the Templars.

But she doesn't understand, she doesn't understand.

The sealed true ancestor... such a dangerous existence, why did Liliana and Alice liberate her? !

The situation changed far faster than Tina could comprehend.

Bathed in the blood rain, in the red blood spring, the tall and graceful figure was embracing the witch in his arms.

It was a woman.

Her face was blurred in the permeating blood mist, and above her head, the blood rained down, and the red water surface rose.

"Really, it's been a long time. I feel the time...about seven thousand years. Unexpectedly, I tasted human blood again."

Unfamiliar voices pierced the eardrums.

The blood moon disappeared, and the scarlet world disappeared, only the blood mist gradually thinned on the spring water that had turned back to the color of mercury.

Crash, clatter.

That Liliana spent an unknown amount of gold coins and more than ten days preparing the blood cell, and it quickly shrank and disappeared. In the blood mist that no longer blocked her vision, the woman hugging Liliana in the posture of a princess hugged her, Gracefully paced to the front of the girl.

A beautiful woman.

The shadow is her gorgeous gown, the coquettishness is her elegant pacing, the scarlet eyes reflect the world under the night sky, like a nobleman patrolling its sacred and inviolable territory.

Slightly taller than Tingna, the tall body that would make many men feel ashamed has curves that can only be described as graceful. The sharp eyes reminded Tingna of the little magic apprentice in the mage tower, but with In comparison, this woman's temperament is stronger. The natural aura expands with every swing of her black dress. Every time the sharp high heels hit the rocky ground, the girl's body can hardly be restrained. The desire to escape arises.

It has nothing to do with courage and will, it is the fear engraved in the blood of the cruel rule encountered by human ancestors two epochs ago. In front of this blood race, Tingna even had difficulty breathing.

"Keep your head up, human."

Tina raised her head stiffly.

The voice was majestic and beyond doubt.

She said look up, and Tingna raised her head, and she handed Liliana's pale, bleeding body to Tingna carefully, and Tingna immediately put Alice on her shoulders, and took it, which was lighter than usual, lighter. distressed body.

"Take good care of your companion, she is a strong girl."

——Blood clan, True Ancestor.

The girl's instinct and reason are aware of this, and even her teeth are chattering.

The most famous demon on this continent stretched her body in front of her, as if sending nostalgic greetings to the endless night sky.

On the girl's shoulders, Alice frowned.

"Didn't you suck all the blood? Doesn't Lily's blood suit your taste?"

"That's a stupid act. We are not bloodthirsty beasts. We know how to control our desires."

The True Ancestor of the Blood Race turned his face sideways, and glanced at Alice and Tingna slightly.

"Or 7,000 years...Of course this is just my sense of time. After such a long period of time, has the mainland's knowledge of us been so lacking? Before learning to control desires, the newborns of our race Drinking blood is not allowed."

As if surprised that something that was taken for granted was unknown, the woman questioned.

Then, she nodded thoughtfully.

"Or the group of self-proclaimed gods has falsified history like this? In that case, I don't blame you, after all, those guys will take what we said 'you will remember how much bread you have eaten' out of context Despicable ones."

"...In fact, human beings are directly using 'liberation' to praise that betrayal. If you don't mind, can you explain the real meaning of this sentence in the blood race?"

"Humans' broken brains certainly cannot remember every piece of bread they ate, but we remember every goblin, human, orc and dwarf who gave us blood. Blood is the currency of the soul. Their blood flows through A portion of our throat, a part of our soul, is with me, for which we are grateful and will forever remember."

Proclaiming without hesitation, the true ancestor of the blood race turned around and proudly raised his swan-like neck, declaring so.

"Therefore, it is foolish to forbid such suggestions to make the girl's rebirth faster after death. This is indifference and contempt for life. I will not do it anyway."

"...Alice knows."

Alice was dumbfounded.

"Miss Tina, please feed these medicines to Lily, this is really beyond Alice and Lily's expectations...Miss Tina?"

"Puppet Lord, that girl seems to be fascinated by me."

"...No, although it may be rude to say so, your charm as a vampire is no match for Lily's [magic charm]. Yu felt that it was too charming, and then the fear of the blood race from the human blood was mixed together, and the head was confused..."

"...Speaking of which, I also think this little witch is extremely cute..."

"Really, so it's useless for ordinary people... If I knew it earlier, I would have asked Lily for more magic power... [Sacred Annihilation's Deterrent Authority]!"

A few minutes later, Tina rubbed her cheek with a hot welt, and helped Liliana up who seemed to be much better after drinking some medicine.

During this period of time, the true ancestor of the blood clan who holds the title of earl has been sitting on a nearby broken stone pillar. The top of the stone pillar was originally broken, but now it has been flattened. She is sitting there, looking at the northern horizon. the other side.

With some lonely eyes.

"...Your Excellency the Earl."

"Tell me your name, little witch."

Realizing that the weak witch had regained some strength, she turned her head and her voice was slightly softer.

"... Liliana Einsteins."

The extremely pale witch leaned against Tina's body and stood up, looking up at the blond lady expressionlessly.

In the face of a real ancestor of the blood race, who was called a child, Miss Witch's tone and expression did not change at all.

In stark contrast to Miss Witch is Tina.

Seeing that Liliana was safe and sound, she had something to say, but even if the countess didn't do anything, she couldn't say a word, and could only express her worry with eyes mixed with a little bit of complaint .

……Do not worry about me.

Maybe it was all too obvious, Liliana blinked and shook her head at her.

"Call me the Countess."

Corrected the title problem of Miss Witch,

"Qing Liliana, I won't ask you how you found this place, and where did you know how to wake me up temporarily from the seal. Although the blood can only make me leave the seal for a short time, your strength and awareness are worth it. I'll take the shot, tell me now, the reason why you wake me up at the risk of bleeding to death."

True ancestor from the top of the stone pillar

"...There is something I want to know no matter what, and I want to ask Her Majesty the Countess."

"As long as I know, I will tell you."

"But before that, I hope to complete an agreement."

"Agreement?"

"...That's right."

Facing the countess under the night sky, Liliana stretched out her small hand.

"A small human being, failed to fulfill the promise."

A small ring was lying there quietly.

When the countess saw the orange color, her expression changed.

From the top of the stone pillar, she swooped down like a jet of black mist, arriving in front of the witch almost at the moment Liliana's last word fell.

The hem of the countess's clothes surged violently, as if it represented her intense ups and downs of emotion, Tina hugged Alice, who was unable to move due to a large amount of magic power consumption, and took several steps back one after another, standing in front of her. He didn't even dare to raise his head.

This is the nobleman in the dark night.

Their tyranny over humans at the end of the Eternal Night Dynasty has turned into innate fear and terror that has deeply penetrated into the blood of all mortal races, just like the myth of the grassland, the demons that cover the sky with blood, the nomads I am still deeply, deeply afraid.

If Liliana wasn't by her side, if Alice wasn't in her arms, the girl would have been overwhelmed by the fear flowing in her veins.

On the way to this ruins, Liliana also took out a ring. It was made of gold, and the finger wheel was hollowed out with a crescent moon. There was something finely carved on the ring——

She couldn't see the appearance of the ring at all, and the curiosity struggling with fear could only find out the shape of the ring from her memory, but even this part of her memory was blurred because of the slight swipe at that time. clear.

"Miss Liliana, where did you hear about this?"

The expression of the countess who peeked out of the corner of her eye was both nostalgic and confused.

"I would be angry if I made something like this just based on hearsay stories to please me."

The voice was trembling, and it contained the sullenness as the words said, and the anger turned into a bloody mist, and even the white snow withered and melted in the place where the bloody mist swept.

"...I didn't do this. Your Excellency the Countess actually understands it very well."

"...So, is that coward still living somewhere? Could it be that a small human being has violated the agreement and is still lingering somewhere in this continent?!"

"...No." "Did he keep his soul in some container? Did he abandon his identity as a human and become a blood race? Or did he seek the power of taboo, from a small human to a pathetic undead scum! ? Breaking the agreement again and again, you really have the guts!!!!"

Gritting teeth.

The noble countess pressed her forehead and questioned furiously, as if to tear and chew that "little human being" between her teeth. Bloody mist rolled around her, and the world was once again surrounded by nightmares. scarlet overlay.

Tingna was completely unable to stand still. She sat down on the ground and looked at the blood-red moon in the sky that suddenly replaced Diana's moon, as if her heart was strangled.

A scene appeared in front of her eyes: it was a palace, an extremely luxurious palace, built of dark rocks, with bright red carpets on the terrace, the countess was shaking a crystal goblet on the terrace, crystal clear The liquid in it was as red as blood.

No, it must be bright red blood, just like the scarlet full moon shining proudly on the top of the palace, no matter who, under the shroud of this moonlight, they can only worship and submit.

Just like the myth of the nomads reappearing, the sky was covered with blood, the anger of the true ancestors called for the scarlet moonlight, manic howls of wolves sounded from all directions, and bats and crows flapped their wings and flew from nowhere. Their eyes were also shrouded in blood, covering the sky and covering the sky, circling into dark spirals below the blood moon.

"...Please remove your inherent barrier, Your Excellency the Countess, please don't be so angry."

The witch who faced the anger of the true ancestor staggered forward and fell forward.

She is too weak, the effect of the potion is slowly playing out, but this is not enough for her to recover quickly. Compared with Tingna, she suffered more directly from the power accidentally revealed by the true ancestor in the rage, and her pale skin was covered It was covered with a strange blood color, like...

It's like it's about to burn. .

"... Huh, sorry, I was too excited."

The countess didn't seem to have expected this to happen, she quickly hugged the girl into her arms, the blood moon disappeared, and the circling crows and bats fell on the nearby ruins in silence.

"...[When we meet again, don't worry about the identity gap between you and me as human beings, go on a date in a fair manner]..."

In the arms of the True Ancestor, the Witch was panting weakly, but even so, she still calmly told the reason of all this with the same tone.

"The little human being who made the oath with you, Countess, is no longer there. Although he fought for you to the last moment for the Eternal Night Royal Court, he did not perish together with the black royal city."

Witnessing that the Countess was sealed by the brave of light, he knew that he, who was only a human being, would not be able to survive the long time of reunion with a sealed true ancestor, so he changed his name and surname, concealed his identity, married a wife and had children , Pass down this ring and oath from generation to generation.

When making a promise, no matter who feels it is extremely simple, a small vow,

until now.

"...At least, that's what his descendants told me, but they also died in the meaningless religious wars and were annihilated. Now... for you, Countess, seven thousand years later, this coin The ring and the oath came into my hands and became my oath."

Tina listened quietly.

It was from them that Liliana obtained the information written in complex ciphertext that the little human had stolen from the Holy Church, about the place where the blood ancestor was sealed and how to temporarily lift the seal.

That was the last thing he did in his life.

Perhaps he will never know the impact of what he did.

The loss of the most important documents has completely bankrupted the Holy Church's intention to eliminate the blood race, and even led to the fall of the brave of light.

So, three hundred years later, in the year when the astrology returns, the witch and the puppet went south, passed through Salt Sand City, and crossed the Ellon Prairie to come here.

"...Now...please let me fulfill this promise."

Liliana was talking about it, not so much for the countess, but for Tina.

Ke Tina's attention was not here at all.

Liliana handed the small ring to the Countess's slender finger, and she wanted to put it on for her awkwardly.

The girl looked at her actions and tried hard to make her paralyzed vocal cords vibrate, but when she was about to succeed, Alice shouted out the words she wanted to say with a look of "don't be too puzzled at this time". stared back.

"When we meet again, don't worry about the identity gap between you as the true ancestor and me as a small human, and go on a date together... Hmph, you kept your proud human identity, but you didn't keep this oath."

The scarlet eyes that were closed in the middle of Liliana's words opened.

There was no longer boiling anger on her face. From her calm face, Tina couldn't guess what kind of mood she was in now.

but.

It must not be an illusion, Tina can be sure that the true ancestor of the blood race, after opening his eyes, took a look at himself, and then took the ring from Liliana's hand.

"Seven thousand years... This is just the time I feel. I often sleep very deeply in the seal. In fact, there is no doubt that a longer time has passed."

Holding Liliana's True Ancestor, he pinched the ring mockingly.

The fingertips passed through the gold ring, hesitated, and then slowly pulled it out. The slender fingers held the ring reluctantly, but didn't even pass through a single knuckle.

"In the end, I couldn't fulfill my promise to accompany him through his vow of at most a hundred years of life." Is it crying or smiling?

The vampire hugged Liliana, smiled wryly and shook his head, with the ring between his fingers, he twisted it suddenly.

The two villains holding hands on the face of the ring were erased just like that, leaving only the smooth golden mirror.

From the fluttering hem of the dress, a bat flew out from the shadow, biting the ring, and flew in front of Tinna, letting go.

The girl looked blankly at the ring falling from her eyes, chasing the only bright gaze, and instinctively lifted it up because she felt the gaze.

Lines of sight crossed.

In the blue of the sea, drops of dark red blood fell.

"This is the unavoidable bitter ending of the relationship between the immortal species and the ephemeral species."

——? !

The ring slammed onto the snow.

Ting Na's pupils shrank suddenly, and the hand that subconsciously stretched out to pick up the ring also retracted. She looked at the blood race's beautiful and calm expression at a loss, and her hair stood on end.

The beautiful countess, who was looking directly at the girl, just shook her head slightly, without a trace of haze, and stretched her arms around Liliana's slender waist.

"But so what? I knew this when I fell in love with him who was just a mere human."

She suddenly used the other hand to hold the golden hair hanging down her cheek, and leaned over to hug the witch in her arms.

"—Wait a minute! Wait a moment for me!!"

All the bewilderment and helplessness were blown away in an instant.

When Tingna roared in disbelief, the sudden deep kiss was over, and what was drawn between the parted lips was not a thin silver thread but a bright red blood thread, which symbolized the connected life, connecting the witch and the girl. The heartbeat of the blood race. Completely ignoring Tina's frantic yelling, on the soles of the high heels, black shadows carried the Witch and the True Ancestor up into the moonlit sky.

"Miss Liliana, do you still have the strength?"

"……Um."

By the light of the moon, the girl saw Liliana's confusion before they flew so high.

When Ting Na stomped her feet anxiously, she also looked at the girl, as if she was a little caught off guard by the situation.

"Then let's dance!"

But immediately, she nodded to Tina, took the countess's hand, and stood in the sky.

The moonlight on the snow weaves a silver dress in the song of the true ancestor, wrapping the witch's petite body. Noble ladies proclaim grand balls.

"Love can't be eternal. Eternal time will erase all the romance and heartbeats of the past, and will send you more romance, but so what? The Millennium City that was once thought to stand forever was also buried by the snow in the Northland , My proud night owl city-state has also turned into dust, even if I want to fulfill my appointment vows, there is nowhere to go, and the human city-state is too boring!"

"But at least we can still dance. At least, Diana shines, and the stage built by Yetian and Xinghui is worthy of this one-night date that is seven thousand years late!"

Holding the waist of Liliana who was much shorter than herself, the countess smiled indulgently and sang in the night sky. In the song, the blood race and the witch danced a gorgeous waltz in the sky.

The crow and the wolf howled.

Dedicated music to the dance party under the night.

There are only two dancers and only two spectators.

The round dance of the Witch and the True Ancestor seems to have spanned seven thousand years, and the black and silver skirts are in full bloom in the night sky.

"...Does Miss Ting Na feel very unwilling?"

After using Liliana's pocket watch once, and using [Sacred Annihilation's Deterrence Power] on Tingna, the puppet that consumed too much mana could no longer float up. In the girl's arms, she suddenly raised her head.

"How much, there must be a little..."

Of course, there will be.

Ting Na grinned, she wanted to smile indifferently, but accidentally touched the cheek hit by [Sacred Annihilation's Deterrence Authority], and it hurt hotly.

Right in front of his eyes, Liliana kissed the blood countess and danced heartily in the sky.

But I can only watch their skirts blooming like flowers among the stars from a distance on the ground, and I am fascinated by the howling of crows and distant wolves.

"Do you regret staying?"

Shake your head, shake your head.

"It's just that I feel a little uncomfortable."

It's just a little bit, she gestured to the doll in her arms like this.

Tingna also understands that this makes no sense, and now she only admires Liliana unilaterally, although she said "confession"...but under such circumstances, whether it is "confession" or farewell, even Tingna herself can't tell , In the final analysis, such things as feelings are inherently unreasonable.

"...Did you know, Miss Tina, Alice and Lily, have actually traveled with many people, the time is long or short, but without exception, they all left."

Starlight, between the dancing steps of the witch and the earl, weaves the curtain of the aurora. The beauty that should have been seen only in the extreme northern sky has become their fluttering skirt on this grassland.

"...That is, why?"

Tina watched intently.

Alice also watched in rapt attention.

"Because the more you know, the more you will find that Lily and Alice are different from what they imagined and hoped for... Outlook on life, concept of good and evil, ways of doing things, temperature differences in feelings..."

"How long can Miss Tina last?"

"I don't understand……"

"For example, that knight is not actually a cultist."

"……Eh?"

It wasn't hard to show watchers who had no idea they had been exposed long ago what Lily and Alice wanted them to see.

Let the daughter report the father, let the wife report the husband, with Lily's [Magic Charm] combined with some speech skills, it is not difficult. It is very similar to brainwashing but it is not. Not many can be called firm.

With the [Silver Timepiece], it is very simple for them to 'stumble upon' those letters and believe what Lily said.

"It's also very interesting to say. It is obvious that the human law will not use the testimony of relatives as evidence of innocence, but it will especially believe in the accusations of relatives. After that, it is enough to activate black contacts and forge some evidence. Specifically The means...Miss Tingna better not know, it involves some past events that Lily doesn't want to mention."

"Miss Liliana and Alice, did you frame that knight..."

"To be precise, it's a frame-up, but in order to avoid being forced to die too quickly when picking up Miss Tingna, Lily left some leeway. He will be tried by the Church of the Holy Church for assisting the heretics, but after all, he is just a 'no Be careful of the Noble Phantasm powerhouse who went the wrong way, any church is very tolerant of this kind of person, but it may not be treated particularly harshly because of a serious problem, but who cares if he dies? ?Even if it causes a big purge, it has nothing to do with Alice, it would be better to say that they are all dead."

"... Even so, isn't Miss Alice still encouraging me?"

"Life is short so you don't regret it, and life is long so don't regret it, either way makes sense, Miss Tina, the important thing is not what Alice encourages Miss Tina to do, but... ..."

But... what?

Alice shook her head without giving an answer.

That's something Miss Tingna has to think about for herself—that expression seems to be saying so.

In the sky, the witch and the true ancestor of the blood race are still dancing a dance that seems to last forever. In the corner of the field of vision, because of the moonlight, the snow is shining beautifully golden.

"..."

Is this the unavoidable bitter ending of the relationship between the immortal species and the short-lived species...?

Tina hesitated for a moment, secretly.

Pick up that ring.