The revolver fell to the ground, the magazine popped open, and the blue-glowing factor energy bullets rolled all over the ground.
Grace collapsed completely. He had lost the last bit of his strength. When he realized this, he smiled self-deprecatingly:
"Hehehe...I'm really not suitable for this job..."
Grace trembled as he took out a lollipop from his pocket, quickly peeled off the wrapper and threw it into his mouth, a hint of sweetness rolled across his tongue. The sweetness of the lollipop always acted like a tranquilizer at times like these, slowly suppressing his anxiety.
"But I am not fit to be a member of your Federation... [Pure White Fireworks]... I cannot kill them all..."
With cold indifference, Grace stared directly into the blood-red eyes of [Pure White Flame], and his dilated pupils lit up for the first time.
"The Federation people...plundered...robbed...robbed...held the banner of the Tower of Babel and constantly claimed that they were the rule of the world...the humans who had ascended to the sky...the gods of the land of Ursa..."
"In the Academy... I saw your faces that claimed to be gods, and the hypocritical figures of those hypocrites..."
"In the border city of Ravis, I saw those beings you had abandoned... those abandoned pieces that the gods no longer needed on their chessboard..."
Grace thought of the old man again, and the children behind him.
With a pale face and thin body, and a hunched back, he walked in the jungle of Lavis.
He subconsciously wanted to avoid those who looked dangerous, those "inferior people" in the eyes of the old guys in the [Academy]. He was afraid that the dirt on the children's hands would dirty his white coat, and he was afraid that the stench on the old men would dirty his nose that was used to the smell of perfume.
But the child did not back down. He slowly walked towards Grace and took out a lollipop from his pocket.
Then the child handed the lollipop to Grace.
Grace stared at the lollipop in a daze - it didn't even have a wrapper, and the surface of the candy was stained with mud from the child's hands, looking sticky.
"The candy in the city... is delicious... you eat it!"
The child struggled to speak the common language, which was not fluent. His posture was still hunched, but the light in his pupils left a mark on Grace's retina until today.
"Hehehe...that's enough..."
Grace gently raised his head and looked into the eyes of the silent [Pure White Fireworks].
"The Wolfpack just wanted to take back what you took... but it doesn't matter now..."
In the chill brought by the loss of blood, Grace closed his eyes.
"Go ahead, Federals."
Amid the symphony of tinnitus and silence, Grace heard the footsteps of the girl slowly approaching him. His body was trembling slightly, and cold sweat kept dripping from his forehead and falling into his clothes that were already covered in blood.
“Click…Click…Click…Click…”
The sound of footsteps slowly hit Grace's eardrums, like the applause from the audience, and he thought of the scene of overlooking the entire audience from the podium at the graduation ceremony.
The applause made his proud self-esteem burn and it continued to surge upwards.
But now, life is like a dream——
“Pah…Pah…Pah…Pah…”
Amid the footsteps of death, Grace smiled again.
Okay, at least I have a clear conscience.
His self-respect got him into the [college], but his conscience made him leave the [college].
But until now, Grace still didn't know whether he wanted to climb the Tower of Babel or take the lollipop from the child.
He recalled the gunshots and the soft splash of the lollipop as it hit the mud.
The voice was so light, how could it shake the Tower of Babel that was high up in the clouds?
"Pap...pap..."
The footsteps stopped and Grace's body tensed up. He knew that moment had come.
Okay... I am not an innocent person, so I will atone for my sins...
Grace silently waited for the knife that would end his life. The last moments slipped through his fingers and he was about to lose control of them.
However, the knife never came.
"Eh?"
Grace slowly opened his eyes, and he saw the [Pure White Flame] close at hand - there was indeed no trace of burns on her body. Just as the Wilkins described, the [Blade of Babel] was a god, and gods could not be hurt.
Perlis Haflegarde looked at Grace silently, her pretty face still with a calm look, which made Grace a little annoyed.
Why...why can you remain calm even after this?
Rage ignited Grace's cold body. Just as he was about to stand up and roar, Pure White Flame spoke:
"Any more?"
"Ok?"
Grace stared at [Pure White Fireworks] in a daze, not understanding what she was saying for a moment.
"What..?"
"that."
[Pure White Fireworks] pointed at the lollipop in Grace's mouth.
Wha...what?
Grace stared at [Pure White Firework]'s face in a daze, unable to understand.
Seeing that Grace said nothing, [Pure White Fireworks] sighed and then reached out her hand to Grace, frightening him. However, she only took out a lollipop from Grace's pocket and did not do anything to hurt Grace.
"Um..."
[Pure White Fireworks] After looking at the lollipop packaging for a while, he quickly opened the packaging and put it in his mouth.
She looked at Grace who was lying on the ground, said nothing, and turned and left.
"Hey...wait...?"
Looking at the [Pure White Fireworks] gradually disappearing into the distance, Grace trembled in confusion.
Why…why?
"Hey--"
Grace stretched out a hand towards the back and shouted:
"Hey!"
"Save some strength, Maester Grice."
With the light from the tent door behind her, [Pure White Fireworks] slowly turned her head and stared at Grace with her blood-red eyes. She was holding a lollipop in her mouth, and a small round mark protruded from Bai Zhe's cheek.
"You...remember...?"
"Keep going north and don't come back."
"you...."
Looking at the indifferent face of [Pure White Fireworks], Grace wanted to say something.
He didn't understand...he was a sinner in the eyes of the Federation, a villain in the Grau Yad Wasteland, and a traitor to the Academy.
Isn’t [Blade of Babel] aimed at people like him?
Just as he was about to speak, Grace caught a glimpse of the look in [Pure White Flame]'s eyes and was stunned.
There was a kind of sadness that was almost pity that flashed across those red eyes.
“…”
Perlis took one last look at Grace, then opened the door of the tent and walked out slowly. The pure white figure was swallowed up by the light from the tent entrance and disappeared.
The wind from the wasteland blew the flames from the wreckage, burning the land of Grau Yad. Listening to the sound of the burning fire, Grace's heart could not calm down for a long time.
Federals... Federals heading south...
Federals... Federals heading north...
Amid the collision of countless emotions, Grace lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling of the tent with lifeless eyes. Countless images flashed before his eyes like a movie.
Graduation ceremony...lollipops in children's hands...sorrow in red eyes...
The lollipop in his mouth was broken into pieces by one bite. Grau smiled self-deprecatingly and swallowed the countless pieces of lollipop mixed with the blood in his mouth.
It's fucking ridiculous.
The footsteps of [Pure White Fireworks] had faded away. Recalling everything he had experienced so far, Grace smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Damn it... it's the price..."
...END...
Crossing Destiny
"..."
“Click…Click…Click…Click…”
The rain dripped on the eaves of Lorton, slowly flowed down the brick and tile wall patterns that were retro and slightly I-Tran-style, and dripped at the entrance of the deserted alley.
“Click…Click…Click…Click…”
The sound of rain on the street corner and the atmosphere of the rainy night are in perfect harmony, like a drunken gentleman playing jazz, sprinkling the raindrops wildly and casually on the surface of the yellow-edged music score, and then dripping on the blues strings, making two or three just right musical sounds, embellishing the rainy night.
In this indifferent and misty street corner, somewhat abruptly, a pair of blood-red eyes slowly opened, shining in the darkness.
"..."
Amid the sound of rain, Ibuki Rin slowly left the brick wall she was leaning against and walked towards the middle of the narrow road. A slightly unpleasant wind slowly blew in from the end of the street, shaking the wires of the trams on the street - that was the wind from Wanren Mountain. Walking down the street behind the girl, you will reach the [Lord's Avenue] leading to Wanren Mountain.
"..."
Staring at the darkness in front of her, Ibuki Rin still held the transparent umbrella nonchalantly. The drizzle fell on the umbrella, making a pleasant sound. She closed her eyes slightly again, feeling this bit of comfort that belonged only to Loton.
But soon, just as she had heard, the sound of the rain was gradually joined by a less pleasant sound of steel clashing—
“Clang…Clang…”
Ibuki Rin opened her eyes again, and this time, she faced directly the uninvited guests she had already noticed - more than thirty investigators wearing giant armor were marching in the streets of Loton, and the dozen or so in the lead had raised their guns, aiming at the girl standing alone in the center of the street.
As expected, the reason why [Grizzly of the Iron Guard] let them enter Thebit so smoothly was not because he really compromised, but because he wanted to lead them into the heart of this mountain city and catch them all in one fell swoop.
But Ibuki Rin didn't care.
"Hey, [Blade of Babel], you can't wait to come out and die? (Thebite language)," the leading investigator slowly walked forward and looked at the girl standing in the drizzle, "It seems that you federal dogs still have some sense, and you know to retreat when you encounter difficulties... (Thebite language)"
Seeing the investigator's smug look, Ibuki Rin did not respond. She continued to stare at the investigator silently, her blood-red eyes motionless like cold blood diamonds.
Thebit, she didn't care.
"Where are your accomplices?" the investigator shouted. "Where are the pink-haired one and the grinning little bitch? Are they with you? Or have they gone up the mountain?"
"..."
Ibuki Rin continued to stare silently at the thirty-odd people in front of her. She quickly scanned the crowd, and when she saw that there were no [Iron Guards], she slowly raised her head and turned her gaze to the transparent umbrella.
The rain streaks on the transparent umbrella are so beautiful... They seem to be irregular, but they always gather at a certain point on the edge of the umbrella, condense and then slowly fall down into the dust...
.....Just like the fate of countless things that intersect and perish together.
"Hey! You damn federal dog!" the investigator yelled. Ibuki Rin's indifference was like the cold wind blowing from the Wanren Mountain, which made him angry and embarrassed. "Kneel down! Put your hands up! Or I'll make a hole in your forehead!"
Ibuki Rin slowly moved her gaze downward from the transparent edge of the umbrella, and saw the black muzzles of guns - in the hands of the densely packed tin men that filled the streets, countless black muzzles of guns were pointing at her.
If more than thirty bullets from the R-72 "Rhino" special pistol hit at the same time, even the [Strong Factor Shield] generated by redstone might not be able to withstand the attack in one go.
"Ready!!!" Seeing that Ibuki Rin didn't move, the leading investigator raised his left hand, which was not holding a gun. The anger flashing in his eyes was particularly bright in the rainy night, "Fire--"
"bass------"
"..."
Somewhat abruptly, a sharp red light flashed. In the dark night that was divided into countless unequal pieces by the drizzle, the red light was like thunder, shining but fleeting.
“Click…Click…Click…Click…”
The rain fell on the surface of the giant armor, slowly flowing down the bodies of the investigators. When it fell on the ground made of stone brick streets, the rain had already been dyed into a shocking blood red.
"Uh...ah..."
The investigator stared at the girl in astonishment. She was still standing in the drizzle indifferently, her black hair fluttering slowly in the evil wind of the rainy night. Her left hand was still holding the transparent umbrella. The only difference from before was that her right hand was already holding an unsheathed sword.
