Unable to shirk Leorick's invitation, Todd sat down in front of the chessboard, looking at the chess pieces in front of him, but thinking about the situation in the Holy Acropolis, he didn't know how to settle for a while.

Leorik looked at the other party, slowly put down the chess pieces in his hand, and said slowly: "Child, I want to thank you. ”

Todd looked up in surprise: "Thank you?"

Leorik sighed, "I haven't spoken to my daughter since the day she got married. But this morning, Mary suddenly approached me and said she wanted to see someone...... That person is you. ”

Todd suddenly opened his mouth to explain the relationship between the two: "I ...... with her"

Leorik stretched out his hand to stop his words, and said with a smile: "I don't want to know about what happened between you, what I do know is that Mary has a trusted friend in the Holy Acropolis, and that's enough." ”

Hearing the other party's words, Todd gave up his intention to explain and fell silent.

Leorik raised his head to look at the blue sky, threw the chess pieces in his hand into the chessboard, and stood up with difficulty: "It's rare to have such good weather, it's too wasteful to play chess, take a walk with me, an old fellow." ”

Before taking the first step, the aging joints and weak muscles made Leorick's legs and feet weak, and he almost fell to the ground.

Todd hurriedly stepped forward and stretched out his hand to help him, but Leorick pushed his hand away and shouted in a low voice, "Don't touch me!

The murderous aura of the long-soaked sand, and the majesty of being in a high position, made Todd look at Leorik with the illusion of a moment, as if he had really seen a fierce beast that chose to devour people.

Catching a glimpse of the stunned look on Todd's face, Leorick shook his head helplessly, and said in a low voice: "I'm sorry, my vigilance regardless of the occasion has already destroyed my etiquette, please forgive me for the unintentional mistake of this old man." ”

Leorik walked tremblingly, reminiscing as he recalled, "When I was young, I traveled to the south. I rode all the way to the southernmost part of the parish and stepped on a savannah as far as the eye could see, where I saw a herd of lions. ”

"There is a lion king in the lion pack, and he is majestic and unbeatable, and he dominates the most beautiful territory in that grassland. There, it has the right to eat first, the right to choose a mate, and the right to control the life and death of all living beings. Leorick leaned over, stretched out his wrinkled hands, and gently stroked the flowers that bloomed in spring: "However, the lion king will still be old one day. One by one, his teeth fell out, his claws began to dull, and even the roar with which he should have been proud became hoarse and weak. ”

Todd listened to the old king's words, thoughtful.

"The sons of the lion king began to challenge authority again and again, snatching food from their father's mouth and disobeying everything his father demanded. Even the young people around the lion pack—hyenas, foxes, and wolves—were weakened by the lion king, and they sought out the lion king's sons and began to plot how to encroach on the land and food. Finally, one day, the lion king fell to the ground under the bite of his son and his accomplices. In less than a day, its corpse was devoured by vultures, and its bones slowly sank into the earth, and no animal remembered that there was once such a lion king who commanded the grassland. ”

Leorik stopped in front of a sculpture, looked at the majestic and majestic statue of the king in front of him, and sighed: "Child, remember what I said to you last time? Aging is the most terrible thing in the world, and its horror lies not in the physical pain and suffering, but in the fact that you watch everything and lose little by little in front of you, but you have no power to fight back." ”

Leolek turned around and looked Todd in the eye: "The Holy Acropolis is a huge killing field, and the deceit, intrigue, and forcible seizure have already turned this city into a hell. But there was only one exception, and that was my daughter, Mary......"

Leorik took a step towards Todd: "Mary has been isolated from this sordid world since she was born. I forbid her to enter the war of power and forcibly keep her away from treacherous people with ulterior motives. When she was still young, he married her to a rich land as soon as possible, in order to get him out of here as soon as possible. ”

"But she didn't understand my painstaking efforts. Leorik's eyes flashed with pain: "She thinks that I have imprisoned her freedom, set her life without permission, and pushed her into the fire pit...... But how could she ever understand what I meant......"

"That kid grew up trusting only two people, one was my sister Tania and the other was my wife Jima. But both of them have died, and I thought she would have no one to rely on in this world...... Until she came to me this morning and told me about your existence. ”

Todd wondered what Mary had said to her father this morning to make the old king trust him so much.

Leorik took out a small brooch from his bosom, put it in Todd's hand, lowered his voice, and said solemnly: "This brooch is a talisman to avoid calamity and protect all life, and I will give it to you now." Remember, in a week, there will be an heir election ceremony in the Holy Acropolis, and when you attend, be sure to wear this amulet!"

Todd looked down at the brooch in his hand, which was indistinguishable from Mary's in both style and weight.

Leorik waved his hand, "Go, child, and may Heavenly Father bless you and me." ”

With the sound of the heavy iron door turning, Todd walked out of the back garden, and when he looked back at the cold castle in the sun, an inexplicable chill passed through his body.

————————————————

Soul Space, Institute Meeting Room.

Rachel turned the 3D model of the Acropolis brooch and looked at it for a long time, without saying a word.

"Well, have you ever seen anything like this?" asked Todd, sipping the cold Coke in his hand, confused.

Rachel looked at Todd and asked, "You mean you can soul connect with Mary after she takes this brooch off her chest?"

"That's right. ”

Todd brought up the last clip of his conversation with Leoric, and when he heard the other party mention words such as "dodge calamity", "amulet", "must wear", etc., he said puzzledly: "It sounds like the role of this brooch is not only to isolate the contact with the ability, but also to play a protective role. ”

Rachel took a closer look at it again, and finally came up with an answer: "This may be a relatively rare ability imprisoning material in the Council of Elders—Magic Magnetic Crystals." ”

Todd rubbed his eyebrows: "Magic Magnet...... What the hell? Can you explain?"

Rachel said with some uncertainty: "I don't know too much about this substance, and generally only the high-ranking people of the 'Discord Legion' have the right to use it. It is mainly used to imprison powerful xenomorphs, and is generally used when arresting or escorting prisoners. ”

Todd looked at the brooch in the 3D model and asked, "Do you know how this item works?"

Rachel shook her head: "I only know that this kind of object has a strong magnetic field that can interfere with the release of abilities in the xeno's body, but other than that, I'm afraid I don't know anything." ”

Todd frowned: "How much of this substance is stored in the Presbyterian Church?"

"You're trying to ask if the Magic Magnetic Crystal has been mass-produced, right?" Richer smiled and shook her head, "This kind of thing is very precious, and Legionnaires need to ask the elders for it every time they use it. Because of the location of the magic magnetic crystal, only the elders know......"

Todd heard Richel's voice getting lower and lower, and couldn't help but ask strangely, "What's wrong?"

Rachel raised his head, the expression on his face was solemn and even a little panicked: "Among the three elders, Lawrence is dead, and the remaining two elders, one of whom is located in the Eastern Holy City, is dealing with a tricky matter with the Grand Master of the Discord Legion, so it is naturally impossible to take out the magic magnetic crystal from the headquarters. Then, the source of these magic magnets could only be the remaining elder......"

"The rest of the elders?"

"Eleanor. When Rachel said the name, Todd noticed that her body was shaking.

"We call her the 'Mother Goddess.'" ”