20. Fools and witches

In a long-abandoned and dilapidated theater, a chair was placed in the center of the stage, and Suzaku was sitting on it, his hands tied behind his back, his head hanging limply.

Ilan was sitting on the floor not far from him, his helmet tossed aside, and he was looking at the captives beside him with his head propped up.

"What's going on?"

As the words fell, a figure stepped out of the shadows of the theater.

"I knocked him unconscious."

Ilan replied casually, his eyes still fixed on Suzaku.

"Why?"

"Brother Huang knows him, do you know why this guy is suddenly clamoring to go back to court? Did you hit your head or something when you were a kid? You know, it's that kind of brain damage or mental trauma or something. Or is it Stockholm syndrome? ”

"He wants to go back to court?" Lelouch took off his helmet and asked incredulously.

"Well, I think it's very likely to be Stockholm syndrome, which is a psychological phenomenon in which the accused person has a dependence on the accuser, looking at his physical condition, the pure-blood faction seems to have beaten him to death, and it is really very sick to be dependent in this way."

"Didn't he get into the car with you himself?"

"Well・・・・・・ he doesn't just want to go back, he wants to get me back. It should be 'You killed His Highness Cullovis' or something. Elan couldn't help but laugh. This eleven is so much fun. ”

"This idiot, it's really ・・・・・・ hasn't changed at all・・・・・・" Lelouxiu's face twitched, and he didn't know what to say for a long time, so he had to sigh in the end.

This elm head!

"What about the pure-blood idiot? Did you kill him? Ilan asked.

"Nope."

"Whew・・・・・・" Ilan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh? I thought you'd be angry, haven't you been on the wrong path with those red-shouldered people since you were a child? ”

"Well, I just thought about it, for Jeremiah now, death may be a relief." Ilan said with a satisfied face.

"How much do you hate purebloods・・・・・・

"Till death strike." Elan smiled brightly as she spoke.

Lulu got goosebumps all over his body.

Fortunately, he was in his group, and it was definitely more comfortable to be his enemy than to let him come to the door.

"Anyway, Jeremia will hold a press conference tomorrow to admit tonight's IchiΔ“ and declare Suzaku innocent. Let that informant of yours prepare. ”

"Understood."

Ilan jumped off the stage with both hands.

"Ah, yes." Ilan stopped abruptly as he passed Lelouch. "You'd better put your helmet on, if you don't want him to know who you are. That Eleven should be waking up soon. ”

"Hmm."

"Then I'll go back first."

"Tell Nanali, I..."

"Come home later today, understand."

Ilan nodded, his hands in his pockets and walked to the theater door.

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Ilan froze in place for a moment, and the hand that wanted to push the doorknob stopped in the air.

There were others in the room.

In addition to Nanali, there was a strange woman in the room.

The smell, the faint sound coming from inside the door, the figure under the crack of the door, all the qiΔ“ testify to this.

It wasn't that maid, and Eliluxiu's character couldn't have been his woman.

Then, you can only ・・・・・・

Ilan adjusted his breath and knocked lightly on the door.

"Lelouch?" An unfamiliar female voice asked.

"No, it must be Brother Yilan, can Miss C.C trouble you to open the door?"

C.C? Is this the other party's name?

"Hmph."

A moment later, the door opened, and a girl with long green hair in strange clothes appeared in the doorway.

The two just looked at each other.

Ilan didn't speak because of the other party's fancy dress, and the girl didn't speak because it should be...

"Did you dye your hair?"

The girl's tone seemed to be familiar with Lelouch.

"Brother Yilan has been white-haired since he was a child, he looks very similar to his brother, right?" Nanali's wheelchair carried her to the door.

"Yo, Nanali." Elan bent down and touched her head.

"What about my brother? Didn't you go out together? ”

"On the way back, I went to play chess with the people on the side of the road, and said that it was an interesting opponent, and I would come back later. So, this young lady is..."

β€œC.C。”

"Huh?" Is that a name?

"It's just letters, it's a strange name, isn't it?"

"It's so late, are you Lelouch's girlfriend?" Ilan asked with a smile as she looked at the girl.

β€œγƒ»γƒ»γƒ»γƒ»γƒ»γƒ»β€

The girl didn't speak, just looked straight at Ilan's face, as if she was remembering something.

"Miss C.C?"

The girl suddenly clapped her hands as if she had figured something out.

"Ah, I remember, you're the one Jiang Lixia, hmm!"

Yilan suddenly seemed to be a different person, and before she could speak, she directly grabbed the other party's cheek, dragged her out, and slammed it against the wall next to the door! The other free hand immediately closed the door, and then directly unscrewed the doorknob, locking Nanali inside.

"What's wrong? Brother Ilan? Door..."

"There seems to be something wrong with the door, wait a minute, I'll call someone to fix it."

Ilan replied loudly through the door.

"Huh? It, C.C...

"Stay with me."

Ilan turned his head to look at his captive, his eyes as cold as a knife.

"If you call it, you know the consequences."

Ilan said in a low voice, and after confirming that the girl understood, his hand on the other's mouth relaxed his strength and slid towards the other's neck.

"Who are you?" Ilan asked, looking into the other's eyes, while firmly pressing the girl against the wall.

After only a moment, the girl's expression calmed down, without any flustered emotion, and just looked at Yilan quietly.

β€œC.C。”

"Real name."

β€œC.C。”

"・・・・・・ do you know who I am?"

"I've heard of it, 'that monster prince', and now I see that their evaluation is really not wrong." The girl said in a teasing tone.

Is she from the palace? Are you here to catch yourself? No, when he escaped again, he had already burned the palace with a torch, and the body of the stand-in was also burned into a ball of black coal. They can't possibly know they're alive. So she came to Lelouch? Yes, listening to her tone when she opened the door, it was obviously aimed at Lelouch. In any case, since she is the one in the know, then there is no need to hide her means.

"What are you doing here?"

"I don't have to answer you."

"You're here to catch Lelouch?"

"Guess what?"

Does she seem unaware of her current situation, or does she think she won't kill her? In any case, there is no way to continue the conversation if she first recognizes the reality.

"Are you afraid of pain?"

Ilan said and shook C.C.'s hand.

"Oh? What are you doing here? Little pervert. The girl smiled playfully.

"You know, there are twenty-eight phalanges in people, and if you answer questions with this attitude, we'll have a lot of fun."

"Huh? You're getting something wrong, little ghost. C.C's eyes were full of provocation to try it out, and he let him grasp his hand. Do you think you're threatening me right now? ”

"Yes."

"Well, the last time I was threatened・・・・・・ it's really a distant memory."

The girl muttered.

"I can help you relive it."

"Why don't you let me relive it for you."

As soon as the words fell, the bangs in front of C.C's forehead suddenly floated up, and the bird-like red tattoo on his forehead shone brightly.

"What? Well!!! ・・・・・・”

As if a red-hot steel needle was rolling in her brain, the pain caused Elan to let go of her hand and press her forehead hard. But the last shred of reason told him that he must not let go of the hand that was holding down the girl's neck.

Thoughts turned into scattered fragments, and words flashed quickly.

Give up the control, the other party, the chance, lose the ability to resist, the green-haired girl, malicious, beyond common sense, the chance to kill me.

Gotta kill her, before that!

Don't give the other person a chance to kill yourself!

With a shake of his wrist, a knife slipped into Elan's sleeve and fell into his hand.

As if the brain was about to melt, the scene in front of me became blurred, and some looming figures flickered in front of me・・・・・・

Who do you seem to know ・・・・・・?

I seem to know ・・・・・・ that・・・・・・

"No one can, kill me・・・・・・ there is absolutely no !! in this world・・・・・・

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As if in slow motion, the other party's palm slowly enlarged in front of Ilan's eyes.

The five fingers are bent towards the palm to form a tiger claw, and the back of the hand and the wrist are at a 90-degree angle, which is a common practice of martial arts practitioners to hit the opponent with the palm root. If you practice it well, you can exert several times the destructive power of your fist.

With all his might, Ilan leaned over the palm that came at him. The white marble pillar behind him struck hard, making a loud cracking sound. The spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread out in all directions, and the cracked rubble grazed Ellan's cheek, bringing out a trail of blood.

If this was confirmed, then his head would have exploded like a watermelon by now. Even if you rub it a little, it will definitely shatter the skull.

Ilan rolled to the left, and the leg that the other party had chopped off grazed the corner of his clothes, and his heel smashed the floor tiles.

That's a 10-centimeter-thick marble floor tile!

The other party swept away, Yilan had nowhere to hide, his breath had already been exhausted, he had no stamina now, and he had no choice but to jump into the air.

"Ahra, it's jumping again."

As he spoke, the other party took an inch forward, and with this step, he gathered the strength of his whole body on his elbow, and directly pushed at Yilan, who was in the air and had nowhere to borrow strength!

If you are hit by the top, you will die!

Ilan hurriedly twisted his body in the air, narrowly avoiding the blow, and at the same time opened his arms and hugged the opponent's arm tightly, and kicked the opponent's door with the help of his strength.

"Have you given up on yourself?"

As he spoke, the other party casually raised his hand and actually grabbed Yilan's ankle directly, and fixed this foot in front of him.

It stands to reason that the strength of the human leg is at least three times that of the hand, but the other party easily caught the leg that Ilanping tried his best.

"Why do you want to fight hand-to-hand with someone who is stronger than you?"

Yilan was directly picked out by the other party, and his back hit the stone pillar hard, and his brain was blank all of a sudden, and he couldn't even feel the pain.

Elan slid down the stone pillar and fell to the ground.

The vision has blurred.

Vaguely, the figure took another step towards him, and the ground under his feet was directly shattered by this step, as if it had been hit by a cannonball.

And this is just one step towards gaining momentum for the next blow.

It's just ・・・・・・ far behind・・・・・・

Ilan sat down softly.

The strong wind blew Yilan's hair up, and the other party's palm flew past his scalp, directly shattering the white marble pillar behind him.

The other party deliberately missed this palm.

"Mother..." Ilan muttered. "My spine looks like it's broken."

"Liar."

"I can't feel my feet anymore, I'm probably paralyzed, and it's a high paraplegia, the one that can't move from the neck down."

"Liar."

"Mother・・・・・・ you're an idiot."

"Which idiot is jumping up again?

Ilan took the woman's hand and stood up tremblingly.

"Isn't that not paralyzed?"

"Don't worry, ・・・・・・, sooner or later." Ilan looked up at the woman with a sunny smile, but she couldn't get angry anyway, so she had to sigh.

The woman twisted her neck, reached out and removed the hairpin at the back of her head, and her long snow-white hair poured down like a waterfall until the crook of her leg.

Ilan's gaze swept around the hall of the palace.

The already potholed hall was even more dilapidated after this battle, and the roots of the two stone pillars had been hollowed out, one of which was the result of today's battle.

Sooner or later, this place will collapse・・・・・・

"Didn't you say that you have to take three points of strength for every move?"

"Because if you still fight, there's no need to keep your strength back to defend it, you always run around."

If you don't escape, you'll be killed!

"But still, it's really sad that you're like this, you're still a mess at the age of nine. Ah・・・・・・・・・・・・hh

"Mother, when you were nine years old?"

"Well, I want to think that if I deal with you, I can 'fight one against four'."

Ilan's self-esteem was stung deeply.

"You're actually a youkai, aren't you?"

"Hey, hey..."

The woman crouched in front of Ilan, skilfully groping for the joints on his body, checking for any hidden injuries so that they could be nip in the bud.

"Ahra, does it hurt here?" Her hand rested on Elan's shoulder blade.

"I don't know, I'm paralyzed, and it's a high paraplegia, not at all from the neck down!!... Pain, pain, pain! I'm sorry! No paralysis! Not at all! ”

"Well, it looks like a broken bone." The woman nodded in satisfaction. "Turn around."

Ilan turned around with a depressed look on her face and took off her shirt.

The small body was covered with various scars, some of which were new, and some of which looked a little bit old. There is no doubt that these are the work of Ellan's stupid mother.

At this time, his mother was applying some unknown pungent Chinese medicine to his shoulder, and in order to speed up the absorption of the medicine, she gently massaged the wound.

"And now?"

"Much better, thank you, thank you! Appreciate! "Ilan has learned to be obedient.

"Really, why do you always talk so old-fashioned when you're young next year?" Mother sighed.

"It should be for my mother to divide half of the attribute points added to the muscles to intelligence, so, ah!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The mother's hand suddenly stopped, and she let out a long sigh.

"That's right, if you're not stupid, how can you be chosen as the Son of Heaven, and if you're not stupid, how can you be sold here for no reason?"

"・・・・・・" Ilan's face instantly became gloomy.

As if knowing that she had said the wrong thing, her mother hurriedly changed her words.

"But it's actually not a bad thing, the court is stuffy and boring, there are so many rules, obviously it's the Son of Heaven, but such a big country doesn't let it be touched. Besides, if you don't come here, where will you still come from? ”

Mother said in a cheerful tone.

Still.

Jiang still.

This is the only name that survives between ZΓ i and mother and son.

Even if she is in the deep palace of Britannia, even if she is betrayed by the Manchu Dynasty and abandoned by her country, this woman is still deeply attached to the homeland on the other side.

Ilan didn't speak, silently putting on her clothes.

"Ahra, angry?"

"Nope."

Elan said as he walked out the door.

"I'll take you home."

"Huh?" The mother did not react.

"I said that I will definitely take you back to the Chinese Federation in the future, as the Son of Heaven, in front of the emperor and in front of the whole world."

What my mother lost, I will take it back.

Those who hurt her must die, and no one can be left behind, even the emperor himself!

Until then, anyone who wants to stop me must be eradicated.

Mother doesn't need to know anything.

She just had to endure it for a few more years.

In a few years, when I have the power to threaten the emperor.

We'll be able to go home.

Until then・・・・・・

Before her feet set foot on the land of the Commonwealth of China・・・・・・

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"I must not die !!"

Ilan gasped and slowly came back to her senses.

The scene in front of me gradually became clear, the corridor seemed to have been ravaged by a tornado, the windows, the walls, the corridor lights, broken and broken, nothing was still intact.

Ilan felt as if there was something soft underneath her...

That woman!

Ilan immediately tried to get up, but a sharp pain in his left leg almost caused him to fall again. He finally stood up against the wall, and only then did he realize that he had a dagger in his lap - his own.

Was it the woman who snatched his knife while she was unconscious?

Ilan looked at the girl lying in a pool of blood, and there was no doubt that she was dead.

Both the amount of her bleeding and the knife-shaped shard of glass stuck in her chest illustrate it.

Did you do it yourself?

Ilan looked at his palm, and a wound that ran through his palm proved that he was the murderer of the girl.

"Hmmm! ・・・”

Ilan endured the sharp pain and pulled out the dagger on his leg and withdrew it into his sleeve.

Is that some kind of new weapon? Some kind of weapon that directly inflicts damage on the human brain? Microwave weapons? Now you are likely to have been left with permanent brain damage.

Anyway, let's deal with the scene first, I have to be wronged by Nanali, the monitoring equipment itself has already rewritten the program, so I don't have to worry about leaving evidence, and then ・・・・・・

No! Now to inform Lelouch! The girl is here for him, which means that it is likely that his identity has been revealed! It's likely that someone is heading to him right now...

"Ah, it's a monster."

Elan's eyes widened, that girl! She...

"I actually stabbed myself in the leg with a knife, really, ahem, what a madman."

The girl reached out and pulled out the glass stuck in her chest, and sat up with difficulty, looking at Ilan with no less shocked expression than the other party.

Just as Ilan didn't expect the other party's immortal body, C.C didn't expect this white-haired boy to defeat her with the instinct triggered by pain when he lost his mind.

She was defeated by an unconscious man!

"A guy like you, ahem, it's the first time I've met you."

"You're..." Ilan looked at her stunned.

C.C tried hard, but still couldn't stand up, and the dizziness and weakness caused by the blood loss made her completely unable to resist now.

"Don't look there, pull me, little ghost."

With that, C.C held out his hand to Ilan.