For Anderson, the next ten minutes or so were undoubtedly tormenting. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Of course, when it comes to torment, there is not a moment in his ordinary life that is not free from torment, and the interweaving of nihilism and resentment has become his usual norm, and there has been no joy and peace for many years in his life that is as messy as a garbage can. Even so, when I saw those two figures enter his castle, an even more anxious mood rose there.

Time passed between Anderson's eyes, and in the silence he heard his own heartbeat, breathing, and the sound of blood flowing in his veins.

Finally, the maiden reappeared at the gate of the castle.

The moment he saw her, Anderson was once again gripped by hatred, his eyes bloodshot, staring at the figure who slowly stepped out of the door.

The girl's momentum was completely different from before, her forearm in her left hand hanging to the side, and the standard long sword held in her right hand pointed diagonally to the ground on the side of her body, slowly advancing towards this place like a Valkyrie in a decisive battle.

The girl's face shown on the screen is an extremely serious and awe-inspiring expression.

She first walked through the open space where the castle was located, then gradually increased her speed as the distance from the castle increased, and by the time she leapt from the slope where the castle was located, she had already leaned down and began to gallop towards it at the speed of a charge.

- That's really a lot of speed, and it's even a slight victory over a Warrior class above level 15, which is already a surprising feat given the limitations of her class.

But it's not enough, there is still a gap of more than several times between this speed and the speed when the boy took her to gallop before, specifically, the difference between being hit by Anderson's magic energy light cannon and not being hit by Anderson's magic energy light cannon.

Already occupied by hatred, Anderson wondered why the girl had made such a reckless move. After judging that the girl's speed was difficult to dodge the light cannon's attack, Anderson began to charge up his left arm.

The light converges in the black muzzle, and Anderson manipulates the puppet's left arm to aim in the direction of the girl.

The next second the beam was about to pierce there, and the girl suddenly moved.

She raised her left hand, which held the round shield, and kept the shield in front of her as she ran.

"Ahh

-- Seeing that picture, Anderson let out a trembling moan.

※

There was only a shield in front of him.

Round, silver, with some lace metal shields at the edges.

This is equipment from Kiss of Death, a hastily scribbled piece of Alex's special equipment. The members of the Kiss of Death are all thieves by profession, and of course there is no possibility of using a shield, so it can be assumed that the forger does not have a lot of experience in making shields - despite this, the metal shield still shows a high level of production, at least for Alex as an expert in use.

-- Even then, it was impossible to block the shelling of a pillar of light that could instantly turn trees and rocks into powder.

When the strength of the giant golem was previously estimated, the shield had already been slashed by a sword, and as a result, a clear white scratch was left in the center of the body; So what happens when a beam of light is subjected to several times the energy of a physical swing? Predictably, the white scratch would probably disappear along with the shield, and Alex would be reduced to ashes along with Alex behind him.

Even so, Alex kept the shield in front of her, could it be because the shield had been specially strengthened?

Of course, the shield is indeed different from before, but whether it can be considered strengthened is still a matter of two questions, because no matter who looks at it, I am afraid that no matter who looks at it, I will not feel that the slightest change will have any additional effect.

Let's be honest, there is a piece of paper on top of the round shield.

As you might have guessed, it was a painting taken down from the wall of the castle's studio, a portrait of a girl with honey-colored hair.

The shield had been raised, and it was not yet clear whether it would be used, but Alex's heart was full of mixed feelings.

She thought back to the time she had been at the castle just now—

※

"Wait a minute!"

Looking at Ciel's actions, Alex couldn't help but shout loudly with excitement.

Hearing her voice, Ciel stopped his movements like a doll receiving a signal, and turned his head without saying a word, looking at her with clear eyes.

"The key props you just mentioned, do you mean these paintings?"

"Hmm."

Hill replied softly.

“…… I don't understand, even if it's a key item, why is it attached to my shield? ”

Alex said as she pointed to her shield in Ciel's hand, who held a painting that had just been removed from the wall in her other hand.

"This is the way to block the enemy's long-range attacks."

“…… Can you put it more simply? ”

“……”

Ciel lowered his head and thought for a moment, then slowly raised his face to look at Alex.

"These paintings are very important to the prisoners."

"I can see this, after all, the room is still locked."

“…… No, that's it. Ciel, who seemed to be in some distress as to how to express it, blinked, and continued.

"The important thing is not the painting, it's the person in the painting."

“…… What do you mean? ”

"That is......"

- The prisoner could not attack "her". Alex understood what Hill meant for a moment.

Although I understand, it does not mean that I agree, after all, it is just a painting, and such a statement is too bizarre.

"No, no, no, no matter how important it is, it won't be to that extent......"

Alex waved her hand to disagree with Ciel's statement, but Ciel's eyes were just unconcerned.

"Not to that extent, that's Alex's idea. The madder the more sincere, the more cruel the weaker - the prisoner is like that. ”

“…… What's that? Hill's life motto? ”

Ciel shook his head slightly.

"I saw it on the gate of a middle school in Ayers when I was on a mission."

"What, that suspicious school!? The teaching philosophy is also too distorted! ”

Despite all this loud complaining, Alex still thought about Ciel's words.

Although Ciel is not good at words due to the nature of the three nothings, the general meaning has been conveyed to Alex. In other words, the person in this painting is the spiritual support, the spiritual support, and in short, the existence of this kind of existence, even to the extent that even the painting cannot be destroyed......

-- Basically, it's far-fetched no matter how you think about it.

"Now, Ciel, it's all speculation, isn't it? Even if the person in the painting is important to the prisoner, there is no guarantee that it is really important—"

"Except for this room, there is not a single painting outside."

Hill said softly in an unwavering voice.

"The hallway, the magic workshop, the hall on the second floor, all of them."

“……”

Alex understood what he said, and if it was just an ordinary and important person, it would be normal to have as many portraits as possible. It's obviously crowded here, but there is no one outside, especially in the hall on the second floor, does the fireplace usually remain blank like that? There is only one reason why there is no portrait - I don't want to kill people in front of "her", I don't want to show those ugliness in front of "her". In other words, the mere fact that "she" in the painting is overwhelming.

"In that case, the reason for locking it is really just to distinguish this place from other places......

Alex muttered, finally understanding why Hill had just said "no".

It is not locked because "the painting is important", but it is locked to keep the space pure - if it is to defend against outsiders, then what is the point of a door lock that is split into two with a single knife? ――This is a symbol of the softest space in the prisoner's heart, an area that is isolated from other places.

Thinking about it this way, Hill's strategy is to ruthlessly invade the soft heart of a person and take advantage of that person's most important heart.

"So, the portrait was attached to the shield for the sake of ......"

"It's just to take 'her' hostage."

Hill's doll-like face was expressionless.

“…… How obsessed are you with 'hostages'......" Alex grumbled as she pondered the feasibility of Ciel's plan.

The countless faces of "her" in the studio looked at Alex together, and as long as she stood in this room, she would feel the feelings of the prisoner. This unusual persistence convinced Alex of Ciel's words, but the problem was on the other hand......

"Come to think of it, it's too despicable! It's exactly the way the villain thinks! ”

Alex complained loudly.

Indeed, it is somewhat dishonorable to use the enemy's weakness to tie him down in this way, and it is completely contrary to Alex's philosophy.

"Despicable?"

Hill repeated her words in a flat voice.

“.…..”

Looking at Ciel's expressionless face, Alex sighed secretly. Whenever she felt that the distance between her and Hill was getting closer, the true characteristics of the teenager belonging to the three nos would come unexpectedly. For Hill, using such an approach was a complete natural thing to do. Using the opponent's weakness to neutralize the attack, and using trees to avoid the beam, is no different in nature. At first glance, the weakness of seeing that the person in the painting is a prisoner does not contradict Hill's three-nothing characteristic, and the fact that he used it without psychological pressure after discovering it is the decisive evidence of Hill's three-nothing.

This trait is all the more dangerous, and Alex, as a companion, suddenly feels a great responsibility on her shoulders.

"You guy, maybe one day you will destroy the world as if nothing happened."

Turning her head to look at the young man's still innocent face, Alex couldn't help but say.

“？”

Hearing her words, Hill tilted his head slightly, and a question mark seemed to appear above his head.

Not caring about Ciel's reaction, Alex turned her mind and began to hesitate to carry out Ciel's plan.

The prisoner looked like he had a problem with his head, which is why the use of this method is all the more cruel. But there seems to be no other way for a while......

After a few minutes of silence, Alex looked up.

"Ciel, I'm going to see where the bodies are parked."

※

The cannon that condensed the light sent out a beam.

Pillars of blazing white light pierced the sky, illuminated the earth, and finally pierced the clouds beneath the moon.

- The giant golem shoots the light cannon overhead.

This is undoubtedly a waste of energy, and it would be nice to cancel it if there is no way to attack, but Anderson has lost the abundance of such rational thinking.

He felt pain, he felt anger. It's not because the girl used "her" as a hostage or a protective shield, but because on the screen in front of him, "her" face was extremely clearly displayed, reflected in Anderson's sight.

The target of his anger was not the girl, but himself.

Stop, stop, don't look at me.

It is obviously "she" reflected in Anderson's eyes, but in Anderson's eyes, he is reflected in "her" eyes, and in that honey-colored pupil, he reflects his current ugly appearance.

There's no way to close your eyes, there's no way to look away.

The next second, he began to scream.

"I'm sorry."

Hearing the painful voice that resounded through the mountains and forests, Alex muttered silently in her heart. She wasn't glad that the other party hadn't really shelled the place - the plan had had had had been less effective, which meant how much pain it had caused.

"I'm sorry."

The girl recited in silence again.

"However, I will never forgive you."

Alex resurfaced the tragic picture before Alex's eyes, so many innocent victims lost their lives, so many families were torn apart, so many friendships were floating like duckweed, so many good memories would disappear from the world without leaving a trace—so many people, suffering the same pain and nightmares as I did.

The giant golem was still letting out a huge wail, and Alex had already rushed two meters in front of it.

She tore off the portrait attached to her shield and threw it into the sky with her backhand.

She threw away the "hostage" - and then, she would win her own way.

Dodging the giant golem's indiscriminate swinging of the giant sword, she leaped to her feet, and the long sword in her right hand accurately stabbed a magical energy circuit node three meters above the ground.

Falling to the ground and dodging a stampede, Alex took a step back.

There was neither timidity nor courage in her face, and her amber eyes were full of will.

The moonlight shone on her flaxen hair, long sword, and metal shield, and her silver light armor and pure white cloth skirt seemed to shimmer - like the Valkyrie in an album.