Just as Rin Tamagawa thought they were.

Aono chose to do this excessive thing to Tomie at this time, just to regain his eyesight and prepare for this afternoon's festival in the best possible condition.

He had a hunch.

Today, everything will fall to the ground.

Tamagawa Rin and the others re-entered the wooden house, saw Tomie slumped on the wooden bed, and still looked at Aono with suspicious eyes - what the hell did you do to her?

To their surprise, Tomie was not resentful at all at this time, but had expectations on his face.

Unscrupulous and greedy, staring at Aono.

Just thinking of being able to taste Aono's blood made her excitement uncontrollable, and she couldn't wait to pounce on it now.

Fortunately, she still maintained the last bit of sanity, knowing that she would definitely be beaten up if she rushed forward now, and she would lose this hard-won opportunity.

Anyone with experience understands it.

Sometimes, the more you hold it, the more uncomfortable it becomes.

Tomie is in this state of self-suffering, and in the eyes of others, it is really abnormal.

They all silently thought about staying away from her.

Outside the wooden house.

The elves are busy, preparing all sorts of decorations - mainly food for the festival.

It can be said that they took out all the good things at the bottom of the box.

The wine that has been treasured for many years, the fattest prey, and the sweetest fruit.

These are all kinds of food that are rarely enjoyed in the village.

People were filled with happiness and anticipation, and they asked for help from Aono.

They were also a little surprised by Aono's charm after taking off his sunglasses, but because they didn't know that he was blind, they were just "little" surprised.

Rin Tamagawa and others, looking at this beautiful and peaceful picture, had extremely complicated feelings.

These goblins standing in front of them alive, laughter, conversation, every move, word and deed, are obviously so vivid and vivid.

But is all this true?

After witnessing the cold and dead silence of the forest last night, it was hard for Rin Tamagawa not to be suspicious.

Because of this, there is a deep sadness.

It also provokes Luna's doubts.

"Sister Rin, what's wrong, is it sad that you have to leave the village?"

The cat-eared girl tilted her head and said in a comforting tone.

"Luna knows! You must be worried that you won't see Luna again, right? ”

"It's okay, as long as Sister Rin wants to come back, you can do it anytime!"

"After Sister Rin is gone, Luna will miss Sister Rin."

Hearing these words, Rin Tamagawa's throat was extremely dry, and his eyes were moist, but he still nodded.

"I'll miss Luna too"

Taichi Kaneshiro and Mika Kishida were silent, and the atmosphere was very low.

The sky began to darken.

But there was still a little light in the sky that could illuminate the forest and not fall into complete darkness.

A little night, still quietly infected.

This is the end of the day and the beginning of the night.

Evening, arrived.

The many elves gathered beside the huge tree.

It can be seen that they have a special emotion for this giant tree - respect, piety, gratitude!

In the eyes of the elves—

The giant tree is the embodiment of the mother goddess of the forest.

The food and wine have been prepared.

Just waiting for the festival to begin.

Unlike human sacrifices, there were no torches or flames around.

From Luna's mouth, Aono learns that they only use torches on rare occasions - according to her, it is disrespectful to the Mother Goddess of the Forest.

Lighting a fire at night will invite disaster.

This is also one of the ancestral teachings of the fairy species.

The vast majority of the elven species are night owls, which are more comfortable in a dark environment.

Deep in the hollow of the tree.

The fox, which had always been gray and white, was the high priest, leaping gracefully out of it.

I don't know if it's because of the light or something else.

Rin Tamagawa saw that the gray coat on her body was darker than yesterday.

"The festival begins!"

Her voice came out melodiously in the surrounding trees.

The tone is solemn.

"Thank Mother God for giving us life!"

The high priest bowed down, his limbs prostrate on the ground, and bowed his head.

I would like to pay my respects to this huge tree.

"Thank you Mother Goddess—"

Many goblins, similar to the actions of the Great Sacrifice, are prostrate on the ground, using this most primitive way to express their piety and respect.

Many of the elves have reverted back to their animal appearance.

"Thank you Mother Goddess for the gift of nurturing us to grow!"

The high priest bows again.

The same goes for the elf species.

An indescribable atmosphere began to spread around the giant tree.

Suddenly there was a grand will, and I felt the piety of the fairy species.

Fresh and natural breath descends here.

Qingye could hear the cheers of the vegetation, stretching their bodies and indulging in wanton indulgence.

The wills were a little worse, Tamagawa Rin and Kaneshiro Taiichi, both kneeling down involuntarily.

I can't help but be respectful.

Taiichi Kaneshiro was fine, he shook his head vigorously to dispel his previous thoughts.

The gaze fell on Aono's body.

Soon his expression became firm and did not waver in the slightest.

Aono: ""

On the other side, Rin Tamagawa is not so comfortable.

She is a goblin herself, and according to the High Priestess, a royal family of the goblin race.

The impact received is even stronger.

At this time, it turned into a white fox, and her eyes were uncontrollable and admiring.

"Humph!"

Aono snorted coldly, and the cold momentum flowed slowly.

The white-haired fox's body trembled, and his whole body exploded.

Rin Tamagawa looked at Aono in horror - why are you scaring me?

She was still quickly aware of her state just now, and looked at the extremely tall giant tree with vigilance.

"Thank you Mother Goddess for her kindness in allowing us to live here!"

The High Priest bowed one last time.

The narrow fox eyes moved in the direction where Tamagawa Rin was.

"Your Highness Tamagawa, please come to me."

The voice was ethereal, and it seemed to be blessed by that will.

The eyes of the other elves also moved, and they all fell on Rin Tamagawa.

The strange thing is that now their eyes don't carry any emotion.

A pair of dark green eyes, shining with a chilling light in the increasingly dim sky.

Rin Tamagawa's eyes blurred again.

However, her consciousness was clearly awake!

She shuddered at the gaze of the elves and wanted to turn her head to look at Aono.

But the body did not obey the call at all, and the eyes stared blankly ahead.

Stiff and slow took the first step.

'No, I don't want to go there!' ’

Consciousness struggles helplessly.

"Tread"

Footsteps were heard behind him.

Aono walked over to Rin Tamagawa.

"Little friend."

The High Priest's voice seemed to have a hint of pleading in his voice.

"We won't hurt His Highness Tamagawa, you don't need to come along."

Aono didn't speak.

Look, look around at the many elves in the faint night.

There are the choppy Sheila, the innocent and innocent Luna, and Mia, who can't tell the difference between a donkey and a rabbit, and many fairy species who have just met each other and haven't had time to know their names.

Aono silently remembered their appearances in his heart.

I was not surprised by their indifferent eyes at this time.

Rin Tamagawa walked forward in a daze.

Still puzzled and flustered.

It's just that because Aono is by his side, he feels a little more at ease.

The viscous pressure appeared out of thin air in all directions and fell on Aono.

This is the will of the "Mother Goddess of the Forest".

He was furious at the intrusion of this outsider.

Unmoved, Aono continued to move forward.

And with each step forward, the viscous pressure increases dramatically.

To be precise, the distance from the giant tree narrows, and His power increases.

Soon, it was as if a mountain was pressing on him, and it was squeezing from all directions.

As long as you are in this forest, this power will not disappear.

Five extraordinary physical qualities allowed Aono to carry the initial distance.

Aono's legs are like a quagmire.

Even the plants on the ground became a hindrance to Aono's progress, and they tangled their legs in an attempt to hold him in place.

Chaotic visions began to unfold in front of my eyes.

The dead trees, the distorted vines, and the images of reality overlap and it is impossible to tell which is the real one.

Finally.

Aono passed through the heavy pressure and came to the front of the high priest.

Slight drops of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Breathing is slightly heavier.

But that's about it.

Aono's eyes were clear, and he looked straight at the gray fox.

The gaze was incomparably calm.

That's not the fearlessness of the ignorant.

It's that he clearly understands that He is not worth fearing.

"Little friend, why do you bother?"

The High Priest trembled in his heart at Aono's actions, and a deep sense of helplessness emerged.

But he quickly regained his composure.

"I just need a little blood, His Highness Tamagawa."

Her eyes were clear, as if she really just thought so.

Suddenly, there was a cry from the goblin seed.

"High Priest!"

"What do you want to do? Why did they become like this? ”

Words full of questioning came out of Sheila's mouth.

Her look, for some reason, regained her clarity.

Of all the goblin species, she was the only one who came to her senses.

"I don't think this is how the festival should be!"

Sheila no longer hesitated, and quickly rushed to the High Priest's side.

The previous torment for Aono had no effect on Sheila.

"You and the village chief are very strange, what are you hiding?"

Sheila came to the High Priest and asked coldly.

She couldn't draw a conclusion from the village chief, and this time she asked the most respected high priest directly.

Sheila really couldn't figure it out.

Why, the current festival is like this!

The companions, including the younger sister, seemed to be occupied by some indifferent consciousness.

Also, she found out this morning—

"Has the number of missing people increased again?"

"High priest, you should know all these things."

Her eyes were sad and painful.

"Why don't you say anything?"

"Ahem"

The high priest coughed and spat out a mouthful of black blood from his mouth.

The sadness in her eyes was deeper than Sheila's.

It's like a dead desert, never to be seen again.

"Sheila, you always like to babble about why, and you want to get to the bottom of everything and find out the truth."

"The first time it was you, the second time it was you, the last time it was you, this time it's still you"

Sheila was confused.

The first time, the second time?

Last time?

"But you never understand, and the more you know, the more you never get lucky."

"The truth is far more cruel than you think!"

"But it's okay, it's okay, after today, everything will be over!"

She whispered to herself.

The tone gradually went crazy.

Gray hair, becoming more pitch black.

"Huh!"

Before Aono could react, Rin Tamagawa actually used a sharp claw to cut her own wrist.

Blood, stained red with snow-white hair.

Rin Tamagawa was in pain, came back to his senses, and stared blankly at his forearm.

Obviously, the action just now was not of her own will, but was under the control of the high priest.

A few drops of blood have already dripped into the soil.

And absorbed by some being underground.

"Rustle—"

Under the dirt, there was a rustle.

The ground began to tremble.

People were shaken and returned to normal from the strange state they had just been.

"Huh? What's going on? ”

"High Priest, what happened?"

"Sister Sheila, how did you get there? And Aono-kun and Sister Rin! ”

Luna is weird.

"The truth!"

"I can tell you all the truth you want now!"

The high priest jumped onto the tall branches.

The sound spread to the ears of all elves.

It looks like madness, but there is only dead silence in those eyes.

"Actually."

"Everyone, all of them are dead!"

"And, it was a long, long time ago."

She spoke in a serious tone, but she said something that all the elves couldn't believe.

"Wow-"

There was an uproar.

"How is this possible? Aren't we alive and well? ”

"It can't be!"

“”

Aono was silent, just sighing in his heart.

"Ahh

The High Priest sighed faintly.

"Every time I hear you say that, it's really nothing new."

"But right away, you'll be convinced."

She looked to the horizon.

There, the last ray of light is slowly dissipating.

"Brother?"

Mia, who had long ears, turned around blankly.

Her brother is transforming into a gray-white shadow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

There was still doubt on my brother's face.

When I looked down, I was stunned and desperate, and I saw myself gray and dry.

And this change is not just happening to one person.

The elves began to panic and be uneasy, they could not understand the reason for this change, what the High Priest meant?

"This village has long since ceased to exist."

The High Priest continued to speak softly.

She just wanted to tell all this simply.

"A thousand years"

"I have to watch you appear in front of me alive every time, and then I see one person after another disappear until the next reincarnation begins."

"Again and again"

"I wish I could be like you, and I will never remember what happened in the past."

The high priest swept over the people under the tree to see their panic—something he had never seen before.

"But this mission, this xx mission!"

"Why do you want me to carry it!"

She was furious, and her eyes seemed to be on fire.

But the fire was extinguished the next moment.

The black faded from her for a moment, and the white reappeared.

It's like two consciousnesses fighting over a body.

She anxiously lowered her head and looked at Aono who had witnessed all this.

His eyes were full of supplication.

"Little friend, please"

"Boom-"

A thunderous tremor that spread underground.