Alphonse hugged the viscountess and stood behind them with Bale. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info Yuffie turned his head and looked at the viscountess with some concern. The woman looked at Kent with a serious expression, and there was no hint of flinching in her eyes.

"So, where is the Viscount?" Lily glared at the wizard and asked coldly.

The wizard looked behind him and spread his hands.

Lily took the greatsword from Bell's hand and led the way to the end of the tunnel. Yuffie walked quietly behind the mercenary. The Viscountess taps Al's arm and tells the Mechanics to follow Yuffe.

"Follow me!" Bell threw away his stick, pulled out his scimitar and slammed it across the wizard's neck, and slapped him on the shoulder with his other hand, smashing him to a staggering moment, "My hand doesn't know how heavy!" So don't move around! ”

At the end of the tunnel is a spacious cavern, also made of granite and mortar, apparently deliberately expanded to this extent. The farther inward you go, the more intense the smell of blood becomes, even overshadowing the rotten smell of the underground waterways. The cave was littered with tattered clothing and pieces of cloth, but no corpses or bones remained. Yuffie remembered the human bones that he had found earlier and were still in the gelatinous monster's body, and probably guessed where the bones came from.

Then they saw Viscount Campbell, at the end of the cavern.

The Viscount was sitting cross-legged on the rocky floor, and beneath his body was a magic circle carved from marble and more than three meters in diameter. The uncurdled blood was slowly flowing along the grooves of the circle, emitting a dim glow that reflected the cavern in a dark red. He was shirtless, and the runes on his chest were also drawn in blood, which Yuffie recognized, as spell marks related to 'transfer'.

The body of a young male was seated upright, with his back pressed against the Viscount. His whole body was stripped of his clothes, and he had long since lost the breath of life. His bare skin was abnormally blue-white, and blood was still pouring out of the wound on his thigh, pouring into the circle below.

Lily let out a short exclamation.

"What the hell have you done!" She stepped forward quickly, grabbed Viscount Campbell's neck, and pulled him directly from the ground, "This evil ritual, your mind has been stuffed with gum monsters!?" ”

The Viscount slowly opened his eyes, a hoarse gurgling sound coming from his throat.

"Calm down." Yuffie held Lily's arm so that the mercenary wouldn't strangle the viscount. She turned and stared at the wizard with an icy gaze. "This is indeed not a ceremony to be admired, and the Viscount does not need sympathy. But you are the one who started this spell, Kent. ”

The wizard turned his head, knowing that he had no room for excuses, "That's right, it's me. ”

"Transfer the victim's life force into the recipient's body to maintain his rapidly draining life—" Yuffie's voice carried a vague displeasure, "the imperfect art of immortality is another way to use 'reliance'. Wizards have developed a lot of these things, but all of them have huge flaws. ”

She took a step forward, her eyes filled with reproach for those who were fellow wizards but had chosen the wrong path, "Are you going to use Lord Viscount and those who died as experiments for you to study spells?" ”

"But they—they've already committed a sin that they must pay for!" The wizard cocked his head to avoid a sharp cutlass on his neck, and hissed in retort, "I did to perfect this spell, but I also continued the life of Lord Viscount!" Wait until I'm done with this spell—"

"There's no such possibility." Yuffie coldly interrupted the wizard, "Your path was wrong from the beginning. Taking the lives of others by force cannot bring true salvation. The girl sighed, "It's not just the body that has been taken by the spell, but also a part of the soul. The victims cannot return to the realm they were supposed to be in, nor can they be reincarnated, but can only turn into resentful spirits, cursing the one who took their lives. ”

The wizard struggled twice, as if he wanted to say something, but another dark, calm voice stopped him.

"It's all right, Kent. Say no more. "Viscount Campbell seems to have come to his senses. Lily let go of her grip on him, but remained cautious about him.

"You and I are both at fault in this matter." He said slowly, "You are indifferent to life, and I covet life that is not deserved. Anne's affair was my fault and a punishment for me. ”

"Wait a minute!" Lily turned her head and glared at the Viscount, "So, did you curse Madame?" ”

"Yes, but it's not." It was Yuphie who answered the mercenary, and she looked at the Viscount, a complicated look on her face, "The wraiths were supposed to target you for the curse, but that clearly didn't serve your and Kent's purpose. So, he taught you a simple trick -- yes. ”

The viscount sighed heavily, closed his eyes, and nodded.

"You're not a wizard, and you can't cast real spells." Yufie's eyes showed a touch of sadness, "All you can do is to let those resentful spirits curse a ...... through means similar to 'empathy' The goal you love. ”

"That's right......," the Viscount seemed to be dozens of years old all of a sudden, and it almost took all his strength to say this, "but I didn't want to transfer that curse to Anne...... My original plan was to find a maid I had seen well, but it was just ...... It's just that...... That time......"

"That time, you had just returned from a long journey, with a sad and tired face." The Viscountess looked at him tenderly and helped him finish the rest of the words, "In order to surprise you, I secretly hid, and then suddenly hugged you and gave you a kiss to reunite after a long absence." ”

The viscount slowly crouched down, covered his face with his hands, and let out a dull whimper.

"So you didn't curse me." The Viscountess was still smiling, but something sparkling slowly slipped down her cheeks, "The one who cast the spell on me is myself." ”

"But that's fine, if there's one person who needs to share the sin, it's me." She closed her eyes and continued softly, "Julian, if you really cursed Cindy—or anyone else, I wouldn't be able to forgive you. ”

"I ...... At that time I knew that I had made a big mistake, but it was irreparable......" Viscount gasped, "Since then, every time I accept this ritual, the resentment will be transferred to Anne, and I can't, change it......" He struggled to stand up, "unless I choose to give up, but every time I think about it, I will never see Anne again, and I can't make up my mind-"

"Maybe that's just an excuse. Maybe I'm just a little man who is greedy for life and afraid of death-" The Viscount took two steps forward, trying to reach out and touch his wife, but he never dared to cross the distance of tens of centimeters, "I'm sorry, Anne...... I'm sorry to make you suffer...... Sorry ......"

The women didn't say anything more. She patted Alphonse lightly on the arm, and the machine man took a conscious step forward and sent her to her husband.

She raised her hand and grabbed the man's old and tired cheek, then raised her head and gently imprinted her lips on the other's lips.

Everyone kept their mouths shut, and Bell, who was usually the most noisy, quieted down. Kent looked at his employer, a look of regret flashing across his face for the first time.

Time has only passed for a short time, or maybe in the feeling of those two people, a whole life has been spent. Viscount Campbell let go of his wife, turned around, and walked up to Yuffe.

"It's time for this to be over." His voice was still a little hoarse, but strangely calm, "Please, Yuffie. ”

The girl nodded silently. She took a few steps back and held out her right hand towards Viscount Ping.

"The souls that are wrapped around Madame will be purified with you and return to the place where they rightfully returned." She bit her lower lip slightly, "It will hurt a little, please bear with me, Lord Viscount." ”

The Viscount took a deep breath and drew a circle on his chest with his right hand—the prayer of those who believed in St. Leonos. He looked at Yuffie and signaled that the girl was ready.

Yuffie chanted a prayer incantation, calling on the power of the Lord of Light. The holy white flame ignited from nothingness, licking and eating the Viscount's body. Viscount Campbell fell to his knees and let out a hoarse moan from his throat, but he never shouted.

The flames grew more and more intense, engulfing him entirely. The Viscount opened his mouth, as if to say something, but could no longer speak. He raised his right hand and trembled to where his wife was.

The flames wrapped around the arm, turning it into a pillar of holy white fire. The scorching Flame steamed away the blood in the magic circle, and also dispelled the cold bloody aura that filled the air. Then, just as it had come, the flames slowly vanished into nothingness.

Yuffie looked at the center of the circle, where Viscount Campbell was no longer there, leaving only a pinch of white dust that glowed slightly. Then the fluorescence dimmed, and the cavern became dark again.

That's the end of it. Yuffie took a slow breath, feeling a little stuffy in her heart. She looked at Lily and noticed that the mercenary's expression was also a little complicated. Bell still clutches the witch's shoulder, but the wizard seems to have lost the will to resist. Alphonse's eyes twinkled, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Mrs. Campbell leaned against the rock wall, struggling to stand, smiling encouragingly.

"Let's go back." Finally, she said, "Go get a good night's sleep." ”