[War is a giant beast far greater than the Leviathan. 】

The white light flashed, and the scene in front of Yun Fan changed again.

The sun hung high in the sky, and a fiery light enveloped the earth.

Thundered!

With an alarming sound, a long line stretched for miles through the shadows, escorting prisoner carts slowly into the heavy city.

The perspective was constantly zoomed in, and Yun Fan also saw the figure detained in a prison car.

It was a male mermaid with blue hair.

The mermaid's exposed skin was covered with dense wounds, and its flesh rolled up, and it seemed that it had suffered a lot of injuries.

"Oooo

"These damned demon people!"

“....”

Sandwiched the road, and a series of cheers came from the mouths of those people with yellow faces and thin muscles.

While their faces were full of joy, their eyes were also full of resentment.

That's undisguised resentment.

Sou! Sou! Sou!

I don't know who started it first, which triggered a popular riot. Like madmen, they threw bright red tomatoes or rotten apples or eggs, interspersed with sharp gravel.

"Demons! You demons! ”

The old woman with a white turban threw an orange and then hid her face and wept bitterly.

Syllable!

The sturdy man pulled out his slingshot, and the stones shot out smashed the mermaid's nose and face to the ground.

"Woo woo woo, daddy, return my daddy!"

The barefoot little girl rushed out of the crowd like crazy, brandishing the sharp knife in her hand.

But...

Clang!

Just as the little girl picked up her sharp knife and stabbed it into the railing along the gap in the prisoner cart, the heavily armored knight at the end of the queue duly drew the long sword at his waist.

The sharp knife slammed down on the stone pavement, making a crisp sound.

Scold!

"Miserable child." The knight put his sword in its sheath and made a cumbersome prayer, "The Lord knows all your hatred." ”

"He will judge you suffering people and judge these devilish believers!"

"And only the Lord can do that."

"We, as mortals, are not qualified to make judgments in the Lord's place."

"The Great Lord has slain the evil Vilov Ocean Siren!"

Taking off his armor, the knight shouted loudly.

"So let us cheer together for victory in the war!"

But to Yun Fan's surprise, the crowd that was originally roaring was silent at the moment.

They looked at each other blankly, as if they didn't understand the meaning of the sentence at all.

But after a few seconds, the blankness on everyone's faces was gone, replaced by a twisted smile.

It was a strange laugh of hatred and joy.

Despite being in the sun, Yun Fan couldn't help but shiver.

The same goes for the merfolk next to him.

"It's, it's, is it true? My lord? ”

An older man of considerable stature stepped out, and he stood tremblingly at the knight's side, tilting his head and asking.

However...

Although he was asking the knight in front of him, his gaze, like most people, was cast to the leather-clad man in white cloak walking at the front of the line.

"Victory? The Siren has fallen? ”

"W-how is this possible?"

"The war is over! Ha ha! ”

More and more people are starting to talk to each other.

Their voices gradually changed from whispers to manic roars, forming a wave that shook the earth.

"Your Excellency!"

"Hunter-sama! Is this true? ”

"O Son of the Lord! Please tell us the truth. ”

"Son of God with Holy Blood in it! Only your words can convince the suffering people! ”

“...”

And at this time...

Da, da!

The sound of the horse's hooves suddenly disappeared.

Click.

The leather-armored commander at the front of the line turned around and pulled the bolt.

"Yes."

Ancient golden patterns burst out from under his eyes, drawing sacred golden threads in the air in front of him.

The Divine Hunter's voice was low, but sonorous.

He declared.

"Yesterday, I did the will of the Lord!"

"He hears your prayers and brings His divine power into the world!"

"He said that the Sirens of the Velof Ocean are unforgivable! Must suffer the verdict of the Holy See! ”

"Vilov's Siren, has fallen!"

Bang!

With a flick of the trigger, a pillar of holy light rose into the sky.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The pillar of light climbed to the top and exploded into a rain of light, and the strong momentum seemed to overwhelm the weak daylight for a moment, as if a grand fireworks were launched in the night.

Click.

The bullet casings hit the ground, breaking the dead silence of the world.

The knights in the middle of the queue reacted quickly, and they immediately pulled open the black cloth covering a long cart pulled by several handsome horses, and a huge rotting sea beast corpse was exposed to the public's view.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! ”

They slapped their mouths excitedly, and a powerful sound came out.

The man excitedly hugged the woman next to him and shouted out his vows of love.

The muscular blacksmith tore his shirt like a beast, even though it was a new garment he had just worn in the morning.

"Oh, Lord!"

The little girl, who had just wanted to commit murder with a knife, knelt on the ground, picked up a sweet apple that had rolled to her hand, and kissed its dusty surface inch by inch with her chapped lips.

"Lord, thank you for loving me so much..."

"Lord."

Fiery tears rolled out of the girl's eyes and silently across her cheeks.

When she looked up at the mermaid again, there was no trace of hatred or pain in her eyes, she just calmly looked at the mermaid covered in wounds, showing a grateful smile.

"O Lord! I pray you don't let it die so happily..."

In the prison car, the mermaid who heard the little girl's mournful murmur and wiped the blood spilling from her nostrils staggered her gaze in fear, not daring to look at the girl who seemed to be able to blow her away with a gust of wind.

[What does war bring us? 】

The mermaid lowered its head, and Yun Fan could hear its heart.

[Pain and hatred filled everyone's heart, and I could feel their eyes that wanted to devour me alive.] 】

Some of them have lost their sons, and some have lost their fathers. 】

[Yes, they are victims. 】

[The pain of war inspires hatred in their hearts, and the endless hatred plunges people into deeper pain, from which they cannot extricate themselves. 】

[It's an endless cycle.] 】

[From the moment the war began, it was doomed that no one could escape. 】

"Hatred distorts people."

The mermaid squirmed her lips and spoke, attracting the eyes of many people.

"And what brought all this was war."

"War has turned innocent beings into bloody executioners. War has caused living beings to indulge in hatred, and they have drawn more innocent people into it, creating batches of insensitive executioners..."

The mermaid's words were abruptly interrupted.

"Demagogic devil people! Do you still want to incite us to condemn our hearts? ”

In the crowd, countless people burst out, pulled out slingshots and shot stones.

"No!"

"Hahahaha!"

The merfolk laughed.

From the time it entered the prison cart to the time it was burned at the stake, it smiled for the first time.

"I'm not just talking about you."

"And us."

"Why do we involve innocent people? Can anyone tell me? ”

The merfolk spat out muffled whispers.

[Who the hell turned the blue whale into a killing machine? Who turned the octopus of the deep sea into a murderer who destroyed the city? 】

[When did the mermaids fall into endless hatred? 】

[Rick puts down his beloved accordion, Helena says goodbye to Mermaid Paradise, and Lua resolutely abandons everything about it...]

[Even Lore, the idiot who can only write long poems stupidly, actually grabbed the halberd of war. 】

[When I was terrified of the twisted humans, I realized how similar they really were to my companions. 】

Perhaps, they are not the only ones who are so distorted. And...]

[Ourselves. 】

"Therefore, I pronounce the judgment in the place of my father!" The Holy Hunter's eyes were blazing, and he raised his arms and gave the order, "You deserve to be burned at the stake!" ”

Bang Bang Bang!

The crowd applauded and cheered.

"May the fire cleanse the wicked waters of the Vilov Sea, and may you never throw yourself into its arms again in the next life..."

The priest with the light on his hand walked up to the platform and recited a chanted prayer.

"Hahaha!"

The mermaid laughed wildly, and as if it had figured something out, it howled loudly, "But we, we are not the same! ”

"We belong to Leviathan the Executioner, evil demons, and what about you?"

"But what you believe in is the exalted, good Lord!"

"You humans are obviously more twisted and dehumanized than demonic minions!"

"You have plundered our seas, slaughtered our people, and polluted our land."

"It's you! It was you who killed the tolerant and protective Verov once and for all. It was you who created the terrifying beast of Leviathan. ”

Torches light the pyre.

"The executioner is born of the evil of mankind! Humans! ”

"Your ugliness and lust have created a terrifying beast like the Leviathan, and the means you use to shape it are called war!"

"War, it's a monster that's far bigger than the Leviathan!"

In the raging fire, the mermaid kept wailing.

"As long as the ugly desires of living beings exist, there will be a steady stream of executioners!"

“...”

Flames spread from his heels all over his body, and the mermaid's voice faded.

[All suffering has a source.] 】

[Lord Leviathan, what you said, I finally understand now...]

You have said that the party who is at fault is neither human nor us. 】

[Now I know that the source of suffering is the desire of living beings, and it is war!] 】

[As long as desire exists for one day, war is bound to start. It's just that the difference is nothing more than that humans open it first, or mermaids. Or some other race with the ability to think. 】

[War is the source of suffering!] 】

The mermaid's voice echoed in Yun Fan's mind.

It came to a categorical conclusion.

But at this moment, the moment the merfolk turned into a piece of charcoal and its life died, a gentle but powerful voice slid into Yunfan's eardrums like flowing water.

[All suffering has a source.] 】

[Mermaid, your thinking direction is correct, but what you realize is only the appearance. 】

[War is not the source of suffering, just as tools are not the culprit. 】

[Leading all of this is a beast that is far greater than war. 】

Unfortunately, when I realized this, it was too late. I have naturally fallen into its trap. 】

[War is bound to begin. But the reason is not the desire of living beings, but the driving force of it. 】

[It dominates everything and drives everything.] Hidden above everyone's heads, it watches everything in the world all the time. 】

You've done a good enough job. Now, sleep in peace. 】

[Let's sleep.] 】

[For the conquest of the source of suffering, leave it to the warriors who have not yet fallen.] 】

The ethereal, neutral voice is far away.

Invisible to all, a cloudy black droplet slipped from the mermaid's body, engulfed in flames in an instant.

[Ahhhh

The merfolk confided its last words.

【Home....】

[I want to go home...]

Sou!

The world froze at this moment, and in the next second, the scene in front of Yunfan's eyes shattered inch by inch like glass.