"Yes, Dad, Domi will always be with you."

Dominica said in a gentle tone that was the exact opposite of her terrible appearance, and then turned her gaze to the two strangers, "Good uncle, please don't take my father away, okay?" If you can, please put a lot of rice in it. We didn't provoke anyone, maybe my father did some bad things for me, but in fact, he himself was very painful, and for a daughter like me, my father has endured too much. ”

"No, it's not your fault, Domi,"

Barth said softly, "You were and still are my most precious child—"

"Is the so-called 'most precious child' the monster you are holding in your arms?"

Wren sneered and walked over to the living room fireplace and flipped over a picture frame that was buckled upside down on the wall.

"Monsters?! How dare you say that—"

Barth screamed angrily, but when he saw Wren's actions, his voice instantly lowered, "Don't- don't touch that—don't be in front of Domi—oh, please! ”

Rod didn't stop Wren's thoughts, and Barth didn't have the guts to stop him.

The portrait depicts a lovely girl with her face in her hands and squatting among the flowers, her blond hair slightly curled and slightly messy hanging over her ears. The sun was shining on her forehead, and although she was missing a tiger tooth, the girl was still smiling very happily. If the painters of the time did not deliberately over-embellish the protagonist in order to make a few more money, then it is true that as Barthes said, Dominica was a very beautiful and likable little girl in the past.

"No...... Snap it back ......"

Barth sobbed silently, and the ghoul stared at the painting in a daze, and red tears began to appear in his eyes.

"Dominica,"

Rod said in a soft voice, "Tell me, do you really want to be by your father's side forever—in the way you are now?" ”

"W-What kind of crazy thing is this!"

Barth cried out bitterly, hugging his daughter even tighter, "You mean, would she rather die!" Before we met you, our father and daughter had been living a peaceful life, even if Domi couldn't go out or meet guests, so what? At least she's alive! Yes, there is nothing more important than that! Dominica, you tell them out loud that this is not the case! ”

"Yes, yes, Dad."

Dominica snuggled into her father's arms and said with tears in her eyes, "It's good enough now, Domi—Domi has no other wishes." ”

"Alive, ha, that's right, alive as a monster!"

Wren was furious, and at the same time raised the portrait in his hand, "Barth, look at the creature in your arms, apart from the same watery eyes, what else can be equated with the person in this painting?" Just need to be alive, huh? So why did you put this painting upside down on the wall? ”

Barth opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Wren interrupted him, "Yes, I can tell you that even with Dominica's bright eyes now, you don't have much chance to see them - even if you don't meet us." Look down, look at the tears in your daughter's eyes, and look at the color! She will eat more and more, how long do you think this monthly feeding will last for her? One day, her eyes will turn completely blood-red from hunger, and don't expect the ghoul to affectionately call you 'Father' then! ”

"No, it won't! You're talking about natural ghouls, and I know, they're naturally emotionless monsters! But Domi is different, she has a human soul, no matter what she looks like, she is still human at heart, she is still my precious daughter! ”

Bart roared with little confidence and looked at Rhodes as if asking for help, "This gentleman, you seem to be a little old and have an unusual temperament, much better than this stunned young man - as you can see, Domi is so well-behaved and sensible, she is just- just different from what other children eat!" ”

"It's true that my companion is young and inexperienced, but I'm afraid I'm on the same page this time."

"Frankly speaking, although I have not seen this method of transforming humans into other evil creatures before, I have witnessed how many good people fall into evil—from the initial trembling and resistance, to habit, to sinking, the process is generally similar. Dominica, dear little girl, am I right? ”

Dominica didn't answer, and Bart fell silent at the same time. In fact, as Rhodes says, when Dominica first became a ghoul, she frantically resisted the food her father brought her and cried all night. But it didn't take long for her to get used to those special diets, and even from two months ago, she began to tactfully but proactively remind her father that he was hungry and needed to eat.

"Daddy,"

Red tears kept dripping down Dominica's face, "Actually—I don't want to be a monster." I want to die. ”

Even for a ghoul, such words from the mouth of an eleven-year-old are heartbreaking enough.

"Oh no, Domi......"

Barthes hurriedly wiped away her tears, but he couldn't wipe them clean, "Pure stupid...... You kid......"

"I want to die! I want to die! That's my only wish! ”

Dominica screamed and pushed her father's arm away, "Enough is enough, Dad, I've really had enough." You can't go out, you can't go to school, you can't have any friends, because Domi is a monster! It's better to die, then you can erect me a tombstone in the shape of a bear, and other children will visit me at the tombstone with flowers! ”

A book of poems fell to the ground, and on the page that opened, a word was circled. It was a word that Dominica didn't know at her age, so she circled it at her father's request.

That word is pronounced 'happiness'.

Rod let out an unbearable sigh.

"Dad, you threw away all the mirrors in the house, but what's the use of that? I knew what I was like, and even my voice had changed, and it was even worse than those boys, like an old crow! I don't want to be ugly, and I don't want to eat those disgusting things—I don't want to eat them, but my mouth is the opposite, you know, Dad, just thinking about the food you brought me makes my mouth drool! Why? Why am I the horrible person I am now? ”

Dominica cried hysterically, "I want to die, Daddy! I wish I could lie in my coffin beautifully, just like my mother did! But Domi is a good boy, and Domi knows how sad it would be if his father died, so he had to live like this! Dad, I know I shouldn't—but I really hate you! ”

"Be vigilant: in the name of selflessness, do the act of greed; It is not only the cry in the night that can tempt people; He who is called 'evil' will also hide in good. ”

A low prayer rang out from Rod's mouth, and although Wren had little faith, he had memorized the Divine Code at his mother's request, and he knew where it came from.

"Think about it, are you for your daughter, or for yourself?"

Wren slowed his tone and said to Barthes, "This feeling—it's too heavy, let it go, maybe it's too late." ”

"I—I'm because I love her—I hope she's good—"

"But you made her unhappy."

“……”

Barthes's mouth was wide open, and his expression was extremely downcast. Dominica, who finally calmed down, gently wiped away her father's tears and said obediently: "Dad, Domi wants to go to Mom, let me go, okay?" ”

“…… Good. ”

It was a long time before Barthes came to his senses and looked at Rhodes in a daze, "Do what you have to do, sir, then." ”

Rod stepped forward and gently placed his hand on top of Dominica's head. The ghoul didn't ask him what he was going to do, just stared wide-eyed, a little nervous and expectant, and asked, "Does it hurt?" ”

"Yes, there are some."

Rod said gently, "But you're a strong kid, stronger than many adults I've ever met, so it must be fine." If I'm not mistaken, you'll go to a place full of light and peace, and you'll be restored to your original appearance, and all you see is the beautiful Dominica. ”

"Really? Is Mom there too? ”

"I'm not sure, but you can try to find her."

"And then—what about Daddy? Will he go there too? ”

Hearing this, Rod sighed silently.

"He'll always be in your heart."

After speaking, Rhodes whispered in a whispering voice: "Maker of Light, my greatest master, the Most Merciful, please listen to my call, please hide your righteous edge for a moment. This young soul needs to be redeemed, accept it into your kingdom, let it perch at your feet, sleep peacefully – or bloom again. ”

The light came out of Rod's hand, and Dominica's ugly mud-colored skin began to crack and weather, and red tears filled her eyes again, and the pain caused by the purification of the holy light was obviously extraordinary. But she didn't make a sound after all, and endured all this in silence.

Suddenly, the burning pain was gone.

The disgusting ghoul had been completely reduced to ashes, and in the scattered smoke and dust, the figure of a little girl with beautiful blonde hair and fair skin loomed. Barth stretched out his arms to hug his daughter one last time, but apparently pounced, and at last he heard only a string of silver bells of laughter, and then all sights, real and nothing, vanished.

"It was- that's Domi? I thought — you know — "

Barthes said in despair.

"That's indeed your daughter."

Rhodes said in a deep voice, "She still retains the human mind and soul, and this is the most fortunate place. If it had been any longer, I am afraid that her soul would have been corrupted by evil, and at that point, it would not only be her body that would have been reduced to ashes. ”

"Thank you, thank you very much, gentlemen."

Barth fell to his knees and wept again.

The follow-up is not complicated, just hand over the 'dark wizard' to St. Paul's Cathedral. There he will give a full account of his crimes, and after being approved by the Holy Inquisition and the Black Court, Barth will be properly punished. In this way, the disappearance of the slum villain, who was unknown to the temple and was not cared about by the city sheriff, was solved.

The time came to noon the next day.

"The temperature of the food has dropped to a suitable stage, and if you don't eat it again, it will probably affect the taste."

In a restaurant not far from St. Paul's Church, Rhodes kindly reminded the young man sitting across from him to bring a piece of cut beef to his mouth, "Well, it tastes pretty good, worthy of Bishop Browning's warm recommendation." ”

"I'm sorry, I'm not too hungry."

Wren fiddled with his knife and fork, and couldn't understand why Rod still had such a good appetite after all the events of last night.

"I'm not hungry, I'm still not going to eat."

"Does it make a difference?"

"The former has to do with the stomach, and the latter has to do with the heart."

Rod wiped the corners of his mouth and said lightly, "I thought you were used to it—after all, you were wanted with your father, Wren, and you faced a lot of battles and deaths during that time. I think even if I don't count my battle with that alchemical monster, the rest of them are more thrilling than last night's experience. So I suggest you adjust your mindset and eat the steak as soon as possible before it cools down. ”

"This time it's different from the previous ones."

"Let's try to explain."

"Hmmm......"

Wren was a little distressed, and after a while he said, "Lord Rhodes, you brought me out of the training camp this time so that I could participate in a real hunt, right?" ”

"Apparently."

"However, in the whole matter of Barthes, I seemed to be like a follower the whole time, and I didn't play any role, and I didn't have any chance to fight."

"Don't be presumptuous, Wren, you've seen that there are actually evil creatures on this mission, and I'm sure Dominica is no match for you - you can easily kill her if you want to."

“……”

Wren was glad that his stomach was still empty, otherwise he might have choked to death by Rod's words, "Okay, okay, of course that little girl can't beat me, but what I want to say is that I will never be able to do that way you handle it." ”

"What do you mean?"

"Purify her evil part so that her soul may be sublimated. That's right, I don't even need any special weapons to deal with a little ghoul like Dominica's long-term can't fill my stomach, just a dinner knife for cutting steaks. In fact, it's not just me, I'm sure any stupid and bold strong man can easily do this. ”

Wren hung his head and said, "But, what about after that? It's easy to hack Dominica to death, but if that's all she does, her soul will always be burdened with sin, and she will never be able to go to the place you told her about—that so-called place of light and peace, and maybe there is a kind old man living in it—in short, no amount of magic or combat skills can do it. ”

"It sounds like a frustration at my lack of ability."

Rod smiled.

"I don't want to admit it, but that's it."

Wren said helplessly.

"I'm glad you think so, and it proves once again that I'm not wrong. In fact, that's what it's really all about our quest for power – expecting it to play the right role at the right time. ”

Rod put down his knife and fork, and the corners of his mouth hooked into a smile, "At the same time, I also want to remind you that there are many things in this world that people are powerless, and no matter how powerful people are, they also have problems that they can't solve. So accept this sense of powerlessness, Wren, and accept yourself like this, as long as a person can do what he can with a clear conscience, then he is worthy of respect enough. ”

"Well, Lord Rhodes, thank you for your relief."

"You're welcome, Wren. In fact, many times it is not difficult to complete the task and does not require superfluous thinking, but I hope you can remember that it is often these 'superfluous thoughts' that really determine whether our inner peace is or not. I'm sure that in this case, if you were to be replaced by another reserve in the training camp, he would probably have taken off Dominica's head at the first sight of her, which is standard practice for evil. ”

"Did I misunderstand, you seem to ...... Don't seem to agree with this 'standard practice'? ”

Wren was a little strange, after all, witchers are fanatics, and it is their duty to destroy evil, but Rod's words vaguely revealed a hint of different thoughts.

"I can't give you the answer to that question, but you should be able to find it from Dominica."

Rod smiled, "Speaking of that little girl, Wren, you should remember that Barthes mentioned a woman, right?" ”

"You mean, the one who helped him transform Dominica from a human to a ghoul—the woman with red hair and extraordinary beauty?"

Wren coughed and said a little uncomfortably, "Hmm...... I don't think you need to worry too much, Lord Rhodes, this isn't the chaotic Kalmdo. The strength of the Holy See is obvious to all in the continent of Altya, and even more so in the Holy Light Empire with you in charge, we haven't had a large-scale dark invasion here for many years, right? So, even if that wicked woman knew some strange black magic, I don't think she would be able to make any waves here. ”

"Thanks for the compliment, Wren."

Rhodes smiled, but there was a rare hint of worry between his eyebrows, "Frankly, what I mind the most is not the evil knowledge she has, but her actions. Those who have sunk into darkness are willing to take risks in pursuit of greater power, more wealth, or higher status—no matter what, they cannot help others without anything in return. But in Barthes's mouth, the woman seemed to have done him such a terrible favor because of 'boredom' - and if so, the danger she posed would be incalculable, and the man must be found as soon as possible. ”