Everything is clear.

Catherine did not die at the hands of Eugene, but was killed by a devout priest. He was the only person who was willing to speak up for her and run for her in the previous days, but when things developed to his core interests, he simply ended the poor woman's life.

Death interrupted Catherine's memories, and the magic disconnected, and Wren fell to his knees panting, saliva dripping into the dust that covered the floor.

Even if he didn't see it with his own eyes, he could guess the general situation - Catherine's death was too abrupt, because the ghosts' thinking is not as organized as that of living people, and their logic is mostly paranoid and rigid, so she has never had too much obsession with Brandon, after all, what haunts her the most is probably the experience of captivity and abuse. Catherine, like all the villagers who have been kept in the dark, believes that Eugene is the culprit of the whole thing—even Eugene himself, believing that the beginning and end of the story are all his own, and he never dreamed that there would be such a person who seems to have nothing to do with the matter, selfishly rewriting the plot into a complete tragedy.

"Brandon, have you ever regretted it?"

Wren asked, kneeling on his knees, enduring the mental pressure of a near-collapse collapse.

"Regret - what does that mean?"

Brandon asked rhetorically in a trembling voice.

"Still don't admit it? I had just seen with my own eyes what had happened that night, and I could even see a few buttons on that ugly pajama of yours. ”

Wren grabbed an armrest and dragged himself into the chair, "You killed her, I didn't think I had it before, I thought you had some unknown deal with Eugene." Of course, you have your concerns, I understand, you are worried that she will become a stumbling block to your bright future, and I have to say that it is very possible. ”

Brandon's face suddenly turned to ashes.

"Did you really see those? Is it the work of magic? ”

He choked up and said, "What a magical spell. ”

"Truly unexpected. Then again, Eugene is not innocent, in every sense of the word, but there is one thing we must face upon, and that is that he missed the matter of 'killing by mistake'. ”

Wren was so tired that he gasped for breath for a while before continuing: "Catherine, who is lucky enough not to die, will be blessed before she comes, she thinks she is asking for help from the light, but you and I both know that when she knocked on the door of this church, she actually plunged headlong into the darkness - Brandon, have you ever regretted it?" ”

Well, regret it? Of course!

Brandon did regret killing Catherine in a fit of rage, and even more regretted killing her by burying her body under the church floor.

"That's it, I remember,"

Catherine's previous indifferent look disappeared, replaced by a strong resentment, "You killed me, that's right, you blew my head in the back when I was leaving that night, there can be no one else—just for that little bit of dirty thoughts to get promoted and get rich!" It's all thanks to you that I'm where I am today! ”

The banshee cried and pounced on the murderer, black mist wrapping around her fingertips.

"Die, come with me and enjoy the view of hell!"

"Holy Light Shelter!"

Brandon shouted in panic, and a golden glow enveloped his body. Catherine's claws exploded into a crackling sound the moment they made contact with the light, and the soul-scorching pain made her dare not make any further moves for a moment, but she was clearly not willing to give up, so she cursed and carefully drifted out of the range of the light, like a beast waiting for a bonfire to be extinguished.

"See who you are, you lowly necromancy!"

Now, Brandon seems to have let go, "You want revenge, come on, try it through this holy light!" ”

This voice was so sharp that Wren, who already had a headache, was even more upset, and then he heard Brandon say to himself: "Lord Wren, do you regret it after you ask me—of course, I regret it all the time, I regret not burning Catherine's body directly!" But, but can I be blamed for this?! There's no way I'm going to light a fire in the village that burns the corpses to ashes for no reason, and that will catch everyone's attention! I can't just bury her somewhere, and how to explain it if I find her—it's the only one here, yes, I can only bury her here, because only the church is my own place. ”

"Oh, poor fellow, of course you can bury the body somewhere, I don't see anything wrong with doing so."

Wren looked at Brandon like an idiot, "What if it's discovered?" You don't have to explain anything, after all, everyone thinks Eugene is the real murderer of Catherine, doesn't it? All you have to do is say a word or two, 'Wow, I can't believe Eugene would do something like this' or 'I can't imagine him burying his body in a place like this,' and that's it." ”

"Ahh

Brandon's mouth was wide open, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he could only utter a few meaningless interjections. He felt that there had been a place in his heart that had been covered with thick phlegm, and it only took Wren a second to pick it open.

"Ha, I remembered a joke I heard in my life, magician, do you want to listen to it?"

Catherine chuckled, seemingly forgetting her anger and sadness for a moment, "It's weird, I've forgotten a lot of things, but the joke is as clear as it is engraved in my head—"

"The ghost has no brain, it is buried under your feet and rots along with your body."

Wren slumped on the bench and reminded weakly, "Considering you've been dead for almost four months, and our Pastor Brandon obviously hasn't been able to prepare a good coffin for you, your brain should have rotted as long ago as the rest of the soft tissues—well, not just the soft tissues, and judging by the climate in the mountains, there may not be any flesh left on your skeleton." ”

"Damn, why are you so mean?!"

Catherine was furious, and her illusory body swelled like an offended pufferfish, "Helping me find the murderer won't bring me back to life, so I won't be grateful to you for this, or even endure your ridicule!" ”

"Alright, don't be angry, please tell us that joke."

Wren said kindly, "I'm sure Pastor Brandon is as curious as I am, what joke can you remember after you die?" ”

"Hmph, this attitude is not bad, so let's give the old lady ears to listen."

Catherine pretended to clear her throat, "The joke is that a famous thief was caught in prison because of a momentary mistake, and he was not afraid, because there was no lock in the world that he couldn't open, and prison escapes and so on were already commonplace for him." One night, the thief escaped in the middle of a change of guards, and he picked open ninety-nine locks and ninety-nine doors, and was about to escape, but was stopped by the last door—a door that didn't look high-class or strong, but he couldn't pull it open with all his might, but he was half dead from exhaustion. At this point, the jailer who came slowly made the thief angry with only one sentence - 'That door is pushed outward, man!' ’”

Honestly, this wasn't a new joke, Wren had heard it elsewhere before, but he still couldn't hold back his laughter. Brandon, on the other hand, didn't find the joke half funny, and in his opinion, it was difficult to tell who was more stupid than himself.

"Oh, don't look like that, man, after all, the authorities are obsessed."

Wren gently wiped away the tears of laughter, and there was still an unstoppable smile in his tone, "You have walked in light and praise all your life, and naturally you have little experience in crime. ”

"You can laugh at me as much as you want, it's okay, I've been disappointed in all of this anyway. Honestly, Wren, the first time I met you, I thought the village was finally waiting for a savior, but I was wrong. ”

Brandon was silent for a moment, then said with red eyes, "I thought you could kill Catherine smoothly, but I didn't expect you to let her run away - of course, I didn't know she was a banshee, but so what?" If you're strong enough, like Rhodes God's Wrath, it wouldn't take much effort to deal with a banshee, and there wouldn't be any trouble that followed - yes, it's your fault in the end, don't expect me to pay for your incompetence. ”

"I'm too lazy to guess what kind of mental activity you're doing to say this, Brandon, but I don't think you're stupid enough to make a choice you regret again."

Wren smiled as he pressed his hand on the hilt of the black knife, "At this moment, the most powerful person in this church is me, understand?" This means that whether you and Catherine want to or not, you will have to do whatever I want. The banshee must be destroyed—"

He drew his black knife and pointed it at Catherine, but the hand holding the knife shook unseasonably, and he quickly lowered his arm, "And you, dear Mr. Priest, you need to go into St. York's Cathedral and confess your sins to Bishop Federici completely, and how to atone for your sins is only what the Holy Inquisition says." ”

"What makes you think I'm going to accept your arrangement? Haha, I'm not as easy to deceive as this ghost woman. ”

An ugly smile erupted into Brandon's face, "I don't know what fighting is all about, but I'm not the fool you think I'm - I can see how you're at this point, and the Banshee's howl has a big impact on you, right?" The spell you cast on Catherine just now weighed on your body, right? So- are you still free to cast spells now?! ”

"You can bet."

Wren said calmly, and then Brandon opened the church door without hesitation, and resolutely stepped one foot out - he had won the bet, and the witcher did not react to such a provocation.

Do you really want to fucking run?

Why don't you go back with me and go to trial??

It doesn't have to be a death!

Wren was a little shocked, shameless, you are a holy person (and a murderer), faith and glory are these things completely worthless to you?! At the same time, a trace of embarrassment surged into his heart, in order to pursue the truth, Fang Cai's emotional synchronization spell had squeezed his spirit to the limit, and maybe he could cast one or two rudimentary-level cracking rays or freezing techniques, which were naturally more than enough to deal with the weakened Catherine, but it was not enough to deal with Brandon - of course, the most basic spells were not something that this half-hung saint could resist, but what if it missed?

It's too big to fall out with this stupid priest too soon, Wren thought depressedly, at least solve one and then solve the other—lo and see, wouldn't it be easy to pull the ball when you take a big step. In this case, it is obviously not appropriate to say something like 'you have a kind of go and try it again', which is very likely to be slapped in the face.

"What, aren't you going to keep me? Wren - My lord?! ”

Brandon turned his head and elongated his tone, "Magic fails?" So why don't you catch me with your own hands, your black knife seems to be very sharp - by the way, you seem to have a problem with your legs and feet, I almost forgot, I helped you here this afternoon! ”

"Calm down, let's talk."

Wren said with a headache: "It's irrational to run away, Brandon, maybe you don't believe it, but I know very well what kind of dark life the fugitives live, and the days of worrying all day are no easier than going to jail - come back with me, confess your sins, repent, maybe the Holy Inquisition will give you a lenient sentence." ”

"Don't underestimate me, bastard, I'm not afraid to be punished!"

Brandon cried out, "It's just that—it's just that I'd rather die than sit on the bench, yes, I've given everything for my lord, and maybe there may be occasional flaws, but Tinos will understand my suffering, and even if—even if what I've done is truly unforgivable, then no one else will judge me, and no one else will be qualified to do so, unless they, too, have been like me for so many years in this place where birds don't!" I've paid so much to not allow a woman who can her for a few pounds to stir up yellow for me! ”

"Come on, you're just unwilling, hopeless guy, no one forced you to go down this road."

Wren said impatiently.

"Well, then, maybe I should keep going."

Brandon said with tears in his eyes. Nothing could force him to stay, Wren was in the same bad shape as a frail Catherine, and even better, he could feel the curse that had corrupted the land dissipating - presumably due to the fact that the banshee's power had diminished dramatically, meaning that even if he left the village, he wouldn't have to worry about becoming a madman full of bestial desires.

"Goodbye, witcher—"

Brandon took a deep look at the dilapidated church, then turned his gaze to the banshee floating in the air, "And you, Catherine, I'm sorry for doing that to you, you, me, Eugene, and even the villagers who didn't help you, after all, we're all just mortals, and at some point, we're all blinded by selfish thoughts, and of course, we won't escape the corresponding price - I think I'll have to suffer the condemnation of conscience for the rest of my life." ”

"What kind of joke are you talking about, you killed me, but you want to leave?" Condemnation of conscience'—as if you really have that thing! ”

Catherine circled anxiously, trying to rush to Brandon again and again, but she was afraid of the light's intimidation and did not dare to get too close, which made her even more irritable.

"Hey, Mr. Magician, do something!"

She leaned into Wren's ear and shouted, "My killer is running away, are you just watching it?!" ”

"I can close my eyes if you need to, and besides, you don't yell at me, and don't forget that it's because of you, Catherine, that I'm what I am here."

Wren said indifferently: "Speaking of which, you are really thick-skinned, and you still cry and cry like a naïve little girl, even though the real murderer is right in front of you, as if your misfortune is all caused by the refusal of others to help, and there is not a trace of 'deserved' in it—I am right, 'Ahhhh ”

The merciless words pierced Catherine's soul like a sharp arrow, and she was stunned for a moment, and then, suddenly, laughing like a nervous disorder.

"I see."

The banshee whispered, "On the night I died, I said, 'I'm going to live for myself,' and now I don't have that chance. Still, I can die for myself. ”

With that, she rushed to Brandon without hesitation and hugged him with open arms.

"Crazy—crazy! You're looking for death! ”

Brandon screamed and writhed violently. He wanted to throw Catherine off, but it couldn't, it wasn't the monkey who was asking for food from the tourists, he couldn't get rid of that illusory embrace, just as he couldn't escape the ubiquitous air.

"Help me! Lord Wren! Please help me! ”

Brandon broke down and stretched out his hand at Wren, "I swear, I swear by my personality, you can do whatever I want!" It's okay to go back to trial with you - as long as you get her out of me!" ”

"Oh, 'personality'."

Hearing such a plea for help, Wren's only action was to roll his eyes.

The undead spirit threw into the light was worse than a living person jumping into a frying pan, and the sound of popping continued to sound in Catherine's body, and in the time it took only a breath for her body to be burned through countless holes. With a light glance, Wren felt her scalp tighten, but Catherine didn't realize it, and finally, she stuck her fingers in the back of Brandon's heart before she was completely gone.

The dazzling light dimmed as Brandon's soul withered, and the only source of light in the church was the silver light left over from Wren's earlier primary invisibility breach, which dissipated as the spell's time expired. Fortunately, the night sky seemed to clear up in the second half of the night, and the moonlight shone in through the open door at the right time, which gave Brandon, who collapsed in front of the door, a little comfort.

"It's incredible that all my future has been ruined at the hands of a lowly prostitute, and maybe that's exactly what I deserve."

He said this with the last of his strength, and then closed his eyes forever.

"Me too."

Catherine said calmly. It can be seen that there are still remnants of golden light spreading on her shattered body, like plastic sheeting ignited by sparks, and soon, she will also be completely empty.

"Magician, I don't have a future anymore, do I?"

"Yes, but I don't think it's a bad thing for you."

"yes, I've had a good enough experience, and I'm tired enough."

Catherine muttered quietly. She watched as a golden light swept across her legs from top to bottom, and then they disappeared like stains wiped off by a rag—perhaps a stain on the world where she existed.

"I'm sorry for all the nasty things I just told you,"

Wren limped over to her with a black knife, "Of course, I have to apologize for my motives, it would be best for me that you two could die together." ”

"Forget it, don't take it personally. I still have to solve my own affairs. ”

Catherine waved her hand impatiently, and the golden light spread upward, and the arm quickly disappeared with sharp pain, "I have a question for you - magician, do you think I'm stupid too?" ”

"What?"

"I didn't say yes to Eugene's courtship, I wouldn't even want him to touch half of my finger, and now that I think about it, there's nothing to struggle with, right? After all, that's what I did in the first place. ”

Catherine said bitterly: "It is a needless insistence that a prostitute would rather be beaten than let a man sleep!" If I had been smarter and pretended to be in love with that guy for a few days, I might have escaped safely back to Greenshade by now. ”

"That's a deep question, and I won't be able to answer it for a while."

Wren smiled, and he pointed to somewhere in the air—where Catherine's lower body was just now, "Maybe like you said, since this little hole grows between your legs, you at least have the power to decide who can and can't." ”

With that, the witcher and the banshee laughed at the same time.

"Seriously, I miss being alive."

Catherine winked at Wren, "If I still have the body, I can have a good time with you little villain." ”

"Ah—let's get back to that,"

A thought suddenly flashed through Wren's mind, "I'm curious, how did you gain such great power in such a short period of time after you died?" ”

"Oh, well, if I'm not mistaken, it was the night I had just woken up—I was chasing Eugene into the church, where the dead man on the ground had given him temporary protection. They hugged each other as they did, and the vicious golden light prevented me from getting even half a step closer, so I left for now. I drifted aimlessly in the wind, passing from village house to villager's house, and I have to say the screams were amusing. ”

Catherine pondered, "Then a woman stopped me. I don't know where she came from, but she certainly wasn't from this village, and yes, she had dazzling red hair and a stunningly beautiful face, ten times more beautiful than she had been before I was disfigured. Is it enough to just play scary pranks like a child? And she said to me, 'This little village in the middle of nowhere is a good place for you to grow up healthily, and I will lend you strength and turn it into a hunting ground, and you will be the only beast of prey among them'—she said so, and seemed to do so, and I somehow became more and more hungry, and the more I ate, the more things I forgot—"

Wren froze, and Catherine's words jerked out the charming figure he had forgotten in his memory.

"Farewell, then, handsome magician."

The remnants of the light burned the last of Catherine's body, and when Wren came to his senses, all that was left was the empty church and Brandon's body lying in front of the door.

In a trance, the night in front of her seemed to have undergone some kind of distorted deformation, and the red-haired woman in the red dress walked out of the void, with a smile on the corner of her mouth, which was suffocatingly beautiful.

It can't be—

Is it a dream?

"It's not a dream, Mr. Wren."

The woman named Honghime lifted her jade-like palm and shook it gently in front of Wren, "I said we would meet again one day. ”