The remaining torches are getting weaker and weaker, and the dungeon is getting darker and darker.

But he felt that the dungeon was experiencing unprecedented peace and light.

Although Barney Jr. was still distracted behind him, Tails knew that he no longer had to worry about the status of the former Pioneer.

And the only question he had left was......

Tails shook his head, holding back the pain as he walked towards the last figure.

The long-faced man who had been kneeling on the ground, scarred and desperate, as if he had lost his soul.

The silhouette of the Knight of Punishment slowly emerged in the dim vision.

His badly wounded left arm, badly wounded by Barney, hung like a hollow snake, stiff and limply hanging from his shoulder.

"So, you're all there to do. Tails said softly.

The voice fell.

The Knight of Punishment seemed to be still immersed in his own world, unresponsive to Tails' words, and let him slowly approach.

But the moment Tails was ten paces closer to him, Sacrael bounced up like a cheetah that had suddenly woken up, and instinctively picked up the blade of the axe beside him, which was full of gaps!

"Your Highness!"

Belletti exclaimed in surprise and subconsciously got up and moved forward.

The others reacted: Semir frowned and held his weapon, while Tardin, Brie, Cannon, and the others nervously stood up and gathered in the direction of Sakel, and even Barney Jr. came to his senses and raised his torch.

But at this moment, Tails jerked up a hand behind him!

"Wait a minute. ”

The prince's voice was hoarse and weak, but everyone subconsciously stopped.

In extreme silence, Tails silently observed the long-faced man in front of him.

Sakel didn't move, he just breathed in a daze, still confused.

The weapon in his hand was pointed at Tails.

As if it was instinct.

The air solidified again.

Behind, Fast Rope asked with an embarrassed expression.

"Hey, Huai...... Uh, Tails?"

Belletti glanced at Sakel, who was in a trance but still instinctively vigilant, and hesitated:

"Your Highness, you'd better ......"

Before he could finish speaking, Tarding on the other side interjected nervously: "Can't go any further!"

"Dangerous, dangerous. "This is a slightly neurotic Cannon.

Everyone present had different reactions, but they all stared vigilantly at Sakel, who seemed to have just woken up from his babblings.

But Tails laughed.

"Thank you, Belletti, and you, Tardin, Cannon," the boy said, enduring his discomfort.

"But I need you to wait a little longer for me. ”

Tails turned his head, smiled tiredly, and raised an index finger:

"For a moment. ”

He turned around and took a deep breath and continued towards Sacrael.

Seeing that the distance between the two was getting closer and closer, Belletti's face changed:

"Your Highness, for your—"

But an arm reached out from the side and pressed Beletti, who wanted to act!

"He said," said Barney Jr., who had stood up at some point, coldly to the stunned Belletti and Tardin:

"Let's wait. ”

He seemed to be unfazed by Tailskein, and seemed to deliberately bow his head when he said this, not looking in the direction of the prince.

Barney Jr.'s frustrated tone awakened Sakel, whose gaze cleared and focused on Tails.

Belletti looked at the vanguard officer in a daze, then at Tails, and stopped talking a few times.

But he didn't say anything, didn't do anything.

He just stopped where he was, and watched worriedly as the prince moved forward.

Just like everyone else.

Until Tails came within three paces of Saker.

Sacael gasped for breath.

He looked around at his old colleagues who wanted to rush up immediately, but stubbornly held back their pace.

Something is different.

He thought so.

Sachael looked around,

He saw that Barney, who was accustomed to giving orders, looked unhappy, but did not speak.

Belletti, who has always been calm, even calm and even a little stereotypical, is also laissez-faire.

Even Semir, who didn't like to listen to orders, just pursed his lips and didn't say a word.

And the rest, whether Tardin or Cannon......

These were the comrades he once knew so well......

They had been standing quietly behind Tails, and apart from a warning look at Saker, they had almost watched and allowed the prince to walk step by step in front of him, covered in blood.

These guys......

Sakel turned his head stiffly, distracted and confused, but subconsciously clenched his weapon.

"You ......"

Sakel withdrew his tired, dark gaze and looked at Tails suspiciously, as if to get to know the boy anew.

"What did you do to them?"

He said stupidly, as if he was asking the other party, and as if he was asking himself.

Tails took a deep breath and squeezed out a smile.

"Nothing. ”

The boy said slowly:

"It's just something you want to do, but you can't do. ”

Sakel was stunned for a moment, only to feel dizzy.

What you want to do, but can't do......

A few seconds later, the mortally wounded Knight shook his head vigorously.

"Yes. ”

He scoffed, lowered his gloomy gaze, and understood something.

The Knight of Punishment let his left arm swing in the air, gritted his teeth and raised the weapon in his right hand.

"You know, before coming here, as the hostage of the Star Kingdom's resident Exter, I escaped all the way back from Longxiao City. The boy's voice sounded low.

Sakel's axe blade froze.

Longxiao City.

Sakel's trance-like spirit moved slightly, as if he had been stabbed by something.

Thin and chaotic memories once again filled his overwhelmed spirit.

Yes.

The hostage of the Bright Star Royal Family in Longxiao City.

Sakel clenched the blade of the axe in his hand.

So to speak, in the years since that tragedy, the kingdom has been ......

"I've met quite a few people along the way," Tails said in a calm, homely tone, "and one of them in particular touched me deeply. ”

He said that after more than ten years of disguise, when he looked in the mirror again, he no longer recognized the person inside. ”

Sakel's axe blade shook slightly.

Tails withdrew his gaze from the time crossbow in Fast Rope's hand and sighed:

"He's forgotten why he put on that mask in the first place, and he's allowed it to capture him, take possession of him, and control him. ”

Tails stared at the man in front of him seriously:

"It's like a warrior who forgets his mission to guard and becomes a slave to victory. ”

"It's like a king who forgets his duty to rule and surrenders to the vanity of merit. ”

The Punishment Knight's body began to shake slightly.

Tails looked directly into Saker's eyes.

He'd seen such a look.

More than once.

In the Vine Manor, when the ghost of the wind dragged the crippled body and struggled in pain.

At the Fuxing Palace, when Val Arend shook his head sadly and broke the conspiracy.

In the Hall of Heroes, when the official Mielke was distracted and picked up the body of his daughter.

In the rocky land, when the dying crow laughed madly and admitted everything.

They are all equally gloomy, equally desperate, equally ...... Numbness.

That's the kind of look that only people who have lost what they value the most will have.

And Saqel in front of him......

What is his most cherished thing?

Thinking of this, Tails' chest sank and he sighed softly.

"But, Saker. ”

"When and for what did you put on this mask?"

Sakel froze.

He stood in place, his face full of complexity.

The silence lasted for several seconds.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," and after a while, he struggled to squeeze out this sentence:

"But we ...... We have to put an end to this. ”

Sakel's voice fell, and the weapon in his hand flicked slightly, as if he had once again confirmed his determination.

Tails raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, I know. ”

"You're still trying to kill me. ”

The young man's tone was understated, but it made the guards behind him nervous again.

"And none of us can stop you. ”

Sakel frowned and did not speak.

But he seems to have a gift: silence alone is enough to make the atmosphere around him cold and condensed.

But then the prince smiled:

"I have to admit that when you were the heinous traitor who hunted me down...... I'm at least at ease with you. ”

"But now ......"

Tails sighed:

"The stories you told: You found out the truth, so you were dissatisfied with the former king, so one person planned the palace mutiny and framed everyone, and you are the traitor and culprit for eighteen years......"

He scoffed and shook his head.

"At least half of it is fake. ”

The Knight of Punishment's cheeks twitched slightly.

Tails stared straight at him.

"That's the mask you wear for other people to see. ”

Sakel pursed his lips tightly, his face stiff and gray.

"You made it up to hide the truth, to protect both the dead and the living. ”

"For your guards not to be divided among themselves, for the survivors to be tormented, for the old days to sleep underground no longer to be blind. ”

"For this reason, you are willing to be the sinner and traitor who came out of nowhere, and bear the resentment that should not be directed at you—that they hate you alone than they hate each other?"

The Knight of Punishment closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Barney Jr. looked at Saker, his eyes a mixture of hatred, resentment, confusion and confusion.

Others sighed.

Only Sémir shook his head in disdain.

Tails curled the corners of his mouth and continued:

"It wasn't until I saw what you just did that I finally understood: this is the real Saqel. ”

Sakel's brow twitched fiercely.

But Tails continues:

"Eighteen years ago, as a watchman guarding the inheritance, you couldn't bear to take sides, and you could only witness your comrades turning against each other, fighting each other, and bleeding like a river. ”

"In the aftermath of the tragedy, for the sake of the royal family's honor and dignity, you can't tell the truth, you can only sit back and watch the innocent members of the guard go to prison. ”

But in the face of their plight and tragedy, you cannot forgive yourself for your inaction and silence, and you voluntarily cut yourself off from the outside world and buried deep in the ground as a punishment for yourself. ”

Tails looked at Saqel sadly.

With each sentence, the pain and confusion on the knight's face deepened, and the rise and fall of his chest became more and more violent.

The complexities and contradictions in the eyes of the guards also deepened.

Their gaze on Sakel, already chaotic and changeable, was now a little more obscure and hesitant.

"So, Lord Saker," Tails sighed:

"Whether you wear a mask or not, you never forget what you believe in. ”

Sacael opened his eyes!

"Are you done?"

His right hand holding the weapon trembled like his voice: "This won't help you......"

Tails interrupted him.

"It's coming. ”

"But until then. ”

Tails exhaled softly.

"I want you to know, and I want them to know, before you do it,"

He turned around and looked at the group of former royal guards who were confused and confused, nervous and confused.

"Sakel, you are not a traitor, nor are you a wicked person. ”

"On the contrary, you will not hesitate to bear unwarranted grievances and undeserved stigma, but you must also guard the reputation of the deceased and protect the reputation of the royal family. ”

"You'd rather keep your mouth shut and recite the misunderstandings and hatred behind the tragedy than see your brothers turn against each other and kill each other. ”

Tails looked at him lightly:

"You are even willing to sacrifice their trust, friendship, respect, admiration for you, which you once cherished, and what is left of you now – as long as it protects and saves them. ”

The dungeon was quiet again, and only the sound of the people's breathing, fast and slow, but by no means even, was heard.

At this moment, the royal guards' eyes looking at Saqel were extremely complicated:

Sakel stared at Tails, the bloodshot in his eyes visible in the firelight.

"You can't shake me. ”

The Knight of Punishment's voice was very low, with a slight bitterness between the lines.

"Of course," Tails chuckled, "because no matter eighteen years ago or eighteen years later, from beginning to end, you are the noble knight who is selfless and fearless, and can be called an exemplary knight." ”

"The watchman who guards the Guard's legacy. ”

Tails sighed lightly:

"You just unfortunately got caught up in the torrent of the times, lost and couldn't wake up. ”

The torrent of the times......

Sakel's trembling grew more intense.

Terrible memories came flooding down on him.

Sakel gritted his teeth and resisted to look at the other people's expressions.

Because he was afraid.

Afraid......

But while Saker's mind was still stirring—

"...... all of you here"

Tails glanced back at the people around him, he took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh.

It was like having made up some kind of decision.

He knows what to do.

All the people looked at the prince in unison.

"You know," Tails lowered his eyes and whispered.

"Why did Saqel kill me?"

At that moment, Sakel's erratic thoughts were interrupted instantly.

What the?

He was completely stunned.

He was not the only one with this expression, everyone present was also stunned.

From the still awkward Barney, to the worried Belletti, to the vigilant Semir, to Tardin, Cannon, Brie - confusion, confusion, doubt, all kinds of emotions overflowed everyone's hearts.

Only the fast rope who realizes what has changed his face greatly!

I only heard Tails calmly adjust his breathing and raise the corners of his mouth:

"Because he knows. ”

"Because Saqel knows what I am. ”

What exactly am I.

The prince was calm and reassured, as if this were an ordinary answer.

The silence in the dungeon lasted for several seconds.

Wait a minute.

Sakel's expression slowly dissolved, and he looked at the usual Tails with indescribable surprise.

He......

He's going to ......

"I don't understand," Semir, who was watching, narrowed his eyes:

"What do you mean by 'what exactly'?"

Soon, in the midst of everyone's doubts, the unbelievable fast rope was the first to open his mouth in surprise and subconsciously stretched out his arm!

"Eh, that, Wye- I mean Tails?"

But Fastrope quickly noticed his surroundings: under the suspicious gazes of those around him, he couldn't even say Tails' name, so he withdrew his hand in embarrassment, and his voice weakened.

Tails just looked indifferent and didn't care.

"You ......"

Sakel looked at Tails in disbelief, unable to suppress his reaction any longer:

"You can't ...... Are you crazy!"

Semir, Tardin...... Many didn't understand, and they exchanged questioning glances back and forth between Saker and Tails.

Barney Jr. stared at Saker's expression and Tails' back, and felt something different.

What's wrong......

Prince...... What else is the secret?

Tails curled his mouth slightly, shook his head, and smiled at the Punishment Knight.

"I already know you, Watchman. ”

Tails laughed:

"But you don't know me. ”

"You don't know what I've been through since I came into this world. ”

Tails raised his right hand and slowly spread out his palm, looking at the blood mark in the center of his palm that had been cut by the dagger and had not yet healed.

Just as he did before he came to the Prison of Bones.

Sakel looked at Tails at this moment, speechless in surprise.

In front of him, the young man's expression was very calm, relaxed, and even ......

Very pleasant.

Observing Tails' fast rope, he frowned.

No.

It dawned on him that this was not Tails' ploy or means.

No.

Is he really going to ......

Fast Rope suddenly felt an unparalleled panic.

"Death may be unpleasant to me, but it doesn't frighten me anymore," Tails said with a rare relief in his tone:

"And the ...... that really scares me"

Tails spoke, his eyes glazed over.

His eyes flashed with Ashida's haughty face, Giza's crazy expression.

[Tails, this world, they don't hate us. 】

They are afraid of us. 】

[What they refuse to forgive and find it difficult to accept is not our behavior, but our existence]

And...... The mysterious figure of Toros.

Tails sighed softly.

"What scares me is the panic, the trepidation, the nervousness that I can't get rid of when I carry that secret - even the nightmare is its shadow, and I can't escape. ”

"I feared the moment when this secret would be known, the fate and the unknown I was about to face, the nervousness of what the world would do to me, the constant fear and anxiety of all the familiar might leave me. ”

Tails slowly raised his head, his eyes slowly focused.

"Today, that moment has come. ”

Tails looked back to find Fastrope staring blankly at him.

The boy smiled at him in return, and then let out a sigh of relief.

Thank you.

"And that's not that bad. ”

Looking at Fast Rope's stunned expression, Tails clenched his palm hard, feeling the pain in his palm.

"On the contrary, the moment to really face it, to face the consequences......"

"I really got it. ”

Tails turned around and raised his gaze calmly.

"The only thing that is pestering me, torturing me, punishing me, refusing to let me go is not that secret, not my upcoming fate, not the unknown that I can't grasp, not anything else. ”

"And it's just me. ”

"What I need is not self-restraint," Tails clenched his fist, vigorously imprinting the part of his heart that had been burned by the silver coin, "but letting go of the past me." ”

"Bathing in fire...... Rebirth. ”

Sacael was completely stunned.

"Temple...... Your Highness?" Belletti seemed to realize that something was wrong, and his face was full of worry and doubt, and he spoke out half reminding and half warning.

Faced with the doubts of a group of people that were almost erupting, Tails just smiled with relief.

"That's right, guys. ”

He closed his eyes and tried not to look at the reactions of the people around him.

The prince's voice echoed through the dungeon, accompanied by Sakel's near-stagnant expression and the uncontrollable breathing of the fast rope.

"I, Tails Bright Star, am one of the greatest taboos in the world, which has been passed down by word of mouth for generations. ”

"It is the same kind of person who thinks that Sacael is the culprit who disturbed the kingdom back then. ”

The next moment, Tails took a deep breath in the dead silence and opened his eyes.

"I'm a magician. ”

The boy used the calmest, most indifferent, and most indifferent tone in his life to say the answer that made Saker, let the fast rope, and let Barney, and make everyone gasp:

"A scourge. ”

I know that "Rebirth" is not finished yet...... But I promise, the next chapter is really the last (second)!

(End of chapter)