Eight people rushed up.

Mo said that now is not a good time to pay attention to knightly virtues, and none of them are really the heirs of chivalry.

But even with the "advantage" of eight to one, they barely did any real damage to the witch.

"Bang ——!" Orno's air spell was always the fastest one, but it galloped away only to be dissipated into the air by the White Witch with a wave of her hand.

"It's not a level at all—" Adolphus muttered, and then split up with Henry, Erica, and Stephen in an attempt to approach the witch in the center from all directions.

"Feint, cover them. "The Sage was the striker, so Orno took over the command, and she had faced a lot of battles in her travels, so she knew it well.

"Volley!" "Bang-boom-" The angled wind and fire magic attacks shattered again.

The same was true of the crossbows that followed Mira and Filippo - there was clearly hesitation in the heart of the Maiden Roan, who aimed at the other's shoulders rather than the more lethal heart and head, but the slightest reservation soon made her regret it.

With no dead ends, these long-range hand attacks failed to achieve the purpose of interference. If it was to target the head and heart, the white witch would have looked to this side for a moment, but Mira's reservation kept her from paying attention at all - which had quite serious consequences for the striker's teammates.

"Ho-" Rushing to the front was Adolphus on the left, who rushed forward with the help of his plate armor and shield, and with a hint of inexplicable anger in his heart, he sped up and rushed forward first.

"Hey!" Camilo noticed that Mira's attack had failed to distract him, and quickly reused his staff and hurriedly threw four fireballs to cover the paladin.

"Whew-"

— but he was too late.

When the first wave was all on their own initiative, the witch held the white gleaming spear in her hand and kept it flat, and when it was brought to Adolphus within twenty meters, she suddenly lifted it.

"Bang-huh!" the short spear that floated in the air accelerated in mid-air, and then rushed towards Adolphus.

"Don't take it hard!" Henry, who noticed all this, reminded loudly, and the short spear that came from it was filled with a bad aura, but Adolphus's shield was tied to his forearm, and he had to take the shield and roll it directly.

"Bang-" "Uh-" Even Adolphus, who was wearing more than a hundred kilograms of armor, just rubbed the edge of the shield in his hand by this spear, and the whole person flew backwards several meters away.

"Bang-click!" he slammed to the ground. "Ahem-a-" and then began to cough uncontrollably.

A quarter of the upper right corner of the metal-skinned iris shield shattered completely, and the two-centimeter-thick wooden core began to emit a burning smell with dark red embers. The belt tied to his forearm broke, and the rivets flew away, and Adolphus felt a pain in his entire left hand, and if it weren't for the plate armor, he was afraid that even half of his body would have been crippled.

"Distance, distance!" Captain Stephen, who approached, immediately came over, and with his strong body, he pulled the paladin back with one hand. The four long-range shooters, along with the little unicorn, ran to Adolphus's side, while Henry and Erica, who were farther away on the other side, returned to this side.

They pulled up to a distance of about thirty-five meters, and then people began to check on Adolphus' injuries.

"Ahem, I'm fine. The strong paladin waved his hand at his teammates and forced himself to climb up. He felt a pang of fear in his heart. Although the spear had only flown a short distance through the shield before dissipating into the air, the extra few meters were enough to shoot him through.

"Thank you. He nodded at Henry, and if it weren't for the sage's timely reminder, he would have died by now due to his overconfidence in the armor he was wearing.

"I ......" Mira paused, apparently believing it to be her responsibility. "Now is not a good time to say this. Horno interrupted her.

"Information?"

"Some form of magical shield appears at a distance of about a meter from the center of the body's radius, and my guess is that it is powerful sorcery that can fed back the applied force back to the incoming item, counteracting it. ”

But it could only be the direction she noticed. Horno's rapid spout of technical words confused most people, except for Henry and Erica.

"Where's the gun?"

"Composed of mana, no more than 25 meters attack radius. ”

"She and ...... A real witch, it's different. Orno shook his head: "Her magic and magic are powerful, but they are not black magic. ”

"One more thing that strikes me is that her magic spear disappears very abruptly when she leaves a distance of 25 meters, as if it were given by her surroundings—" Orno frowned, struggling to find a suitable Lamanite word.

"Devoured. Heng added in a steady tone.

"Uh-" The simple description was understandable to others, and the question came from there.

"But this, speaking of this around, although it is really out of place, isn't she an existence like a witch's doppelganger?" The person who asked the question was Filippo: "Isn't this statement of yours like she is devouring herself?"

"......" Everyone fell silent.

"Floral ......" Mira suddenly said, "Floral ..... Nope. ”

"Speaking of which, the little animals around me are gone—" The people looked up and began to look around, only to find that the whole environment was starting to darken.

The cold forest of death on the outskirts began to spread and engulf the area like a disease, and the blackened and cold ground had extended much inward compared to the first time they first met. The magnolia flowers have withered, and the sounds of birdsong and other critters have disappeared.

It was as if the only remaining light was about to be swallowed up by darkness.

Everyone turned their heads and looked at the White Witch who was still standing in the center.

She just stood there quietly and didn't attack.

"You..... No intention of fighting?" Filippo asked, standing up and facing her with a slight hesitation.

"Not unintentionally. The witch smiled bitterly: "I don't understand." ”

"What the hell are you......" Mira also stood up, and when she met the other person's lilac eyes, she suddenly had a feeling in her heart like a lightning strike: "Ah-" Miss Luo An suddenly cried out.

"That man. ”

"You are. ”

"Mira!" she staggered forward, Filippo behind her froze, and Henry and Erica stepped forward to protect the white-haired girl.

"You're the one, the one who's crying. Most people were confused, she said, with the exception of Orno and Henry, who also stood up and walked over, while the latter frowned and looked at the witch in the middle of the room.

“...... Oh, yes. She was silent for a moment, then suddenly lowered her head and smiled shallowly.

A gust of wind blew, and the magnolia flowers, which had withered rapidly in a matter of seconds, fell from the branches, as if they had experienced a long time in an instant, and dissipated into powder with the wind.

The icy periphery invaded a few points again, and the warm white area shrank even further. The people who stayed in the rear tightened their cloaks, and then they also stood up and walked over.

"What the hell is going on, we didn't do anything-" Stephen yelled in his loud voice.

"It's not you, it's her. The white witch said, "She's here, devouring me." ”

"But you're not—" The white-haired girl struggled to sort out her words, she couldn't find the right words to describe it all—and the other suddenly moved, and she walked slowly in this direction.

"Qiang—" Everyone clenched their weapons, and although she had no intention of continuing after only one round of fighting, the power she showed was enough to be feared.

“...... Humans are always like that, aren't they?" said the witch with a faint smile.

"I, just a fragment. She said to Mira, "I'm not another her, just a small fragment of her vast and complex mind. ”

"A piece that has become worthless. The witch looked behind her, and the leaves began to fall in the wind.

"I have her memory, and therefore I know what she sees and hears, and she closes it all off to keep it as it is, but I don't. ”

"I have a great deal of knowledge that she has gained from her contact with other creatures, and she can peer into the human heart, even though she doesn't understand what that means. ”

She didn't need to understand. ”

"It's just an instinct to piece together what people think is beautiful in their hearts and make it into such a piece. The witch hung her head.

"What the hell is your purpose, if you don't want to fight any longer—" Adolphus, who had been somewhat traumatized, spoke aggressively as he shook his faith from the things he had done before.

"Purpose?"

"Did she create me for the purpose of it, or for the purpose for which I exist?" she said, and before she could reply, she continued, "The reason she created me is very simple, and she doesn't know much about it." It's just like a clumsy painting drawn by a child, full of hope that his mother will like it. ”

"It's just a simple idea. The witch looked at Orno, but there was no hatred in her eyes, only a faint bitterness.

"As for myself, I think all I need is an answer. ”

"If you answer, it doesn't hurt to tell you where she is. "Uh-" The unexpected words made everyone look at each other.

"You're going to betray yourself?" "How do we know if you're lying to us?" The two voices came from an old and a young, and Stephen and Filippo suddenly looked at each other again, both of them a little inexplicable.

“...... That's just the definition of human beings. ”

"Betrayal, deception, these are evil acts, and it is my duty to do such things as an existence that should be evil. Simple view of good and evil – well, that's exactly what I want to ask. You're—" She glanced at the crowd.

"Why do you want to do this?"

"......" Everyone fell silent.

"This kind of thing?" was the only one who asked.

"Come and destroy her, this kind of thing. ”

"Uh-" The people fell silent, and only Filippo, who was relatively simple-minded, replied quickly again, "Isn't that simple, you have hurt humanity and killed so many people, and you are an evil being." ”

"So it's just simple revenge, because there is a human being who has been exterminated?" asked the witch rhetorically, and Filippo retreated—the young man didn't know how to answer the question.

"Shrink!" Mira suddenly shouted, and everyone looked back, and the area that had been huge had now been eroded from the outside to a diameter of less than ten meters.

"There's no time to waste here, she's done anyway, let's go fix to this!" Stephen exclaimed, he seemed a little anxious, a series of unexpected events made the mercenary leader feel quite insecure, and he wanted to quickly solve everything and get back to his familiar routine.

Go and deal with some of the more familiar opponents.

"We don't even know where the witch is, and now the horse is running away with supplies and spare equipment. Filippo, who had spoken the same language to Stephen before, refuted him this time, and when they were far away, they could judge the location by the sky, but now they were already under the dark clouds and lost the basis for judgment.

"You hairy boy!" the mercenary leader glared angrily and his eyebrows curled, but then another voice interrupted their budding argument.

"Threats. The word that came out of the mouth of Adolphus, who had calmed down, seemed to be much more than just describing the scene in front of him.

"She's a threat to all creatures, she's too cruel, so she has to be exterminated. ”

Is it really a simple view of good and evil? What threatens oneself is evil and must be eliminated -- this answer is far from enough. She smiled and shook her head, "If the answer was that simple, then I wouldn't have to ask you." ”

"Good and evil, what you guard is good, and what you fight is evil. If everything can be black and white like this, then it will be simpler. ”

"But I ask you. ”

"The people she has killed are more than the people of humanity itself?"

"The sins she has committed are comparable to those of the so-called tyrants in the history of mankind?"

"The city you defend has been brought about by bloodshed and slaughter, and while you are sustaining life, other lives will be taken from you, so what is the difference between what you do and her?"

"If life is to last, it must be taken away, and life itself is so cruel, and since there is no difference in the approach, why is she defined as evil, as an being who opposes life, and must be destroyed?" said the witch, apparently to the majority of the people, who were silent, and seemed to have no other way to refute it than to forcibly refute the sophistry of denying her existence and thus any of her statements.

"Alas—" The white witch let out a long sigh, "I didn't expect such a one, the humble one, 'why', but there was no way to get an answer." ”

The aperture had narrowed to a distance of less than two meters, and people standing slightly further back felt the cool air.

Mira looked at Henry, Erica looked at Henry, and so did Orno.

"She's incomplete. The sage spoke in his usual steady tone, just listening to his voice, and that alone was enough to reassure the others.

The witch looked at him.

"Life, humanity, and all life in this world, indeed, as you say, survive by taking away other lives. ”

"The most persecuted enemies of humanity itself in this world are not any alien race, any terrible monsters, witches, or devils, but humans themselves. ”

"We've always been good at writing, and people love the same stories of fighting monsters with no faces, no words, no communication and no emotions. Because pure and absolute good and evil are the most acceptable, the reality that the enemies are all human beings and that many of them are not actually completely bad people is annoying. ”

"You're right, life itself is so cruel and violent, and the cliché story of taking other lives in order to survive is repeated over and over again. ”

"But life is on top of that. ”

"Humanity, too, is on top of that. ”

"Corresponding to the seizure, there is devotion. ”

"Corresponding to the killing, there is sacrifice. ”

"Corresponding to abomination. ”

The sage said, "There is love. ”

The farmer, who was so small and cowardly that no one else would look at him again, stepped forward and sacrificed himself when the dragon was about to hurt others. Mira remembered what she had seen and heard on the edge of the cliff outside the town of Scotti.

"Even in the rotten political establishments, in the aristocratic circles where they only know about intrigue, there are still people who are doing practical things, putting in more effort than they are paid, and not expecting anything in return. Mira remembered Benito, and Margaret, the titular little explorer mercenary captain who was now her best friend.

"Life knows how to sacrifice and how to give. ”

"Cowards also pluck up courage for the sake of their loved ones. ”

"The person who fights on the front line is not necessarily a noble and honorable guy, it may be just a mercenary who takes money to do things that ordinary people look down on. Stephen took a deep breath.

"What we have, we're here right now. ”

"It will be defended. ”

"Not any country, not any institution, not any church, group or individual. ”

"It's a continuation of life. ”

"Darkness, cruelty, violence, all these things will not be extinct even if she is destroyed, but there will still be anyone, who will firmly refuse to sink in them. ”

"Even if you do your best, you will only be a stepping stone, and it can open up new paths for those who come after you. ”

"That's what I believe. ”

"What I believe in and what I want to defend, why we're here, why we're here. ”

"We are not preserving any existing polity and any existing state. ”

"It's the future. ”

"We don't believe in any empire or any church, but in those who refuse to sink no matter what the difficulties they encounter. ”

"Life is imperfect, human beings are imperfect. ”

But it is life that continues to walk with this imperfection, this unfairness, and this cruelty. ”

"This is the existence of life as a whole, and the future. ”

"She's incomplete, so she won't understand that. The only thing she can do is ensure her survival. ”

"Even you, she's going to devour. ”

"Life is a ray of light in the cruel cold darkness, not very bright, but better than complete darkness. ”

"She is chaos and can only bring destruction to everything. ”

"At the end of the day, there will be no one else in this world but her. ”

"That's the difference between us, that's it. ”

"Why. The sage spoke, and the last syllable echoed for a long time through the trees.

The light around the white witch was only where her feet stood, and the weeds that had been green again withered and blackened again.

"Not quite—" she hung her head, and only exhaled a long breath a few minutes after Henry had finished speaking, repeating the sage's words softly.

That's true, enough answer. The witch looked up, and a warm smile bloomed on her face that closely resembled Orno. Warm and moist, not as mature and calm as at the beginning, but with a pure brilliance.

"Just relying on the knowledge collected and piled up, after all, it cannot be regarded as true understanding, and after all, it cannot be regarded as real wisdom. ”

"Thank you, teacher. She bowed to Henry.

The light from the witch's body began to dissipate, and it was sucked into the earth at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"I can. She looked at Orno.

"May I hold your hand?"

"......" The elf walked up without a word.

"It's so warm. ”

“...... I see, that's right. ”

"This is the touch of life......"

"I touched it with my own hands, and it felt really, different—" She hung her head, tears began to trickle down the ground.

"Location, I told you by magic. ”

"If there really is such a thing as an afterlife, I hope that we can really become a family. ”

"Mom. ”

A gust of wind blew, and the light dispersed into quicksand, and the stars were dotted, and finally returned to the earth.

Between the silent heaven and earth, only coldness and death remain.

"The last of her humanity is gone. ”

"Hmm. ”

"That's a good thing for you. ”

"Uh-huh......" Orno clenched his fists and tucked into his chest, trying to remember it before the warmth of his palm dissipated completely.