323 320. Source of blood.txt (1/2)

The basement of Hoozeyards Castle.

At the bottom of that columnar-shaped cavity is a pool of bright red blood.

And as if it was growing by sucking up that blood, one of the ”World Trees” stood tall and proud in the center of the cavity.

The red pond and the red tree were illuminated by a light source that was too bright.

The light source was actually a flame.

Right now, in this underground cavity, the understudy of 'The One Who Stole the Principle of Blood' and the understudy of 'The One Who Stole the Principle of Fire' were fighting with all their deadly strength.

A fire blazed above the pool of blood, as if lit by oil.

Fresh blood splatters in the cavity, falling into the flames and evaporating as it mingles.

Diverse fire magic unleashed endlessly on the endlessly generated blood puppets.

Everywhere I looked, it was all red.

The red of the sticky water droplets in the sludge and the hot red that scorched the skin. The two substitutes continued to build their magic as they competed to see who could repaint all of the underground first.

The battle between the two of them, after their preparations, is terrific and dizzying.

One moment it seemed like about ten blood knights had been generated, and the next moment, about a hundred flaming arrows attacked, and in an instant, everything went off. If several walls of blood were created to allow those flaming arrows to break free, a huge flaming snake would open its large jaws and bite down from the side to destroy them. If a mist of blood was created, it would be dispelled by the flaming sword, and if it rained blood, the swirl of flames would drown it out. Blood dances and the flames bite. The repetition of the repetition of that cycle.

In the midst of that exchange, I - Rainer Helvirshain continues to run alone on the edge of the pool of blood without using magic.

Fafner-san counted me as one of his enemies, but to put it bluntly, it's impossible for me to participate in this head-on magic match.

Of course, I can use comparable magic if I wanted to. It's not that I'm inferior to you in terms of the 'quality' of your magic. I'm not going to be able to get it right.

It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends.

Immediately I gave up on covering them with magic. What I need to do is not to add the color of wind to this red world. It's to blend in with this red and take advantage of Fafner-san's gap.

I will always move to Maria's other side and occasionally release the Great Magic of Wind, Tauschus Wind, from behind Mr. Fafner. That's all it takes to disperse his consciousness.

At the very least, I don't give him just room to activate the great magic.

I was most wary of the 'something' that I saw in the preparatory battle just now - the creation of that hairy monster. He said he had no intention of using it on himself, but he kept repeating the interference, just in case.

Perhaps because of his careful tactics, the underground battle continued to be well contested.

Mr. Fafner had talked a lot of hype before the fight, but the fight was not worth it. Of course, there was dozens of times more quality and quantity of magic flying around compared to the fight at the point of preparation. But that's it.

What did Mr. Fafner call an 'ordeal'?

What part of this antagonistic battle is 'Hellville Shine'?

What was the meaning of the words 'learn from blood'?

When I questioned this battle - it fell (・・・・・・・・).

A blip between Fafner and Maria, who were fighting face to face.

There was no warning.

It fell suddenly from directly above and landed with some kind of wind magic or something, scattering blood splatters.

Both me and Maria were startled and quickly got away from it.

Among them, only Fafner-san was calm, as if he had been waiting for us. Then, she approached the fallen object and called out to it in a friendly manner.

''--You're here, Ragne.

Calling names.

It was a name I wasn't expecting at all.

Fafner-san was right, the one who fell was definitely my senior knight, Ragne Kaikwola.

The girl's face was familiar as she looked up in a spray of blood after she landed.

''La, Lagne-san ......?　The figure is ......

I called out his name, too, and at the same time I became more alert.

It was a familiar face, but its appearance was too bizarre.

The first thing that catches my eye is her bloodied body.

Her entire body is dyed bright red without a trace. It's even redder than the red color of Maria and I who were fighting in the pool of blood against the one who stole the logic of blood.

A face stained with blood, a distorted smile.

The blood dripping bangs, both eyes stained with blood.

And most bizarre of all, the thing she held in her hand (...).

Maria, seeing it, lets out a voice.

'...... Kanami-san?'

Ragne, who had fallen, was holding a corpse that had been severed from all four limbs.

The corpse was full of damage that looked like slashes.

The torso was full of holes and one large stab wound to the throat. It was a horrible sight.

Even now the head was about to be torn to shreds and the torso was about to be separated from the head, but the strong muscles in the neck seemed to be holding it together.

It's the kind of muscle strength that one can detect in a corpse's life.

--No, I don't have time to guess such things.

That's not even the point.

I know that corpse's clothes.

And I know that face.

There's no way I could go wrong.

However, it took Maria and I, who were at a distance, a long time to understand the scene.

I knew the name of the corpse, but my instincts refused to acknowledge it.

In the meantime, Mr. Fafner, who must have known about the fall beforehand, began to speak.

'You've got my 'Scripture' and 'Heart' too: ....... You got them after all: ......

Yes, sir. I stole them both. Now you're sure you don't mind if I'm Mr. Fafner's master?

Ragne speaks in his usual manner.

In this unusual situation, he doesn't say a single word to us, who are supposed to be his friends, but continues to speak only to the enemy.

Naturally, even now, the skill 'bad feeling' continues to be activated.

Two of the 'worst' ones continue to make loud warning sounds at the fact that they are talking in front of us.

'Yeah, that's fine. But more importantly, ...... why did you kill Kanami?

Mr. Fafner uttered something that me and Maria refused to understand.

-- ”Why did you kill Kanami?

Does that mean that Mr. Lagne fought and won Christ: ......?

Does killing Christ mean that Christ is dead: ......?

If he's dead, does that mean that he's - I mean - dead ......?

Thoughts that don't get to the point are spinning out of control.

I find myself refusing to admit what I don't want to admit, and too much time is wasted.

I stand there dumbfounded, and the conversation continues with just the two of us in front of me.

'Lagne. Didn't you two ever think of holding hands and facing the fate of this world together?

Oh no, that's impossible. Kanami's brother is a stinker. He would definitely betray you in the process. That's why I betrayed him first.

Conversation ensues that confirms that Ragne killed Christ.

I'd like to think that a corpse is a fake anyway. And yet, that 'blood-stealer' has admitted it. The man who seems to be the most knowledgeable about death in this world has made the assumption that Christ is dead.

Christ is dead, and that's what we keep seeing on our retinas, a scene that we are forced to understand.

'Well ....... You betrayed me before I betrayed you ....... So that's how it works: .......

Mr. Fafner dropped his gaze into a pool of blood.

Then, as if she was shedding blood, she dropped another large tear.

He must be grieving the death of Christ.

Mr. Fafner continues to spill tears as if he is confronting the reality of the two of us who won't admit it, and Fafner murmurs as if he is resentful.

'...... Yeah, I knew it. This is how the world works. As soon as you think there was hope, you're in the depths of despair. ...... It's no wonder. No one can ever trust another person. That is the way we are made. That's why people will always kill each other. We put each other down and drop each other. That is the nature of the inevitable. I know that. ...... I knew that, but I knew that ....... But, yo ....... I didn't expect to die so easily ....... It's going to happen so fast ....... Ah, ah, ah, ......, ah, ......!

...... It's impossible.