My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 436 Double Standard Dog

Silence, loneliness, and the long wait...

After trying to save his teacher, Little Gray lost consciousness and fell into endless darkness.

She heard muffled conversations, the sound of numerous footsteps moving back and forth, shouts of killing, and the sounds of magic being cast.

Apart from her voice, she had almost lost all her senses.

Then came the feeling of the "seal" being reinforced.

I shouldn't know what it feels like to be sealed... but...

Why……

A strange feeling filled Xiao Hui's body, and the strong sense of incongruity made her feel that her current situation was very delicate.

She had absolutely no idea what she was going through.

A dream? An illusion? Or some other method?
Finally, after her vision and senses once again plunged into complete nothingness, a starry sky appeared before her eyes.

As starlight came into view, Little Grey instinctively reached out his hand, wanting to grasp the only starry sky he could see.

But it was all in vain.

The scenery before us is nothing but an illusion.

Seeing that he couldn't do anything, Little Grey simply gave up, sighed, closed his eyes, and decided to take a nap.

Since there's nothing I can do anyway, I might as well take a nap.

Hmm... it's just that I feel like there are a lot of things I can't remember.

Moreover, why do I not feel any emotional fluctuation about things that would normally make me extremely angry?
It's as if... I'm just an observer, not someone who experienced the memories firsthand.

But the things that just flashed before my eyes, apart from that village at the very beginning... should all be things I've experienced in the past...

But why am I seeing those things?

The more I think about it, the more my head aches... I'd better stop thinking about it.

Kalia said something during dinner that she found very insightful.

If you can't figure it out, just stop thinking about it and give up.

To be honest, although she outwardly agreed with this "lying down" rhetoric at first, she actually disagreed with it in her heart.

Of course, things are different now.

She felt this was truly a universal truth.

I just don't know when this situation will end.

Will Roland and Kalia be able to find a way to get me out of here...? But judging from the wary looks they gave me, it seems that me being in this incapacitated state is exactly what they want, right?
However, I am indeed in quite danger... at least in this environment filled with ashes.

But... that was indeed a power I couldn't control.

Even with deliberate control, the power within her body would continuously generate ash, which would then cover every piece of land and every place she walked on.

You are not the master of power, but merely its slave.

The phrase, which she had once seen in a traditional novel, now came to mind.

She understood that her existence was inevitably an unstable factor for the world as a whole.

Without the sudden appearance of Kalia and Roland, and if the victim wasn't a blood demon...

Even the merchant who gave himself the cotton-padded coat and the entire caravan were treated the same way.

This is why she chose to leave the caravan immediately. She had to get away from those people quickly while her powers were still unreliable.

She didn't want these kind-hearted people to suffer innocent misfortune because of her, even if the misfortune itself had no intention of harming anyone.

But people like her are born to be a scourge on the world; their very existence is a threat to the world.

She had indeed considered suicide... but ultimately, she preferred to live.

Even if we're stuck in this dark and sunless seal like this... at least we can still see a decent view of the starry sky, right?

Watching the stars twinkle and shine is better than...

……

……

"Roland, Little Grey's condition is a bit strange."

Kalia nudged Roland, who was sitting next to her, and then slowed down the huge carriage that had been cast in shadow.

Although the city of the Holy See is teeming with ashes, these creatures will not venture into areas covered by Kalia's shadow. Not to mention the World Tree power unleashed by Roland.

So there's no need to worry about defense. Besides, aren't there still undead troops protecting the carriage?

Upon hearing this, Roland turned to look at Little Grey, who was being closely guarded by Galileo.

With just one glance, Roland knew what was so strange about the situation Kalia was referring to.

The thing started to become translucent, flickering like a light bulb that was about to burn out.

It's as if it will disappear from the spot at any moment.

They were not far from their destination. After a moment's thought, Roland said, "Lia, speed up the carriage. Let's go straight to our destination."

"Father Galileo, where is that located in the present-day Papal City?"

"Please use the Sky Temple and the central square as coordinates to recall."

Galileo nodded, then took out a map of the city of Papacy, compared it with the positions of the others, thought about the direction Roland had pointed out at the beginning, and then gave his answer.

"Your Excellency, that was once the monastery where the early saints and their followers lived when the city of the Papacy was first established."

"After the Temple of the Sky was built, it lost its original function. The Vatican transformed it into a tourist attraction. For a ticket of ten copper coins, one can enter to see the interior of this ancient monastery and listen to the magnificent deeds of the saints of the past."

"Although the tickets are very cheap and affordable, reservations are required, otherwise the daily visitor volume would be too high. This is still a major source of revenue for the Vatican..."

Roland raised his hand to interrupt Galileo's narration: "Stop, stop, stop. Just tell me what place it is; you don't need to give me the rest of the description."

"But is the monastery you're talking about like this?"

As Roland spoke, he lifted the curtain that Kalia had made of shadows, allowing Galileo to see the scenery outside.

Galileo was then surprised: "It really is exactly the same... only a bit dilapidated. It must have been repaired by the saints of the past."

"The Temple of the Sky is right next to this monastery...it's where the castle in the city is now."

Roland nodded after listening: "Let's go take a look first."

"Take care of yourself and don't stray far from the undead army and the shadow beasts."

"In the short distance of just two kilometers, we have already encountered many Ash Undead above the Extraordinary level."

"be careful."

Just then, the carriage arrived at the entrance of the dilapidated monastery.

The weathered building now has a huge hole in its roof, and even the walls and doors are full of damage and scars.

Even if you encountered such an abandoned monastery in the wild, not many caravans or adventurers would be willing to go in to take shelter from the rain and stay overnight.

Given the extent of the damage here, it's not impossible for it to collapse at any time.

The carriage drove straight into the monastery and successfully smashed through the gate that was struggling to stand in place.

At this moment, Kalia also made full use of the civil engineering talent she had honed in the small village on the border of Platia, using her shadow to gradually repair the dilapidated building structure.

Although the color scheme is not very harmonious, at least it no longer looks like an endangered building.

Only then did Roland and the other two jump down from the carriage.

As for Little Grey, it was placed on a carriage and protected by fifty golden-armored undead and a three-headed shadow beast, with security at its maximum.

Looking around, Father Galileo was once again certain that this was the monastery in the Papal City that had been transformed into a tourist attraction.

He has been there many times and even wrote a paper on the history of architectural style development, which was published in the society's journal.

Therefore, he was very familiar with everything here, and everything was almost identical to the monastery in his memory.

Especially after Kalia's friendly repairs, apart from some parts being changed to pure black, there were basically no changes.

Roland then walked to the point where he had sensed the unusual magical fluctuation.

It was a huge mural, depicting what appeared to be a somewhat unfamiliar deity, and it looked rather eerie.

At least Roland had never seen one in a church within the Empire.

Their promotional materials do not depict a deity in such a manner.

He could only turn his gaze to Galileo behind him: "Father Galileo, which god is depicted in this painting?"

"To ask another question, is this mural the same as the one in the monastery you know?"

Galileo quickly looked away from his surroundings and then turned to the direction Roland was pointing: "Eh? Are there still murals in the monastery?"

"Moreover... white beard, indistinct face, empty eye sockets like abysses... I seem to have seen a similar description in some materials, please wait a moment."

Galileo thought for a moment, then took out a magical artifact that looked like it was made by the Academy. After injecting magic power into it, a blue screen appeared.

As Galileo's finger slid across the paper, he found the answer: "Your Excellency, this painting matches the description of the Lord of Ashes in the Ashes Order's prayers."

Roland nodded, somewhat surprised.

Compared to the Whisperer of Eternity and the Lord of Black, those two evil gods with no fixed shape, it was rare to see an evil god with a human form, so he was still very curious.

Of course, this is just the image of God as imagined by believers; there is no definitive statement on what God actually looks like.

However, this mural might reveal something.

For example, the magical flow reaction hidden in the painting, so intense it's almost condensed into a tangible substance.

Roland did not continue the conversation, but simply looked up at the mural. Then, the liquid blade of the Holy Sword Durandal shot out instantly, piercing directly into the mural.

A defiant roar accompanied the ashes that instantly filled the entire monastery, and even Kalia's shadow could not dispel them.

The scene in which they found themselves changed drastically in the next moment.

A literal, earth-shattering phenomenon has occurred.

The entire space flipped in an instant, bringing the three of them into a completely new scene.

……

……

The sudden change did not cause Roland any harm.

But the current situation made him uneasy. The team had been scattered, which was exactly what he had feared most from the beginning.

But reason told him that Kalia was no longer someone he needed to worry about.

This guy's actual combat strength might be stronger than mine now—if you ignore my skills that target mages.

But Little Grey also has Father Galileo...

Father Galileo is alright, after all, he's an eighth-ringed mage, and he's also learning to do part-time work.

This proves that he couldn't possibly be someone who doesn't know how to adapt.

Moreover, being able to hold the position for so long in the ashes when isolated and without help, even with some losses, should have been enough to conceal oneself and carry out actions.

On the contrary, it's Little Gray...

This guy is a dangerous unexploded bomb from any angle. What kind of impact will he have after he gets rid of Kalia's suppression?

Um...wait.

Roland looked down at his side and saw that the carriage that Kalia had conjured with her shadow had completely fallen apart.

It wasn't that the power was insufficient, but rather that it seemed to have lost control over the caster. Due to some kind of safety mechanism, the magic transmission was automatically disconnected, and so it disappeared.

But the people in the carriage did not disappear.

Little Grey lay quietly on the ground, and if it weren't for the gentle rise and fall of its chest and its breathing, it would really look like a corpse about to be buried.

Whether it's the overall state of mind or the simple act of calmly crossing and stacking your hands in front of your lower abdomen.

It seems the worst isn't over yet... at least this guy hasn't started leaking ash, and I haven't sensed any dangerous fluctuations in magical power.

only……

Where is this place?

Looking at the vast grassland in front of him, Roland was truly dumbfounded.

If his precise spatial positioning ability hadn't failed, allowing him to know he was still within the Papal City, he would have truly believed he had been transported to another place by some force.

But now it seems... we've fallen into the same situation as in Isfar.

A place that resembles a large-scale dream.

Considering that Landras once tore open a massive dream spell called the Spiral Hourglass in Isfar to stop the pollution from spreading further.

Is it possible that the twenty-four legendary powerhouses in Papal City also used similar methods before the situation completely spiraled out of control?
The disasters that are being perceived by the outside world may already be the result of their efforts to suppress them.
If you think about it from this perspective, perhaps you can explain your current state.

But this time, the Demon King in his gauntlet form didn't provide him with information to break the deadlock.

However, it's good to check if you're in a dream.

With that thought in mind, Roland unleashed the Emerald Mirror, which he hadn't used in a long time, and began to construct a dream creation with his now-unparalleled magic.

Everything went smoothly, the dream spell was successfully constructed, and I was indeed in a dream.

The only problem was that, just as the spell was about to be completed, an unknown and powerful magical fluctuation interrupted his spellcasting.

Even when he later used runic magic, the same thing happened; at the last moment before the spell was about to be released, that unknown force stopped Roland from casting the spell.

Roland looked down at his hands; the gloves formed from the holy sword Durandal were still on his hands and he could use them freely.

The greatsword Annihilation of Dawn can be drawn and used at will without diminishing its power... This is something that the dream magic I experienced before did not possess.

Or perhaps, this is not a complete dream spell?

Just as Roland was pondering the strangeness of the scene, Little Grey behind him slowly got up, rubbing his eyes as he stood up from the ground.

"Huh? Is it over? Where am I?"

Roland turned to look at Little Gray, who was still flickering around like a light bulb about to break, just like before.

Moreover, he looked like he had just woken up, and after speaking, he let out a long yawn.

After discovering Roland, Little Gray paused for a moment, then said with some disappointment, "So it was you who found the way to bring me out in the end?"

"I thought it would be Kalia..."

Roland frowned slightly: "What do you mean by 'bring you out'? Where was your consciousness when you were unconscious?"

Hearing Roland's almost accusatory tone, Little Grey silently said something bad about Roland in his heart, and then told him everything that had just happened.

This includes the Roland-like figure and the white-robed man who looks and has the exact same demeanor as Roland.

Little Grey recounted everything that had happened to him without any reservations.

This long, unskilled narrative made it significantly more difficult for Roland to obtain information.

It took Roland a long time to finally understand everything that Little Grey had just experienced.

It seems that Galileo's guess was correct.

Little Grey may have suffered a similar situation to him.

Memory shock and disorder.

It's similar to the dizziness and nightmares that I experienced after accidentally learning about my unusual background while in Blackthorn Territory.

However, my situation is slightly complicated, and I usually wake up on my own afterward. This usually happens when I am overexerted, which is when I fall into a coma or a long dream.

What I saw in my dreams is now almost certainly the memories of that King of Men, with a very small portion being my memories before I drowned.

The god of death brought him back to life, and the price Roland paid for this was merely the loss of some of his past memories.

That little gray...

Roland frowned and looked at Little Grey, then shared his guess.

"What you see is your own memory, especially the things you don't remember; those are the original and most authentic you."

"But your situation is very complicated, and it's not exactly the same as what I went through."

"After all, it took me a lot of effort to figure out what was wrong with me, and in the end, by a twist of fate, I managed to explain everything clearly."

"But even so, some things still feel out of place."

"This is the truth I can piece together."

After speaking, Roland looked at Little Grey. The boundless grassland and the blue sky and white clouds overhead seemed to freeze at that moment.

"Without a doubt. Your memories, like mine, were forcibly altered by some external force, which then created a relatively plausible life."

"That's probably why you find it strange."

"Of course, this is just my speculation."

"I know nothing about you; everything I know comes from my first impression and speculation based on various intelligence sources."

"I don't know anything about your past, or even if the stories you just told are true."

"If everything is as you say, then my conclusion can be considered basically correct."

"If you're hiding something, or can't remember anything else at all, then..."

Roland didn't continue, as there was no point in delving into these matters at this moment.

He glanced at Little Gray, then turned to look at the endless grassland: "These are issues we'll consider later."

"Now we need to figure out how to get out of here first."

"At least we need to figure out where we are."

After listening to Roland's long speech, Little Grey slowly spoke up, "If those really are my memories."

"If everything I just experienced was just fragments of my memory."

"The real me is probably still under some kind of seal."

"Then... what exactly am I, standing here right now?"

Xiao Hui's tone was very calm, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Roland also fell silent.

He didn't expect Little Grey to realize this so quickly.

So it turns out they were just pretending to be stupid and deliberately showing weakness all along.

As the person involved and having a profound understanding of the existence of the Son of God, Roland naturally knew long ago that the little gray one staying by his and Kalia's side could not possibly be the true form of the Son of God who was suspected of being sealed away.

If it were his original form, the scope of the disaster would be far greater than it is now, and he would not have been able to save a group of wounded and survivors in time.

But he didn’t want to point it out, for the same reason as before: who knows what would happen if he did?
Unexpectedly, the person involved reacted first.

After a brief silence, Roland smiled: "Is it important?"

"Since you are now able to move, speak, and think freely, it means you are already an independent individual."

"Of course, you can continue to stick to your original idea."

Little Grey didn't continue speaking, but asked, "Roland, those people outside all see you as a savior, as the last resort to solve their problems."

"Whether they are humans or demons, they all look at you with eyes full of trust."

"So... in the eyes of a hero like you, if someone is born guilty, if someone is destined to harm the world, if someone's mere existence is a threat to the world... would you kill him?"

Roland paused for a moment, then began to think seriously.

He could tell, of course, that this was Xiao Hui's own account; the "what if," the fictional person, was herself.

But... this is indeed a question worth considering.

Even though time was of the essence, he didn't want to make up some excuse to fool or comfort the other party.

Firstly, it's disrespectful to the other person.

Secondly, given the other party's intelligence, it would be easy for Huo to tell whether he was telling the truth or not.

After a long silence, Roland spoke cautiously: "The first question is, no one is born guilty."

"The second question is that fate is by no means entirely predetermined."

"Perhaps the outcome of everything has already been predetermined, but how we get to that outcome is something we can control."

"At its core, everything is about people."

"The third question... If it were me, I would try to solve that person's problem, and if I couldn't..."

Roland didn't continue, but just looked at Little Grey quietly, then chuckled: "Then I might have to apply double standards this time."

(End of this chapter)