A heart

These sentences are directed at the old knight.

Before he came, the town was peaceful and harmonious; after he arrived, he discovered the truth about the town late at night.

He brought laughter and happiness to the townspeople, and got to know them. Everyone loved him during the day, and all the monsters hated him at night. It can be said that the arrival of the old knight revealed the truth of the town.

【Hawthorne Rodney】

When the merchant carved the answer, the tombstone and the words slowly disappeared. The person behind the tombstone slowly turned around, revealing a familiar face.

Exhausted and covered with wounds, the old eyes looked at the black-robed merchant, and the lead-gray ball inserted countless black threads into his body, like a plant parasitic on insects.

"The god of death had already died centuries before the Black Mist, and only the dead believed in it. Although I don't know how you know these things, you are very lucky. Not only did you not die, but you also transformed into a special monster. Unfortunately, as a dead person, you can't leave here after all."

What can control monsters is not the fallen god of death, but more powerful monsters.

"...After I died, the Black Mist followers brought me here and implanted these devices in me. They are between metal and life, and have the ability to reproduce themselves."

The knight ghost had a conflicted look on his face.

"Rather than a mechanical creation, it was more of a semi-finished seal. I don't know what they wanted to do. The device repelled me, and the people in the nail town saved me. They were dying at the time, and the device spread to them. I only had two choices at the time: take them and the device to destruction; save them, and the device will also be left behind."

"You chose the latter."

As the profiteer spoke, he pulled out a sickle, waved it in the air, and then felt that it was not working well, so he enchanted it with the power of Canaan.

Hawthorne smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, I chose the latter. When the souls were linked, I felt their desperate will to survive. Even so, they chose to help me in desperate situations. I really couldn't ignore it."

"In order to keep them alive, I split the townspeople into two parts. They are human during the day and become polluted monsters at night. I split half of myself out and injected false memories into them to become residents of Nail Town. I clean the pollution in their souls by killing monsters. The other half became the gravekeepers of Nail Town to prevent them from mutating."

"As time went by, I gradually realized that my original decision was only delaying the arrival of corruption. The device has its own thoughts. If you hadn't come, in a dozen years, I'm afraid everyone here, including me, would have fallen into the darkness."

The white bandage fluttered as he made a "stop" gesture, and the profiteer smiled and said, "Okay, I already understand what happened here. Next, let me deal with your problem."

Hawthorne was silent for a moment. "I don't recommend that you continue to waste your time on me. This device has taken root in my soul. If you separate us, the entire town will go berserk. Its original body is still farther away."

"That's a question I should be thinking about, not you. My distinguished guest, you have made a contract with me to save this town in exchange for the most important thing in your life."

The sharp sickle was raised high, its surface coated with a layer of pure white light. The unscrupulous merchant chopped down the black silk without hesitation, and the sound was extremely cold.

"——Even if Kurogiri comes in person, I will still give you the result you want. No one in this town can be left out, including you."

The thread between the two sides was easily cut, and the huge sphere exploded. All the spheres in the cemetery turned over at the same time, staring at the black-robed merchant with their vertical seams like eyeballs.

The scenery of the cemetery was suddenly fuzzy, with no tombstones or paths. It was clearly an abandoned lot, with broken railings nailed to the front.

Countless spheres of varying sizes floated in the air, connected to each other by black mist. The deeper into the mist, the larger the spheres became.

The knight stood in front of him, his face gradually becoming younger, wearing blood-stained armor. He died at his most glorious age, but because of the mutation, his body still remained active. He was like a sharp sword, and his eyes were deep as if he had experienced many things.

The Pegasus neighed in sorrow, stood up again and returned to its master. It was connected to the life of the rider, because the rider was in a state of life and death, but the white horse still maintained its pure appearance, only its wings were rotten and covered with wounds.

"If you want to find the heart of the device, you have to keep going inside."

Hawthorne pointed behind him and said, "Go there. The thing is hidden in the black mist."

A strange sound came from the town, and countless monsters rushed towards them. Each monster had the shadow of a town resident on it, and lead-gray spheres were embedded in different parts of its body.

These devices absorb the black mist and strengthen the pollution of the monsters, and they are integrated with each other. The will hidden behind them is determined to keep them here. The slime monster that Daisy has transformed into walks in the front, and the dripping liquid corrodes the ground into black marks.

The knight stood still, his eyes finally falling on his own hands.

His sword was broken, his bow pouch empty, his armor full of rips.

Only these two hands remain strong, rough and steady. They have saved many people from countless dangerous situations and never stopped fighting until the last moment of their lives.

"Young man, I want to make a deal with you."

The black-robed merchant put away his sickle and said, "As long as you can pay the right price, I will never refuse any customer."

Hawthorne took the initiative to block in front of him, facing these monsters, his eyes penetrated into the distance, as if looking at an unknown place.

"Your hands are wrapped in bandages. They are not the hands of a warrior. How can you hold a weapon with them? Take my hands away. Use them to hold hope and clear away all enemies that stand in your way. In return, I hope you can take my horse away."

"It is the purest creature in the world. It treats me better than my own children or loved ones. It shouldn't die here with me."

The profiteer asked back: "You used the most precious thing in your life to buy the liberation of the entire town, and bought the safety of your mount with your own hands. What do you have left now?"

The knight's back was motionless, as tall as a mountain range.

"I am still myself. I am Hawthorne Rodney, a Pegasus-approved knight. You just need to move forward, and I will be your back."

The black-robed merchant moved, and a burst of heart-wrenching pain surged from his body. He had no choice but to stay where he was.

The scarlet paint dyed the entire mask red, revealing the owner's bad mood.

The blessing of equal exchange is powerful, but it cannot defy the curse. No matter how respectable the person in front of you is, he has nothing that can be exchanged.

The soul is drained by the device, and all valuable things are exchanged for nothing. If the principle of equal exchange is violated for him, the curse will tear the unscrupulous merchant's body apart.

The only solution now was to get rid of the culprit as soon as possible. The black-robed merchant took one last look at the knight, then rode on his Pegasus and ran towards the depths of the black fog. The sphere's will immediately ordered the monsters to chase after him. However, they were stopped by the knight.

The white horse ran in the black mist, its steps firm and unwavering. The black mist tried to wrap around the profiteer, but was gently brushed away by the black robe.

The limbs wrapped in bandages were in extreme pain. Bones grew, flesh and blood covered them, and the bandages slowly began to recede from the shoulders, replaced by scarred skin, and finally formed the outlines of both hands.

He has a pair of hands.

A pair of hands that can hold all weapons and dare to charge at death.

The contract was made with words, and the other party had already paid the price. The white horse flapped its wings and broke through the obstruction of the black mist. The spheres around it became more and more. They floated densely in the air, like countless eyes watching.

The Pegasus stopped, turned around and plunged into the black mist after the profiteer dismounted, following his master.

"Oh my, this is really a problem. I've already received my reward. If I can't complete the transaction, wouldn't that be a breach of contract?"

The profiteer said this in distress, but was not prepared to stop it.

He turned around and went deeper alone under the surveillance of the spheres. With his right hand, he pulled out a ball of Canaan energy from his sleeve and formed it into the shape of a sword.

The power of holiness triggered an emergency reaction from the surrounding spheres. The black mist was as heavy as a solid object, and any ordinary person would quickly mutate under such a concentration of pollution.

Murmurs echoed in the air, and countless monsters controlled by the spheres were lying in ambush in the black mist, rushing to attack the intruders.

The profiteer held the sword with both hands, and his swordsmanship was so good that it seemed that Hawthorne himself had come. The knight had traded him not only his own hands, but also years of experience in using them.

Horizontal thrust, piercing, and sweeping. Each move was performed skillfully and smoothly.

Pollution had no effect at all. If he couldn't kill all the monsters, he could use the power of Oreus to control them. If it was really troublesome, he would release the power from Canaan to purify them. The power of different systems blended together in his hands like plasticine, and the road ahead became extremely easy.

Why!?

Why is this person not affected at all! ?

The spheres were shocked when they saw this scene. They couldn't believe that there were people in the world who were completely unaffected by the black fog. In their shock, the profiteer finally came to the source of the pollution.

It was even larger than the sphere that the knight had seen above his head before, and it was like a small sun, releasing pollution continuously. There were many small spheres in the process of gestation surrounding it. Seeing the profiteer, the lead-gray sphere turned restlessly and sent out a signal for peace.

"Please don't kill me, I can do anything for you."

The number [537] is engraved on its surface, in addition to another logo.

The hammer and iron plate symbolize forging, and a thin straight line is drawn in the middle. The two form a familiar symbol, which is the logo of "Craftsman".

The two notorious organizations mixed together and cultivated this special pollutant with both biological and mechanical characteristics. The Holy Sword was simply a deadly weapon against this kind of filth. The profiteer sighed and chopped it down without hesitation.

No one would believe the promise of such a thing. The long sword pierced through the gap, and all the balls in the field had a chain reaction, and all of them trembled suddenly.

A few seconds later, all the spheres connected by the black lines, with the sphere pierced by the profiteer as the center, burst into fire.

An astonishing wave of air swept the entire place. Prior to this, the black-robed merchant had already let go of the long sword in his hand and flew away in the direction from which he came. In just a few seconds, he had already run to a place where the explosion could not reach him. His speed was extremely astonishing.

The surging black mist dissipated in all directions, and without the ball, it could no longer obstruct his vision.

The profiteer quickly ran to the place where they separated, and when he saw the situation clearly, he slowly stopped.

The ground was littered with corpses of monsters, and as the sphere was destroyed, they gradually turned back into townspeople.

Hawthorne stood there, with nothing hanging from his sleeves. The Pegasus fell at his feet, its proud wings broken.

"I'm back, Hawthorne."

Hearing this familiar yet strange name, the knight moved his head and asked hoarsely, "Is the contract completed?"

"Yes, I have solved the town's problem. Since we have only reached a verbal agreement, you have one more chance: if you want to live, I can make a deal with you in exchange for these two hands."

The businessman's voice was very cold. This was a challenge to the rules for him. The familiar pain was faintly rising, but it was not fatal.

"Think about it, your horse wouldn't want you to die here either."

The knight heaved a sigh of relief and slowly sat down on the ground, his sleeves fluttering. He could no longer stroke the white horse's cold head as he used to. His old friend would no longer take the initiative to rub against him as he used to.

"Take him away, I am going to die. I am a worthless rider, but my horse is the best in the world."

His voice lowered. "Take it to find someone who can be recognized. It will inherit my beliefs and continue to fly in this world."

"Fly...fly...to save those who need saving, to thank those who helped us..."

"Go ahead...Rodney's Pegasus can overcome everything..."

"...hinder......"

He whispered the famous saying, and the last bit of sound died away.

The black-robed businessman stepped forward, and a faint light flew out of Hawthorne's body. When it appeared, many voices rang in the ears of the profiteer.

"Thank you for recognizing me. From today on, we are companions who live and die together."

"I will become Rodney's Pegasus Knight and help everyone in need. Even though the knights of this era have declined, I am still willing to spend my life fulfilling the path of a knight."

"I will not back down because of difficulties."

"I am not afraid of danger."

"My sword will be wielded for those who are worthy of protection. My companions and I will not fear sacrifice or despair."

"I'm sorry, I can't save everyone, but someone will come one day. Just like you saved me and I saved you, one day, someone will come and end our nightmare. Until then, I will always protect you."

Young, mature, and experienced.

The voices of the same person at different ages overlapped, and the light was so warm and bright that it rose lightly and fell into the chest of the black-robed merchant.

A warm feeling rose in his chest. Gradually, the faint sound of a heartbeat spread throughout his body. The profiteer subconsciously reached out to press his chest and felt the slight beating under the bandage.

It is a knight's lifelong persistence and the most precious thing in his life.

It is a small heart made up of faith.