Chapter Forty-Two
"What do you mean by 'protagonist'?" Twelve frowned, but because the horns that had just grown on his head were growing, even such a small movement made him feel uncomfortable.
"I just thought there were no TV dramas or games in this world, but surely there are at least some novels. Please, have you ever read a knight novel?" Ghost Duke put on a somewhat helpless expression, unaware that what it was about to say was even more maddening.
However, this guy seemed completely oblivious, simply resting his hands on his hips and carefully observing Twelve.
"I've read the novel, but I still don't understand what you mean."
“Generally speaking, a novel will have a protagonist, and the team that forms around him will be called the protagonist team.” Ghost Duke said in a serious tone, “As the protagonist, you will have a protagonist halo, which means that no matter what kind of ridiculous difficulties you encounter, you can keep moving forward with a buff.”
"Huh?" Twelve felt his head hurt even more; he was finding it increasingly difficult to understand what this guy was saying.
But this guy suddenly became inexplicably excited; I really don't know what he was so happy about.
"Your friend..." Shadow pointed to his head and asked Twelve.
"This guy might have something wrong with his head, don't worry about him." Twelve rubbed his forehead. "So, are you still willing to help me now?"
“Of course! I’m willing to do almost anything for you now. Of course, you should know that my physical condition is what it is; basically, I can’t do anything except survive.” Ghost Duke stood up straight and saluted, looking very serious as he said, “What do you plan to have me do? As long as it’s something I can do, I will definitely follow your orders.”
"What's the situation now? It's been from the time I died until now."
"I don't know the specifics, but from what I understand, it's now divided into two factions: the Witchers and the Church. Although, in my opinion, it's just that the Church is too lazy to deal with these guys, that's why they don't bother to clean them up." Ghost Duke hesitated for a moment, then stroked his chin and said, "I can find out where they're eating. Do I need to poison them?"
"Do you carry poison with you that can kill a high-ranking witcher?"
“Oh, I remember now, even you guys are a bunch of monsters.” Ghost Duke sighed. “Right now, their focus is still on finding that demon. You know about that battle a while ago? The demon hunters lost two combatants, and another was seriously injured. The reason there hasn’t been much movement lately seems to be because a little girl named Nina was injured. They’ve lost their only sorcerer who could actually threaten those priests.”
"Nina?" Twelve propped his head up, having vaguely heard about her.
He was a genius who worked incredibly hard.
If a talented person doesn't work hard, then they are truly letting down the talent that God has given us.
This was a phrase she often used during her student days, and after graduating, she immediately became a figure of great public scrutiny. However, several battles solidified her reputation, including defeating the calamity, Nico. It was a gigantic road-walking fish, several kilometers long. But Nina killed it and brought back its magic core.
However, unlike Deedris, she doesn't take pride in such achievements, and instead continues to be active around the world. She has now joined Hack's Witcher crew. Although Hack may seem ordinary, he has extensive experience in the profession, and his team exceeds twenty people, making it one of the largest Witcher crews.
He brought two people with him this time to hunt down the demon, including Nina.
The reason is simple: when the battle escalates to that level, numbers become meaningless. In fact, it only exacerbates the losses. They didn't have high hopes for this operation to begin with; they were only there because they were greedy for the profits behind it.
Besides this matter, Ghost Duke told him a lot about recent events. There's just too much news to talk about every day; it's impossible to keep track of everything.
Ghost Lord always seems to appear in places where this information can be gathered for some inexplicable reason. So, coincidentally, he has a lot of rare news to tell Twelve.
He continued until he got a little tired, since his lungs hadn't fully recovered from the knife wound and he could still feel pain when he spoke.
"Speaking of which, Twelve, you haven't told us yet why you came here to find the demon." Ghost Duke suddenly remembered and looked at it with some curiosity.
“Oh, I heard that the demon’s core is different from that of a monster. It’s cursed by a demon, and it can continuously replenish its magic power even when it leaves the body.” Twelve pointed to the core embedded in his chest: “I was thinking that if I had that, maybe I could find a place to rest. I don’t want to run around like this every day, especially now that I’ve died once, I don’t want to run around anymore.”
As Twelve was saying this, he suddenly felt a sharp pain all over his body again.
It hasn't fully recovered yet and is in so much pain that it's having trouble breathing.
The thought of being hunted down next gave him an even bigger headache.
They could have rested temporarily in that alternate dimension, but they soon discovered that wouldn't work. Because they had been discovered.
When Ark passed by with the lock, they broke away from their only stronghold. Now they desperately needed a place to catch their breath.
Battle could break out at any moment, and Twelve's hostile targets have officially shifted from monsters to humans. Twelve now knows he has crossed the line into humanity, and the church obviously won't issue him a safety certificate. Therefore, he'll likely need to find a forbidden zone or an even more dangerous and chaotic region to live in.
Perhaps I could survive like this, but I just hope that in such a place I can find a coffin to rest in.
Without anyone noticing, Twelve fainted. He was indeed too exhausted, so exhausted that he had no strength left to face the pressure from reality.
......
"Miss Deedrie, why are we here?" Spider-Man looked hesitantly at the horned creature as it dug out a huge red crystal from the ground.
"Just follow along, don't ask too many questions. Haven't you gotten used to being with that guy Ark for so long?" Dedeline took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the surface of the crystal. This made the patterns on it look even more strange and puzzling.
“This is part of a huge magic circle,” the red demon beside him said softly. “I set it up so that I could summon the projection of the demon god.”
“But this magic circle is useless now.” Deedri looked at Yan and said, “There’s no Blood Sun to provide you with energy anymore. Activating such a magic circle requires an enormous amount of magical power. Even if you sacrificed yourself, it would only last for half a minute?”
"Three seconds."
“Okay, it does look like a terrifying monster.” Deedri understood, and she slung the crystal over her shoulder. “Get ready to go to the next place.”
Not long ago, she almost bumped into Ark in the city. Now she's brought these guys to the chaotic outside region.
Behind her were two red demons and a small spider. These four were monsters in the traditional sense, and had never wavered in their belief that they were either monsters or humans.
The inn was now full of witchers, which made these guys realize they probably shouldn't be there. They had their own plans.
Because the supply of vital supplies has been cut off, leaving has become very difficult.
Even if they could leave, no one in the city truly intended to leave. After all, the real protagonist hadn't yet made his appearance. That demon was probably still observing somewhere, perhaps hiding, or perhaps he would emerge at some point to cause trouble.
Even now, with the situation already difficult to assess, Deedris still wanted it to become even more chaotic.
She has to help these two red demons summon the projection of Flalos. Even a high-ranking priest would have a headache dealing with something like that.
The magic circle was indeed completed long ago, but the biggest problem was its functionality. The early arrival of the Blood Sun disrupted many people's plans, so they needed a new source of power.
But what should replace it?
I haven't figured it out yet, but I need to change the entire layout of the magic array first. Since it will rely on the magic core for power, the entire layout will inevitably need to be drastically altered.
Before you think things through, do what you can do first.
Dedeline swung her sword and cut down the monster that was trying to attack her. It was a three-headed wolf, but now it was cut into four heads because it was split in the middle.
Even now, monsters roam freely in this chaotic region. It's true that there's a rare period of peace outside. But even so, countless monsters still lurk.
Although these were all of the same kind, no one intended to show mercy. For these beings who lacked even reason, killing them was the greatest act of compassion.
Carl witnessed all of this. He now stood atop the church, overlooking the changes taking place throughout the city.
Incidents are happening everywhere, and these outsiders are no pushovers. If we compare these three high-ranking clergy to lions, tigers, and leopards, and the outsiders to rats, then every single rat here is vicious and ruthless.
Even knowing what they were going to do, Karl couldn't change anything. Church rules also bound them. What was written on paper had to be obeyed. It was a rather troublesome situation.
"Karl?" Lori called softly from behind him.
“It’s too high up here, it’s not safe for you.” Carl didn’t turn around, paused and then said, “You should be inside reading. It’s too dangerous outside, don’t wander around.”
“But I’m scared to be alone, so I want to read a book next to you for a while.” Lori sat down next to him and tugged at Karl’s robe.
After hesitating for a long time, Carl finally sat down next to her.
Indeed, she needs some comfort right now. It's a truly painful feeling; she hasn't done anything wrong, yet everyone has made her the target.
These things shouldn't be borne by a child. Carl's heart sank little by little, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Are you wearing the cross I gave you?" Karl asked softly.
“Yes, I’ve never taken it off.” Lori nodded and took the small silver cross out of her clothes.
“Take good care of it, especially in front of the other clergy.” Karl sighed slightly. “Don’t worry, they won’t find it. Everything will eventually calm down… In a while, I’ll apply to be transferred to a quieter place. Then I’ll find some reason to bring you along. After all, a child who never grows up will eventually be exposed here.”
“Yes,” Lori said softly, hugging her knees and curling up into a ball. “Karl, I have a few questions for you.”
"Don't put me in a difficult position. There are some answers you don't want to hear from my mouth."
Even so, I still want to confirm it.
"I swear on my faith that I will not use lies at this point in time."
"You'll protect me, right?"
"The church will protect the weak."
"But you know me..."
"At least for now, you're safe. I've never seen you do anything wrong."
"So, if I did something bad... I mean, if... then you..."
“I will stand against you, child, as it is my duty. I don’t want to. I help you because of my principles, and I oppose you because of my beliefs. When I cannot find a balance between the two, I will fulfill my duty.” Karl pressed a hand on Lori’s head: “Did you hear the answer you wanted? If so, try to be a little happier. I hope you can be a little happier... although now is not the time to laugh.”
Lori nodded, then shifted her body and leaned against Karl.
"I'm very scared."
"I know."
"I don't know what to do."
"Then let nature take its course."
"I did nothing wrong."
"Some people are guilty simply for being alive."
Am I unclean?
No, you are pure.
"So why do they want to hurt me?"
"Because they are also afraid, afraid that you will hurt them."
The two of them were asking and answering questions here, with Lori asking one question after another and Carl answering one by one.
Lori had so many questions she wanted to ask, things she could have kept hidden in her heart, but now she felt she couldn't suppress them anymore. The pressure around her was mounting, and those thoughts that had only occasionally flickered in her mind were surfacing again and again.
It was getting dark again, but even so, things were still far from peaceful here.
Now every night is a sleepless night, because the Blood Day caused the collapse of the entire city, and many activities that could only be carried out in the shadows are slowly being brought into the open.
Even the arrival of ascetics did not change these circumstances; perhaps all that is needed for true peace is the death of a child.
Otherwise, many innocent people might die because of her.
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