It was truly an unexpected turn of events.
As the situation became increasingly uncontrollable, I could only turn to the only person still able to move around in order to buy some time.
Almost at the same moment the words fell, Alice, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead, suddenly jumped up from her lying position, showing amazing flexibility and jumping ability far beyond that of ordinary people. In the blink of an eye, she had covered more than half the distance and approached the outside of the closed circular ritual circle.
However, her actions did not immediately work.
Almost at the same moment she was about to rush into the ritual circle, a loud and violent collision erupted in front of her, followed by Alice covering her nose and crouching down in pain.
A transparent and invisible barrier flickered in mid-air for a moment, dividing the inside and outside of the ritual array into two unaffected spaces.
This is an error that even my senses couldn't detect.
I felt my blood run cold.
"No need to waste your energy."
As if she knew the whole story all along, Till's face remained calm. Even the sudden explosion beside her did not frighten her in the slightest.
"As long as I'm still standing inside, you can't affect me."
Is it because this ritual array has a special rule that once activated, only one person is allowed to enter?
Although not very common, it is very likely.
I wish I had tried it sooner, instead of hesitating because I was worried about triggering unknown dangers.
Saying more now will have no effect.
Seemingly aware that the outcome was already decided, Till did not rush to make any further moves. He simply remained in the position of lightly pressing the blade of the ceremonial dagger against his wrist and looked back, as if he felt he needed to say something in the end.
His breathing became labored, and his brain was unusually sluggish due to the sudden onset of the paralyzing poison. He could barely maintain a half-kneeling posture, but his limbs were trembling uncontrollably, and his center of gravity was swaying precariously. He was afraid that the slightest external force would cause him to fall over.
No, how did the person calculate to this point? Even the timing of the poison's outbreak seemed like a complete coincidence. There had never been any unusual feeling or intuition of something amiss before, let alone the sudden appearance of self-harming thoughts.
What's more, they just promised us that they would cherish their lives even more.
Stanley, lying on his side, shared my confusion, asking questions intermittently. But perhaps he was more affected by the paralyzing toxin, as even speaking was difficult for him, and his tongue showed obvious signs of swelling.
And, to make matters worse, despite the numerous soundproofing and wave-isolating barriers erected within the abandoned courtyard, primarily constructed using crystals partially buried underground, the magical energy required to maintain this state is still supplied by the two immobilized mages.
In other words, even disregarding the slight leakage caused by the impact of the ritual's eruption, the barrier built upon the crystal would gradually weaken due to the severed magic supply. As time progressed, it was on the verge of being exposed, revealing a distinct semi-transparent outline in mid-air.
There aren't many powerful mages in Tianqi City. In addition, there's been talk of artificial artifacts that might be used to detect the presence of unfamiliar mages in the city. If these artifacts were to arouse suspicion, who knows what the consequences would be?
But now is not the time to calmly consider this.
Till tilted his head, perhaps because he knew he was in a safe enough position, and thus felt the urge to speak and frankly: "I did promise you that I wouldn't casually throw away my life for the desires of others. So, this isn't a false lie. It's just my self-satisfaction."
"What does this sentence mean?" I asked in a deep voice.
"As I've said before, I hope that everyone in this world can live a happy life." The calm voice flowed quietly, tickling my ear. "Not only do I hope that everyone can live a prosperous life every day, without any clear class divisions or barriers."
She paused for a moment: "However, I am also very clear that I am just a blind person from a small place with little experience. Even if I were to unexpectedly gain eyes that can see through disasters, I would only be able to live helplessly and would hardly be able to make any significant contribution to others."
"Well, unlike you, who possess the talent to easily manipulate magical powers, you don't know many skills. Even if you want to help others, you can only use the most basic physical means to gradually smooth out external wounds, or put on a kind and friendly appearance to listen to people's complaints."
Sensing something amiss, Feifei flew off my shoulder and hovered above the transparent hemisphere. After a few tentative steps, she landed steadily at the barrier, tilted her head, gently tapped it with her beak, and then chirped at me.
“Then, after listening to the voices of so many people’s inner turmoil, I realized,” Till’s voice lowered, “that all I could do were ultimately some insignificant little things. Even if I could temporarily soothe the superficial pain of those who relied on me, I could never touch the real inside, nor did I have the ability to influence the overall situation.”
"So, I want to do something."
"...Your current thinking and your actions are completely mismatched."
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