Running wild in a wood with tangled roots is no easy task, and what appears to be sturdy may be piled with rotting leaves, not to mention the annoying cobwebs of vines. Ann ran smoothly, and Oliver had a hard time following because his body had not recovered. And Nemo lost most of his enthusiasm to escape after being tripped by a tree root for the fifth time—if the body fused with demon flesh and blood was strong enough, the leaf pit he stepped on would have been enough to twist his ankle ten or eight times. .
He deeply doubted that he and the two were not of the same species. Those two guys were born with an extra eye, and could see through the thick moss and dead leaves where the best place to go.
Nemo bared his teeth and tried to get up and continue running, but his ankles were surrounded by slender and strong vines, and he couldn't break free for a while. He glanced back subconsciously—the Seymour worm was still standing silently, looking like a bulging black abscess from a distance.
"Hey—you two!" The staff was dipped in worm slime, and a lot of dirt and grass clippings stuck firmly. He was leaning on it as a walking stick. "Wait for me-"
Oliver stopped first. He held onto the tree trunk and gasped for a while. The injured left leg was not neat, and the wound was bleeding slightly. Thanks to his neat movements these past few days, Nemo thought Ann had used something. Great healing.
"Did you fall?" Oliver obviously didn't want to care about his legs, and he reached out to Nemo.
Nemo twitched the corners of his mouth. He doesn't have any cleanliness that hates being touched by others, but at this moment he just has a weird feeling that Oliver is intentionally increasing the number of physical contact. The last time he felt this kind of atmosphere was when he saw the cubs in the orphanage vying to provoke the vicious guard dogs of the neighbors.
But when his gaze went all the way from the other's bloody left leg to those gentle green eyes, Nemo couldn't help but soften his heart when he thought of what they had witnessed a few days ago. He is not a noble lady, the two men are nothing to be hypocritical - he obediently stretched out his dirty claws, leaned on Oliver to stand on his heels, and then poked those annoying thin vines with his staff.
Nemo had just shaken off the last vine on his ankle when he looked up and saw Ann's complex eyes.
Oh, that's embarrassing enough. He really desperately needs a copy of "Three Hundred Ways to Resolve Embarrassment" these days. How could he be too lazy to open the book because the cover is so ugly
"Miss Savage, we..." He subconsciously wanted to apologize in the sense of oppression, and swallowed the words again. Although he himself didn't know what he had done, living at the moment was victory, and he had nothing to apologize for - he didn't think Ann really cared about their lives. "We managed to escape, with those who were 'dead'."
Ann pursed her mouth into a tight straight line. Nemo couldn't help shrinking his head, for fear that the female warrior would come to an angry temporary breach of contract and choose the initial three thousand gold coins.
But she didn't.
Ann took a deep breath and spit it out slowly. Immediately, he responded in a whisper-like volume.
"Thank you." Although her voice was small, her tone was serious enough.
Nemo scratched his ear with his finger, wondering what was wrong with it. Oliver is always one step ahead of her—
"Why?" Oliver asked, the soft expression on his face faded a little, obviously still a little concerned about Ann's actions.
"No reason." Ann raised the volume, and the feeling of carelessness came back a little. But Nemo always felt that there was still a trace of sadness on her face that she couldn't hide in time. "Nice job. But I don't think it's my fault. We still have to go together, and someone has to say it - assuming you're still willing to go with me."
Does this mean you intend to let them go
Oliver turned his head and lost a questioning look, and Nemo nodded slightly.
"We survived, so the agreement is still valid." Oliver gave Ann a smile.
"Then follow me. It's just past noon, and we still have one more night to go." Ann turned around decisively and did not continue the topic.
"Hey, Savi... Ann." Nemo hesitated for a moment, but stopped her. "I didn't mean to deny you or anything, but you did make a mistake."
Ann turned her head and stared at him with those amber eyes. In the dim forest, her eyes looked almost golden, like those of a beast.
"That... uh," Nemo stammered awkwardly, realizing that he didn't know the dead youth's name. This made his momentum dwindle as soon as it took off. "If he hadn't rushed out, I... I might have escaped with you. I hope you knew that."
Nemo considers himself not a saint, let alone a hero. He lived an ordinary life, and almost all the blood and rain he had seen came from books. He didn't know why he was saying this, and he didn't even think it had anything to do with it. But the young man died easily—the people he protected were on the run, never knowing what he did. One of the witnesses commented that it was "meaningless". This realization made him a little sad.
Not out of pity or survivor guilt. He simply felt it was time to tell her that, the dead man deserved it.
"Things that don't make sense are meaningless," An said calmly, turning around and moving on. "I'm not going to change my opinion, what you think is your business."
"I—" Nemo was about to speak, but was stopped by Oliver's hand, who shook his head gently at Nemo.
"Noe's 'Devil Tavern', how much do you know?" Oliver naturally followed Ann's footsteps, returning to his usual tone.
"You're talking about 'Dawn,' there is such a place. A typical tavern doesn't welcome demon believers—to be precise, they're not welcome anywhere." Ann kicked away the dead grass in front of her, "It's a funny boss. , Few people dare to declare themselves neutral in front of the Holy See these days. Over time, all the demon believers here have gathered there, and we have been betting on when it will end."
"And then?" Nemo couldn't help but interject.
"And as you can see, it's still booming after so many years, maybe the boss has some background." Ann shrugged. "Why, have you become interested in your compatriots?"
Nemo imagined a tavern full of Jude, feeling guilty from the bottom of his heart. "No, I'll ask." The word compatriot made him feel a little indigestion.
"I suspect that the parrot said a few truths. It's always good to find out." Oliver said slowly, "In case the knight of judgment opens the door one day, we can't be unprepared at all."
"It's rare that you know this." Ann gave Oliver a surprised look. "Speaking of which, where's the parrot?"
Nemo hurriedly looked around, but he couldn't find even a common bird feather, let alone a parrot. He was stunned for a moment, even hesitating for a second whether he should feel relieved or worried. Bagelmore had never been away for too long before, and he was used to the sarcasm and runs around him from time to time.
"Don't worry too much." An smiled. "It knows where you are and will always find you."
"But in case it gets killed..."
"Oh, that's a problem. But I don't think so." Ann stopped. "You have no idea of what you have done, do you? From what you just did, there is nothing in this wood that can hurt it."
She looked straight into the young man's silver-gray eyes as she said this. But she found nothing but surprise. No fear, no ecstasy, not even cautious hope. This made her feel a little anxious.
"Do you know how to control a Seymour worm? If it is a mercenary of the horizon, at least three are needed. One mage maintains the magic circle, the other is responsible for large-scale magic attacks, and the warrior must be equipped with a first-level shock spell. Blunt weapon. It takes at least five hours to draw the restraint array, and at least 200 catties of fresh water like meat must be prepared so that it can be led to the center of the array. By the way, the horizon is currently the number one mercenary. Regiment." Ann's tone had some kind of complicated emotion in it.
"Kid Ramon's abilities are still within my understanding. As for you... I didn't notice any spell fluctuations at the time. You didn't use spells. Even if the parrot is a top-level middle-level demon, it's too exaggerated."
As she said that, she groped for a while from her pocket, and a metallic flash appeared between her clenched fists. Ann threw the thing in his hand at Nemo, and Nemo subconsciously caught it with both hands and looked down—
The familiar pendant was glowing with the unique luster of gold in his palm.
"I bought it from O'Neal. Is this something important to you? After all, it is a rare style in Alban capital. Generally, I don't explore the background of my teammates. It's not polite, I know. ." An reached out and rubbed his forehead. "But now I have to. I'll buy you a question with this - how much do you know about your origins?"
Nemo didn't say much. He carefully pulled out the picture hidden on his body, gently inserted it back into the frame of the pendant, and then showed it generously.
"That's all I know," he said.
Ann approached to take a look, while Oliver struggled for a few seconds, but couldn't hold back his curiosity and came over.
It was a portrait of a girl, with delicate and delicate brushstrokes. It's a pity that the paint has changed a little bit because it's too old or not well kept. The young girl in the painting is not a top beauty, but it is also called beautiful and lovely. Instead of the popular demure pose, she made a playful grimace. Her hair was flaxen-colored, slightly curled, and the color of her eyes was really indistinguishable from blue or green.
"I don't know if it was my mother, my grandmother or any other female relative," Nemo said. "It was the only thing I had when I was found."
"Why am I not impressed?" Oliver stared at it in surprise.
"Because Patrick took a lot of work to get it out of my throat," Nemo replied bitterly.
Ann studied the small picture for a while, but apparently found no clues.
"I've never heard of such a person," she said, a little frustrated. "Didn't you try to find her?"
"No." Nemo answered decisively, "I said, I don't remember what happened before - if luck comes, I can meet naturally, it's okay if I don't meet, I have my relatives. Yes, I do cherish it, but that Just because... it proves that I may not be abandoned."
No one would put something so valuable and clueless on an outcast. It proves that, at least for a distant moment, he was loved by a true family—or so he believed.
Ann picked up the pendant and turned it over, and found a line of small characters from the inside of its shell.
"The flame never goes out." She read the handwriting with difficulty. "The signature... No, the signature is too worn."
"I can't find the source of that sentence," Nemo said. "Look, I know that. The amount of information is a bit small... Do you need change? It's okay to include it in the staff's debt." He Staring eagerly at the pendant.
Ann shook her head amusedly and returned the pendant. "Forget it," she said, "keep it away."
"Aren't you asking anything else?" Nemo didn't want to owe her too much, a posture that could explain all these years of experience upside down.
"No need, since you..."
Before she could finish speaking, a black light suddenly appeared, and An suddenly blocked the two of them behind her.
The grey parrot was flying toward them with a splendid look, with spells scattered everywhere, erratic as if he had drunk too much. It got close to Nemo, and Nemo thought it was going to land on his shoulder again, so he didn't move. Unexpectedly, the beast stretched out his claws and scratched—his shoulders opened a big hole in an instant, and it stabbed the hard bird's beak into the wound fiercely, and the feeling of being pierced into flesh by something reappeared.
This time Nemo had experience - he directly grabbed Grey Parrot's body and tugged hard. The parrot slammed to the ground, with an unnaturally long purple-black tongue sticking out of his mouth.
"It still won't work," it said aggrievedly, lying on the ground, slowly retracting its tongue into its mouth. "Still can't get it back... I'm obviously full! Do I have to eat a superior of the same kind—"
Nemo tucked the pendant away carefully, ignoring the wound—it healed quickly under Oliver and Ann's watch, leaving only the blood that seeped through his clothes.
"I'm sure now." An sighed fiercely, "I'm afraid ordinary demon believers can't do it... You need an expert."
,Wonderful!
(m.. = )