For the part of the truth that finally surfaced, An was the one who reacted the most. The female warrior scolded a rather unpleasant swear word and bit her back molars.
As one of the tragic protagonists, Medes' recollection looks like a fragile life of rotten flesh—Oliver struggling to catch his breath. A slightly sad daze rose from the soles of his feet and slowly swallowed his body like a cold swamp.
"...I try," Oliver said, clenching Nemo's. "Mr. Medes, I need some time to calm down. Ann, you can tell Mr. Medes about Delia first. I'll be back later."
The female warrior turned her sad and grateful eyes.
"You're going to continue," she said softly.
"I have no intention of giving up the mission." Oliver said softly, "Mr. Medes has become like this, I think he has paid enough. And the emperor Sampson is dead, even if I rush into the royal cemetery Pulling him out won't change anything... I just need time to digest it."
How simple they once lived, Oliver thought numbly.
If the church of the abyss hadn't summoned the deadwood jellyfish in Waymark, Nemo and Nemo might have continued their civilian lives in Waymark—the biggest troubles would only be demanding customers and a shriveled purse. They may even sigh over the bad weather, buy more bread and vegetables after work, and end a peaceful and mundane day in a familiar room.
until death.
Yes, being the son of an ordinary librarian and an innkeeper, just pure life like that.
But now Oliver had never been so clear about how much blood and darkness had been hidden under that trivial, unworthy life.
Unlike withered castle, this time he was not dragged into hell, but lived in a carefully constructed gentle dream since he was born.
He never thought that his father could show such a desperate expression.
"Do you want to stop here?" Gently pulled Nemo out of the room, and the two leaned against the dark tomb passage. Oliver asked quietly. "Uh, I mean the exploration of the past... do you want to stop, Nemo?"
"Maybe this sounds a lot like defending yourself," Nemo said, his voice so low that he couldn't make out, staring at the dark flames that danced from the lampstand in the hallway. "I... I did destroy the Tin Soldier. I have all those memories from meeting your father to the death of Ulysses. But Oliver, I still don't understand why your father..."
"I know," Oliver said softly, tapping his fingertips on the back soothingly. "I know you won't lie to me."
Nemo buried his face in a palm and let out a long breath.
He pulls a gentle lover who trusts him wholeheartedly and has the power to destroy the world. If he just looked at these, he shouldn't have any troubles.
But Nemo could faintly feel that everything was still sliding uncontrollably into the darkness.
He fully understood the meaning of Oliver's question.
After a long absence, the concept of "escape" crossed his mind again - everyone in the tumbleweed acted separately. Apart from appearing when doing necessary tasks, he and Oliver usually find a small place to hide. Budgeting for a coin loaf, hesitating for a few days about buying a new book.
God knows how much he wanted to make such a proposal.
But he can't.
Known facts become memories. And the memory will only fade, dormant in the dark, will not disappear completely.
Nemo knew that if he nodded at this time, Oliver would definitely not continue to pursue the secrets at the bottom of the abyss.
But it will become a venomous thorn stuck in a corner of his lover's heart. Oliver would not say it, but the doubts in his heart could not be erased. Perhaps one day, he will take this unanswered question to the grave—
From now on, it would drag his soul like an invisible shackle. It's getting heavier and heavier and can never be freed.
Nemo knew it, because the question was already tormenting himself like this. Oliver does promise to kill himself if things change. Under this premise, escaping might make his own future easier, but for Oliver...
"I don't want to stop," Nemo heard himself say word by word, a little more despair in his voice. "I want to know the truth, and I want you to know the truth."
Even if that means the end of their relationship.
No one knew how much pus and blood would flow from this ancient wound, but at least he knew that, even if it looked fine, it would never heal.
"Okay." Oliver sighed. "We continue to investigate. If there is no other choice... It seems likely that we will be going against Mr. Medes' last advice."
Nemo didn't say a word, and Oliver's breathing was still uneven. So he reached out and touched each other's cheeks. Oliver, as always, did not have any subconscious rejection.
his lights.
Nemo drew him closer and kissed him tenderly. Oliver tasted a little cold now, but that temperature meant "he's still around" and it reassured him. Soon, the kiss turned into a sad, intense bite. After a few minutes, Oliver's breathing was more rapid - but it was no longer drowning, which was probably a good thing.
"Let's go back." Oliver adjusted his breathing forcefully, "Think for the better, now we just need to find another answer."
Nemo nodded, pointing to the gold pendant that brushed under the fabric of his chest, intentionally or unintentionally.
"We have a conclusion." Seeing that the two finally returned to the room, Medes didn't ask more. "Miss Savage has said all she has to say. Whether it's the little girl's situation or yours."
"Hmm." In order to keep his mind calm, Oliver did not intend to stare directly at Medes for the time being.
"I only have one question now, Oliver." Medeth's tone became focused. "Are you sure you were in some sort of contractual relationship with Mr. Wright when you were pierced through the heart of Wither Castle?"
"Yes."
"Um... How long did it take you from being injured to waking up?"
"It's not a good place to keep track of time, but at least one night."
Meders pondered for a moment, then picked up the empty ink bottle, walked to the stone jar by the wall, and poured a little dark liquid from it. As the lid was opened, the strong bloody smell broke through the pickled and strange smells and hit the nose.
"What's in there?" Nemo couldn't help asking. "I feel a little bit of life."
"My blood, guts and skin, they're still alive in there. I just peeled them off," Medes responded calmly. "No one can 'live' with just one bone."
"But those in the hallway..." Nemo's scalp went numb.
"That's all pre-set spells. After all, I'm alone here... It's too quiet." Medes waved his arms and made a gesture. The illuminated skulls floating in the room gathered in front of the stone table. neatly arranged in a straight line.
The vicinity of the stone table suddenly became very bright.
Medes put away the ink bottle full of blood, picked up the feather, and nodded to everyone. "It's too messy to demonstrate in the air, it's faster to talk on paper."
Except for Jesse, who was carrying the grey parrot, the other four got together.
"You were too young when you got sick. Considering your physique, Flint used all his strength to suppress the curse in your heart."
Meders quickly drew the outline of the heart, then circled a blood-red circle around it.
"During the years of your existence, your father's power has been sealed with a curse and forced to keep your heart beating. Flint likes to use fire magic, you subconsciously like ice, and it is likely that you want to maintain the power in your body subconsciously. But your father's strength has always been stronger than you, if I guess correctly, you used to be afraid of the cold, right?"
Medes drew a small red circle next to the red circle.
"Yes." Oliver admitted frankly.
"Mr. Wright is a superior demon, and if I'm not mistaken, he should be considered a strong superior demon. At least his power is much stronger than the haunting curse of Rent's blight. Well, according to Miss Savage , the contract between you should be strong enough to be mistaken for a knight's oath - but Mr. Wright has no malice towards you, and you are strong enough. So the abyss magic brought by the contract only exists in your body, not for you It won't hurt you."
Medes drew a huge horn next to the circle representing Oliver's power.
That's actually the Knight's Oath, Nemo thought bitterly. Smart people are sometimes prone to overthinking, which just saves them the energy to make crappy excuses.
"Although the power brought by the demon contract is very strong, under the premise that your father's power seals Trent's blight, the two abyss magic powers are separated and live in peace. And your heart is destroyed in the withered castle. , The sudden change caused your father's power to fluctuate all of a sudden, giving priority to treating your heart. During this period, the curse of blight slipped out and collided with Mr. Wright's power head-on."
Medes crossed his heart.
"According to the current situation, Mr. Wright's power devoured the curse of blight, and then continued to live with your power. Without the curse of the curse, Flint's power completely healed your heart, The rest are all fused into your own power."
He used to draw a line between the two circles.
"To be honest, the devouring of the abyss magic power is very scary. That is, your physical fitness is good, and the combined strength of you and Flint is very impressive, allowing you to withstand the side effects of devouring - now your body should be All that's left is Mr. Wright's harmless power, and yours, who devoured Flint's spare power."
"But this method can't be used for that little girl." Medes sighed, "I said at the beginning that drug suppression is another way. The drug did not completely block the power of the curse, at most it spread the curse. Time lags behind. Her heart is beating on her own, and the curse has spread to some extent, and Flint's method won't work anymore."
"What about sending in some of the abyss power?" Nemo asked.
He is the source of the abyss magic, and there should be no side effect of the so-called "devouring each other".
"Even if you make a contract with that little girl now, she will die first because she can't bear your power. Miss Savage told me that girl's magical talent is very ordinary. Her curse has spread, you The power swept through her guts, enough to kill her."
"That… "
"There is a solution." Meders quickly wrote the calculation, "Since the girl is already taking medicine, we can solve this problem from the perspective of medicine. Mr. Wright is a living devil, and his strength is too pure. But if Oliver can pass Surviving in this form means that there is a recipe that can be precisely controlled and weakened, while also guaranteed to devour the curse."
Ann stopped breathing nervously.
"Bone jade and dragon's breath stone." This time it was Adrian who said.
"Yes." Meders glanced at Adrian in surprise, "Dragon Breath Stone contains pure surface magic, and the abyss magic of bone jade has the power of its origin. The power of bone jade can be used by Quantitatively, as long as the bone jade is treated with a large amount of dragon breath stone, and its power is processed to a level that a mortal can accept, it can be taken as a medicine - to ensure that its power and the power of the curse are evenly matched."
"So we need to get some bone jade," An said dryly.
"I have the dragon's breath stone here. It's definitely enough. But I need the bone jade and the girl's blood." Medes wrote a whole page of parchment, and tapped twice at the end of the calculation with a feather. "Should work."
An sighed heavily and bowed: "I see, thank you. I need to discuss with my companions."
Everyone squeezed out of the narrow stone gates one by one and returned to the corridor. Jesse gave a huge yawn.
"Alban has enough bone jade." An straight to the point, "but they are all stored in extremely deep underground, and the outermost is set up with a magic circle that needs to be confirmed by the royal blood. This has nothing to do with everyone's strength, If you unlock it, it will definitely attract the attention of the prince - when he finds it, we are still going underground, so we will definitely be caught."
"But since you said it anyway, it means you have other thoughts on this matter." Jesse shook the half-conscious parrot.
"Yes, it may take a long time and a lot of energy. But if I can find a way to explore the storage room of the bone jade, Nemo, your space-ripping skill... If I get the exact coordinates, it should work. "
"can."
"Well, I will find a way to sneak into the palace and figure it out as soon as possible." An's expression was very solemn, "At least within this month, I will get that coordinate."
"It won't take a month," Nemo said cautiously, trying to shake Abbas' death out of his head and look into Ann's eyes. "As long as Delia is willing to cooperate, one day is enough."
"No, you don't understand. We can't get in touch with Delia under the Prince's watch. And I've heard from my family that the storage room is very..."
"It's okay," Nemo said. "Actually, the last time we infiltrated the palace, I left something behind."
"what?"
"A cat's beard."
The next night, Delia was leaning near the entrance pretending to be lost, while Catbeard wandered happily in the bone storage room. Relying on the positioning of the cat's beard, Nemo successfully split the space and successfully reached the storage room.
According to Ann, he should have seen rows of uncut bone jade—they should have been like opaque clusters of white crystals, properly placed on a cushion embroidered with countless magic circles.
But he saw only one thing.
Nemo had seen this thing, in Wither Castle. He even destroyed one.
A row of spare ribs jade bombs lay quietly on the clip, exuding a suffocating chill. Nemo swallowed, carefully stretched out the shadow, and began to recklessly pour the information on all the paper products in the room into his brain.
… He knew the task would not end so easily.