"It's a really good story about love and sacrifice. Although the plot is simple, it's also a very good fairy tale for children."
The grey-robed god commented that the bonfire in front of him was gradually returning to its original state, and in his hands, a thin little book was taking shape. It was the story of the "Sleeping Princess".
Xia De stood up with the help of the ground, and temporarily handed Mia in his arms to Miss Orlanod. He asked respectfully:
"God, this story is not over yet. True love's kiss can save the princess in the story, but in reality, only true sacrifice can save those who cannot wake up. Can you lend me your strength temporarily? I want to show you the true power of this fairy tale as the person who brought this story to this world."
“This is your story, this is your power.”
The gray-robed sage handed the small book in his hand to Shade, and golden light spread towards Shade, giving him enough spirit to use the maze once.
At this moment, the fourth spiritual rune of the three rings had just appeared, and the vague feeling made Xia De almost able to touch the edge of the maze magic with his hand.
God gave him temporary strength, and under everyone's gaze, Shade came to the ice coffin, opened the lid, and picked up the witch with red hair.
Miss Samuel's face flushed with excitement, the god nodded slightly, and Miss Orlanod watched this moment quietly.
"Is it out of pity or for reward?"
The god asked, and Shade, whose body was glowing with golden afterglow, shook his head slightly. The glow illuminated Miss Fiona Drago's face:
“I just want to help them.”
He thought again of Joey Barton:
"Everything has a price. I am willing to sacrifice my own strength to save others."
Of course, he would try to do less of this kind of thing, but now he was willing to pay the price.
"Selfless sacrifice?"
The god smiled, and Shade hesitated for a moment before nodding:
"Yes, not for any reward, not even for pity, I just want to help them."
"So that's what mortals call sacrifice..."
The god held the scepter in his hand and suddenly tapped it lightly on the floor tiles. With this sound, the feeling in Xia De's heart finally reached its limit.
The bonfire disappeared, the wind stopped, but the surroundings gradually became brighter.
Miss Samuel and Miss Orlanod looked around, watching the dilapidated hall floor tiles gradually being covered by red carpets, watching the ceiling above their heads that was damaged by the battle extending higher, and the crystal chandelier slowly lowering with the sound of chains.
It’s like the stage has changed, and there’s a whole new scene behind the curtain.
The smell of corruption in the air was swept away, and as the light continued to grow brighter, beneath one's feet was a huge palace hall that had been rebuilt based on the lobby of the Gaddis Library.
The magnificent decorations were in stark contrast to the decay and dilapidation just now. Outside the huge French window was a small town with a grid layout. It was dark outside, and the light of the silver moon shone on the town, illuminating the snowy street and the window, but there was no match girl on the street. Further away was a dense forest, and the crown of the giant tree in the middle of the forest was far away from the palace in the castle, but no one knew whether the bonfire under the giant tree was still lit.
The Shade and the ice coffin were located in the deepest part of the palace, seven steps higher than where the witches were. On the walls hung alternately holy silver and emerald green tapestries, which should have been royal seals, but now showed the symbols of the moon and the tree.
And where the throne should have been placed, there was an ice coffin.
Shad looked at Miss Fiona Drago's face and knew that his next move would be very rude, but he had no choice but to do this:
"Feel sorry."
He kissed the second headmistress of St. Byron's, a witch of red dragon royal blood.
The characteristics of the Sleeping Princess's Mystery Lock were officially activated at this moment. Xia De felt that he was losing something, but also seemed to have gained something.
Four colors of spiritual light bloomed on Shade's body and were transmitted to the Red Dragon Witch.
Outsider, the magic "Illusion of Moon Shadow" has been changed to unusable.
That's sacrifice.
The loss of the magic effect made the soul feel confused and empty, but in return, the witch's eyelashes trembled slightly when she was kissed by Shade, and then she opened her eyes.
Her wine-red eyes looked at Xia De, her face flushed, as if she suddenly understood something. Then, she hugged Xia De with her white sleeves with hollow details, and she responded to Xia De's help with a more passionate kiss.
Witches seem to like the "Witch's Scent" perfume very much, but different witches will fine-tune the scent of the perfume according to their own preferences. Miss Fiona Drago's perfume smells like a mixture of mint and licorice.
One of the characteristics of the Sleeping Princess Mystery Lock is to "awaken" women who are in deep sleep, dead, or about to die. Both the caster and the redeemed need to pay a price. The price Shade paid was a permanent failure of the magic, and it is not clear what the price Miss Drago paid was, but her injuries were not serious, so the price should not be serious either.
The kiss ended, and the spirits given by the gods to release the maze were all exhausted. The magnificent palace faded away, darkness surged back, and they returned to the front hall of the Gaddis Library.
Miss Fiona Drago sat in the ice coffin, the spreading light of the bonfire illuminated her face. She let go of Shade's neck, smiled at him with a blushing face, and only climbed out of the ice coffin neatly after hearing Miss Orlanod's cough.
"Teacher~"
She walked towards her teacher by the campfire, and when she passed by Shade, the tip of her tail rubbed the back of Shade's hand. Although the tail looked dangerous, it was actually very soft... Of course, it was not as short as Mia's tail.
Shade stood there, the life ring behind him slowly disappeared. He was not only paying, and the Sleeping Princess Mystery was not just the power of sacrifice. When he unfolded the Mystery again, he could summon the shadow of Miss Fiona Drago to assist in the battle, or let himself in the Mystery to use some of the power of the "Princess".
That is just the power of Miss Fiona Drago at this time, the awakened "Princess", the mark left in the maze.
Outsider, you have obtained the spell "Power of the Red Dragon". Your strength will be greatly enhanced in a short period of time, but you will fall into a short period of weakness.
Outsider, you have some understanding of "power" and "dragon".
"The echo of time and space vibrates the dormant power... The characteristic of the maze is that it randomly loses a part of its power to bring back the departed 'Princess'. The shadow of the 'Princess' remains inside the maze, and I can obtain some of the 'Princess's' characteristics... The Kiss of Resurrection and the power of summons? It seems that Leicia's teachings still have an impact on me."
Thinking of the red-haired princess and the blond writer whom he hadn't seen for more than a month, he looked up at the god who was smiling at the mortals:
“Why, will there be a reward?”
He had thought the puzzle was just a sacrifice.
"You did sacrifice voluntarily, but this world is always fair. Although what you gain is not equal to what you give, at least your kindness will not go unrewarded."
The old sage in gray robe took a puff of his pipe with satisfaction, and Shade walked back to the campfire from the ice coffin.
Miss Samuel patted the cushion beside her and excitedly motioned for Shad to sit down and talk. She was very interested in what had just happened. Miss Olanord sat with her student. The former wore a black cloak and wrapped her arms around her legs, revealing her pair of brown long lace-up women's cloth boots. The latter knelt a little further back and winked at Shad.
"It's a very good story. I am very satisfied. Then I can also fulfill your second wish. This staff belongs to the descendants of the long-leaf elves. When needed, my believers will appear to help you build the library you long for."
He placed the wooden staff in his hand horizontally and handed it to Shad.
Even without touching it, Xia De could clearly feel the rich miracle element on it. Even if this item was not a relic at this time, it was still enough to be called a "divine artifact".
He handed the staff to Miss Orlanod, who looked at Shade with a lost look:
"So, you're leaving?"
"Yes, about five minutes."
Xia De nodded, hesitated for a moment and said:
"Actually, I came here this time to seek help. I am fighting a very difficult enemy, and I want to learn more ways to use the Moonlight Greatsword."
Mia finally found an opportunity to escape from Miss Orlanod and returned to Shade, while Miss Drago looked at the cat curiously.
"It's a pity that time is running out, but it doesn't matter, at least you can all leave here safely. Don't forget to say hello to Miss Feliana for me."
Shad said with a smile, but he was actually worried about the showdown with Joey Barton soon.
"If you just want to learn some tricks, I can help you."
The smiling old sage said, he was still sitting cross-legged by the campfire, and seemed to be in a good mood.
He pointed at Miss Orlanod, and some light spots floated out from her forehead and entered Shade's head. More uses of the Moonlight Greatsword naturally appeared in Shade's mind. After being interpreted and identified by "another me", it easily became a skill that he could master immediately.
That is the technique of using a physical sword, using the "Moonlight Greatsword", and using the "Moonlight Greatsword" to release the "Moonlight Slash".
"This is just a small gift. I'm not a very strict god."
He said with a smile.
"Thanks you."
Xia De nodded slightly and looked outside the huge door frame. The red snow was still continuing, but it was much smaller than when Xia De first arrived.
"Witches, leave now. Although the weather is still bad, now is the best opportunity."
The god suggested.
"I... ... "
Xia De wanted to say that he would go with the three witches, after all, he still had some time, but the old man in the gray robe said:
"How about you stay here and talk to me? It's rare to meet someone as interesting as you. We can talk about those stories."
The separation was so abrupt. Although they had already known that this would be a long separation, when the god mentioned this, both Shade and the witches felt lost.
They didn't move. Shade pursed his lips, not knowing how to speak. The bonfire in front of him was still jumping happily, and the sound of the old sage smoking his pipe could be heard intermittently. Shadows were floating, but time would not stop because of this.
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