"Then... do you want to join us and do something to fight against the church?"
With such a large group of mages suddenly swarming in front of him, Benjamin felt a little sorry for his efforts in making the "Declaration of Free Magic" even if he didn't say this.
However, after hearing this, the reclusive mages began to show hesitation on their faces.
They looked at the man in the wheelchair again.
"We promised the elders not to leave this desert at will." A mage said. "We came here to live in seclusion because we were tired of the sophistication of Master Freden's circle, and we didn't want to get involved in those messy fights anymore."
When Benjamin heard this, he immediately started to persuade: "But no one can really avoid these fights. If you don't go to them, they will come to you."
However, all the mages still looked at the wheelchair man, as if there really was an organizational treaty between them, and the only person with the decision-making power was their elder.
"Elder, I think what he said makes sense. We can't hide any longer." A mage advised.
Although being looked at by so many eyes, the man in the wheelchair still waved his hand, pushed the wheelchair and turned his back to everyone: "Stop talking, I won't let you die."
Hearing this, some mages looked disappointed, while some looked calm, as if they had expected his answer.
Benjamin also felt a headache.
Unexpectedly, the key to convincing the entire group of reclusive mages to join him ultimately fell to this stubborn guy who clearly had a deep traumatic stress reaction.
"Do you really have no idea of resisting the church? I don't believe it." He asked tentatively.
"...I do, but I won't do stupid things anymore." The man in the wheelchair replied.
"You can't always use your past experiences to predict future results. If you failed last time, it doesn't mean you will fail this time." Benjamin had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to persuade.
The idea of resistance is like a weed. Once it sprouts, it can never be eradicated. Since the other party had also stood up to fight against the church, even after experiencing a tragic defeat, there must still be a strong desire for revenge in his heart.
The other person is just suppressing it.
Benjamin thought so firmly.
"I didn't think you would fail, but have you ever thought about how many people would die on this?" However, the wheelchair man sighed and said slowly, "Those mages who resisted the church with me. They are full of enthusiasm and will never admit defeat, vowing to make the church disappear from the world. They are the best group of people in the world, but... what now?"
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at Benjamin with empty and regretful eyes:
"Now, they are all dead."
Benjamin was speechless for a moment.
The man in the wheelchair continued in a trembling voice: "They are all my good friends. When the situation took a turn for the worse, they did not even think about surrendering. Instead, they used their lives to save me from death one after another. Come back. Do you know that feeling? All the people you cherish are sacrificed one by one in front of your eyes, but you can do nothing but run away holding your head."
Having said this, he took a deep breath and continued: "There will be a voice in your heart, it was you who killed them! It was all because of your boring and stupid ideals that they all paid their lives for it! But What can you do? You can only escape and watch your companions go to destruction one by one. In the end, you find that their sacrifices are worthless. The church is still the same church, but I am the one they exchanged for their lives. Became a useless person.”
The entire room was silent at this moment, as if falling into a stunned silence. The mages looked at the wheelchair man and never imagined that he had experienced such a thing.
The man in the wheelchair was pushing the wheelchair at this time, turned around, looked at Benjamin with bloodshot eyes, and asked: "And you?"
"… I?"
"Are you ready?" The other party showed a sad smile, "You are their leader. Once you fail, all your companions will die one after another. Some will even die in front of you, so that you can survive. And sacrifice. When the last moment comes, you will shout loudly, 'I want to die with you,' but they will knock you out with their own hands, send you away, and then face death with a smile."
When Benjamin heard this, he couldn't help but take a deep breath and suddenly became a little silent.
If failure does come...
At that moment, the faces of his mages suddenly appeared in his mind one by one. Joanna, the landlady, Wallis... Benjamin could even imagine what kind of smiles they would have on their faces and what kind of words they would say when they sacrificed their lives.
The sudden heavy feeling made Benjamin close his eyes involuntarily.
"It seems that you are not ready yet." Seeing this, the man in the wheelchair shook his head and said, "Just like me at that time, my eyes were always focused on that great goal, but I never thought about the consequences of failure."
"...No, I thought about it."
Benjamin suddenly opened his eyes and replied calmly.
The man in the wheelchair was startled.
"What can we do if we fail? The worst we can do is die here." He took a deep breath and said slowly, "If you want to make a difference, sacrifice is normal. If they really die because of this, then They also died on the road to hope. They worked hard and struggled for their goals, and lived a meaningful life. No one will feel sorry for them."
Hearing this, the man in the wheelchair was silent for a while and said: "... That's what you think. I won't let these people go with you. If you fail, I can't bear to have another painful experience like that."
"you… "
The mages looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
Benjamin also felt weak.
... After all the words were said, he really couldn't persuade her anymore.
However, just when he couldn't bear to persuade him, suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
The other party once raised a banner against the church...
"May I ask, what is your name?" Benjamin's expression changed and he asked a little abruptly.
The man in the wheelchair was silent for a while and said: "I have used many names. My parents gave me the name Gray. I was later taken to the church and trained as an undercover mage. They all called me Haidson."
"What about your former companions?" Benjamin asked.
"They... call me Maurice."
Hearing this, Benjamin couldn't help but take a breath.
"Do you know someone named Michelle?" he asked quickly.
The other party's expression was a bit incomprehensible, and he shook his head: "I don't know... who is she?"
Benjamin frowned, thought for a moment, and then said: "She used to be a paladin of the church, and her name in the church seemed to be something... Christine, but she later became a mage and changed her name to Michelle."
"Christine?" Morris was in a daze and said in astonishment, "The niece of the Bishop of St. Peter's Basilica? The only female knight? She later became a mage?"
… niece
Benjamin was a little startled.
Michelle is the bishop's niece? real or fake
Damn...
Seeing that the other party acted so confidently, it must be true. But why has he never known about such an amazing thing
"Your reflex arc is so damn long." The system suddenly appeared and said.
"What do you mean? Have you known about this for a long time?" Benjamin couldn't help asking in his heart.
"Of course I don't know, and no one has told us that Michelle and the bishop have this kind of relationship." The system said confidently, "I just suddenly felt blessed and felt that this comment was very suitable for you, so I told you."
“…”
His attention returned to reality. Looking at the expression of Morris, the wheelchair man, Benjamin suddenly realized that there might be some... misunderstanding
After thinking for a moment, he explained: "Yes, she became a mage, and in the end she openly rebelled against the church. When I escaped from Havenlet, she saved me and asked me to go to Freden to find her. The teacher—Morris.”
After hearing this, Morris fell into a long silence.
When the surrounding mages saw this, they looked at each other in astonishment. They didn't know how far the plot was unfolding at this moment.
Finally, after five minutes of silence, Morris spoke again and said slowly: "Kristen...or Michelle as you call me, I didn't have much interaction with her before. I always thought she was from the church. A loyal supporter, for a while, I thought she might have discovered my betrayal and was spying on me.”
When Benjamin heard this, he also fell into deep thought.
"Perhaps, she really discovered your betrayal." After a moment, he said, "It's just that she also chose to betray the church."
Morris maintained a stunned expression and said nothing.
Seeing this, Benjamin suddenly laughed helplessly. He turned around and took out the original mage version of the Bible from his bag.
"This book was given to me by her, and it was also the first magic book I came into contact with." He handed the book to the other party and spoke calmly, "She died on the way to resist the church. And after her death, The unwilling resentment even turned into an undead spirit and saved me from Havenright. So, I took the book you wrote and came out of Horli Kingdom. I experienced many twists and turns along the way, passing by Icol, and came to Fo Ryden, finally, it's back in your hands."
When Morris heard this, his whole breath was suffocated, and the hand that took the Bible trembled at that moment.
He suddenly opened the book and turned to the last page.
On the last page, there were words written on it that moved Benjamin very much: "You are the fifty-seventh person to read this book. Please give this book to those who need it and pass on the magic."
However, when Morris turned it to this page, the numbers in the text changed vaguely again. Finally, it changed from "fifty-seventh" to "first".
At that moment, Benjamin could clearly see tears filling Morris's red eyes.
"See? You have not failed." So, he continued, "The struggle is never lost, it is only temporarily interrupted. The spirit of resistance passes through you without you even realizing it. Michelle, it was passed on to me from Michelle. And now I want to pass this spirit on to you again.”
Morris raised his head and looked at him with somewhat helpless eyes.
Benjamin smiled.
"You have never taught Michelle anything, but she still calls you her teacher." He continued, "Maybe, in her eyes, the man called Maurice by his fellow mages is a great person. Even if you are defeated by the church and escape abroad, you will definitely make a comeback, so you roared at me to find you before you died."
At this point, his tone suddenly became cold and he stopped smiling.
"She must feel that with the lives of so many companions on her back, Morris will definitely push herself hard to become stronger and come back with revenge against the church..."
"Instead of giving up on yourself and becoming a disappointing loser."
Hearing this, Morris suddenly closed his eyes hard and squeezed the Bible in his hand.
Two lines of tears fell silently.