Chapter 19 Karin the Little Witch

In the evil gate of the cathedral in the north of the city, Father Am stayed in front of the altar and remained silent.

This is supposed to be the time for believers to pray and repent, but it is empty.

Including Sarai, Shelley and Orius, the Holy See has killed three cardinals in a row, all of whom died under swords, which caused the cohesion of the Holy See to collapse. However, at this time, the divine power of the god Noswell began to disappear, and more and more temple knights left.

Temple knights are different from ordinary knights. They do not need to serve the king. They only need to obey the orders of the pope or the cardinal in power. Now that the church has been completely divided, no one can restrain them, and they do not want to stay here as His Majesty the Sky and the Marquis of the Court. Fighting for the interests of Jue, it is inevitable that a large number of people will leave, and as far as Father Am knows, some of them have even given up their knighthood and joined the fallen knight organization that calls itself the "heart of God".

Father Am couldn't blame them, because he found that when even he himself began to doubt whether the Lord God he believed in and served for most of his life really existed? The faith of Noswell collapsed so quickly that it was unexpected by everyone. Perhaps, in the past few years, few people have sincerely believed in this Lord God, but secular power is highlighting its majesty.

Father Am has never had a high status in the Holy See, whether in the royal city or in Mogliel. He has no ambition, just silently doing what he should do, and it is precisely because of this that neither Sarai in red nor Shelley has ever felt sorry for him. After all, people like him are also needed in the church to deal with those complex rituals and tedious rituals. But after Euris' death, he found that he was suddenly pushed to the front desk, as if he could become a new cardinal at any time as long as he wanted.

Of course, he understands what's going on. Although the faith of Noswell is already collapsing, tradition still needs to be followed. In this crisis, for those uneasy nobles, abandoning tradition means abandoning themselves.

But they didn't want another Sarai in red to appear in the Holy See, so Father Am, who was old and harmless in the eyes of everyone, became the best choice.

Father Am sighed heavily.

The dazzlingly inlaid glass of light made Father Am involuntarily narrow his eyes. At this time, he saw two people walk into the evil door.

Walking ahead was a young woman, whose pale yellow windbreaker covered her face and made it impossible for Father Am to see her face. Behind the young woman is a teenager, several years younger than her. He was wearing a gray magic robe, which made Father Am feel that the teenager was more dazzling than the light sprinkled on his eyes from the window.

Magicians are rare in this kingdom, and there are fewer people who will walk into the church.

The young woman went to the altar and knelt down. She pulled down the hat of the windbreaker and lowered her head at the same time. The teenager looked around, as if he was curious about something.

The young woman pulled the teenager's robe, and the teenager had no choice but to kneel behind her.

"Father, I want to repent!" The woman whispered.

"What do you want to repent? Child. Tell all your repentance to the Lord God, and the Lord God will forgive them. Father Am opened the scriptures on the altar. These two are the only people who are willing to enter the church this afternoon. Not long ago, Cardinal Orus also banned civilians from entering the cathedral. Now, although the good and evil gates of the church have been opened to civilians, no one wants to come in.

The young woman lowered her head: "But I'm afraid that even the gods can't forgive me for the mistakes I made."

"Son, do you know how proud you are?" The priest said, "Only the Lord God is qualified to decide whether what people do is worthy of his forgiveness, not you or me. Reflecting on your past and humbly listening to the teachings of the Lord God are what the people of the Lord God should do. In addition, all doubts will only make you more proud, because you are trying to put yourself above the wisdom of the Lord God. Now, tell me, child, what are you confessing?"

"I repent," the young woman said softly, "I confess that I walked in the fate arranged by others because of fear, and I didn't think with my heart; I repent that I thought I was qualified to save others, but I didn't know that I needed to save; I repented, confessed my weakness and hesitation, persistent With the cleanliness of his hands, he forgot the eyes of the weak..."

Father Am looked at the woman under the altar in shock. Just now, he thought that the woman felt guilty because she had done something wrong, so he was worried that her crime could not be forgiven by the Lord God. But now, he knew that he had guessed wrong, and the woman didn't want the Lord God to forgive her at all.

There is real pride hidden in her heart.

The magician teenager next to him looked at her face from the side in surprise.

The young woman raised her head with tears on her face: "I regret that I didn't do better, priest!"

Father Am saw her face clearly, and he trembled down the steps: "Your Highness..."

"Please forgive me, Father!" The young woman looked at him painfully.

"No," Father Am looked at her, "no one is qualified to forgive you, or in this terrible era, no one is qualified to forgive anyone. The only one who can forgive you is yourself.

"I came here to repent just because I couldn't do it."

"That's it!" Father Am sighed heavily. Then, he took some holy water from the altar with his hand and gently sprinkled it on Princess Sofia's head, "I forgive you."

"Are you forgiving me on behalf of the Lord God?"

"No, I represent myself," Father Am smiled with an old face. "I just said that no one is qualified to forgive anyone. But now, I forgive you and hope you will always remember that there was an old man like me who forgave you in such a ridiculous place. No matter what you do in the future, no matter what mistakes you make, I hope you remember that you have been forgiven... It is the forgiveness of an old man as proud as you.

Princess Sophia raised her head silently and burst into tears...

*

The light of the setting sun is slantly sprinkled from the edge of the city, and the dark yellow land is mixed with reflections of walls and trees.

Corotia rode her horse, first along the fallen shadow of the wall, and then turned her back to Mogriel and ran south. The color of dusk gently stroked from the side, making her face beautiful and uncertain.

After a section of loess slope, she came to the thorny land. There are many small animals hanging on the spikes. When you look over them, they are dense and shocking.

At this time, she was no longer wearing the armor of the male knight, but the elf lock armor that could perfectly outline her figure. The red rose badge on her chest was carved with a deep cross, and her hair was briefly stuck behind her head, making her look more refreshing and natural.

She got off her horse, tied the rein to a short pine, and then stepped into the thorn bush. The knight boots made of buckskin were scratched by thorns, but they could not stop her footsteps.

All the way to the center of the thorn bush, she opened a scroll with the last light of the remnant sun. The green characters on the scroll flashed away, and a thin fog came, covering her with the air-dried animal corpses on the thorns. In the blink of an eye, she only felt that the scene around her suddenly changed, and then she went into a forest.

She saw the bodies of those small animals flying in the fluorescent forest, like dust swept by the breeze. Following these bodies, she walked forward, and the tip of the dancing tree made a baby-like strange cry, giving her a chill in her heart.

"Who?" Someone is asking her.

She didn't know where the man was or what kind of person it was. The voice was so ethereal that she couldn't tell which corner it came from.

"My name is Cororia," she said loudly. "I'm here to see the witches on this land."

"Corotia?" The voice sounded again, "Oh, are you the one who wants me to help you save your brother?" Keep going. I'll wait for you here."

Corotia calmed down and then continued to move forward. Before long, she came to a cabin. Before she could push the door, the door suddenly opened by herself.

As soon as she entered the wooden house, she saw a girl. It was a girl about the same age as Cororia, wearing a dirty gray dress, and her face was covered by long hair, but reluctantly made her eyes come through the cracks in her hair.

The girl in gray squatted on the ground and put a small stove in front of her. The iron pot on the stove was boiling soup, and strips of shredded meat were rolling in the boiling soup.

Corotia felt a little surprised. She looked at the girl in gray: "You are..."

"I'm the witch you're looking for," the girl in gray smiled. "My name is Karin!"

Corotia really didn't expect that the witch she was looking for didn't look as old as herself. She looked at the little witch doubtfully and was not sure whether the girl could really help her save her brother.

The unpleasant smell of medicine overflowed from the boiling soup and filled the whole wooden house.

"Do you want to eat?" The little witch took a bowl of soup from the pot with a spoon and handed it to Corotia.

Corotia shook her head quickly. Who will eat something cooked by a witch?

"Don't you eat?" The little witch held the soup in one hand, grabbed her hair in the other and gagged her mouth, continuing to make that strange "eating" laughter.

Although she used to be a rose knight, Cororia still felt scared by the witch smaller than her. In her original imagination, what she saw should be a woman sitting old on a tree trunk full of mushrooms, not such a strange girl.

But it doesn't matter. Cororia knows that the witch's ability does not depend on her age. It is an eternal power passed down from generation to generation. When a witch dies, the girl around her will automatically inherit the magic she has.

"I want you to help me save my brother," Corotia whispered. "The man said you can help me."

"No, no, no," the little witch shook her hands vigorously, the hair on her right hand pulled her own head, and the bowl on her left hand splashed hot soup. "I won't help you. I can only give you a deal. I'm a... one... what?"

"Witch?"

"Yes, I'm a witch," Karin, a girl in gray, muttered. "Well, it's the parrot who said I'm a witch now. In short, witches can't help others. We can only trade... witches! I can do you a favor and then get something from you. That's it. Deal, understand?"

"I understand," Corotia looked at her, "as long as I can save my brother, I am willing to pay whatever it is."

"Do you really understand?" Karin looked at her in surprise and said, "You're so awesome that I don't understand myself. All right, all right, let's make a deal. Ah, by the way, there is one more thing I have to explain first. I can only create an opportunity for you, but if you or your brother gives up that opportunity, it's none of my business. I still have to collect what you owe me, is that okay?"

"Hmm." Corotia nodded. She felt that there was no need to explain this condition at all. If the witch could really create a chance for her to save her brother, how could she give it up?

"Well, now let me think about what I should get from you." Karin shook her head and thought hard, "Finger? Ears? Nose? Well, these are not delicious..."

Isn't it delicious? Corortia was thrilled. She noticed that a piece of meat rumbling in the pot really looked like a human ear...

"Ah, that's right!" Karin put down the bowl in her hand and stood up. She bent down and walked to Corotia. She stretched out her hand and gently stroked a circle on Corrotia's chest. "I want this, I want this... eat it... eat it may be delicious... eat it..."

Although through the elf lock armor, Corortia still felt that Karin's long nails were like knives, giving her a cut pain in her chest.

"milk. Room. ? OK!" She gritted her teeth. As long as she can save her brother and lose a breast. Room. What does it matter? I heard that there is a tribe called Amazong, where women will cut off their left breasts as soon as they are adults, so as not to prevent them from swinging their spears.

Lost a breast. Fang, at most, it's just that she can't get married. Anyway... she didn't plan to get married.

"No, no," Karin shook her head. She took two steps back and stared at Corortia's chest while sucking her index finger greedily. "It's not milk, it's the heart. I have never eaten someone else's heart. It must be delicious. Especially yours, I saw something very interesting in your heart. What is that? Um, by the way, the parrot said that this kind of thing is called love. I saw that thing called love in your heart. It must be delicious... Eat... It must be delicious..."

Heart?!

Corotia looked at the laughing little witch and felt a pain in her heart. That is to say, can you save your brother only if you die?

"Is it okay?" Karin raised her head and stared into her eyes, "I'll help you save your brother and get your heart."

"Yes," Corotia replied without hesitation. "As I said, as long as I can save my brother, anything is fine."

"Okay, this is for you." Karin touched her body until she touched a dirty scroll. She handed the scroll to Cororia, "When you need help, open it, call 'Carlene', and then I will come out to help you. It's that simple, um, it's really simple, isn't it?"

Corotia took over the scroll. Before she could see it clearly, the scene around her was amazed, and she found that she had returned to the thorns. The mist has dissipated and the sunset has completely fallen.

The dark brown night over this land is so unreal.

It's like a dream...