The witch ladies want me to confess my love

These spoilers are my good intentions. You are a smart person and should be able to figure out the meaning.So, let's exchange information, it will be beneficial to both of us. "

"No wonder Madam, you are very sure that I know the whereabouts of the Sword Witch. Now that I think about it, the meaning of my existence is that Toby Gerrard introduces an element from the outside to unbalance the originally balanced environment, and then restores balance again."

Fourier recalled the people he met in Orleans and the various situations he experienced. When all the coincidences came together and were reminded by Mrs. Gerard, they became inevitable.

Heizhen, Phoenix, Kane, Ruota, Osh, Sword Witch... After meeting him, these people's daily lives were torn apart, their secrets were unearthed, their missions were activated, and their fates were deflected. He is The catalyst is the sinusoidal curve that expresses the signal, so the owner of this city will allow him to trigger the plot and obtain the truth.

It's all written in Toby Gerrard's script.

"Fourier, be careful, there are some fates that you can't avoid."

Fourier remembered the last words Miss Yuko said to him before leaving. This witch who played with people's hearts had foreseen this trend before she started, so she left an ambiguous reminder. The limit of what can be achieved within the constraints of one's own "oath".

Miss Yuko would lie to him but not harm him. Although she knew that Kurosada's wish was not as simple as it seemed, she still sent her employees to solve the problem.That proves that from the Dimensional Witch's point of view, this matter is still within the scope of Baptiste Fourier's abilities.

He respects and blindly trusts Miss Yuko. She has confidence in him, so he also has confidence in himself.

"It looks like you've made your decision," said Mrs. Gerrard.

Fourier took a deep breath and replied: "Yes, I have decided. I refuse to reveal the information about the Sword Witch. I made an appointment with her. We have a final battle. I came first to this matter."

“Ladies first is the embodiment of gentlemanly manners.”

"Sorry, I have become the chief disciple of the female boxing sect in this second," Fourier replied with a smile: "If you step aside at this time, wouldn't you be discriminating against women?"

"For you, is fighting a famous swordsman still a higher priority than fulfilling someone's wish?"

"No, madam, I am already a mature social person, so the answer is naturally 'I want them all'."

"That's a pity. Originally, I wanted to use peaceful means to solve the problem," the witch from Portugal sighed. "In this case, let me resort to force."

Fourier heard the sound of the magazine turbulating in Ruota's firearm. If he guessed correctly, JoJo was using a customized version of the M1921 submachine gun, a favorite of gangsters, but he didn't know what Ruota's customized version had been modified. thing.

In front, Mrs. Gerald was still restrained in her chair. The words spread on the flat surface were recycled to form strange patterns around her chair that could make trypophobia break out in a cold sweat.

The mother and son took advantage of attacking Fourier from the front and back, and launched attacks at the same time. The mother spit out her forked tongue, and in the process of stabbing Fourier's face, the front end glowed with a metallic luster, and gradually transformed into a knife. The latter aimed at Fourier's back and pulled the trigger. The clicking sound was as clear and sweet as a typewriter.

"Friend...it seems it can't be done." Fourier said softly.

Two black shields, one behind the other, rotated and cut into the space in front of and behind him, blocking two attacks for him. The shield in front was his weapon box, and the shield in the back was Osh's door sword.

Expendable friends like Ruota cannot be trusted, so Fourier called on another friend, Ouch, and his prepared hand came into play at this moment.

Ruota turned from Fourier to a new enemy, and he recognized it as the leader of the radical faction of the trade union organization, Ouch, who was extremely powerful and dexterous in his weight class.

"I've already told you what you asked me to do. My friend, you didn't disappoint me either." Osh looked at Ruota, "Another Gerrard? Compared to your useless brother, you are still a little bit better. Look."

What Fourier wanted Ouch to do was to use Ouch's popularity to integrate the current trade unions, contact other resistance organizations, and spread a sacred formula he set to every corner of the city of Orleans. The biggest surprise was left to The Shinra Building.

This is not to cosplay terrorists, but to ensure that Gerrard is separated from his army and turned into a one-on-one or even group fight situation.

"I have the same opinion as you about Kane. It's very difficult for me to have such a brother." Ruota replied, spreading his hands.

"Ruota, you have to respect your brother. He is your brother at all times."

Mrs. Gerald unexpectedly defended her eldest son, who was not related by blood. The words surrounding her were densely packed and climbed up her slender limbs.

Fourier looked at the woman's restraint device. Generally speaking, restraining the hands and feet, wearing a blindfold while retaining the normal functions of the mouth, nose, and ears, and regularly injecting neuroleptic drugs were the methods used to deal with witches with the power of petrification.

He once helped the ancient witch Medusa escape from Rothenburg Prison. At that time, the witch was in a state similar to Mrs. Gerald's, except that it was not drugs that controlled Medusa's thinking activities, but abstract algebraic infinity. Endless quaternion operations.

The next second, he saw the Portuguese witch unshackle her hands and feet, and the moment the blindfold slipped from her face, she stood up and raised her arm, making a gesture of drawing a sword, and the black runes gathered into a long shape in her hand. Sword silhouette.

"Are you also a swordsman? Madam, I need to correct my evaluation of you."

Fourier became fanatical and full of fighting spirit, with deep red gushing out of his brown eyes. The weapon box he held in his hand was originally the size of a shield, but now it became a scabbard, and the indicator light kept flashing. When it turned to red, Fourier's thumb pressed the button, and it stopped there. The red color blended with the figure of the young man, and the dark coat outlined the nightingale's heart surrounded by the thorns of the linden tree. It penetrates and dyes the white rose below into a strange scene of deep red.

JoJo felt threatened. He raised his submachine gun and aimed at Fourier again. However, he saw Fourier's wrist moving slightly, and the black hole at the end of the weapon box was pointed at him.

"boom!"

In the contest of gunpowder weapons, Fourier's speed was superior. He pulled the trigger, and the ammunition from the chamber accurately hit the barrel of Ruota's weapon backwards, and the recoil generated by the shot caused the sword to be inserted into the scabbard. The crystal blade inside popped forward, causing the witch who was rushing towards Fourier to stop in place.

Mrs. Gerald did not dare to neglect. She waved the long sword composed of black runes to deflect the scarlet crystal blade that was coming at speed. The rotating crystal blade drew a bad arc in the air and returned to Fourier's hand, lingering. The "redness" of the young operator reached its peak at this moment, and even the independent space built by the witch was mostly eroded. Unexplained singing came out from this deep red:

“The nightingale that sings for you brings blessing—

'May the eternal, crimson and dreamy things accompany you in your dreams'"

Mrs. Gerrard had no time to think about the meaning of these words. In her eyes, Fourier had been engulfed by the crimson that lingered around him, but the patterns of nightingales, linden trees and roses turned into pure white, and people and The inhuman position became blurred. The young man raised his arms and struck out with a sword that was within common sense and yet beyond common sense.

Time became extremely long, and the sword intention turned into a thin red line, splitting her colorful vision into two. Facing this inevitable sword, she tried her best to block it with her sword, but was knocked away and fell. When he landed on the ground, his mind went blank for a moment.

She felt a hand grab her face, and when she "awoke" from the pain, she saw Fourier standing there, his sword already retracted into its sheath.

"You have been restrained by Gerald in your body. Although you are a swordsman, you can't let people enjoy it as much as you want. However, since you plan to use violence to seize my secret, then I won't complain about using violence to seize your secret now."

Fourier looked down at his defeated general: "First question, who are you?"

The young operator did not threaten Mrs. Gerald with a weapon, but he mouthed Kane's name and then spit out the word "adultery". It was more lethal to the witch than Fourier's red crystal blade just now. ...Especially when her biological son Ruota is present.

"I am Mrs. Gerald, a descendant of witches from Portugal." Mrs. Gerald lowered her head. "My name is Alonso Quijada, the author of "The Old Era" and the sword witch of this generation."

Chapter 19 Reality and Virtuality·Inheritance

The adultery between Mrs. Gerard and Kane comes from the possibility inferred from the side clues in Phoenix's description. Otherwise, there is no way to explain why Mrs. Gerard would be so hostile to an innocent girl. After knowing her relationship with Kane, Jealousy flies, and Kane is hesitant about his relationship with his stepmother.

Phoenix wouldn't think much of it, and as a despicable foreigner, Fourier would definitely think that Gerrard's family relations were messy enough, and it wouldn't be a slander to consider one more possibility.

Without enough evidence, he could not describe the possibility as a fact... However, he was not a policeman or a judge, he was a swordsman, and he was throwing out this possibility at this moment just to disturb Mrs. Gerald's thinking.

As a result, Mrs. Gerard used her own reaction to prove that the possibility of Fourier's thinking was fact.

Regarding Alonso Quijada, the author who distorted the story of the Sword Witch and wrote "Old Times", Fourier always thought it was Jota. When Mrs. Gerard revealed that she was the author, the young operator Unavoidable surprise.

More importantly, Mrs. Gerald said that she was the Sword Witch.

Fourier glanced behind him. There was a [-]-[-] split between Oush, who had talent but no skills and no money, and Jota, who had no talent, no skills but was a money-maker. This illustrates what it means to be a novice at each other.

In a serious situation, when there is a human comedy performed by an unconscious comedian, the seriousness turns into joy and helplessness.

He sheathed his sword, turned the weapon box in his hand, and pointed the muzzle of the gun towards the sky. He fired a shot, and Osh and JoJo, who were shouting and fighting, stopped.

"I think we can be friends again now."

Fourier said as he pulled Mrs. Gerald up. Among the four people present, only Ouch was confused: Why did these people change from friends to enemies, shouting and killing, and then stopped to become friends again? , this upright man still cannot understand the essence of "making friends out of nothing"——

This moment and that moment.

But Fourier had demonstrated the skills, resources and violence that convinced him, so he put his sword on the ground and consciously stood behind the young operator. Ruota also stood behind his mother, and the two talked about People sit on opposite sides of the desk.

"If you are the Sword Witch, then who is the one I saw?" Fourier asked.

"My counterfeit, or mirror image."

"I need evidence."

"The evidence is in the manuscript. It may not be the truth, but it is undoubtedly the closest thing to the truth, just like 1 and 0.9999..."

But 1 is equal to 0.999, ma'am.Fourier thought.

He opened the manuscript and ignored the signature of Gilles de Rais on the title page. In the text, the author of the manuscript used Latin, the alchemist's secret language and his own constructed vocabulary. Latin Fourier learned in school However, he had completed the exam seven times in a row, and he had learned the alchemist's secret language from his previous client. The two accounted for 95% of the vocabulary in the manuscript, and the remaining constructed words could be inferred based on the context and pictures.

First, Gill described his own life. This nobleman from Brittany had been living under the autocratic rule of his grandfather until the external environment changed dramatically and he had to go south to "King Qin". When he met a girl named Joan of Arc, He thought that there was some light in his gloomy life.

There is no clear image of Joan of Arc in the existing historical documents, but in Gill's description, she was a quiet, calm, big-breasted girl with superb charisma and big breasts who liked to poke people's eye sockets.

Fourier wanted to laugh a little. Observing Joan of Arc from a human perspective, he actually left the impression of a saint, which was completely different from the Joan of Arc he knew.

Joan of Arc eventually died at the hands of the enemy, and Gill recorded that he had been depressed for a period of time. After retiring from active service in 1435, he returned home and inherited a large territory.

It was at that time that he became obsessed with black magic and alchemy, initially to supplement the financial pressure caused by his annual expenses of up to [-] pounds, and also to resurrect his respected comrade Joan of Arc.

At this time, a handsome Italian man, François Prelatti, appeared. He gave Gill the human skin magic book "Luoyan City Textbook" to guide him on the path of peering into the abyss.

The first part ended abruptly. In history, Gilles de Rais, a man who peered into the abyss, finally came to a sad end and did not realize his wish until his death.

The handwriting of the second part is different from the first part, and must be the traces left by the successor on Gill's manuscript. In this part, the pursuit of money was abandoned, and the second owner fully pursued the resurrection of Joan. He believed that, Joan of Arc's soul is in Aweiz, a different space with self-will. It is the place where the guilty, the wronged, the fallen, and the thirsty for revenge go after death.

Anyone who falls into Abyss will turn into a spirit body, and he believes that Joan of Arc maintains her human posture and personality because of her noble character, although Joan of Arc will inevitably become a "chain" (the official name of Abyss's spirit body) ), but she must be an intelligent creature that can communicate.

Therefore, he combined black magic and alchemy to come up with an idea: to find the earth veins flowing with huge magic power in the real world, and to build a magic formation on the earth veins, and to control it through a workshop built in the center of the formation, in the form of blood sacrifice. , causing the cities within the coverage of the position to slide into Aweiz.

The capacity of the Abyss is fixed. The act of sliding the city into the Abyss is like throwing ice cubes into a full glass of water. The ice cubes will eventually melt into the water, but when you put it in, water will definitely overflow from the glass. .

The second owner hopes to find Jeanne d'Arc's soul in the overflow part of Aweiz. The difficulty is like drawing a character without up from a specific up card pool. One blood sacrifice (krypton for ten consecutive lives, krypton for other people's lives) is not enough. Just one more time, Joan of Arc is the only one he wants. The Joan of Arc's contract with Aweizi's chain allows her to stay in the world forever and accompany him.

The city that person chose to perform the blood sacrifice was Antwerp. It happened in 1576. About 8000 residents died in the massacre after the city was broken. Of course, on the surface, this was an atrocity committed by the Spanish army against the independent Dutch. In this manuscript, it became the proud work of the second owner.

He did not succeed and probably lost his life after the blood sacrifice was launched, so he did not leave the slightest trace in history.

Then comes the third and latest part, the third owner of the codex is Toby Gerrard.

Gerald read the manuscripts that recorded twisted wishes and various black magic, and tried to imitate the rituals. For the first time, he faked a construction accident, sacrificed 2300 lives, and obtained ten tons of gold. He tested the truth with practice, and then He threw himself into the cause of Joan's resurrection with joy and encouragement.

The "imaginary number space" Fourier and the others encountered at night was the Awetz under modern technology. Gerald stood on the shoulders of giants and innovated technology:

First of all, Gerald selected Orleans, a place rich in magic power, to build a position. The workshop used for control and dispatching was the Shinra Building. He also hoped to throw Orleans into the Abyss as an ice cube in order to search for it from the overflowing water. The soul of Joan of Arc.

It's just that for the first time, he only invested a part of Orleans, constructed a spell below, gathered the overflowing parts of Aweiz, and turned it into the "imaginary number space" which was a handy tool for him.

The success of this experiment proved that he has the ability to gather Aweiz. With the help of imaginary number space, Gerald can pull any character into this artificially created different world, and extract the characters who died in it and turn them into Aweiz. The chains return to the victim's body.

In this way, the victim's surface remains unchanged, but inside he becomes a walking zombie parasitized by chains, becoming an eternally loyal employee of the Shinra Group. This is the truth that death in the imaginary space will transform into Gerald's loyal dog.

In addition to the imaginary space, Gerald also wants twins born with powerful blood, so that when the brothers reach adulthood, they can be put into rituals to perform blood sacrifices to increase the weight of Orleans——

Antwerp's blood sacrifice sacrificed 8000 lives, and Gerrard's blood sacrifice plan this time was about 20 times that of Antwerp, 20 times the weight, plus the sacrifice of twins who were related by blood, turning Orleans into a huge ice cube, throwing Among the Aweets, it is enough for the Aweets to overflow and be collected to fill the position of Orleans in the real world.

In this way, he can ensure that he collects Joan of Arc's soul and signs a contract with her to achieve the so-called resurrection.

Because the number of pages in the manuscript was limited, Gerard's record ended here, and Fourier subconsciously clenched his fists.The terrifying thing about black magic lies in its anti-human nature and its practical basis.Gerald's grand plan is not a fantasy. He has reached the last step and is just waiting for the right time to launch the blood sacrifice to replace Abbies in the real world and sink Orleans into a different world.

"Another sword-wielding witch I know said that Gerald holds a codex and a magic book. If the codex is here, then the magic book your husband holds is "Luoyan City" "Textbook"?" Fourier asked.

The Portuguese woman replied coldly: "He is not my husband. We are just an alliance. Giving birth to children has its own purpose. I am to optimize the bloodline of the Sword Witch, and he is to resurrect Joan of Arc."

25 years ago, he found me living in seclusion in Portugal and described his grand plan... Of course, it was another set of beautiful words that deceived me.

After I provided him with a template so that the fake Sword Witch who copied me could give birth to twins for sacrifice, and I myself gave birth to Ruota for the purpose of optimizing my bloodline, he turned against me and imprisoned me. , and because he was worried that the fake Sword Witch would die in some accident, he left me as the real one to make up for the plan at any time.

Until not long ago, I found an excuse to fire Phoenix, and took advantage of the new servant's unfamiliarity with me, and finally ran out. My target is you, Fourier. Of course, you are a stranger introduced to the plan by Gerard. , but you are uncontrollable, you are an uncertain factor. Only you can end Toby Gerrard, and we... are his chess pieces, and chess pieces cannot defeat the chess player.

Therefore, I will use violence to seize your secret. If I can defeat you, I will drive you to defeat Gerrard and increase your chances of winning. If I am defeated by you, it will prove that I am not wrong about the person, and I can rest assured. Reveal all the secrets to help you defeat Gerrard. "

Even though his biological mother said this, Ruota, who was standing behind him, remained unmoved. Perhaps his twisted and broken character and hostile attitude toward his eldest brother and father were because he learned the truth from his mother.

"As for the "Luoyan City Text Book", I don't know. My husband does have a magic book, but he always keeps it in a safe in his bedroom. It uses military-grade encryption technology. I tried it. But it can't be cracked."

Fourier could not judge the authenticity of the other party's words, but it did not matter whether they were true or false. He had his own way of solving problems.The young man spent a few minutes digesting the information revealed by Mrs. Gerald, and then asked: "If Gerald's purpose is to resurrect Joan of Arc, then who is my client?"

Chapter 20 Reality and Illusion·Transformation

"That little girl in a girls' school? The relationship between me and the sword witch you know is the relationship between Jeanne d'Arc and Jeanne d'Arc Alter in history. The latter is a copy of the former mixed with personal desires, like a mirror. Reflected in the same way, the main body and the mirror are symmetrical. On the surface, you can't tell the difference between them.

However, now that you know the pirated Sword Witch and see me as the original, you should be able to understand the essential difference between us. "

Fourier nodded. He was a victim of genuine copies and also a victim of piracy. It was despairing to suffer from both ends.

He fought against Mrs. Foer who was in poor condition, and also fought against Mrs. Gerald who was in poor condition. The latter was more powerful and closer to a group like witches who were separated between humans and non-humans. If If Mrs. Foer and Mrs. Gerald really have a relationship between the original entity and the mirror image, then the probability that Mrs. Gerald is the original entity is even higher.

At the same time, when he met the client, he knew that the other person was a fake and someone's shadow, so at the beginning of the night, he would laugh at the other person and say, "If a being is born with something set by someone, power, then I think he is boring and looks like a doll."

After getting along with her later, he recognized this fake thing and her wishes, so he interfered in her life within the scope of his ability.

At this moment, it is once again confirmed from Mrs. Gerard that his client is a fake, a mirror image, a replica of the prejudice against Joan of Arc... But what's the point?

Counterfeiting is not original sin. She can be sublimated and have the opportunity to open up a new life, because her life is a blank sheet of paper. Even if it is cut into shapes and sizes by someone, she uses the people and things she has experienced as brushes and paints. There are endless possibilities on this blank sheet of paper.

Someone once helped him, so he wants to pass on this help. It has nothing to do with justice and cannot be called rationality. He just uses his mind and violence to construct that kind of future based on the desire in his heart——

That's it.

"Even if I say that, judging from your expression, it seems that you still intend to act for Joan of Arc." Mrs. Gerard looked at Fourier with interest, "Do you love her?"

"Is this important?" Fourier asked rhetorically.

"It's very important. Unlike me or Gerald, who are cold profit animals, people like you have emotions. When you have a strong desire to do something, your abnormal power will respond to you and help you." You get your wish.”

"I have passionate feelings, but the object of my heart is someone else. For this young lady...she just needs someone to give her a push, and I happen to be able and willing to give her a push."

Likewise, whether the Sword Witch I know is a fake or not, I have made an appointment to fight her, so I will not hand her over to you. If I tell you, you will kill her, right? "

"No one likes a copy of themselves, even if I don't know who she is, even if she has a different face and figure from me, an existence that has copied my soul and abilities lives a stable life in the same city. Just thinking about that drives me crazy.”