[Double North] Fate

It was still early, and Yuelu Square on the weekend was a little more leisurely than expected.The two who easily completed their shopping goals walked out of the department store, passed by the fountain pool in the middle of the square, and walked towards the parking lot.

Caster was still admiring his well-tailored suit.Jacket, tie, shirt, trousers, leather shoes, as if he could walk to the TV station immediately, sit in front of the host stage in the studio and broadcast: "Hello, audience friends, welcome to the evening news program." He had already told He Jiong's family The wardrobe is full of dazzling, various styles and types of matching clothes. I have praised his dressing taste many times, but at this moment, I can't help but turn around and show him happily: "You really have a good eye for clothes. This is a classic style with charm. Such a comfortable fabric! I am not willing to put such a good new clothes on the battlefield."

He Jiong, who stopped in his tracks, watched him silently from behind.He Jiong knew that there was not much time left for them to get along with each other in the upcoming battle, and even the time for sleeping at night seemed extravagant and wasted.Even so, it was not He Jiong's original intention to freeze the atmosphere.What he is best at is adjusting the tense atmosphere rather than creating depression, so he tried his best to suppress the uneasiness in his heart and said with a smile, "This looks good, and you really fit into a formal suit. Don't ruin the one you just bought."

"Don't worry, I like to cherish things. I won't waste your money if you waste anything," Caster readily took over the conversation, walked over and patted He Jiong on the back as if to encourage him, "We are now ready and ready to go. Let's go now!"

"Then go straight to the garbage dump where the Little Holy Grail is in the east, and I'll drive." He Jiong took the car keys and took two steps before stopping in doubt, looking sideways at Caster with a vigilant expression, "What's wrong?"

"I'm afraid we don't have to drive so far, Mr. He."

He put down the posture of pretending to be relaxed just now, stood still, and looked seriously at the direction Caster was looking at.

On the street beside the square, a small car still sped past from time to time.Pedestrians walking leisurely formed a team of two or three, carrying bags and handbags, walking in their respective directions with ease and laughing.He Jiong couldn't see anything unusual, so he could only continue to ask Caster, "Are they here?"

"Well," Caster still stared at the distance without turning his head, "there is a rather hidden source of special magic power around here. If I hadn't met a user of this magic power near the garbage dump, it might have happened in a while. Can't tell either."

"The shopping plaza is full of ordinary people. This is going to be troublesome."

"One more thing. If Assassin's Master has only her one servant, then her Master has already escaped from the Holy Grail War. But judging from what she said, another knight who ambush me in the garbage dump She also belongs to the same faction as her, so we have to consider the possibility that this master somehow summoned two cavalry, or even more servants.”

"Wait, let me sum it up," He Jiong frowned and organized his thoughts, "that is to say, our enemy, the enemy master's camp-has the Little Holy Grail, summoned Assassin, and probably summoned other At least one Servant, the most important thing is that he will not follow the rules to avoid the non-magic world when fighting. Such an opponent is too difficult."

"I lost an Assassin yesterday. This master will definitely try to increase the magic power of the remaining servants, so as to knock us down in one go. Is there any place near here that is closely connected to the spiritual veins and easy to hoard magic power? If I am That master will definitely choose a place like a museum with many ancient cultural relics and a relatively strong mysterious influence as a hiding place." Caster said.

"There are ancient artifacts, and it is also a mysterious gathering place. ——Is the temple possible? I think there is an ancient Guanyin Temple about two kilometers away from here, and within a hundred meters nearby is a small spiritual vein point that can detect magical reactions .You can start the investigation from there.”

Caster nodded: "Whether it is for us or ordinary people, they are too dangerous a threat, and we must find them out as soon as possible."

After driving for less than 5 minutes, the two arrived at the Guanyin Temple mentioned in the conversation.The ginkgo biloba surrounded by one person in the courtyard is already bare, and the thin and wide branches are silent towards the sky.Under the tree, there was only a cassock monk sweeping the floor. When he saw two figures running in a hurry, he stopped and bowed and said "Amitabha". Caster rushed into the unoccupied Buddhist hall before He Jiong. In the dark and sparsely illuminated high-ceilinged hall, the red light of oil lamps and candles flickered, and the light smoke of incense sticks curled up.He frowned, and said in a low voice to He Jiong who ran in panting next to him, "It's here."

He looked at the feet of the dull Bodhisattva statue with peeling gold paint.Avalokitesvara, who is as tall as two people, sits on the top of her head and behind the red curtains hanging down on both sides, looking down benevolently at the two round futons for worshipers.Behind the futon stands a wooden dark red merit box, the style can be seen everywhere, and the wood has been weathered and damaged by time.Between the merit box and the base of the Avalokitesvara statue is the table where Buddhist offerings such as incense candles, lamps, pink lotus and fresh fruits are placed. Caster's eyes fixed on the several copper and gold containers on the table that contained the fruit offerings.Among them was a cloud-patterned cup with a wide mouth, a waist, and a mouth around the bottom. It was the size of an ordinary tall wine glass, and a red apple was placed on the top.

Cup-shaped vessels are often used to hold clean water.Such a shape, it is really hard to think that it will be used to enshrine fruits.This strange thing caught He Jiong's attention, and then a suppressed magic power came from the cloud pattern cup faintly emitting golden light.Undoubtedly, it is the Little Holy Grail of Xingsha City whose magical reaction was sealed by a certain magician.A miracle-causing sacred object appeared in front of his eyes. Although its real body was not radiant, it was so smooth, beautiful and unique. The sudden impact made He Jiong speechless for a while.

And it is buried here, as if it is an ordinary fruit plate wine glass.Just as He Jiong was sighing, a hand stretched out from the side of the table, picked up the little holy grail on the table, and held it in his hand.With the other hand, he picked off the red apple on the top, and without bowing to the Buddha, he put it into his mouth and chewed it.In any case, it is too impolite to steal food offerings without the permission of the temple——

He Jiong's eyes moved to the person who made this disrespectful act.A young woman wearing black clothes, white shoes and a snow veil on her head quietly appeared next to the Bodhisattva statue at some point. What is surprising is that the long black dress and the cap on her head clearly belonged to the nuns in the monastery. style.Her eyebrows are smooth and her demeanor is gentle and generous. Her clothing shows that she seems to have Western beliefs, but her demeanor is like a Bodhisattva who walked out of a Buddhist mural.

He Jiong found himself in a trance when he looked at her peach-colored soft lips with clean lines.He felt something was wrong, and turned around to grab Caster: "Wait a minute, something's wrong, that nun might be the Master holding the Lesser Holy Grail... Sasa?"

Caster no longer has a place by his side.As soon as he turned his gaze back towards the Guanyin statue, the raging dark green vines and thorn bushes covered the sky and covered his sight.He Jiong's frightened expression was exactly the same as that of the nun; and the end of the sharp vine had pierced her heart.Blood gushes out of her mouth, dyes her lips red, flows through her chin, and also flows out of the blood hole made by the thick ivy on her chest, just like oil paint dripping on the black fabric, blooming blossoms. Sahua.She opened her eyes wide in astonishment, the focus of her eyes gradually collapsed, her throat was pierced by the separated thin vines, she didn't even have time to scream, she twitched a few times, and never moved again.

In the center of the Buddhist hall, the top of the intertwined mountain of thorns hangs high, like the corpse of a prey that was unilaterally hunted and killed.

At that moment, He Jiong was a little dizzy.The scene of yesterday was still lingering in his mind, Assassin writhed his petite body among the vines, bleeding from wounds all over his body.The twisted arms were as thin as branches, as if they would break brittlely if they were bent lightly.

"I'm sorry, I let you see me murder. The suit you bought for me was also... stained by me."

The man turned around and looked at He Jiong with eyes that had never been so dull, as if he was waiting for the other party's disappointment and reprimand.The suit that made him look upright, upright, elegant and handsome was sprinkled with patches of bright red, and drops of blood also fell on the collar of the white shirt, leaving a few spots.He brushed his chin with his hand, wiping away the blood splatter that could not be avoided due to the close distance.

The sudden change made He Jiong almost unable to think.The magic connection made him clear that Caster's consciousness remained in a good state of sobriety, and he did not fall into madness due to any external magic.The move of killing the nun was chosen and implemented by him after his own judgment.

He is not someone who will kill people at will, He Jiong convinced himself again.He must have had a reason to do it.In any case, I need to hear his explanation.

He Jiong walked towards him with trust in Caster.

"Why did you... kill her? Is she the human master who participated in the Holy Grail War?"

The attack just now felt like taking a human life away. Caster forced himself to calm down, looked at He Jiong, and shook his head at him. "No. The magic power reaction is too slight, so you can't feel it. This is definitely not the magic power possessed by an ordinary magician, and it is definitely not something that humans can control-it is as muddy as the quagmire at the bottom of the abyss, as if it is swallowed inside Enveloped in countless darkness. I don't know how she or her master did it, and what kind of purpose. But there is no doubt that she is different from ordinary servants and me, and has obtained "receiving flesh" , is a servant who acts entirely with the human body," he looked at He Jiong seriously, "the class...should be a very rare special class Alterego (he and I) that does not belong to the orthodox seven classes."

"what!"

Before He Jiong could fully understand the astonishing amount of information in these words, the nun's body suddenly turned its head dryly like an old machine that had been restarted, and fixed its cold eyes on the direction of the two.Looking at that face at close range, He Jiong suddenly shuddered, feeling that he had seen her somewhere before.The top of the corpse’s head was split open like a layer of empty human skin, and a black mist in the shape of a crescent moon emerged from the opened brain, and her slender and curved eyes also smiled, making the hair stand on end The light laughter of the woman wafted in the Buddhist hall.

"As you said, Caster, we are Alterego when we meet for the first time. Hehehe... Hehehe. It's a pity that I couldn't catch you yesterday. But it's not bad..." The black mist curled up in his hand The Lesser Holy Grail melted into the air like black smoke from a candle and disappeared.

The two looked at each other and shouted urgently at the same time: "Chasing!"

Even Caster, who has an excellent temper and well-bred, couldn't help being impatient.I thought that as long as I could directly destroy Alterego's spiritual core, I would be able to avoid the time left for her to unfold the Noble Phantasm like yesterday when I fought against Assassin.Unexpectedly, the other party deliberately did not resist, in order to return to the form of a follower at this moment.Why didn't the spirit base disappear after her fleshly body was destroyed?

Before he had time to think more, he followed Alterego's fast-moving spirit body and ran forward, leaving behind He Jiong, who was far inferior to him in physical strength as a human being.

On the road in the direction of Alterego, pedestrians seem to become even rarer. After passing by several people, Caster noticed that their steps seemed to be subtly muddled.But he couldn't stop to check everyone's situation, the culprit was heading straight for the destination.When he returned to the edge of the familiar square, the scene he saw was unbelievable.

Its chaos, its madness, anyone who sees it with their own eyes will call it "the sea of ​​suffering is boundless".

On the tens of thousands of square meters of footpath ground in Yuelu Square, the bodies of people lying down are evenly scattered.Without exception, everyone seemed to suddenly fall into a coma while walking, lost consciousness and fell on the spot, not even picking up the scattered items at hand.As if in a dream, they were suffering great pain unknown to outsiders. Some of them curled up into a ball, frowned and moaned in a low voice; drive away some kind of fear. Caster looked at the ant-like dots stretching to an unknown end in the distance and estimated that on this icy ground, tens of thousands of people might be forced into hibernation that can be called mental torture at the same time.

The fountain in the center of the square was blocked by an external force, and then dried up.The instigator spread his legs, still maintaining the posture of a lady, and straddled the sphere relief in the center of the fountain.If she is beautiful and abstinent in nun clothes, then Alterego, who has restored her original body at this time, is full of vitality and lust.

The thin and gorgeous snow-white robe covers the milk-like white and tender skin.Flowing seaweed-inspired jet-black strands are savagely undone, reminiscent of a gorgon, with rich, vibrant rose pink at the ends.The same bright and delicate color also fills the lace on her chest, the lining of her legs and the tight boots below her knees, and stains the pair of huge horns above her ears that protrude towards the sky. .

The horns of the pair of monsters that belonged to Mara, whose lines and colors are not seductive in the world, are in the shape of a crescent moon, with a wheat-colored fringed tassel hanging from each side, dancing in the air with the snow-white nun's turban.Her beautiful face, peeking out from the turban hanging over her shoulders, was youthful, kind, mature and innocent, evoking affection, as if no crime of any kind had been done to her.

Such an innocent and intoxicating face only made Caster angrier. "Alterego, is this all your work? Why do ordinary people who are powerless to resist get involved in the holy grail war of magicians!"

"Hoo hoo. Let me tell you, that Mr. Caster over there." She squinted her slender eyes and looked at him, the charming golden pupils did not hide the ulterior motives in her eyes Interesting, the slender legs seem to rub against the surface of the earth stone sculpture under the seat.

"My name is Sashoin Kiara, and I am the "Magic Bodhisattva" who loves everything, saves everything, and transcends everything, regardless of the rules and boundaries of magic and dharma——"The Third Outer Dharma Happy Heaven". It has nothing to do with magic or not. It appeared here because of the desire to save the world, the desire to accept, accept, and taste all things, and let the blissful posture of life become nothingness in my body. Now everyone within a radius of one kilometer from here as the center has obtained Forgiveness and redemption, believe in me, dedicate to me, and impose endless unsatisfied desires on my believers."

Desire? Caster looked around again, those people who collapsed on the ground, no matter men or women, old or young, it turned out that they were not just suffering.Everyone's face is in a trance, looking closely, it seems that the heart has opened a huge mouth that cannot be filled, and they are extremely hungry and longing for something, but they lose themselves because they cannot be satisfied, and the look of pain and despair.

"What the hell are you trying to do? Let all these people become like this, what good will it do you!"

"Of course—let me become the 'god' who frees everyone from mundane worries in the joy of sublimation. Oh, Mr. Caster. If you want to know, I can tell you about me slowly. But , do you still have room to talk to me?" She smiled kindly, "Mr. Master over there, it looks like I have something to say to you."

Indeed, He Jiong has not made any sound since just now. Caster turned his head abruptly, and He Jiong was already behind him at some point, kneeling on the ground, his knees trembling.Trembling, he hugged his body tightly with both arms, curled up with his head bowed as if something had penetrated his abdomen, and the pain was excruciating.

"Hey, He Jiong!" He ran to his side, squatted down and pinched his shoulders, and was at eye level with him, "What's wrong with you? Could it be that Alterego's magic also had an effect on you!"

He Jiong pulled out a hand with difficulty and grabbed his sleeve tightly. "S...Sa. Sorry, the supply of mana for you may be..."

"Now is not the time to talk about me!" Caster yelled in his ear, almost making his head buzz.Even so, the sound could only help him stay awake for a moment. "I'm sorry. My anti-suggestion mental magic can only slightly resist Alterego's..."

Alterego, who has been staying on the earth sculpture and savoring the scene in front of him, said with a smile: "It's "Wan Se Lag" and "Five Stopping Heart View", Mr. Master. As a spiritual hacker, I developed and produced it. Electronic spells can be used to detect people's deepest desires that can't be told to others, and find the most effective solution to them. Isn't it? Mr. Master. I already know your secret—hehe. Why don't you confide it to me to resolve the concealed and suppressed pain?" She lightly licked her peach-like, pink lips.

"No matter what method you use, you will never be able to control him." Caster was about to grit his teeth as he spoke, his neck turning red.This is indeed not in line with his calm and calm style in the face of crises. He is like a lion whose guarded domain has been invaded and ravaged by external enemies, showing an unbearable expression of anger.

"That's good, good, Mr. Caster. He has lost his ability to resist. Rather, in this era where information on the Internet is floating and transmitted so quickly, he can rely on his own will to reject the influence of others and the temptation of liberation. A remarkable thing——but in the final analysis, magicians are only human beings. As long as there are intelligent beings, advanced creatures that use intelligence and rationality to understand the world, they cannot resist the desire to pour out their own desires. To be understood The desire to be loved, the desire to be forgiven, the desire to be loved...you have it too, Mr. Caster."

She stared at him fixedly, and every word she spit out seemed like a forbidden fruit emitting a fragrant smell.

"What is your desire, sir?"

Caster sensed a crack in his heart that was knocked out by the other's dropped words, and from there came the pain of something entering, tearing apart, and devouring it.He knew full well that it wasn't real heartache. Alterego has absorbed the vitality of countless people into magic power through electronic spells. At this moment, she is too powerful to manipulate the electronic spells in the form of magic, and directly attack him on a non-physical but spiritual level.

The pain that goes straight to the soul is real and vivid.He could feel that the magic power He Jiong gave him was weakening, and there was no doubt that the other party was also deeply in that same pain.

He saw a hand in the darkness of consciousness.two hands.Countless transparent hands, warm, soft and delicate hands, embraced his heart, soothing the surface, the lines were like the cracks of numerous dead branches.

"Sir?" A gentle human voice floated from a distance, and landed on his head in a comforting manner, as light as a down feather floating in the air, and the pillow murmur that melted into the rhythm of the lullaby in the middle of the night.

"Sir, your heart is hurting itself with secrets, and the source of pain is flowing out of the cracks. You don't want to show it, you don't want to say it, so only I know that you love him. Honesty and kindness are your nature. , It is also the fate of the compassionate Buddha to save all living beings; Buddhism cultivates good fate, and the heart of loving others has immeasurable merits and virtues. What is wrong? This is not disobedience to the Buddhas and Taos of all realms. You don’t need to blame yourself and be patient. I forgive your love.”

"Can I... be allowed, forgive me." He murmured to the voice.

"Exactly. All living beings are persistent, and all desires to inflict suffering on others are the only reasons for the crimes of betrayal, blasphemy, and lust. Although your love is not wrong, you cannot be greedy. You don't know how to hurt yourself. Obsessing over one thought will only make you be punished." It’s just backfired by desire. I would like to love you and help you, and you should also forgive yourself and be free from the karma of love and desire.” The vague and soft voice whispered.

"Yes—someone like me, who hides his sins. I...I. I appreciate your understanding, your forgiveness, your love." His Adam's apple rolled up and down.

"No problem, sir. The Buddha made me love others, made me inclusive and tolerant, made me understand and accept everyone's own desires and evils. Human beings are natural, and all living beings are the same. To be kind to oneself is to forgive other sentient beings."

"Yes." He knelt before God.

"This moment is the moment of detachment from pain and happiness. Come with me—"

He and the gods in the darkness fell lonely and happily to a deeper depth.

Caster gripped his tie painfully. Alterego looked at him with pity: "Mr. Master will soon become my follower, your body gradually losing magic power is the sign of it. Even if you try to resist as a follower, how long can you last?"

Pieces of darkness engulfing vision began to appear in front of Caster's eyes, and there was a gentle voice in his head saying "forgive your wish", "forgive your desire", and so on.He tried his best to ignore those ravings, hugged He Jiong with difficulty, patted his back, trying to ease the other's pain.

"Only that level can't make him aware of it. "Multi-color slowness" completely strips a person's soul from the protection of the body and spirit, and appears in my hand in a state of defenseless nakedness;" "Five-Stop Mind View" allows me to clarify the essential desire of the soul in my hand. Once the desire buried in the deepest level of the subconscious is attracted and grasped, the soul will be like a bird in a cage and cannot escape, and become my heart The delicacy that dissolves and tastes in the body reaches the supreme state of joy and freedom. You will understand this very soon, Mr. Caster.”

It has to be said that this pair of master and servant desperately resisted the temptation to satisfy their own desires, and the soul refused to submit to her immediately, which reminded her of other times and spaces far in the past, with A certain person she gets along with day and night has ordinary talents and a small soul, but he has achieved a glorious, great and amazing master who is enough to be recorded in the annals of history.

The figure of the two self-disciplined people overlapped with that of the Master.This made her feel overflowing with love and joy, and she had expectations that they could fight for a longer time like the former Master.Can you stick to yourself unswervingly?Can we deny the extreme beauty of "Seshoin Kiara" that is capable of distorting morality, mind, and thoughts?

She even wants to help them escape from the realm of her palm.Living in different time and space, with different experiences and pasts, we have only known each other for a few days, but we actually regard each other as the secret of the deepest part of the soul - this is a pair worth watching and savoring for a long time before digesting What about the soul.

"It's a pity that it turns this grand scene on earth into heaven itself." She looked down at the little Holy Grail that appeared in her arms.The Lesser Grail has already stored the magic power of the dead Assassin, and if the remaining caster is absorbed, it can become a trophy given to the winner of the Holy Grail War and activate the Great Holy Grail.

It's time for her to close the curtain on this farce and start a new day of fantasy.

Her fingers flexibly changed at an extremely fast speed, showing a strange knot gesture.

Alterego, Noble Phantasm Expansion——