Isle of Wight

On the desolate mountain road, a woman's faint singing came from not far away.You go around the steep slope covered with gravel, and a manor surrounded by wooden fences appears in front of your eyes, and the air is faintly filled with the smell of medicine stones.Knight Commander Olivier kicked open the fence gate (in fact, it was not locked), you walked in behind him, and the well-trained knights followed you into the manor, and the last two Consciously stood on both sides of the door to guard.

The manor is full of belladonna, nightshade and some flowers that you can't name. There is a stone tower on the hillside surrounded by bushes, and lettuce is planted on the vegetable field under the tower.The singing is much clearer because of the proximity to the sound source, and they wind and coil like the stone path under your feet, spreading throughout the manor.

There are some thin figures among the dwarf plants. The moment you step into the manor, they put down their work, put down their sickles and line up on both sides of the stone road, as if to welcome you.The youngest of them is only five or six years old, and the oldest is only thirteen or fourteen.Their eyes are dull, their expressions are numb, and their movements are stiff, like bodies that have lost their souls.You recognize them, they are the missing children of the town.

There was nothing you could do but pass in front of them in silence, and the knights followed you, leaving two of each child by their side, and when you came to the foot of the stone tower sixteen of the knights were left on the way.

The noon sun is a bit poisonous, and they shine on your hairless head, which hurts a little.The door of the stone tower is wide open, and a bouquet of wild flowers is inserted in the place where the torches are placed on both sides. From the door to the stairs, there are flower petals and incense powder, as if there is a ball inside, and you are the guests of the master.Olivier walked in, and after confirming that there was no danger, he gestured to you, and you walked in, while the remaining two knights stayed behind, guarding both sides of the door.

The only ones entering the stone tower are you and Olivier.

Like the other towers, the stairs are spiral.The petals and incense powder were spread all the way to the fifth window, and the room facing the fifth window was the owner of the manor.

The cast-iron crow flapped its wings, and the closed wooden door opened from the inside to the outside, and a song with a strange melody came to the face, as if someone was singing in this house.Yes, it just seems that these singing voices are floating out of the mouth of the translucent human face floating in the air. There are eight human faces in total, four facing the four directions of east, west, north, south, three facing the window, and one facing you.This is a spell that can spread sound across a fixed range. The size of the range is determined by the ability of the caster. The stronger the caster is, the more human faces will be summoned, and the wider the range will be.

You see a screen in the middle of the room, the air smells of blood, and the singing is mixed with the sound of water.It appears that the owner of the manor is bathing, bathing in ground and diluted baby flesh.You're sure she used babies, because the missing children included several babies, but you see no other living things in this room.Then there is only one truth, even if you don’t want to believe it, it’s a fact that witches bathe in the flesh and blood of babies to keep themselves young forever—those missing babies returned to the guardian’s garden and continued to be A happy angel.

When the witch finished her bath, she threw the remaining tissue on the floor, and you recognized it as a tender arm, only half of it remained.

"Oh! Dear Lord Gabriel! Are you here so soon?" Her voice came from behind the screen. You didn't know her, but she called your name excitedly and expectantly, as if you and her were the same An old friend from long ago, or more appropriately, a crazy admirer of yours.

The knight commander stood motionless next to you. He should have rushed to catch the witch the moment the door opened, incapacitated her with the black magic stone, brought her back to the Holy See, and burned her at the stake, like anyone caught by you like a witch.But he didn't move. Like you, he stood within five feet of the door, waiting quietly for the witch to dress and come out from behind the screen.

There is a problem with singing.You belatedly realized that perhaps she knew you were coming from the moment you faintly heard singing at the foot of the mountain.You start to regret your negligence. Both you and Olivier are bound by the witch's spell, and you can't move except to move your eyes and breathe.

The witch wears black veil, she has shaved her head like yours, and tied a braided gold flower in her head with a black ribbon.She pulled the black veil and turned it around, with a shy face on her face: "Lord Gabriel, do I look good?"

"..." You moved your mouth and found that you can speak now, but other parts of your body are still immobile.You can actually attack her with silent spells, but trying to subdue her with silent spells can be a bit of a hassle.

"Look at this beautiful flower," she touched the weaving flower on her head, "Maria wove it with those baby hairs! There are three babies! She has a good handiwork and perfect hand bones." !I like them a lot, but I like you even more! Lord Gabriel!" She was excited and a little incoherent, but you get the point.She made ornaments out of babies' hair—and Maria, the name of one of the missing children, who was probably killed.You blame yourself for finding this place too late, you can’t save all the children, there will be many parents who have lost their children crying to you, and even resent you, you have no choice but to bear it, it’s your fault.

"Why don't you speak?" The witch tilted her head slightly so that she could look directly into your face.Confusion floated on her pretty face, and she said cautiously: "...I see, you are as shy as me, aren't you? After all, this is the first time we have officially met..."

She wraps her neck around your neck, stands on tiptoe, touches the tip of her nose to yours like those young girls in the town, and you can smell her fishy smell, the undried blood of those innocent angels.

"—It's okay, you just need to know that I love you deeply..." She kissed the tip of your nose, held your face, and rubbed your lips passionately, just as she was sticking out her tongue to stick into your mouth At that moment, she suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood, and the warm scarlet liquid stained your snow-white robe, making your stomach feel uncomfortable.It doesn't matter, you tell yourself, your spell is successful, Olivier's bondage is released by you, he stabbed the sharp blade into the back of the witch's heart, and the bloody blade stopped about a foot away from your chest .

Olivier pulled out his sword, and the witch fell to the ground due to inertia, blood flowed out quickly, and wet the floor.

"It's really you! You can break my spell!" She giggled, "Are you going to kill me, Lord Gabriel?"

"Pfft!" The knight commander pierced her lung coldly with his sword.The witch vomited blood again, and she stared at him fiercely. This was the first time she looked at Olivier since you entered the door: "Go away! You idiot in iron!" Olivier flew out following her words, hitting The shelves were overturned, and the broken wood, stones and crystals were smashed down.His skills shouldn't be so bad, it's those weird singing voices that make your mind and body dull, like rusted gears.

"Dear Lord Gabriel," her voice softened, and she looked at you again. The penetrating injuries to her lungs and heart did not kill her, and cold sweat began to gather on your forehead. "This is a date for the two of us. You shouldn't bring these foolish idiots here! If it's just you, maybe those two little boys named Jack and Herm can welcome you with their companions!"

The witch stood up. The wound on her right chest had healed, and the wound on her lung was mostly healed. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Now she looked fine except for the torn clothes.She is a nuisance, even for you, you can't bring her back to the Holy See, you need to restrain her movement, and then purify her on the spot.Olivier bought you time, and you will soon be free from the spell.

She waved her hand, and the translucent human face gathered behind her. The melody in the human face changed its tune and sang another song.A new tune messes with your calculations, and a spell you've just solved halfway through fails.The witch pulled up the ragged clothes and took a dance step to the singing. She took your hand, and you moved involuntarily following her steps. Voice……

You are so regretful, you should have done a prediction spell before stepping out of the temple, and then you will be able to predict what will happen here, and you will use spells directly under the stone tower to destroy this place—if you do this, you will not will get bogged down.But if you do this, all the children who are still alive will die, none can be saved, their parents will wail, others will curse you, and the pale ghosts of children will haunt you and struggle to enter every part of your life. In a dream, those translucent, unwilling faces...

Do not!Do not!Do not!

"No!" You suddenly opened your eyes and sat up, and the things that were pressing on you were thrown aside by you, there was darkness in front of your eyes, and you had a splitting headache.It took a while for you to recover, and you took a closer look, and it was a woman who was thrown away. Just now she was lying on top of you, and the robe on your body was stained with blood.

Who are you?Where are you?what are you up to?Why did you pass out?Who is she?

"Master Gabriel, did you sleep well?" The woman asked you leisurely, without the embarrassment of being naked by a man, and the eight translucent human faces behind her were singing.You remembered, you are Gabriel, the high priest of the Holy See, you were ordered to capture the witch in front of you, but you fell into her trap.You also remember the witchcraft about the eight faces, which is a soul-locking spell, and they rely on the souls of the eight children in the manor.As long as you kill those eight children, this witchcraft will be self-defeating. The witch who is the caster will suffer backlash, and she will lose the ability to resist. When the knights escort her to the Holy See, your mission will be completed .

You came up with two knights left beside each kid, and by link, you know they're still there - Olivier is in the dungeon in the stone tower, he's badly wounded, maybe he attacked again after you passed out Killed the witch, failed again - as long as you give orders to the knights in your head, they will plunge the sword into the heart of the children.

Are you really going to kill those kids?They are innocent, you should protect them, God loves the world, you must follow God's will.However, saving them is not your task. Your task is to capture this witch, bring her back to the Holy See, and ask her to reveal information about other witches and their plots, if she knows.

There must be another way, you think so, you can move, you can use spells - no, you can't use spells, you find that your mental power is exhausted, the witch has manipulated you, now you can't even do a simple The restraint technique can't be used.The witch is holding your face excitedly, she is kissing you.Her expression makes you disgusted, like those drunks who treat the saint like a slap in the face, it makes you sick to your stomach, most of her body is pressing on you, and the touch of skin to skin makes your scalp tingle.

"Lord Gabriel..." she called you by name, "unify with me...we will have the most perfect offspring—powerful and beautiful offspring!" She pushes you on the bed, you can't stop her , when she called your name, your physical strength was pulled away from your body.The moment the back of your head touched the pillow, you felt exhausted, and you were about to lose your eyelids, and she began to slowly untie your robe.

"What are little boys made of?"

"A frog, a snail, and a dog's tail."

"What are little girls made of?"

"Sugar and Spice and Wildflowers—"*

The witch sang briskly, and the suspended human face chorused her.

Don't touch me, you howl in your heart, you hate this feeling, you flinch and tremble, like a spring being slowly compressed...

kill them!The light of blood flashed before your eyes, and your limbs were heavy like lead, like the land that could not bear the weight of the mountain and collapsed. Finally, a little rain and dew wet the dry land, and you recovered a little bit of mental strength.

The witch screamed and stared in disbelief.

"I underestimated you!!!" She roared ferociously, black blood flowed from her seven orifices, "You can control the actions of those knights!! They should be my puppets from the moment they stepped into the manor!! !"

Eight translucent human faces twisted, they bit the witch's muscles, tore them off, blood splashed on your face, with cold resentment.You lie down and say the Purification Prayer aloud.It can purify filth and evil, and children have already become vengeful spirits. It will remove witches and children together.You are sad and angry, but there is no other way. When you pull out a tree, you will inevitably destroy an ant nest. You will feel sorry for the ants, and then take the tree away, and let the ants fend for themselves.

The witch's screams finally stopped. She was scorched black by the holy light, and the charcoal fell down and scattered on the bed.

it's over.The witch is dead, your mission has failed and you will be punished.And besides that, you killed eight—oh, thank you Patronus, seven—and one survived, with that little translucent face looking out the window and weeping .So what?The witch kidnapped four babies and eleven children. Half of the younger generation in the town were buried here, and you killed seven of them.

Due to the death of the witch, the spell that imprisoned the knight commander also became invalid.He climbed up from the dungeon, still seriously injured, maybe the rosary he was carrying was destroyed by the witch, so he could not be treated in time.

He runs to the bed to make sure you're safe, and you squeeze a little mental energy into him to heal, and the grunt fades from his voice.You're fine, you just have no energy, you're sick with dirty clothes, you're guilty of killing seven kids, that's all.You feel very tired, the soft pillow is like a whirlpool, pulling the ship, and your will is sinking.You cured Olivier, he knew what to do next, your last bit of consciousness faded with this thought, and you closed your eyes amidst the eager look of the knight.

Note:

*: From the nursery rhyme "whatarethelittleboysmadeof", I changed the last sentence a bit.