What did you do with the dice?

She clasped her hands together and muttered something. In the moonlight, her body began to emit a faint light.

[I ask that this body of mine be transformed into a scabbard, and I pray that the sword of the god Light may descend.]

Walking on the road, Theresa, who was slowly putting on a priest's robe, also put her hands together and chanted in sync with Ai Li.

[I offer this pious body and transform into an angel of judgment.]

A beam of light suddenly shot straight into the sky from Ai Li's body. Sixteen wings of light suddenly emerged from behind her, and a huge golden ring unfolded above her head. It began to take shape little by little like a countdown clock. The surrounding soldiers were knocked over by the air wave and were all isolated outside the powerful holy light barrier. They were so scared that their mouths were wide open.

They rubbed their eyes in disbelief and found that all this was not an illusion. The usually shy, cute and petite Ai Li was now enveloped by a huge phantom of light, which directly turned the dark training ground into daytime!

Oh my goodness, this is the arrival of the God of Light!

"Purify the world of all evil."

After Theresa finished reciting the last sentence, she said no more. The prelude to [The Coming of the Seraph] had ended. Now, if external forces could not awaken Aerie's spirit, the coming ceremony would proceed automatically. When the ceremony was completed, Aerie's body would be destroyed, and there would be no way to save him.

However, the great wizard had no chance to awaken Ai Li. After all, this was the power of the artifact.

Of course, what good would it do to simply destroy Aerie? Seraph was a very useful incarnation of the gods. If I were to control him, I might even be able to take advantage of the chaos to kill the followers of the Supreme Mage and unlock the power of faith from Anthony. It would be perfect!

At the salute of the two paladins at the door, she walked into her tent, sat down, slowly lowered her hands, changed her thoughts, and let her spirit come to this gray, decayed, and lifeless village through the power of the mirror of love.

This is Ai Li's spiritual world, and also the place where painful memories are sealed in her mind.

Let's get started, poor Rewi.

Chapter 289: Rewi Alley's Past (Part 1)

Ai Li's consciousness suddenly woke up from the chaos. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing at the gate of the familiar small village. The fear that had been tortured by repeated nightmares and turned into instinctive fear surged into his heart like a tide.

She clearly remembered that she should be sleeping in bed, so was she entering that nightmare again?

But this time was different from the usual nightmares. The surrounding scenes seemed to become particularly clear. When Ai Li reached out to touch the wall next to her, the rough gravel she felt was almost the same as reality. She pinched her soft face hard again. It hurt, really hurt, but she showed no sign of waking up.

The village before her seemed to have a magic that she could not resist. Although she was still very scared in her heart, her body could not help but walk into the broken gate entrance, wanting to find out what was going on.

She had a hunch that the village before her was the memory of the past that she had been searching for, and it was also her real hometown before she lost her memory as a child.

At this moment, a clear female voice came to my ears.

This is a village abandoned by the god Light. People always believe that the villagers have committed great sins to bring this upon themselves, but in reality, a strange curse is spreading through the village. The cursed people will lose the power of the Holy Light and will never be able to listen to the teachings of the god Light. They will become "exiles" hated and despised by the world, and the village is also known as the "Land of Sinners" by the outside world.

Ai Li found a villager carrying water on the road and mustered up the courage to go up and say hello.

"......Hello?"

She was dressed in a clean white pastor's attire and walked on the muddy path of the village, which was out of place. However, she seemed like a transparent person. Looking around, the villagers with pale faces all ignored her and passed her by one after another.

If the master of book appraisal, Rusalka, were here, he would definitely comment like this: I am familiar with this book, but its presence has disappeared.

Rewi could only walk along the path between the fields. All she saw were impoverished and indifferent people. Her heart ached, yet she felt helpless. It even gave her a deep sense of dislocation and impotence: Was she born in a place like this? Why had she chosen to forget? So many people were clearly waiting for the guidance and aid of the Holy Light.

The narration in her ear sounded again as she went deeper.

Decaying, desolate, and uncertain where the future lies, the source of the curse is nowhere to be found. However, the unknown is also a kind of happiness. After experiencing initial despair, people still choose to struggle to survive, looking towards the unknown tomorrow, praying that the God of Light will forgive their unknown sins.

One day, a passing wizard heard about the strange stories of this small village. Out of curiosity, he settled down there and studied the people, ultimately discovering the existence of the curse.

Ai Li followed the inexplicable intuition in her heart and walked into the pure white chapel in the village, which was completely different from the decayed gray style of the surrounding area. She saw a large number of villagers bustling inside. When she walked past, people spontaneously made way for her. In the middle of the crowd was a high-ranking golden-robed priest and a village paladin who had lost the holy light.

The priest was now transmitting holy light into the body of the paladin, trying to use this most ancient method to violently lift the curse. The latter's face clearly showed a look of great pain and he said nothing. This external holy light was like a sharp knife inserted into his internal organs. If he was not really a tough guy, he would have shouted and given up long ago.

But unfortunately, even such a tough guy could not bear the great physical pain. His face turned red and he spat out a mouthful of blood with a wow.

When the blood splashed onto the priest's hand, wisps of black smoke emerged as if it were poisonous, and then the holy light on the latter's body disappeared in an instant.

The picture is still, and the fear on the priest's face is vividly frozen in this moment.

[People discovered that the blood of the "exiled" would spread the curse, and the balance was broken.]

Ai Li discovered that the gray aura of decay was spreading like a monster searching for prey from house to house. It invaded from the door of the golden church, and swallowed up the surrounding colors bit by bit along the walls, floor, and ceiling. The people around him were disappearing as the gray spread, and finally only a dilapidated church covered with moss was left, and a body that had hanged itself in the middle of the church. Ai Li was so scared that he fell to the ground.

There was a line of blood written on the wall: Lord God, why did you abandon me?

This corpse is that of a priest who lost his holy light due to the curse. He is the most devout believer of the God of Light, but also one of the most desperate people.

Ai Li's heart was shaken. She turned her head away and dared not look at the horrifying scene again. She crawled out of the church and ran wildly on the road. She came to a peaceful scene far away from the gray and white area. There was a dilapidated but colorful and vibrant wooden house, and a cute girl standing at the door holding a small windmill.

A grayish-white aura rushed from behind like a hound, chasing Ai Li relentlessly, as if to devour her and the hut together. But the next moment, a burst of golden light burst out from the body of the still ignorant little girl, and the sense of decay stopped in an instant.

It seemed to be afraid of this power, and it retreated from behind Ai Li like the tide.

"Look, Mom, I can shine the holy light!"

[Life is a cycle, death and rebirth. In this inconspicuous place, a darling of the Holy Light was born.]

【That's you, Rewi.】

Is that... me as a kid?

Ai Li tried hard to see the face of the person called mother. It was the face that lingered in her dreams. In the words of her nanny, Ai Li's mother was a great person who sacrificed herself for her. She had also imagined how beautiful and glorious she was. But when she saw her with her own eyes, she found that she was just an ordinary peasant woman. The vicissitudes of life and hard work had left marks on her face and skin, but even so, she was still so perfect in Ai Li's eyes.

Ai Li touched his cheeks, tears streaming down his face without him noticing. The inexplicable pain kept surging in his heart. He felt extremely regretful and guilty that he and her could only meet and reunite in dreams, and that for unknown reasons, he had already forgotten this memory.

At this moment, the peasant woman who was patting the little girl's head had an encouraging smile on her face, but her eyes couldn't hide her worry. She whispered to the little girl, "Aili, you must remember, you can only tell your parents about this. Don't tell anyone else, and don't show your sanity in front of others, not even your best friends. Okay?"

"I understand." The girl nodded obediently.

Ai Li wanted to run over, but he felt a huge suction force pulling his body back. He could only watch the cabin getting farther and farther away from him.

The little girl was an obedient, sensible, and filial child. She had never revealed her talents, nor did she know how to use the Holy Light. She continued to live a peaceful life as an "exile." However, her kindness attracted a fateful encounter.

A young and beautiful pastor girl met Rewi Alley lying under a tree on the top of a hill.

"Little guy, you are actually favored by the God of Light. You must be the kindest child. Do you want to save this village?"

"Save the village?"

"Hmm..." The pastor girl thought for a moment and said, "For example, if someone is injured and bleeding, you can heal them."

Ai Li recalled that some villagers were injured accidentally, and no one around them dared to step forward to treat them. They could only grit their teeth and bandage the wound themselves. She felt very distressed when she saw it, but her parents always held her tightly, never letting her get close to them, and even not allowing her to talk to those people.

But for some reason, the sister in front of him looked very, very friendly. Little Ai Li sat up from the soft grass and nodded timidly at her: "Yes."

"Very well, let me teach you how to use this power. I will pass on everything I have to you. In exchange, you must save those suffering people."

The image of the priest girl changed. In Ai Li's eyes, she seemed like a messenger of God with wings spread out, so sacred that little Ai Li forgot his parents' advice and secretly followed her to learn how to use the holy light.

A year later, Rewi Alley received the entire legacy from the pastor, and the pastor gave all his power to Rewi Alley.

"Go and use this power to save everyone. This is the mission given to you by God Light. Don't let me down. Oh, and this is a gift. I have one just like it. When you become a great pastor, we'll meet again."

After receiving the necklace, Ai Li fell into a coma during the priest's "infusion ritual." However, after waking up that day, she never saw the priest again, as if everything was just an illusion. All that remained was the terrifying power within her, a power she couldn't even control, temporarily sealed and destined to be released gradually as she aged and gained control.

[Oh, and that magical necklace that disappears when you think about it.]

[That year, she was only 14 years old.]

The scenery in front of Ai Li changed again. She only saw her childhood self like a colorful butterfly. No matter where she went, she would return the lost colors to the village that was eroded and decayed by gray. Her existence and kindness in saving the villagers brought back vitality to the village. Although everyone felt sad and desperate about the curse, they spontaneously protected Ai Li who had the courage to stand up.

Although Ai Li's parents were worried, after seeing her persistence, they just said, "Be careful not to touch our blood," and chose to silently support her.

However, evil does not disappear, but only slowly accumulates in the dark.

Ai Li walked slowly forward under the guidance. In this village that had regained its color, he found a small gray house in the corner. It was out of tune with the surroundings, just like the colorful church in the gray village at that time.

After pushing the door open and going in, the person inside was the paladin who had received treatment in the church before. At this time, he no longer looked like a paladin. Beer bottles and smelly garbage were scattered all over the floor. His skin had long lost its vibrant luster, and his whole body exuded an air of decadence.

After killing the priest, the truth that he could not bring back the Holy Light, as well as the self-blame and strange looks, finally destroyed the last bit of faith in his heart. Even though the villagers who felt the same pain and huddled together for warmth did not reject him, he himself could no longer overcome his inner demons.

He slowly stood up and staggered to buy some wine, when suddenly his eyes met with the colorful Ai Li.

"Sir Knight, please drink less. Ah, I received a lot of vegetables. I'll share some with you. People say that eating more vegetables can make you stronger."

"Thank you, little Eli, who is favored by God."

But the vitality of little Eli was transmitted to the other party along with the vegetable basket that was not handed over. From the perspective of the bystander Eli, the gray-white color on the paladin became more and more rampant. It was constantly spreading and expanding, trying to wrap around and devour the little Eli who made him jealous to the point of madness.

Yes, I was once so pious, but this is what I got in return.

I'm not willing to give up. Since I can't get it, I'll just destroy it! Don't blame me. When you lose it again in the future, you'll be as miserable as I am. The sooner you lose it, the sooner you'll be free. Isn't it better to be an ordinary person like everyone else in the village?

So, on a dark and windy night, he pricked his finger and dripped his blood into the well at the door of Rewi Alley's house.

When Ai Li was extremely shocked by the actions of the former paladin and was worried about little Ai Li, he suddenly remembered that little Ai Li was his former self.

She can still use holy light now, which means that she was not cursed at that time?

Sure enough, from Ai Li's perspective, the moon set and the sun rose, the sun sank and the moon rose, and time seemed to have accelerated for four days. Little Ai Li and her family still used the water from the well, but she was not affected by the curse at all.

During this period, the paladin also considered whether it was a problem of quantity, but later he discovered a shocking fact: Aerie was not affected by the curse.

[Why? The world is so unfair. All the blessings are concentrated on this little girl from a peasant family.]

His heart was screaming, a voice was growing darkly in his heart: It was she who took away our holy light.

This day is the village's Day of Atonement. Under Rewi Alley's guidance, everyone prays for the future, hoping to get rid of the influence of the curse. It is also on this day that Rewi Alley will see all the villagers and use holy light to help them cleanse the filth and disease in their bodies.

As the crowd bowed their heads and closed their eyes in prayer, the Paladin used the remaining strength in his body to instantly push away the people in front of him and rushed towards Aerie with a knife in hand.

Blood splattered, soaking Ai Li's face as he stood there blankly, unable to react at all.

But this was not her own blood. The sharp knife had actually cut the paladin's palm.

Following a brief pause, screams rang out one after another. The villagers, who had barely reacted, rushed over quickly and pinned the paladin to the ground.

Everyone looked at Rewi anxiously, and fearfully thought that the village's last hope had vanished, only to discover that the latter's body was still gleaming with an eternal holy light.

The scene in my memory was frozen in this picture, and the voice of the narrator began to become low and strange, as if it had changed from an ordinary woman to the whisper of the devil.

Her body felt like it was falling into an ice cellar, as if she had a premonition that something very bad was going to happen next, but at this moment, she was no longer in control of herself, like a passenger tied to a seat on a crashed plane, desperately waiting for death to come while falling.

From this day on, tragedy struck, and the girl realized her own powerlessness and weakness, ultimately bringing destruction to her family and the entire village.

【This is the beginning of her sin.】

Chapter 290: Rewi Alley's Past (Part 2)

"Lord Ai Li, are you okay?"

"Little Ai Li! Great! Her Holy Light is still there!"

"Quick, help hold down this murderer!"

Even though he was a former paladin, he had not been trained well and could not withstand the villagers' rush. Four or five villagers pinned him to the ground with their hands behind their backs.

"Exile him from our village!"

"Yes, little Reggie was so kind to everyone. She was the only pastor who didn't look down on everyone. She also took good care of you. Yet, you turned your back on her."

"Bah! You ungrateful wretch! You used to call yourself a Paladin. I really misjudged you! You deserve to have your power taken away by the Light God!"

The villagers waved stones they picked up from the ground and threw them at him, and the angry sounds drowned out the entire square.

Ai Li wiped the blood from his face and asked blankly, "Why, Mr. Knight Morano?"

Facing the enraged villagers, the gray shadow bared its fangs. The knight on the ground struggled and roared, "Shut up! You fools! And you, don't call me by my name, you monster! You all saw it. She has come into contact with my blood, yet she hasn't lost her Holy Light. In fact, she is the source of the curse, the culprit who deprived us of our Holy Light! She's the one who took away everyone's Holy Light! Since she appeared, no one in this town can use the Holy Light anymore, not even those sinless newborns. Here's the proof!"

The noise was suppressed a lot, but even so, many villagers who had been helped by Ai Li still didn't believe his words at all: "Nonsense! I've never heard that the Holy Light can be taken away! Ai Li must have been favored by the god Light. She is the messenger sent by him to save our village and help us lift the curse!"

"Yes, don't listen to him. We believe in Lord Ai Li!"

Although some villagers had doubts in their hearts, more people were willing to speak up for Rewi Alley and believed in her innocence.

Kindness and sincerity can break down prejudice. Even after losing the Holy Light, the vast majority of villagers have never lost the noble humanity in their hearts.

Seeing this scene, Ai Li, standing nearby, was also extremely relieved. However, just as this farce was about to end with the jealous Morano being exiled, a woman dressed distinctly different from the surrounding villagers, wearing a yellow silk robe and single-lens crystal lenses, stepped out. She smiled at the crowd and said, "In that case, if you trust me, how about letting me study this young priest?"

This is the wizard who once discovered the curse. She is a wizard of the "School of Creation". The purpose of this school is to travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books. She travels all over the world most of the time and is willing to take risks in order to gain more unknown knowledge, analyze and create new magic.

She had lived in this village for several years because of this curse, and the appearance of Rewi Alley had instantly fueled her desire to research. She picked up the fallen dagger and slowly handed it in Rewi Alley's direction. "Since the curse originates from blood, I think perhaps the reason this little girl escaped the curse is hidden in her blood, or perhaps in the magical circuits within her body. However, magical experiments always carry certain risks. I can't promise you too much, and I don't like to force others. You decide how to proceed."

Her expression turned serious. "But let me make this clear. There are all kinds of magic in the world, but there's no magic of regret. Regardless of the outcome, I hope you won't blame me for what I've done. These are all necessary sacrifices permitted by the Supreme Lord of Arcane in order to gain knowledge."

Rewi Alley's parents were also present. They were the first to step forward and defend Rewi Alley behind them: "No, we absolutely do not agree!"

"Yes, this is the hope of our village. How can we let a Snidi person harm it for such an unfounded reason?"

"But maybe what the scholar said is right. It's just a little blood. With the Holy Light, it can be replenished to some extent."

"No! Lady Ai Li once healed my leg. I swore that if you want to hurt her, you must cut off my leg first!"

"But Morano was a Paladin before, so maybe what he said is true. And this scholar was the one who discovered that 'curse'. Having another way out is also for our own good and the good of our children. Besides, didn't this wizard say that it was just a few risks..."