In the southern area, outside the outermost barrier, the sea monster covered the sky and the sun, and the air was dyed light gray with black spots.

Under the city wall, the wounded lay on white cloths, the light of healing shone on them, and the sound of wailing echoed throughout this land full of pain.

The bright knight with blond hair, golden armor, holding a blue pitcher in his hand, and a broken knight's sword, slowly walked into the sunset in the blood-red snow.

He held the jar in his arms with great care, treating it like a fragile treasure.

When he climbed the steps of the city wall, his steps were extremely slow at first, but as the steps rose, his speed became faster and faster, as if he was gradually leaving everything behind.

The sticky sunset stained his exquisite armor bit by bit, glowing with a layer of bright white light. He held the blue jar in his arms and carefully hung the necklace on the bottle in his hand.

The sea breeze blew, and the bright red cloak behind him flew up and down, like a flowing fire.

…

【Half an hour ago】

"What is this? Naraku." Su Mingan asked.

"This is Sherrod's sister." Naraku handed over the jar in his hand: "She was taking refuge in the South District and didn't have time to escape...she was assimilated into a sea monster."

Perhaps because he also has the talent of light element, Xie Changying did not lose his mind like other sea monsters.

After turning into a siren, her memories revived bit by bit, and her emotions came back bit by bit. Her figure gradually solidified like other mutated sirens, and gradually became no different from humans.

——She gradually remembered that there was a brother who loved her on that crumbling island.

She disguised herself as a human and swarmed into the crowd during the chaos when the barrier opened. She hid in a jar and was picked up by Naraku who was passing by.

"In order to maintain her sanity, she has lost too much energy and cannot maintain her body, so she can only hide in the jar." Naraku handed the jar to Sherud, who was trembling all over: "Before she died, she wanted to see her brother...

That’s just your side.”

Sherrod took the jar.

At that moment, the light in his eyes was completely gone.

"Changying?" He called softly.

No one responded.

The Siren fell into a deep sleep and could no longer even respond. He hid in a small jar and made no sound.

Sherrod hugged the jar in his hand tightly.

Like the woman, he hugged the blue jar in his hand like a mahogany box.

His head, which had always been raised, slowly, slowly lowered.

The sea breeze and white snow clung to his hair, and there was a mist-like sadness in his eyes that could no longer be resolved.

The necklace with the photo hanging on it was attached to the jar, making a crisp tinkling sound.

"Changying." He said softly:

"……Happy birthday."

…

…

The wind and snow spread outward.

Under the city wall, Su Mingan stood facing the wind and snow.

The azure, almost transparent siren soul rose from his body, and she closed her eyes.

Her energy during her lifetime was completely exhausted, and she was about to fall into eternal sleep.

What can awaken her, apart from a large number of ordinary lives and souls, is the only life soul with divinity.

But if Sherlock chooses to give up his soul, red roses will not be able to save him.

At this moment, Su Mingan finally understood what the so-called "brave" meant.

He is the only, most valuable, and most able to relieve the current disaster faced by Praia's hero.

He is irreplaceable.

"Xie Lude." Su Mingan said to Xie Lude, who was walking up the city wall step by step: "You have done enough. It doesn't have to be your turn for this kind of thing. Even if there are no other qualified divine souls in Praia, you can still do it.

Replace you with the lives of many more residents."

His words were very direct and he didn't care about other people's eyes.

In his opinion, Xie Lude, who has awakened his self-awareness, is far more precious than those machine-like NPCs.

Xie Rudd did not have to sacrifice himself for these people, and became one of thousands of victims, a microcosm belonging to the Knight of Light.

…He is clearly a ‘human being’.

Living, breathing, laughing, self-thinking, ‘people’ living on this earth.

If there must be this victim,

Why does the victim have to be him?

If the "brave" is destined to die in order to save the vast majority of people——

Why does this hero have to be him?

Clifford watched this scene in silence. Finally, even the always rational old man couldn't help but speak out.

"Knight, you don't have to go to this point." He said: "You have given enough to this land. Just leave this kind of thing to others. If we leave it to you again, we will feel sorry for you.

"

Sherlock turned around.

He was holding the blue jar in his arms, and the emotion in his eyes could be described as "scorching".

...It was like a bright fire burning in his eyes.

"No one is sorry to anyone." Sheldon said: "If I don't do this, I will be sorry for myself."

He did not look at the injured people who were looking at him, nor at the silent Clifford.

His gaze was fixed on Su Ming'an.

"..." Su Mingan looked at him.

He stopped in his silent gaze.

In the knight's eyes, there was a surge of intense emotions - it was the determination of his decision.

"Captain. I heard other travelers from other worlds mention you in their discussions. They said many sarcastic words and made many remarks about you." Sherlude said:

"They say that you are the 'number one player' and the strongest among them."

"They say that your ranking will always be number one, your customs clearance route will always be the most perfect, and you will make the most of props, tasks, and NPCs without leaving any room for error."

"They said that the 'number one player' should lead them and be their leader."

"Logically speaking, it shouldn't be like this. The captain doesn't have to be responsible for these people. The captain will make mistakes and there will be times when he is not the strongest."

"But, as far as I know, captain, you have always done this, you have always remained the strongest, and you have never failed to live up to the expectations of these people. Even if you are scolded and misunderstood, you have never given up and left this position.

.”

"You stand at the forefront of the war as a matter of course, and become the commander of the battle as a matter of course. It is extremely natural, as if you were born to give a speech as a leader in front of everyone."

"team leader."

"——You are also bound by the system setting called 'First Player'."

Su Mingan's pupils shrank.

The wind and snow hit his face, making it ice cold.

"But, what does this have to do with it? We all know, captain, you are a human being, not an NPC." Sherrod smiled.

The wind blew his golden hair, and his voice became more and more firm.

"Just like the speech before the cross-ocean operation, Captain, I heard the emotion in your words. You are not completely calm. You did not say that just to 'attack' us.

...While you are trying to impress us, you are also infected by the 'love' in your mouth.

——So, can I conclude that this restraint is not purely composed of mechanical elements, but also a decision of your own self-thinking as a human being? ——Then.”

The setting sun shone on his shoulders, blood red fell on his eyelashes, and his smile seemed to bloom like a colorful flower.

"...As a 'human' like you, I am willing to be bound by the system settings of the 'Bright Knight'."

"I am a human being. I am... a human being who cannot sit idly by and watch so many residents die for me."

"I am a 'person' set up as a 'Knight of Light'. I am an independent being who can think independently. I am a life that is willing to become the epitome of the image of the 'Knight of Light'."

"I am a character in the story, a microcosm of the image of the 'Bright Knight' on this land, and a 'victim' in the spirit of mission."

"...I am also a free soul, a person who can communicate with you independently."

"The reason that prompted me to say this is not only the so-called 'personality' and 'system' at work, but also because I have a brain that can organize these words."

"Mission, spirit, light and affinity, these are all innate to me.
To be continued...