Chapter 10 Chapter Ten Wife

After reading all of the above, I suddenly had a craving for a large glass of strong wine.In fact, I crave several tall shots, plus a super-boozy as a hangover; perhaps, after drinking, find a dark corner to shiver quietly. The beautiful poison ignited the fire of hell, left the Willow Teahouse, and returned to the Crystal Cave of the Lord of Thorns again.To show that she had nothing left to do with Walker, she threw herself into the sinner's arms as soon as she returned.After being tender for a while, she looked at me unhappy. "How did Walker know you were watching? It shouldn't be possible for him to find out."

I shrugged: "Hey, that's Walker. Nothing is impossible for him. I think this is his responsibility. The most important thing now is to get out of here first, so that Walker doesn't mention what you mentioned. Those unknown exits are all sealed, Sophia." "You are not allowed to call me that." The female demon said loudly. "Only Henry can call me that." I looked at the sinner: "What do you call her in private?" "Darling," said the sinner solemnly. "But you can't call her that either." "Dearest Xi Ni." Beautiful Poison said and hugged her.

"It's time for you to leave," said the Thorn Lord. "I'll see if I can buy you some time. It's time for me to exercise." The sinner asked a little suspiciously: "How can you handle the army sent by Walker?" "I am the Lord of Thorns! All the residents of Nightside are under my jurisdiction." "Try not to do too much damage," I said. "They're just working." "Leave this to me to judge." Lord Thorn said. "But it can't be guaranteed. I specialize in eradicating cancer, which is my duty." I looked at him with some reservations: "Why are you so eager to help us?"

The old man shrugged and lay down on the big stone slab again. "I've said it. I feel like it's coming to an end because of you, and I look forward to any chance to let go of the burden. Don't slam the door when you leave, or I'll turn you into something else. " He closed his eyes and I frowned.I hate this feeling, lately it seems like everyone is lining up to tell me that the end is coming.Whenever I close my eyes, I see the bleak future in the time rift: dilapidated buildings, dead night, endless insects, and Razor Eddie dead in my arms.I swore on his dead body, I would rather die than let that future come true.

"So, where are we going next?" Beautiful Poison asked while adjusting the position of the little straw hat. "Where else is there to go?" asked the sinner. "Go back to the Stranger's Tavern first." I said reluctantly.Alex will not be happy to see us.I took out my membership card and said, "According to the situation, Walker and I will have a falling out sooner or later. If we want to confront him head-on, I hope we can choose a familiar place." Since no one else had a better opinion, I activated the card, walked into the tavern, and surprised Alex Murlessi as he was about to go to bed.Most of the lights in the tavern were out, and all the chairs were set up on the tables.Alex stood alone by the bar, wearing a set of white pajamas and a nightcap with tassels on his head.He gave us a serious look, then walked proudly behind the bar to hide his bare calves.If my calf grows like that, I will try my best not to show it in front of people.He should have bought a longer pajamas.

Alex has a small apartment above the tavern.In the past, I used to sleep on the super uncomfortable sofa in that apartment for a few nights.It was a horrible place, all the space on the floor was filled with his collection of pornographic china dolls, and all the furniture was so rotten that the dump would never take it.He never does the dishes unless the sink is full of dirty dishes.His ex-wife used to keep that damn place spotless.At first I thought he would learn a lesson from that marriage, but even if he grabbed a handful of lessons and shoved them in front of his eyes and said, "Look! That's called a lesson!", he still couldn't learn any lessons. .

"We're closed," he said coldly. "Closing means 'no business, get out, don't you have a home to go back to?'" "That's it, let's open it again." I said indifferently. "There is a group of very thirsty customers in front of you. You will never believe what we have encountered today." Alex sighed: "I often hear this sentence. Well, one glass of wine per person, but it has to be calculated at the super expensive price after closing. Also, I won't help you heat up food. Do you think I Who is it, your mother? Give me back my loyalty card, Tyler! If I ever asked someone to show up at me without warning, I'd hire someone to follow me. Should I assume you A bunch of chasers have been provoked, and armed people may rush in and fight at any time?"

"You guessed it right." I said. "You're a plague god, Tyler, you know? I know a guy who likes to sexually harass albatrosses, and even his luck is much better than yours." I looked around: "Where's your bodyguard? I need a little more help." "I told them to go home." Alex, the boss, helped us mix drinks angrily. I ordered a large absinthe brandy, the sinner asked for a glass of Malvern water, the beautiful poison insisted on a Manhattan with a small umbrella, and the madman ordered a glass of Piledriver-after asking, I realized that it was a vodka-flavored plum juice.Alex was twitching as he pulled out the Piledriver, and we were twitching as the madman drank it down.I drank slowly, considering the defensive measures of the entire tavern.The advantage of the Stranger's Tavern is that no force can break in and attack us without setting off the alarm.Under the magical power of Merlin Satansbon, this tavern was protected by various protective magics, and even had more than one floor of real space.If nothing goes wrong, we will be alerted immediately of any attack.

"Well," Alex said seriously. "What happened to make you run back so quickly?" "Walker must be on his way," I said. "Once he finds that we are no longer with Lord Thorn, he will immediately think that this is the most likely place for me to hide. When he comes here, the scene will definitely be ugly. In fact, he will probably ask his subordinates to put me first Kill me, and then find a psychic to torture me." "I can call the bodyguard back," Alex said. "Or do you want to find Suzie Shotgun?" "She's busy with other things," I said. "By the time we find her, the matter is probably over, no matter how it ended. At least we still have the sinner and the beautiful poison to rely on."

"And me!" the lunatic said happily. "That's right." I said. "But you're not with us all the time, are you?" "That's true," said the madman and began to eat from his cup. Alex looked at Beautiful Poison suspiciously. "Why on earth does she look so much like my ex-wife? She looks exactly the same except for a bit bigger breasts." "Let's discuss the next strategy." I said loudly, insisting on changing the subject, because it is absolutely impossible to get a good result if this topic continues. "Our case seems to have come to an end, and there are no more clues to pursue. There are no older, more powerful beings in the Nightside that can provide any clues about the origin of the Nightside. Yeah, like 'fear folks' or 'subterranean giants', but unless we've all picked out a coffin and a gravesite, it's probably better not to bother them anyway. They're unlikely to be Let's talk. I can bluff most people, and I can deal with many monsters that are not human, but I still have limits."

"I'm so relieved to hear that," Alex said. "You've changed a lot since you came back, John. You've used your reputation as a weapon more and more, like you've come to believe that you really are some 'king of the world to come.'" "Maybe I really am." I said and drank the wine in my glass. "However, there are countless such names in Nightside, and now I'm nothing more than a completely clueless private detective." "You still have talent." Beautiful Poison said and winked at me. "Why use talent to find the next clue?" "Because I dare not," I said. "My enemies will find me... They have new weapons waiting for me, weapons more terrible than the Painbringer. I don't know what it is, but I can feel its presence, and feel that it wants me to fight for it. The desire to pay for what you do..." I found that everyone was looking at me strangely, so I quickly shut up.Some things are better not known to them.Fortunately, our attention was immediately diverted by a sudden sound of footsteps.Someone walked down the spiral iron ladder, making a very loud noise.We immediately turned our heads to look at the iron ladder, and even the madman returned to reality with full concentration.My breath is quick, my heart beats fast, and my hands involuntarily reach into my pockets, searching for anything to delay the inevitable conflict.Walker shouldn't be so fast...it can't be him.Just as I was thinking about it, I saw the goddess of fate slowly walking down the iron ladder and stepping into the tavern. We all breathed a sigh of relief, thinking we'd rather face the gods than make an enemy of a bad-tempered Walker.The appearance of the goddess of fate is the same as before, a petite oriental woman in a silver evening dress.Its lips were as bright as rose petals, and its eyes were as bright as stars.It stood in front of us, smiling calmly.It is the physical embodiment of all chance, good or bad.It can make you win the lottery or give you a heart attack. It can make you suddenly develop cancer or step into glory. Anything can happen before it.Everyone was captured by its aura, except of course, except Alex who was full of disdain behind the bar. "Does no one care about the meaning of 'closed' these days? I really miss the old days when I locked the door and no one would disturb me. It seems that I have to update my defensive spells. What do you want, goddess?" "Hello, John." Fate ignored everyone and focused entirely on me.I suddenly had a feeling of being in the spotlight. "I'm just here to see if you've made any progress with your investigation. Have you found anything?" "Well," I said. "We've had some interesting developments..." "I didn't ask you that, John." "You are a veritable god," said the sinner. "Wow, I'm so surprised, really. It's rare to see a deity like you incarnate in the physical world these days. In fact, I always thought you only appeared in extraordinary times." "I came here for a purpose." The goddess of fate still locked on me. "Yes." The lunatic said suddenly. "You have your purpose. It's just that you are not the goddess of fate at all. You are not even a god." We all turned to look at him.His face was very pale, and his expression was very tense, but there didn't seem to be any look of madness. "I know you, ma'am. I've seen you before." "You have indeed seen it," said the woman who was not the goddess of fate. "Poor guy," she said, smiling at the madman, who was so frightened that he threw up his hands in front of his eyes.Her voice was very calm, even slightly melancholy, and then she turned to face me again. "I'm sorry I deceived you, John. But if you knew who I was, you would never have taken this case." She shed the illusion all over her body, shed the figure of an oriental woman, and turned into another appearance.The lunatic leaned against the bar and huddled into a ball, his face full of fear.Even in his half-mad state, he still sees better than the rest of us.He tilted his head, closed his eyes, and choked up, trembling all over.Today, that woman has completely changed her appearance.She is slender, fair-skinned, with black hair, eyes, and lips that look like a black-and-white photo.Her chin is pointed and angular, plus a conspicuous aquiline nose, her lips are thin, her mouth is large, and her deep eyes are full of flames that can burn everything.She was still wearing the silver evening dress just now, but this dress exuded a burst of evil at the moment, completely different from the previous sense of fashion. "Hello, John," she said in a soft but deep voice. "I am your mother." This sentence shocked the whole bar, everything stood still at that moment, as if the torrent of history stopped flowing for such a strange moment.I don't know what to do, or even what to say.I had rehearsed countless times in my head the vision of being reunited with my mother, but never imagined it would turn out like this.I have been looking for her for many years, and I never thought that one day she would return to my life so nonchalantly... But in fact, I should have known that if she came back, she must have appeared by herself, and it was absolutely impossible for me to find her out.I thought I knew what to say, after all I've rehearsed countless times in the dark... Countless accusations and curses lingering on my lips, just... I don't remember her at all.Although I was not too young when she left, I just have no memory of her at all, as if she had taken everything with her when she left.In any case, I always thought that if I saw her again I would recognize her.How could I not know my own mother?But this gloomy and sinister woman in front of me is a complete stranger to me.I don't know how I feel about her.It all happened so suddenly. My mother smiles at me.I thought it was an understanding smile, but it seemed hostile on her face, like some elegant feline sizing up its prey. "Please, John, don't be silly there. We've got a lot to talk about before Walker shows up. Like why am I disguised as Fate? She's just a mask for me to get you to start This investigation." "Why do you want me to investigate this case?" I finally said. "Why send me to look up something you already know the answer to?" "Because I want you to stir up the topic and call people's attention. I want everyone to start thinking and talking about the origin of Nightside and what Nightside itself stands for. I want everyone to know that Nightside has been around for centuries How much has changed. I want you to be able to tell them how Nightside started and who created it, so that they all understand what my return means." She looked at me eagerly, and the smile on her face gradually faded. expand. "I'm back, John. Aren't you glad to see me after all these years?" "You abandoned me," I said. She shrugged indifferently: "It is necessary. I'm sure you will survive, after all, you are my son." "Where have you been all these years?" "Walking around in Night City with different faces, adapting to the current overall environment of Night City. It has really changed too much. It shouldn't be such a dark and vulgar place." "Did you ever love me?" This sentence seemed to jump out of my mouth automatically.It wasn't until I asked this sentence that I realized that I always wanted to ask. "Of course, otherwise, why would I keep you with your father! I just hope that you can live an innocent and ignorant life like ordinary humans, at least for a few years." "Who are you?" I asked. She replied: "I am Lilith, Adam's first wife, who was kicked out of the Garden of Eden because she refused to submit to Adam's authority. Of course, you must also understand that it is just a version of the fable, the truth of the matter It's more complicated than that. You wouldn't think that was my original form, would you? I'm bigger and more powerful than this look. My present look is just another mask, worn in memory of a past The mask. This is the face and body I used as your mother." "Fanella Davis," I said, thinking.Lilith?My mother turned out to be a character from a biblical myth? "That's right." The lunatic peeked at her from behind me, speaking in the voice of a normal person when frightened: "Lilith is just an identity projected by some kind of super powerful entity in our limited reality everywhere, and this female human The body is just a tool for Lilith to walk in the world, just like a puppet doll. In fact, her real body is..." He stopped and hesitated for a moment. "She's actually..." He couldn't think of any words to describe it.Perhaps there is nothing in our limited language to describe her.Whatever the madman had seen her in the visions hidden behind reality, he was incapable of describing it to us.He starts to get scared, starts to shake, then starts to cry.Everyone in the entire tavern trembled with him, as if a powerful earthquake had hit.Tables and chairs jumped, the floor shook wildly, the walls undulated, and the hard rock twisted unnaturally.Strange colors rose from all directions, and meaningless sounds came from all directions.Distance becomes an unreliable concept, and all objects exist both extremely close and extremely far away.Directions change without warning, leaving one completely bewildered.The madman's connection to reality weakens again, causing the reality around him to become ethereal.Merlin's old oak tree suddenly took shape in the middle of the tavern, then transformed into a steeple of human bones, and finally disappeared.Irregular cracks appeared on the floor, revealing many pairs of malicious eyes underneath.I heard a lot of churning noises beyond the boundaries of reality, and it seemed that many monsters were waiting for the opportunity to enter the world. "Enough is enough." Lilith said suddenly. In this way, all the anomalies returned to normal.The madman's illusory world was instantly suppressed, and the whole tavern regained its focus because of Lilith's presence.The lunatic stopped shaking, stopped crying, and even regained a little blood on his cheeks.Lilith looked at him kindly. "You have seen things you shouldn't have seen, and the mortal mind is simply not designed to bear that reality. Let me take that memory from your body so that you can become an ignorant and happy mortal again." "No." The lunatic's resolute tone was beyond our expectation. "Better a painful truth than a pleasant lie." "But the truth will kill you." Lilith said. "No," said the madman. "I'll get used to it." I don't know why, but his statement made me feel very worried.I cleared my throat loudly to get everyone's attention. "Well," I said to my mother, trying to be calm. "You are Lilith. I have heard your story, Pio told me long ago. He was my teacher then." "Blind Pio?" Alex asked. "The rogue priest? Christian terrorist? He's still alive?" "Yes." I said. "If you interrupt me again, Alex, I'll tell my mom to turn you into a teapot warmer." "I've had enough," Alex said, throwing the empty wine glass in front of me to the ground. "No more. You lose your temper every time you drink, John." I don't care about him and concentrate on facing Lilith. "According to those stories, after you were expelled from the Garden of Eden, you went straight to hell to have sex with many demons, and gave birth to all kinds of monsters that came to poison the world." "I was very young," Lilith said. "You know what it's like to be young. People always do things in rebellious adolescence that they regret later. Anyway, I've been through that stage. I've traveled through many layers of reality, seen all kinds of The unimaginable scenery shaped my personal concept, and finally came to the human world. At that time, human beings were not great creatures. The powerful entities and powerful life in nature still walk in the world, and new legends are born at any time ...I created Night City, a small world independent of the world, and then the Romans built the city of Londinium outside Night City. The Romans are really a very interesting race, representing the most barbaric side of civilization. Some Romans adored me, and I let them adore me." "Listen now, John, because I want to say something very important. The purpose of Night City's existence is to keep a piece of land on earth that neither heaven nor hell can interfere with. This is a place that is independent of heaven and hell. It is a place outside the world that provides people with a different choice. The only truly free land in the world. Although the later development of Night City is quite different from what I expected, things in the world are inherently so impermanent." "Night City is in the human world, but it does not belong to the human world; it is stable, but it is detached and independent. The process of creating this place took me a lot of effort and weakened my strength, so many strong people from back then gathered together to unite Get up and banish me. Some of these guys are human, but most of them are not. They banished me from this reality and banished me to Limbo in order to be completely free, to be freed from the grip of the ego. I don't blame them, at least not terribly. They're pretty much dead anyway, and Limbo isn't a very bad place. There's no concept of form in Limbo, everything exists in a very illusory way. " "Like a primordial god?" I said, just to make something up. "Oh please. They're nothing compared to me. Except, as a concept without a body, I can't do anything. I'm stuck in Limbo, unable to open a portal to any reality , until one day, someone opened an opening here that I could use. They tried to conceptualize a female into physical existence with the Babelon ritual, and I easily pushed the god away and accepted their call .They didn't do their homework. They didn't know that there was a gap in the ritual's defenses. Any power with a heart could use their ritual to enter the world. Once I left Limbo, they had no power to stop me from appearing. All the dominant forces in Night City It is impossible for all gods to fight against me." "I went through that opening, found an ideal form in the hearts of the summoners, and then disappeared in front of them, escaping into the Night City. The reason why I want to hide my tracks is to see what is happening in my absence. How much has the Night City changed over the years? On the other hand, I didn’t want the enemies who exiled me to find out that I had returned. I was still weak at the time, and I needed to quietly regroup my strength. After recovering, I chose One of the people who summoned me back then, and the only man who was even slightly aware of the fact, married him as Fanella Davis and gave birth to a child. Through the existence of this child, I am in this reality Rooting, never to be evicted again. I was going to leave after giving birth, but you are so much fun, John... I've never had a human child before. You are my flesh and blood and inherited my heart and soul... …I’m curious about who you’re going to be when you grow up. I love being human, being a mother, being who I’m supposed to be…” "Later Charles found out the truth. Someone told him, and I still haven't found out who did it. But that means I have to disappear again, and go back to the deep space of Night City, so that no one can guess your identity." Identity, essence, and purpose. If any of the night city powerhouses sniffed out the truth, they would immediately kill you for various reasons. I am sure that Charles himself would never tell others. If others If anyone knows that he brought Lilith back to the human world, then his death will definitely become a widely circulated legend. Of course, he still has expectations for his own research, and he is convinced that he can find a way to expel me again. He cannot follow The old friend Walker mentioned this matter, because Walker has become a representative of those in power; he couldn't tell his old friend Mark, because it was the so-called collector who introduced Fanella Davis to him at the beginning. Charles is on his own, because he can no longer trust anyone, not even his own son. Poor Charles." "I never knew who told him. Whoever it was, they definitely haven't been in touch again. Maybe it's because they know what I'll do to them if I reveal my identity." "Now my power is back. Everything has been properly arranged, and the strength of the powerful people in the Night City has been weakened a lot in the Angel War—I knew that bringing the Fallen Holy Grail into the Night City would cause a huge commotion. It's time for me to rebuild Night City, I'm going to redecorate Night City the way I want it to be. A conceptually...pure place, yes, a lot of people will die in the process of rebuilding, but want to eat For scrambled eggs, you have to break the eggs first." She smiled at us all, anticipating the crowd's comments.All I could think of was the dead silence I heard through the cracks in time.Was that what she called a purer concept?Or did her plan go awry after all?Could it be that the powerhouses in Night City decided to declare war on her in order to keep the free Night City, and finally resulted in a loss for both sides? "No." I said. Everyone seemed to me, and even I could feel the grim tone in my own voice.I faced Lilith's deep gaze as calmly as possible. "I can't let you do that, Lilith. I have seen the dead future caused by the confrontation between you and me. I will never let that future come true, even if it costs you and me." "The fruit will never fall too far from the tree." A familiar voice sounded. We all turned our heads, surprised to see Walker slowly descending the stairs.He is still dressed like a gentleman, calm and elegant.He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, smiled at everyone, and finally lifted his round hat politely, and nodded to Lilith. "Is no one willing to knock on the door?" Alex was very upset. "That's it! After closing, I will install barbed wire and an anti-human barrier outside." "You don't think Lord Thorn can hide from me for long, do you?" Walker looked at me and said. "Especially when we desperately need to have a good talk." "It's really brave of you to come alone," I said. "Tell me, Henry, what is it like to be up against so many characters who are not controlled by your 'voice'?" Walker just smiled: "That's why I brought a helper, John." At this moment, a large number of people poured into the stairs, gathered on both sides of Walker, and almost filled half of the tavern.I recognize a few of them as battle mages, but there are surprisingly many of them now, and all of them have fierce and unusual expressions on their faces.They are professional fighters, cold-blooded killers, the last trump card that those in power use when they mean destruction.However, the only two people who really caught my attention were the last two people who came downstairs. Bad Penny walked down the stairs with her head held high like a proud royal in an arena, and she smiled grimly at me.Immediately behind her came Pio, my old enemy, tall and strong, in clerical robes and a gray cloak, with long gray hair, a gray towel over his blind eyes, the famous Christian warrior-Pio.With a confident and courageous look, he fell into the world full of original sin and made a contract with a demon named Walker.Pio turned his steel-like belief into a armor guarding his body, turned his head and nodded slowly in my direction. "I'm personally very sorry for this little accident." Walker said, flicking the dust on his sleeve pretendingly. "However, most of my men are now trying their best to fight against the Lord of Thorns, lest he come to interfere with things here and try to save your useless souls. I'm afraid this is the end of the journey, Taylor. Don't say I didn't give Chances are, since you came back, I have let you go many times. But this time, those in power clearly ordered you and everyone here to die, because you meddling in something you shouldn't be meddling in." He looked at Lily Si for a while, and then said: "Fanella... my oldest original sin, you have finally returned to cause trouble. I am very happy to witness your doom with my own eyes." "Poor Henry," said Lilith. "Always betting money on a side that's doomed to lose." I left them both alone and just looked at Pio.He felt my gaze, seemed very disturbed, and even stretched out a hand to adjust the priest's collar.Then his expression tightened, and the corner of his mouth showed a firm determination, which made me realize on the spot that I couldn't change his mind.It's just that I have to try anyway. "Hello, Pio. I thought you wouldn't step into such a decadent place." "For a man who's been chasing evil all his life, getting into places of depravity is a regular occurrence," Pio exclaimed. "It's time to settle, John. Confess your sin before God." "Are you really here to kill me, Pio?" "Yes. If I can, for the sake of my past friendship, I will save your soul." "My mother is here too," I said. "Do you know my mother, Pio?" "Of course. I've always known the truth. As I said, I gave up my eyes in exchange for wisdom. I was the one who told your father her identity back then. At that time, I believed that you still had a chance to stay away from evil." The shock in my heart was overshadowed by a wave of anger. "You told him? You broke my family! You destroyed my life!" "You shouldn't have been born in the first place, John, you're the source of the hate." There was a hint of concern in his voice. "I should have killed you a long time ago. But now, I have to pay the price for my soft heart back then. I have to bear the pain and kill an...an old enemy who has been entangled for many years." "I won't let you touch a hair of my son, Missionary," Lilith said. Pio suddenly turned his head and pointed at Lilith, and immediately recited a series of angry mantras.I recognized some of the words, and knew they were written in ancient scrolls and books of forbidden spells.It was a very ancient exorcism ritual, which combined Aramaic, Latin, and ancient Egyptian languages, impacting the surrounding space word by word, gathering powerful forces.Lilith laughed loudly amidst the sound of exorcism spells.Confused, Pio stopped chanting. "I know the song," Lilith said. "It's the exorcism song that Christ sang when he was driving out a bunch of demons. The ghosts later took possession of a herd of gala pigs and ended up in the sea to die. I'm much older than that stuff, like this The bond of exorcism is useless to me." "You can't be my match!" Pio yelled. "I am the spokesperson of God!" "I've always been at odds with God," Lilith said. She compared it casually, and Pio flew up on the spot, rushed across the entire tavern, and finally hit the hard stone wall.The sound of bone shattering was clearly audible, and blood spewed out from the mouth.He slid off the wall and curled up on the floor, twitching constantly.Lilith laughed, and the laughter was full of joy, like the pleasure of splashing clear water into a fountain. I ran to Pio, knelt beside him, and took him in my arms.If anyone is closer than family and friends, it must be an old enemy who has known him for life.I rested his noble head on my chest and let the blood from his mouth soak my coat.The gray cloth in front of his eyes came loose, revealing two empty eye holes underneath, his breathing was very irregular, and the air he exhaled already contained a fine mist of blood. "John?" he said. "Shut up, Pio. I'm here. I'm here." "Pride, the original sin of pride killed me. I really thought I could beat her." "do not talk." "I should have killed you long ago." "I know." "But you are just a child, and I thought I had the ability to save you. Later, I saw you trying to be a good person, so I hesitated. When you left Night City, I thought everything could be like this End point. I really wanted to believe that, but in the end you came back, why on earth did you have to come back, John?" "Stop it, Pio." “我一直知道我会死在你手上，我希望……可以领你见识到光明，光明真的……非常美丽……” 我瞪向莉莉丝：“救他。快点救他！他是好人，不该如此不明不白的死去！” “你必须学着坚强，约翰。”莉莉丝说。“必须懂得当机立断。” 我想要对她大吼、哀求、威吓，甚至答应她任何事情，但是皮欧却已经停止呼吸了。“你没有必要杀他。”我说。“根本没有必要。” “有没有必要我自会决定。”莉莉丝说。“你必须忘掉这些所谓善与恶的传统观念。只有对夜城有好处才叫做善；任何会影响夜城权益的，通通叫做恶。跟我来，儿子。我将会教导你很多很多事情。” 这时渥克无声地下达命令，众手下立刻展开攻击，对着罪人跟美丽毒药发动无数毁灭性的法术。战斗法师们高举着双手，念诵着咒文，挥舞着魔法护身符、魔棒、指向骨等强大法器，使空气之中处处迸发出魔法能量。许多桌椅都在他们的法力下爆炸，但是罪人跟美丽毒药却丝毫不为所动。艾力克斯抓起疯子，立刻躲到吧台后方。我听他叫了几句什么梅林的防御魔法会让他们知道厉害之类的话，但是我很清楚不能单靠那些东西。渥克乃是当权者的“声音”，而梅林……不过是个死去的巫师罢了。除非他附身在艾力克斯身上亲自现身，不然光靠防御魔法是对付不了渥克的。 渥克跟莉莉丝四目相交，全然不理会身边的混乱。 我小心翼翼地将皮欧的尸体放在地上，拉过他的灰斗篷盖上空洞的双眼。接着我抬起头来，对艾力克斯大叫。 “有没有办法叫梅林再度现身？” “叫他出来把事情搞得更糟吗？”艾力克斯躲在吧台后方叫道。“我认为我们该再等一等，不到最后关头还是别去吵他为妙。” “个人认为我们早就已经过了最后关头啦。”疯子说。 在惊涛骇浪的魔法爆破声中，我几乎已经听不到他们说话。罪人站在美丽毒药身前，以自己的身体保护爱人周全。最初，所有的魔法似乎根本找不到目标，全部落在罪人身边，将酒馆中的装潢、家具炸得面目全非。但是攻击魔法以数量取胜，很快就超越了罪人身体所能闪躲的极限，开始命中目标。祝福或诅咒加持的枪械中击发的魔法子弹一颗颗地进入他的胸膛，尽管没有溅出任何血液，但是那些伤口却也没有愈合的迹象。诅咒无情地焚毁他的皮肤、击碎他的骨头。元素魔法慢慢侵蚀着他的身体。一颗眼球在他脑中炸碎。罪人完全没有反击。在他漫长的存在之中似乎从来不曾学会憎恨他人，我认为他心中根本没有仇恨的情绪。他只是默默地站在原地，任由人们攻击，拒绝倒下，也拒绝让美丽毒药受到任何伤害。 没有一道魔法击中莉莉丝。 正当我看着激烈的战况，心中盘算该如何应对的时候，坏潘妮已经悄悄迎上我。她利用特有的能力突然出现在我身后，然后举起一把匕首对准我的背心插下。我在最后关头察觉偷袭，本能地向旁一侧，但是那把匕首还是从脊椎旁边插进了背心。我两手一挥，推开潘妮，接着感到一阵剧痛袭体而来，登时动弹不得，两脚着地，头昏眼花，就连呼吸都很困难。我咬牙切齿，紧紧握拳，想尽办法保持头脑清醒。我感到嘴里似乎没有鲜血，表示那把匕首没有刺入我的肺中。疼痛虽剧，但还在可以忍受的范围之内。我一手向后伸去，痛得叫出声来，试图拔出背上的匕首，但是却根本碰不到刀柄。既然如此，那就只好让它留在背上，晚点再来拔了。 我再度站起身来，额头上不断冒出冷汗。潘妮眼看那一刀没能取走我的性命，气得边骂脏话边跺脚。她取出另一把匕首，对我直扑而来。接着我们两人四目相交，在那一瞬之间同时迟疑。我并不算真的认识她。我们曾经一同办过几件案子，上过几次床，但是从来不曾深交过。即使我们真的曾经相爱，在当时只怕也没多少意义。她已经准备好要杀我了，我可以从她冷酷的眼神跟难看的笑容中看出来。而我则因为皮欧的死而愤怒异常，只想随便找个人来发泄情绪。 她提起匕首朝我冲来，我则收拾心绪燃起天赋，打开我的心眼，找出让坏潘妮可以从意想不到的地方现身的那道魔法。我将那道魔法自她体内扯出，让她完全失去在任何地方现身的能力。她满脸惊恐地看着我，感到自己与现实之间逐渐失去联系，最后终于无声地消失在原地，从此再也找不到回来的路。 我挥手道别，希望自己脸上没有露出微笑。我不喜欢看到自己为了这种事情而笑。 再度使用天赋当场暴露了我的行踪，敌人几乎立刻就找到了我的位置，并且瞬间派出了他们的新武器，穿越酒馆的防御系统，爆出一阵令人无法逼视的强大能量，有如太阳一般地照亮酒馆。除了莉莉丝，所有人同时惊声尖叫，向后退开。所有充满敌意的行为全部停止，一直令我不安的怪物终于在现实之中成形。强光慢慢消失，敌人派来杀我的恐怖武器终于在我面前现身。 来自未来的霰弹苏西。 她看起来十分苍老，身上伤痕累累，外貌残缺不堪。她的长发花白，染满尘埃，皮衣破破烂烂，身躯骨瘦如柴，不过全身上下绽放出一股不自然的金光。她的气势恢弘无比，支配了一切生死，有如行走凡间的死神一般。她的凝视冷酷异常，深入人心。半张脸完全烧毁，脸上皮肤焦黑，一只眼睛紧闭在火焰的创伤之下，嘴角向上卷曲，腐蚀出永久性的诡异笑容。 最可怕的是，她的右手前臂直到手肘的部分完全遭到截肢，取而代之的是世界上威力最强大的“真名之枪”。这是一把设计用来击杀天使的武器，虽然和我上次见到时的模样相差甚大，从一把手枪变成了一把霰弹枪，不过这把枪依然是我所见过最丑陋、最污秽的武器。它是用血肉与骨头制造而成，并以布满血丝的软骨包覆，最后再用紧绷的皮肤为外层。枪柄是褪色的枯骨，十分拙劣地插在她的手肘之上。粗重的有机缆线自枪身上伸出，一根一根地与苏西上臂连接。肉制的枪管上反射出潮湿的光芒，外层皮肤里隐隐渗出湿热的汗水。 这就是真名之枪，来自远古年代的武器。这把枪里回荡着上帝说出“要有光”的同时所有万物的最初真名。真名之枪知道每样东西以及每个人的原始之名，只要把这些名字反过来念诵，就可以将任何东西反创造，完全自世间抹煞，让对方从来不曾存在过……这是一把无法对抗的武器，无时无刻做着嗜血的恶梦，渴望被人使用。 苏西·休特缓缓地环顾酒馆内部，所有人也都盯着她看，没有人胆敢轻举妄动。最后，她的目光终于停留在我身上。我不愿意在她面前退缩，也不愿意回避她的目光。 “我都忘了……你以前是这个模样。”她的声音沙哑沉闷，似乎说话对她而言是件非常痛苦的事情。 “苏丝？”我说。 “不，再也不是了。已经很久不是了。” “喔，天呀，苏丝，他们对你做了什么？” “我是自愿的，不然的话我根本不可能在你造成的世界里存活这么久，约翰。我要求他们改造我，赐给我这把枪，让我们永远合而为一。真名之枪是把疯狂的枪，所以如今的我也是个疯狂之人，不过我一定会保有我的理智，直到你死为止。如果你的体内还有一点人性的话，约翰……现在就死在我的面前，拯救这个世界。如果你要反抗，我会将这间酒馆轰成废墟。” 一个战斗法师惊慌到了极点，终于对她丢出一发毁灭法术，其他法师立刻跟进，将霰弹苏西周遭炸得面目全非。然而在真名之枪的守护下，他们根本伤不到她一根寒毛。她转向攻击她的人，脸色一变，嘴角一斜，运用真名之枪的力量说出反创造的字眼。那是我出生至今听过最恐怖的声音，所有酒馆中的人通通吓得发抖，纷纷发出尖叫，就连莉莉丝也偏过头去。在苏西的言语作用下，那些对她开火的战斗法师全部在一瞬间遭到抹煞，彻底消失于人世间。 许多人跪倒在地，狂呕猛吐。其他还没崩溃的立刻冲上楼梯，夺门而出，眼中充满了疯狂的神色。渥克没有试图阻止他们离去，但是他自己却依然留在原地。即使到了这个地步，他还是有名声要顾，有职责要守。苏西慢慢转头对我看来。我两脚发抖，几乎站立不定，但是仍然想办法面对着她，直视她的冰冷目光，伸出颤抖的双手在她面前摊开。 “我不会抵抗你的，苏丝。”我说。“我不会伤害你的。我永远都不会伤害你。” “但是你确实伤害了我，约翰。你早已伤害了我。” 她张开嘴，想要说出能够将我抹煞的恐怖真名。但是就在此时，梅林·撒旦斯邦附上了艾力克斯·墨莱西的身，现身于物质界，以一个手势轻易地停止了时光的流逝。所有一切在那一刹那间停止移动，有如变成石头般无法动弹，就连空气中的微尘也一样。 我不能动，但是我可以感觉到出了什么事情，感觉到真名之枪顽强地抵抗着这股阻止它发声的力量。梅林·撒旦斯邦走在静止的世界之中，虽死犹生，全然不受时间侵扰。他不疾不徐地走到霰弹苏西身前，盯着她好一会儿，接着一把就将真名之枪从她手上扯下，血肉模糊，鲜血四溅，由于羁绊真名之枪的力量突然消失，苏西忍不住尖叫了起来。真名之枪也同时尖叫，叫声中充满了绝望的愤怒及怨念，简直难听到了极点。苏西身形一闪，瞬间消失不见，被逐回由我一手打造出来的死寂未来。真名之枪也一并消失，或许是回到那个未来，或许是逃到其他的时空，某个可以让它尽展所长的时空。 时间再度开始流逝。梅林与莉莉丝两两相望，所有人大气都不敢喘一声。一个是魔鬼的独生子，一个是上帝最早的创造物。最后，梅林在莉莉丝身前低头，然后消失不见，留下艾力克斯的身体在吧台后方痛苦地颤抖。 剩下的战斗法师再度向罪人与美丽毒药展开攻击。在经历刚刚的一切之后，他们需要有个反击的目标，而在看到梅林都对莉莉丝低头之后，他们当然不会笨到去惹莉莉丝。罪人依然站在他们和美丽毒药之间，全身浸泡在法术与诅咒子弹所带来的伤痕之中。他的伤势越来越重，血肉一片一片地离开身体，但是却说什么也不肯放弃他所保护的女恶魔，同时也不肯反击。即使体内所有的一切都已离他而去，他依然还能保有心中的真爱以及誓死行善的坚定意念。美丽毒药站在他身后，满脸恳求地望着渥克，但他丝毫不为所动，只是像往常一样冷冷地与她对望。他今日来此是为了完成一件违背本愿的任务，在没有达成任务之前，他是绝对不会罢休的。 尽管魔法的力量正一寸寸侵蚀着自己的身体，罪人始终站在原地，不肯退缩。他不能任由那些魔法穿越自己的身体，伤害羞丽毒药。如此强力的魔法足以毁灭女恶魔的肉体，使她失去在凡间现身的能力，成为受诅咒的灵魂，回归地狱承受永无止尽的苦难。他不能坐视这种事情发生，于是继续站着，在痛苦与恐惧之中眼睁睁地看着自己的肉体越来越零碎。只因为她是他的真爱，只因为世界上其他的一切对他而言都没有任何意义。 许多子弹自侧面而来，击中外露的肋骨，再往不同的方向反弹而出。他痛得闷哼一声，但却不肯叫出声来，只因不愿见到美丽毒药担心。法术将他的血肉自骨骼上焚干，皮肤自脸颊上撕裂，有如皮鞭与剃刀一般折磨着他，一分一秒地毁灭着他的存在。他心里明白，这样下去自己终究会失去所有肉体，成为一名不为天堂及地狱所接纳的孤灵，最后默默地消逝于天地之间，仿佛从来不曾存在过一样。他明白自己还有机会自救，只要放弃美丽毒药，他就可以轻易得救。然而他终其一生只为了追寻真爱，如今既然已经找到了，他宁愿牺牲自己的性命也不愿意看见真爱毁灭。 美丽毒药明白他的心意。她清楚地知道，罪人为了捍卫爱情绝对会站在自己面前直到肉身消失为止，或许，即使只剩下灵魂，他依然不会退缩。只因为他要守护她的性命。就在那一刻里，她再也无法坐视他如此为己牺牲。她不能眼睁睁地看着一个为自己付出这么多的男人到最后竟然还要为了自己奉献生命。他对她的重要性突然之间超越了她的性命。于是她离开他的保护，走到他的身前，用自己的身体来守护他仅存的残躯。她终于了解了所谓的爱情与牺牲自我到底是什么意义。在这最后一刻里，她终于如同他爱她一般地爱上了他。 在美丽毒药想起自己堕落之前曾经身为天使的过去时，一道炽热的光芒突然洒落，烧光她一身的邪恶气息，藉由爱情的力量将女恶魔转化为堕落前的天使原形，使她再度赢得回归天堂的权利。在她那令人无法逼视的圣洁光芒照耀下，我们全都偏过头去，不过依然可以听到她强壮的双翼所发出的展翅拍击。 “跟我一起上天堂。”天使对着罪人说道。“你已赢得进入天堂的权利，如同我一般。” 耀眼的光芒大盛，接着瞬间消失殆尽。一切底定之后，他们两个都已离开。 整间酒馆陷入一片死寂。所有人震慑于适才目睹的景象，什么话也说不出口。到最后，渥克终于率先恢复镇定。他向手下们比了个手势，所有战斗法师立刻对我望来。只要能杀了我，我母亲就会失去在这个世界扎下的根基，他们就有可能再度驱逐她。我就着插在背上的匕首，尽可能地站直身体面对他们，脸上挤出一个冷冷的微笑。如果非死不可的话，起码要死得有尊严。 接着疯子不知道是不是受到刚刚目睹的神迹启发，突然从吧台后方走出来，吸引了众人的目光。他放声一笑，笑声中充满了欢愉与理性。 “当现实变得无法忍受的时候，”他平静地说。“就该改变现实了。” 他全部的力量藉由意志放大，冲入酒馆之中，将他脑中相信的现实作用在所有事物之上。战斗法师们齐声尖叫，感受自己的法力在那瞬间离体而去，当场成为一群手无缚鸡之力的普通人。渥克向后退开，喉咙一哑，再也无法运用“声音”的力量。我背上的匕首消失不见，连带被刺出的伤痕也一并褪去。疯子眼中绽放出坚定的光芒，正对莉莉丝直射而去。她举起一手挡在面前，似乎连她都不能小觑疯子的攻击。 即使耗尽疯子以全新的意志强化过后的力量，也没有办法撼动莉莉丝的存在，不过她的力量确实在这阵攻击之下削弱了许多。她身体微微一晃，第一次露出不确定的神情。疯子向前迈进，试图强行驱离莉莉丝。两者的力量在空气中猛力一撞，登时陷入势均力敌的僵局。眼看他们两人僵持不下，我当即挤出身上残存的天赋力量，找出莉莉丝一开始进入陌生人酒馆使用的传送入口，然后一把将她从原路推了回去。 她消失了，但是她的声音却在我心中留下最后的讯息。 “我们会再见面的，约翰。我的儿子，很高兴再见到你。接下来还有远大的事业在等着我们。” 酒馆再度陷入沉寂。莉莉丝离开了，就和梅林、罪人，以及美丽毒药一样，完全消失在众人面前，可怜的苏西也被逐回我为她打造出来的凄惨未来。渥克的手下不是死就是逃，剩下的也都失去伤人的能力。疯子缩着身体躺在吧台前，当场呼呼大睡了起来。渥克走上几步，低头看了看他。 “每每最出人意表的就是那些一直被忽略的人。”他轻声说道。“不知道他醒来之后会变成什么样子？” “希望他能恢复理智。”我说。“我认为刚刚那一下子已经用尽他所有的力量及疯狂。或许如今他终于可以忘记曾经见到的景象，和其他人一起活在同样的现实之中。” “你一向都这么乐观，约翰。”渥克说。“可惜，乐观对我而言是一种奢侈的态度。”他以冷酷的神情盯着我好一会儿，又说：“你在夜城已经没有任何朋友了。你的存在已经威胁到所有人的生命安全。今后整个夜城的人都会与你为敌。” “那只是你以为而已。”我说。 渥克缓缓点头，对我顶了顶头上的帽子，然后以眼神聚集剩下的人手，抬起皮欧的尸体，上了旋转铁梯离开陌生人酒馆。艾力克斯跑出吧台，朝他们的背影比了个粗鲁的手势，然后无奈地看着满地的桌椅残骸，长长地叹了一口气。 “我得要召回保镖们来收拾善后。我最讨厌付加班费了。你接下来要怎么办，约翰？” “我要去时间之塔。”我说。“我要回到过去，在古老的夜城里寻找可以给我答案的人类、神灵或是任何自然界的力量。我要知道阻止莉莉丝的方法。只要能够阻止她接下来的行动，我不惜牺牲任何代价。” 艾力克斯哼了一声，似乎有点不以为然。“你认为刚刚那个真的是苏西吗？” “也许在某个可能的未来里，她会变成那个样子。但是我绝对不会让这种事情发生的。我不能让她被任何人伤害，即使是我。” “至少现在我知道你母亲的真实身分了。”艾力克斯说。“莉莉丝。谁想得到？” “她不是我母亲。”我说。“她从来都不是我母亲。” （夜城系列04《魔女回归》完）