Chapter 1041 (?╭╮?) Are You the Little Match Girl? !
The next day, after the sun rose from the east, on the street of this not too big Western European town, a group of pedestrians were surrounding a corner of an unknown house, surrounded by piles of garbage. The place where the snow is pointing and arguing about something in a low voice.
"Eh?"
ヾ(=?ω?=)o?
Little Annie, who was planning to leave this boring town and go east for a walk, felt a little puzzled after seeing it, so she had to come over curiously.
However……
"!!"
o(*???) o! !
Soon, she saw that at the corner of the thick snow-covered wall where the crowd was pointing at, there was a man with a full head of golden curly long hair, naked and stiff, blue and purple from the cold. Two feet, a little girl in a thin, dirty linen smock?
at this time,
The warm sunlight had already begun to rise, and it shone on the other party's petite and frail body that had already been frozen stiff.
Moreover, Anne could clearly see that the other party was curled up there with a strange smile on his face, his little hands were still tightly grasping a scorched matchstick that almost burned to the fingertips, and at the corner of the wall under his feet was There was a large pile of unburned yellow phosphorus matches partially covered by snow, and at the same time, there were more matches in the pocket of the other party's worn-out apron...
'look……'
'She died? '
‘Definitely dead! '
‘Is she the little match girl? But didn't she die two years ago? '
'Isn't she that, is she Maple, the tailor's daughter south of town? I recognize her, look at the freckles on her face, that's her! '
'! ! '
'It really is! '
'Why is she here? '
'have no idea…….'
'Has anyone informed her family? '
'Go early,
But there is no one in her family now. The tailor couple went to the port early in the morning to deliver goods, and they will not be able to return until evening at the latest. '
'It's so pitiful, it seems that she will lie here for at least a whole day...'
'Isn't it? '
‘But she asked for it herself, who let her sneak out alone at night? '
‘Strange, why is she dressed like this? '
'How would I know……'
'It's so scary! go! go! It must have been made by the little match girl, it must have been her! ! '
'...'
'Let's go, don't look at it, there's nothing to see, I have to go back and talk to my family, and tell them not to go out these few nights...'
'terrible! ! '
After the discussion was over and everyone dispersed, only the frowning Anne, a few idlers who were not afraid of death, and two heavy-faced people were left here, and they had to stay here waiting for the family members to collect the body. small town sheriff.
Although this is not the first time they have seen this kind of thing, there are always more than ten or twenty cases in this season of the year, but, for some reason, when they saw this kind of little girl who was also selling matches again The tragic scene of freezing to death on the street always makes them unconsciously feel chills in the bottom of their hearts and numbness in their backs.
The archives of the public security management agency in their small town still remember that two years ago, it was because a little match girl froze to death on the street that led to a series of strange tragedies in the next two years. ! Moreover, those tragedies have one thing in common, that is: they are all nonsensical murders, and the clues all point to a burnt match. Is the unsolved case going to be settled hastily?
'? ? '
'What are you looking at! Don't even look, stay away from here! '
'That little girl over there, what about you, go back quickly, there is nothing to see here! '
'And you, go, go! '
After waiting for a while, I found that there were still people watching and unwilling to leave. After one of the security officers took out a rag and covered the frozen body of the little girl, the other security officer became annoyed. He waved the wooden stick in his hand wildly, and drove away the idlers and Annie who were watching.
If this kind of thing happens again in the small town, it will definitely spread panic in the town, which will definitely be very detrimental to their security work, so they don't want too many people to see this kind of thing, and they don't want to This kind of negative news spread too much, even though these people almost never go out on duty on snowy nights.
"..."
(?????)
Annie didn't go to the same level as the two police officers, she just turned her head obediently and left silently.
Because she recognized it, that dead guy was the little girl who pretended to be a ghost and wanted to scare her and cheat her money last night! It's just that the other party has really been frozen to death like the "little match girl" in the rumors, and there is a weird smile on the corner of her mouth, and she is still holding the burnt matchstick in her hand .
To be honest, she never thought that such a thing would really happen. In this small town, there really is a ghost who can kill with matches?
But it's a pity that she slept soundly in the hotel last night and didn't pay attention to the outside things at all, because she has long been used to living like an ordinary little girl, and if there are any important things around If it happened, her little bear would definitely remind her, but how would she know...
(Little master, that seems to be the little girl from last night, her soul was really burned, this town is really weird!!
?????
——It was just a glance to see that something was wrong with the little girl, and Tibbers, who found that the other party was not frozen to death because of the cold, but was burnt to death before the body lost its vitality little by little, dutifully gave it to his family. The little master reminded. )
"Of course people know!!"
(?╭╮?)
"But!"
"Tibbers, why didn't you tell someone about what happened last night?!"
(￢д￢.)
Although Annie is not sad in her heart, and she has a lot of reasons to save the little girl who is not familiar with her and has lied to her, but she thinks that since there are such harmful people in this town If Xiaoxiong could give herself a reminder last night, she would definitely have a way to solve it.
(Sorry, respected little master, the little one also fell asleep last night, and she doesn't know you well, so the little one didn't "look" at such trivial things at all...
(lll￢?￢)
——Tibbers said that since being served comfortably by Lin Daiyu and the other two shit-shoveling officers in the last world with food, drink and sleep, it has also fallen in love with the comfort of 'sleeping' Therefore, if it is not an unforgivable thing that threatens its little master or disturbs the sleep of the little master, it will generally not take the initiative to pay attention. )
"hateful!"
o(`^′)o hum!
Annie is very angry now, she never expected that that thing turned out to be true...
However, she didn't plan to do anything, nor did she plan to search the entire town to find the other party, or use some kind of Shuoyuan's magic to find the real culprit. She just planned to go back first and find the 'good-hearted' bakery yesterday. Boss, ask the other party about the specific situation of the 'terrible' legend, and then, tonight, go to trouble with the 'little match girl' who is likely to appear by herself?
—————————
The day passed quickly, and night fell soon...
And the incident that happened in the morning, although it has basically spread throughout the town, it did not cause too much disturbance to the life and rest of the townspeople, except for the tailor couple who were said to be very sad ?
Because the townspeople are already used to it. In the past two years, dozens of such things have happened. People have already learned lessons and accumulated experience from it, that is: as long as it snows at night or If you don't go out in the snowy cold weather, even if you have to go out, don't go out alone, then there will always be no safety problems!
I don't know what kind of scary existence it is, or it can be said to be the ghost of the "little match girl", it will not attack people at home, nor will it attack groups of people, as long as It's fine not to be alone, and not to go out at night, which is not a big problem for the vast majority of townspeople.
Therefore, even if people knew that there was a terrible danger in the town, it didn't affect their normal life too much... Besides, who would stay in their own homes in the cold and dark night, but Do you have to go out and make trouble for yourself?
so,
When the night fell completely, the streets of this small town quickly became quiet, and there was no one there... Even last night, the situation where people passed by quickly from time to time had completely disappeared. !
After all, something terrible happened just last night, and it was still snowing outside tonight, no one would choose to go outside to find something unpleasant for themselves at this time!
Of course, just because others didn't dare, didn't mean Little Annie didn't dare! !
"..."
?(*￣3￣)?
In the light of the dim kerosene lamps or candles sneaking out of the windows of those unknown houses on both sides of the street, little Anne shook her hands like this, and wandered aimlessly on the knee-deep snow.
That's right!
She purposely came to the street alone on a snowy night, just to wait for that dreadful little match girl who is said to haunt this kind of weather and sell sparkles to those who leave alone. '! Of course, it wasn't the murdered fake she met last night, but another real guy who could really hurt people.
"Tibbers..."
(ー`′ー)
"Tell me, we've been shopping here for about an hour or two. It's getting dark, and there are fewer and fewer windows that are still lit. Why hasn't that villain selling matches appeared yet?!"
?(?﹏?,)?
Little Annie's patience has never been very good, probably the legendary "three-minute heat" kind? So, after calming down and walking around with her little bear for less than two hours, she herself, an incompetent 'hunter', became a little impatient.
She has already started to think, should she come to the door herself and burn the other person on fire, or keep walking and wait for the other person to come to the door again?
(Dear little master, she seems to be here!!
?????
——At this moment, without waiting for his bad-hearted little master to think about those messy things, Tibbers suddenly got a shock, and quickly reminded his little master. )
"I noticed that too!!"
?(ψ｀▽′)o
When she was prepared and was watching all the time, how could Queen Anne not be able to discover things that her little bear could discover? So, without waiting for the other party to find her and come to her, Little Annie teleported directly and disappeared in place instantly!
And when she reappeared, she had already reappeared in front of the corner where the little girl was frozen to death during the day, and once again found a man with a full head of golden curly long hair, naked and frozen A little girl with livid and stiff feet and a thin, dirty linen smock?
At this time, the other party was just standing there with disheveled hair, standing there in a daze, standing in the corner where the legendary "little match girl" and the fake little girl from last night were frozen to death, and seemed to be interested in her. Is there such a little bit of surprise?
"ha!"
(*ˉ︶ˉ*)
"I've caught you! You bad guy, you just killed someone last night, and you dare to come out tonight?!"
?(?ˉ??ˉ?)?
After looking the other party up and down, and instantly seeing through the other party's background and what it was, Little Annie couldn't help but sigh.
Because, she never thought that the other party would be so daring. He just succeeded yesterday, and now he is so determined and stubborn to appear in this kind of snowy night. Are you not afraid of others coming to trouble it?
'...'
The little match girl paused for a while, as if she was a little bit panicked and uneasy about the fact that another strange little girl suddenly appeared and came to her door by strange means just after she arrived?
But soon, she seemed to have figured something out, and gradually calmed down.
'Selling matches...'
‘The matches are sold, who wants to buy matches? Miss, would you like to buy some of my matches? A match that is long, bright, and durable...'
The childish voice with a trace of metal friction sounded like a ghostly hell, and it successfully penetrated into little Annie's ears.
But, unfortunately, little Annie didn't react at all, those blue eyes were still so clear, and they were full of joking sneers?
"It's better not to bother, because your inferior charm and bio-intimidation are completely ineffective against others!"
o('^')o
"If you only rely on such means, it is better for people to persuade you to surrender quickly, otherwise, be careful that they let the bear bite you to death!!"
?(ψ｀▽′)?
As she walked forward, Annie threatened fiercely.
(…)
?ˉ?~ˉ??
(However, Tibbers said that after seeing what the strange man in front of him is, it has completely lost the interest it had before, and it will not go out to bite him.)
'...'
'Hiss~! ! '
?
Seeing that the enchanting magic sound seemed to have no effect on the weird little girl in the blue and white plush skirt in front of me, and seeing the other party walking towards me step by step, he paused for a while, the little girl who sold matches ' Then she finally had a new reaction, she seemed to be brewing for a while, then grabbed something suddenly, and threw it out when the other party was unprepared!
It turned out that it was actually a magic head burning with pale phosphorous fire. It was like a missile, and it rushed to Annie's front while screaming with lightning speed.
"..."
(?_?)
"Go away!!"
(lll￢ω￢)=o☆)`Д′) Boom!
With just a wave of the little bear in her hand, Annie easily slapped that ferocious-looking skull of some kind of evil witchcraft flying away, causing it to spin away like a baseball. After passing a few roofs covered with snow, I didn't know where I fell.
'! ! '
Seeing this, for the first time, the expression of the 'little match girl' finally changed and she had to take a big step back.
‘Jie Jie~! '
????
Immediately afterwards, the "little match girl" sneered viciously, and suddenly lifted the hem of her worn linen blouse and apron, before Anne and Tibbers could see clearly what was under each other's skirts Suddenly, a large group of black evil spirits flew out from below, roaring and surrounding them again?
"Wow!!"
!? (?''??)?
"Have you been hiding this disgusting thing under your skirt all day?!"
?(ψ｀╭╮′)╭??Flame...
Just by stretching out her fingers, a cluster of fireballs erupted from Annie's fingertips, and soon, those black evil spirits that rushed up and seemed to be planning to tear and trap her burned and howled silently. The sparks turned into dots and disappeared on the cold snowy night street, as if they had never appeared before.
"Have you fought enough? Now it's time for someone to make a move!!"
?(ψ???ˇ??)??
Caught another ball of fire, Annie just stared coldly at the opponent's pair of fake dead eyes, which she thought would be scary, and approached the opponent step by step.
"!!"
(?｀?Д?′)!!
"Is it possible to run away after being stared at by others? Stop! Wow! Are you looking for a fight?!"
(￣?￣)=○))~~~~~~Ю☆)°?°)
Crack~!
Seeing that the other party wanted to run away, Anne certainly wouldn't give him a chance, so before the other party cast the spell for the third time, she stretched out her hand, and a fiery red flame rope lashed out like a whip. , after easily blowing away the opponent, it turned into a slender flame snake at the same time, swam directly to clean up and bound the opponent tightly, and was easily burned away under the action of the flame magic The opponent's poor disguise.
It turns out that there is no ghost of the "little match girl" here? This is an old, dirty, hideous old witch with yellow teeth! !
"Huh?"
(??▽??)?
"This is……"
"A soul sacrifice match?!"
(ー`′ー)o—
After successfully catching the opponent, Annie didn't take care of the old witch who was lying on the thick snow and was still trying to struggle. Instead, she picked up the matches that the opponent had spilled on the snow, and then carefully Study it carefully, and quickly understand the key!
It turns out that this is really a match that can directly sacrifice the user's soul, and it seems to be some kind of ritual item, used to summon or resurrect some kind of existence?
"Tell me, why did you do that? Why sacrifice the souls of those innocent people?"
?(ψ｀▽′)o—?
"I've heard that there are dozens of unlucky bastards you sacrificed. With so many souls, do you want to summon some big demon? With your ability, summoning a demon Can you control it when you come out?!"
(lll￢ω￢)o—?
After rubbing and watching the match burn in her hand until it went out, Annie found that it was the same as what she had guessed before, then Anne threw away the broken thing that was burnt to nothing but a matchstick , turned to the guy who was firmly tied up and had to show his prototype and asked.
"!!"
"You! You're a witch too?!"
Seeing that the other party lit a match by himself, thinking that the other party would cocoon himself and burn his soul, or the old witch who was affected waited for a long time, and saw that the other party had nothing to do and was doing well, just now With a little hope, she continued to roll and struggle on the snow in hysterics, while asking fearfully.
She is very clear about how powerful that kind of match is, even she herself dare not to light it... But now, the little girl in front of her, the other party not only easily smashed her attack, but also caught her in one fell swoop. How could he not be affected at all by the burning of that kind of match?
"No!"
o('^')o
"Strictly speaking, she is not the kind of witch you think, she is the most, most, most, most powerful arcane magician!!"
?(????)?
Although they are all spellcasters and are often mistaken for witches, Little Anne obviously prefers to be called an Arcane Mage, because that seems more accurate.
'The Archmage? '
The old witch had obviously never heard of that word, she just frowned and thought about it.
"explain!"
ψ(*｀ー′)o
"Be honest! What kind of demon are you going to summon? Why did you sacrifice so many people? Anyway, you must be unable to escape, and no one can save you now! Don't force me to use tricks to deal with you. Bad guy, he has a lot of tricks!"
?(?ˉ?~ˉ?)╭?
After stepping on and smashing the matches that the other party dropped on the ground, Annie took two steps forward, pointing at the other party's nose and asking.
Although she can easily learn what she wants to know from the other party's mind, she has never liked to use such small tricks, and she prefers the process of seeking knowledge, so she still likes to play this kind of interrogation of the prisoner. Games!
"you……"
'Well! ! ! '
Seeing the hopelessness of struggling to escape, and seeing the other party easily stepping on his matches, the expression on her face suddenly became a little hideous, and the old witch who was just about to jump hysterically and bite the other party was severely strangled by the flame rope He fell back on the snow.
"Hehehehe..."
"That's all! It doesn't matter whether you say it or not now...Little girl, you ruined my match, I have completely failed, you ruined everything about me!!!"
After laughing miserably for a while, the old hag seemed to collapse, crying and laughing, and roaring at Annie? However, in the next moment, after the flame rope on her body was strangled again and a string of sparks rose, she immediately became honest again.
"I-I said..."
The old hag, whose spirit was severely hit, whose body was restrained and burned by flames, finally did not intend to continue to resist.
"I……"
"I didn't want to summon any demons, I just wanted to hold a ceremony to exchange for my granddaughter..."
The old witch said weakly, she just let the hot flame ropes on her body melt the ice and snow on the ground, and then the warm snow water soaked into her dirty and dark wizard skirt little by little and re- Freezes rapidly in freezing weather.
"Eh?"
∑('△')? !
"Your granddaughter... who is she?!"
ヽ(゜Q.)ノ?
Now that I have asked all the questions, and it seems that the result is somewhat beyond my expectation, little Annie, who is full of curiosity, will definitely continue to ask.
"..."
"Two years ago, the little girl who was frozen to death in this corner is my granddaughter..."
After barely struggling to sit up, leaning against the corner of the wall, the old witch who prevented those flame ropes from melting the ice and snow and pouring snow into her clothes said with a miserable smile.
Originally, she would not tell anyone about this matter, but after her match was stepped on by the other party and she was captured alive by the other party, she had completely failed, and there was no hope at all! Therefore, whether you say it or not, it doesn't make much sense.
"Oh, you mean the 'little match girl' in the story?!"
o(?????)o?
Little Annie expressed her surprise, and now the story seems to be getting more and more exciting.
(…)
(?°??°?)
"..."
The old witch didn't speak, obviously, she seemed to have acquiesced.
"ok, I get it……."
(?˙o˙)?
"However, you can't casually sacrifice other people's souls. As long as your granddaughter is innocent, it's not innocent if others don't understand it?!"
(ー`′ー)
Although the matter is basically understood at this point, Little Annie said that the other party's method of killing dozens or more people in order to save one person is always inappropriate! Besides, the person saved by such a method must not be regarded as a normal person anymore, it can only get a distorted life?
"No!"
"Everyone in this town is an executioner..."
"My granddaughter, she was so young, she was persecuted until she was homeless, and she was still frozen to death in the street, here , How could they be innocent?!"
"In this snowy sky, not a single snowflake is warm! They must pay the due price for their cold and cruel behavior in the snowy night!!"
The old hag spoke ferociously and hysterically.
She has already investigated clearly that the reason why her granddaughter and daughter died tragically was because of the people here. The people in this small town are all cold-blooded guys who have no mercy, no justice, and no compassion!
None of them ever offered a hand to her granddaughter's family who were being persecuted, or said a word of justice, and they did not extend a helping hand when they were persecuted to the point of being displaced and unable to sustain themselves. They just ridiculed and laughed, and watched Looking at that home with all my heart, watching those truly innocent people being destroyed little by little...
And this is that she didn't go anywhere, but just kept her eye on this small town, and after taking revenge on those villains, she still stubbornly appeared here to hold her ceremony on a specific snowy night, still cruelly The main reason for sacrificing the souls of the guys she was targeting one by one!
"..."
(ー`′ー)
"No one needs to pay the price, although they are indeed not innocent, but, people know, you are probably crazy!!"
(?╭╮?)
Although what the other party said made a little sense, Annie definitely didn't agree with the other party's behavior.
"I'm not crazy!!"
The old witch gritted her teeth and stared back at Annie, as if that kind of fierce and stern look could help her defeat the powerful enemy in front of her?
"Seeing that your magic power is not weak, you should know that death is not the end. You don't have to resurrect someone... Besides, who did you sign the contract with to get those soul offerings?" A matchmaker?"
(灬oωo灬)?
"..."
However, regarding the little girl's question, the old witch remained silent and didn't continue to speak, and she didn't know if she dared or didn't want to say it?
"Pitiful!"
╮(╯▽╰)╭
"You must have been deceived!"
"People don't believe that a guy who wants a soul and tricks you into doing such a thing can really resurrect a dead little girl! You are so stupid!"
ヾ(′?ω?｀)?
"!!"
"You won, you ruined everything, do it, little girl!!"
The old witch didn't beg for mercy, nor did she continue to talk, but started roaring hysterically again, and planned to stand up, but the flame ropes on her body quickly made her sit back obediently.
"..."
(?￣?￣?) Hey!
"Although he's not a good person, he also thinks it's wrong for you to do that..."
o(*^▽^*)o
(It's really rare...
(●￣(?)￣●)
——After hearing that his little master finally admitted that he was not a good person, Tibbers muttered this in his heart. )
"How about this!"
o(?????)o?
I don't know what to think of, Annie suddenly stretched out her hand, and a white light rushed directly into the sky...
Then, the white light exploded quickly and turned into a huge angel exuding holy light. He seemed to have opened his eyes to look at the small town below, and pondered for a while. Little meeting? However, the angel soon gradually dissipated, turning into countless dots of feathers flying down.
Those light-like feathers disappeared instantly after falling on the houses and the ground, but they neutralized and destroyed the ominous atmosphere that enveloped the entire town because of the sacrificial matches? When all this returned to calm on this snowy night, a feather woven like light finally fell in front of Annie and was caught by her as soon as she stretched out her hand.
"Your ritual has been completely destroyed by me!"
?(ψ｀▽′)o?
"Although I'm not a judge, and I haven't thought about trying to judge you, but it's not good for a person like you to have magic power, so I always feel that I have to give you a little punishment..."
o(*ˉ︶ˉ*)o
"That's right! You want to revive your granddaughter, you must have preserved her body, right?"
Σ(⊙ω⊙`)?
Raising the feather, little Annie, who was about to do something, suddenly stopped again, and asked in front of the old witch.
"..."
However, the old witch did not speak, she was overwhelmed by the little girl's behavior just now! Because, she saw the other party's actions, and even saw the other party summon an angel?
At this moment, her eyes were full of horror...
Because she knew that she seemed to have encountered some kind of extraordinary existence, and it was the kind of existence that made her unable to bring up any resistance to the will in an instant?
"Here!"
ヾ(=?ω?=)o
"You take this feather!"
(^‐^)_and~~?
Little Annie threw the light-like feather into the opponent's hand.
"Since you really want to save your granddaughter, take it back and put it on the forehead of her corpse, she will come back to life, but..."
?????
"As a price and punishment, the magic power needed to revive her will be drawn from your body! From then on, you will no longer be a wizard! Also, your long life will gradually come to an end , you will die when she is an adult, and you may fall into hell, can you accept this?"
?)???
Leaning in front of the other party, Little Annie asked with her head tilted.
If she had known earlier, she could have helped the other party directly, but, thinking about the little girl who died last night, even though she had just let the other party's soul go to heaven, that was a bit unfair after all, so she did it last made this decision.
"why not?"
"Thank you very much for your gift, great existence..."
When the flame rope gradually dissipated and she could move again, the old witch held the feather in her trembling hands, and knelt down on the snow.
"That's it, I'm going to play somewhere else, bye~!"
ヾ(￣▽￣)Bye~Bye~
After dealing with the affairs here, and roughly figuring out what the story of the "little match girl" was all about, Little Annie, who felt that she seemed to be meddling in her own business, simply turned around and left.
Originally, she was supposed to leave this town in the morning, but in the end, she stayed until now, and inexplicably exposed the truth of something, and even helped both sides?
"..."
"Excuse me, are you God?"
After a long time, the old witch behind him suddenly asked such a very disturbed question.
"certainly not!"
o('^')o
"But He knows me!"
(????-)?
After turning her head and winking at the other party playfully, little Annie didn't explain much, just carried her little bear and walked forward step by step, and soon disappeared into the distance, leaving only a long String of footprints in the snow on the main street of the town.
"..."
for a long time,
The old witch who didn't know what she was thinking finally turned into a cloud of black smoke and completely disappeared in the corner of the wall.
As for the people in this town, they don't know what happened just now. Perhaps, after many years, they will be freed from the terrible story of the "little match girl" and dare to go out in the snow. Go out for a walk at night?
...
(Dear little master, you never thought about that old guy, what if she lied to you?!
?????
——Suddenly, when a sad little girl left the small town and entered the snowy field, Tibbers suddenly asked. Because, it is obviously a little reluctant to believe that old witch, it always feels that the other party seems not to be telling the truth, and it doesn't quite believe what the other party said, her granddaughter's family is all innocent! )
"That's it..."
(?′ω`?)
"Just lie, but in that case, that feather may kill her!"
(????-)?
(…)
(●￣(?)￣●)
(Sure enough, Tibbers knew it would be like this...)
"Hmph..."
??(′?｀?)???
Annie wouldn't tell Little Bear that she just couldn't judge who was right and who was wrong, so she just helped both sides like mud! Of course, if both sides are that kind of villain, then she really did something stupid...
However, as long as you don't let her know, that's fine, as for the rest, she won't care about it.
(…)
(?????)
(Tibbers really wants to remind the bad little master of his family, even if she doesn't say it, he can 'hear' some thoughts...)
———————
(*^▽^*)?Ask for tickets?(*^▽^*)