Run... run forward!
This was the only thought in Aizahár's mind. Even though she couldn't see or hear, even though she didn't know if her body was carrying out the command to run, the command still existed in her mind.
Fortunately, her body had never given up on her.
Without communication, her body ran.
With every step, blood dripped beneath her feet. Every breath could be her last. Every heartbeat could lead to a flat line.
But she still ran forward, on this road she had walked countless times, without looking back.
She didn't hear a whistling sound pass by her ear, nor did she feel her body suddenly lose balance.
Aizahár didn't even know if she had fallen. She could only change the thought in her mind, turning [run forward] into [get up].
"She dodged it again."
"How on earth did she do that?"
"A desperate struggle!"
"At least she's really trying to stay alive."
If Aizahár's five senses hadn't been stripped away, she would have seen the two spears sticking out of her body.
One had pierced her abdomen, and the other her shoulder, forcing her to lie on her side even when she fell.
Blood was constantly pouring out of her body. In the short time she had been down, it had already formed a pool of blood.
But her body still hadn't given up. The way she struggled to get up was nothing short of a miracle.
She wanted to live... reaching out to grasp the hope of survival that might be ahead.
A spear mercilessly pierced through Aizahár's palm, pinning the hand she might have used for [envious] taking to the ground.
"It hit this time."
"No one can escape a judgment that has already been decided!"
"This is the punishment you were destined to suffer!"
Compared to the first two spears, the one shot this time carried an extra sense of authority. The other spears floating around her also seemed to have evolved, all carrying that peculiar feeling.
"Hrk—" A sound like the bursting of dense bubbles came from Aizahár's throat. She could no longer speak.
With her hand pinned in place, she had completely lost any chance of escape.
I can't die...
Not that she didn't want to, but she couldn't.
From the deepest part of her being, she would not allow her faith to be tarnished in any way. To die at the hands of a false god was her shame!
So she couldn't just die so easily...
But what could she do?
Her other hand was pierced the moment she raised it, pinned to the ground in front of her like the first one.
And she raised her head, a final act of defiance.
"I... can't..."
A spear was pressed against her back. The black-robed person held the spear, their eyes still hollow and emotionless.
Without any hesitation, the black-robed person exerted a little force and thrust the spear down.
A jet of blood shot onto the black-robed person's face, causing their eyelashes to tremble slightly.
They saw, at Aizahár's fingertips, two crooked words written in blood.
[she]
[black]
Was this... a message?
The black-robed person raised their head slightly and met the eyes of the white-haired man who had caught the spear with one hand.
"You are..."
"Judgment!!!" Along with a furious roar, a strong light erupted between the two. The Herrscher instantly shut up, released the spear, and raised both hands in front of them.
This shot was fired almost at point-blank range. The fleeting light instantly stretched a hundred meters, pushing the black-robed person a hundred meters away.
The beam of light disappeared in an instant. The black-robed person landed, expressionlessly raising their hand to look at their left forearm, which had directly touched the beam of light.
The clothes on their entire left arm had been shredded, revealing a pale arm with a scorched mark. The entire hand was trembling slightly, obviously because the Judgment just now had not been easy to take.
On the other side, Siegfried was not idle either.
He threw away the spear he had intercepted, pulled out the spear stuck in Aizahár's hand with a backhand, and then neatly shot and broke the spear that had pierced her body, scooping the unconscious and dying Aizahár from the ground and protecting her in his arms.
And the hand holding the Star of Judgment was also trembling slightly. This time, he had also fired the [Judgment] with one hand.
But fortunately—he had made it in time.
It wasn't that he was trying to show off by using the Star of Judgment at this time. It was because the position where Aizahár and the black-robed person were was not suitable for a long-range snipe.
It was as if he had run into love around the corner, suddenly seeing the two of them in front of him. The moment he pulled out the Star of Judgment, his other hand had already grabbed it.
The stinging pain in his palm made him frown slightly, but it was not worth mentioning compared to the child in his arms.
Both hands pierced, two spears in her body... and dense, tiny wounds on the surface of her body, covering almost every inch of her skin. And the two horrifying scars on her eyes showed what kind of torture this child had suffered.
"To use such a private punishment on a child..." Siegfried gritted his teeth, his anger causing the corners of his mouth to twitch. The Star of Judgment was pointed at the black-robed person, carrying his roar.
"Is this the justice you want to carry out, Herrscher?!"
A beam of light shot out from the muzzle. The black-robed person twisted to the side, but was still grazed by the beam of light on their hood, revealing the dark and beautiful face of a young girl.
Perhaps someone would have been stunned at this moment, but not Siegfried.
He was more concerned about whether the child in his arms could survive. He had emergency medicine on him, which could probably keep the girl alive. He believed that Cecilia already knew the news and was on her way here.
As long as the girl could hold on, Cecilia would definitely be able to save her.
So no matter how much his anger swelled, Siegfried chose to retreat at this moment, to find a safe place to inject Aizahár with the medicine.
"You want to save her?" After taking off her hood, the black-robed person... no, the Herrscher, seemed to have lost her voice changer. The words she spoke had also become an emotionless girl's voice.
Without waiting for Siegfried's reply, she shook her head to herself. "You shouldn't save her..."
"Of course I should!"
Their voices overlapped. The Herrscher had not expected Siegfried to actually answer her question.
And Siegfried was still answering.
"I don't know what sins you have pinned on this child, but right now, all I see is you trying to kill this child! So I must stop you!
"Until I know the truth, I will not continue to let you do as you please, using private punishments!"