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Chapter 55 Part 2 – The secret of the Blue Diamond. The story of how the Witch of Doom was born. In order to get those children back one day ……

「…… Aaaah ……!! …… Aaaahhh ……!!」

Dwayne wailed like a beast and broke down in tears.

He pressed his cheek against the wall and pounded his fist against it, thinking of the days when he had told various stories amidst the smiling circle of children. The words left behind on the wall seemed like children themselves and they were painfully endearing.

「…… I’m ……!! What am I to be protected by the children ……!! How can someone like me …..!!」

The children tried to protect Dwayne, just as Dwayne tried to save them.
They knew that Dwayne was planning to sacrifice himself in order to let them escape.
Dwayne failed to account for the kindness of the children and that brought out the worst outcome.

「I killed them ……!! Such wonderful children!! I should have forced them to escape ……!! I was …… so stupid ……!!」

He wanted to kill himself for being so stupid.
He cried all night long, wailing with cries of regret that seemed to tear his throat.

…… The altar table had been forcefully set up by Dwayne after wielding his authority as the second-in-command priest. Ever since that day, he has offered flowers everyday, not missing a single day. Dwayne has a small indoor flower garden in his home that blooms year-round for his experiments. He picks the flowers there. It was the favorite place of the sacrificed children. Dwayne taught the children the names of the various flowers there.

「…… Sorry everyone, there’s only this little bit of flowers. It’s going to rain soon …… and then there will be lots of flowers again in the garden. The flowers that everyone loved so much …… Until then, be patient with these little flowers. I’ll come again. ……」

Dwayne spoke softly.
His voice was terribly hoarse, yet more compassionate than anyone else’s.

In contrast, the Blue Diamond emitted a cold light.
Despite the hot weather, the inside of the temple is as cold as if it were covered with ice.
Dwayne stared angrily as the flowers he had offered shriveled up in a flash. As a priest that has mastered profound secrets, his eyes could clearly see that the Blue Diamond was absorbing the life out of the flowers.

「…… You gluttonous monster diamond. I did not offer these flowers to you. These flowers are for the children whose young lives and futures have been stolen by you.」

Dwayne spat out, each word filled with hatred.

Ten years ago, the Blue Diamond performed a miracle after devouring the lives of sacrificed children. The fields once again had an unbelievably rich harvest, and the forest grew abundantly and intricately around the living area of the people of the forest, repelling the invasion of foreign enemies. It was truly a miracle of god and the people of the forest were once again shaken by the wondrous power of the Blue Diamond, making their worship grow stronger.

However, in contrast to them, Dwayne has lost his faith since that day.

No matter how many miracles this jewel, which preyed on people’s feelings, showed him, he could only think of it as a deception.

The Blue Diamond of the people of the forest is an impossible existence in this world.

Diamond is the hardest mineral and it is not easy to sharpen it even with the current human civilization. And yet, how about this extremely exquisite craftsmanship? Besides, blue diamonds are rare gems. Let alone one this large, it would normally be impossible. This fact, which used to seem like a miracle of god and make one’s heart pound, now spreads in Dwayne’s chest with a terrible and ominous bitterness.

Just as a flower beckons insects with its sweet nectar, he can’t shake the sinister thought that something evil is mimicking the appearance of a beautiful gem in order to attract people. This is no mere jewel. A tremendous power is swirling inside it. But even with his excellent psychic vision, Dwayne had no idea what was lurking inside this Blue Diamond.

Dwayne bit his lip.

‘…… We, the people of the forest, have taken the wrong road. Even though our ancestors had warned us …… A miraculous diamond? What a bunch of nonsense. What kind of peace can be achieved at the expense of children? Even a beast will lay down its life to protect its own offspring. That is how life is passed on. That was the real miracle …… Children are the future. We have abandoned the future. Now the people of the forest are inferior to beasts.’

That jewel was originally sealed as a taboo in the basement of the temple.

The ancestors of the people of the forest left a warning.

Only when an insurmountable crisis threatens the people of the forest should they offer sacrifices and ask for the help of this diamond. But do not forget. This is an evil deed. It is a shameful act. Shed too much blood and you will surely pay for it.

It was the current high priest who broke that prohibition.
He forcefully carried out the sacrificial ritual and showed the miraculous power of the Blue Diamond.

At that time, the people of the forest were threatened by foreign enemies and were suffering from famine. They were overjoyed by the miraculous aid that exceeded the tales. Once one chooses the easy path, there is no easy way back. The Blue Diamond was worshiped as the incarnation of god and was placed at the top of the temple. Then they began to frequently carry out sacrificial rituals and children were sacrificed instead of captured foreign enemies.

Dwayne clenched his fist.

Sacrificing invading enemy warriors can be seen as a sign of respect for their excellent strength. It is still a savage custom, but it has a completely different meaning from sacrificing helpless children.

「…… It is a monstrous jewel that can bend the laws of nature. However, as long as I am still alive, I will never allow sacrificial rituals to be carried out again.」

Dwayne stared at the Blue Diamond sitting on the altar, then turned on his heel and left the temple. The Blue Diamond glowed as if ridiculing him and stared at his wide back as he moved away.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　◇

「Teacher!!」

「Teacher Dwayne!!」

「Welcome back!!」

When Dwayne stepped out of the temple, the children surrounded him with cheers and jumped on him. These children are the orphans that Dwayne is taking care of. Looking at how the children acted like a pack of excited puppies, Dwayne broke into a smile as he held them in his arms.

「Oh, you guys came all the way out here to pick me up? Thank you.」

「Teacher, look at this.」

The youngest child smiled and opened her clenched little hand and showed Dwayne a carved wooden doll. It was poorly made by the child, but Dwayne could tell that it was a replica of the child herself.

「Oh my, that’s so good! Did Kele-chan make this doll to resemble yourself?」

The little girl gave Dwayne a charming smile as he bent down his huge body to ask her the question. Since she was in the process of losing her deciduous teeth, there were several gaps in between her teeth.

「That’s right!! The doll is the same as Kele!!」

The doll was so faithfully reproduced that Dwayne couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

「Umm, umm, teacher Dwayne. It’s almost teacher’s birthday, right? So we all made dolls that resemble us to give it to teacher as a present. So that even if we are not by teacher Dwayne’s side, we can always protect you.」

Kele was embarrassed and restlessly rubbed the ground with her toes as she tried her best to explain, causing the other children to make an uproar.

「Why did you say that?」

「We promised to keep it a secret until the teacher’s birthday.」

Dwayne’s eyes became teary.
He chuckled as he thought that as he gets older, it is getting easier for him to be moved to tears.

「…… Auh, auaaah.」

Kele was flustered as the children blamed her, so he put his big hand on Kele’s head.

「Thank you, I’m very happy. Everyone made me so happy today and I’m also happy that I will get your dolls as a gift during my birthday. I can experience twice the happiness. I’m so blessed to have such a wonderful family.」