Ed remembers Allen saying that the medicine they drank would not only allow them to breathe in the water, but also ward off the cold. He didn't know if he had drunk too little, or if the potion was starting to fail - he felt a little cold.

At first, it was just a subtle pin-and-needle pain in the skin, and then the chill began to invade the bone marrow along the blood vessels. He shuddered several times involuntarily, craned his shoulders and hugged his arms, and was suddenly surprised to find that transparent flowers seemed to bloom around him in the water.

That's ice crystals.

I don't know when they began to bloom silently in the water. Clusters of tiny ice crystals sparkle in the cold light created by Sean, like delicate flowers carved from the most precious gemstones, reflecting dazzling light and growing little by little. Ed's gaze was completely drawn to them, and it wasn't until his whole body stiffened and ached in the cold that he suddenly realized that those beautiful "flowers" were not kind.

In the midst of the icy water, he saw Nalya shaking Iss vigorously, but the young man seemed unconscious and did not react. Sean gestured to Filly and walked slowly towards Is—he was still "walking" underwater! his steps were slow but steady, almost the same as on land......

Ed shook his head vigorously, shaking off the inconsequential thoughts that had always slipped into his head, realizing that something was wrong—he had seen how Iss had frozen a stream to allow them to pass, and it was undoubtedly his power, but it was clearly out of control...... And how will the knight of the water god deal with an out-of-control ice dragon?

At this time, he didn't have much hope for the paladin's "mercy".

He waved his arms and kicked his shins. Rushing towards Is, glad that his limbs were still flexible in the cold—Allen's medicine was still useful.

No one believed that he was a good swimmer...... But he's really good at swimming, especially when he doesn't need to surface for a breath. He bore like a fish between clumps of ice crystals that grew larger and larger. Quickly shook off Allen, who was swimming behind him, and managed to rush behind Iss before Sean could make a move.

But...... What to do?

He could already see the anxious look on Naria's face, and she even started slapping Is's face, but the power that always made the back of his head hurt, was obviously insignificant to an ice dragon in the water.

A cluster of ice crystals blooming beneath her feet, the transparent petals that seemed to be slowly covering her feet, seemed to be completely unaware of it.

A thought crossed my mind. Without time to think about it, Ed slammed his head straight into the back of Is's head.

Even in the water. The heavy blow also made him dizzy for a while, and he waved his limbs like drunk.

But Isis finally got a reaction.

He snapped back and glared at Ed, a cold, strange look in his golden eyes, white scales covering his cheeks—but Ed wasn't scared by this anymore.

He grimaced at Naria's ice-covered feet.

He was already quite experienced in dealing with the runaway ice dragon in front of him. Even in this case. Isis is not entirely unconscious, either. He could see and hear, and the quickest way to get him back to normal was to let him know that his friend was in danger because of him.

Naria looked down in confusion, surprise on her face. It seems that she really didn't notice that the ......'s "cold-resisting" effect seemed to have both advantages and disadvantages.

Ise lowered his head, his eyes blinking hesitantly, and then panic and guilt crept up on his face—Ed's friend had returned.

The ice flower in the water stopped growing, and Ed looked back at Sean, who had stopped silently behind him. Subconsciously stood between him and Iss.

He could feel Sean throw from those two holes in his helmet...... Or rather, the stinging gaze was almost colder than ice crystals. But he insisted on not taking a step out of the way, and even glared back boldly in a burst of annoyance.

- Where did I offend you?

He really wanted to ask so loudly.

Sean looked away.

He gave Fili a simple gesture, and the paladin, who had just arrived, shrugged helplessly and followed him towards the exit of the cave.

――Do you want to leave with them?

Ed gestured to Alan, who looked at Is.

Isis floated there with his head hung in a daze, like a child waiting to be blamed for something wrong—he hadn't looked up since he realized what he had done.

Naria rolled her eyes, and Ed could barely hear her sigh out loud. She never let go of Is's wrist, and then she pulled it without refuting it, and swam with Iss to the exit.

Isis did not resist.

It really doesn't seem to be of much use to stay here - Ed looks back nostalgically at the cavern that has darkened as Sean is gone, remembering a failed dragon hunt as a teenager. There's nothing wrong with their destination...... But this place is probably not such a good memory for Is.

Climbing to the surface, the dreary atmosphere around you is almost more unpleasant than the heavy water pressure.

Ed had no choice but to shake his head violently, and his head was full of water droplets.

"Allen...... Are you sure the last time you came here, the dragon ...... Is Bingmang's skeleton still here?" Fili had to say nothing to break the suffocating silence.

"I'm sure. Alan's tone was heavy. As he dived into the water, he realized that Bingmang's bones might no longer be there...... But seeing it with your own eyes is another matter. This is obviously even more true for Is.

Fili grabbed her hair suspiciously, "Then you're sure it was Lydia who did it, if she knew it was here, why did she wait until now to get it?and why did she let you know about it? There are obviously no traps here, and there are no other clues......

"I'm not sure—" said Allen, "but not many people know that Iceray is here, and how many but Lydia can take away a dragon's skeleton so silently?"

The hole was not large enough for the ice dragon's massive head to pass through, and whoever it was must have used magic.

"Lydia...... Can she turn a dragon's skeleton into an undead?" asked Ed cautiously—a skeletal dragon, which sounded magical and terrifying, but the thought that it was Is's mother immediately caused his excitement to drop to freezing.

"Absolutely impossible. Alan replied. Because of Is, there are probably few people in the world who know more about the creature "dragon" than him.

"The soul of a dragon cannot be summoned, let alone controlled. Part of their knowledge and power is inherited by future generations, and part of it is returned to this world, how do you separate the part that originally belonged to the dragon from a flower and a drop of water?"

This is indeed the case. But......

Isis looked up slightly. He remembered the Black Scythe—a dragon in the world that existed as a soul like it was, but if Lydia could find and control it......

His heart jumped suddenly, and he couldn't help but panic.

He couldn't imagine what it would be like for Ice to appear in front of him again in another form.

- He must find Lydia!

"Not her. ”

Sean said.

Everyone looked at the Paladin Leader, who was standing straight to the side like a spear, and no one spoke for a long time.

But Sean is probably less of an interpreter than Kelle Brian. He threw down the sentence in a tone of unmistakable conviction—and then, as if he had never said it, he continued to stand there with aplomb, ignoring all eyes.

"How do you know?" Ed finally couldn't help but ask, "Yes...... Did anyone tell you? Nyo...... Or Felicity?"

His face was full of anticipation, but in exchange for a cold glance from Sean.

"Sage. He replied, in a stern tone, "You should call her 'Sage.'" ”

Ed smiled and nodded, unconsciously shrinking back to Iss.

"How do you know?" said Is, glaring at Sean without fear, asking the same question.

After a long silence, he was surprised to get an answer—"You know the answer." ”

Iss frowned suspiciously, stunned.

The firelight illuminates the vast space underground.

Not many people know that under the ancient fortress, there is such a hall with little damage. The living have long forgotten the habits of their once most formidable foes - orcs are not dwarves, but prefer to move in the underground space, which is dark, warm and humid, like where their ancestors were born.

The stout square stone pillars are made of large blocks of granite to support the equally solid vaults. The whole hall has sixty-four vaults, rustic and heavy, lacking ornamentation, but showing awesome power in the roughness.

But even such a place could not accommodate an upright dragon.

The firelight jumped over the pale, broken skeleton of a dragon lying on the ground, staining it a dull yellow. Several figures crept cautiously through its ribs, whispering to each other, trying to put each bone back in its original position.

Someone in the shadows watched everything silently. He watched as the men struggled to attach a wrist bone to the dragon's hind paws but remained silent, a hint of boredom and mockery in his eyes.

"I'm not just letting you stay here and just watching them make all sorts of stupid attempts. ”

Someone behind him reminded coldly.

"I thought you didn't know it was a stupid attempt. He sneered, his voice hoarse and low.

"We were born out of another stupid attempt...... So even stupidity is not meaningless. The visitor seemed to have long since gotten used to his tone, and only responded lightly.

"How's your 'brother'? He smiled and changed the subject. Angering the man who dragged him here was one of his few pleasures, "I told you several times that a living dragon is a better ......"

A hand grabbed the hem of his shirt and dragged him over. In the darkness, he saw the golden eyes and the cold anger in them.

"I told you, always, always...... Don't beat his idea!".

(To be continued......)