Ed could swear that it wasn't the hand holding Nyor's Tears that he had grasped the hilt of his sword...... No, maybe not so sure.

He just felt a chill in a trance, as if another soul had passed through his body...... It's like even the soul is immersed in water. When he reacted, the small droplet of water was already hanging between the dragon's claws on the hilt of the sword, as crystal clear as in his dream, and emitting a little strange pearl, like a beautiful and blurred dream that would be shattered at the touch of a button.

He stared at it in amazement. For a short moment, time seemed to stand still, the world was peaceful, and that drop of water seemed to contain all the wisdom and hope, and when he looked deeply, even his soul could not help but fall into it.

Then he was dragged violently, and rushed forward in a daze, only to feel the fierce turbulence of the river, which had become even more ferocious than before.

A boulder with ice grazed his back and plunged into the water, slamming against the base of the statue. The ancient labyrinth beneath the castle of Christos finally collapsed completely at this moment.

The glimmer of Ni'o's tears is now the only light under the dark waters. Isis dragged him around like a fish underwater, dodging falling rubble and ice. Ed flew a flame of light above them, and gestured at Isbi in a panic - he couldn't use teleportation anymore today.

Maybe you should follow the example of the cautious mages and priests and put a life-saving spell in one of the ornaments...... He couldn't help but think with some frustration.

Iss didn't count on his teleportation skills either. He looked at the Sword of Ni'o in his hand and hesitated how to put it away—would it be able to hide it back in its original place?

When the greatsword swung, he could barely feel the hindrance of the flow of water, and even an invisible force spread out in all directions.

He raised an eyebrow, and simply swung his sword at the large black shadow falling above his head.

The Sword of Acton vibrated in his hand, and the water moved with it, as if an invisible beast roared out and rushed towards the boulder, knocking it aside with ease.

However, the boulder tumbled, and after crashing through other debris, it slammed into the collapsing labyrinth, sending out a series of loud noises.

The rocks were raining down, and there was chaos all around. Isis turned his head away from Ed's somewhat complicated eyes with a straight face, dragging him on the run.

Ed silently withdrew his gaze, casting a spell with one hand, spreading a layer of protection over them, and carefully using various methods to remove falling rocks that were too close to them.

A ray of light stretched out in front of Is's eyes, pointing straight to the upper left—Ed found the fastest way to get out of the way.

After rushing out of the crack leading to the Vinz River, there were still large and small stones falling down. Ed looked down at the deep blue that had sunk past them, stunned.

Is that...... The spire of the Kriesburg Clock Tower.

A great shadow spread out over his head. Isis transforms back into an ice dragon and carries him out of the water.

The night was deep, and the loud noises sounded like dying lamentations, and with sorrow and reluctance, Christersburg crumbled before their eyes, and the cliffs below the castle broke and peeled off one by one, and collapsed into ruins very quickly but very slowly.

“...... Someday it's going to collapse. ”

In the long silence, the voice of the ice dragon floated down from above him.

"But...... It has a soul......" Ed muttered back.

"It's going to break up one day. The ice dragon told him, "That's what it was...... Something that shouldn't exist. In any case, it has fulfilled its mission. ”

Ed was silent—they had taken what it was guarding. In fact...... It should be said that they ruined its mission, right?

"But...... It's home......" he said.

For a long time, he didn't call this gloomy castle home. He prefers the sunny courtyard by the river in Visa, where he can watch the ships coming and going in the harbor on the other side. But when it was destroyed and repaired again and again, when he left and came back again and again, its gray stone bricks and towers, its yellow-colored doors and spiraling staircases, and even the portraits of his ancestors in the corridors that he neither knew nor liked, were etched in his memory little by little.

It's home. It's where Vala is...... It's also where she left. What if her soul returns and she can't find it again, the roses she planted in the yard?

Ed struggled.

"Let me go. He said, "...... Just put it on the bridge!"

A stone bridge spans a deep ditch that connects Kriesburg with the fields and forests outside the castle. Now half of the stone bridge has collapsed along with the city wall, and half of it still hangs over the deep ditch.

The ice dragon did not refuse. It put him on the stone bridge, but it didn't fall down - it couldn't bear its weight anymore.

A breeze whipped up its wings, and the regular flapping of its wings calmed Ed down.

He was able to repair damaged items, so spells weren't that hard...... But now he wanted to repair the "item...... It's a bit too big.

“...... It's still here. The voice of the ice dragon fell, "It knows more about every nook and cranny of this castle, every bit of fragment than you do. ”

It knew what he wanted to do.

Ed laughed, and it suddenly occurred to him that it didn't seem to be that difficult.

He stretched out his hands and summoned souls that weren't supposed to exist...... What is there that shouldn't exist? Since it has been born, what is the point, right? Not to mention, it is such a warm and resolute soul.

There was a small sound in the wind, like the whispering of someone. The waters of the Vinez River rolled up and sent back the debris it had swallowed, and the ground shook and rose upward. In the labyrinth of no return, the river receded and rocks grew, holding up a solid foundation between the broken passages and the broken statues. Little by little, the shattered stone bricks returned to their original positions, and the tall tower stood upright and wore its dark blue spire back on. Carpets that had been dull from uncleaned dust were rolled back to the ground, and in the winding corridors, plants that were still growing tenaciously spat out tiny buds from pots on the walls......

The wind blew through the hallway, like a low, contented sigh.

Once again, Chrysersburg rises above the cliffs, intact and reborn.

“...... I did it. ”

Ed whispered to himself, then looked up again and told his friend, "I did it!"

In the night, his smile seemed to glow.

The ice dragon looked down at him. He was delighted...... So, maybe don't tell him now, the restoration, in a sense, is to turn back time on an object, back to the moment when it wasn't destroyed - repairing such a castle may be unpredictable for Ed.

Even if he knew, he would have made the same choice. After all...... It's home.

Ice dragons are not like humans. They seldom develop too much attachment to a place, and when a habitat is no longer habitable, they go to find the next, occupy it, or snatch it...... They have never been a place to call home.

But when it looked up and looked at the proud castle again, it had to admit that it was still here...... It's also a pleasure.

.