In the most succinct terms, Ed told Eric what Philip Zeri had told him and what they had been through together, only to be met with a long silence.

"I swear I'm telling the truth!" Ed said uneasily. They are now sitting in the dry sewers of Miaz Weiss. When the snow melts, these sewers will probably still be functional, draining the water out of the city.

"Perhaps," there was a hint of desperation in Eric's heavy tone, "at least I do remember that Danvers and I, the priest, thought we could help when we arrived in the plague-plagued village. Danvers' healing and prayers were useful, but the disease soon returned, and even worse, and even we ourselves soon contracted the plague...... I don't understand why Nyo has abandoned us, and I haven't done anything...... That ice dragon!"

He suddenly became excited: "We let go of the ice dragon! The goddess must be ...... because of this."

"Wait!wait! It's Philip Zeri who let you go, he's still alive!" Ed preferred his honest and honest "Brother Eric" to the young paladin in front of him who was terrified by the loss of his god-given powers.

“...... Really?" said Eric, who didn't sound convinced.

"I swear!" Ed Singhal didn't see it with his own eyes, but he couldn't do that much now: "He can shine like a star in the dark!"

So the light still shines on him...... But why did all this happen to me? I didn't do anything to dishonor the Goddess or betray her!"

- Everything is back to square one.

Ed really didn't know what criteria Ni'or used to choose her knights. Loyal enough, or dead enough?

But Philip Zeri is not dead at all, he is just plain obnoxious.

Sighing silently, Ed suddenly remembered the teachings of the priest of Nesses that had been instilled in his head these days.

You should not question God's decision. "Maybe Goddess N'a just wants to give you another test, and once you pass, she will give you more strength." ”

“...... Really?" there was at least some hope in his tone this time.

"Of course, at least she saved your life...... You got a stab in the chest, remember that?"

“...... I don't remember. ”

There was a sound of groping and squirping.

“...... There's a hole in my chest!

Ed was speechless for a moment, he had never heard of a person who had been stabbed so happy.

"I'll tell you, it's a test!" he leaned back, and couldn't help but feel his chest, where there was also a hole, but strangely, there didn't seem to be any blood, and only a few lumps could be felt on the edge of the hole, which looked like blood had dried up and clotted.

"I don't remember anything about it......" Eric muttered to himself, a little relieved and a little regretful.

Lucky guy.

Ed thought with mixed feelings.

He wanted to forget that scene, too, but even now, he could feel the cold, hot blade piercing deep between his heart and lungs.

"You're going to die here!"

When he heard this sentence from Joan's mouth, Ed's head buzzed, and for a moment he could barely comprehend.

“...... Do they really think I'm a necromancer?" he was stunned for a long time before he squeezed out the words.

Hoan didn't answer, just desperately pulled him and ran into the depths of the hallway.

"No...... Wait! What about Fili? And Eric? How are they?"

Ed tries to break free from the boy's grasp.

"Those paladins can protect themselves!"

Huo An said without looking back.

“...... How do you know they're paladins?" Ed asked, blankly asked, the two guards' dazed faces flashing before his eyes.

Something is wrong.

He stopped, and even dragged Huo An back with all his might.

"How do you know they're paladins?!"

There was confusion and uneasiness in his voice. If Philip had confessed his identity to the followers of Nesses, then how could they possibly think of Ed as a necromancer, and what reason would they have to kill him?

Huo An turned his head, his already pale little face like a mask floating in the darkness.

"Please, come with me, Ed, or I'll die here!"

The young man's thin voice was pleading.

Ed involuntarily ran forward after him for a while, dazed in his heart, until a panicked call came from behind him: "Ed, Ed, where are you?"

It was Eric's voice.

Ed stopped again.

There were still so many things he couldn't figure out, and he didn't even dare to think about them, but he couldn't just walk away. Eric and Fili would be worried, and even if Fili could prove that he was a paladin, those people would suspect that he had other intentions if he went missing......

He broke free of Huo An's hand with all his might, but he didn't dare to look up at his face.

"I can't go. If...... If you can get out of here, go on your own. ”

He turned around and started running after a few steps, panicking as if he were running away from some terrible ghost.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Eric, it felt like he had really seen his own loved ones. But the next moment...... All he saw was the sharp tip of the knife emerging from Eric's chest.

The young face, which had been a mixture of joy and blame, stiffened in shock, and Eric looked down at his chest, as if he didn't understand what was happening.

All the sounds are frozen in the gut. Ed opened his mouth wide, but couldn't squeeze out a word, as if in a nightmare.

- If this is a dream, please wake me up.

He didn't even feel the pain when another knife was plunged into his chest from the back as well.

He distinctly heard the blisters popping in his throat, but his eyes widened as he watched Eric's body fall to the ground...... and the blonde-haired woman behind him.

"Ed ...... You should come with me. ”

In his ears was the resentful voice of the young man he had once regarded as a friend.

"You should come with me......"

At the moment of his death, he only had endless anger and self-blame, as well as indescribable sorrow.

But he's alive.

The similar feeling convinced him that it was the crystal ball on his chest that saved him and Eric, the power of the water god. Whether it's their fate or the goddess cheats - breaking the rules saved them, it's not over yet!

Ed slapped his face hard and cheered himself up. Yes, he's a fool, but he won't always be a fool.

"We need to warn Fili, the woman...... And Huo An...... Those Anktans could be in danger. Ed stood up, trying to tell from the wind that was passing through the sewers that he should go in that direction, but again—he wasn't an elf, he wasn't even Tess, he had no experience with it.

"Of course, if I accept this test, I will succeed again!" Eric said firmly, "Lord Philip Zeri must have some plan, if we can know ......"

"Oh, he does, but he won't tell me!" said Ed indignantly, "it was supposed to be my decision! Let Kharyat know that someone is missing, and force the necromancer to do something......

“...... No offense, but I don't think it's a deliberate decision, especially given that you seem to lack the ability to protect yourself. Eric began to restore the paladin's manners, but it made his words sound even more hateful.

- You seem to be the same.

Ed wanted to say something back, but held back and just snorted, "It didn't look that bad......"

Norway reminded him: "You will be the object of suspicion, and you may even be in danger." ”

"But the person behind the scenes may be careless or impatient because of this, and he will be more likely to show flaws. And you're going to protect me!" Ed had always been confident in his luck and the abilities of his companions, and even Fili, who could become a high-ranking paladin, would never be useless—at least, the guts to jump on a dragon's neck on the spur of the moment...... Or madness, Ed admits he doesn't.

He also doesn't want more people to go missing. If there were necromancers in the dark, they would most likely be dead.

No one should have to suffer such a fate for no reason.

But now Ed is beginning to suspect that maybe there is a necromancer among the missing people - being deceived and resurrected from the dead is a result of learning to doubt, and Ed doesn't know whether such a change is good or bad.

"That's a reasonable guess," Eric agreed, "I'm sure Lord Phiri Zeri would have thought of it too, and maybe he'd already seen through Joan Shaw and the woman for what he really was." ”

“...... Do you think he knows even that we are in the sewers, majestic and full of light, coming down from heaven to save us?" Ed asked.

"Probably...... It won't ......," Eric finally heard Ed's sarcasm.

"It's a test for you, Eric, you can't always rely on Fili Zeri's prowess—he doesn't have that kind of thing at all!" Ed encouraged the young paladin, "Come on, let's get out of here first!"

"Can we crawl back down the halls?" suggested Eric, "those two necromancers must not have thought we were alive." ”

While it sounded good to scare the two bastards, Ed shook his head in disapproval, "If we came down the same road...... That middle slope, are you sure you can climb it?"

"Probably not. The paladin admitted with a bit of frustration.

"We'll have to try something else. Lo and behold, this is a sewer, and the sewers in Visa City have doors to the outside world, and that's for easy maintenance...... I bet there are too, unless the elves believe that the sewers they built are so damn strong that they won't break in 10,000 years......"

"Maybe we'd better be quiet, there's no light here, and if there are undead creatures hiding in the shadows, it will be very bad for us. ”

"Hmm...... All right. Ed said reluctantly.