Fili looked down at the amber liquid rippling in the silver cup. He didn't know what kind of wine it was, and he couldn't tell whether the bitterness that was gradually spreading on the tip of his tongue and in his heart was because of the wine, or because of the blood that even time could not erase.

He had seen the blackened blood on that altar, but at this moment, the most chilling thing for him was not Scott's death—after all, he was sitting in front of him now.

What chilled him the most was that Sean knew this, but he didn't say anything.

But he couldn't have done nothing...... What did he do? Felicity knew?......

He always acted according to his heart, because although he did not care about form, he had a rock-solid faith in his heart. Yet in this short year, he could almost hear his faith peeling off piece by piece like an weathered stone.

What will become of faith when it eventually turns to dust and ceases to exist?

The paladin shook his head, breaking free from the sudden panic. He was confronted with more practical questions.

"How does Lydia know?" he asked, not hiding his disgust and jealousy for the female mage, "how much does she know?"

"Maybe not much. I guess...... At least at that time. Scott replied, "Otherwise she could have done so much more." She had seen similar altars in Ankeland...... In fact, I've seen it too. ”

Ankeland ...... Filly silently repeated the cursed name in his heart. The last time he broke into Grivar and rescued Norvi, he thought he had failed to protect it, Ed was forced to tell him about a history that the elves had tried to hide as taboo, and he knew what Alan and Scott had found underground.

"So ......" he frowned, finding some kind of disturbing connection between history and reality: "This is ...... Some kind of necromancy?"

He looked up at Scott, and the sentence that came out of his mouth was originally a joke, but it sounded unusually serious: "...... You did come back 'alive', didn't you?"

Scott laughed, but the smile couldn't even dispel the shadow in his own eyes.

"My heart is still beating. He poked himself in the chest, "My blood is still flowing...... If that's 'alive' to you...... Yes, I came back alive. ”

This answer did not satisfy Filly at all.

Sacrificing the living is an evil spell. All he knew, only the necromancers would trade it for power from hell. Lydia mastered necromancy because of her discovery in Ankland, the Bofford dynasty...... Casagrande I, was it a victory from the devil?

This was so bold that he couldn't even drink.

How ironic. In the civil war more than ten years ago, if it weren't for the accidental action of the paladins of the god of water, the Boford dynasty might have been destroyed in the war......

"You're thinking too much. ”

Scott's calm voice pulled him out of the chaos,

“...... Did I say it?"

Fili was stunned and blurted out.

"No, but I know what you're thinking. That's an easy conclusion...... Even Sean had the same suspicions. Scott lowered his eyes as he looked at the letter on the table, which had been stained with wine before he finished it, and crumpled it up and tossed it aside.

With the same suspicion as Sean, Filly's face changed and he was not at all happy.

But he eventually found out that it was wrong. Scott continued in a low voice, "He found out before I came back...... It wasn't a demon who made a pact with Casagrande, it was a god...... We are now seated in his temple. ”

He remained calm, but Filly froze unconsciously in his chair.

"Otherwise how do you think I can come back 'alive'?" Scott smiled wryly, "Demons don't have this power...... You can ask Niya. The altar at Lockburg was not originally intended to be used to sacrifice the living, but the power that connected it had long since been distorted, and most of the spells had something in common...... Lydia taught Ante the wrong way, but she chose the right officiant, and Ante chose the right ...... Sacrifice. Even though he didn't get what he really wanted, he sent my soul to ......"

He kept his mouth shut.

He thought he could...... But he still couldn't bring up the place calmly.

His hands clenched and loosened unconsciously, his expression gradually went blank, and even his eyes were empty, as if his life and soul were being devoured in an instant.

It was the deepest fear that he could not forget, that he could not resist, that he could not escape.

“...... Scott!" Fili exclaimed, his voice unusually high-pitched.

Scott woke up suddenly, looked into his friend's wary eyes, and forced a smile.

"It wasn't a pleasant experience. "But I might be lucky...... Nesses, he needed someone to come back and continue what Casagrande had failed to accomplish—he needed the people of this world to know his name, to believe in him as if they were the gods of old...... He needed a spokesperson. ”

“...... And he didn't think there was anything wrong with choosing a paladin with a water god, right?" Fili's voice unconsciously lowered.

"He's a new god, powerful but impatient. Scott said of his god unconcernedly, "Otherwise he wouldn't have driven Casagrande insane by excessive contact...... His whispers are all forces beyond human resistance. ”

"It doesn't look like he's getting much more cautious now. Filly's muttering was almost exclusively audible to him.

Scott tugged at the corners of his mouth, ignoring the sentence.

"But his failure was not because of this...... Just. Casagrande's madness twists a lot of things, and possibly reveals something, and when Nesses discovers that someone is stealing his power and can't find an enemy, he abandons Stonebutch and the Boford family. ”

Nethers turned north in search of a new emissary. However, the contract cannot be completely dissolved without the consent of one party. Ante's death freed his soul and allowed him to see the contracts that were wrapped around his family's bloodline, even as Lydia turned him into an undead...... He's no ordinary undead either.

Filly looked at Scott with a little numbness in his eyes. He had heard so many unbelievable things that night that he almost didn't know what to say.

"The worst thing right now is that someone is doing the same thing. Scott whispered, "Someone is trying to steal God's power...... It would be unwise to provoke the gods again and again—they had no idea how dangerous it was. ”

“...... All right. Fili licked his lips and was still thirsty even after half a bottle of wine, "Just what you said is true...... So what are we going to do?"

"Remember what Ed said?" Scott reminded him, "that Mithril cage...... It was originally meant for me. ”

“...... You want to turn yourself into a piece of meat hanging in front of the fox's eyes?" Filly narrowed his eyes, "Even if everyone knows you're too hot to eat?"

“...... You didn't speak with so many wacky tropes before. ”

"Go to Quenia. ”

Scott held his head helplessly: "Even if it's right...... Are you going to help me?"

"You have managed to make yourself a thorn in the side of many, making your possible enemy stronger than ever...... What else can I help you?" said Filly, clasping his arms helplessly.

"For example...... Let me meet your mage friend?" Scott suggested calmly.

Fili sat up straight and changed face in an instant.

(To be continued.) )