Even in the fog, a dragon with a large body is a hard target to miss.

Enchanted arrows don't do much lethal damage to the ice dragon, but they can make it more and more irritable in pain. At one point, however, the deafening roar and the rambling suddenly stopped, as if the dragon had finally exhausted. The attackers hidden in the fog invariably stood still as if frozen, and at that moment, Is, who had quietly turned back into a human, found his target.

His steps were light and fast, like a ghost. Anger poured out, engulfing almost everything...... He still remembers retracting his overly sharp claws as he gripped at the other's body.

The mist dispersed for a moment as he lunged past, but the face looming in the mist caused his black vertical pupils to shrink into lines.

That's not Scott.

“...... Copas Fenton!!"

The anger was so strong that the human voice had the high-pitched sound that could only erupt from the dragon's chest. But he didn't grasp the other pastor's body, and the moment he touched it, it slid away like a snake.

"Sorry...... The person you're looking for isn't here. ”

The priest's voice no longer sounded like Scott. The voice was peaceful, steady, almost with genuine regret and comfort, but there was a cold mockery hidden in the deepest depths, like a stinger hidden under the pure white petals of the Orfinor flower.

For a moment, Is's eyes went black. He couldn't believe that he could make such a mistake, and he couldn't believe that anyone could deceive his keen perception like this. When he reacted and tried to catch the priest who dared to deceive him again, he suddenly found that he was stuck in a fog.

It was as if there was a hurricane that had rolled up all the fire and fog at some point. They shrieked and coalesced, surging and entangled, and in the blink of an eye they had been swept into a strange whirlpool. Some tremendous force crushed Is's entirety, like into the icy darkness of the sea, or into the heavy, clammy mud. He couldn't get out, he couldn't even breathe. He didn't feel the pain, but he clearly felt like a piece of rag being twisted and torn apart.

He's going to die here...... Is it?

Anger and horror burned his consciousness into a blank slate. And after that void, the barrier that he had tried so hard to freeze shattered again.

It was as if something had been pulled from his soul, and with apathy and disgust, he looked down at the ridiculously fragile human body that was struggling in the whirlpool.

That's not its body.

When Ed rushed into the stone hall, no one looked at him distractedly. Even though the fire and fog have dissipated, the expressions on everyone's faces are clearly visible in the completely illuminated space.

Horror, fanaticism, or fear.

The light comes from the center of the whirlpool. The rapidly swirling thick fog was like a tornado falling in the sky in the evening, dyed with the gold of the fire of the setting sun, and cold gray and black under the dark clouds...... It was lit again and again by the accumulated thunder and lightning.

However, such a scene appeared underground, and the sound was not a dull thunderclap but a scream like a ghost's cry, and no matter how you look at it, it is very ominous.

Ed shook his head vigorously, trying to sober himself up. The terrible voices went straight into his head, like a bunch of imps with not-so-sharp knives, trying to cut his soul out.

"It will take all the soul and life as a sacrifice. Travis wasn't lying about that.

A hand rested heavily on his shoulder. Ed turned his head to see Boreth's blue face.

The king, whose face was ugly and looked like a dead man, seemed to be far from death, and at least he still had the strength to point to the increasingly dazzling silver-white light in the center of the whirlpool and squeeze out a sentence: "...... That dragon is going to be taken away. ”

Ed knows.

He tried to concentrate and searched his mind frantically, but he couldn't find any way to drag Isis out......

No, maybe there is one.

He stretched out his right hand, spread his five fingers, clenched it hard, and recited the incantation aloud, hoping to improve his chances of success. Not far away, a young priest might have heard his voice, and turned his head to look at him like a madman or a fool, a spell so simple that it was so simple that it was simply unworthy of being here.

A hazy giant hand appeared in mid-air, swaying and submerging into the shrinking but still spinning fire mist, silent again.

“...... What's that?" Borena asked, clearly devoid of hope in his dry tone.

“...... Phantom Hand Ed replied stiffly.

“...... What's the use?"

"...... the recipient," Ed's voice paused, and suddenly he raised excitedly, "Bring the recipient to me!"

He was almost cheering, and Borena was dumbfounded.

The hand that didn't seem to have any strength to speak of had returned to them, clenched palms, and the hazy human form still glowed with silver-white light.

Spells that complete the quest disappear in the blink of an eye. Isis fell out of mid-air and slammed into the ground. Ed hurriedly pounced, and the surprise in his heart turned into a chill the moment he touched the other party's eyes.

It wasn't Is's eyes, even when he was at his most angry, even when he almost killed him, there had never been such a ...... in Is's eyes The hatred and contempt that made his blood freeze.

This is not Is...... This is also Is.

The worst comes at the worst of times.

Ed's mind was in turmoil. For a brief moment, he remembered Is's unprecedented "I'm sorry" a few days ago, and remembered Naria's loud "...... Then beat you up and drag you back. ”

He grabbed a stone and slammed it Is's head under Borena's incredulous, almost dull gaze.

Perhaps it was because he didn't expect his actions at all, or maybe he couldn't fully control his body, and Iss couldn't dodge the blow. The expression on his face froze with indescribable consternation and anger before he fell to the ground.

The bloody stone fell from his hand, and Ed shuddered involuntarily.

“...... You...... Crazy?"

Borena's eyes were straight, and his voice seemed to be floating.

Probably soon.

Ed replied silently, carefully confirming that his friend who had been knocked unconscious by him was not in danger of dying, and sincerely hoped that he would have the same good fortune when he woke up.

A last terrible scream rang out in the air, and the swirling fire and fog were finally pulled away.

The sacrifice has been offered. A faint tremor shook the entire pit, with a peculiar rhythm, beating like a drum, as if it had come from eternity, and then gradually disappeared into the distance.