"They know. Ed whimsically turned the cup in his hand. He still remembers the tiring conversation in Branty's library, and although the leader of the battle mages, Tur Ogro, has cunningly defined what they did as "following the agreement" from beginning to end, if the mages had been eagerly starting to find another source of magic decades ago, even at great risk...... Then they probably would have noticed it a long time ago.

“...... What about the priests?" Naria didn't delve into the details that were bound to be a headache.

"Yes...... You know?" muttered Ed. After all, the witness of that "agreement" is the white-haired sage of Ni'e, and if she can only see the most superficial "protection", Ed himself can hardly believe it.

But no one told him, neither Ikabard...... Or Felicity.

"Pastors have another connection to their God. Iss casually drew a zigzag line on the table, "To put it simply, if you think of the source of magic as the Vinez River, the priest is a barbarian who guards the snowy mountains upstream...... Even if the river is cut off, it will be able to live longer than the mages who can only squat downstream. If we can find a way to build a dam to cut off the river and let them fight about it, the world will be a lot quieter. ”

Even with a heavy heart, the corners of Ed's mouth couldn't help but curl up - he didn't mind being compared to a barbarian...... But soon, another question came to his mind.

“...... So you always knew I was mistaken?" he glared at Is, "You know that 'rules' aren't just tied to a symbol or a circle......"

"How do I know you don't?" Is, glaring back at him, "after all, you've been the 'sacrifice' of the Old Gods—oh, and you almost became the bearer of another sacrifice before that. You're so powerful, what else don't you know?"

Naria curled her finger and struck Is's forehead.

"Speak well. "That's not what Ed himself wanted." ”

Eth looked away sullenly.

"Me too...... I thought of it not so long ago. He said dejectedly.

Ed smiled and lowered his eyes. He understood where Is's resentment came from—because he couldn't help him when he was in danger and dying...... Maybe it's because he has been scribbling in the past two days, and he hasn't even spoken a few words to him. He thought that Iss had really regained the thoughtfulness of a shy teenager who didn't know he was a dragon a few years ago, and not only did he say nothing, but he didn't carry him out of the room with his back collar, and he took on most of the responsibilities of the master on his behalf, entertaining Bertram, who lived nearby at his house and waited for the Unicorn to be repaired. But apparently, the bad temper that the awkward "Little Dragon" has developed in the past few years still exists - he actually ...... because of this Pretty happy?

"That's why Ed drew so many symbols...... Doesn't it really work?" Naria's bluntness hurt him a little more.

"It's not completely useless. Ed defended himself, drawing a circle on the table with a few minarets in the circle, "Laval, the high priest of Anduch said that the rules left by the gods still protect the world, and the power of magic operates under the rules...... Therefore, it is better to use the source of magic as a moat, and there is some kind of magic circle set up in the river, and although destroying the magic circle can destroy everything, draining the river may not not achieve the same effect, but they are likely to ...... each other."

He stopped, and stared at the symbols he had drawn—the humble drawings, very much like the countless symbols he had drawn in the past two days.

And where did the water that was pumped out go? The so-called "god bones" were really the materials needed for the ritual, some kind of consumables that were too precious...... Or is it a vessel of power like a jewel?

In the dark seabed, the magic ship that suddenly came to life seemed to shake its body again and slowly approached.

"There is another possibility. ”

Is's voice dispelled the sudden, nightmarish coldness: "'Drain the river' - this is how Scott broke the rules, and the place he deliberately chose had nothing to do with the rules...... That's for another purpose. ”

“...... Why do I think this 'purpose' is worse?" Naria sighed.

"Remember the 'dragon' in the Light of the North?" Iss asked Ed in a low voice, "the one that was cobbled together...... Monster. ”

Ed nodded silently.

"Filly told me that Scott was confident that Nesses would ...... as its shell in this world. The corners of Is's mouth twitched sarcastically, "But as a dragon, I'm sure no dragon would take that rancid, unnatural thing as his own body, let alone the proud and arrogant fire dragon." Either Scott would have dragged it in, or it had actually prepared another body for itself, and Scott didn't know what the ritual really meant...... Either way, it's not easy, Nesses doesn't belong to this world anymore, even if the rules of the gods no longer exist, this world has its own rules, and if Nesses' purpose is not to destroy it completely, it must be followed, so ...... It would require a huge circle, perhaps above the stars, perhaps above the earth—as you might guess. ”

Ed was stunned. It's really possible...... Especially when they discovered that the word of the gods was so similar to the symbols of necromancy.

"You mean 'another body,'" Naria's face was not very good, "is that you?"

Ed jerked his head up.

“...... It's me. After a long time, Iss replied, his eyes lowered and did not dare to look at any of them: "I made a promise...... In order to be able to live, in order to be able to be born......"

Curled up at the bottom of the dark sea, he finally had to face the mark engraved on his soul, even though it was he who made the promise, not him...... But the ending is no different.

“...... Dreaming!"

A moment of suffocating silence was shattered by the thud of Naria's slamming on the table.

"What is dead should die thoroughly!" she said angrily, fiercely, "if it refuses, let it die again!"

Ed opened his mouth and closed it again, not even realizing he was laughing.

He wanted to say that it was really not easy...... But who of them doesn't know? It is better to have such a momentum than to have a sad face and be terrified all day long.

"Hmm!" he nodded vigorously and waved his fist very cooperatively, "Let it die again." ”

Isis wanted to laugh, but he couldn't. He knew he was lucky – even if it was just for the preciousness of luck, he would never give up.

But it's dead...... It's not just the unwilling Yan Dragon.

.