Blood dripped from the fingertips, but it wasn't wasted. Currell caught the drop of blood with the sword he had just picked up, and lifted his chin helplessly towards the darkness as Ed looked uneasy and frightened.

“...... In there. He said, "Otherwise, I would have cut it down a long time ago!"

Ed heard what he wasn't saying.

"Is he still alive?" he asked, his tone rising in delight.

"At least there's a heartbeat. Correll replied, not standing in the way of him to protect him, but sprang in the other direction, "Hold on a little longer!"

They are not unprepared. Now that we know the true face of the enemy and the ways to harm it, of course, there is no need to fight alone.

Ed swung his sword to cut through the tentacles that probed in front of him, his scalp tingling from the strange feeling of condensation—it felt like cutting through the water, but perhaps it was disgust, and he always felt that what he had cut was more like rotting and dissolving flesh.

The uncoagulated blood didn't stop the monster's attack, but Korrell was clearly a more tempting target than him. However, the heavy and surging black fog seemed to pay more attention to the Stobel who was encased in it. It used most of its power on it, and the way it wriggled was almost like trying to digest something.

Ed broke out in a cold sweat from his own imagination. He looked at the elf's scurrying figure, and then at the black mist. Of course he could stand here until Fenway and they arrived, and he wouldn't mind using his own blood as a weapon...... But what was Karmak's purpose? did he really think that he was so powerful that no one could defeat him?or was he just a pawn to be deceived and used?...... So what's the point of this move? Is it just for Stobel's life?

Ed gritted his teeth and took a step forward.

As long as there is still a slight possibility, he has to rescue Stobel, otherwise the ** Shita will probably really be finished...... And, he felt, maybe the truth was hidden in the black fog.

He moved forward at an extremely slow pace. But sensing his intentions, more attacks came at him—the black mist was indeed conscious.

Correll swept back like a gale. He was smaller than most elves, but his way of fighting was more concise and not a little fancy. In the dim light, the longsword, which had lost its magic and stained with blood, was as faint as rust, but it showed a terrifying momentum in his hands.

"Are you sure?" he asked, having guessed Ed's purpose.

“...... You've got to try. Ed said.

Krell chuckled lowly.

"That's right!" he said, unconsciously accenting a soft Southern accent in his fluent lingua franca, "If I hadn't thought 'try it,' I probably wouldn't have done anything about it right now...... Uh, that, I'm sorry. ”

He "tried" to slash Ed when he lost consciousness, and now that he thought about it, he felt a little guilty.

But there was more of a faint excitement in his tone, which made Ed's tense nerves relax a lot—this half-elf was a natural adventurer.

With Corell's help, he got closer to his goal faster...... But at the same time, they were also almost completely surrounded by black mist, like two worms wrapped in black cocoons, and had to get closer and closer.

"You rush out first. Ed said.

“...... Are you sure?" asked Currell.

Ed pretended to shrug calmly, "It can't swallow me anyway, can it?"

Currill didn't hesitate any longer. And if it gets worse...... One of them has to survive.

The sword almost flashed like a dull electric light when it was slashed. The black mist was twisted open, and a faint light penetrated in, and then disappeared in an instant. Ed swallowed nervously in the utter darkness, gave up his resistance, slipped his dagger back into his boot, closed his eyes and reached for it.

He could feel the black mist covering his skin, and he shivered involuntarily. The thing was sticky like cold blood, with a strange fishy smell, and it licked like a thin snake letter, as if it could burrow into his flesh in the next moment. He struggled to stay awake and resisted the urge to cast spells - even though his ** could not be harmed, his consciousness seemed to be able to be affected...... And all magic seems to only become nourishment for the other party.

But even as he resisted, the fog seeped into his mind, blurring all consciousness and emotion. The suffocating suffocating stupor wasn't just because he was holding his breath involuntarily - it could touch his soul, almost more real than the feeling of touching his **.

What kind of existence is this? It's as if there's a part of it in this world and a part of it outside of this world...... From this point of view alone, it seems to resemble a snake again.

He tried to fight back in his soul. Since no one had taught him what to do, he began to fantasize that he had a little man with a sword in his head, just like Corell, with great skill and natural agility. That's kind of ridiculous...... But it seems to work?

He was still awake when his fingertips touched the mage's soft, smooth robes, even more sober than when he had just been surrounded by black mist. He was pleasantly surprised to feel the elastic muscles under his fingers, felt the temperature that belonged to life, and pulled hard.

However, the mage did not move, it was almost as if it had grown on the ground.

Ed tucked the Staff of Eternity into his belt and pulled it with both hands, but Stormel remained motionless, even as if another force was pulling the mage's body from the opposite direction. In desperation, Ed held out his other hand...... Then he was scared half to death - his soul poked out when he didn't know it.

For a moment, there was no longer thick darkness in front of me. He saw countless colors swirling, colorful and thorny like butterfly wings...... It is also like the crown of the scaly head of the spotted leaf dragon, which is too bright and messy to make people feel chills in dizziness. The internal organs twitched and twisted together, and I wanted to vomit something, but I couldn't.

He was sweating hot and cold, and he closed his eyes, but he still couldn't escape the intense and chaotic color. In the panic, the power of magic naturally condensed, and was quickly evacuated. He could almost feel the excitement and pride of the other party, but there was nothing he could do...... Until I heard an unexpected voice.

The voice was old and hoarse, as if it would not be able to catch the next breath, but it was full of mockery all the time: "Really...... I've never seen you so willing to give stupid. ”

It was the voice of Verona.

It was as if some force had pushed him hard...... When he opened his eyes suddenly, all he saw was darkness.

But he remembered that last glimpse—in that dazzling field of color, there was a long, thin, black mark, like a wound cut by the claws of a beast...... Like a crack cleaved by a sharp sword.