After carefully groping for a long time, Fili's doubts deepened.

There was silence in the darkness, and a thin mist of light, not a source of light, shrouded him from all sides, so that he could not reach out of his fingers, but not see his own shadow...... It felt weird.

This mysterious place, where all the passages are straight, crisscrossed perpendicular to each other at regular intervals, feels like a huge chessboard divided by solid stone walls...... And Filly didn't want to be one of the blind pawns.

The walls were cold and smooth, with no crevices to be felt, as if they had been precisely carved from a single block of rock, rather than made of stone bricks. The stale air seemed to have been undisturbed for a long time, but it was not as humid as the southern underground, making Filly wonder if it was underground.

For a moment he suspected that he was already on the top of the Triple Tower, a black tower that was clearly inextricably linked to Rockburg, but no one had yet fully figured out its secrets.

Maybe he should have talked to Niya, the thief who had returned from Hell and knew many forgotten legends...... Although he said it in the overly vivid tone of storytelling by the fireplace of a tavern, it sounded like a fake for the most part.

...... Maybe he shouldn't have broken into this damn place alone.

In the blurred vision, a faint black shadow flashed rapidly.

The paladin cautiously stopped. He heard nothing—except his own footsteps and heartbeat, which were already light enough, and he didn't feel the movement of the air, as if it were only a hallucination of exhaustion and dryness in his eyes that were not accustomed to darkness...... Or the ghosts that roam here.

But he is not a man who has never seen a ghost...... Whether with hatred or sadness. Or just losing their bearings, souls who shouldn't be hovering in this world always bring a chill that goes deep into the marrow—a chill that a paladin as sophisticated as his would not mistaken.

He stood there silently, calmly watching the dark shadow flash through the passage not far from him again.

This time it moved much slower—as if it were too slow for him not to see.

It was a woman. With long black hair and a black skirt, his miserable white and blurry face was hidden in the misty black mist, and before disappearing, he even seemed to glance sideways at him.

Filly involuntarily tugged at the corners of his mouth - to scare the crappy apparition...... Or lure a paladin, and the effect may not be as good as a living mouse.

He stooped forward slowly, looking interested in the sudden appearance of the "ghost". But when he caught the slightest movement behind him, he turned around and rushed towards it with no less speed than any elf.

He heard a low exclamation...... But he didn't have time to be complacent.

The blue-white arc of light quickly cut through the darkness in front of him, and the overly bright light made him completely lose his sight for a moment. A strong electric current rushed down his toes and rushed through his body, and the paladin tensed his muscles in the severe pain, and couldn't help but let out a loud curse, quickly rolling backwards.

He's just walked down this road...... There were no pitfalls here!

The body briefly loses control. But it didn't hurt too much - the enemy hiding in the darkness probably knew that the paladins could tell the difference between phantoms and ghosts. Unbeknownst to him, Fili had chosen lightning protection for his emblem after becoming a paladin after becoming a paladin.

...... But this place can actually cast spells! If he knew so, he wouldn't have to touch it like a half-blind man!

He stiffened and collapsed on the ground, simply closing his eyes, motionless, as if he had been completely stunned. After a few moments, a slight breeze was felt on my sweaty forehead...... Someone cautiously approached him.

He controls his heartbeat. until you can feel the other person's breathing...... And smell a faint aroma. When the right hand clinging to his waist stretched out like lightning, and the short knife that had not been used for a long time was attached to the opponent's neck. He hadn't even fully opened his eyes yet.

“...... Good afternoon, Countess. ”

He spoke calmly at the pair of blue eyes that were as round as a cat in front of him.

“...... Good afternoon, Paladin-sama. Agnes smiled as sweetly and absentmindedly as usual, as if they had met by chance outside the gates of Lockburg, as they had done yesterday.

"What are you doing here?" she even preemptively asked Filly the question with a curious expression.

“...... Grab mice. The paladin sat up and replied dryly, the dagger resting in place, forcing Agnes to remain on her knees.

He didn't want to hurt the woman...... But she won't be asked to recite half-word incantations again.

Agnes giggled, "Oh, I'm not a mouse. ”

"Of course...... After all, even Lockburg's rats can't do magic. Filly's face sank, and he began to get a little tired of the conversation.

"Does your family know about this?" he asked bluntly.

Agnes looked at him quietly, the smile on her face fading.

“...... I am not your enemy. She whispered, "I just want to protect my family." ”

"Wouldn't killing me help with that?"

Filly was unmoved. Walter's warning still rings in his ears...... His muscles were still aching.

"If you really want your life, it's not hard to change the trap. Agnes looked calm.

Filly hesitated.

It wasn't a deadly trap, and even if he wasn't wearing his protective ring, it wouldn't kill him, but at most it would make him faint for a while......

He looked at Agnes. The elusive woman was also calmly staring directly at him, looking tired and sincere without a half-truth smile as a mask...... But Fili wasn't sure if it was another mask.

He cleared his throat, thinking that this might be a good opportunity to figure something out, and the moment he spoke, he suddenly saw another figure other than him in those bright blue eyes...... And he was already unable to react in time.

He didn't hear a sound, and his heart seemed to be held tightly by a cold hand. It wasn't some hallucination born of fear, but real pain and suffocation.

A black mist rises before my eyes...... He wondered if he still had the good fortune he had yesterday.

He really shouldn't have broken into this place alone.

The loosened dagger fell to the ground with a soft thud.

Agnes watched the paladin fall heavily to the ground, the expression on his face did not change in the slightest, but the muscles in the corners of his eyes twitched slightly uncontrollably.

The corpse lying there silently and coldly reminded her of another dead paladin...... Remembering the life that Lowell Turner had ended in her hands

"You know how much trouble his death will cause, right?" she asked coldly, "He's a friend of Scott's...... And as long as he doesn't show up for Frederick tonight, everyone will start looking for him...... Are you going to burn his body like Ante?"

Lydia smiled, hid her pale fingers back in her wide sleeves, and replied nonchalantly, "Scott has no shortage of reasons to kill me, Fili? Zeri - but this paladin is not one of the men you fooled, and you can easily fool him...... If he gets out of here alive, won't you be in even more trouble?"

"So you're doing this for me?" Agnes sneered, "It's impressive. ”

“...... No. Lydia chuckled softly, "I just wanted to try my newfound toy." ”

Agnes' gaze involuntarily drifted to her right hand, hidden in her sleeve. She hadn't seen it at all, but Lydia seemed to have a small object in her hand...... And the slightest touch of it could easily take the life of Fili Zeri?

Where did Lydia go and what did she get during the time she disappeared?

At this moment, the black-haired female mage was looking down at Fili's corpse thoughtfully. Her face was pale and blue in the faint light, and she was even more lifeless than ever...... It even made Agnes feel like she was facing two dead people.

In her uneasiness, she suddenly realized that her still half-kneeling posture looked extremely ironically like mourning.

"What the hell did you call me here for?" she said, standing up, frustratingly patting the dust off her long skirt, "if it's just to show off your 'new toy,' can you at least pick a place where I can see it?"

Lydia looked up, lazily held out a finger to her lips, and sighed as Agnes frowned in exasperation.

"You're right. "It really seems like the wrong choice...... I was just trying to find a quiet place, but I didn't expect that it would be so many rats running around in a short time. ”

Agnes' heart tightened - that idiot from Gard wouldn't have followed Philip in too, would he?!

"Follow me. Lydia beckoned to her, "Leave this place to the rats...... Anyway, it's just a ruined place forgotten by God. ”

As she turned, her floor-length skirt brushed against Filly's pale face. Agnes followed in silence, took a few steps, and couldn't help but glance back.

She felt that Fili's eyelashes seemed to tremble slightly...... That's probably just a delusion. After all, the light is so dim......

She looked around in amazement, and suddenly noticed that the light and mist that permeated the place was unconsciously brightening.

(To be continued......)