They couldn't cut the connection between the rift and the circle, but after determining that the only part of the pit that was connected to it in another dimension was covered by the circle, they took the entire lower part of the pit that was used as the "entrance" and stripped it from this world, making it a part of hell completely, and at the same time extracting the souls of all the Black Rock Dwarves and leaving them to stay there. That way they can literally kill the demons, and their souls will eventually be able to seal the rift so that it can no longer have the slightest influence on the other world—it will never again involve the people who are here in their battlefield as it is now.

"Stupid!" Mock roared angrily at this, "If you don't know how to seal that rift, can't you go to humans and elves for help?!Is it so hard to admit your mistakes?!Is it a greater shame than sacrificing the lives of all the dwarves that you should have accepted to accuse or even ridicule?!"

“...... Not all dwarves. The young dwarf flinched in his rage, and stubbornly retorted, "The old man and the child, who cannot fight, have been sent to another place, and, you, the Brass Flame Dwarf, are not still alive? and the Bolt Dwarf...... We made mistakes, so we take it ourselves, what's wrong?"

Mork's face turned pale, and the back of his hand clenched on the tomahawk burst into veins, and he looked like he wanted to pick up the axe and split him in half, even though he was indeed a disembodied ghost at the moment.

It took a lot of effort for Ed to keep them from arguing any further. He hurried to ask about the original use of the circle, but Ulrich hesitated, and was finally coaxed out by him to tell the truth:

"It allows veins in the rock to grow again, like plants on the ground, that grow fast and well. ”

In this way, they do not have to leave their homes because of lack of resources, and they can stay here no matter how time passes.

But any kind of ore, whether it is a gemstone or a metal, can take much longer to "grow" than a plant.

"Time, speed up or postpone; space...... Leave part of the space unaffected, otherwise the rock 'grows' and destroys the entire black rock. Ed thought back to the whole circle, and gradually came to an idea.

Ever since Tonbuch was "overlapped" into hell, he hasn't stopped working on it — he suspects it won't be the last. As long as he was sure that the bottom of the pit could become a separate space, he could actually drag it out...... But it can't be dragged back.

He wasn't sure if it would be dragged along with the rift, or if the souls of the dwarves would return to this world like this, or if they would gradually dissipate like the "ghosts" were supposed to end. So he could only drag it to another space for the time being and seal it first...... It's like sealing a swarm of ants in a bottle.

He did it. He could feel it—he sealed it under the gray and collapsed three-storied pagoda he had been in. That piece of debris that should have disappeared a long time ago would at least be of some use...... It temporarily shields the space from the Sea of Nothingness, after all, it doesn't have the Archmage Tower's defenses to protect itself.

Time was always chasing him, and he didn't have time to think too much, and only now did he have time to be surprised at his boldness, and at the fact that his friends hadn't stopped him after hearing about his plan...... Especially Is.

"It's a big deal to fill in the hole you poked out. At that time, his ice dragon friend only rolled his eyes and threw him this sentence, "By the way, fill in you too!"

So, now...... He felt that his guts could fatten a little more, even if he was still weak and staggering like a withered grass.

"How did you do that your bodies turned to rock, and your souls were different from the souls of ordinary deceased?" he patiently asked Ulrich questions he hadn't had time to ask before.

Perhaps seeing hope, the young dwarves were more cooperative, but he didn't know much about the questions Ed was asking.

"Soul ...... It has to do with the heart grass," he said, "and it makes it easier and unharmed for our souls to get out of our bodies." At least physically...... Well, we didn't know it was going to be like this then...... Maybe because we were born out of the rocks?"

Ed hung his head, raised his hands, and covered his face - so, they didn't even know that they were going to turn into stone statues instead of rotting into bones?!

"Perhaps," whispered the dwarf, "it is...... Because of Andukh's kindness. Even if our souls never come back, at least our bodies will always coexist with the mountains. You've done a lot for us...... It is enough for you to give our souls the final peace. ”

But at some point, Ed Singal was a man of discontentment.

"Actually, I need you. He said, "You've been fighting demons for so long...... You know better than anyone how to defeat them. It is likely that we are facing an even greater war, with demons and even more terrible enemies. The mistakes you have made...... I'm not going to cover it up for you. If you want to cleanse your shame from your body, there is only one other way to do it – to help us...... Join us and join us in the fight to the end. ”

.

No matter how exciting the words are, it couldn't be easier to turn hope into reality. Ed didn't actually cut off the connection between that space and the real world, they would still be pulled in, and after confirming this, Ed actually breathed a sigh of relief - he always had more fear of "time" and didn't dare to change it easily.

They went back and forth two or three more times. For most of the time, Ed could only shrink into a corner and try to save his life, and could do nothing, but fortunately his companions could continue to fight, and the demons were becoming fewer and fewer after all.

When the last demon was reduced to pulp under the dwarven hammer, the world fell into a deathly silence. The dwarves stared blankly at each other, or looked up into the darkness where no more enemies appeared, as if they could not believe that the battle was over.

There was not much left of them—a tenth, or even less, and many of them were only gray shadows, and even at the moment of their victory, many more collapsed silently like sand.

Mock stepped forward and looked around.

“...... I know your king is gone. He said, "Who here can make decisions on your behalf?"

Yes, Utiró Murstone has long since dissolved into shards of eternal silence, unconsciously filling the cracks. But that didn't make Mock any less angry at him.

It took a while for the dwarf to get an answer.

"You. ”

The dwarf who gave this answer was a burly man, not much shorter than a normal human, with rough skin that could not tell his age, and a black beard that had turned gray.

"The crown of rocks is in your hand," he said, "and you are king of all dwarves." ”

As he fell to his knees, the Black Rock dwarves fell with him.

Mock clenched his fists and took a moment to calm his breathing.

"Stand up. He said, and then called out the name of the person who answered: "Hartmann Merstone." I need to know what the heart grass does...... I need to know how you guys turn yon...... Such. So, my friend, Ed Singh, the Sage of the Water God, there may be a way for you to return to your own body. ”

The dwarves who stood up one after another looked calm, and there were few waves in their eyes, as if they were not excited by this.

“...... You didn't put on the crown. After a moment of silence, Hartmann spoke in a deep sigh, "Otherwise, you should already know everything." We do want to keep certain secrets buried forever under the rocks, but we also don't want our people to make the same mistakes as we do. Mork Copperflame, you ...... too Don't you want to be the king of the dwarves?"

Mock couldn't answer for a moment, remorse gnawing at his heart at the moment. It's not that he doesn't want to be king, he just ...... I wonder if I have that qualification. The way the Black Rock Dwarves gave away the crown was certainly problematic, but his hesitation, his hesitation, how many dwarves stayed here forever?

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Iss bumped his elbow into Ed and gestured to him: "'Also'." ”

If Borena had been here, he could have made up a three-act play on that one word. But this one word...... And how heavy.

They don't have time to waste on remorse and guilt. As Terry ran around, even onto the back of the ice dragon, making sure that the space would not be pulled back into hell, Ed was engrossed in trying to understand another unique spell that he had never been involved in.

Speaking out, a dwarf might smash his head flat. He felt that this spell had some similarities with the way barbarians summoned the spirits of their ancestors—relying on plants that for some reason only had a special effect on a certain race, relying on the resonance of blood and souls with the land they lived in. However, for the barbarians, the hidden power comes from their ancestors, and for the dwarves, what they call for is the gods who poured life into the rocks and created them.

Anduhe.

"How did the dwarves come into being in your legends?" he asked Mock, "I've heard many different theories......

"We ourselves have a lot of different statements. "Too much time has passed, and it's been a long time since our creator whispered to us, and we can't even hear voices from the rocks anymore...... However, the most widely circulated theory is that Anduhe, the god of the mountains, used half of his heart and half of his blood to create the heart of the mountains, and the power of the heart of the mountains awakened the dwarves from the rocks. There is also a popular theory that the first dwarf to be awakened was due to a spark that jumped out of Hawke's furnace...... The spark of the eternal fire fell on the rock, allowing the stone to breathe. So Anduch asked Hawke to forge the Flaming Hammer, and the sparks that splattered awakened more dwarves in order to thrive. ”