Alan took a step back, his surprised gaze fixed on the slender white cane in Ed's hand.

"This is ......," he said, his voice was so bitter that he could no longer speak with only two words, and his anger rose with rage, and he wished to pick up his cane and strike the fool on the head.

"You stole the Sage's cane?!" After a few struggles, he was finally able to roar, and then immediately realized that he was too loud, and nervously looked back at the door that was still closed.

I hope there is no one outside the door......

"What?" Ed jumped up, "I didn't steal!

He protectively held his cane in his arms.

"I'm old, but I'm not blind!" Alan held his hand to his heart—sooner or later he would be by these young people who didn't know the height of the sky, "That's the Staff of Eternity! something that only a Sage can hold...... Even if you want to die, please find a way to die happily!"

Sean respects Felicity as much as he respects the gods, and if he is allowed to see this, even if Scott's mother comes back from the dead and appears here, he can't save Ed!

Ed clenched his head in embarrassment, how was he going to tell Alan? Shaun obviously hadn't planned to announce it to the public, Felicity was gone, and the water god had a new sage......

Allen's expression was so incredulous that even if he really told him, he might not believe it...... Even when he thinks about it sometimes, it doesn't seem like it's true.

"Well, even if I stole it, take me out of here!" he said casually in a panic, "Someone is chasing me!"

Alan looked almost as urge to vomit blood. The vicious look in his eyes made Ed suspect that he would probably die under his wand first...... But when the wooden door behind him was pushed open with a soft sound, he reflexively reached out to protect Ed behind him.

Sean stood in front of the door. The only exit was blocked.

He didn't have a face armor - Ed would rather he do, at least to cover his gloomy face, so that he could deceive himself that Sean was not angry and not angry......

How is that possible!

Ed remembers very well that when the little girl with white hair and blue eyes disappeared in front of him, the hidden stone door was lowered silently, and Sean Fletcher, dressed in armor, stood straight in front of the door, just like Alan just now. It was as if he couldn't see Ed at all, just staring at the staff silently.

For a long time, for a long time, staring.

Chilled, Ed wordlessly handed over his cane. The head of the paladin finally glanced at him.

Ed couldn't tell what that looked in his eyes, he just knew that Sean didn't like him—he still didn't like him.

"The Staff of Eternity......" he said, "can only be held by the Holy One." ”

That's when Ed learned the name of the cane. finally understood the anger, sadness and helplessness in Sean's eyes.

For a long time, there was only one saint he followed. And she died because of him...... Thinking of this, Ed just wanted to shrink himself into his cane.

Because of that indescribable guilt, he followed Sean out of the secret room to continue the unfinished "study".

Now that he thinks about it, he should have ignored Thirty-Seven Twenty-One and ran away......

"I know what it looks like, but there must be a misunderstanding. Alan's nervous voice pulled him back from his memories to reality. The old man was still in front of him, trying to explain to Sean...... But he himself didn't even know what was going on.

Ed gritted his teeth and stepped out from behind Allen. Pluck up the courage to face Sean: "It's none of his business, he doesn't know anything." It was I who happened to run here. ”

“...... How did you run?" Sean asked an inconsequential question lightly.

Eren was visibly stunned, turning sideways and looking back and forth at him and Ed suspiciously.

"One melts into stone, one dazzles, one immobilizes humans, one smashes sound waves, and one melts into stone......" Ed muttered with his head down. He really almost escaped, but he miscalculated the bearing. He's too confident in his memory, and with a guide technique, he might be able to escape next time......

――If there is a next time.

Alan's eyes widened and he looked incredulous.

"Nice try. Sean beckoned indifferently, and Ed could only walk over obediently with a bitter face, and when he was pushed out of the door, he turned back and silently called for help to Alan with an exaggerated mouth-

Save me!

If he is thrown back to that place by Sean, he may really die.......

When Sean returned to Allen again, the old man had not yet come to his senses.

“...... He holds the Staff of Eternity. It was a long time before he reluctantly said this to Sean, hoping to get an explanation.

Sean gave him an explanation: "In order to save his life in the trial." ”

Alan frowned suspiciously, but Sean clearly didn't intend to dwell on the issue with him.

"He came here and claimed that he wanted to be the priest of the god of water, thinking that it would not be as simple as buying and selling spices or finding his friends under the protection of others. He replied to all of Allen's questions with one sentence, "You didn't come here to me just for Ed Singal, did you?"

Alan hesitated for a moment, deciding that it would be better to solve another problem first.

He brace himself and cautiously explain his purpose to Sean word by word: "There is one thing that I have hidden for years...... At first it was because I thought it was over, but it didn't. Now I know that it may have something to do with the origins of the necromancers, and why they are now so powerful. It was a secret that should no longer be hidden, but once revealed, it could lead to conflict with the entire elven kingdom...... I can tell you everything, but I have to ask, can you bear the consequences?"

He figured he had somehow piqued Sean's interest. The paladin's pupils contracted slightly, but his tone was still as calm as water: "Go on." ”

Alan had to take a deep breath and clench his crutches to have the strength to retrieve all his memories.

Ankeland - the cursed and mysterious place, where they discovered it by sheer accident.

Scott had just joined their team. While traversing the Weeping Forest, a tree root sprang out of the ground and wrapped around Lydia's ankle before being quickly stabbed in two by Scott and never to be seen again. The story should have ended there, but Lydia insisted on finding the secret that would make those roots magical, and both Scott and Nia agreed without objection, the half-elves always followed in noncommittal silence, and the dwarf was eager to prove that he wasn't afraid of any magic - even if Eren knew that Lydia was simply angry because of her new clothes soiled by the roots, there was really no need to stop the bored friends from having a little fun.

What Lydia claimed to be the center of magic was still a plain forest. She guessed that the roots were just remnants of some mage's strange experiments, but just as they were about to leave, another root wrapped around the dwarf's waist.

The dwarf, who had been sulking because he had spent a lot of time in the woods, had a complete outburst. No one could stop him from uprooting and chopping the poor tree to pieces, and then, sitting laughing, Nia, found a short stone staircase in the pit where it had been left behind.

How could they refuse such an invitation?

The cleared stone steps lead to a heavy stone door hidden underground. Despite Rogan's scoff, others inevitably marveled at the intricate and elegant pattern on the door, which was undoubtedly in the style of the elves, but no one had ever heard of an elven city here.

They couldn't open the door by any means, neither the power of the spell nor the skill of the thieves could do anything about it, and the dwarven axes could only leave a shallow white mark on it. Eventually, they dug through the dirt above the door and smashed a hole in the roof of the passage behind the door.

It was a straight, dark passage lined with several small empty rooms with nothing but a few scattered bones, and in the middle of the passage there were two opposing elven statues, which Celebrian said was a half-kneeling posture with his hands crossed over his chest that was usually used in the cemetery to guard and mourn. But the layout here is not like the tomb of the elves.

They found the surprisingly large room at the end of the passageway, and Lydia recognized at a glance the strange symbol on the inside of the black altar - though it was a little different, it was a mark reserved for necromancers, designed to summon the souls of the dead underground.

No elf would become a necromancer, which is completely contrary to their nature and beliefs. This strange combination made Alan feel ominous. Lydia had little interest in necromancy at the time, but was attracted by all the strange things on the table and refused to leave. It wasn't until Nia found a few silver coins with different designs but with the faint word "Ankran" from under the dust in the corner of the table that the half-elf priest told them that this might be the legendary cursed and forgotten elven kingdom. He warns his companions that the elves won't like to hear anything about it, and it's hard to predict how they'll treat anyone who discovers the secret.

Alan had no intention of starting any conflict with the elves over the history of thousands of years ago, and he eventually persuaded everyone to leave the place quickly, but did not destroy the entire place, as Scott suggested...... That was probably the biggest mistake of his life.

A few years later, for unknown reasons, Lydia summons a powerful demon in the basement of her home and banishes it back to hell, only to cause a huge explosion that kills her parents and two younger sisters. Lydia, who survived, frantically tried to save her loved ones, and eventually even began to seek the power of the necromancer, but the necromancer was unable to bring life back to her dead body. In desperation, Lydia returned to Ankeland alone. By that time Scott had already left the team and knew nothing about it. The rest of Alan's companions followed, but they were still a step too late.

(To be continued......)