As a paladin, Browder didn't believe much in "hunches" or "intuition". Decades of experience had taught him that the gods might give a hint to the right people when necessary, but more often than not, people had to rely on their own judgments after careful analysis. That's not a disbelief in gods, of course, but ...... God is also very busy.

So, even though Ed, the Sage, offered to personally deliver Tim to the cemetery, a sense of foreboding swelled up in his heart, his judgment told him that there could be no danger on the island of the Holy Sepulchre.

And as usual, he chose to trust his own judgment and blame the ominous "premonition" on the endless troubles that had arisen last night.

After sending twice as many men as usual to accompany the Sage to the cemetery, he hurried back to Sean's reception room. News soon came from Tonbuch that the story of the young sage and his ice dragon had aroused the interest of many people, and it would probably not be long before it spread through the streets. In contrast, Sean's absence seems to have gone unmentioned...... This made Browder breathe a sigh of relief.

-- But perhaps the tone was loosened too soon.

He had just finished dealing with a mess of chores and wanted to sneak a drink to refresh himself, when Eric's face was pale, his eyes were straight, and he rushed in without knocking on the door.

"The Sage is gone!" he cried.

Browder's eyes darkened, and he almost choked half to death from alcohol.

After calming down a bit, Eric was finally able to make things clear. The overwhelmed Sage burrowed into the old tomb - no one would stop him, of course. A moment ago, Eric could hear him muttering something behind him. The next moment...... And he was gone.

Eric froze for a moment at the empty darkness behind him before he began to scream in panic, his cry attracting Weiz and Hilbert, and the other two paladins who were caught by a pure black sarcophagus and left behind. Even the old priest who was waiting outside the door was invited, but he did not call out the missing saint.

Led by the old priest, they searched the entire tomb with shouting and screaming, but there was no sign of Ed. Weiz and Hilbert are still there to continue their search...... They probably didn't even dare to come back and face Browder.

Browder took several deep breaths to accept this fact, instead of picking up his sword and smashing it on Eric's head. The young paladin's face was ugly enough to lose Ed...... The Sage who regarded him as a friend, he would probably rather die himself.

Browder could only blame himself for not letting these unreliable young people get together...... But at the time, he simply didn't have anyone else available.

Think twice. He went straight to Ikabard and told him everything as it was, hoping that he would be able to locate Ed through the Staff of Eternity. The middle-aged priest in the temple of Collins, who barely cared about the world, listened quietly. On his face that is always unfazed, the expression is rare and strange.

"I know where he is. ”

After Browder finished speaking, he indifferently spat out such a sentence.

Browder looked at him for a long time, and didn't ask why—Icabird wouldn't have answered anyway.

When you set foot on the island of the Holy Sepulchre, which you haven't been to for several years. There was a hint of bitterness in Browder's heart. Those of his former companions. Most of them have been buried here or further away, except for him, Shaun, who is always ridiculed as "the most boring", and two other guys whose lives and tempers are as hard as stones.

For paladins, death is not the end...... The goodbye is still sad.

So he could understand how Ed felt when he wanted to see Tim off for the last time—it was probably the young man's first time facing the death of his companion.

If it was that little bit of sadness that affected his judgment, and his judgment surprised the newly recognized Sage......

With his hands behind his back clenched uneasily, Browder watched as Icabold whispered a few words to the old priest, who was as old as he had lived and who had lived for no longer known how long. Unhurriedly, he reached out and pushed open the door to the old tomb.

Ikabird stood there for a moment, his outstretched hands slightly spread out with their fingers. It flexes and stretches rhythmically like plucking some invisible string.

Browder waited and waited hopefully......

Nothing happened.

The priest lowered his hand, stood still for a moment, and recited another round of incantations.

Browder began to get scared.

A gust of wind whirled out of the tomb, and the rotten breath made people sick, but everyone stood there motionless, and Eric couldn't help but take two steps forward and look into the dark tomb.

Icabold reached out and grabbed him, looking back at Browder calmly.

"We need that dragon. He said.

Iss stared gloomily at the middle-aged priest in front of him.

It remembered him—it remembered that it had almost pulled out the other's internal organs, and it remembered that the guy had used some spell that made it ache like every muscle had been torn apart, and it began to transform uncontrollably.

The pain made him want to stretch out his claws and tear him off, but he had to endure it, looking at his indifference of "I don't remember anything, even if I remember, I don't care", and told it: "We need you to rescue Ed Singel." ”

- Hell, how long has it been gone? Is there anyone in the world who can make trouble for himself more than Ed!

“...... What did that fool do?" it asked angrily.

"There's a trap in the tomb over there......" Icabard blinked, "I was supposed to be able to dismantle it, but now it seems that something has gone wrong, and the easiest way to destroy it is to destroy it with brute force, and that should be a breeze for you." ”

The ice dragon snorted in displeasure. It does have tremendous power...... But it hates what it's called "brute force"!

For the sake of Ed...... It decided to ignore this for the time being.

"Where's it going to be demolished? won't it hit that fool?" it asked angrily.

If Ed's safety wasn't taken into account, it would have been happy to tear down any part of the temple.

"There. Icabold pointed to the round, mirror-clear stone pond in the middle of the lawn, "that's the center of the cemetery...... If you can destroy the pool first and let the water leak, you should be able to remind him to avoid it. ”

The ice dragon let out a low roar, walked to the edge of the pool in two steps, looked down, and flicked its long tail.

The stone bricks laid at the bottom of the pool were much stronger than it expected, and after several heavy blows, they only cracked slightly, and the ice dragon began to get impatient, raised his right claw, and slapped it down.

The water splashed, and the stone bricks shattered under its claws, sinking into the dirt beneath it, but there seemed to be another layer of support under the dirt.

The ice dragon smashed a few times silently, and the ground finally collapsed. It's not just that little bit of water left...... A large amount of dirt and stone fell, and it only had time to grasp the largest of them, looking down with some concern.

"Ed!" its loud voice rumbled through the chamber, "you're not dead, are you?"

A moment later, a response full of surprise floated up.

"Not dead! not dead! Is...... Get me out of here!".

The first tremor was so faint that Ed thought it was just his hallucination.

But the dull thud of the blow overhead grew clearer, and Ed jumped to his feet, listening apprehensively.

The vibration shook the entire tomb from top to bottom. It's not the first time Ed has had such an experience, but he always finds it a little strange this time.

He felt like he was encased in an invisible cocoon, sound and vibration, as if he were separated from water...... Or something more viscous, much weakened before it reached him, but it was extremely uncomfortable.

Suddenly it began to hurt in his ears, and then a high-pitched chirp drilled into his head, making him almost want to hold his head and scream.

But in the blink of an eye, the pain and screaming stopped together, and he clearly felt something suddenly break...... The long-lost light and fresh air rushed to his face, and he couldn't help but want to cheer as if he had been reborn.

"Ed!"

Is's voice fell like thunder, "Are you still alive?"

Ed's mouth was almost grinning to his ears.

Sunlight poured through the large hole in the roof of the tomb not far away, allowing Ed to see Beye's figure slowly retreating.

They met eye contact for a moment, then Ed nodded slightly.

Baie hesitated for a moment, then quickly turned around and disappeared from his vision.

Only then did Ed look up and call out to his friend for help.

The ice dragon's tail fell out of the hole and shook at him, reminding Ed of the story he had heard as a child about a cat fishing with its tail......

He laughed and pounced on the fish—not daring to bite it with his teeth, of course.

He glanced down as he was pulled up. As Baie said, "there's nothing there"...... But he could still feel the strange power, which did not seem to disappear with the destruction of the tomb, but continued to expand and contract...... It's like a beating heart, unhurried, no longer as aggressive as it was just now, but still full of threats.

When he stepped on the ground, he probably still had a thoughtful expression on his face.

“...... Did you hit your head?" the ice dragon asked.

Ed subconsciously touched the corner of his forehead - he actually hit his head, not only swollen up the boss's bag, but also seemed to ooze a little blood.

"Sage. Browder walked over, relieved, and instinctively raised his hand to heal him.

"Wait. ”

"Don't!"

Browder was slightly stunned, lowered his hand, and looked at the priest and the saint who had stopped him in unison.

"What the hell are you buried underneath this?" the ice dragon looked into the hole again, "don't tell me there are only dead people. ”

It can feel that power too...... Of course, it's a dragon, and its senses are only sharper than Ed's.

And Icabold apparently knows better.

Ed looked at the priest who still looked as usual, and said calmly, "Icabold...... Can it take up a little bit of your time?".

(To be continued......)