He didn't say anything, so Ed and Narya had to stop and stand behind him with bated breath. Naria couldn't help but want to turn back—she always felt like someone was following them. As the muscles in her shoulders tightened, Ed quietly reached over and grabbed her hand.

Naria froze for a moment, and for a moment she almost wanted to slam her sheathed sword on his head...... When has this been, what the hell is going on in this guy's head!

Then, she was a little skeptical that she was thinking too much. Maybe Ed is just afraid of the dark...... Or thought she would be afraid of the dark?

She was distracted by this need to be vigilant, and that involuntary nervousness disappeared from her cranky thoughts at some point.

Seura gestured and changed her path, but there was no explanation. When he stopped again, he sighed after a moment of silence.

"We can't move forward. "At least, I can't go any further...... If you're sure there's a lockdown here, it's probably expanded. ”

Ed looked around. It's probably a very remote corner of the sewer world, with no one around, except for the ubiquitous stench of mud bubbling and bubbling...... Not even the sound of water.

But he didn't feel the danger...... It wasn't stronger than when he got down the drain, and he seemed to be a little numb to the stench that hit his head.

“...... Did you find anything?" he asked softly.

"Nothing. "But, lo and behold, this was originally a 'bazaar'...... The bazaars here are sometimes livelier than those of the Old Street Market. ”

But now, in the dead silence, there is not half a figure in sight. Ed lowered his head, struggling to make out the footprints—too many footprints that trampled the ground to the ground, making it difficult to see anything.

"If you want to move forward, you're on your own. Hugh scratched his back—his fleshy arms barely reaching his back, "I'm afraid I can't help you now." Don't look at me like this...... Actually, I don't want to die at all. ”

His tone was a little oddly calm...... With a kind of disappointment that bordered on indifference.

“...... Be careful on the way back. Naria said.

Hura chuckled softly and turned away without hesitation.

Ed looked at Naria silently.

“...... Sarmien said, "Vigo Cella was a very beautiful young man when he was younger." Naria's voice was low, with some indescribable loss, "Pretty and reliable, so enthusiastic that sometimes it's unbearable......"

Ed remembered Samion, whom the cheerful and somewhat rude old woman had called "pretty lad......

Thinking of the fat piled up on Seura's body and face, Ed, who was still a pretty young man, shivered inexplicably - if one day he would be like that...... It's better to die before then.

“...... Can you let it go?" said Naria.

His hands were dry and warm...... Her palms began to sweat.

"Ah?...... Oh. Ed let go of his hand curtly, "I am...... It's ......"

He just felt her nervousness. In the darkness, he could clearly hear her breathing slowly...... But Naria probably didn't want him to know that she was nervous.

“...... It's just a little scared. He said.

Naria scoffed.

"That's it anyway," she said, "and light a fire." ”

It's always good to have light.

Ed lit up a flame. The soft and bright white light hung steadily not far in front of them, fluttering, looking a bit like Xiaobai who had not yet grown up.

But they didn't go far before the little round ball of light began to turn into strange shapes like a soap bubble that had been blown by the wind and was about to burst.

Ed stretched out his hand, and the light vanished instantly.

“...... Ed?" Naria's throat tightened slightly.

"Maybe we'll still ......," Ed said hesitantly.

"Leave first?" Naria snapped up, "Because of me?"

Her tone was more frustrated than annoyed.

Ed suddenly understood how Eren had felt - he didn't want her to be in any danger at all, but he couldn't bear to stop her from doing what he wanted.

It's not that she can't wait...... But she didn't like to wait.

He grabbed the hand he had just let go again.

"Don't leave me. He said.

“...... Because you're scared?" Naria squeezed him tightly with her backhand, a faint smile in her voice.

"Yes. Ed said without changing his face.

.

Once he could feel the flow of power, Ed knew exactly where he was aiming. Naria lit the torch, and the real flame had a different kind of warmth.

They held hands and walked forward in silence, and the wind that came in out of nowhere caused the fire to sway, casting their shadows in all directions indiscriminately, like countless black shadows silently surrounding them, enveloping them in them.

Naria didn't see the black cracks at first...... Even if she did, she would probably think it was a cobweb hanging in mid-air. It was Ed who grabbed him, holding her hand so hard that it hurt a little.

He stared straight at the darkness in front of him, his expression strangely frozen between fear and calm—he knew what they were up against.

Naria followed his gaze and saw the thin threads of silk spreading through the air, like interlaced cracks in broken glass...... It's like growing, it's like breathing, those black lines follow some strange pattern, appearing and disappearing, sometimes it looks a little more, sometimes it looks a little less. It was as if there was a black mist slumping out of it, and it seemed to be just because the lines were too blurry...... It's hazy, and the eerie patterns it depicts have a strange beauty that makes Naria barely take her eyes off it.

She remembered the beneath the island of the Holy Sepulchre, the flower that did not exist in the world.

They were so different, yet so similar, that even she thought of something in a very short time.

"Yes...... Is that?" she asked in a small voice, as if she had woken up something.

"Yes. Ed smiled wryly, "A rift to another world." ”

"It's so big," Narya muttered...... "Is there a way to seal it up?"

"I'm afraid I can't. Ed reluctantly admitted, "Maybe Iss will have ......"

But Isis is not here.

Moreover, if sealing such a crack requires the blood of Is...... How much blood does it take to be enough?

"In fact, someone has already sealed it within a certain range. "The problem is ......."

The question is, for what?