The shadow vanished, right in front of Ed's eyes.

He was trying to gather the tangible or intangible things, figuring out what they were, how to make them disappear completely, or return to where they were supposed to be, and then they swelled up in an instant, like a beast that had a premonition of danger, and involuntarily blew up, and then shrank sharply in the next moment, and in the blink of an eye they retracted back under the ground, and disappeared cleanly.

Ed stayed there, staring at Is, who was not yet arrogant enough to think that these things had fled out of fear of him.

There was a sudden uproar around them, as if the voices that had been swallowed by the dark shadows had been released the moment they disappeared. The sound of the wind, the chirping of dying autumn insects, the fluttering of birds on the branches, the terrible and frightened cries sounded abruptly and ended abruptly.

Ed stared down at the ground. He watched as a small, emerald green tree frog slowly kicked its legs under a dead leaf. And just now, in the hazy black shadow, this little guy was clearly stiff and stiff, and he couldn't die anymore

"Did you see that?" he asked, pointing back to the dead leaf, "Does the tree frog pretend to be dead?"

"Do you think it was playing dead?" asked Is. rhetorically.

It's not a mockery, it's a rare lack of certainty. He hadn't looked closely at all just now, but he could sense the fluctuation of power, and feel the vitality that instantly transformed from the cold dead air.

"Look. He kicked the weeds at his feet.

The withered grass actually sprouted a little new green, not very conspicuous, but difficult to ignore.

Ed stared at it with wide eyes for a long time, a little incredulous. He actually knew that the tree frog was probably not pretending to be dead, and the black shadow that could even take away a human life could naturally kill these weak animals with ease. It is likely that it did die and then come alive again.

The rules of this world are especially harsh on sapient creatures, and the more powerful creatures are, the harsher they are. Bringing small creatures like tree frogs or insects back to life can be done by a slightly higher priest, but he can't do it with spells that cover the entire city.

No one in the city can do that.

He raised his head and looked around thoughtfully, listening to every tiny sound.

He heard the shrill cries of wild cats, alert at first, and then lowered a little, and he heard the rustling of the bushes, and some small animal ran away, and he heard the squirrels scurrying up the treetops, and there seemed to be a little doubt in their chirping voices

He heard the voice of a city that was becoming desolate but not dead.

He had heard that animals had much sharper instincts than humans and even elves. They will leave what they find dangerous, long before humans perceive danger. However, there are still many animals living in the city of Stonebutch, which was abandoned by humans, which is one of the reasons why many people have refused to leave until now, because they feel that the city has not lost its vitality.

They felt that it would survive a plague and a "prophecy" that had not been fulfilled at least until now.

The three-storied pagoda has not fallen, the waters of the Viinz River are still rushing, every dawn is still coming as scheduled, and the eternal night has not yet come.

Ed suddenly understood more deeply the pride of Spoonbugs like Tess and Old Joey, and also understood Balk's persistence. Whatever the purpose for which the city was built, its true builders, each and every one of the lives that have lived in it for two hundred years, have long since given it another meaning.

The meaning of "home".

"Let's go first," he said, turning to say that they might as well go back to the house first, the door was behind them, and the warm light was waiting, so that he only wanted to go back to his home, instead of worrying and eagerly looking for answers.

But this night was destined to be another sleepless night. He didn't finish his sentence before he paused and looked up into the distance.

Under the shade of the trees, he couldn't see the dark shadow of the three-storied tower, but he could hear its low hum.

It doesn't move when the shadows fill the city, but it warns when the danger is gone.

As he approached the three-storied pagoda, the open door made Ed pause in his footsteps and become angry.

He had always felt that the three-storied pagoda did not belong to him. It was independent and free, but at this moment, he felt that this place was forcibly occupied by another force, and he had a strong anger that his home had been invaded for no reason.

He calmed down a little and stepped inside the door.

The figure with his back to him is unfamiliar. It wasn't until the man spoke that he could faintly discern a familiar tone.

"So, this is what the three-storied pagoda really looks like?"

The king, who was in armor and dragging a greatsword, did not look back. He flipped his hand and swung his greatsword, tapping the costume of the statue on the statue of Casagrande I, almost identical to his.

"When I was very young, I heard two very different terms. ”

He said, the greatsword dragged down from the ancestor on whom he had founded the dynasty without respect, dragging a long white mark in the shrill grinding sound, "Boford is the rightful king chosen by the gods, and the people of the Boford family are all crazy, and the one who became the king was the most insane." ”

He turned around. Even though he had been prepared, the face that was much younger than he remembered still made Ed's heart beat a few beats.

"The former is from my mother, and the latter is from my father. The smile on the lips of the returning deceased was no longer twisted and hideous, but there was another kind of more frightening madness.

"What do you think?" he asked Ed with interest.

"I don't have the surname Bofford. Ed replied.

I don't know what this dry answer pleases Ante. He laughed out loud and slung the greatsword over his shoulder.

"You're so annoying. He said, "What do you have but blood and luck to be lazy, weak, and incompetent?"

"Friends. Ed replied without hesitation.

Honestly, he'd asked himself this question so many times that the answer could be blurted out like that, and there wasn't really any sarcasm.

He really felt so, and he was really proud of it.

But Ante's smile froze, and his face sank instantly.

The heavy tower door creaked unwillingly as it closed, but the bloodlines of the kings who built it did have the ability to control it, whether they were crazy or not.

"Some people think you're not easy to provoke. Ante tilted his head, as if to move his stiff neck. It was a habit he had developed over a year of being an undead, and when he realized it, his face became even more ugly.

"What do you think?" he asked grimly. （）