The black-haired wizard gasped for breath, feeling the beating of life, the tearing of wounds, and the soreness of broken bones and tendons, and let his consciousness sink back into his body.

Mentally trance-like, he opened his eyes, his aching pupils staring up at the empty ceiling, and it took a minute for his blurred vision to regain focus.

I... Alive.

Gritting his teeth, Loren struggled to his feet from the ground, and only after making sure that all the remnants of the void around him were gone, he breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes tired to the extreme.

His plan succeeded, but it almost failed - he gambled on himself, Asriel and Lusen, and did everything possible to distract Seriel from the "Black Cross" in order to win the opportunity to complete the "Dream".

But without the feathers left by the Valkyrie Brunhilde, himself... Definitely not to the end, before the farnesscist was expelled from the material world, it had already collapsed.

Feeling the rhythm of his heartbeat, Loren's eyes were extremely complicated.

the foolish Mezka, the lying Asrael;

Ariel, who wants to "end" herself, still hasn't given up on Lymantes, who destroyed the empire;

Desperate Brunhilde, ambitious Farnessc......

Once Loren really took the story of the "evil god invading the dragon kingdom" for granted, and once ......

Looking at it now, even if it is only based on what has been understood, I am afraid that each of these so-called "evil gods" is inextricably related to Nidhogg.

The so-called "history", the so-called "truth", has been changed beyond recognition long from the moment it was written.

No, maybe the truth has long been unimportant ... If everything is already in his plan, no matter what he does, it is impossible to change the final outcome.

Slowly lowering his head, Loren looked at the nine-pointed star chalice in his hand... It all starts with it.

"Lord Lo, Lord Loren... You, you're alive, you're alive, right?!"

Loren turned his head and saw a gray-eyed boy who was embarrassed and covered in blood, paralyzed on the ground with his injured right arm, struggling to crawl towards him, his face full of urgency.

Slightly stunned, it took a few seconds for Loren to raise the corners of his mouth: "Hmm... At least that's what I think. ”

Seeing the smile on the black-haired wizard's face, the scarred Lusen breathed a sigh of relief, and his nervous expression stretched a lot.

Biting his lower lip, he staggered to his upper body and crawled less than two or three paces away, gasping for breath as he leaned towards the black-haired wizard.

Loren moved back, straightening his back—the two of them sitting back to back in the empty room.

"Is it over?"

Sluggish and a little sluggish, Lusen spoke: "That 'Farnesis'... Seliol, you defeated him?"

"To be precise, I should have been expelled from this world. Loren shook his head, he wasn't so arrogant as to think he could defeat an existence that even the evil gods feared:

"It's extremely difficult for him to be completely wiped out... At least for now, there is no way to completely erase him. ”

"But at least he's gone for the time being, and can't reappear, right?" the gray-eyed boy asked.

"Theoretically, but ......," Loren muttered, slightly stunned, "why would you want to ask this?"

Lu Sien's expression was a little strange, slurring, with an expression of wanting to speak and stopping: "It's just... That one... You should remember. ”

"What do I remember?"

"You promised Miss Salika Jonah that you would leave Fanesis to her. Lusen had no choice but to explain, "But now you've made Farnes disappear again, so... What would she say?"

Before he finished speaking, Loren's expression froze on his face, and then he sighed helplessly: "You just want to see my jokes, right?"

"Absolutely not!" Before he could finish his serious sentence, the corners of Lusen's mouth couldn't help but curl.

The black-haired wizard rolled his eyes, poofed, and laughed out loud.

"What are you going to do?"

"What else can I do?" Agreeing, Loren tugged at the corners of his mouth: "First, it was just an accident, and second, he's still alive - I didn't lie, I didn't lie to her, I just... I just chose not to tell her the whole truth. ”

"Farnesis..."Black Cross Serol, these enemies are terrible, terrible like the villains in fairy tales, just thinking about it makes me feel creepy, such enemies... You shouldn't involve anyone else. ”

The gray-eyed boy was slightly stunned, put away the smile on his face, and nodded solemnly.

"That's... What about Asrael?"

"Huh?"

"I mean... Asrael, he ......" tentatively spoke, and Lusen asked in a tone that he didn't quite believe himself, "He... He wouldn't be so easy to kill, right?"

Loren frowned and didn't say anything.

Lusen twitched his throat and bit his lower lip.

The room was empty, and there was a dead silence.

Impossible... That's right, impossible.

Asriel was pinched alive by the bastard, and he watched as his face turned into pieces in front of him, blood sprayed on his face, and his petite body disintegrated like ashes.

That child, the child much younger than himself, always politely smiling Asrael......

How can it be... Still alive?

The gray-eyed boy trembled slightly, leaned against Loren's back, and slowly lowered his head.

"Sorry, did I miss something?"

An incomparably immature voice broke the serenity of the moment.

Well?!

Startled, Lusen immediately turned his head, his eyes almost straightened.

A spotless red and black dress, a petite and straight figure, a pair of sly scarlet eyes under pale blonde hair, and an elegant and playful chuckle on the corner of her mouth.

"You, you, you, you, you......" Lu Sien, whose expression was twitching, couldn't even speak.

Loren, who sighed for a long time, was even more helpless.

"Dear little Rusen, I didn't expect to care so much about Asriel... Well, it's really flattering. Behind his left hand, his right hand pressed his chest, and the young man with a happy smile shook his head unsatisfied:

"If it weren't for the first acquaintance with dear Loren, Luceen... I'm going to definitely treat you like my best friend. ”

But the shocked gray-eyed boy obviously didn't notice this, and his expression was shocked to the extreme.

"Why are you still alive——?!!!"

Looking at his surprised and hurt expression, Asriel smiled even more.

"Wait?!" the frightened Lusen jerked back, his suspicious gaze racing back and forth over the bodies of the black-haired wizard and the boy:

"Could it be... You guys planned it?!"

Loren and Asrael looked at each other.

"To put it simply, I made a pact with this evil god that he would never be wiped out until I was killed or turned into a fool at all. Loren sighed:

"But... That's certainly not what you want to hear. ”

Lusen stared at him, eager to pierce a hole in Loren's face.

Under his gaze, Loren said calmly: "Seliol's strength is very strong, and it is by no means something we can confront head-on, and I knew it when I confronted him, and it is impossible to defeat him, so I ......"

"So the moment I appeared, dear Loren immediately thought of a plan. Bowing slightly gracefully, Asrael chuckled and took over the topic:

"He's going to do it again so that the 'Black Cross' Serol can easily defeat him, so that he can ignore his presence and concentrate on poor Asrael. ”

"Of course, there were a lot of surprises. Loren shrugged calmly: "For example... Seliol has completely devoured the consciousness of Farnesis, the truth of the history of the dwarves, and this room......"

"And me. The gray-eyed boy pursed the corners of his mouth, a little out of breath: "Right?"

Loren did not answer.

Instead, Asrael smiled brighter: "Dear Asrael, how can you be an accident... It should be called a surprise......"

"All in all......"

Loren, who interrupted Asriel with a long voice, glanced at him, and the young man immediately chose to shut up and stood by with a smile:

"It wasn't the same as it was planned, but it went smoothly – and of course, thanks to an accident, we wouldn't have survived. ”

"And poor Asriel was killed... In order to ensure that Serol does not see through Loren's plan. The young man interjected pitifully:

"My existence... Except for all that was left to contact with dear Loren, it had been completely wiped out, just like when it was in that small, dilapidated temple......"

Looking at Asreel, who was still chattering, Lusen twitched his throat and turned his gaze back to the black-haired wizard, "So, that's what you were trying to hint at me at the time... Two-handed swordsmanship?"

"Exactly. ”

Loren nodded, and said calmly: "Simply competing for strength, or even planning, we will never be the opponent of the 'Black Cross' Serol, whether it is strength or intelligence information, it is much stronger than us." ”

"Our only advantage is the numbers... It is the existence that surpasses him several times more and can think independently - teamwork is the only key to our victory. ”

Loren paused and looked into the eyes of the gray-eyed boy: "And this key, you still told me." ”

"Even if it's for the same goal, the left and right hands... Even everyone in the group can think independently from a completely different perspective, instead of stubbornly sticking to a rule and dedicating themselves to the ultimate goal. ”

"Independent and united... It's our power. ”

The thoughtful Rusen lowered his head, his expression as if he was desperately trying to understand the meaning of the sentence.

"Of course, having said that, luck is also very important when it matters most. Loren sighed and looked at the feather wreckage in his hand:

"If it weren't for the feathers left by the Valkyrie this time, we... The best outcome is to end up with Seliol...... No. ”

Halfway through the sentence, Loren smiled bitterly: "You don't need to lie to yourself... Without the last vestiges of power she left behind, using her own presence to counteract the Void's effect on me, we would be dead. ”

"Even if Serol is expelled, it will only be temporary, he will find a chance to come back sooner or later, and we... There is absolutely no place to die!"

"yes, I didn't expect that. Asriel's little head, with his hands behind his back, nodded vigorously in agreement:

"It's hard to imagine that the violent maniac of the super middle two can do such a careful thing, of course, there is a difference between her and the lovely Asrael, but with her intelligence level and emotional intelligence, this can be regarded as a strange ...... beyond imagination."

Halfway through his words, the smiling boy suddenly stopped.

For the bright silver in Loren's hand was already resting on his little shoulder, clinging to the white, delicate throat.

"You know, just before he disappeared, Brunhilde told me something very important that I never told you. With a smile on the corner of his mouth, Loren and the young man looked at each other and said lightly:

"Beware, beware of Asrael—that's what she said. ”

Asrael, who was motionless, kept smiling and swallowed softly: "I really don't know why. ”

"Really?" asked Loren rhetorically.

"Dear Loren, you should trust me. Asriel's gesture was sincere, his expression was sincere, and his big innocent eyes were round and bright: "It's not a middle second disease that left a mark in your heart before trying to die. ”

"I believe in you. ”

Believe in you to have ghosts.

Loren nodded, but before the young man could breathe a sigh of relief, the blade in his hand was a little harder: "But you also have to promise me - when this matter is over, I want you to tell me all the 'truth', as it is, not a drop left!"

"I promise. Asriel nodded cooperatively, not forgetting the mysterious wink.

Lu Sien on the side frowned slightly, not interested in the "whispering" of the two of them at all: "Lord Loren, what are we going to do next?"

"What's next, ......" At this point, Loren raised his head and looked up at the ceiling, his dark pupils as if he had passed through the long pit and reached the top floor of the Silverhelm Mountain Fortress:

"According to the original plan, we will find a way to cooperate with the outer armies to take the Silver Helmet Mountain Fortress!"

Looking at the gray-eyed boy's puzzled gaze, Loren explained, "Although we have banished Serol, I am afraid that the power core of the dwarves of Silverhelm Mountain has been completely controlled by him and turned into puppets - only by defeating them, Boe and Byrne will not be defeated. ”

"Then, let's wait for news from Grand Duke Laszló Varna, and join him in the centaur tribe when the time is right. ”

When the words fell, Lu Sien, who seemed to understand whether he understood or not, nodded: "Then when we finish this, will we win?"

"Win?" Loren raised his eyebrows, his bright dark eyes quickly dimmed, "No... No. ”

The brooding black-haired wizard took a deep breath and sighed again:

"At best, we haven't lost yet. ”