Elden Clergyman

"Why don't you make a pact with me?"

Reina: “…?”

Looking at the ring that suddenly appeared in Lord's hand and was held in front of her, Lena fell silent.

pledge......

If she hadn't seen Lord taking out the ring and chasing after two fingers, she would have definitely shaken her head and refused on the spot.

But after watching that scene, combined with Lord's usual behavior, even if Lena wanted to think wrongly, it would probably be a bit difficult.

Then, after a short and painful exchange, Lena roughly understood the meaning of the oath that Lord said, and after a moment's hesitation, she slowly stretched out her hand.

"If that's what you want..."

This situation is actually a bit wrong.

Because even though she knew that Lord didn't mean that, Lena herself should be familiar with the customs of the border area.

Even if you don't refuse, you should at least hesitate a little longer and consider more things.

but......

There is a saying: Since ancient times, night and fire have always accompanied each other, attracted to each other, and inseparable.

It’s not just the cold dark moon in the sky, nor is it just the full moon and the double moon, that are attracted by red hair, or flames.

The same also includes the cold witch who is stargazing on the top of the snowy mountain.

Strictly speaking, Lena has spent more time with Lord than Lani.

Ever since the cave at Lake Lienia, Lena has been accompanying Lord to Lani.

Although later, in order to help Lani share the pressure, Lena stayed to work with her and temporarily separated from Lord.

But later, after Lord agreed to go to Lani to provide souls regularly, Lena would watch from the side almost every time he went to provide souls, and even tasted it out of curiosity.

Although Lani understood this behavior as a prank on her, Reina herself did have this in mind.

But apart from this, does she really have no other thoughts?

Reina felt that she didn't have it.

At most, I felt that the place was a little warm and wanted to go over and warm myself by the fire.

Then, he got closer and closer to the flame, until—

Put on the ring.

[Obtain the oath 'Favoured by Ice and Snow']

【Ice and Snow】

[The oath made with the heretic Ice Witch]

[When worn, it can increase cold damage]

[And slightly increase the freezing accumulation efficiency]

[The heretic ice witch is powerful and mysterious]

But now resurrected

【Just a ball of tender ice and snow】

Beneath that cold and hard exterior

[Also longing for warmth and companionship]

[Obtain the magic spell 'Reina's Ice Spear']

[Magic possessed by the newly born Snow Witch 'Reina']

[Can release powerful pyroxene ice spear]

[Causes a large amount of freezing damage when hit]

[And can slightly reduce the target's magic resistance]

[Can be performed while walking, and can also be performed continuously]

[Power can be increased by charging]

[The newborn Snow Witch longs for warmth and companionship]

[That’s why she’s attracted to flames]

The effect of the oath is average, but the magic it provides is quite powerful. The only drawback is that the intelligence requirement is a bit high and the mana consumption is not low, which is not something Lord can afford now.

Then, after the oath, since there was nothing else to do, Lord sent her back to Lena to make various preparations before the research.

But there was a small incident before sending it back.

That is, Lena clearly remembered that when Lord put the ring on her, he put it on her index finger.

But in the blink of an eye, the ring moved to her ring finger, and there was no way to adjust it...

In order to avoid being misunderstood by others, especially someone, after a moment's thought, Reina asked Lord for a pair of gloves.

After putting on gloves to cover the ring, she let Lord return it to her.

After sending Lena back to prepare and making appointments with others for various transmission times, Lord finally finished the matters at hand temporarily and had time to check the gains from the previous battle.

Filthy Essence Fragments

[Fragments of the essence left by external gods]

Filled with filthy power

[Small fragments have no effect]

But it can serve as an anchor point for connection

To connect with a deeper essence

A fragment that cannot be used directly and no one knows what it is used for. After checking it, Lord threw it directly into the inventory.

As for the other one...

[Incomplete Soul of the White Witch]

Jingle Bell.

As the summoning bell rang, a somewhat illusory white witch spirit appeared in front of Lord.

She is 80% similar to Ashimi - or rather, Ashimi's human form is based on her.

She has long hair that falls to her waist, a delicate face, and a white dress that flutters in the wind. Her eyes are tightly closed. After being summoned, she has been standing there quietly, motionless, as if she were asleep.

But it's almost the same as falling asleep.

Because this soul has been wrapped and tortured by that filthy essence for too long, it can almost be said to be exhausted.

If it weren't for Lord and the Soul Summoning Bell supporting her, she would have disappeared the moment she appeared.

but now......

Because this soul is even worse than the Finger Witch's, even worse than Ceres, and can't even repair itself.

After a moment's thought, Lord simply walked over, carried her under the shade of a tree, pried open her mouth with his fingers, and began to pour soul into it.

But to be honest, even so, Lord still had some doubts about whether he could repair this soul.

Because the damage to this soul was a bit too serious, it would not be an exaggeration to say that only a remnant soul remained.

In this situation, even if you directly poured souls into her, she might not be able to eat them. On the contrary, these influxes of souls might even wash away the last trace of consciousness, turning her into a completely empty shell...

Ok?

After realizing something, Lord lowered his head.

Then, under his gaze, the remaining consciousness was not overwhelmed by the influx of souls. Instead, it summoned up its last strength to drive the spirit body, continuously sucking on his fingers, absorbing more souls from them.

And the remaining consciousness quickly recovered and grew stronger under the nourishment of these souls.

"I still have...things...to deal with..."

"I want to...save...them..."

"And... the children..."

② “I want to live…”

After Jiu sensed the remaining information in that wisp of consciousness, Lord roughly understood why she had been able to struggle in the filth for so long.

4 Although he could roughly guess at the beginning that this spirit could struggle in the filth for so long, it must have some obsession.

Zero But he thought that after the filth dissipated, this obsession would be alleviated, or even completely dissipated.

But now it seems that this obsession has become even stronger.

Even to the point of being a little crazy and paranoid.

⑤But...

Lu: "Let's stop here for today."

Si pulled his fingers out of the mouth of the spirit that was still sucking and even trying to stop it, and Lord shook his head.

"This is enough for you to digest for a while today. If you continue to eat, you won't be able to bear it."

After saying that, he stuffed the ashes back into the box and let her digest it in peace.

After dealing with the ashes, Lord thought about it and returned to the Round Table Hall and went to Baizhi's office.

This time, Baizhi's office door was not locked and there was no one else inside.

After entering, Lord saw Baizhi raised his head and glanced behind him, as if he was confirming something. After confirming, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're here."

Baizhi refocused his gaze on Lord, and the look and tone under the mask were different from before.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

"Yes."

Lord nodded in acknowledgment.

"I've finished dealing with things in the Eternal City. I'm thinking about whether to go to the Volcano Residence or the Royal City of Rodel next. Do you have any recommendations?"

Baizhi was stunned.

He had already prepared himself to be tortured by Lord, but he didn't expect it to be just this kind of question.

But he didn't stay stunned for long. After thinking for a moment, he slowly spoke.

"Although normally, after obtaining the two Great Runes, I should have suggested that you go directly to Rodel..."

"But based on the information you provided earlier, I have deciphered something..."

"It's inconvenient for me to explain the details to you, but in short, I don't recommend you go to the Royal City first."

That means going to the Volcano Residence first.

Lord nodded, then chatted with Baizhi for a while.

But this time, contrary to Baizhi's expectations, although the communication process was tinged with mental abuse, Lord did not make any shocking remarks, nor did he torture him when he was not using the buff.

Has this person changed his personality today?

While wondering, Baizhi remembered something.

"By the way, when I was here before, I heard some unusual movements outside, but I asked others and got no answers. Do you know what happened?"

"Oh, that one."

Lord nodded and said casually.

"I took my two fingers out and gave them a bath. You can come back and take a look. They're clean now."

Baizhi: “…?”

What the hell did this guy just say?

Then, without waiting for his response, Lord spoke again, sighing.

"Originally, after the bath, I wanted to make a vow with it, but it refused to agree, saying that it was emotionally conservative..."