Chapter 19 Chapter Eighteen The Fifth Corner

"Here we are," the prisoner said to Cadderly and Danica, pointing across to the last crossroads leading to a discreet door. "That's the entrance to the magician's room." Cadderly. Again the call came to the young priest's mind, from somewhere not too far away.Closing his eyes and focusing, Cadderly began to understand that the call was coming from somewhere behind the inconspicuous door.When he opened his eyes again, he found Danica looking at him questioningly. "He's not lying," Cadderly told her. The captive seemed relieved. "Why aren't there guards here?" Danica asked, referring to the captive instead of Cadderly.The man had no answer either.

"There's a magician in here," Cadderly reminded them both. "A very powerful magician as far as we know. Perhaps there are actually guardians or some kind of defensive magic in place." Danica roughly pushed the captive forward. "You take the lead," she said coldly. Cadderly stepped up to the man in an instant, grabbed his arm and pulled it back, looking over him at Danica. "Shall we go together?" is a statement more than an inquiry. Danica looked at the door, then at Cadderly and the other man.She knew her beloved's sympathy and protection for the helpless captive, that Cadderly believed the man was not evil, and was reluctant to use the captive as a human shield.

"He leads with me," Danica concluded, pulling the man away from Cadderly's light grip. "You follow." The monk approached the intersection softly, bending down and looking to the left and right.She turned to Cadderly and shrugged, beckoning the prisoner to follow, then skipped the door lightly—almost. The monster seemed to emerge directly from the air. It was just a black line at first, and then extended to the left and right, first flat and then three-dimensional.Five snakeheads swung in front of the stunned companions. A hydra. Danica skids to a stop, throws herself hard to the left, and rolls to avoid the thrusting attacks of three giant heads.

The prisoner, whose movements were not as fast as the monk's, only had time to take a step, and then with a ferocious mouth, he bit him violently around the waist.He screamed and slapped the scaly snake's head in vain as his razor-sharp teeth tore at him.The man's unprotected head was covered by a second huge mouth, completely silencing his screams.The two heads moved simultaneously, and the hydra tore the man in half. Cadderly nearly fainted at the sight.He raised the loaded small crossbow in front of him, constantly changing direction, trying to keep up with the almost hypnotic movement of shaking his head.

Where to shoot? He fired at the very center of the huge body, the tip of the arrow hit and exploded, and the hydra roared angrily.Two heads still snapped at Danica, who was dodging, another two continued to nibble at the slaughtered man, while the fifth lunged forward, missing Cadderly but sending the hydra's massive body, rushed towards Cadderly at close range. Danica started running towards Cadderly, but as the hydra lumbered past, she changed direction abruptly, opting to dive behind the monster instead.She yelled for Cadderly to run, though she couldn't see him over the monster's bulk.

When the young priest was still struggling to reload the weapon, the giant mouth at the front rushed towards him, like a straight arrow, testing his nerves.It was only when the snake-shaped mouth was within two feet that Cadderly finally raised his arm and fired. The arrow tip bounced off the six-inch long tusk and shot into the monster's mouth, bursting into a muffled explosion. The head fell to the ground side by side with the neck, slowing down the sprint. However, the two heads that had been chasing Danica, and another head that had fed on the dead captives, charged instead, and the young priest sensibly backed away, raising his staff in the nick of time to block the latest attack.

He knew he had to get far enough away to reload the crossbow, he had to get into the song of Denir, pull something from the note, anything.But the dizzying rush of the monster's head, and its retreating step by step, prevented Cadderly from listening to the song, concentrating on waving his cane back and forth in front of him.He had a lucky hit with the handle of the enchanted ram's head, knocking a tooth out of the nearest gigantic mouth.The head threw back and howled, and then, purely on instinct, Cadderly rushed under it, using the serpentine neck to fend off the other two heads in pursuit.

The fourth head, which had been on the right, spat out the torso of the dead man and was about to pounce on the young priest, but Danica came around in time from behind and kicked it hard in the jaw. The monster's mouth slammed shut, and the tongue that had been thrust out quickly was severed and fell to the ground. Cadderly continued toward the door, concentrating on getting his crossbow ready.Danica, who was walking beside him, looked back to see the hydra coming roaring forward, dragging the dead head across the floor as it turned the corner. "Go in!" she called, but though Cadderly would do almost anything in his desperation, he was sane enough not to approach the door.He knew that the door was cast with defensive magic and could feel the magic on it.He stood shoulder to shoulder with Danica, raising his crossbow as if to shoot the hydra.But then he turned around and shot at the lock section, blasting a huge hole in the wood.

Danica bumped Cadderly on the shoulder, causing him to fall sideways.Standing up against the wall, dazed, he saw his beloved surrounded by four basilisk heads that swooped upward. She charged straight at the monster, piercing the radius of its first bite, twisting and spinning, blindly punching anything that came close.One head swung back at her, and she grabbed its horns and twisted so hard that the jaws tilted away from her, and the nose slammed into her ribs.Danica's other hand stretched out in the opposite direction, her stiffened and strengthened fingers pierced into the eye of another snake head that rushed towards her.

All the hydra's heads are fully turned back, facing its bulky torso.Danica grabbed the one-eyed anhedral head and pressed her back against its thick, snake-like neck as the other head swooped in and Danica dodged out of the way to open it open. He bit his bloody mouth into the neck of his other head.Before the hydra had time to realize its mistake, the head was dead and drooping. But Danica was still in dire straits and couldn't move, when an arrow hit the side of one neck that turned away and bounced away—and landed solidly into the second neck.The Basilisk head, which was hit first, turned sharply to look at the newest attacker, while the ensuing explosion sent the second head flying aside, opening a gap wide enough for Danica to rush out.

"There's defensive magic on the door!" Cadderly called to Danica, who was running straight for the door panel that hung loosely there. That would have to be confirmed later, because Danica had no intention of going through that door.She stopped and felt a huge mouth rushing towards her back, so she jumped up, grabbed the door frame at the top, and stood upside down.The hydra's head thumped through the door panel. There were several bursts of lightning, and flames blazed from each side of the magically trapped doorposts. The hydras hit by the explosion backed away with only two remaining heads.Serpentine necks crossed, and reptilian eyes surveyed the two humans with sudden awe. Cadderly tried aiming for a head shot, but he hesitated, not wanting to risk a miss. "Damn it," he hissed in frustration after a long period of time without any attack.He fired an arrow into the hydra's massive body, apparently doing no real damage but causing it to take another step back.The heads of the hydra roared in unison.It jumped aside, and its three dead necks flicked along. "Shoot an arrow in my back," Danica instructed, and before Cadderly could ask her what she meant, she was charging forward, running at high speed right between the two wobbling heads, drawing them toward him. she. "Now!" Danica ordered. Cadderly had to trust her.His crossbow clicked, and Danica suddenly fell on her back, the point of the arrow flying over her, shattering a snakelike face of utter astonishment. However, the injured snake head was not dead, and Danica, who was lying on the ground, was now facing two giant mouths biting her fiercely. "No!" yelled Cadderly, and charged forward bravely, his ram's-headed staff clutched in both hands. Danica kicked up, one kick after the other, keeping the two snake heads out of reach.Cadderly realized that the head he had just struck was clearly completely blind, so he jumped over Danica who was lying on the ground, and hit the head with the cane clasped in both hands. The Basilisk drew back its head, and Cadderly chased after it, pounding and pounding. A second head flew towards Cadderly's back, but Danica swung her legs up and down again, arching her back quickly and leaping up.Just one stride put her on par with the chasing snakehead, then she bent down low, pulled out a dagger from her boots, then straightened up like lightning, stabbing the dagger into the hole where only the silver dragon-shaped carving was exposed. The end of it is completely submerged in its lower jaw. Cadderly's arms jerked up and down mercilessly, smashing the deformed head into a mess of blood. The head of the only remaining basilisk circled high, but Danica locked a hand around its neck and leaped up, clutching the short sword she had thrust through.Bending around the basilisk's neck, she raised her boot to her free hand and managed to draw a second short sword. The monster then arched and flung itself around trying to throw her off, but she held on tenaciously.When its frenzy finally died down, Danica thrust a second short sword into its eye, pulled it out, and thrust it down again. The monster writhed violently again.Cadderly tried to get closer to Danica, but was hit by a quick charge that sent him flying ten feet down the tunnel. But Danica clung on, keeping the two short swords buried within the monster's body as she yanked them back and forth, turning their grips with her palms.She fell hard on her back, hitting the rock, and the monster's huge neck fell on top of her. The dazed monk couldn't breathe, couldn't focus, and was barely aware that he was still gripping his two short swords.Her instincts screamed for her to respond, to twist and move away.Her instincts screamed at herself how vulnerable she was, that the hydra could easily break free and bite her in half. But the hydra stopped moving, and a moment later Cadderly was standing over Danica, pulling her arms apart and pushing the huge hydras neck away from her. ※※※ Xuelin heard a muffled voice coming from above and above, a buzzing sound formed by many muffled voices.She was about to open her mouth to warn Stoneshoulders, but the two dwarves had evidently heard the sound too, for they lowered their heads and began to accelerate, Pikel's sandals snapping and Ivan's boots thumping. . Xuelin closed her mouth and ran lightly behind them, with the bow and arrow in her hand ready.Turning a corner in the corridor, they saw a straight road, passing two intersections and ending in a series of double doors. "Too much!" the elf girl whispered sharply, slowing down. "Too much!" A set of double doors blocked their way, but the double doors then hung at odd angles from broken latches.Ivan and Pikel rushed in, weapons held aloft. "Ooooh," the green-bearded dwarf muttered, echoing his brother's feelings, as they came to a large hall, a dining area that now apparently doubled as a command post, lined with dozens of tables and a huge number of enemies.Xuelin sighed helplessly, and ran to catch up with the rampaging dwarves, who had already rushed past the first few empty tables. A group of orcs sitting closest to the door didn't even have time to lift their heads from the bowls in front of them before the dwarf brothers jumped up and hacked and kicked, Ivan rammed them with his antler helmets, and Pikel Flying knees and elbows, bumping foreheads, and tree-trunk-like sticks danced into a fuzzy shadow. Only one of the six orcs managed to get out of the chair in time, but the stunned creature hadn't taken two steps before an arrow flew through its skull, sending it falling dead on the ground. The dwarves continued to run, and Xuelin continued to follow.Xuelin knew that their only chance of winning was to rush fast enough, before the many enemies in the lobby had time to organize to deal with them.At full speed, she shot a sideways arrow, hitting a man in the shoulder as he tried to draw his own bow. Tables were overturned, chairs were kicked aside, humans and monsters scrambled to avoid the attack.An unfortunate goblin becomes entangled in its companion's chair.After the dwarf brothers passed by, the goblin and the chair were flattened on the ground.Instead of fleeing, one ogre stood with its huge arms folded across its chest and its feet planted firmly on the ground, thinking itself a majestic barrier. It turned out that it hurt more than its self-esteem.Ivan sprinted between its outstretched legs, the ax held high above his head.The ogre jerked sideways, clutching its torn groin, and Pikel ran up to it and dented its knee sideways.Before the ogre hit the ground, Shereen emerged, planting one foot on its distorted face and the other on its ribs, running straight past the falling creature. The dwarves' sprints seemed disorganized and aimless amidst the chaos.Then Pikel spotted the serving area, a long counter that extended near the bottom wall. "Ooh!" shrieked the green-bearded dwarf, pointing with stubby fingers. One of the three serveers raised his crossbow, but Shailene's arrow knocked him down.The second held up a wooden pallet like a shield in front of him, but Ivan's ax chopped it in half, and the man's face with it.The third man's shield was an iron cauldron, which seemed stronger, but Pikel's club hit it head-on, and the cauldron hit the man back head-on. The three friends turned over the counter in one fell swoop, and Xuelin turned around and launched a fierce attack with a bow and arrow, because many enemies began to chase after her.She hits one after the other, but it seems impossible for her to stop this horde of approaching enemies. Ivan and Pikel jumped onto the counter and stood beside her, readying a stack of iron pans for the challenge.The dwarves unleashed a barrage of flying metal.The plate swishes through the air, twirling and scurrying, slamming one after another at approaching enemies. Slam them and stall them so that Shaylin can efficiently knock them down one by one. "Hee hee." Pikel chuckled, and he jumped off the counter to grab a pot of thick green soup.It flies through the air, splashes, sprays, and creates a slippery surface on the floor that hinders enemies that get too close. The dwarf scooped up a large spoonful of scalding hot water before crawling back onto the counter. An arrow grazed Ivan's ear and whizzed into the wall behind the dwarf.Xuelin was paying attention to the ogre, which was the largest among the approaching monsters, and found an archer squatting beside an overturned table. "You take out the archer!" Ivan yelled. "My brother and I will deal with the stupid things that come close!" The reasoning seemed plausible, and then the elven maiden forced herself to be patient, to ignore the nearest enemy threat, and to trust her companions.She jerked the bow sideways, saw the archer foolishly exposing his ass to the barrier as he reloaded, and shot him straight away. The approaching ogre had four arrows in its chest, but it kept moving forward tenaciously, heading straight for Pikel and the helpless Shaylin. The dwarf's eyes widened in feigned fear, and then Pikel seemed to recoil, causing Xuelin to let out a cry.But Pikel stood up at the last moment, flung out the spoon, and splashed boiling water over the startled ogre's eyes and face. As expected, the ogre staggered, his arms jerked up to cover his scalded eyes.The movement knocked the monster, already precariously standing in the green soup, off balance, and it slipped and slammed its knee into the hard stone counter.The sprawling ogre was trying to regain its balance and its vision when it suddenly felt a searing flash.A wooden club dented its head and burst it from above. Pikel put aside the brain-stained stick, picked up more plates, and flung them at the group of enemies who were suddenly more eager to get out of the way than to pounce on the intruder. "As long as it's a kitchen war, no one has ever won the Stoneshoulders!" Ivan made this comment, and Xuelin, who watched the chaos and slaughter they caused, didn't want to deny it. But the elf knew that to win the battle, it took more than initial ferocity.There were still dozens more enemies to deal with as more members flooded the room, overturning tables in front of them and ducking under cover.To the side she saw another archer peeping over the edge of a table and saw his bow raised. Xuelin drew her bow faster and aimed more accurately.When the man's arrow flew high and lost its aim, Xuelin's arrow had already hit his forehead.The elf's satisfaction did not last long, for she found that she had only five arrows left, and likewise, Ivan's and Pikel's disks were nearly exhausted. ※※※ Cadderly knelt over the only remaining remains of the captive, the man's torn head and shoulders.Dark shadows of guilt assailed the young priest's sensibility, and haunting images judged him, telling him that the helpless man's death was all his fault. Danica stood beside the young priest, urging him to his feet. Cadderly wrenched his arms free and stared intently at the eerie sight before him.He wants to enter the realm where the soul is, find the dead man, and then... then what?Only then did Cadderly understand.Can he bring the soul back?He looked back, at the lower half of the man's chewed body.Where do you take your soul?Does he have spells that can heal a body shattered into shapelessness? "It's not your fault," Danica whispered, clearly reading his thoughts. "You gave this man a chance. In our situation, most people wouldn't even do that." Cadderly swallowed hard, swallowing Danica's wise words, letting them push away his dark thoughts, his guilt. "It could have happened to any of us," Danica reminded him. Cadderly nodded, and stood up from the corpse.The hydra was attacking all three of them, and it could have bitten Danica in half, and if she wasn't that quick, it could have done it.Even if Cadderly had allowed the captive to keep his weapon, he might not have been able to withstand the hydra's ferocious first onslaught. "We have to get out of here," Danica said, and again, Cadderly nodded, turning to face the sagging, charred and blasted door panel.He walked through it with Danica, shoulder to shoulder, into a small reception room.No living enemy appeared immediately, but this did not calm the nervous two, because several stone statues of monsters with vicious eyes glared at them from the protruding edge extending from the top of the room, holding needle-like sharp spears in their hands. Short Sword - Talona's favorite weapon.The stones used as pillars are full of demonic reliefs, groups of eerie monsters dancing around the deceptively beautiful Poison Goddess.Tapestry surrounds the room, all depicting bloody battle scenes: hordes of vicious goblins and orcs wielding weapons dripping with blood and venom, ravaging hordes of fleeing humans and elves. Only one seat dominated the whole room; it stood on a raised pedestal, flanked by tall iron statues of ferocious warriors holding vast swords before them--with their other hands Secretly grasping the small dagger tightly.There were no other doors in sight, but a curtain covered the wall directly behind the seat. With Danica hovering protectively around him, Cadderly called up the Song of Denir, looking in the notes for possible clues about the qualities of the many things around him.He didn't detect a magical reaction on the monster stone statue, so he relaxed a little and stood up, but when he turned to face the iron statue, he almost fell backwards.Some parts of them—mostly mouths and arms—are still affected by residual magic. "A golem?" Danica whispered, noticing the young priest's eyes wide open. Cadderly was really not sure.Golems are fully magical monsters with movable bodies made of iron, stone, or other immovable substances.It seems logical that they appear here, since such monsters are usually created by powerful magicians or priests to serve as guardians.From all that Cadderly had heard about Aballister, it was no surprise that the magician would possess the most powerful iron golem of the golem kind.But Cadderly thought that he could detect more magical energy from this monster. "Where to go?" Danica asked, her voice revealing her growing uneasiness at standing so vulnerable in a wizard's reception room. Cadderly paused for a moment.He figured they should go to the curtain, but if those statues were iron golems, and he and Danica walked right into them... Cadderly shook the unpleasant image from his mind. "The curtain," he said with determination.Danica started to move forward, but Cadderly grabbed her arm.If, when he himself wasn't sure whether to trust him, Danica trusted him, then he would walk beside her, not behind her. Cadderly carefully parted the curtain with his cane, revealing a door.He was about to turn to Danica and smile at her, but suddenly, before either of them had time to react, the iron statue spun around and the swords stopped within an inch of them, one behind the other. is behind. "Speak the secret word." The iron statues ordered in unison. Cadderly saw Danica's muscles tense and thought she would charge at her metal opponent.A few looming notes flashed across his consciousness, and then he also saw that magical energy began to accumulate on the arms of the iron statue—especially the two that secretly held the dagger.Cadderly didn't need to use magic to guess that the tips of these sinister weapons must be poisonous. "Speak the secret word," the statues ordered again.Cadderly focused his senses on the magical energy, seeing it rise to dangerous heights. "Stay still," he whispered to Danica, feeling that if she struck, the two short swords would do the job with deadly efficiency.Danica's hands dropped slowly to her sides, though she didn't seem to be relaxing at all.She trusted his judgment, but Cadderly genuinely doubted that was a good thing.The magical energy looked like it was about to boil and explode, but Cadderly still couldn't figure out how to counter it or dispel it. The young priest noticed that the golem seemed to be growing impatient. "Speak the secret word!" They chanted in unison, sounding like an ultimatum.Cadderly wanted to tell Danica to get out of the way, hoping that at least she would be out of the way before these vicious daggers thrust, or those great swords slashed. "The secret language is Bonadus," came the shout from behind the door, a female voice they both recognized. "Dorigen," Danica said breathlessly, her face contorted with sudden anger. Cadderly felt the same way, and knew that it would be a desperate move to trust Dorigen.But the words "Bornardus" somehow hinted in the young priest's mind of truth, of familiarity. "Bornardus!" Cadderly yelled. "The secret word is Bonadus!" Danica looked at him in disbelief, and then her expression became even more disbelief as the golem turned back to its original standing still and indifferent. Cadderly didn't understand what was going on either.Why would Dorigen help them, especially when they were desperate?He started to approach the door, pulling the curtain back completely. "There must be a trap," Danica reasoned softly, grabbing Cadderly's arm to keep him from reaching for Griphook. Cadderly shook his head, grabbing Griphook.Before Danica could object, he yanked the door open. They entered a comfortably furnished room.Soft, upholstered chairs are strewn about, austere monochrome tapestries hang on every wall, and a bearskin rug covers the floor.The only piece of hard-edged furniture was a wooden desk, slanted in the corner opposite the door.Dorigen sat there, a thin wand tapping the side of her twisted, broken nose. Danica immediately crouched down defensively, reaching down into her boot with one hand and drawing her short sword. "Did I mention how amazed you two are?" the woman asked them quietly. Cadderly sent a silent magical message into Danica's mind, telling her to stand still and see how things played out. "Aren't we just as surprised?" replied the young priest. "You tell us the secret language." "So she can kill us herself," Danica added grimly.She flipped the short sword in her hand, holding its point so that she could shoot at Dorigen in a split second. "It is possible," the magician admitted. "I have many abilities—" she tapped her wand on the cheek, "—that can be used against you, and maybe this time, our battle would have turned out differently." "It would have been?" Cadderly noted. "It would have turned out differently—if I had even the slightest will to restart the war," Dorigen explained. Danica shook her head, clearly not convinced.And it was hard for Cadderly to believe that the woman would suddenly change her mind.He went into his songs and searched for Aurora, the atmosphere reflected in the inner heart. Shadows flickered over Dorigen's slender shoulders, reflecting the contents of her heart and thoughts.They were not the jostling, sinister things that Cadderly had expected, but calm shadows, sitting waiting. Cadderly returned from his spell and glared at Danica with even greater surprise on his face.He noticed Danica take a step aside, and understood that she wanted to put some distance between them so that the wizard could only target one person at a time. "She speaks the truth," the young priest announced. "Why?" Danica replied sharply. Cadderly had no answer. "Because I'm tired of this war," Dorigen replied. "And tired of being Aballister's minions any more." "You thought the horrors of Simista could be easily forgotten?" Danica asked. "I don't want to repeat those horrors," Dorigen replied immediately. "I'm tired." She held up her hands, fingers still twisted from Cadderly's blow. "The body is broken too." The words stung Cadderly, but Dorigen's soft, gentle tone did not. "You could have killed me, young priest," the magician continued. "And it should be possible now, just use the ring that belongs to me on your hand—if nothing else." Cadderly unconsciously clenched his hand, thumb touching the onyx ring. "And I could have let the golem kill you," Dorigen went on. "Or attack with various deadly spells as you walk through the door." "So it's paying back?" Cadderly asked. Dorigen shrugged. "It's more of boredom," she said, and the woman sounded rather tired indeed. "I've been by Aballister's side for many years, watching him gather a mighty force, promising glorious victory and dominion over the land." Dorigen laughed at the thought. "Look what we've become now," she sighed. "A bunch of elves, a couple of dumb dwarves, and two kids—" She waved Cadderly and Danica to signify them both, looking in disbelief. "—Let us be so embarrassed." Danica moved sideways again, and Dorigen flicked her wand forward, her face contorted suddenly in a scowl. "Continue talking?" she demanded, poking her wand forward. "Or shall we fight until the last moment, as the gods wish?" Another silent message entered Danica's head, telling her not to act impulsively. "What do you mean?" Cadderly asked. "Isn't it obvious enough?" Dorigen replied, and she chuckled, remembering that Cadderly hadn't even known that Aballister was his father. "You fight Aballister, and that's what the whole war is ultimately about." Cadderly and Danica looked at each other, wondering if Dorigen was mad. "It wasn't what Aballister wanted in the first place," Dorigen went on, still chuckling. "When Barjin started this war, he didn't even know you were alive." The name of the dead priest made Cadderly wince subconsciously. "And that's not what you want, of course," Dorigen continued. "You didn't understand the importance of it then, and now, you didn't even know the existence of Aballister." "You're talking nonsense," Cadderly said. Dorigen laughed even harder. "Maybe," she admitted. "I still believe, however, that it wasn't just coincidence that brought us all to where we are. Aballister himself played a part in it, making an action he might regret." "To start this war," Cadderly reasoned. "It just saved your life," Dorigen corrected.Cadderly's face clenched even tighter. "Inadvertently, actually," the woman quickly added. "His hatred for Barkin as a competitor outweighed his understanding of how much trouble you could be." "She's lying," Danica concluded, taking a stealthy step toward the desk, apparently about to rush over and strangle the vague magician. "Do you remember the last time you faced Barjin?" Dorigen asked. Cadderly nodded gloomily.He will never forget that fateful day, the day he killed the first man. "The yellow-bearded dwarf is trapped by Barjin's magic," Dorigen suggested, as the vision flooded the young priest clearly.Ivan, who was rushing towards the evil priest, stopped halfway, unable to move, leaving Cadderly completely helpless.Cadderly hadn't been a powerful priest then, and could barely beat a goblin, and that evil priest would have definitely killed him.But Ivan escaped from the magical control at the last moment, allowing Cadderly to narrowly escape Barjin's clutches. "Aballister countered the priest's magic," Dorigen announced. "This magician is not your friend," she added quickly. "He has no love for you, young priest, and that's proven by the assassination he sent to Carraton to kill you." "Then why did he help me?" Cadderly asked. "Because Aballister was more afraid of Barjin then than you were," Dorigen replied. "He did not foresee what the gods had planned for him in relation to Cadderly." "So, wise Dorigen, how is this going to end?" Cadderly asked sarcastically, tired of the woman's self-indulgence and vagueness about the so-called arrangement of the gods. Pointing at the far wall, Dorigen spoke a magic word that revealed a door formed of swirling smoke. "I was instructed to attack you with all my might and then retreat. I was supposed to try to separate you from your friends and lead you through this door," she explained. "Aballister's private residence is inside, and he intends to solve the young priest who has become a huge problem there." Cadderly examined Dorigen's every word as she spoke, using the ability to read the psychic atmosphere, to detect any traps the woman might have set.Danica watched him seek answers, and he shrugged, utterly incapable of rational explanation, but he believed Dorigen was telling the truth again. "Therefore I surrender to you," Dorigen said, and Cadderly and Danica were astonished beyond words. The woman placed her wand on the desk and settled back comfortably in her chair. "Go and get this over with, young priest," she urged Cadderly, pointing again at the vortex door. "Let this private battle determine the future of this land, as fate has guided it along the way." "I don't believe in fate," Cadderly replied firmly. "Do you believe in war then?" Dorigen asked. "Don't go," Danica whispered over her shoulder. Dorigen's smile widened again. "'Bonadus' can also let you pass through this door." "Don't go," Danica said again, louder this time. Cadderly walked away from her, toward the wall. "Cadderly!" Danica called after him. The young priest did not listen.He had come here to defeat Aballister, to eliminate the commander of Trinity Wall's army, so that thousands of lives would not have to be sacrificed in a single battle.It might be a trap, the door might take him to some lower plane and leave him there forever.But Cadderly could not ignore Dorigen's words, and the possibilities that the door opened to him, and he could not ignore what his spell had revealed to himself. He heard Danica move behind him. 「波纳杜司！」他大叫，接着他跳进漩涡中，然后消失了。