After Lavinia finished retrieving the arrows, and Sifni and Eirene had rested, Colin led everyone through the small gap beneath the massive gate.
Beyond the gap, what met their eyes was an incredibly deep broken bridge. Whether looking downward or upward, there was only a pitch-black void, impossible to gauge its depth.
Before anyone could react, a black figure fell from above the broken bridge, plummeting straight into the bottomless abyss below. The sight left everyone dumbfounded.
Liami was about to say something, but then she witnessed something even more baffling: another black figure fell from above the broken bridge, also plunging into the bottomless abyss below.
This made Liami swallow back her words completely.
But that wasn’t the end. Yet another black figure, just like the previous two, fell from above the broken bridge into the abyss beneath.
Even the ever-experienced Sifni was stunned this time. Everyone was utterly baffled.
Yet time wouldn’t stop for their confusion. As moments passed, black figures kept falling from above the broken bridge, plunging into the abyss below.
Though only one black figure fell each time, the event repeated identically.
Seeing this, Colin finally broke the heavy silence. “The figure falling all this time… it should be the same one, right?”
Hearing Colin’s words, everyone came back to their senses. Although the figure moved quickly, upon closer observation, it was clear the falling figure was always the same one.
In other words, this black figure was stuck in an infinite loop of falling? But how was that even possible? How could it keep falling into the bottomless abyss below the bridge and then somehow reappear above it, falling again from that endless darkness?
Could it be that some teleportation magic circle was hidden beneath this abyss?
Liami glanced downward briefly, then quickly looked away. It wasn’t fear—no, she just knew that even if a magic circle existed in that pitch-black abyss where no light penetrated, she would never dare venture down there!
Not to mention the thick, malevolent aura radiating from both the abyss below and the dark sky above. Even feeling it slightly gave Liami goosebumps.
No matter what, she absolutely refused to touch this darkness! It was far from ordinary darkness—something utterly beyond her reach!
She wasn’t the only one thinking this way; the others shared similar thoughts.
Even Colin, hailed as the strongest Paladin of the age, was shaken by the terrifying darkness.
Before entering the gap, he had already sensed the dense evil aura. He guessed there might be a powerful enemy behind the gate, so he prepared himself for a fierce battle from the start.
But he never expected that behind the gate there was no enemy—only an abyss of extreme horror.
Yet even so, Colin was stunned the instant he stepped in.
Others might have been stunned by the falling black figures, but not him. He was stunned by the abyss itself.
The abyss’s unfathomable depth and the evil aura it exuded were the most terrifying, immense, and profound things he had ever witnessed.
He even thought that perhaps only a Demon Lord could rival this abyss. To resolve this, maybe only the resurrection of a long-dead hero could manage it. He, a mere Paladin, was absolutely powerless.
He couldn’t imagine what was lurking inside the abyss to produce such an evil aura. This was beyond their ability to confront! They had to leave immediately!
With that thought, Colin was about to lead everyone away, but then saw Sifni slowly raise a finger, pointing forward.
“…Look, there’s something over there.”
Everyone followed Sifni’s finger toward the opposite side of the broken bridge. Perhaps due to the shock of the abyss and the black figures, they had only now noticed something there.
An entrance was almost buried beneath rubble, and beyond the entrance seemed to be a room, though no one knew what was hidden inside.
At that moment, Eirene suddenly stiffened, her expression gradually turning hesitant and uncertain. She looked at the opposite side of the broken bridge, her face full of inner conflict.
Colin noticed and straightforwardly asked her what was wrong. After a moment of struggle, Eirene finally made up her mind and shared what had just happened.
“…Just now, the ‘Holy Light’ suddenly guided me, and the direction it pointed to was… the other side of the bridge.”
Upon hearing this, Colin’s expression immediately grew grave. The “Holy Light” never made mistakes, meaning something important must lie beyond the bridge—something they urgently needed to find.
What could it be? Something that must be destroyed beforehand to prevent catastrophe? Or some evil that must be sealed away? Whatever it was, since the “Holy Light” had given guidance, as a Paladin, he could not refuse to follow it.
He had to cross to the other side of the bridge and see exactly what was buried there!
But…
Colin glanced at Liami and suddenly hesitated.
He indeed had the duty to go to the other side, but what about them? They had no obligation to accompany him on such a dangerous task. Even Eirene, the Holy Maiden, shouldn’t be risking herself this way. Her duty was to bring the blessings of the “Holy Light” to the people, not to be on the front lines acting on divine prophecies.
Following the “Holy Light’s” guidance was his responsibility as a Paladin, not hers—and certainly not theirs. So it was better if he went alone.
Just as he was thinking this and preparing to act, Liami suddenly reached out and grasped his hand tightly, as if refusing to let go.
The gesture startled Colin. He wanted to pull away but feared upsetting Liami, so he let her hold on.
Thankfully, he still wore his helmet, hiding his slightly flushed face—otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared keep things as they were.
Colin’s blush lasted only briefly before his expression turned serious again. He realized why Liami had done this.
Sure enough, after a moment of hesitation, Liami spoke the very thing Colin least wanted to hear now.
“…What are you thinking? Of course, I’ll go with you! We’re good brothers! We have to face this together!”