Looking at the Communication Magic Scroll that had turned to dust in his hand, Kolin’s expression was extremely grave. Beside him, Liyami and the other two also wore similarly solemn looks.
From the current situation, it was highly likely that the local Special Incident Handling Squad had already been killed. The culprit was most probably the Demon Race member who had caused the Missing Persons Incident.
Kolin had never imagined that the Demon Race member would be so brazen, committing such a major crime on his very first day on the island. This made Kolin, a Holy Knight, feel greatly provoked. He wished he could immediately set out and cut the culprit to pieces.
But Kolin did not move, because he had no information about the opponent. He didn’t even know where the local squad had been attacked.
If he acted rashly now, he would likely only be walking into a trap.
Thinking this, Kolin’s face remained grim, his hand unconsciously resting on the Temple Sword at his waist.
Seeing this, Liyami understood what Kolin was thinking. He probably wanted to personally step into the trap to lure out the Demon Race member who set it.
Kolin likely intended to rely on his own strength to emerge unscathed from the trap and, in the process, deal with the culprit. While Kolin could usually pull off something like that, this time it seemed a bit too dangerous.
Just as Kolin was about to draw his Temple Sword, Liyami raised her hand to stop him, but then she heard a faint sound from the villa entrance. It sounded like someone was panting heavily? And it sounded… like they were on their last breath?!
Hearing this, Liyami’s expression changed, and she immediately prepared to go to the villa entrance to see who had collapsed there.
But before Liyami could even turn around, Lavinia had already opened the door and rushed out. Kolin followed closely behind Lavinia, and Liyami was only the third to run out. Only Eleanor remained in place, looking utterly bewildered and unsure of what was happening.
—
At the villa entrance, Lavinia, who had arrived first, was already helping someone up. Kolin, who arrived right after, quickly cast a simple Healing Divine Art on the person, hoping to restore some of their stamina.
By the time Liyami reached the scene and stood beside Kolin, who was still casting the divine art, she could finally see clearly who the frail figure lying on the ground was.
It was Laine! He was covered in blood, being supported by Lavinia, while Kolin’s Healing Divine Art worked to restore his strength.
Strangely, although Laine was covered in blood, Liyami couldn’t find any wounds on his body. But that didn’t mean he was fine. Just looking at Laine’s deathly pale face showed he was in a terrible state. Not to mention his body—to put it nicely, he was thin; to put it bluntly, he was skin and bones!
To be frank, Laine had been quite chubby before! But now, it was as if he had been completely drained, turned into a gaunt, skeletal figure! Such a drastic change made Liyami almost fail to recognize him at first glance. Fortunately, Kolin’s Healing Divine Art seemed to be having some effect on Laine, improving his originally pallid complexion slightly.
Seeing this, Liyami breathed a small sigh of relief. Although she didn’t know how Laine had been injured or why he had become so emaciated, as long as he could be treated, they could get information from him!
As Kolin continued to channel the Healing Divine Art, Laine’s tightly shut eyes slowly reopened. Though it was just a tiny slit, it meant Laine had regained consciousness.
Seeing this, before Liyami could even ask a question, Laine struggled to speak on his own.
“…Lan… La, they… met… at the beach, I… escaped… help, save… her…”
After saying this, Laine exhausted all his strength, closed his eyes again, and fell into unconsciousness, unable to utter another word.
Hearing Laine’s words, Liyami finally remembered Xiaolan and the others, whom they had completely forgotten. From Laine’s words, it was clear that Xiaolan and the others had encountered danger at the beach! And Laine had managed to escape in time to come seek their help!
Seeing this, Kolin’s already unpleasant expression grew even darker, a hint of anger even flickering in his eyes. It seemed the culprit this time had truly angered him.
It wasn’t just Kolin; Liyami also looked rather angry. After all, she was the one who had brought Laine and the others here, and now they were so severely injured—how could she not be furious?
Even Lavinia, who wasn’t very familiar with Laine and the others, furrowed her brows at this moment.
It wasn’t until Eleanor, who arrived late, took over the healing work from Kolin that the tense atmosphere on the scene eased up a bit.
But watching Laine, who was now under Eleanor’s continuous care, Kolin couldn’t help but stand up and head directly towards the beach.
He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Liyami’s voice came from behind him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Without turning his head, Kolin replied, “To the beach, of course. If we go now, we might still make it in time.”
Kolin had expected Liyami to reject this proposal, as no one knew for sure if this was a trap. After all, even the local Special Incident Handling Squad hadn’t had time to notify Kolin before they were attacked, let alone someone like Laine who appeared to have no combat ability at all.
The fact that Laine had managed to escape from the culprit’s hands was itself unbelievable. Unless the culprit was a complete fool, this could only be a trap set by them.
If Kolin went now, he would undoubtedly be stepping right into the trap. Although he had confidence in himself, he thought Liyami probably wouldn’t want him to go.
But to Kolin’s surprise, Liyami’s response was unexpected, making him turn around to look at her.
“In that case, let me go with you!” Liyami declared resolutely, her tone without a hint of hesitation. Her eyes were calm, and it didn’t seem like a decision made on impulse.
Seeing this, although Kolin found Liyami’s decision unexpected, he also felt it was exactly something she would do.
After exchanging a glance, both Kolin and Liyami smiled. Liyami stepped forward to stand beside Kolin, ready to enter this obvious trap together with him.
Kolin then looked at Lavinia, hoping she would stay behind.
Lavinia, who had been standing guard nearby, waved her hand, signaling for them to go quickly and return soon, and that she would stay here to protect Eleanor and Laine.
With his worries eased, Kolin, to Liyami’s slight surprise, gently took her small hand. In an instant, Kolin vanished from the spot with Liyami.
As for Eleanor, she didn’t want Kolin to walk into such an obvious trap, even if he was unlikely to come to harm.
If it really came to it, she should have gone too. Unfortunately, she now had to care for the injured Laine and couldn’t act freely. She could only watch helplessly as Kolin, holding Liyami’s hand, disappeared from her sight.
It was only long after they had left that Eleanor snapped out of that scene and began to focus on treating the emaciated Laine. But even as she healed him, she firmly imprinted that earlier scene in her mind, vowing not to forget it easily.
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