Chapter 111: No sneaking out!

Liamy’s words did not bring any sign of emotion or relief to Colin’s face; instead, his expression grew even more serious.

Watching Liamy, whose face showed determination but whose hands trembled slightly, Colin outright rejected her proposal without giving her any room to argue.

“Of course not! You want to come with me? Do you think that’s possible? With your strength and level? I doubt you can even keep up with my pace. And your hands are still shaking—how could you possibly come with me? It’s better if I go alone!”

Colin’s words were harsh, but they were meant to make Liamy give up on coming with him. Although he felt some pity as he spoke, he couldn’t let Liamy fall into a danger she shouldn’t face.

So even if his words were stern, Colin insisted that Liamy stay somewhere safe, not follow him into that Abyss.

But Colin miscalculated. He saw Liamy’s expression grow desolate after his words, yet her gaze gradually became resolute, and her hands stopped trembling until she raised her head to meet his eyes again.

Only then did Colin realize that all his words and arguments were useless. No matter what he said, Liamy was determined to go with him.

Still, Colin tried to resist. He truly didn’t want Liamy to take such a risk.

“You…”

But Colin only managed to say one word before Liamy interrupted him.

“Indeed, just like you said, I might not be of much use, but I can’t just stand by and do nothing while you go to your death alone. If that’s the case, I’d rather go with you. At least if we go to hell, we’ll be together.”

Hearing that, Colin was conflicted until Liamy’s next words finally made him resolute.

“I am very scared. Scared of dying, scared of that terrifying darkness, but I’m even more afraid that you’d leave me behind. I don’t want my only brother to die in front of me!”

At these words, Colin’s gaze finally hardened. They locked eyes for a long moment before he closed his eyes, nodded lightly, and agreed to Liamy’s proposal.

Seeing this, Liamy smiled and teased, “Besides, maybe there’s a way in there to turn me back. I can’t just sit back and do nothing!”

After saying that, she held Colin’s hand a little tighter, as if she didn’t want to let go.

Colin was momentarily stunned but then grasped her hand in return. Looking into Liamy’s determined eyes, a smile spread across his face.

Liamy and Colin exchanged a tender, smiling gaze, as if they were the only two left in the world. But the truth was far from that.

“Bang!”

“Clang!”

A sharp pain suddenly struck their heads, dragging Liamy and Colin back to reality.

“You two were having quite the lively chat. Did you forget there are others here?”

Sifni smiled as she tapped her staff on her own palm, occasionally glancing at Liamy’s head as if pondering where it might hurt the most.

Liamy, meanwhile, was rubbing her head cautiously, watching Sifni warily, afraid the staff would come down on her again.

“Even if I forgot to watch you guys, it doesn’t have to be this harsh!” Liamy protested weakly against Sifni’s violent enforcement.

But Sifni just pointed aside, inviting Liamy to see for herself whether this could be called harsh.

Following Sifni’s finger, Liamy saw Colin’s side—quite a different scene. Lavinia and Eirene were both attacking, their fists glowing faintly as they rained down blows on Colin’s head like a storm.

Colin’s helmet had been removed by Eirene after the first hit. Now he was taking Lavinia’s punches with his bare body. Remember, Lavinia was only one level below Colin, and her fists were no joke. Colin was already seeing stars.

Seeing Colin’s state, Liamy realized Sifni had been merciful to her—she only tapped her staff lightly without using any strange magic.

“Want to try over there too?” Sifni asked.

Liamy shook her head quickly. Colin’s situation was pure self-inflicted, and she didn’t want to suffer needlessly.

Seeing Liamy refuse, Sifni nodded in satisfaction and shouted over to Lavinia, signaling them to end Colin’s “punishment.”

“Hmph! Trying to sneak away again? If you try running off, this is what you’ll get!”

Lavinia swung her fist fiercely and threatened him. Though she was speaking to Colin, her eyes glanced at Liamy in a way that made her a little nervous. Colin, on the other hand, forced an awkward smile as if nothing had happened.

At that moment, Eirene approached and used a healing divine magic on Colin. When she finished, she looked at him with concern and said, “Next time, you can’t act tough all alone like that. I—I’ll help you too!”

Colin’s smile faded. Looking at the group gathered around him, he asked again with gravity, “Are you really willing to go with me? No regrets about this decision?”

“What’s there to regret? We’re not going to die there—we’re just going in to get something!”

“Regret? What a pity. That kind of thing is beyond us beautiful elves!”

“I won’t regret it, Colin. As long as I’m with you, I won’t regret anything I do!”

Hearing them speak with such unwavering certainty, Colin understood that even if he refused, they wouldn’t give up. They would follow him no matter what.

“…Alright, then. Let’s go together.”

Colin finally agreed, and the tension in the air relaxed.

They were all members of Colin’s team. He had chosen them as companions—there was no way he could just abandon them and run off alone!

If he really tried, they wouldn’t forgive him. They’d find every possible way to lock Colin away in some sealed room, not letting him leave.

Just as Colin didn’t want them to face danger, they didn’t want him to face danger either.

Thankfully, that never happened. Colin agreed to let them accompany him, so there was no need to lock him up. Truly a cause for celebration, a cause for celebration!

Similar thoughts flickered in the minds of these women before quickly being suppressed.

Colin, surrounded by everyone, was completely unaware. All he knew was that they worried about him and didn’t want him to bear the burden alone.

“Alright, since we’ve decided to go together, let’s not waste time. Let’s set off quickly! Although we don’t know where the Knights are, even if it’s just us, we have to follow the ‘Holy Light’’s guidance!”

Though Colin’s words were passionate, Sifni raised a soul-searching question.

“Well said. So how exactly are we going to get there?”