The moment Sylphnie spoke, the entire scene fell into silence. It was then that Colin realized he had no safe way to cross.
Originally, he had planned to jump straight down into the abyss below to see if there was a way through. But now that Liyami and the others needed to come with him, he couldn’t let them attempt such a near-suicidal feat.
If that was impossible, then how could they get across?
Colin looked toward the other side of the bridge. Although the bridge was broken, the distance wasn’t actually that far. If he jumped hard enough, maybe he could make it.
But the problem was the black figure endlessly falling in the middle of the bridge. What were they supposed to do about it?
At the speed it was falling, Colin would collide with it no matter how he jumped. Normally, Colin could have just smashed through it, turning it into a bloody mess.
But Colin could sense the same evil aura on it as from the abyss below. If he truly collided with it, who knew what would happen. It was definitely not going to be the figure that got destroyed—it was much more likely to be him who’d end up a bloody mess.
Even if Colin timed his jump perfectly and managed to avoid the figure, he still probably wouldn’t reach the other side.
There was no way the black figure, endlessly falling in the middle of the bridge, was placed there without reason. If they didn’t deal with it, there was no way to get across.
But how could they deal with it? Its falling speed was too fast; normal attacks couldn’t hit it. And just as Colin felt he couldn’t cross without solving this problem, he could tell that standing there attacking it nonstop wouldn’t work either. There had to be some other way.
“That black figure… let’s call it the ‘Infinite Descender.’ I think if we don’t stop its endless falling, we won’t be able to deal with it.”
Sylphnie spoke suddenly. Colin thought the same thing, but he still wanted to hear why she believed that.
“On what basis?”
“I used a special spell on it before, one that could continuously track it for a short time. At first, it worked fine, but once it fell into that abyss below, I lost its trail. Even when it fell again from the black dome above, I couldn’t resume tracking it. More than that, I tried attacking it once, and its aura did weaken a bit—but after it fell into the abyss again and fell from above once more, its aura fully recovered.”
Upon hearing this, Colin frowned deeply. The others also looked grim. Sylphnie continued with her guess.
“I think if we can prevent it from falling into that abyss, we might be able to get rid of it.”
“But how can we stop it from falling?”
Lavinia’s question lingered unanswered. Even Sylphnie, who had proposed the theory, could only fall silent.
At that moment, Liyami suddenly thought of a possible solution.
“Oh! Prayer! Eireno, don’t you have the ability to pray to the ‘Holy Light’? Pray now, see if the ‘Holy Light’ will guide us! After all, it was the ‘Holy Light’s’ guidance that brought us here in the first place. Surely it won’t just abandon us now?”
Hearing Liyami’s words, Eireno furrowed her brows. That tone was disrespectful to the great “Holy Light.” As the Saintess, she could never tolerate someone speaking about the “Holy Light” that way.
Fortunately, Eireno only frowned briefly and then obeyed Liyami’s request, beginning her prayer to the “Holy Light.”
Though she had her duties as the Saintess, Eireno was still Liyami’s friend and wouldn’t make things difficult over such a small matter. But in her heart, she resolved to remind Liyami to show more respect for others’ faith in the future. Otherwise, it could cause serious trouble.
After all, the world wasn’t home to only the “Holy Light” faith. Even if it was the dominant religion in the kingdom, other beliefs existed. If Liyami’s careless words offended those who held different faiths, Colin and the others would have a hard time. Eireno herself, as the Saintess of the temple, would be in a difficult position.
So she decided that once they returned, she would try to get Liyami to formally accept the “Holy Light.” Even if Liyami didn’t fully convert, she could at least learn to respect others’ faith.
Eireno’s thoughts were unknown to Liyami, but whether or not she knew wouldn’t change anything. Liyami wasn’t the kind to speak recklessly; she had just misspoken out of urgency.
Besides, Liyami was just the sort of person Eireno imagined—someone who understood these basics perfectly, because she was constantly in contact with such people.
As the prayers gradually softened and then ceased, Eireno slowly opened her eyes.
She barely opened them before reaching behind her. This scene puzzled not just Liyami but even Colin.
“What does this mean? Are we supposed to go back?” Colin asked, confused.
Eireno looked a little embarrassed. She didn’t understand why the “Holy Light” was guiding them like this either. But as the Saintess, since the “Holy Light” showed them this way, there must be a reason. They just needed to follow the guidance.
Eireno told everyone what had happened. The group exchanged looks but accepted it and began retracing their steps.
As soon as they passed back through the small gap under the huge door, Colin immediately drew the Sanctuary Sword, eyes sharp toward the entrance that had originally led them here. Figures were lingering there.
When Colin drew the Sanctuary Sword, the others instantly prepared for battle.
Though they weren’t sure if those figures were the same “Aotong” armored men as before or some new enemy, it didn’t change the fact that Colin and the others would easily deal with them as they had the previous “Aotong” soldiers.
Just then, Eireno suddenly gasped and pointed at the others.
“Those—those guys over there are where the ‘Holy Light’ is leading us. They definitely have what we need!”
Hearing Eireno, Colin grew even more serious. He carefully observed the figures, watching for any opening to strike. The figures also seemed to be watching them, hesitating, unsure whether to attack.
This stalemate lasted a moment until Colin did something no one, not even Liyami, expected.
He sheathed his sword and began walking toward them, completely unguarded.