Thinking like that, Yurisien continued to step back endlessly. However, this was a dead end.

“Hat!”

There was no more ground to step back on. Hastily looking back, Yurisien’s eyes widened for a moment. This was it. The reason Greta didn’t use magic. It was to make Yurisien fall into the Lake of Saint Jean.

“No!”

Surprised Yurisien desperately twisted her body, but it was already too late.

“Farewell.”

Swoosh.

“Cough…”

Greta’s sword pierced through Yurisien’s body.

Having jumped into the Lake of Saint Jean, Benjamin immediately examined the bottom. However, in the dark lake bottom, nothing was visible as if to represent the dim sky.

“I should go down further.”

Regulating his breath to the maximum, Benjamin swam deeper into the lake. As he descended, the surroundings became increasingly dark, but strangely, he didn’t feel any fear. It felt just like the natural darkness when night falls, not comparable to the darkness caused by the calamity of Hevengrove’s tricks.

So, Benjamin rather accepted this darkness willingly and swam with more strength in his legs. However, after descending for some time, Benjamin suddenly felt something strange.

“Is… my breath not blocked?”

With breath held in his mouth, Benjamin was breathing through his nose. Surprisingly, the deeper he went into the lake, the more comfortable his breathing became.

“How can this be?”

It was hard to believe, but this was the Lake of Saint Jean with the relic. Miracles happening one or two times were not strange at all. Moreover, this phenomenon felt like a kind of prophecy. It seemed to support Benjamin taking the relic and helping to save the world. Encouraged by this mysterious blessing, Benjamin continued to kick his legs even harder.

However, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t see the relic. The lake bottom, with tree roots entangled around it, became turbid and murky due to the muddy dust that rose even with small movements, and each time it happened, breathing, which had been easy, became slightly blocked.

“What should I do?”

Benjamin was contemplating whether to inform Yurisien about this strange situation and suggest that they explore together since the breathing was easier.

Splash!

A huge ripple occurred above. Startled, Benjamin quickly looked up, and something was slowly sinking. It was Yurisien. More precisely, it was Yurisien pouring out bright red blood from her pierced abdomen.

“Yurisien!”

Benjamin hurriedly tried to swim towards Yurisien, but an obstacle appeared. The tree roots that had been sinking into the lake bottom like tentacles entwined around Benjamin’s legs. It seemed as if they were urging Benjamin not to go up but to complete his mission from below.

“Oh no!”

Due to the movement of the tree roots, it became difficult to breathe. Whoosh! A tremendous amount of air bubbles surged upwards. On the blurry surface, Greta, smiling with her mouth torn apart, appeared. It seemed that being exposed wouldn’t take long. However, at this moment, the tree roots moved again. Like fish, they swam through the disturbed surface, creating numerous air bubbles.

“They’re helping, not blocking!”
Frustrated, Benjamin wiggled his legs, but the roots wouldn’t loosen. This situation was becoming dangerous for Yurisien. Benjamin tried to draw the Great Windsor Sword and strike down the roots. However, even that wasn’t easy.

“Yurisien!”

The roots, swimming through the water like fish, had wrapped around Yurisien’s body. The roots, holding the unconscious Yurisien as a hostage, were directing Benjamin to go back underwater.

“This darn…!”

Benjamin’s stomach churned, but he had no choice. Internally, he asserted that whether the world without Yurisien would perish or not was of no concern, and he swam back underwater.