Reincarnated as Twins: And Then, I Was the Only One Abandoned - ☆15 Into the Depths of Darkness ④

☆15 Into the Depths of Darkness ④

I answered without hesitation. 

Elysia looked like she wanted to object, but hey, I wasn’t under any contract with her. This was my choice. Sure, she had covered my lodging and meals so far, but that didn’t mean she owned me. 

“W-Wait, I-I’ll come along as well!” 

“L-Lady Elysia! As Lilith-dono said, it’s extremely dangerous beyond this point! We promised Fia we would turn back here!” 

Gald tried desperately to stop her. 

His face had gone pale—probably because of the increasingly thick and sinister mana saturating the air. 

“Yeah, you really should. Unfortunately, from here on out, you two would just be dead weight.” 

Lilith didn’t sugarcoat it. She simply laid out the harsh reality. 

Elysia hesitated for a moment. But then, as if steeling her resolve, she took a deep breath. Extending her right hand, she displayed the ring on her finger for Lilith to see. 

“I have the power of Agni. If it comes to it, I can be of use.” 

She declared it with confidence. 

Lilith studied the ring with interest, narrowing her eyes. 

“Oh? Agni, huh? The Fire Demon God? If you’ve formed a contract with something like that, then I might have misjudged you. You don’t exactly *seem* like a summoner that powerful, though….…” 

Lilith stared intently at Elysia. It was as if she was trying to see through her completely. 

Elysia, however, met her gaze head-on. She was unwavering. 

In her eyes, I saw nothing but sheer determination. 

“Hmm…..… fine. If you want to tag along, do as you like. But make sure you can protect yourself. If anything happens, it’s your responsibility.” 

Elysia let out a relieved sigh and nodded. 

Lilith then turned to Gald. 

“As for you—the big elf over there—you’re not coming. You have other companions, don’t you? Go back and report the situation to them.” 

“B-But my duty—no, my mission—is to protect Lady Elysia, even at the cost of my life!” 

“Gald, it’s okay. If I feel it’s too dangerous, I’ll turn back immediately.” 

“B-But…!” 

Gald was still reluctant. But once this noble lady made up her mind, there was no changing it. 

Jeez. We were wasting time with this back-and-forth. 

Guess I’ll just end this conversation myself. 

“Relax, Gald. I’ll protect Elysia in your place.” 

Gald blinked in shock. He was momentarily at a loss for words. Then, as if forcing them out, he muttered: 

“Y-You, of all people… No, I suppose there’s no other choice… It pains me to entrust Lady Elysia’s safety to you, but… so be it. I’m counting on you.” 

And then—he actually bowed deeply to me. 

Wait. 

Did Gald—this guy who’s always looked down on me—just bow to me? 

Damn, that must’ve been a real bitter pill for him to swallow. 

Honestly, I had only said that to cut this pointless discussion short. But now, I suddenly felt the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. 

Well… guess I’ve got no choice now. 

“Leave it to me. I won’t let a single scratch touch her.” 

……..…What the hell? 

Did I just say that? 

…Wait, hold up. 

That sounded way too cool. 

It felt like the words were just floating there, as if spoken by someone else entirely. 

Did I really just say that? 

A slow realization crept in. It was followed by a wave of embarrassment. 

I could feel my ears turning red. 

My heart started pounding, and my palms grew sweaty. 

I averted my gaze from Gald, only to meet Elysia’s eyes. 

Her face was flushed bright red. 

Her wide eyes were filled with surprise and confusion. Which only made my embarrassment worse. 

“A-Alright, let’s get moving.” 

I blurted out, desperate to change the subject. 

Lilith was unfazed. She nodded as if nothing had happened. 

“Yeah. Let’s head forward.”

Gald saw us off as we took another step into the depths of darkness. 

◆◆◆

Following Lilith’s lead, we navigated through the branching paths, turning right, then left, progressing further. Before long, an unexpected light illuminated the cave. 

For a moment, I thought we had reached the outside. But no—this place was even more expansive than the chamber where we had encountered the Hellhound. 

Ah, so this is that vaguely hinted-at area from the map, huh? 

The ceiling stretched impossibly high, and lush vegetation sprawled in every direction. It made the place look like a jungle. 

Strange plants and glowing insects pulsed with an eerie luminescence. But instead of feeling open and inviting, the light carried an unsettling aura. 

It wasn’t just light—it was alive, throbbing like a heartbeat. It was making the very air tremble. 

The leaves of the plants were unnaturally large and felt cold to the touch. 

The insects, glowing faintly, moved in a way that felt like they were watching us. 

Beneath our feet, moss formed strange patterns. It made a faint sound each time we stepped on it. 

“It’s best not to touch anything carelessly. You never know what might be poisonous.” 

Lilith’s voice carried a heightened sense of caution. 

“You can feel it, right? The mana here—it’s not just the energy pouring in from deeper within. Even the mana naturally generated in this place is wicked.” 

There was a subtle tension in her voice. 

Yeah, I could feel it. Something about this place made my skin crawl. 

“Do you have any idea what kind of creatures live here?” 

“Not entirely. I took down a few smaller magical beasts in the area before turning back. Then, I was lucky enough to run into you. So I figured I’d push a little further. I’m expecting you to be useful.” 

With that, Lilith smiled and casually placed a hand on my shoulder. 

T-Too close! Crap. I’m not used to this kind of thing—I was getting flustered. 

I glanced over and saw Elysia glaring at me. Her expression was blatantly sour. 

Wait, what? What did I do?! 

Lilith, seemingly oblivious, removed her hand and continued speaking. 

“Alright, this is where things get serious. We don’t know when or where magical beasts might attack. Let’s each take a direction to watch while we search for a path deeper in.” 

Her words snapped us back into focus. And we nodded, tension rising. 

Keeping wary of the eerie light and the pulsating mana, we each assigned ourselves a direction—Lilith took the front, Elysia covered the left, and I watched the right. 

With smooth, practiced swordplay, Lilith cut through the thick foliage. She cleared a path forward. 

At regular intervals, she burned small mana marks into surfaces—probably to mark our way back. 

Meanwhile, these damn bugs were swarming around. They were annoying as hell. 

…Wait, are these things gonna suck our bl00d or something? 

◆◆◆

After walking for over an hour, we reached a slightly more open space. 

Sensing our fatigue, Lilith suggested taking a break. Though she herself showed no signs of exhaustion, I was mentally drained. 

We hadn’t been attacked yet. But the constant sensation of being watched by something with ill intent was wearing me down. Elysia, too, couldn’t completely hide her fatigue. 

As I munched on some rations, I decided to ask Lilith about her past adventures. 

Listening to her stories, I learned a lot of things I hadn’t known before. It made our break surprisingly worthwhile.