46. The Resolve to Beg

"Yumino... I don't think you have to go that far..." said Gavin with a disturbed look, looking down at the elf whose forehead was kissing the cold ground.

Yet the elf didn't move and didn't speak.

"Yumino... You're even making me feel uncomfortable..." Velmira added, grabbing the elf's arm in an attempt to lift him.

Needless to say, Gauntmere was already speechless at the actions of her hero, looking in silence at how things were unfolding.

"Please! I beg you! That's the only thing I'll ever ask you!"

"Even if you ask us that... you can't really offer us what Lucien can... right? He's kept us at his own expense, barely having us do any work... I kinda like this life," Gavin said, responding in a manner as if he had been asked something slightly inconvenient that he wanted to politely decline.

But the elf didn't hesitate to ask again, this time smacking his forehead into the ground and staining it with blood—a clear stand made by the elf that he wasn't joking around.

"You're right. I don't have anything to give in return," he admitted.

"If anything, helping me could cost you the life you're living right now, and even your friends."

As Yumino spoke, his nail dug into the floor. It was only thanks to Velmira applying what little healing magic she knew that he still had nails to speak of.

"I can't defeat everyone alone. Garron and Averin... they are your comrades. It's only logical that I would ask for your help. The two of you are strong, but that's not all! I don't know if you are stronger than Lucien, but there's something else I can use you for!"

"Use...us?" the two repeated.

"Only by having you two next to me can I hope to sway Averin and Garron. I admit, I still don't know what kind of people you are, but I know damn well that you at least care for one another! So please! Please help me!"

The fighters who were being treated as pawns didn't answer instantly. Instead, they looked at one another, conversing through looks they have come to understand after years of being together.

"Yumino... first answer a question of ours," Velmira spoke first.

"Why do you seek to kill Lucien?" Gavin continued. "Why not run away or try to get Nima back? You could even talk it out with him, and maybe he can let you live if you stand next to him. You both have the same goal to kill Death, right?"

Yumino gritted his teeth. The points Gavin was making were things he had already thought about. Looking at it logically, there were better ways to go about it, but logic was not what was driving the last elf, and since lies were not his thing, he spoke with an open heart.

"I hate him... I hate him for what he did to the elves. I hate him for how he speaks. I hate him for how he acts. I hate him for how he looks at me. I hate him for how he lied. And most of all, I hate him because he took Nima from me! That's all. I want him dead! I want him gone! I want a world where he doesn't exist! It's too late to fix what he's done, so all that's left is vengeance, and I want it delivered!"

After another short break, Velmira spoke.

"To take down the Vampire Lord is a tough task even for us, you know?"

"I know!"

"And to do so, you may have to take a lot of lives..."

"I know!"

"You may have to lie, to act, and to twist the truth in order to trick people."

"I... That's..."

"I see... So your resolve is still—"

"If it comes to that, I'll do it!"

Upon hearing his resolve, Velmira scoffed. Her soft, intimate entreaty from months ago carried no weight for the elf back then. It was a pity that it had to come to this, but it seemed that he had finally learned the weight of her valuable advice.

"And one more thing, my dear elf. You might die."

This time, it was Yumino's turn to scoff, and he did so as he lifted his head, standing up and looking at the two with a nervous grin full of expectation.

"Velmira, you've once asked me where elves go when they die. Why was that?"

"Why... witches are known for their curiosity. It's only normal I took the chance to ask one of the few remaining elves. I did the same with Nima, but she told me that beings who were once immortal don't have theories about this."

"It's hell," Yumino said bluntly, his gaze piercing Velmira's own to the point of reaching her heart.

"Whatever I do, hell awaits me regardless. So what point is there in trying to avoid it? What point is there in keeping my hands clean? When all roads lead into the abyss, the only thing you can do is throw your regrets away before you take the final step."

The two were stunned by the words Yumino spoke. Velmira, who was being stared at, had her cheeks flushed red as she listened to him. Every beat of her heart was loud enough to be heard by Gavin, who had nothing to add that could turn the tables.

"Pfft... Ahahahaha!"

Silence was broken by the hero's laugh. It was in his nature to tread lightheartedly through life, and that showed in his way of ruining the serious atmosphere built around them.

Fortunately, that laugh saved Velmira, who had lost herself in the determined gaze of the elf. As such, she thanked him with a pat on the back.

"Phew... I never thought the cutie could get my heart racing like that. I much more preferred it when it was the other way around..."

Having spoken his mind, the elf once again asked:

"So... will you stand with me? Will you risk yourselves for absolutely no benefit?"

"When you put it like that... only an idiot would accept it..." Gavin spoke, scratching his head.

"I can't answer you until we pull it off," Yumino said out of nowhere.

"Pardon?"

"Your question... I can't tell you how returning home feels until we get rid of that guy."

Gavin's eyes widened at the words spoken by the elf. That question had long slipped from his mind, yet it never left Yumino's. That got Gavin curious.

"Ahhh... fine!" the hero answered. "You've got us on board!"

*****

"Are you that sure he'll come out? I wouldn't be surprised if he buried himself in the snow somewhere."

"He will," Nimera answered her lord's question. "He's too dumb to make the rational choice."

"Oh? I guess it's a good thing we're gathered here in the open if those two heroes decide on aiding him," said Lucien. "I wouldn't want to be in the forest when those two strike."

"Although... I guess we have no reason to worry about them," he continued, his grin giving away his true self. "After all, they wouldn't hurt their dear friends. Right, Garron?"

Planting his claymore into the ground dangerously close to the vampire, the giant spoke.

"Don't bet too much on that, Lucien," he said, his gaze not moving away from the forest before him.

"If you think that all heroes are the same, you might end up making some grave mistakes."