Stop, Friendly Fire!

"Jin, let's just back off. You don't think you can absorb all of the undead curse within the cannon, do you?"

"Nope. If it were just her, then I might be able to do something about it, but the curse will flow into her from the cannon anyway, so there's no point. I'm trying my best here, but it's too much..."

"Jin, it's dangerous to absorb it so recklessly. My Stasis Magic will wear off."

"Ah, that's right. Kratia, good job."

"Of course."

Her application of 'first aid' was top-notch. She didn't simply freeze her target; she had completely halted the Spirit General from using any of her 'power', which included both her magic and her physical strength. It felt like she'd used the time element as well.

Perhaps Lee Shin Woo had been looking down on the ice element thus far. He could wield the Lv1 High Rank Ice element, but that wasn't something he could boast about in front of Kratia.

[Guu...Guaaaaah...]

"Ah, this woman's lost it too. Where should I even start..."

Her ominous, yet beautiful black hair was disheveled, and her widened, golden eyes evoked a creepy feeling; and the princess continued to cry out.

Lee Shin Woo had, from the very beginning, assumed that she wouldn't be 'ok', but her condition was a lot worse than he'd expected.

After all, she had been used as a 'battery' and an 'energy cable' for the cannon for dozens of years, which had worn away at both her body and her mind... In other words, the contract had been in place before the fall of the Empire. That's what had caused her to be in such a sorry state.

'So he's willing to use his daughter or anything at his disposal to go to the surface, huh...'

He recalled what Seira had said before. That Seagald was willing to use his fiance for his goals... If his goal involved using the cannon, then she was right.

Lee Shin Woo smiled bitterly and placed his hand on the cannon. As expected, he didn't 'own' the cannon, so he couldn't change it into bone.

Honestly, he'd already tried it before fighting Seagald. It was because he knew that he couldn't change it into bone that he had been so anxious during his fight. Ah, he was getting pissed again!

"Seagald, I'll kill you no matter what..."

"Shin Woo, you talking like that makes you sound more like an undead."

"He's never lost his prey before, but he lost two of them at once, so that's probably why he's like that."

"You were able to drive them away without losing the cannon pretty much unscathed. I feel like that's a decisive victory in your favor, Shin Woo..."

Whereas, Kratia and Jin, who couldn't do anything more, just calmly conversed and watched on. The golems were standing behind them in order to protect the Metal God General. Kratia glanced at them and then asked Jin.

"How did you talk them into this? They're completely subservient to Shin Woo."

"He took advantage of their weakness; they're just helping us out temporarily."

"...Sounds like something a villain would do."

Kratia had no idea how Lee Shin Woo had grasped one of the Four Heavenly Commander's weaknesses and forced him to do his bidding, but because Jin looked clueless as well, she didn't ask her anything else. It really didn't matter, so long as they didn't come attacking them.

"So Shin Woo... do you think it's impossible?"

"Mm, I have to take care of this woman first. Then I can move on to the next step."

"...Are you going to brainwash her too?"

"Hey, don't put it that way. It makes me sound like a weirdo."

All he was doing was changing her mind a little bit and turning her into a completely different person than before! Lee Shin Woo ignored Kratia's rude remark and focused on the princess once more. Fortunately, it was much easier to deal with her than Seira.

'Her contract was forced onto her through the darkness element, so I can easily deal with it. It's a relief it's not complicated.'

Lee Shin Woo stretched his hand and placed it upon the princess's forehead. Darkness covered her, an amount similar to when he'd transformed Seira into a banshee, and he immediately erased the contract that bound her.

[You don't need to be tied to the cannon any longer.]

[You don't need to listen to the Emperor's or the Archmage's orders any longer.]

[I'm erasing all illegitimate contracts.]

The deep-seated curse, which had bound her mind and body for dozens of years, was erased by a deeper darkness.

[A-Ah...?]

At that moment, her wide-open golden eyes returned to normal. Her eyes gleamed with a faint intellect, and widened even further when she looked into Lee Shin woo's goblin fire.

Terror and hatred. Anger and fear... Her eyes reflected the amalgamation of all these emotions. If he knew she'd have responded like this, then he'd have turned back into a human. Lee Shin Woo slightly regretted his lack of foresight and quickly said.

"The mana inside of this damn cannon's going to explode, so don't say anything and follow my instructions. You don't want to die when you've just gotten your sanity back, right?"

[Uuaah...]

Was it because she hadn't been able to speak for dozens of years? Fortunately, she was able to understand Lee Shin Woo because of the link between them and nodded her head. She then began to control her mana.

Even if it's rotten, it's still a herring. She was able to return her mana to normal and circulate it throughout her body. Once she began to properly circulate the mana throughout her body, her ruined body regained a bit of its strength back. As expected, the effects of mana were truly amazing.

[Ugh. Keuk... Kuheuk...!]

But there was a problem. The amount of mana she could control was far less than the cannon's capacity. No matter what she did, the cannon's mana wouldn't obey her commands.

It made sense; she was only the trigger. It didn't matter when they pulled the trigger; what mattered was that they had already pulled the trigger, activating the cannon. Lee Shin Woo realized that after coming into contact with her. Now he had no choice but to do something about the cannon himself!

"Hey, do you have a good way of dealing with this?"

[Uuuah.]

She was made aware of the situation by Lee Shin Woo but shook her head as tears streamed down her face. Because she had just realized what she'd done for dozens of years, she wasn't in the right state of mind.

She, who had possessed the title of Spirit Princess, had sucked away the spirits' life force and turned it into destructive power! She couldn't show her face to the spirits, who had once been her friends. She was in no condition to be stopping the cannon!

[Ugh. The... spirits...!]

Of course, her friends had mostly been killed by Lee Shin Woo and company, allowing them to be at peace, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell her that right now. Lee Shin Woo grabbed onto the Evil Eye chain that connected her and the cannon and said.

"You can mourn them later. But if you die here, then you won't be able to do anything. And you can't take your revenge on the ones who did this to you either. If you want to take revenge on the ones who did this to the underground spirits, then you have to survive."

[Re...venge...?]

"That's right."

Kratia and Jin, who were watching from behind, said 'it's finally started' and chattered on, but Lee Shin Woo just ignored them and continued.

"The people who forced you underground. And the people who led the Empire to its ruin. The ones who forced you to sacrifice your friends. All the people who used you. They're still living and breathing, so are you just going to wallow away in self pity and die?"

[Ah, but... I'm...]

"And there are still some spirits that are alive here."

[Aaaah...!]

Mm. Going at it this way got a better reaction out of her. Lee Shin Woo took this opportunity and pushed forward.

"You have to stop this if you want to save them. It's not just the underground. The spirits on the surface are waiting for you to rescue them."

"Living spirits... Aah."

Her voice was becoming firmer and her eyes were becoming clearer. Dana Von Etliber was the Empire's greatest Elementalist. She could tell that Lee Shin Woo not only wielded several elements but was also connected with several spirits as well. For some reason, that fact reinvigorated her.

"How can an undead contract... No, I shouldn't be talking about other people when I'm in this state."

"Oh. Your echo's gone now... It seems like you're back."

Although her complexion was still ghastly and she hadn't been released of her 'delayed undead transformation' state, she had regained her mind completely. Lee Shin Woo nodded his head in satisfaction and she said the words he had been waiting for.

"I want to live...! Please help me!"

"I was waiting for you to say that. I'm glad you're a lot easier to deal with than that old bag. Alright. Then, let's save you first. Kratia, I'm going to pull this woman out, so use your Stasis Magic on the cannon one more time!"

"Easy for you to say!"

"?"

First, Lee Shin Woo pulled off the Evil Eye chains that bound her to the cannon. If she couldn't control the cannon, then he was better off just releasing her from it!

The chains had originally been tied with a complicated spell, but due to his control over darkness he was able to pull them out with ease. Then, he superimposed his previous fragment of Evil Eye with this one, creating a single grain.

"Next up."

"H-How did you...!?"

Dana Von Etliber couldn't believe her sudden freedom and looked dumbfounded. But that wasn't the end. Now that her link with the cannon was broken, the undead curse was quickly descending upon her in order to transform her into an undead!

She, who hadn't been picked by God, would turn into an undead if he didn't do anything. If her condition was even a little bit better, then he and Jin could've continuously sucked the curse out of her and prolonged her life, but she was in terrible shape, so a makeshift method wouldn't work.

'So... I have no choice but to try an experimental method!'

Lee Shin Woo immediately extended his hand towards her and used his 'Dark Shadow'. If he were to simultaneously eliminate as much of the curse as possible while also giving her an ability to repel the curse, then she could live! He'd failed with Seira, but he couldn't afford to fail a second time!

"You can't reject this power. It'll nullify the mana that's attempting to turn you into an undead."

"I understand... But is that really possible?"

"A deeper darkness consumes the weaker one."

Eventually, Dark Shadow covered the princess's body and imbued it with darkness. The princess didn't resist the energy; in fact, she used her own mana to supplement it.

Befitting an Elementalist who had controlled countless spirits, she seemed confident in harmonizing her own mana with another person's. It was quite relieving for Lee Shin Woo.

'A body which can't be infiltrated by the curse.'

He hadn't understood this before, but now that he understood it, the idea behind it was quite simple. Couldn't he just copy the blessing God had given him? Dark Shadow, which possessed the power to reverse all cause-and-effect, had the ability to do so.

Dana's case was different from Seira's; Seira's body had been all but dead, and her mana and physical body had sustained critical damage. She had been putting off her death. However, Dana's body, which had been in contact with the undead curse for dozens of years, was, at this point, neither dead nor alive. Her body was extremely vulnerable to the undead curse but was also the optimal container for an ability that repelled it.

Of course, it should be impossible to bestow this karma upon someone without being God herself, but Lee Shin Woo was able to do it!

'Wild Card...!'

This was the third change, following Jin and Seira. Whenever he used it, he felt himself becoming more familiar with it. He could do this regularly now. But there was one issue here: that this was a contract created through the darkness element.

[Is it really ok?]

[To be frank... I'd like to hear more before I make a decision. But if I don't do as you say, then I'll become an undead just like Seagald, Feotane, or my father. If that's the case, then I have to live first, no matter what happens in the future. You told Seira before that she had to live first too.]

[Ah, you were listening?]

[Moreover, I feel like I'm fated to be with you. You're the last remaining Elementalist in this dead world. I can feel how happy the spirits are through their memories. I'd like to believe in that. And please introduce those girls to me later.]

As expected, he should've just said he was an Elementalist like her; that was all it took to convince her. It had gone so much more smoothly than his time with Seira that it moved him to tears. And then, Lee Shin Woo began her transformation in earnest.

Of course, the change was a lot smaller than with Seira. Because she wasn't a hero, she hadn't accumulated much karma. Plus, he had managed to steal a large quantity of mana from the cannon; with the addition of his Dark Shadow, her body and mind were given a small 'advantage', that's all.

'...Reject death. Survive.'

The combination of Lee Shin Woo's authority, which distorted reality, Dana Von Etliber's miraculous body, which bordered between life and death, and her incredible mana ability...

All of those factors mixed together and created a miracle. Something that hadn't existed in the world was born once more.

"Aaaaaah!"

A blinding light burst forth. Immediately after, her body was covered in darkness. There was pretty much no change to her outward appearance, but Lee Shin Woo knew that she was a completely different existence than before.

[You have created the Lv8 Immortal Princess Dana, and have formed a subordinate contract with her.]

[While this was only possible because the target aided you with her own will and ability, you have succeeded in creating a never before seen species! The Immortal, a high rank species that lives between the border of life and death, and is closer to death than any other, yet has avoided death and lives. This embodies the way you yourself live. As their creator, they will give you unlimited love and esteem.]

[You have acquired the title, 'Species Creator' and all stats have increased by 100! You have fulfilled a portion of the requirements in achieving the fusion element between light and darkness! The Rebellion skill has become Lv8 and all stats have increased by 30. When you meet the conditions of the Rebellion skill, all stats increase by 24%.]

With his Rebellion skill going up by 2 levels in one go, overall... It felt like God would scold him for this, but like always, Lee Shin Woo didn't let it bother him and just decided to move on!