Stop, Friendly Fire!

"What? Ethan Cruz is?"

[Yes. To be exact, I see the two remaining undead heroes returning to him.]

"Ah... So he's at least going to try to get out with what he has left, huh."

In a way, it was his expected course of action. Lee Shin Woo had killed the Beast General, dropped the Vulture General from the sky, and killed six out of the eight undead heroes. What's worse, Lee Shin Woo had also killed Ethan Cruz's accomplice, Mentes Orun, so in terms of chess, all that was left was the king and a pawn. It would be strange if he wasn't retreating.

"But... Hmm. There's no way he'd just leave."

"Shin Woo, don't you think you're the reason he's leaving?"

Lee Shin Woo muttered and Jin retorted. Jin believed that Ethan Cruz had done everything he could. If he were to point out a fault of his, then it would be that Ethan Cruz hadn't properly assessed Lee Shin Woo's ability beforehand. It seemed obvious, but it was indeed his biggest mistake.

"Still, there's no way he'd just leave. There are still a lot of undead left on the battlefield, and the heroes are still fighting, so the fact that Ethan Cruz is running away by himself means that... he believes he might be exposed."

"Maybe he thinks he's already been exposed. Especially since you went out of your way to pick out and kill the undead heroes."

"No. Any normal hero that can't use darkness magic wouldn't be able to ascertain the link between the undead heroes and Ethan Cruz. And so long as they aren't cognizant of that link, Ethan Cruz will remain as a trustworthy hero. Aside from me, no one else thinks that Ethan Cruz is evil. What's worse, Mentes Orun didn't really say much to Lloyd."

"Then why? Why is he purposely trying to expose himself?"

"That's... Wait a sec. I think we'll know soon."

At that moment, Ethan Cruz had sent him a request for a private chat. Lee Shin Woo was briefly shocked but soon calmed down. Ethan Cruz had no way of knowing that Lee Shin Woo was hostile towards him. So, the purpose of this conversation was...

"Senior?"

[Ethan Cruz: Shin Woo, I'm glad you're safe! Are you alright?]

"Yes, I'm alright!"

[Ethan Cruz: Ooh, that's a relief. This might sound shameless, but I need your help. Their airborne troops have found me! But I can't intercept them because of the buff I cast on you... Help me out, Super Rookie. If I die here, then the buff I cast on you will disappear as well! Everything will become a mess!]

...Aha, as he thought. At that moment, Lee Shin Woo figured out everything. Ethan Cruz was resorting to his last trick.

[Ethan Cruz: The others are busy fighting, so they won't be able to help me... I may sound hopeless, but help me out. Come over here as soon as you can!]

"I understand, Senior! I'll go immediately! Please stay safe for just a little while longer!"

With his level 19 Acting skill, Lee Shin Woo replied overly lively and soon ended the private chat. When he looked up at the sky, the airborne troops were circling around the area Ethan was hiding. If someone who didn't know the situation saw this, then they would truly believe that Ethan Cruz was in danger.

"Wait, what happened?"

"What do you mean 'what happened'? He can't leave it to anyone else, so he'll step up and do it himself."

Lee Shin Woo led Jin towards Ethan Cruz and replied calmly. But because it seemed like Jin hadn't yet grasped the situation, Lee Shin Woo explained further.

"The airborne troops that are circling around... They're obviously on Ethan Cruz's side. You know that much, right?"

"Yeah, since Ethan Cruz was the one to call the Vulture General. But I'm surprised that he can still control the general’s subordinates."

"Yeah, that's a bit surprising to me as well. Though that's not important right now."

Either Ethan Cruz and the Vulture General had formed an agreement beforehand, or he had some way of commanding the air troops. The fact that the airborne troops moved threateningly, but didn't attack Ethan Cruz was the proof.

"He's probably going to make up a lie, saying that the undead heroes that are returning to him are aiming for him. So if I were to naively go and help, then I'll have to fight against a disadvantageous battle, and once I'm dead, he would revive me as his subordinate... Well, I bet that's what he's thinking."

Looking down on the heroes and dispatching two of the 12 generals was a mistake. Therefore, it would be better for him to call each hero individually and take care of them one by one... It was a reasonable conclusion. Ethan Cruz wasn't aiming for only Lee Shin Woo.

"Then why are you going? Are you insane?"

"Jin, you remember that buff... No, that debuff that he cast on me, right?"

Ethan Cruz had used his darkness magic to cast a 'buff' on him. It was no simple buff; it was actually a curse that would temporarily increase one's abilities, and then debilitating side effects would follow. The curse's evilest ability was its hypnosis effect, and after a certain amount of time, one wouldn't be able to defy Ethan Cruz's orders.

In other words, Ethan Cruz's private chat request was no request but was undoubtedly a 'command'.

"But that curse didn't work on you!"

"To be exact, I was able to resist it. ...But that guy still believes that his curse has affected me."

Of course, he could reveal that the curse hadn't affected him and move against Ethan Cruz. But if he did, Ethan Cruz would immediately dispel the darkness magic link between him and Lee Shin Woo.

Lee Shin Woo didn't want that. To be more specific, Lee Shin Woo actually wanted Ethan Cruz to cast another curse on him. Hearing that, Jin was dumbfounded and muttered.

"I knew early on that you were messed up, but I didn't think you were this far gone..."

"This was my plan from the very beginning. You got that?"

Lee Shin Woo was sure that Ethan Cruz specialized in curses. But so long as Lee Shin Woo possessed Darkness Resistance: MAX, there was no way one of Ethan Cruz's curses would affect him.

If that's the case, then what would be the best way to make use of this? Force Ethan Cruz to give up on cursing him? Make him give up on his darkness magic, forcing him to use plain magic? No, obviously not.

"The right answer is: act like I'm affected by his curse, put him into a false sense of security, and then counterattack. If my counterattack is successful, then I'll be able to inflict a grievous wound, even if he's a level 8."

"You fight way too dirty!"

"Just keeping listening."

Lee Shin Woo clearly remembered Bisher Moon's explanation on the Deadly Force curse.

'Because Deadly Force is such a fatal curse, it has a few downsides. First, it's difficult to use against those with more magic than the caster. Second, the caster cannot move freely until the target's death.'

The first point probably wasn't relevant to Lee Shin Woo. Lee Shin Woo didn't think he could beat a level 8 magician in terms of magic.

However, he could use the second downside. If he could bait Ethan Cruz into using Deadly Force on him, then he'd be able to restrain a level 8 hero! Lee Shin Woo was immune to all curses, so he'd be able to take that opportunity and attack Ethan Cruz.

"I didn't nullify the curse immediately but allowed him to cast it and resisted it. But this was a lot harder to do than I'd expected."

"You... was the reason you allowed him to curse you because...?"

"Yep. I wanted to become more accustomed to controlling the extent of my resistance."

Not nullifying the curse itself, but nullifying its effects. If that were possible, then Lee Shin Woo would be able to do as he pleased while Ethan Cruz suffered the downsides to Deadly Force. Lee Shin Woo had been training throughout the battle in preparation for this.

"...I'm speechless."

"Yeah, stay like that. Since we're going to see him soon."

Lee Shin Woo explained confidently and patted Jin. Was he alright with that explanation? Jin ran more quickly than before and left the battlefield. He was close enough to Ethan Cruz's hiding place that he could see it. With Jin's speed, they would reach it in 5 seconds.

'Senior Yasunori Akira is still hiding. If he were to attack Ethan Cruz with me once I'm cursed, then it'll be over in a flash. ...But."

But there was one thing that was bothering him.

Lee Shin Woo softly sighed. He didn't really want to think about it, but it was still a possibility. If it was true, then it would become a bit complicated...

"Well, whatever. If that happens, I'll just get three more."

'Three? Why three?'

"Senior!"

Lee Shin Woo didn't answer Jin and yelled out. He didn't know if it was because he'd gotten closer, but the circling airborne troops took that moment to descend and attack Ethan Cruz. He almost wanted to applaud at their lively acting.

"Shin Woo, you're not late!"

"Senior!"

Lee Shin Woo drew his Lightning God's Fury, cut through the undead, and approached him. Ethan Cruz sported an overwhelming relieved expression and looked at him.

"You came to rescue me!"

"Of course, Senior!"

Lee Shin Woo could give Ethan Cruz's contemptible smile an 8/10. As he thought, perhaps this guy had the Acting skill as well.

However, he discarded that thought and moved on. Ethan Cruz smiled brightly and spoke.

"Even though the curse hasn't affected you!"

"Tch."

"Heup!"

To think he'd notice! Hearing that, Lee Shin Woo clicked his tongue. At that moment, Yasunori Akira popped out of his hiding place and attacked Lee Shin Woo. He'd only heard of the style before, Battōjutsu. Yasunori Akira's strike was so powerful and swift that it felt like he'd be cut in two.

But because he shared Jin's ridiculously high speed stat, Lee Shin Woo's reflexes and dynamic visual acuity had grown beyond comprehension, so he was barely able to see the trajectory of his strike. And if he could see it, he could block it too.

"You were able to block my strike!?"

"Hoo. You know, I want to trust other people too sometimes."

Lee Shin Woo blocked Yasunori Akira's strike with his Lightning God's Fury (the moment their swords clashed, Lee Shin Woo's entire body shattered, but through his Acting and Regeneration skills, no one noticed) and sighed.

Well, of course he'd sigh. Both his plan of using Ethan Cruz's curse and Yasunori Akira helping him had all gone up in smoke. Honestly, Lee Shin Woo had somewhat expected Yasunori Akira to betray him, but he hadn't given up on him till the very end.

'I'd considered the possibility that Ethan Cruz would use Yasunori Akira as well... Since he'd need to know what Retadane would do and prepare accordingly.'

Ethan Cruz knew that Retadane had suspected him. If that's the case, then he must've known that Retadane would eventually approach Lee Shin Woo... as he hadn't been in this world for very long and hadn't been approached by Ethan Cruz yet, therefore being trustworthy.

However, Ethan Cruz had planted a spy in preparation for that eventuality. Someone who would meet with Lee Shin Woo and Retadane, and who would report what they were planning back to him: Yasunori Akira.

The reason Yasunori Akira had approached Lee Shin Woo first and had warned him about Ethan Cruz was to gain his trust. By doing so, he would be able to manipulate Lee Shin Woo, form a sense of camaraderie amongst him, Retadane, and Lee Shin Woo, and ultimately cause them to believe that he's their comrade.

"Did you know?"

"I said I really wanted to trust you. Are you deaf?"

With that in mind, the reason Lee Shin Woo hadn't killed Yasunori Akira was because, contrary to Ethan Cruz, there was a chance that Yasunori Akira was 'innocent'. Lee Shin Woo hadn't been able to discard the chance that Yasunori Akira had approached him out of genuine concern.

However, with this, he was sure. He was definitely on Ethan Cruz's side. Now he could kill him without feeling any guilt.

"Haha, you really are strong. I really like you."

"You mean you like me enough to kill me and raise me as your subordinate?"

"So you're aware of it already, Super Rookie!"

"Yeah, that shamelessness really suits you."

Lee Shin Woo sighed once more, and completely dispelled the curse. Since Ethan Cruz was already aware of it, there was no reason to carry a curse that wouldn't be of any benefit to him.

Even though Ethan Cruz should be aware of Lee Shin Woo dispelling the curse, his expression didn't change. That meant he had something else up his sleeve, aside from the curses and Yasunori Akira.

"You're really amazing. I really admire you."

Lee Shin Woo was surrounded by the airborne troops, the 2 remaining undead heroes, and Yasunori Akira. They came closer and closer, and Ethan Cruz spoke relaxingly.

Lee Shin Woo knew that he was just buying time to completely encircle him, but he decided to play along for now. He also needed to buy a bit of time.

"You really made a mess of my plans. I even used Akira, but I couldn't stop you. I didn't think you'd create such an impressive plan behind Retadane's back. Not only did you block my curse, but you also killed Mentes. How did you do it? I still don't understand how you did it. Ah, you can't use the chatting channel here, so relax and talk to me."

"Do you really think I'll tell you?"

"Mm, yeah. You wouldn't want to talk. However, you'll soon change your mind. Once you've died and been brought back."

"Mm... I have something I'd like to say. Want to hear it?"

"Of course."

Once his encirclement was complete, Ethan Cruz was sure of his victory. He was definitely feeling relaxed.

Lee Shin Woo had expected Yasunori Akira's betrayal, but he hadn't expected Ethan Cruz to discover his curse plan. As a result, he had jumped into the mouth of the tiger.

"If I was suspicious of Yasunori Akira, then I could've made a plan separate from Retadane's. Have you thought about why I didn't?"

"I've thought about it, but there's no point in bluffing at this point. Since Retadane is currently fighting against tens of thousands of undead. I assure you... she won't be able to rescue you before she kills them all. Because that's her core, her hatred for the undead. She lives only to kill the undead!"

It seemed like Ethan Cruz was also aware of Retadane's obsession with the undead. Perhaps he had been waiting for Retadane to go deep into enemy lines and go on a rampage.

"Mm, you're right. That's why."

"...What?"

Ethan Cruz was slightly flustered by his calm affirmation.

"It's simple. It means that there's a part of my plan that Retadane can't know."

"Wait a sec. Hey, Ethan. Ethan! I feel a presence... an overwhelming presence! How... all of a sudden!?"

"What are you talking about..."

Lee Shin Woo grinned and said.

"The real battle starts now."

A 'kwang' sound rang out. The airborne troops began to drop like flies. Was it due to Kratia and Prince's magic? Nope. Boulders had caused them to drop from the sky.

[The Great Paul Zero has commanded us!]

[How dare you challenge his authority! Kill them all!]

"G-Giants...!"

It wasn't just the Giants. There were the level 7 Chimeras, the level 6 golems, and several other elites mixed in as well. The Heaven Defying General's corps had finally arrived.

"Lee Shin Woo, how did you..."

"Who knows? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Lee Shin Woo pulled out an unknown staff and beamed.

Ethan Cruz's body felt chills.

Death was calling for him.