‘What…?’ 

Fuze stared with wide eyes as he watched all his Squadron leader’s pinballs freeze. As they escaped Pride’s control, they bounced off the transparent walls and to the ground.

‘Impossible.’

At the beginning of the battle, Pride had said that their opponent might have an A-grade ice elemental skill. Fuze had wondered if his captain was overestimating the Player, but now, he nodded slowly.

‘If he can do that, he could definitely have an A-grade ice elemental skill or higher.’ 

They had expected this battle to be easy, but it was taking a lot longer than expected.

“Kill him! Kill him! Kill that guy!” Fuze shouted with clammy hands.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice reached his ears. He was no longer alone.

“He’s dying so disgracefully. I knew he was lacking, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.”

‘Who…?!’ 

Fuze immediately turned around. His face turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

The man beside him looked short, average, and thin. The only thing that stood out were his eerie, dead-looking eyes.

Fuze forced himself to speak as he looked at him. “Gu Shi-On…Nim.”

Gu Shi-On was famous for being the captain of the Despair Squadron, but according to the plan, he wasn’t supposed to be in Port Lane.

Fuze spoke carefully, “Why have you come…?”

“Dream on. Do you really think I’d come in person to such a disgusting place that reeks of fish?” Gu Shi-On dryly responded. Gu Shi-On looked down at him. “Shadow-nim from the Darkmoon Pavillion ordered me to come. He sent me to help because he can’t trust the Pride Squadron to get the job done.”

“...Keuk.” Fuze’s hands curled into fists. If Pride were here right now, he would have given a witty retort.

Gu Shi-On smiled as he saw Fuze’s indignation. “You look like a dog that lost its owner. How amusing.”

“...”

“And even if your owner were here, he wouldn’t be able to bark at me. He has been disciplined a few times for that, you see.”

Fuze bowed his head, unable to say anything. He knew that if he ever talked back, his punishment wouldn’t end with just death.

“Looks like the dog is wiser than the owner. I would have taught you a lesson if you dared to open your mouth.”

Fuze shivered at the word “lesson.” Gu Shi-On looked at him like he was pathetic before turning away.

“Who is that guy anyway? Explain.” A bit of interest sparked in his dead eyes as he watched Seo Jun-Ho.

“I don’t know. He’s an A-grade ice elemental user, according to Pride-nim’s estimate,” he said.

“A guy like that doesn’t just come out of nowhere. What else?”

“...He appeared with the Archmage and the Gray Envoy.”

“I see.” Gu Shi-On looked regretful when he heard the answer. “If I knew this would happen, I would’ve come in person…” His abilities were greatly limited in his clone state.

‘Well, it should still be enough to take care of the Archmage and the Envoy.’ 

He didn’t even consider the ice elemental user.

‘Even if Pride is an idiot, he should be able to kill some no-name Player.’ 

However, it didn’t take long for Pride to betray his expectations.

“C-Captain.”

The Player was resisting too much. He froze Pride’s pinballs every time, and at some point, he was starting to push Pride back.

Fuze looked nervously at Gu Shi-On. “G-Gu Shi-On-nim. I think my captain is in danger.”

“...?” He blinked, looking at Fuze as if asking what he was supposed to do about it.

“I-I thought you said the Darkmoon Pavillion sent you here to help us…” he nervously stammered.

“Ah. You misunderstand.” Gu Shi-On smirked and shook his head. “Listen carefully. My orders were to help you, so you don’t fail the mission.”

“...” Fuze was confused. Wasn’t that the same?

“You don’t seem to understand, so I’ll explain. Whether Pride gets killed or not, I know that I can still complete the mission on my own. There’s no real reason to help him,” he added.

“T-then…”

“This is good, actually. That idiot has been disgracing the Squadron leaders this whole time.” Pride was barely strong enough to be a Squadron leader because his skill had such an obvious weakness. He was actually the weakest out of all the Squadron leaders. “He looks stupid, but he’s as cunning as a fox. I didn’t like that he quickly became a Squadron leader because of that.”

Pride knew better than anyone the risk associated with his skill, so he treated his subordinates like soldiers and had them protect him.

“Oh, he’s dead,” Gu Shi-On said a moment later. It wasn’t just a figure of speech anymore.

Fuze looked on helplessly like his soul had left his body.

Gu Shi-On doubled over and burst into laughter.

He wiped away tears when he finally spoke. “That bastard, he actually died!” If Pride had been fighting one of the 5 Heroes, his death wouldn’t have come as a surprise, considering they had once been the strongest people alive. “Who would’ve thought he’d be killed by some no-name Player?”

Gu Shi-On looked relieved. “I’m so glad he died in a remote place like this.” Gu Shi-On had always been worried that Pride’s incompetence would reflect badly on the Squadron leaders and the Fiend Association as a whole. Pride’s death confirmed his suspicions. “Imagine if he died in some place like Leiark. The Players would’ve looked down on the Fiend Association.”

“...”

“It’s a good thing he died in a place like this. Don’t you think?”

Fuze let out a choked sound as he trembled all over. “...Yes.”

Squadron members without their leaders were outcasts. If they weren’t taken in by a new Squadron, they would basically become normal fiends.

“Hm, he’s more interesting than I thought…” Gu Shi-On thought for a second and made a decision. “It would be a waste to lose one of them. Let’s just kill them all at once.

***

“Contractor, what about his memories?”

“Later.” Seo Jun-Ho hid Pride’s now-frozen body in a building. Once everything was over, he would look for the corpse and use Confession of the Dead. “Our priority right now is to block the fiends at the ocean.” Fortunately, the strongest fiend that had come here was Pride. Since he was dead, there wasn’t anyone else left who would give Seo Jun-Ho much trouble.

Woosh! 

“...!” Goosebumps pricked his skin. Both Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen looked around, narrowing their eyes.

“Contractor, did you not say that he was the strongest fiend?”

“Yeah. According to Jang Seon-Ho’s memories, he should’ve been the strongest among them…”

Pride had definitely been the strongest, as the Despair Squadron leader wasn’t participating in this mission.

“Then what is this feeling?” the Frost Queen asked. Seo Jun-Ho wondered the same thing. He noticed that this feeling of danger was coming from Dragon Rock and shook his head.

“I don’t know. But it’s calling to me.” It wasn’t just calling. It was clearly a threat.

‘I bet they’ll destroy the whole city if I don’t go.’ 

Skaya had evacuated most of the citizens, but there were still more than a thousand citizens left. They were probably scared, hiding in their homes.

“Since I’ve been offered an invitation, it would only be polite to accept.”

Seo Jun-Ho slowly started toward the hill.

***

Through his scope, Gilberto took aim at the figure near Dragon Rock. The man’s bloodlust was so thick that he didn’t even notice he was being watched.

“Jun-Ho, what should I do?”

[Standby for now. How does the target look?]

“He looks younger than I thought, and his body type is average.”

[Maybe he’s the type that relies more on his skills than physical strength…? What about Skaya?]

[I just broke through the transparent wall and sent people out. Should we meet up?]

[Yeah.] Seo Jun-Ho’s reply came immediately. He wasn’t one to give up an easy fight. [We don’t need to play fair. Let’s get this done as fast as possible and head to the ocean.]

[Good idea~]

Soon after, Gilberto saw Seo Jun-Ho and Skaya going up the hill through his scope. The four of them were talking to each other, and Skaya used her telepathy to let Gilberto listen in.

[You actually came. How obedient. I suppose that’s why they call you Heroes.]

[I am the Despair Squadron leader, Gu Shi-On. I enjoyed watching you kill Pride. I wanted to thank you, actually.]

[Seeing how an ice elemental user is running around with the 5 Heroes, I suppose you’ll free the remaining two.]

[What do you think of joining the Fiend Association? With your abilities, you could become the new Pride Squadron leader right away. You killed Pride, so you’re qualified.]

[You don’t want to? Oh, well. Just let me ask you one question. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12. Which number is your favorite?]

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t answer. The fiend shrugged carelessly.

[Let’s just go with 1, then. It’s my favorite number, you see.]

[Bye, I’ll see you soon. You don’t have to pay me extra for rent.]

“...”

The Despair Squadron leader was speaking nothing but nonsense. Gilberto stopped paying attention to their conversation and took aim at Gu Shi-On’s forehead. He could immediately pull the trigger as soon as the signal was given.

‘Huh?’ 

Surprisingly, Gu Shi-On smiled. And then, Seo Jun-Ho disappeared without a trace.

“What…” Skaya’s scream tore through his confusion.

[Gil…!]

Bang! 

Gilberto’s reaction time was immaculate. He pulled the trigger as soon as the sound reached his ears. The bullet shot through the air without a sound or trace and tore straight through his target’s forehead.

“...!”

But Gu Shi-On didn’t even seem annoyed. He simply smiled.

“Dammit, that’s not his real body,” Gilberto exclaimed. Gu Shi-On shattered like glass, disappearing completely—this meant he had been a clone.

“Skaya, what happened to Jun-Ho?!” he yelled, uncharacteristically panicked.

[Wait.] Skaya said curtly. She used the wind to cut through the remaining fiend’s arms. The attack was full of rage like she was punishing him for the other fiend’s actions. As he screamed and fell to the ground, Skaya looked around and bit her lip.

[...I don’t know.]

She traced the magic back, but Gu Shi-On skill wasn’t something like Teleport. Seo Jun-Ho had disappeared off the face of the earth without a single trace.

“...” Gilberto swallowed. He spoke once he had sorted out his thoughts. “Skaya, you can’t just kill off that fiend. We need to get information from him.”

[Don’t worry. I’m not mad. I’m totally fine. I wasn’t planning to kill him in the first place.] She turned away. [...Sorry, I lied just now. I’m really mad.]

As the fiend thrashed in pain, Skaya approached him with cold eyes.