Chapter 300: Cooperation (5)
I woke up 10 minutes after Cain collapsed.
The professor's group sensed something ominous from Cain's sudden urgency and rushed toward the area that Illin was responsible for.
And it seemed the professor wasn't the only one with that thought, as everyone had gathered in Illin's sector.
Just as they were running...
"Is that his... no, is that a clone?"
"Yeah, looks like it. The energy feels weaker than Cain's usual."
They could see Kejun running while carrying Illin on his back.
From the looks of it, Illin seemed quite badly injured.
"Kejun! Over here."
Skaya called out to Kejun, waving her hands frantically.
Soon, Kejun arrived in front of the group.
"Phew... Rain. Are you here?"
"Yes. I'm right here."
Rain stepped forward at his question.
Kejun made a request to her.
"Please heal her quickly."
"?!"
Rain was startled when she saw Illin's wounds.
The others were equally shocked.
And for good reason—Illin's body was completely covered in blood.
"What on earth happened? And where's Cain? Where is he?"
At Skaya's question, Kejun shook his head.
"I don't know the details either. I was suddenly summoned. But it seems like he fell into the Cult's trap."
"What? The Cult?"
No one had expected the Cult to appear here.
However, that wasn't the only reason for her surprise.
Even if the Cult was involved, Illin should have been able to handle at least one Executive, right?
As everyone looked confused, Illin, who had regained consciousness after being treated by Rain, slowly spoke up.
"The Cult must have prepared thoroughly because three Executives showed up."
"?!"
Everyone was shocked by those words.
No one had dreamed they would deploy three Executives for a mere terrorist attack rather than a full-scale war.
Kim Su-yong asked.
"Then where is Cain now?"
"He stayed behind in my place to face them alone."
At those words, Lisana and Skaya's pupils trembled like an earthquake.
It was true that Cain had grown stronger.
He was probably stronger than them now.
However, no matter how strong he was, facing three Cult Executives simultaneously was nearly impossible.
*I need to go help him quickly.*
Without a moment's hesitation, Skaya and the group...
-Tap!
They stomped their feet and ran quickly.
***
"Cain!"
"Darling!"
The two rushed desperately toward the collapsed Cain.
But at that moment...
"Aran. Now's the time!"
Aran instantly approached the two and swung his polearm.
However...
-Clang!
Skaya blocked Aran's attack by forming a barrier without even looking.
"Tsk!"
Realizing his ambush had failed, Aran retreated.
Then, he asked Crimson.
"Hey. What do we do now?"
"Well, too many unexpected variables have occurred."
According to their original plan, they were going to kill whoever came here first, then eliminate the others one by one.
But not only had they failed to kill Illin who entered first, they couldn't even take down Cain, who was their primary target.
Moreover...
*Damn it. Even my senior is dead.*
They had suffered massive losses with no gains.
*Sigh... there's no choice.*
It was frustrating, but the outcome was obvious if they continued fighting.
Their opponents included a Saintess and others the Cult was keeping a close eye on.
*We have no choice but to retreat.*
Just as he was about to take out a Teleport Scroll with that thought...
-Rumble!
Black clouds formed on the ceiling, and then...
-Crash!
Lightning struck down.
"Ugh!"
"What the hell!"
The two demons groaned at the unexpected attack.
But it wasn't over yet.
"You're first."
Lisana released Holy Power and drove her fist straight into Aran's face.
Then...
-Boom!
Aran was slammed into the opposite wall.
Next, Lisana rushed toward Crimson.
Crimson concentrated a single Demonic Energy arrow and shot it at her.
-Whoosh!
A single concentrated Demonic Energy arrow.
Its power was on a different level from before.
Even a Saintess would suffer critical damage if hit by this.
Just as Aran thought it was over as he watched Lisana charging straight ahead...
"So it was you who put a hole in Senior Illin's arm."
Lisana concentrated Holy Power in her hand and completely shattered the arrow.
"?!"
She shattered it? That easily?
It's true that Holy Power has an advantage over Demonic Energy.
But he never thought she would destroy his attack so casually.
"I hate guys like you the most. Your schemes are too obvious."
Saying that, Lisana drove her fist into Crimson's abdomen.
"Kuhuk..."
It felt like his internal organs were twisting.
Black blood leaked from his mouth.
While Crimson clutched his stomach, Lisana spoke in an ice-cold voice.
"Let's take another hit."
Just as she was about to stomp down...
-Whoosh!
Aran swung his massive polearm at Lisana.
At that moment, Kim Su-yong stepped between them and blocked Aran's attack.
-Clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed in the room.
Aran muttered in a frustrated voice as his attack was blocked.
"Damn it, if only my stamina hadn't decreased."
Aran was right.
The two had been fighting non-stop, so their Demonic Energy had decreased significantly.
Of course, even at full power they couldn't win, but they wouldn't have been pushed back so one-sidedly.
-Whoosh!
At that moment, Kejun launched a surprise attack from behind Aran.
*Damn it. There are too many of them.*
And each one was formidable.
While dodging Kejun's attack, Crimson said.
"I never expected David von Cain to have a clone."
"What? First time seeing a clone? You idiot."
Kejun retorted with a voice full of discontent.
Then, with an extremely annoyed expression, he continued.
"I thought I could finally rest, but what? I can't even rest properly because of you guys!"
He kept pressing forward while saying that.
But was it because he was a clone?
*He's definitely not as good as the original.*
Though even so, he felt stronger than most Branch Managers.
While Crimson was momentarily lost in thought...
"There's an opening, you bastard."
Somehow, Kejun's fist was already approaching his abdomen.
And simultaneously...
-Thud!
Kejun's fist connected with his stomach.
"Ugh!"
Compared to the Saintess, it wasn't that painful, but since he was hit in the same spot again, the damage was unexpectedly severe.
"Crimson!"
At that moment, Aran shouted his name loudly.
Then, he said.
"I'll buy time here, you escape."
"What?"
"You know as well as I do. Even with a Teleport Scroll, it's impossible to escape from here."
"......"
He was certainly right.
To use a Teleport Scroll, you need to tear the paper and look at it, but the problem is that creates an opening.
*If only we were a bit further away, we could have escaped easily.*
Crimson gritted his teeth in frustration.
He spoke.
"Aran. I'll make sure your and senior's contributions are recognized by the Cult."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
With those final words, Aran released Demonic Energy throughout his body, risking his lifespan.
***
Kejun let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded by the two demons' spirit of sacrifice.
"What a load of crap. Anyone watching would think we're the villains."
They were the ones terrorizing innocent citizens.
Whatever their reasons, the fact that they killed innocent people couldn't be denied.
Yet, they were acting like they were the victims.
*If it had been the original, he definitely would have cursed them out right to their faces.*
That's how pissed off he would have been.
Anyway, though he had taken out "insurance" beforehand, preventing their escape was the top priority.
So, he needed to make sure Crimson couldn't take out his Teleport Scroll.
-Boom!
It seemed Skaya had the same thought as she unleashed a barrage of magic at the two.
However...
"Hup!"
Perhaps due to sacrificing his lifespan, Aran deflected Skaya's magic effortlessly.
Then...
-Whoosh!
He unleashed a massive Demonic Energy sword wave unlike anything before.
-Crash!
Aran's attack created a cloud of dust.
As Buckle swung his spear to clear the dust...
*Tsk. He escaped.*
Crimson had disappeared from sight.
It seemed he had used a Teleport Scroll to escape.
*Well, it doesn't matter.*
Even if he escaped, Kejun had made separate preparations.
So, there was no loss.
"I'm not happy one got away, but you're going to die today."
"Prepare to die."
At that moment, Lisana and Skaya gave the lone Aran terrifying looks.
It seemed the remaining Aran was going to die as painfully as possible.
***
My eyelids felt heavy.
My vision was dark.
All I could see was darkness.
-Cain! Wake up!
-Darling! Wake up!
-Cain, please wake up.
Familiar voices echoed in my ears.
Come to think of it, what happened before I collapsed?
I tried to gather my memories.
*Right. Before I collapsed, Lisana and Skaya had arrived.*
So I didn't regress?
That must be the case.
Not only those two, but the rest of the group had joined shortly after.
So, Rain must have healed me.
As I was recalling my memories...
-Slap!
I felt a stinging sensation on my cheek.
"Who slapped me while I was sleeping so well!"
I opened my eyes wide in anger at the unexpected slap, and Kejun nodded with an expressionless face.
"That's more like it."
"No, how can you say 'that's more like it' after slapping someone?"
One corner of my mouth involuntarily lifted up because it was so absurd.
At that moment...
"Cain!"
"Darling, why did you take so long to wake up?!"
"Cain, I thought you were going to die."
Skaya, Lisana, and Illin pounced on me.
Aaaagh! Shit! Time out!
I let out a silent scream throughout my body.
Without exaggeration, it felt like every muscle in my body was cramping.
"Hey, hey. The original is dying."
At Kejun's words, the three quickly removed their hands from my body after seeing my expression.
[The Goddess Who Sees Fate says she's relieved you didn't die.]
At that moment, Fate expressed relief as she saw me wake up.
Worrying about something like this...
She knows I would regress if I died, doesn't she?
Anyway...
"From the looks of it, this seems to be my room at the main house, but what happened after I passed out?"
"Umm..."
At my question, the group made complicated expressions and kept their mouths shut.
I asked.
"Don't tell me you let them all escape?"
"No, that's not it."
"Then why are you making those expressions?"
"Well, we did let one escape, but I'll talk to you about that separately. More importantly, there's bad news."
"Huh? Bad news?"
Did someone die?
But the group's expressions didn't look that depressed for such news.
As I was trying to understand, unexpected words came out of Kejun's mouth.
"The Cult seized another territory while we were taking our Performance Evaluation."