I gritted my teeth, used every drop of strength I had inside me, and pushed myself to a sitting position.

"Wh-why won't this bastard die?" Charlie muttered, his massive hammer dripping with my blood.

"I'm almost out of arrows as well," the archer added.

"Tsk, I'll just smash his head completely," Charlie declared. "Let's see if you recover from this as well."

Charlie shot into the air, his hammer blazing with bright blue energy. Jagged translucent spikes erupted along its surface as he brought it crashing down toward my skull.

The moment it was about to smash my head, a dark energy erupted, covering the surroundings around me.

"Sam, take Sir Morning Star and return to the city," Edrick shouted, standing before me.

"But I'm stronger than you," Sam protested, lifting me onto his back.

"That's why I'm asking you to take him," Edrick replied. "I won't be able to take Sir Morning Star away from here."

The black energy around us began vanishing, and Sam, with a reluctant flick of his tongue, carried me over his shoulders and turned back.

"You two insects were still alive?" Charlie muttered as the darkness completely dispersed.

Edrick drew two daggers from his space ring and declared, "You shall only pass over my dead body."

"Haha, just look at the confidence of this weakling," Charlie laughed. "He barely has the Soulforce of the Foundation Realm. I don't even need Soulforce to kill someone like you."

Charlie bolted at Edrick and swung his giant hammer in a horizontal motion, aiming for Edrick's shoulder.

Just from the sheer air pressure of the hammer's movement, Edrick's body was forced sideways—the opposite direction from where the hammer was coming.

As the hammer approached, Edrick ducked low, dodging the attack, and threw one of his daggers at Charlie's face.

Without even a hint of struggle, Charlie caught the dagger and muttered, glaring at his hand, "What kind of sickening attribute is this?"

Fumes of black energy emerged from the dagger in his hand, leaving a deep wound on his palm.

Edrick didn't waste even the slightest second he got from Charlie's distraction.

He lunged at his shoulder and swung the other dagger, aiming for Charlie's eye.

Before he could move his arm further, an arrow pierced Edrick's hand, forcing the dagger out of his grip.

"I don't need your protection to fight an insect like this, Kevin," Charlie barked, throwing Edrick to the ground.

"N-no, Ed… Edrick," I murmured, watching the battle from Sam's shoulder. "R-run away. You… can't stop them."

"Don't worry, Sir Morning Star," Sam replied, his voice firm. "Edrick has already awakened, and he has learned the dagger skills of Sir Night."

Tears rolled down Sam's eyes as he spoke further, "H-he will definitely survive."

Sam and Edrick were already aware of how strong the opponents actually were. Sam tried to give me false hope, but even he couldn't continue his lie as Edrick dropped to the ground, already coughing blood.

"Charlie, catch those other runaways," Nyx ordered from her chair. "Kevin, kill this pest."

"As you wish, Lady Nyx," both of them said in unison as Charlie ran toward us while Kevin drew another arrow from his quiver.

"I already told you," Edrick muttered, grabbing Charlie's leg, "you shall only leave over my dead body."

Intense black fumes erupted from Charlie's ankle where Edrick clutched him.

"Aghhh, let me go, you bastard!" Charlie shouted, slamming the hammer on Edrick's back.

Yet Edrick's grip didn't loosen in the slightest. Unexpectedly, his grip only tightened, forcing Charlie to his knees as he twisted his ankle.

"Aghhh, the bastard broke my ankle!" Charlie screamed in pain.

He began throwing punches at Edrick's head, splattering his blood everywhere.

"Charlie, you have disappointed me," Nyx announced in low, cold words, sending shivers down Charlie's spine. "Kevin, aim for that redhead and kill him."

"As you wish, ma'am," Kevin replied, turning his aim toward me.

Sam had already carried me a few hundred feet away, but I knew Kevin could definitely kill me from that distance.

The last time Ruru's blessing activated, it could only heal the injury on my head. My limbs were completely destroyed and useless, so I wasn't in a condition to use Blink either.

At the far distance from where Kevin was aiming at me, a bright star glowed, turning the surroundings green with its intense brightness as he pulled the string of his bow.

"This cockroach-like ability of your group has truly impressed me, Lucifer," Nyx said, her voice laced with Soulforce to reach my ears. "I'm impressed. So impressed that I want to take you into our organization. I don't care that you killed Victor. He was nothing but a narcissistic idiot. I would have also forgiven you for killing Jamie. However," she took a brief pause, her voice turning serious, "you made two huge mistakes.

You freed the slaves that we had so painstakingly captured and sent to Forlorn City.

And you also tried to hog all the Soul Stones of the Forlorn City mines to yourself.

That was utterly unacceptable.

So remember, when you go to the afterworld, that I, Nyx, leader of El Dorado, came personally to claim your head. Try to be less greedy in your next life."

The moment her speech stopped, Kevin eased his finger off the bowstring, blasting the green star-like arrow at me.

An ear-piercing sound echoed through the surroundings, and in just a couple of seconds, the violent arrow covered the distance between us.

"Sam, leave me here and run away," I commanded, realizing he wouldn't be able to outrun it.

"Forgive me, Sir," Sam murmured, running even faster, "but I cannot do that."

The next instant, the arrow ripped clean through the chest, leaving a fist-sized void before streaking upward and exploding with a deafening sound.

"I… I finally… protected you… Sir Mor…" Edrick stammered, standing behind me—blood pouring from the gash in his chest—before he collapsed mid-word.

"NOOOO!!!! EDRICKKKKK" I screamed, my voice echoing through the area like a thunderous roar.

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