Stop, Friendly Fire!

<Chapter 53. The Final Stage - 3>

The hero Izuna, or Ye Jin Jin, spoke with the Light General and sighed lengthily. They were in the very same mansion that Lee Shin Woo had visited before.

"Her drive’s really scary. I talked to her across a long distance, yet it feels like the temperature’s gone down 10 or so degrees."

"What I want to know is why she’s so willing to betray the Empire, the same Empire she’s protected for so long? So much so that she’s even willing to risk her life."

"She must have some weird circumstances, Senior."

Ye Jin Jin turned around and sighed deeply; Prince had been watching the conversation from behind her. Prince, who had summoned a small Fire Demon’s hand and had been juggling a fireball, stopped and tilted her head.

"What kind of circumstances?"

"She was always more concerned about the Empire’s people than her loyalty to the Emperor, and it was complicated enough with a relationship involved, but... Mm, to sum it up, she’s taken Mr. Shin Woo’s bait and become one of our allies. Mr. Shin Woo said he’d ’used a magic formula that replaced her love with anger’."

"It almost sounds like that magic actually exists..."

However, Prince acknowledged it. She didn’t know how Lee Shin Woo had caught the Light General, but she had indeed taken the bait. There was no reason to doubt this.

"Then it’ll... soon begin."

"You have a huge responsibility, don’t you? Can you do it properly? If you can’t, then I, your dependable senior, can help you out."

"N-No, I’m fine."

Ye Jin Jin smiled confidently, but once she saw Prince, who was shaking like a newborn fawn, she shook her head with a stiff expression.

Rather than entrust Prince with any sort of responsibility, it would be better to use a golem instead.

"Since Mr. Shin Woo entrusted this to me. I’ll prove to him that I’m not incompetent and I’m good enough to walk beside him."

"But it seems like you’ve been caught by Junior as well."

"That’s why I’m so happy! The fact that I’ve been caught and that I’m not letting go!"

"...Oh, is that so? What beautiful love."

She hadn’t expected that! Prince had no choice but to nod and take a step back from Ye Jin Jin’s energetic voice. Ye Jin Jin’s emotions were too profound for Prince to understand, as she was still emotionally immature.

Ye Jin Jin snorted and smacked her chest a couple of times, calming herself down. Now, all that was left in her mind were Lee Shin Woo’s instructions.

’You have to take control of the army. The Imperial Army will, of course, resist this. That’s when it gets real. You don’t need to control them completely; you just need to lure them in a certain direction.’

Ye Jin Jin truly thought that Lee Shin Woo was a genius. Had he been planning this ever since he’d first come to the Underground Empire?

It didn’t matter if he did or didn’t; she was astonished nonetheless. She was even more shocked by how that plan had developed.

"We’re splitting up the underground’s undead forces into two groups... The ’good’ undead and the ’bad’ undead..."

"What the hell are ’good’ undead? Are they my junior’s undead?"

"They either won’t attack us at all or will pretend to attack us. Of course, we have to play along. The problem’s the ’bad’ undead."

"The Underground Empire’s Imperial Army. So we have to..."

"Exactly."

Ye Jin Jin nodded her head.

"We have to lure them to the surface’s Imperial Army. It shouldn’t be too difficult since Mr. Shin Woo can use Fire Shadow to communicate with both sides."

"It still sounds really tough... But it doesn’t sound impossible. How many of those innate elements does my junior have anyway? It’s so unfair!"

Getting both the surface and the underground’s forces in one place was more than half the battle.

All that was left was killing the rest. This was the most important task. They had to succeed no matter what.

"Then, don’t we have to draw out the Emperor somehow? Junior’s only making him more afraid, which will make him more likely to hide."

"We’re the ones in trouble if he comes outside. Not only is he level 9, but he also possesses an innate element. There’s a chance that he could mess with Mr. Shin Woo’s carefully constructed scenario. We can include or exclude him in the plan; it all depends."

"And right now..."

"We pick the latter."

"Then what about the Emperor!?"

"The Emperor..."

Ye Jin Jin paused. She hesitated, as if she was thinking about what to say, but soon continued quietly. Her head was slightly bowed and her face was red with embarrassment.

"Mr. Shin Woo said he’d take care of the rest. He said he’d use the Light General to set up a gate and that he’d use said gate to drag the Emperor underground..."

"He’s going to drag the level 9 Emperor underground!? Can you even do that when your enemy is a higher level than you!?"

"That’s why he left the Light General beside the Emperor. I don’t know the details, but I heard that by using both the Fire Shadow and Heaven Space innate elements together, you can substitute a person’s body for a gate."

"Junior is... already fighting somewhere beyond my imagination, huh..."

Prince sported a far-off expression. She had only just learned of the entire plan. Lee Shin Woo would do all the important stuff alone while the underground and surface gathered in one place and performed for him!

"It makes absolutely no sense, but I can’t complain."

"Mr. Shin Woo is actually more delicate than people give him credit for. He’d rather put himself in danger than let his allies endanger themselves. He’s so cool!"

"Sounds like Junior just picked the most rational choice, but as a result, we weren’t given anything important to do, since we’re nowhere near his level... No, sorry. Never mind."

Prince had acknowledged the difference in their abilities, but the timing wasn’t great. SinceYe Jin Jin’s enthusiastic eyes continuously lost their fervor.

"Get a grip Ye Jin Jin! If we fail, everything’s over! Your job’s most important in cementing our positions as heroes and protecting the Empire! It has nothing to do with strength!"

"That’s true...! That must be why Mr. Shin Woo gave me this job...!"

"Yeah, exactly!"

Good. She somehow managed to cheer her up! Prince sighed in relief and Ye Jin Jin forcefully stood up. Her battle dress, the Phoenix’s Feather, swayed, discharging a weak heat.

"It seems like everyone’s gathered already. It’s finally time. Senior, let’s go together."

"...Alright."

Though they were technically excluded from the important mission, it didn’t mean that they were completely immune to danger. After all, luring the undead and fighting against them wouldn’t be an easy task.

She might even die this time. In spite of her Fire Demon training, she may be hit by a stray arrow or spear and fall. However...

"...Let’s go!"

"Ok."

The two left the residence side-by-side and went to the assembly area within the capital. And there...

Elite priests and paladins from the Sun God religion awaited them, as well as the elites from the various religious orders that they’d allied with. And the one representing the Imperial Army was...

"Hmph. You’re quite good looking."

One of the Empire’s Four Heavenly Commanders, Kuroin Von Begner. Befitting one of the Empire’s strongest, he was powerful indeed. However, Ye Jin Jin, who shouldered the people’s will, and had grown immensely in such a short period of time, was around mid level 7 in terms of strength. And with Lee Shin Woo’s artifact, she could handle Kuroin, so she remained undeterred.

"You’re pretty enough to seduce two men at once... I wonder how strong you are. Can you even swing that spear properly with those thin arms of yours?"

"Unfortunately, you’re not good looking yourself. Are you called the ’Spirit Sword’ because of your dark face?"

"What!?"

Right now, Ye Jin Jin was neither the childish junior hero nor Lee Shin Woo’s girlfriend. She was the hero Izuna, who had taken her master’s place due to his untimely death (The rumors regarding her, Lawrence, and Kay’s three-way relationship were really convincing. And thus, the story that Izuna arose, angry at her lover’s death, had originated from here).

"You impudent wench! You’re just a peasant, yet you think you’re able to go around the capital due to your affiliation with the religious orders. This is only because the Emperor allows it!"

"I’d rather you prove your skill with your sword, rather than your mouth. If possible, towards our enemy. Or is the Emperor content with waiting until the undead run rampant on the surface? Isn’t that why we’re fighting?"

"Kuheum..."

And a hero must always be confident. Even if their opponent is a Heavenly Commander, who’s representing the Emperor!

Her level 9 battle dress, as well as the great spirit that resided within her, the level 8 Zenon, supplemented whatever she lacked. Though Kuroin had just recently been strengthened by the Emperor, he wouldn’t be able to take her down!

’Damn it. Why do I, His Majesty’s representative, have to worry about a mere wench!? And why do I have to act more cautiously around these peasants!’

But he had already been warned by the Emperor, as well as the Light General (who had warned him several times).

If he were to fight Izuna here, then whether it was justified or not, it would result in the complete collapse of the royal family’s power! The citizens had already sided with Izuna and the religious orders!

’Seagald Von Retadane, you bastard... How did you manage to unite so many humans in such a short period of time!?’

It was truly frustrating to admit, but Izuna was right. He would need to prove his abilities with his sword, not his mouth, against the invading undead.

Only then would he be able to ensure the stability of the Emperor’s rule.

"Alright. I’ll do just that. I’ll put you in your place! I represent the sovereign of this great Empire, the father of the nation, His Majesty! My words and actions are equivalent to His Majesty’s!"

"I hope you do. It doesn’t matter to me, so long as the undead are all destroyed."

It had been revealed early on that Izuna only pointed her flames at those who threatened the safety of the Empire.

How great it was to sacrifice such dirty power to accomplish such a lofty goal! Her words had a profound effect on all those present!

"Uoooooooh! Lady Izuna!"

"Lady Izuna will protect the capital, no, the entire Empire!"

"Lady Izuna, Lawrence, and Sir Kay must be blessed by God!"

"I’ll believe in you, Lady Izuna!"

"Hurray for the Sun God religion!"

"Hurray for the Sun God religion!"

Their reactions were tremendous! Izuna inwardly smiled at the cries of the capital’s citizens.

This was the effect of Lee Shin Woo’s lecture! What’s worse, she had memorized Lee Shin Woo’s screenplay and had just been following it, yet at this moment, her Command skill was growing!

Then, the Pope of the Sun God religion approached her and whispered.

"You talk just like your master, Kay. ...I’ll ask one last time You weren’t in some sort of strange relationship with him, right? You might not want to hear it now, but keep this in mind. If we want to oust the Emperor and take control of the Empire, then we can’t have a scandal like that. If you break up with Lawrence at the last minute, then things will become really complicated. You get it, right?"

"Of course. I love Lawrence."

"Then... that’s enough. I’ll believe in you. Your relationship with Lawrence has to last a long time!"

"Please don’t worry, Pope."

Lee Shin Woo was both Lawrence and Kay, so she wasn’t lying! She grinned at the Pope, who was already looking past the battle and raised her head.

"Lady Izuna."

"Izuna..."

"Please protect the Empire."

"Will she be able to do the same things Sir Kay could...?"

She locked gazes with countless people. There were those who trusted her, those who hated her, and even those who used her to project someone that wasn’t here.

But honestly, she didn’t care about any of it. Ever since she’d come to the surface, she’d fought for only one man and one man only. And she would continue to do so until the very end.

"...Let’s move out."

The fake hero raised her voice and said.

"Today we restore peace within the Empire!"