Seeing their companions all dead, the last two green-skins completely panicked and bolted—diving straight into the crowd like they thought the humans around them could act as cover.
Bad move.
If they’d stood their ground, maybe they could’ve bought a second.
The mont they turned and ran, they handed over their backs.
Sean kicked on his speed boost, caught one instantly, and brought his staff down like a piledriver.
Crunch.
The green-skin’s skull caved in, brain and bone splattering as it dropped.
On the other side, Emily lunged after the other one and drove her sword hard into its back.
A crisp crack rang out as the spiritwood shield split. Her blade punched through and sank deep.
"RAAAH—!"
The monster howled, whipping its huge club around and slamming it at her.
Emily raised her sword crosswise to block, skidding back two steps under the impact—then thrust again, sharp and fast.
A fresh green shield flared over the monster’s body. Green light pulsed, and its wound began knitting itself together at a visible pace.
"Huh." The squad blinked. "It can heal?"
"Emily—don’t kill this one," Ethan said imdiately.
He turned his head. "Skinny Pete. Go. Lock it down."
Honestly, Ethan had never planned on controlling any of these things. They were ugly enough to kill your appetite.
But healing was rare. And it was useful.
If they could keep it, bringing it back to Fallen Star City as an asset wasn’t a bad idea.
"On it." Skinny Pete rushed in.
Working with Emily, he had the monster pinned to the ground within monts. Then Pete activated Beast Control.
The green-skin struggled... and then its body went slack, resistance draining out of it as the control took hold.
Just like that, the thirteen Void Realm creatures were dealt with—twelve dead, one captured.
The fight had drawn Seorin people from everywhere. By now, the area was packed shoulder to shoulder, a sea of faces.
All of them stared at Ethan’s group like they were looking at monsters.
How are these people this strong?
Choi Tae-jun forced himself to move. He slapped on a warm smile and walked toward Ethan like nothing had happened.
"Misunderstanding. This was all just a misunderstanding," he said smoothly. "Anyone who can kill those creatures is a friend of the Seorin Republic. Honestly, from the mont I saw you, I felt we were on the sa side."
"...."
The Fallen Star Squad just stared at him.
"Holy shit," Chris muttered. "This guy switched sides faster than I switch clothes."
Big Mike looked genuinely shell-shocked. "Five minutes ago, this bastard wanted us dead. Now we’re ’on the sa side’?"
Even Emily, who usually didn’t bother comnting on stuff like this, couldn’t help herself. "I’ve seen shaless before, but this is a whole new level."
"Gentlen, please," Choi Tae-jun kept going, smile still nailed to his face. "There’s no need for hostility. Seorin Republic has always valued friendship with powerful allies. Today doesn’t have to be a conflict. It can be the beginning of cooperation."
Ethan stared at him for two seconds.
"Cooperation my ass."
Then he kicked Choi Tae-jun square in the chest.
BAM.
Choi Tae-jun launched backward like he’d been shot out of a cannon and smashed into the ground.
"Pri Minister!"
The Seorin people around him went white-faced and rushed in.
A second later—
"Dead...?"
They stared down at Choi Tae-jun’s body, limp and silent, disbelief spreading through the crowd like a sickness.
"You—!"
A balding middle-aged official shoved his way forward, shaking with rage. "You killed the Seorin Republic’s pri minister! Aren’t you afraid this will start a war between our countries?!"
Ethan looked at him like he’d just heard the dumbest thing in his life.
"Moron."
Then he glanced back at Chris and the others.
"You guys cripple those dozen Awakened and bring them with us. I’m going inside to loot the place. When I’m done, we’re leaving. I don’t want to stay here one more second—I’m afraid if I hang around too long, my IQ’s gonna drop."
With that, Ethan flashed into motion.
Teleportation.
He vanished and reappeared inside the grand hall, then started walking toward the deepest interior.
This was obviously the compound’s core. He’d already spotted a storage room further in—packed with supplies and valuables, the kind of stash a place like this would protect at all costs.
With Ethan gone, Chris and the others wore matching nasty grins as they walked straight toward the Awakened.
A mont later, screams started ripping through the crowd.
"That’s too much!"
All around them, Seorin people watched Chris’s group brutalize their Awakened. Fists clenched. Faces twisted.
The balding middle-aged official shouted in Seorin, voice cracking with anger as he whipped around to face the crowd.
"In Seorin Republic, they kill our pri minister—and then they torture our citizens like this. Can you endure that?!"
"No!" countless Seorin people yelled back.
"Then what should we do?!"
"...."
Silence spread.
The official’s brow twitched.
"As citizens of the Seorin Republic, shouldn’t we pick up our weapons and fight these demons to the death?!"
"...."
Still silence.
Talking big was easy. Actually fighting? No, thanks.
They weren’t idiots. Those people were terrifying. If they rushed in, it wouldn’t be a battle—it’d be a suicide.
"You—!" The official trembled, pointing at the crowd, his chest heaving with rage.
Shhk—!
A Wind Cutter flashed past.
His head separated cleanly and rolled off his neck, eyes still wide as if he couldn’t believe it was happening.
Skinny Pete clicked his tongue. "Don’t think I can’t understand your bird language. I wasn’t even planning to kill you. You asked for it."
When the official’s body collapsed, the silence got heavier.
They were furious. They were humiliated. They wanted to resist.
But their brains kept whispering the sa thing:
If you resist, you die.
So of the younger Seorin people had eyes gone bloodshot, shaking with pent-up hate.
Big Mike looked at them and lifted his chin. "What? You wanna swing?"
The Seorin people imdiately lowered their heads.
Right then, the sky darkened with shadow.
Two thousand—no, twenty thousand—Fallen Star Guard mbers rode in on Flabirds and descended overhead.
Any last trace of defiance in the crowd got crushed flat. Hands unclenched. Shoulders sagged.
It wasn’t just nine people.
If they really pissed Ethan off, this entire compound would be gone in minutes.
"You’re here," Chris said easily. He tossed the dozen-plus Awakened toward the arriving Fallen Star Guard like he was throwing sacks of grain. "These are yours."
He nodded at the Seorin crowd. "Watch them. If anyone feels brave, send him to keep their pri minister company."
"Yes!"
Fallen Star Guard mbers jumped down from their Flabirds. The pressure of their presence alone forced the Seorin people to keep backing up, instinctively giving them space.
Inside the storage room, Ethan swept every crystal core into his storage ring.
He turned the place upside down after that—ripped through shelves, checked every hidden corner, every container.
In the end, he still didn’t find anything worth getting excited about.
He could only shake his head and walk out.
Outside, everyone was already gathered.
Ethan didn’t waste ti. "Let’s go. Sowhere else."
Chris glanced back at the Seorin survivors. "What about these Seorin guys?"
"Leave them," Ethan said. "This compound’s dood sooner or later. We don’t need to be the ones to do it. Let them kill a few more zombies first."
Their goals here had been simple: find any Void Realm creatures, and find Awakened.
Now they’d done both.
And Seorin Republic only had this one compound left anyway. No other compounds to check, and no sign of more Void Realm creatures.
So Ethan was done here.
A mont later, twenty thousand Flabirds lifted off again and left Seor City behind, disappearing into the distance.
Below, the Seorin survivors watched them go, faces slack with the expression of people who’d just survived an execution.
Relief.
Shock.
A shaky kind of gratitude they hated themselves for feeling.
They had no idea that even if Ethan didn’t destroy them...
Their ending was already written.
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