A few days before their scheduled assault against one of the twelve generals, the heroes were discussing an unexpected topic in the chatroom.

[Lloyd H.K.: The Heaven Defying General. It fits them. After all, they’re going around destroying cities. What exactly is their goal...]

[Ye Jin-Jin: We talked about this before. That there were undead who acted against the Emperor...]

[Prince Altania: That doesn't prove anything.]

[Ye Jin-Jin: But still... If there was an undead like that, wouldn't they work with us? If our goals are the same, we can form an alliance with them.]

Before he entered the chatroom, Lee Shin-Woo told Ye Jin-Jin that he was Heaven Defying General. He hadn’t hesitated to do so since she already knew he was undead.

After that, Ye Jin-Jin tried her best to keep the other heroes from looking at the Heaven Defying General in too negative a light. However, that wasn't the easiest job in the world.

[Seira Von Retadane: It's meaningless. All undead are the same. They're humanity’s worst enemies.]

[Ethan Cruz: It's a tough situation. All undead in the Empire are possessed by their hatred for the living. Even if they look intelligent, they revert to their undead nature when it matters most. Work with them? How can one trust them enough to do so?]

How shameless must the man be to say something like that, when he himself was a necromancer who controlled undead heroes? Lee Shin-Woo spared his breath. And Seira Von Retadane expressed her opinion with even more ferocity.

[Seira Von Retadane: This is the only thing Ethan and I agree on. It's impossible to form an alliance with the undead. Not only do the undead defy the goddess, but they're also impurities of this world. Be it the twelve generals or the Heaven Defying General, you must kill them at sight.]

[Ye Jin-Jin: Still...]

[Erian Ruparte: I understand how you feel, Jin-Jin. However, even I think that it would be impossible to work with the undead. There's something you need to consider before relying on them. Can you really trust them to watch your back?]

[Silene Viesa: It doesn't make sense to form an alliance with the undead. Senior Ye Jin-Jin, are you really a hero? You should know better, as you've fought undead before. They cannot coexist with us. If they could, would the goddess have given us the order to purify them?]

Although Silene Viesa was their newest addition, she had adapted to the Empire extremely quickly as a result of fighting undead. Silene Viesa had done more in the Empire than Ye Jin-Jin, and sometimes, she looked down on her.

[Lloyd H.K.: Silene, that's enough. I do agree with you, but...]

[Prince Altania: Mm... Right?]

[Lloyd H.K.: What's with you?]

[Prince Altania: It's nothing. Mmm... Obviously, I've never met an undead like that before, but I'm sure the bastard Heaven Defying General has something else up their sleeve.]

[Seira Von Retadane: I think they’re out of our league at the moment, so we should avoid him for now… Ethan Cruz, are you still going to proceed with your plan, despite everything that has happened?]

[Ethan Cruz: I think we should proceed with my plan because of what has happened. It'll become more difficult to defeat the twelve generals if the Empire changes course. Shouldn't we go for it before then? With that in mind... Listen up, everyone. I've finalized the time, place, and target of this operation. I know the way the general’s troops are moving, so I plan on attacking first. I'll send the participants the location right away.]

[Prince Altania: Ooooh!]

[Silene Viesa: Keuk, I want to go too...]

Was it finally beginning? Even though an unknown force, the Heaven Defying General, had shown up in the Empire, it seemed like Ethan planned on going through with his plan. Soon, Lee Shin-Woo was contacted by Ethan Cruz.

[Ethan Cruz: I believe in you, Super Rookie!]

[Lee Shin-Woo: I believe in you too, Senior.]

[Ethan Cruz: Haha, flattery won't get you anything.]

The battleground lay in the northeast region of the level 3 danger zone. It was quite close to the level 4 danger zone, but because of the perilous mountain range at the border, there was little possibility of enemies showing up.

The operation would commence three days from now at dusk, when the Empire's artificial sun dimmed.

Their target was the level 7 Beast General. Since Lee Shin-Woo had never heard of him before, he assumed that Ethan Cruz had indeed picked the weakest amongst the twelve generals.

The issue is whether this is all he has up his sleeve. The fact that he picked the grasslands right under a mountain range must mean that something is coming from across the mountains... Wait, could it be the Vulture General?

Light bulb went off in Lee Shin-Woo's head. An air force was plenty enough to stab the heroes in the back, and it would explain why the Vulture General merely observed him rather than fighting him. The Vulture General needed to capture the heroes, so he couldn't waste his forces on Lee Shin-Woo.

Moreover, the city that had sent a report to the Vulture General, which in turn made the Vulture General send his scouts to it, was the city that Ethan Cruz was talking about!

Despite the fact that I gave them enough time to send a report, the other two cities collapsed without doing so...

Not all undead lords had a communication line to a general in case of an enemy attack. Even if they had one, they wouldn't always report to their superiors right away. Although they were incredibly loyal to the Empire and followed the Emperor's commands to the letter, some of them were also incredibly lax.

And there’s the lord who talked about the Golden Shadow, who had the communication device strapped to his waist.

But they had made it so that those two cities' reports wouldn't go through. Why? When he thought about the location Ethan Cruz had picked, it all became clear.

It seemed like he had picked a spot furthest from where the Heaven Defying General was seen last so that he wouldn't interfere. Nevertheless, it would only take about half a day for the Paul Zero Corps to get there from their hiding place.

"If I use Command, we could get there even quicker, but... Sorry I can't lead you myself."

[You empower us just by existing, Paul Zero! It may be difficult, but we'll get there in 4 hours no matter what!]

"Really? I'd really appreciate it if you do."

Had the effect of Command increased that much after reaching high rank? In any case, it was better than them staying in a far off place where they would be of no help to him. He patted Chi Paul on the shoulder, who stood upright after giving him a reliable answer.

"Now, shall we get going and meet Retadane?"

"I guess things will get busy now..."

"It's not too bad. Just be cautious of those you have to be cautious of, and kill anyone you have to kill. That's all you have to do."

Lee Shin-Woo had Kratia ride on Jin behind him. Once he'd checked his forces one last time, he looked at the sky even though he knew through Rem that there weren't any flying scouts.

"The Vulture General... I guess we'll end up facing him after all."

"You have a good idea, Kratia?"

"If you attach wings to Jin, we can take care of him ourselves."

"Hey, don't even think about it!"

Lee Shin-Woo ignored the quarreling Jin and Kratia and worked on something he'd been postponing. Training the level 6 staff, the Bone Winged Serpent's skill: Serpent's Whirlwind.

"Hoo... I should get a feel for this before I meet Retadane."

"You're going to try it out?"

"Yeah."

Seira Von Retadane. Apparently, she wielded light magic, which was poison to the undead, and a power that every hero wanted.

If it was truly the opposite of the darkness element, or in other words, the ability to sever relations, then it made sense that it would be fatal to undead. After all, all undead lived on because their bodies and minds, which should've rotted away ages ago, were tied to this world through an 'unnatural connection'. If that connection was severed, the undead would die.

"...And that's why I've been avoiding her all this time."

"Yeah, I get it."

Lee Shin-Woo was surprised when he obtained the darkness element, but he simply accepted it and moved on. He had thought that the darkness element suited him as an undead.

However, when he thought about how he could wield light magic with this staff by applying his darkness mana, he suddenly felt a fear that he'd never experienced before.

If the light magic were to destroy my very existence as an undead...

It was a body created by the goddess, but he was still an undead. It was entirely possible that he would either be weakened or killed.

He did have Holy Resistance: MAX, but he didn't yet know what the difference between holy magic and light magic was. In most novels, light magic and holy magic were similar, and he wondered if the same was true for this world as well. There was no way for him to be certain.

"So that's why you've been postponing it for so long."

"...To be honest, I attempted it before the staff evolved, but at the time, the staff's output was too low, and I failed."

The darkness element was clearly different from the other elements. When he'd awakened the power, it was definitely described as a 'great element'. In that case, the light element, which was its polar opposite, should be a 'great element' as well. The power of light was much too great for the staff at the time.

However, once the staff had evolved into the Bone Winged Serpent, he came to the conclusion that it would be able to convert darkness element as well. If that was true, all that was left was for Lee Shin-Woo to make up his mind.

"Even if it damages me, I want to see it with my very own eyes before someone else uses it against me."

"...Shin-Woo, don't use that on me."

"Wow, how considerate of you... Anyway, let's go."

Lee Shin-Woo grabbed onto one of the Breath of the Lightning Gods hovering behind him like personal guards and converted it into a Bone Winged Serpent. With utmost care, he infused it with a small amount of darkness mana.

[Activating the Serpent's Whirlwind.]

The bone wings fluttered, and the infused power began swirling. The old staff would've stopped and blown a fuse by now, but it didn't this time. While it didn't amplify the element much, the darkness mana was definitely being converted into light!

"Shin-Woo... You're okay, right?"

"...Yeah, for now."

Lee Shin-Woo carefully reached out to the light. At that moment, he sensed a power he hadn't even been aware of well up in him.

[Holy Resistance is reacting to the light magic. You have acquired Light Resistance: MAX. Magic has increased by 100.]

"...!?"

He'd been so worried about the light element, yet things got resolved so easily!? Moreover, wasn’t 100 points in magic too little for acquiring max Light Resistance?

Lee Shin-Woo was filled with questions. The fact that he'd acquired Light Resistance despite having Holy Resistance meant that they were different, but judging by how Holy Resistance reacted to the light element and created a resistance, the two weren't completely unrelated, either!

"Shin-Woo, are you okay? Shin-Woo?"

"...I'm a bit dizzy, but I’m perfectly fine. Ah, now’s your turn."

"H-Huh!? Hey, stop! Kyaa!"

Lee Shin-Woo mercilessly thrust the light magic at Jin. Why, you ask? With the same maxed out Holy Resistance, Jin should acquire Light Resistance when exposed to light magic as well, and that was exactly what happened. However...

"I think I'm going to level up!"

"Right now?"

"What do you think will happen? My magic suddenly went up by 100!"

And thus, Jin finally reached level 7. Lee Shin-Woo continuously experimented with the light element while moving towards his meeting spot with Retadane, but unfortunately, he didn't make any progress.

—

[Holy Resistance is reacting to the light magic. You have acquired Light Resistance: MAX. Magic has increased by 100.]

[Exposed to great light magic, Light Element has been acquired, and Magic has increased by 1500.]

"...!?"

Lee Shin-Woo could feel it. The Holy and Light elements were similar, which was why he got so few stat points from acquiring Light Resistance; after all, he already had Holy Resistance: MAX. He found himself starting to comprehend what light truly was.

Lee Shin-Woo was in a fantastical state of mind. Everything light suddenly made sense. It was the element that severed, much like how darkness was the element that bonded people. He felt that he could understand most of the good and bad of this world. The connections and bonds between everything and anything. He knew how he could sever that connection. Everything…

“Jin, come here for a sec.”

“Shin-Woo, why are you looking at me like that?! Like I'm some sort of lab rat?”

“Don't worry about it, I just want to test my new light element. I can now sense and sever many connections… Including your connection to your current body. I also have a better understanding of darkness as well... I think I can use Assimilation and disguise in tandem now!”

““...””

Both Kratia and Jin were speechless. Essentially, Lee Shin-Woo could now interfere with the goddess! Moreover, Jin could finally take on a human appearance and not have to be quiet around other heroes.

Before Jin could say anything in return, Lee Shin-Woo began to use Assimilation and Disguise to revert Jin back to his former self in his own world. And soon after a flash of light…

“...”

“Wow, Jin I didn't know you were also a god?!”

Kratia was speechless. She had been so sure that Jin was a woman, but standing before her was a cute young man. He was dainty for a man, or perhaps bishounen would be a better descriptor. His complexion was fine, and his chubby cheeks seemed to show lingering traces of baby fat, contrasting with his short, black hair that shone like polished onyx. He wore a toga and a pair of sandals, and he had cute little wings on his back. He was the Greek god from Earth, Hermes!

“H-hello…”

“...”

Jin blushed as he greeted Kratia.

Lee Shin-Woo was amazed.

So that's why I never heard of a sprinter named Jin Taylor… Even though I was sure he was from Earth, and even from a time before my own.