Luna and Hare didn't want to accept what was unfolding before their eyes.
The Demon King attacking with Ahjussi's body.
The outer appearance was Ahjussi, but the inside was not.
Luna, who had stepped back for a moment, was in shock.
"Ahjussi... that's not Ahjussi..."
The body is Ahjussi's.
But the mind isn't Ahjussi's.
Luna tapped Hare's shoulder and asked.
"H-Hare...! Wh-what should we call that Ahjussi? More importantly, is that even Ahjussi? He looks like Ahjussi, but he's not Ahjussi!"
"..."
Hare, who had been in a daze, answered as if letting the words slip out.
"That's not Ahjussi..."
"That's not Ahjussi!?"
"It's meaningless if only the body is Ahjussi's... Ahjussi needs to be Ahjussi in mind too... I'm not interested in just the shell..."
"H-Hare...!?"
Hare looked precarious.
The atmosphere suggested that a screw that hadn't been tightened properly had come completely loose.
"The time I spent with him... and the Ahjussi who knows me is what's most important..."
So.
Hare uttered shocking words in a cold tone.
"Let's kill Ahjussi, Luna."
"What are you saying! Y-you're crazy! Hare's gone crazy! Killing Ahjussi! Is that something you should say!?"
"..."
Hare shook her head at Luna's misinterpretation.
"...To be precise, I'm saying we should kill that guy who's taken over Ahjussi's body."
"Then say it that way! Don't confuse me!"
"...There's no way I'd kill Ahjussi, Luna. More importantly, look below Ahjussi."
"Below? Ah!"
Only then did Luna realize.
The meaning of the rope Ahjussi had left behind and everything he had said.
"Attack without hesitation...! Subdue Ahjussi's body! Now I understand!"
"...Ahjussi deliberately sacrificed his own body. To trap the Demon King. And we just need to bring Ahjussi's body to Estia. If we do that..."
"Ahjussi will come back, right?"
Nod—
At Hare's confident answer, Luna's blue eyes burned hot.
Since they had always practiced against Ahjussi's body using only physical abilities.
She was more than confident—she was overflowing with it.
"Well then! Shall I show you the results of our training! Wait for me, Ahjussi! I'll rescue you soon!"
Luna shouted with the feeling of a hero rescuing a princess.
Did Luna's appearance seem ridiculous?
Greed showed a hollow laugh and pursed his lips.
"To think I was defeated by such a pathetic hero... my past self is pitiful."
"...It's disgusting, so don't speak with Ahjussi's voice."
"It seems I haven't shown enough power yet. You pieces of trash."
Greed, using Lee Jun-woo's body.
He approached the Hero Party, who had let their guard down.
His approach was instantaneous.
Hare barely managed to dodge the punch.
"That was close. Even without mana, it's dangerous. As expected of Ahjussi's body..."
"Don't make that smitten face, Hare! Focus!"
Luna threw the Holy Sword to the ground and drew the wooden sword she had been carrying on her back.
She couldn't cut Ahjussi into five pieces.
It was to attack with appropriate strikes.
However, it wasn't a situation where she could go easy on Lee Jun-woo's body.
"That thief is fast, but you're a bit slow, Hero?"
"Y-you bastard!"
Whoosh—!
Luna brought down the wooden sword.
Greed easily caught the descending wooden sword in an instant.
At that moment, Luna clearly felt the difference in physical abilities.
"Even without mana, Ahjussi is still Ahjussi...?"
"Farewell, Hero."
Since Greed was holding the wooden sword, Luna hastily let go of the sword to escape.
However, Lee Jun-woo's fist was much faster than Luna's escape speed.
As a result.
Kwang—!!
Lee Jun-woo's trained, rough fist shot toward Luna's face, and from the impact, Luna flew into the wall.
"L-Luna...!!"
"The Hero is done for now. You're next, Thief."
"..."
"Luna, answer me! Say you're alive...!"
Luna, embedded in the cave's solid wall.
She didn't answer Hare's words.
No, it was closer to being unable to.
Luna couldn't come to her senses from the shock to her head.
*Where... where is this... Why am I in the wall... Ah, right, I got hit by Ahjussi's punch...?*
I'm dizzy.
It hurts.
But my heart hurts more.
It hurts more because I got hit by Ahjussi's punch...
Luna caressed her cheek where she felt the pain.
*But why am I alive? If you get hit by Ahjussi's punch, you should definitely die. Why am I alive?*
Luna caressed her cheek once more.
It hurts.
She could taste blood in her mouth.
But it didn't hurt enough to die.
"If I get hit three times in a row I'll die, but...! I can still endure it...!"
First of all.
Ahjussi's body is definitely controlling its strength!
Otherwise, there's no way I'd be alive!
Luna spat out the saliva mixed with blood that had pooled in her mouth.
Then, she shouted to Hare with a confident voice.
"Hare! Ahjussi is protecting us! He's watching over us!! So! We have to try harder!"
While Hare drew his attention, Luna picked up the rope from the floor.
"It hurts more when Ahjussi hits us, but...! We have to try harder...!"
Will our spirits break?
Will our bodies break?
She didn't know which would come first, but.
"So that Ahjussi won't kill us!! So he won't have the worst experience!! We have to focus!!"
"If Ahjussi is watching... O-okay...!"
Luna and Hare decided to give it their all.
*I can't disappoint Ahjussi.*
Recognizing that Ahjussi was watching, they raised their concentration to the limit for the first time in their lives.
But not everything could be easily solved just by concentrating.
*How many times... have I been hit by his fist...?*
I can't remember well...
The cave walls were riddled with countless holes from the impacts.
It felt like the ground after a meteor strike.
Luna looked to the side and muttered in a pain-filled voice.
"Hare... are you okay...?"
"N-no... I'm not okay... Ugh..."
Hare, who had been hit countless times by Ahjussi's fist.
She recognized that the person attacking her wasn't Ahjussi, but.
That didn't mean she could avoid the wounds.
Hare held her swollen arm from the impact and muttered.
"It hurts... It hurts more because it's Ahjussi hitting me..."
"Endure it! It hurts Ahjussi more to hit us!"
"L-Luna, doesn't it hurt you...? Even though Ahjussi's body is hitting that hard...?"
"Mmm..."
To be honest, it hurts.
But Luna looked at Ahjussi's body standing far away.
He tried to run toward them embedded in the wall, but.
As if caught by something, he struggled in place.
Seeing that, Luna couldn't let out weak sounds.
"I'm fine! I can endure it! I'm the Hero! So grab the rope again!"
"Okay..."
Hare, whose spirit was already half-broken, wiped away her tears and stood up.
Then, she made eye contact with Greed, who had Ahjussi's appearance.
"This, trash body—!! If you gave me your body, you should stay still—!! Why are you interfering and causing trouble—!!"
"He's saying harsh words with Ahjussi's mouth..."
"Let's rescue Ahjussi quickly! Got it? Okay?"
"...Okay."
Luna and Hare picked up the rope again and ran toward Ahjussi.
When they entered a certain distance, Greed's leash, which had been struggling, came loose.
Luna, who had grasped the attack pattern through the continued fighting, lightly twisted her body and dodged the punch.
"Now! Hare!"
At Luna's shout as a signal, Hare, who had been hiding, revealed herself and grabbed Greed from behind.
If she could just wrap the rope around once, this long and painful time would end, but.
Perhaps because his death was at stake.
Greed absolutely didn't allow the Hero Party such an opportunity.
"You little rats—!!"
"Aah—!"
While wrapping it around once, Hare, caught by Greed's hand, was slammed into the cave wall again.
Seeing no response, she appeared to have fainted momentarily.
"H-Hare..."
"Damn bastard. Deceiving me—? Can't even kill me—!! What is this—!!"
Greed, shouting in an angry voice.
He tried to extend his fist toward Luna, but.
His body moved automatically and threw her to the wall next to Hare.
Kwang—!
"Ah, ugh..."
From the pain felt in her back, Luna couldn't open her mouth.
The pain also accumulated from the continuous shocks.
How could this time pass quickly?
Luna really hated this painful time.
"Ahjussi... why did you make such a choice..."
I hate it.
I don't want to get hit by Ahjussi anymore.
My body hurts, but my heart hurts more.
Why did Ahjussi give us such a trial?
*To care for us? Because he wants us to become stronger? Ahjussi...*
In the first place.
What does Ahjussi think of us?
*Does he not care if we're hurt, and just see us as tools to defeat the Demon King?*
Anxiety began to bloom inside Luna, whose spirit had been broken.
*It's true that we're saving the world, but... Ahjussi right now is too...*
Rushed.
Hard to follow.
Even though we've trained every day.
Not today.
"Don't hesitate..."
Luna despaired while enduring the pain felt in her back.
"Does that mean... since I won't die anyway... don't hesitate...?"
What does Ahjussi think of me?
Does he think of me as the Hero?
Does he think of me as Luna?
"Ahaha... I feel sad somehow..."
The Hero's body hadn't broken.
But what broke first was the Hero's heart.
No matter how much she had grown as a Hero.
Luna was just a small girl in front of Ahjussi.