One-Eyed Monster

Igor found it strange. Stan Sol had walked over, said a single sentence, and then fallen silent. What is going on?

But Igor was too embarrassed to ask. He knew, after all, that Stan Sol struggled with communication. It was usually manageable under normal conditions, but in this situation, even Igor was a bit stunned.

Igor didn’t even understand why he was feeling so impatient. He shouldn’t be, logically.

He should remain calm, completely calm.

And yet, right now, Stan Sol seems to be the calmest one here.

But his sudden calmness is a bit... strange.

Stan Sol, in reality, was still deep in thought, completely failing to understand what was going on.

Stan Sol realized many things weren’t as he’d imagined, so he had no idea how to continue the conversation. At this moment, he genuinely felt a little lost.

So, he began to observe his surroundings again. Truthfully, there wasn’t much to see. They could only see the three of them: Kadi was still discussing plans with the Little Black Hands, apparently communicating through the air, while Igor was staring at Stan Sol with a bewildered expression.

”I, I… I want to know the plan…” Flustered by Igor’s bewildered expression, Stan Sol blurted out the question foremost on his mind.

”Plan?” Igor was still confused, completely unsure what Stan Sol was referring to.

”Er, I mean, what’s our next step?” Stan Sol found that his words were suddenly flowing more smoothly, coming out almost effortlessly without needing much thought.

”Next? We go break their Black Cage, of course,” Igor said casually, as if it were no harder than eating or sleeping.

”But…” Stan Sol started, a little anxiously. It’s like I’m the only one in the dark here, completely clueless, while everyone else seems to know what’s going on! But in reality, that isn’t the case at all! It’s complete chaos! Can’t he see Kadi over there, scratching his head in frustration?

Stan Sol decided not to overthink it. I have to get all these doubts out of my system.

”Don’t worry. With Kadi here, we can definitely break the Black Cage,” Igor said, still perfectly relaxed, as if nothing in the world could ever fluster him.

”Kadi?” Stan Sol clearly couldn’t agree. After all, Kadi was over there scratching his head, looking like he was the one who needed help; he wasn’t convincing in the slightest.

Stan Sol noticed that ever since he’d had the urge to voice all his doubts, his communication difficulties had suddenly lessened. It was as if the words he wanted to say now surfaced naturally, without needing to be carefully thought out.

”You need to have a detailed plan! You can’t just say things like that.”

”Huh?” Igor looked confused. If something needs doing, you just do it. Why all these rules and restrictions?

”As things stand, we don’t even know which way to go!” Stan Sol said, using a slightly more formal turn of phrase—a quirk, no, a habit he’d developed from years of deep thought.

”What do you mean? I don’t get it.” Igor didn’t understand the elaborate phrase. Or maybe he’s just pretending not to, Stan Sol wondered.

”For instance, we don’t even know what the Black Cage looks like, or how we’re supposed to break it.” Stan Sol’s words came out smoothly this time, completely under his control.

”No need to worry about that. It doesn’t matter what the Black Cage looks like; we have the King of Destruction.” Igor’s composure was quite unsettling to Stan Sol.

”King of Destruction…”

”That’s right. It’s Kadi’s new nickname. I came up with it,” Igor added, looking rather pleased with himself.

Stan Sol, however, still looked completely baffled.

”But we don’t even know where the Black Cage *is*,” Stan Sol retorted. No matter what Igor said, it all sounded unreliable to him. How are we supposed to do anything if we don’t even know which way to go?

”That doesn’t matter either. The King of Destruction doesn’t sweat the small stuff,” Igor said, still dismissive.

”You...” Stan Sol was once again rendered speechless by Igor.

How can he be like this? ’It doesn’t matter, it’s all fine.’ How can we possibly succeed if this continues?

Stan Sol felt he couldn’t keep up with Igor’s way of thinking at all. He knew with certainty that even if he argued himself hoarse, Igor wouldn’t listen to his opinions. He had racked his brains, but ultimately, he realized that no matter how meticulous his own thoughts were, he was no match for Igor in an argument.

This is truly a helpless situation!

Igor keeps saying the ’King of Destruction’ doesn’t care about details, but who knows if Kadi even wants that title? And where did this nickname even come from? There wasn’t the slightest hint or warning. I just don’t get it. How is Kadi the ’King of Destruction’?

”King of Destruction…” Stan Sol stared blankly at Kadi, unable to connect him with such a term. In my eyes, Kadi is mischievous, sure, but the word ’destruction’ doesn’t seem to fit this One-Eyed Monster at all. Not long ago, these two were my captives, bound by the Binding Beast Rope! If Kadi were truly the King of Destruction, how could that Binding Beast Rope still be lying safely in my travel pack right now?

In truth, Stan Sol didn’t know that Kadi had actually been very wary of the Binding Beast Rope at the time; he simply hadn’t been strong enough back then to break completely free from it.

But none of that mattered anymore. Since Igor had already bestowed this nickname upon Kadi, Kadi had little choice but to accept it. After all, in Igor’s mind, everything that came next depended entirely on the ”King of Destruction.”

”You have to understand, Kadi’s greatest strength is his ability to stir up trouble!” Igor declared, looking at Kadi with great anticipation before turning to Stan Sol and adding firmly.

It had to be said... Stan Sol found himself agreeing with that point…

Kadi, meanwhile, was still racking his brains. His pride wouldn’t allow him to ask for help, so at that moment, he was ignoring everything anyone else said, focusing only on the words of the Little Black Hands.

”In a completely chaotic and unknown environment like this,” Igor said, ”if we just stick to our old routines and rely on past experiences, we’ll achieve nothing.”

Hearing Igor say this, Stan Sol’s heart suddenly began to pound violently.

This... it seems... No, what Igor just said is absolutely right!

”In such uncertain times, if no one dares to explore fearlessly, then we’re just waiting to be crushed by our enemies!” Igor declared.

”So Kadi’s role is…” Stan Sol murmured, beginning to understand.

”Exactly! The King of Destruction’s exploration is bound to bring about unexpected results. I’m really looking forward to it,” Igor affirmed.