One-Eyed Monster

What now? This wasn’t just Igor’s question; everyone here, fighting alone, harbored doubts.

Besides, Kadi usually asked this type of question, but now the roles were reversed.

The problem Kadi now faced was one he knew intimately, a familiarity as ingrained as eating or drinking, deep in his blood.

In the past, however, he was always the one asking such questions. After all, he wasn’t one to overthink things.

But things were different now; Igor had asked *him*. He had to confront this question, one he was particularly familiar with. He used to ask; now he was being asked. This contrast affected Kadi, leaving him temporarily unsure how to react.

”What to do... it seems to be a very important question,” Kadi began to mumble to himself. Apparently, this mumbling helped him, as if he could find the answer just by repeating the words.

Perhaps it’s a form of psychological comfort.

As for what to do next, Kadi wasn’t entirely clueless. But being asked so suddenly, he was stumped.

This was mainly because the question was too familiar to him. This familiarity triggered many instinctive reactions, but they were all geared towards *asking* questions, not answering them.

It was this instinctive response that left Kadi frozen, momentarily unable to voice his thoughts.

He knew the answer, but he just couldn’t articulate it, which made him a bit anxious.

”So, what should we do?” Faced with the advancing army, Igor was relentless, seemingly determined not to drop the question until Kadi provided an answer.

After struggling for a while, Kadi finally managed to switch roles. He had to answer this question now, as things were becoming increasingly chaotic.

Kadi knew exactly what to do and wasn’t panicking; he just couldn’t articulate his thoughts smoothly.

Expressing himself wasn’t his forte, but he could convey a clear explanation through his exaggerated body language.

His body language conveyed a simple message: don’t struggle, just run.

”Run! Why are you still standing around?” This was Kadi’s response.

Such a response would naturally be met with contempt. After all, running away at such a critical moment was a disgrace!

How could anyone run away at such a critical moment? Didn’t he see everyone else vowing to fight to the death, no matter how powerful the enemy?

After all, there was no retreat for them; behind them lay what they were protecting…

”We can’t desert in the face of the enemy; it’s taboo!” Igor declared righteously, facing Kadi, who was poised to flee.

He had to correct Kadi’s misguided notion. How could Kadi just turn tail and run when everyone else was fighting?

”You misunderstood! Hey, let go of me!” Kadi was grabbed by Igor. Although this was only on a spiritual level, not a physical grasp, the sensation transmitted to Kadi’s mind was no different from being truly caught.

Though they appeared unchanged externally, in the Spirit World, they were facing the enemy’s onslaught…

This was a product of the Dark Force: an attack on the spiritual level.

”Then what do you mean? Running away can’t possibly be justified, can it?” Igor suddenly grew more adamant. The fierce battle around them seemed not to affect him; Kadi, the battlefield deserter, commanded more of his attention.

Running away meant giving up, and abandoning resistance was more terrifying than failure. Hope was won through striving. To not even try, to just run, was the most terrifying thing of all, because fleeing undermined the hope others had fought to secure.

In truth, Kadi didn’t grasp such grand principles, and explaining them wouldn’t help. Kadi’s idea of running away wasn’t what Igor imagined. His meaning was simple: don’t fight a losing battle; find an opportunity to strike again.

However, due to that instinctive role reversal—the questioner becoming the questioned—Kadi remained flustered. He didn’t know how to express his thoughts. He grew anxious, and this anxiety manifested in his current demeanor.

His face was etched with anxiety, yet he stammered, unable to express himself clearly.

Has the Dark Force stripped me of my ability to speak too? No, that can’t be right, Kadi began to wonder.

”Kadi, running away is wrong,” Igor reiterated, his tone laden with meaning, which Kadi found quite annoying.

Kadi waved his hand dismissively. ”Alright, say no more. I, Kadi, am not that kind of person! If I were, I would have run away long ago. Why would I wait until now?”

Kadi began to articulate his thoughts. Strangely enough, Igor’s irritating demeanor seemed to stimulate his ability to express himself, and he started speaking fluently…

This time, Kadi spoke like a great Soldier, leaving Igor dumbfounded.

Indeed, Kadi had had the best opportunity to escape. When the Dark Force first attacked, Kadi hadn’t lost his ability to speak. He had even chatted with the Dark Force for a while, and it couldn’t do anything to him. If Kadi had wanted to leave then, the Dark Force would have been powerless to stop him.

Yet, Kadi hadn’t left. He had used his own understanding to find Igor and enabled the others to quickly connect. Although the Dark Force had isolated them again, Kadi’s efforts were plain for all to see. Igor had wronged him.

Igor felt embarrassed after Kadi finished speaking.

However, with the crisis looming, even though he felt bad, he had to ask for clarification. ”Then what exactly do you mean? Why desert here, on the eve of battle?”

”I’m not deserting!” Kadi froze again. He realized that whenever he tried to answer this specific question, his fluency vanished. It was truly strange.

”Then what are you doing?” Igor grew more confused. At that moment, the enemy army had almost completely surrounded them.

”Anyway, I don’t want to fight this Dark Force right now. Fighting it would mean falling into its trap.”

”Trap?” Igor was puzzled. What on earth was Kadi trying to say?

”Yes! Isn’t it hoping we’ll confront it directly? It can afford a battle of attrition, but we can’t. So why should we fight it head-on?” Kadi finally managed to articulate his thoughts.

”You mean…” Igor began to understand.

”Run, then hide where it can’t find us. Harass it, attack when it least expects!”

Harass. Upon hearing this word, Igor instantly understood. This approach was indeed Kadi’s style.