The opponents' side was now down to just 3 Generals, but with Pierre seemingly unwilling to fight at all, it was more realistic to only count Max and Jorgen. After Issei's stylish combo, he had launched Aaron straight to the wall behind them, quite literally leaving him in the ballpark of his life flashing before his Eyes. He was out for the count.

"Don't assume a dope like Aaron is the strongest we have." Jorgen shrugged, "Had he stuck to even one of our formations, you would have had a way tougher time, y'know."

"Look, I'm by no means looking for a fight myself." Issei shook his head, "Apologize for shooting at Lem and let us join you in the climb up the Tree. We both share the same goals, so let's just get along."

"We gave you a test to see if we can do just that." Jorgen replied, "And the kid failed miserably when he used his Iro on us. In our field of work, that's the same as a war proclamation."

"Tch... I guess that's fine." Issei smirked confidently, "Guess we'll just have to go without you then. It's a shame, I finally thought we'd found some extra help with this case, but turns out you're just gonna prove to be a hindrance."

"You understand we mean you no harm." Max glanced behind to briefly check on Aaron before stating, "Jorgen only has beef with the kid. With your skills, we could definitely finish the mission we set out here to accomplish."

A shameless proposition came out of the Generals' mouths—Have Issei hand Lem over to them, and then they can trust him enough to work together. This rather ass-backwards logic was perfectly sound for someone like a General of a gang, wherein having beef with someone only extended to them, and not their allies. Nevertheless, Issei wasn't nearly as heartless.

"I was wrong." Issei shook his head, "Our goals aren't the same at all, in fact. 'Cause I came here to save this kid, bring him home to his dad without a single scratch on his body. Now if you want to fight me just to get to him, then I guess you ought to at least entertain me more than Aaron did."

"Hmph, your funeral." Jorgen crossed his arms before quite literally disappearing out of view.

Nothing remained but his shadow in the place where he previously stood. His body could not be perceived by any Eye, yet the only giveaway for his movement was the shadow seemingly inching ever closer to Issei. Issei had already braced himself fully, as it was most probable that Jorgen was using his Gray Iro to accomplish this. However, when Jorgen had showed up within a centimeter of his face as if to taunt Issei and show him that his Eyes weren't glowing, he refused to even blink as he sent a flying punch directly into it.

"Slanted-Eyes!" Lem shouted for his friend, "The hell was that!? You hate me for using my Iro Ability, and now you do the same!"

"Alas, my brother's just that fast." Pierre looked down, "Sorry, I did my best to protect you two, but when he makes up his mind on something, there's just no backing out for him."

"I exercised mercy in not killing him, for what it's worth." Jorgen stood menacingly in front of Lem, his shadow engulfing him whole, "Merely did the same amount of damage as he did to my subordinate. As for you, however, the same cannot be promised."

"Heh, oh yeah?" Lem grinned back, his Yellow Eyes' glow illuminating Jorgen's face through the shadow, "Guess that means it's time for me to return the favor I owe him, huh?"

Two Generals remained, one lone Lem to fight them off. Just when Issei had thought he somehow evened the playing field, they had once again returned the difference in manpower to roughly the same ratio. For some, this tactic could be considered playing dirty, but the Generals followed a rule of equality rather than equity. In Jorgen's battles, it was an Eye for an Eye, which most always meant the ones with more men in their armies would have a certified victory. The only times this rule didn't apply were the very few moments where the Generals were outnumbered.

"Drop dead." Lem chuckled.

"You won't fool me a second time with that."

"Don't worry, that wasn't a Command just now." He said as he lunged forward, "Merely a suggestion!"

Pushing him with all his might, the shove effectively did very little in terms of moving Jorgen. After all, their difference in stature just couldn't make this a fair physical fight at all. Nevertheless, it was enough to allow Lem to run to Issei.

"He's unconscious, you can't get his help anymore!" Maxwell yelled.

"I don't need him!" Lem simply rolled Issei over on his stomach as he rummaged through his backpack, "Just his weapons!"

"Oh pish." Jorgen rolled his Eyes as he ran to him, "Let's end this quickly, please?"

The gap was being closed just as quickly as it was for Issei. Lem had to think of what weapon to use fast if he was ever going to get the chance to win one over someone as strong as Jorgen. Does he use the Disconnect? The Low Iron? Maybe even Pocket Pepper Powder would be enough to subdue him. No, for Lem, the answer was already all too clear.

"Dammit, none of these are gonna work for this asshole!" Lem ultimately gave up as he just picked up the entire bag and tossed it at him, "Think fast, jackass!"

"I pity the tools of mass destruction that lay within that backpack." Jorgen dodged it without even breaking a sweat, "Ah, ran away to hide, did you? You're only delaying the inevitable."

That's right, with Issei being left unconscious, and not even any of his weapons being of use to him, Lem was only left with the option to hide away like a coward. Running wasn't an option, for the Generals had already blocked both the entrance to the staircase of the next floor up and the one that led down. All he could do was wait for Jorgen to find him...

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

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"I'm gonna win this fight, y'know?" Lem's voice could be heard from a hanging root above them.

"Whoa, he climbed up there that fast?" Pierre gawked at his mobility, "Nice one kid! Hey, if you somehow find a hole to escape through, please use it! I promise nothing will happen to Issei-!"

"Dude, quit trying to give him false hope!" Max smacked him on the back of the head, "Jorgen said he's dead, so he's dead. End of story!"

Meanwhile, as the Generals bickered down below about his fate, Lem was still trying his best to figure out what to do. There was obviously no miraculous hole he could climb to to make himself scarce, so the only option left was to fight and triumph over them. He also had very little room for dodging in case they found him, so all he could do was wrack his brain as he kept still.

"Damn this." Jorgen made sure to reload the AFP before taking a potshot at one of the hanging roots, "...No blood. Well, we'll find you eventually kid. Hang tight."

"Isn't this kinda inhumane?" Pierre still tried his best to speak reason to his brother, "Come on, Jorgen, you're really griping about this kid not giving you his full name? What if he really doesn't have one, please think this through!"

"Brother, he Wields the most dangerous Iro of them all." Jorgen kept firing off one by one, "There's no trusting them, any of them. The moment a Yellow Iro learns to Wield their Ability, they lose all rights to live. There was never a chance we could have let him live."

"Oh yeah!? Well, I've had this since birth, and I'm still here!" Lem couldn't help but shout back as the hanging root right next to him exploded violently.

"Thanks kid, at least you made it easier for me to find you." Jorgen aimed directly at the root, "Now my brother won't have to lose as many bullets. Excuse my aim, I don't like using these modern weapons as much, so I might not kill you in one shot. This may or may not be a very slow and agonizing death."

Click, boom. The hanging root exploded, with blood slowly but surely seeping through the cracks as a hard thud fell to their level. Just this was enough to make poor Pierre gag. He just witnessed the gruesome death of an innocent child. One who realistically did nothing wrong when looked at from his perspective, and what's worse, the one who dished out the unreasonable punishment was none other than his own flesh and blood.

"You always were a child, Pierre." Jorgen turned to comfort him, at least, "Huh!?"

"Move even a single muscle and you'll find out what it means to be an only child." Lem threatened him by taking the big-boned Pierre hostage, "Shame I can't kill you, but I have experience fighting unbeatable foes!"

Let's rewind for just a bit. Right before Lem had thrown Issei's backpack at him, he happened upon a single small pencil tucked away in Issei's pocket. Most probably, this wasn't even meant to be used as a weapon—It was just for whenever Issei needed to write something down or draw up a sketch for one of his inventions. Still, its small size and simple, pointy build was nigh tailor-made for this occasion. Holding the pen close enough to Pierre's Eye that he could practically see the individual graphite particles was enough to deter any of the Generals from attacking him.

"Pierre!" Max shouted, "Ugh! How'd you...!? But, the blood...!"

"I didn't choose that specific hanging root for no reason." Lem explained, "Did you know? The people that lived here apparently had a custom of burying their loved ones in the root walls. Now, I guess I lucked out with having one of those bodies already put into just one of my hiding spots. Perfect for a distraction."

Lem had proven with just a single counteroffensive play what it meant to pick a fight with him. He had turned a normally impossible situation around, and even found the one weakness Jorgen had in his life and abused it wholeheartedly. This was a complete victory on his end.

"Pierre! Go Solipsistic-!" Jorgen shouted.

"Ah, mouth movement counts as moving a muscle." Lem returned a shit-eating grin as he went to stab with the pencil, "Too bad~! You lose the game!"

"Pierre!!!!"

"Enough!" A burly voice stopped everything with its roar as the entire Tree tremored, "Whom fights without my presence as the arbiter!?"

With this rhetorical, a giant Red ball fell right down the center of the Tree. Slamming down so hard he broke cleanly through the entire floor and sent everyone spiraling down, he loudly guffawed to announce his grand entrance.

"Rejoice!" The Red orc shouted happily, "For the Fighting God is he-!"

"You damned oaf!" A small girl sitting on his shoulder slapped him across the face, "We were this close to reaching the crown, and you suddenly hear of a fight going on and jump all the way down!? What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Allucius, please." He smiled back, "Can't you see? A marvelous fight is going on where the underdog is making a comeback! I love these types of fights the most!"

"Fighting God...? Allucius?" Lem's Eyes shot wide open.

"Guess "they" finally arrived." Jorgen used the commotion to take back his brother, "You interrupted the very fight you rushed to see, idiot."

"Oh piss off, you're just hangry." Aru rolled her Eyes at him, "Look, I'll go make us some grub, so please get along."

In a massive turn of events, "they" had been revealed to be the two Gods scaling the Tree with the Generals. Lem was enthralled by their presence, or maybe by the casual and near disrespectful way Jorgen was speaking to them, but more importantly...

"Dammit, Slanted-Eyes really was right!" Lem glared at Aru, "You really are a loli!"

"The fuck'd you just call me, twerp!?"