"Demon, I'm gonna kill you ten thousand times over!" Hukudo had forgotten how to chant and just kept firing fireballs. Eric was, of course, delighted. This guy losing his mind was the best possible outcome. Dealing with an irrational command mage was way easier than dealing with a sane one.

  Now, looking across, there was only one swordsman and Hukudo, the two big damage dealers left. The remaining heavy armor warrior and the priest healer were no threat at all.

  "Captain, calm down!" someone shouted.

  "Damn it, great Goddess of Light, let Your holy light guide the lost souls," the priest chanted.

  "First-tier magic, Soothe Spirit."

  The priest raised his staff and aimed it at Hukudo. Golden holy light rained down from Hukudo's head and seeped into his skin. Then, Hukudo's ferocious expression softened, and his mind gradually stabilized.

  "Skeleton, you will pay for this," Hukudo said, now calm.

  "Heavy armor at the rear, swordsman at the front, priest in support, maintain formation and retreat from the dungeon!" Hukudo quickly made a judgment. They were down to four people now, with only two main damage dealers.

  The situation was hopeless, and they could only retreat from the dungeon and wait for a better opportunity.

  Once on the surface, it would be the noble's territory, and this skeleton wouldn't be able to run around for long.

  "Captain Hukudo, aren't you even gonna take your teammates' bodies?" Eric taunted.

  "If they knew, they'd be heartbroken," he added. Honestly, Eric felt like a total jerk himself. It was just too damn satisfying to act like a complete asshole.

  "Here, take 'em," Eric said, but Hukudo, now calmed down, didn't take the bait and led his team to retreat in an orderly fashion.

  Eric wasn't worried at all. He hung back, constantly harassing the team with magic, not giving the Hyena Team a moment's rest. The heavy armor warrior at the end of the line became more and more sluggish, with increasing injuries. Hukudo also looked more and more haggard. Even with magical buffs, he became irritable and hysterical.

  The atmosphere in the team got worse and worse. Plus, Eric kept shouting things like "Hukudo excluded, surrender and you won't be killed!" and "Bring Hukudo's head and surrender, your property won't be confiscated, and you'll be left alone!" The team members' morale wavered, and their war-weariness grew heavier.

  Hukudo was internally tormented. He could feel his companions' loyalty slowly slipping away to Eric's side. That guy was a demon who played with people's minds. He wasn't human at all!

  "Why are you staying so far away from your teammates, Hukudo?" Eric goaded.

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  "Afraid they'll kill you? You don't trust them at all, do you?"

  "You actually fear the teammates you've been with day in and day out!"

  "How can you live with their trust?" Eric's two repeated sentences finally changed, but into something even more chilling for Hukudo.

  "No, it's not like that!"

  "It's that demon sowing discord! If you kill me, he won't spare you either!" Hukudo quickly tried to explain.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, he's getting anxious, he's getting anxious!"

  "Did you hear that? He's threatening you not to kill him. He believes you'll kill him."

  "Ah, people are so fickle these days," Eric's devilish words made Hukudo's body go cold.

  "Shut up!!!" Hukudo's taut nerves snapped, and he swung his staff, firing several fireballs at Eric. Of course, Eric dodged them effortlessly.

  "Captain, calm down," the priest stepped forward, trying to cast a calming spell on Hukudo. But Hukudo, with his eyes bloodshot, dodged and warily watched the approaching priest. The atmosphere changed in an instant.

  "See, see, he's wary of you," Eric added in a timely manner.

  "No, it's not like that."

  "Don't listen to him, don't listen to him!" Hukudo's mind began to panic. He looked at his teammates and felt for the first time how distant they were from him. When did this happen?

  "Tell me, who in your team do I want to kill the most?"

  "Definitely Hukudo, right?"

  "But why is he pulling you all back with him? Why?"

  "Think about it, isn't it just to make you guys help him fight me?"

  Eric's demonic voice echoed in everyone's ears. There was no more movement.

  "If he were really that selfless, in this maze, how many could I catch besides him if you all scattered?"

  "Shut up! Shut up!!!" Hukudo became frantic.

  "Captain, we..." someone started to say.

  "Don't come near me, nobody come near me!" Hukudo waved his staff.

  "See, this is the captain you trusted," Eric continued.

  "He doesn't deserve your trust."

  "... Kill him, join me in killing that demon!"

  "Then escape back to the surface, and we'll live it up, spending piles and piles of gold!"

  Hukudo tried to keep commanding his team.

  "Run, run."

  "You, the one in heavy armor, you've been holding the rear the whole time, you must be tired."

  "You've got your helmet on, I don't know your name, I don't know what you look like."

  "You dive into the maze, take off your helmet, change your armor, and I won't recognize you."

  "Why be a meat shield? Tired yet?"

  Eric looked at the heavy armor warrior at the end of the line and kept tempting him.

  The warrior shifted slightly.

  "Fondo Timand!"

  "Hold the front!" Hukudo shouted.

  "Tsk, tsk, tsk, look at your good captain, he's just sold you out."

  "But I can't hear it, can't hear it, hear nothing."

  "You go, I won't stop you."

  Eric kept tempting him. Hukudo bit his lip, almost breaking his staff in half. He wanted to tear Eric into ten thousand pieces right now.

  "Captain, let's part ways," the warrior said, then turned and ran down a side passage without looking back.

  "Fireball!" Hukudo threw a fireball at the warrior's back. The warrior, who had been guarding against Eric, never expected his former captain to fire a fireball at him. He turned back in disbelief, looking at his captain.

  "Ah, what a splendid fireball."

  "Captain Hukudo's aim is really steady, drawing a beautiful arc."

  "Score, ten points."

  The remaining priest quickly put distance between himself and Hukudo, and the swordsman also warily shifted his stance, facing both Eric and Hukudo.

  "Follow my orders, that demon has been playing us from the start!"

  "He won't spare us, not a single one of us, he's a complete and utter bastard demon!" Hukudo shouted.

  "Ah, what are you doing now, you're raising your staff to shoot your teammate again."

  "Killing two wasn't enough, what a ruthless heart."

  Seeing Hukudo raise his staff again to shoot at him, Eric quickly shouted. The remaining two teammates panicked and warily watched Hukudo.

  Hukudo quickly explained.

  "I'm aiming for the demon!"

  "Trust me!" Hukudo hastily explained. He didn't understand why he couldn't even move his staff anymore.