"Don't worry, don't worry. Why would I ever do something that kept you from surrendering willingly?"
Dekan clasped his hands behind his back and leaned forward slightly, smiling at Flata.
That smile looked especially spine-chilling to Flata.
"I'm doing this for your own good. I want to save you."
"If you'd rashly left Phantom Canyon just now, you might really have died."
"Remember the Spell Card I used at the start?"
As he spoke, Dekan took out a Spell Card.
He showed it to Flata.
It was the very Spell Card [???] that Flata had failed to identify earlier.
"Go on, identify it and see what it does."
The moment Dekan finished speaking, orange ripples spread across the card, making Flata's heart race.
[Pain Spread]
[Category: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Orange Epic]
[Rank: 3]
[Effect: Inflicts the "Pain Spread" status on an enemy. It cannot be removed by Purification. The enemy will feel no pain while this status remains active. When the status ends, all pain experienced during its duration will erupt at once.]
[Note: You old hag! I bet you can't see this card!]
"Mm! Mm!"
Flata's eyes widened in terror. He shook his head frantically, desperately trying to speak, but no sound came out.
"I know what you're thinking. You think you can avoid this fatal pain by keeping [Pain Shield] up. But have you ever actually read the Shadow World Starter's manual?"
"The instant you leave the Artificial Shadow World, all your statuses will be cleared."
Including Pain Spread and Pain Shield.
In other words, the instant Flata left the Shadow World, he would take the hit without Pain Shield, no matter what!
"I mean, hypothetically. Just imagine: what if there's a Ruined Poet waiting outside for you later?"
"Mm! Mm!" (Impossible!)
Though Flata couldn't speak, Dekan understood