After Fai and Johnson had managed to successfully cover up Fai's unnatural healing ability, Fai finally asked what had happened during the time he had blanked out. Johnson answered him without hesitation, explaining everything from the moment Fai lost consciousness.
From Johnson's explanation, everything matched what Fai had already seen in his head. At first, Johnson had the clear advantage. He fought them with ease, matching their speed and strength without much trouble. His movements were clean, controlled, almost effortless.
According to Johnson, everything had been going well in the beginning.
But then it changed.
It all shifted the moment they altered their formation—the moment they stopped fighting recklessly and started thinking.
"They stopped charging at me one at a time," Johnson said. "They spread out. Two from the front… two from the back."
Hearing this, Sarah finally spoke. "They coordinated," she said calmly. "Not perfectly—but enough."
Johnson nodded. "I couldn't cover everywhere at once."
His fingers twitched as he spoke, his body unconsciously replaying the memory. "One of them got me from behind. It didn't hurt much… but it threw me off."
"And once you lost balance," Sarah added evenly, "they didn't waste the opening."
Johnson let out a sharp breath. "They came all at once. Almost like they planned it… like they'd been through this before."
Fai's hands slowly clenched into fists.
He knew that feeling.
Those guys fought like they shared one brain, Fai thought. Like someone was giving them instructions—telling them exactly when to move, when to strike.
"At that point," Johnson continued, "I wasn't thinking about winning anymore. I was thinking about buying time."
"Time?" Fai asked quietly, confusion slipping into his voice.
"Yeah," Johnson replied. "Buying time… for her."
He glanced at Sarah as he said it.
The words struck Fai harder than any blow, though he couldn't explain why. Something about them sat uncomfortably in his chest.
"They kept hitting," Johnson went on. "Arms, ribs, head… I couldn't see clearly anymore. But I didn't let them past me."
Sarah could feel the muscles in Johnson's arm tighten slightly under her grip.
"And then," Johnson said, his voice rougher now, "I felt my arm snap."
For a moment, Fai stopped breathing.
The image formed vividly in his mind, so real that for a split second it felt like it was his arm that had broken.
"That's when I stepped in," Sarah said.
"So you were there all along," Fai replied, bitterness creeping into his voice. "That's selfish."
He looked straight at her, unable to hide the anger rising inside him. How could she just stand there and watch Johnson fight alone against those people? How could she wait?
That wasn't the Red Angel he knew.
The Red Angel Fai believed in wouldn't hesitate. She would have acted. She would have helped.
"I didn't plan to interfere," Sarah replied calmly. She wasn't denying it—if anything, she was openly admitting it.
"I couldn't just jump in without knowing my chances," she continued. "And I asked you to wait, didn't I?"
She said that last part while looking at Johnson lying on the floor.
"Fai was in danger," Johnson said bluntly. "I had to do something. Who knows what would've happened if I hadn't rushed in?"
Before Johnson had even reached Fai, Sarah had already knocked some sense into him. She had been furious when she realized Fai had gone alone—furious that Johnson had allowed it, knowing very well this was an assessment.
She had immediately insisted they go search for him.
The problem wasn't that Sarah didn't care.
The problem was how she thought.
Sarah wasn't the type to move without a plan. She hated surprises. No matter the situation, she preferred to be prepared. That was why she wanted her and Johnson to come up with something—anything—before charging in.
But Johnson wasn't like that.
Johnson rushed headfirst into situations and trusted things would work themselves out.
And that was exactly what he did.
He ran off toward Fai, leaving Sarah behind.
That difference—that clash in their ways of thinking—was where everything went wrong.
"I'm not saying you were wrong," Sarah said, trying to explain. "I'm saying we don't jump into situations without a plan. It's dangerous. Look at you—just look at the state you're in. You're living proof of what I mean."
She paused, then added, "I wasn't even sure I could take them all on. I watched the way they fought. It was clear they were strong. And the fact that there were four of them didn't make it any easier."
"They were strong," she said again. "Together especially."
"But I had to join," she continued quietly. "If I hadn't… Johnson would've been finished. He couldn't handle all four of them on his own."
Johnson snorted. "You didn't have to say it like that."
He felt like she was deliberately painting him as weak.
Sarah shot him a glare. "You were barely standing. I'm not lying."
Then she turned back to Fai. "Luckily, they were tired by then. All of them. Johnson forced them to overextend—he was strong enough to do that. I'll give him his flowers for that."
She took a breath. "I used that to my advantage."
Fai nodded slowly, understanding settling in.
"I took one down first," Sarah continued. "Then another. My goal was to break their formation. Once that happened, they panicked—and that's exactly what I wanted."
"And that's when I got back up," Johnson said, a crooked grin stretching across his swollen lips. "And trust me… they didn't like that."
"So you won?" Fai asked.
Johnson hesitated.
"…They ran."
Silence fell between the three of them.
"They couldn't finish it," Sarah said. "But we couldn't chase either."
"But they left us this," Johnson added.
With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out eight golden coins, holding them up toward Fai.
The sight of them brought a small smile to Fai's face. Then guilt crept into his heart.
Johnson was going through all of this because of him.
If he had just given Johnson a chance back then, none of this would've happened. The deal wouldn't have been made. The fight wouldn't have escalated this far.
But as quickly as the guilt appeared, it faded.
This was still to his advantage.
With this, he would gain more EXP.
And in the end, that was what mattered most.... Right ?