When Rus was finally freed from the men attacking him, he immediately jumped from his position and rushed toward the lever. The moment he yanked it down, one of the emergency boats suspended above dropped alongside the cargo ship.

"Hah..."

Rus hurried toward the railing, only to spot more men climbing up the side of the ship.

Without hesitation, he jumped off the cargo.

He didn’t even think Dominion would kill him or stop him. He had done what he was told to do... even if, at this point, it felt completely unnecessary.

Surprisingly, Dominion — both those climbing aboard and those arriving in speedboats — simply ignored him.

It wasn’t as if they hadn’t noticed him.

Rus stood out like a sore thumb, yet none of them spared him any attention.

And for whatever reason, Rus took that opportunity to leave.

SPLASH!

Breaking through the water’s surface, he quickly swam toward the emergency boat. Once he managed to climb in, he immediately started rowing away from the chaos.

Ashley was no longer within his sight, but with Dominion already there to rescue her, he figured she no longer needed him.

Right now, the only thing on his mind was getting himself somewhere safe.

But just as Rus rowed away, he paused after spotting a helicopter overhead.

"Huh?"

He narrowed his eyes.

Two figures clung to the rope ladder hanging beneath it. The helicopter continued ascending, carrying them farther away from the ship.

It didn’t take long for Rus to recognize them.

"She’s safe," he muttered, not realizing the brief sense of relief that washed over him after seeing Ashley finally escape that damned cargo ship.

But then, his eyes widened because one of them suddenly fell.

Ashley.

Lucian tried to catch her, but failed miserably.

"What the—"

Rus’s mouth fell open as the color drained from his face. Before he could even process what happened, Lucian let go of the ladder as well and dove after her.

"What the hell is that guy’s problem!?" Rus shouted in disbelief. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

There were still Dominion members in the water — not to mention the insane height Lucian had jumped from.

Rus gritted his teeth and shook his head, telling himself to get as far away from the cargo as possible. Given the state of the battle, he was certain the entire thing would explode sooner or later.

He couldn’t afford to get caught in it.

Dominion had helicopters, speedboats, and reinforcements coming in from every direction. They could leave whenever they wanted.

As for him?

They might be ignoring him now, but that also meant whether he lived or died was entirely his own problem.

However, like the curse she was, Ashley once again dragged him back into trouble.

Rus had only made it a short distance before cursing loudly.

"Fucking—"

He harrumphed and turned the boat toward the spot where the large splash from Ashley’s fall had erupted.

Then, after spotting where Lucian had made an even larger splash, he adjusted course toward that area too.

Rus knew he shouldn’t have been helping them.

Dominion was already rushing over.

But at the same time, even after the two of them fell, the nearby speedboats had continued moving elsewhere.

Did they not see it?

Were they too busy fighting?

Were their hands simply too full?

Rus had no idea.

He acted purely on instinct.

Foolish? Absolutely.

Still, despite having no business helping them, he found himself rowing toward the place where they had fallen anyway. He grabbed the emergency flashlight tucked beneath the seat and shone it over the dark water.

"I can’t see them," he muttered, leaning over the side of the boat while sweeping the beam across the surface. "Hey! Are you alive?!"

They were in the middle of nowhere.

The ocean was pitch-black.

Rus hoped the light would at least guide Lucian and Ashley toward him. He assumed Ashley had simply slipped — he had been too far away to notice she’d actually been shot.

His heart pounded harder with every passing second.

"Did I get it wrong?" he muttered to himself. "Are they over there—"

Just as doubt started creeping in, Rus nearly toppled overboard when Lucian suddenly burst through the surface of the water.

"Ah!"

Rus fell backward onto the bottom of the boat, eyes wide as Lucian gasped for air. Ashley was in his arms.

Her eyes were closed, and her complexion had gone pale.

Lucian checked her first before snapping his head toward Rus.

"What are you doing?" he breathed through clenched teeth. "Help me."

For a split second, Rus merely opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

Then reality slammed back into him.

He nodded rapidly and scrambled to his knees, rowing close enough for Lucian to reach the boat.

Rus pulled Ashley in first, laying her down carefully before Lucian climbed aboard after her.

The moment Ashley’s body hit the floor of the boat, the blood soaking through her back made Rus freeze.

"What the— from that distance?!" he blurted in panic, his gaze darting toward Lucian, who had already dropped beside her.

Only then did Rus fully understand she hadn’t slipped. She had been shot.

His mind went blank. Not only did he now have the madam in his tiny emergency boat, but he also had the master of Dominion.

Just what kind of curse was this?

Before he could think any further, a speedboat roared toward them carrying Dominion members.

"Master!" they shouted.

Then panic immediately spread across their faces after seeing Ashley unconscious, blood slowly spreading through the bottom of the boat.

No one wasted time asking questions.

They moved instantly, hooking the emergency boat onto theirs before speeding away as fast as possible.

"Ashley..." Lucian breathed out, still panting heavily.

He carefully turned her slightly while pressing hard against the wound on her back to slow the bleeding.

His lips — usually calm and firm — trembled.

So did his hands.

His heart felt shattered, and only one thought remained in his mind: Get her help... NOW.

*****

Meanwhile, far out in the distant waters...

A dark boat floated far away from the cargo ship.

The man in charge of the operation sat silently inside, staring at the burning wreckage surrounded by helicopters and speeding boats.

Everyone else might have missed it, but he had noticed Dominion approaching the moment they appeared on the horizon while the others were still scrambling to capture Ashley.

The instant he realized who was coming, he had immediately aborted the mission and radioed Carrotman.

"How did they find us here?" he muttered darkly. "Did he not pass the message along?"

He had given Carrotman one specific instruction: Take Ashley, then tell the Mole to abandon the cargo.

But those idiots had stayed behind until Dominion had reached the ship.

"Fuck!" he hissed, dragging a hand down his face. "That psycho... tch!"

There was nothing left to do except watch.

So he sat there in silence, observing the cargo ship burn until the helicopters finally launched missiles, reducing the entire vessel — and everyone still aboard — into nothing but flames and ruin.

From afar, he counted every explosion.

Minutes later, still lost in thought, he noticed another boat approaching.

He narrowed his eyes. Then he recognized Carrotman... in the boat, all alone.

"You—!" the man barked, fury flashing across his face. "Where—"

Carrotman hadn’t even reached the boat before speaking.

"They got him," he said flatly, referring to the Mole guy.

"I went back for him, but... that red-haired bastard already had him." He clicked his tongue. "Dominion took him."