The star was blazing hot. If they opened the entrance, the heat would burn them completely.
Lucan spoke, "Blue guy! Try to take off the spaceship! In my guess, there must be damage! Only if we could repair it, we can take off!"
The blue guy rushed to the control area. There was some damage which had to be fixed.
The blue guy started working on it without Lucan ordering him. He frowned, "Captain! The other damages can be fixed! But the star's heat is damaging the spaceship! If we do not take proper precautions, the spaceship will melt!"
The pink girl gasped at this scene. She fixed her gaze on Lucan.
The fate guy was repeatedly apologizing, "Please forgive me! Forgive me, Captain! I won't play like this anymore!"
Lucan frowned. He had to move out… lift the spaceship… and hold it down until the repairs were done. This might sound easy, but it was truly difficult.
First, except for the blue guy, nobody else in the spaceship could use cosmic energy for movement. But now, he had to work on internal repairs.
Although Lucan could do it, his backlash would trap him. In normal cases, it was fine, but now if he faced backlash, he would definitely fall into the star's extremely hot gas and plasma.
The rest of the crew were now a burden. Lucan felt another headache as the star's gravity pulled them deeper and deeper.
Lucan gritted his teeth. He replaced the blue guy's place and ordered, "Go and lift the spaceship to a certain height! Hold it down until I repair it!"
The blue guy nodded and rushed to the central area. He used cosmic energy to pull the entire spaceship. An intense pressure shook him.
A pity that others could only watch. The blue guy's veins bulged, blood oozed out, his clothes tore, and his arms swelled. The pink girl rushed to heal him.
He grunted hard. The spaceship shook—he lifted it! But the trouble had just begun. His cosmic energy was depleting.
His heart sank, his eyes widened. A few minutes passed. He couldn't bear it anymore—the spaceship began falling! The pink girl closed her eyes as tears fell.
She hoped they could survive this.
Suddenly, the spaceship was immobilized.
Lucan walked in front of them, exhausted and panting heavily.
He had already fixed the internal repairs. Now he had stopped time. The crew members were free to move within the frozen time.
He fell down, with no energy left. But one last order came before he fainted:
"Go! Fix the outside! Blue guy, leader, and red wrestler! Fate guy, you take control of the spaceship! Don't play around! Pink girl, you stay by my side to prevent me from fainting completely!"
The crew didn't even have time to nod. They rushed to follow the orders.
The three went out. Even though time was stopped, the previously released heat was still there.
The red wrestler went out hastily without protection. The heat instantly began to vaporize him.
The leader used his arrow to pierce the red wrestler.
The blue guy clenched his teeth. The leader was betraying them at such a crucial moment! He attacked him.
The leader frowned, "Are you stupid!? Have you gone insane!?"
The arrow brought the red wrestler inside. The blue guy then realized the leader had actually tried to save him.
But it was too late.
The red wrestler suffered severe injuries. The arrow was destroyed. The leader, attacked by the blue guy and hit by backlash, coughed out blood.
The blue guy teleported them to the pink girl. She was stunned to see their condition.
She expended mental energy to focus on three people. The red wrestler's condition was critical. She screamed desperately, not knowing what to do.
She began punching herself for being useless at such vital moments.
A hand stopped her.
Lucan spoke weakly, "Only one way… the butterfly… go to the Golden—"
He fainted.
Time resumed. The spaceship began to fall.
She ran toward the golden butterfly. It sensed something—Lucan had sent a message to it.
"Oh, Golden Butterfly! If you hear this message, listen! I am in danger! There is no time left! I prepared this move for emergencies! Convert us all into messages and carry us to a safer location!"
The message was hurried.
The butterfly flew on its own. Its golden light turned into hands.
It grabbed everyone.
The spaceship crashed. A hole appeared. The entire ship began to vaporize. The light converted them into messages.
The spaceship submerged into the star.
The butterfly remained.
It flapped its wings. The heat did not harm it.
The golden butterfly truly had its own wonders.
But it sensed something was wrong.
Some members were missing—the red wrestler, the leader, and the blue guy.
It slowed down.
It dived into the extreme heat.
It saw three figures.
It tried to convert them into messages.
The first one—vaporized.
The second one—saved and stored.
The third one—gone.
Dead.
The butterfly felt sorrow. It had failed to fulfill Lucan's orders.
It flew away. Nothing more could be done.
Golden fragments fell from its wings. Even the heat vaporized upon touching it.
The butterfly exited the star and paused, thinking of a safe place.
Then it flew in the opposite direction.
---
After a few days…
On the planet of slimes, the leader slime was teaching a class.
Suddenly, he sensed an external force entering the planet.
Everyone reacted. They launched attacks—but nothing worked.
A figure descended.
The golden butterfly.
It released the crew.
It landed on soft moss and let out Lucan.
The slimes rushed to them and began medical care.
Lucan was the first to wake. He was only exhausted, with no injuries.
The pink girl was still unconscious, mentally drained but stable.
The fate guy was fine—just knocked unconscious.
The blue guy… was nearly vaporized.
Severe burns and scars covered his body. He required critical care.
Lucan was startled.
Two were missing.
No one could find them.
The golden butterfly, tired, rested on Lucan's hand.
It released one final message:
"Lucan… I tried my best. But the leader and the red wrestler… are dead."
Silence fell.
The slimes grew gloomy.
The pink girl broke down in tears. Some slimes comforted her.
Lucan spoke bitterly, "I am failing again and again… I failed to escape the lord… I was captured… I failed to resolve my backlash… and now I failed to save my crew… Heh… I truly am a pathetic fool…"
He sighed.
The fate guy stood dejected.
The leader slime patted Lucan's shoulder. "Lucan, do not be sad. We slimes will help you."
Lucan thought silently:
"It is my fault… I may be cruel to others… but I will be even more ruthless to myself… I must fix my mistakes.''