The Author's POV

Amidst the charred remains of the world, Ren stood still and looked around him with a lost expression on his face. His vision was obscured by the rising smog from the depths of the earth, which obscured the ruined landscape that surrounded him.

The surrounding surface had been stripped of all vegetation for some time now, and what was once a vast grassland filled with vegetation had been reduced to nothing more than a rocky surface that was covered in blood and the remains of various body parts.

Ren lowered his head to examine his trembling, bloody hands.

'Sh..hit, I've overworked myself.'

He struggled to take a breath and could hardly move his body as a searing pain spread throughout his entire body. He was helpless. His vision was hazy, and the only thing he could make out in his nose was a potent burning odor.

"Ukh.."

Ren fought through his discomfort as he extracted a number of potions from his dimensional space and promptly ingested all of them at once.

Tsss! Tsss!

His wounds started to feel better after a while, and he even managed to crack a smile. Even so, the severity of his wounds was such that it would take a considerable amount of time for him to fully recover.

"Haaa..."

Nonetheless, Ren was aware that a significant portion of the discomfort that he had been feeling was gradually disappearing.

As he finally began to loosen the tension in his brows, a pleasantly warm feeling spread throughout his entire body.

It wasn't long before he regained the ability to move his body, and his vision began to improve as well.

At that precise instant, his gaze paused in a particular direction, where he could see a large army of demons looking at him with great caution.

"Haha...I guess my job is still not done."

As Ren slowly stood up and turned his gaze toward the demon army in the distance, the look on his face became more worn and weathered.

He knew that he couldn't rest just yet.

Snap—!

Once he snapped his fingers, a powerful shockwave spread across the entire battlefield, attracting the attention of all demons and orcs.

After Ren had finally been successful in getting everyone's attention on the battlefield, he paused for a moment to look around him before slowly levitating in the air.

Resting on his extended hand was a large purplish core that glistened under the now exposed suns.

"…As you can see, I've defeated your leader."

When Ren spoke, he did so in a manner that suggested he was unfazed and unruffled, but as soon as those words left his mouth, the entire battleground fell silent.

"I'm sure you can tell from its size and energy that this is not a regular core…"

No matter the distance, Ren's voice could be heard in the ears of everyone present.

As they raised their heads to look up at the sky, they were confronted by the formidable figure of Ren, who was standing in the sky and watching over the entire battlefield with eyes that seemed to see through everything.

At that point, the focus of everyone's attention shifted to the sizable core that was sitting in his palm. As quickly as it had begun, a heavy tension descended upon the battlefield as the demons froze in place.

Ren, unperturbed by their gazes, turned his head to look below him and then opened his mouth once more.

"Let all the Marquis and Count ranked demons that have survived come to me."

The many demons that were there heard his words echo loudly and clearly inside their own heads.

This was especially true for the Marquis and Count ranked demons that were still present on the battlefield, as the pressure that Ren was putting off caused them to begin sweating profusely.

His words didn't sound like a request but rather an order that they couldn't dare hope to refuse.

"So?"

gaze was fixed on a

point in hiding. Come to me while I'm

Swooosh! Swooosh! Swooosh!

and they all rushed

take long before Ren was surrounded by more than one hundred distinct demons, nine of which were

until that point were profoundly affected by the sight of his solitary figure

Ren made a small

Thump!

the heavens and smashed into the ground below it. The expressions of the many demons that surrounded him underwent a radical transformation, and they all wore looks of nervousness

even understand how the demon had

everyone

his eyes swam toward the demons that surrounded him with his

tossing the core in his hand and catching it repeatedly

than Angelica, Jin, and Han

"Here you go."

each tossed him

nodded his head in contentment as he snatched them up with his hand and then hurled the cores into the air, where they quickly morphed into a number of

that of a typical Marquis-ranked

"W..what's going on?"

thought I had

around them. Their bodies froze completely the moment they saw Ren standing in front of them with the

point, their expressions hardened as they finally understood what

for now,

and the others before looking back

tossing the core in his

offer that I've given this guy…Submit to

his eyes, Ren's voice

me all at

spoke, the already tense atmosphere became even tenser, and the demons cautiously stared at

at him

count... If they were to launch a full-scale

every demon

that one

submit to you, what do we have

they were doing and gave

filled with an eerie stillness. As he

of demons present. What do you say we reduce the numbers to a manageable

Hiss~

the demons drew

meaning of Ren's words was crystal clear. To demonstrate their submission, they were required to

the demons who were present mulled over whether or not they should accept the offer presented to them by Ren, their minds raced through

had passed, and not a

"Still not answering?"

nearby demon and grasped it as

"Heak! N-!"

immediately after that, the demon

react before they found out that a Marquis ranked demon had been

time. Quickly make your decision before I decide to kill

Ruthless.

front of them was extremely ruthless. He

nothing short

Swooosh! Swooosh!

stimulated something within the demon's mind, as evidenced by the fact that

"Haik!"

"What are you doing?!"

"What's going on?"

was there to witness it all as he languidly gazed at the demons with a

mouth, he