The Author's POV

The tension in the room was palpable, thick enough to cut through with a knife. Waylan's smile vanished in an instant, leaving behind a stoic expression devoid of any emotion.

His clear eyes began to cloud over, and in just a matter of seconds, they turned pitch black. But upon closer inspection, they were much more than just a dark void.

As I gazed into his eyes, I could see the reflection of the entire cosmos staring back at me.

The swirling galaxies, the shining stars, and the infinite expanse of space were all contained within Waylan's eyes.

"Is this your answer?"

Waylan's voice boomed across the room, carrying with it an ancient quality that made the powers within my body tremble.

I felt a sudden pressure crash onto me, and I struggled to keep my footing. Despite the weight bearing down on me, I refused to falter and stood my ground.

"Even after I conceded and allowed you to work with us, you still choose to work against us?"

Waylan's gaze was cold and unforgiving, and I knew that I was in deep trouble.

"Arrogant."

He spat, and the cosmos within his eyes began to expand, slowly creeping up the walls of the room.

I watched in seriousness as the stars and galaxies began to envelop everything around me, slowly but surely.

Even in the face of such overwhelming power, I remained composed/

"Arrogant, huh?"

I managed to gasp out, struggling against the immense pressure that threatened to crush me.

"Would knowing that I'd get disposed of after serving my usefulness count as me being arrogant? …Rather, instead of arrogant, shouldn't you be saying something along the lines of self-aware?"

I was no fool.

The information that Ryan had sent me coincided with everything that I had managed to figure out myself, and I knew that Waylan wasn't someone who'd spare someone that had lived up to their usefulness.

He couldn't fool me, and I knew that he needed to die, regardless of whether he'd eliminate me after.

'He needs to die regardless.'

I thought to myself, my resolve hardening with each passing second. His existence was something that needed to be eliminated to have any chance at the third cataclysm that was soon going to come.

"Self-Aware?"

Waylan looked at me with a calm expression, musing over my words very carefully. It wasn't long before he shook his head.

"You're the last thing from self-aware. If you were self-aware, you'd know which side to join."

around me began to distort and warp, and suddenly, I found

marveling at the beauty and grandeur of it all. I felt weightless as if I was standing on nothing at all. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I couldn't help but be in awe

"Are you surprised?"

reverie, pulling me back to reality. I turned to face him,

I'm surprised. Where have

me here, I never felt

considering that

gaze pierced through me, and the white glow that emanated from his

important is

reached his hand

you join me,

***

Boom―!

down to the ground. The

hordes of dark humanoid creatures rushed out of them as quickly

spare any

"Arkhh!"

crazed and bloodthirsty look on their faces as they flew toward the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of elves who were standing on the ground behind the trees with their bows drawn and their

the demons that were rushing their way, but that proved to be

impaled, a significant number of them regenerated in the blink of an eye and continued to charge at the humans. Even if they succeeded in killing themselves, new demons would appear from behind and take the place of the ones that had been

became higher pitched, and it wasn't long before the elves

In the distance.

"What a pitiful sight."

expression of indifference that was plastered across Jezebeth's face was not consistent with the compassionate words that

shame that so many have to die

shook his head

from him were two elven figures. An elderly one and

stared at Jezebeth without

turned his gaze and

be having much of an effect on the two of you at all. Is this

unconcerned by this development. He

scene many times in the past... He knew... that this was the very last

this reason that he was rather chatty

thinking that the five other Protectors will come to

and peered off into the distance. His expression remained one of contentment as his eyes became fixated on a particular scene off

five… Four,

with something as he kept looking at the scene in the distance, but he eventually shook his head

yet… It's still a bit

back, his hair was blowing in front of him, and his eyes, which had a purplish-red tint to

Swoosh!

Guardians started to move, and their silhouettes began to blend in with the surrounding area. They

toward his neck, showed no sign of holding back as the slash shattered the

distance appear to be of insignificant size, and at the same time, the carefree expression that had been on Jezebeth's

car―appearing above her staff. A terrifying fluctuation burst forth from the magic circle, spreading across the nearby areas and shattering everything that was within the