The Author's POV

Ren's body… it was a complete mess. There were far too many distinct powers, and the demonic laws and Akashic laws were exhibiting signs of repulsion toward one another.

Ren was unfamiliar, yet familiar, with the Akashic Laws.

They… they were the laws that had been binding at this body for the past few centuries. He never wielded them before, but the moment he used them, it felt as though it was second nature to him.

Not to mention the golden runes and words that were circling around his body...

With just one look, it seemed as though he could decipher their meaning with just a look, and as he stared at his hands, which were coated in a white substance, he turned his attention back toward Waylan and pressed his palm forward.

Boom―!

"Futile."

Waylan dislodged the palm with a swift whack, causing it to splinter and fly off into the horizon. Following that, he launched a counterattack by pressing his own palm down.

A gigantic hand suddenly materialized above Ren's head and made an attempt to squish him from on high. Ren took a measured look at the situation before removing his sword from its sheath.

He merely pressed the tip of his sword up, and the palm came to rest directly above him.

WOOOONG―! From the intersection of the two forces, where they met in the middle, a tremendous wind erupted. It was powerful enough to push the two back a few meters in response.

Waylan's eyes shone.

'He's different from before.'

Waylan thought, regaining his footing.

The degree of control over the power that he displayed wasn't the same as the one he showed before. There was something completely different about him for some unexplained reason, and the manner in which he carried himself was even more unsettling.

"Are you really the same, Ren?"

The surprised Waylan asked.

The more he examined him, the more convinced he became that there was something peculiar about him. It appeared as though he was going up against a completely different entity than before.

But how was that possible?

"You give off a different feeling from before…"

Waylan squinted his eyes.

"I'm not sure what it is, but it now explains to me why you were so confident a little earlier. Was this power of yours what gave you the confidence to challenge me?"

Swoosh―!

A splintering occurred in the space around Ren, and an invisible shot toward his leg.

attempted to evade it but was just a fraction

the way through his leg, causing a massive amount of

leg, Ren showed no

even feel

of his body suddenly erupted, covering his entire leg and erupting from his body in the form of scales that covered

the wound was covered, he flapped his wings once and

single

"Better."

able to avoid the slashing attack. He then countered with a blow from his own fist, which caused

'Dangerous.'

sight of the

was able to sense that Waylan had packed a lot of power into that seemingly simple fist aimed directly

arms in front of his

Boom―!

result of the

He had done this to prevent the punch from reaching his main body, and while he did indeed succeed, it came with

his body, his eyes turned somewhat

much weaker than

never faced off against a Protector before, and he didn't know very much about them at all. At this point, all he was doing was testing the

so little about them, he deemed the current fight just as troublesome

did not appear to be a typical fist to him, based on what he was able to observe. It was endowed with the laws, and his control and

perceived a

Crack! Crack!

shadowy glow began to

that his body possessed, if one had proper control over the powers within it, they'd be an unstoppable

his wrist no more than a couple of seconds to return to its normal

"Healed enough?"

kick, the wind seemed to be tearing itself apart, and it left a trail of

sword, there was a faint clicking sound that

Click―!

twisted just before Ren felt his sword make contact with it, as if he

Ren's surprise, he felt his sword

'I missed?'

was such an unfamiliar feeling—only Jezebeth had

a chance to respond, Waylan aimed a

twisted and an opening appeared. He tried to capitalize on the opportunity to launch his own attack and

looking up, Ren's gaze fixed

That was his target.

Bang—!

hand was about to press the hilt of the sword, and after the kick hit his hand in just the right spot,

after that and reappeared a couple of meters

then made a fist with his free hand and

Ren began to warp. A gigantic projection of a hand materialized right beneath where he was standing, and it gripped him in