The Author's POV

'What is he planning?'

When Jezebeth looked at Ren, his eyes narrowed as he tried to comprehend the motivation behind Ren's continued opposition to him.

As opposed to before, the very air around him changed, and the world around him started to collapse.

It was only thanks to Jezebeth that it remained intact.

The tension in the air was palpable, and Jezebeth's crimson eyes flickered dangerously.

"Is this really your decision?"

He asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Ren's expression remained unchanged, and Jezebeth's frustration grew.

"Do you understand the consequences of your actions?"

He threatened, gesturing toward the projections that surrounded them. Each frame held a different individual, and Jezebeth could see humans and members of the three races.

Their situation…

It wasn't good. In fact, it was terrible, and each second, hundreds if not thousands of individuals died at the hands of the demons.

It was a slaughter.

"If you choose to fight me, by the time our fight is over, everyone will be dead. Your friends, your lover... your family. Everyone will die! Do you really wish for that to happen?"

Jezebeth expected Ren to flinch, to hesitate, to show some sort of emotion. But Ren just continued to stare at him with that same unnerving gaze.

"Even now, as we speak, people are dying!?"

Jezebeth continued, his voice rising with his frustration.

"You don't seem to care about their lives, but what's the point of all of this? If you don't care about them, why do you even bother fighting against me?"

The question hung in the air, unanswered, and Jezebeth's anger simmered. Why was Ren doing this? Was it to spite him? For what reason? Were all of his preparations for nothing!?

"Why!?"

SWOOOSH―! He bellowed, the sound echoing through the room and causing the projections to flicker.

"…Why?"

Ren spoke. His voice was quiet, but it carried an

"The reason is simple."

said, his gaze

job is to kill

one of the projections distorted, and Jezebeth realized too late what was happening. Smallsnake, who was only a few meters

job for

voice gently spread across the space, and Jezebeth felt his entire

"You..."

off as he looked at Ren, his anger

wasn't worth it. He could tell from Ren's eyes that he really didn't care whether he lived or died, and keeping

was true for the people who were dying within the

a glance that they were of no

"You really..."

teeth, his lips curling

"Piss me off."

***

Drip. Drip. Drip.

along the streets. They reflected the dim light that filtered through

overcast, casting a gloomy and eerie atmosphere

"Where is this place?"

deserted town nestled on

Splash! Splash!

hit the coastline with a relentless force, crashing against the rocks and sending sprays of salty water into

the waves was deafening, a constant roar that echoed throughout the surrounding landscape. As each wave approached the shore, it rose up,

"Hmm."

sight in front of

closer observation, the town in the distance seemed to be made of human architecture, and it looked abandoned and forgotten, with overgrown weeds and moss covering the

such a place on earth… where in the world is

step forward, my foot splashing against one of the

I gazed at my reflection. My entire body was dark, almost shadow-like, and while I could see my features, there was no color in

screen appeared in front of me, and I looked at it with a

this skill. Who would've thought it could've been used

grant the user the ability to summon a shadow servant for an extended period of time. There will be 50% resemblance between the shadow servant and the user in terms of skill and strength. Cooldown period:

my status window. Indeed, just before Jezebeth appeared, I switched my body with the

body, but at the same time, I didn't feel any strangeness from it.

as well as without this body, and in fact,

just how big the difference between the other me and me was. Just 50% of his strength was about the same as my current