The Author's POV

Crash―!

Smallsnake wasn't sure what had happened. Just moments prior, he was under Jezebeth's grasp, and seconds later, he found himself in a large forest.

Blinking his eyes a couple of times, his mind regained some clarity, and he looked around him.

"Where is this?"

Looking at the unfamiliar environment, Smallsnake wasn't sure exactly where he was. The only thing he knew was that he wasn't anywhere near where Ren and Jezebeth were.

'Did he purposely send me here?'

He could still remember his last moments. It happened in an instant, but he understood that the one responsible for all of this was Ren.

…The other Ren.

Where exactly was the Ren he knew?

"Ugh."

With a sigh, he reached into his dimensional space and pulled out a white mask. It had been a while since he had worn it, but he knew that it was necessary if he wanted to blend in with the demons.

As he stared at the mask, he couldn't help but think about the past two years that he had spent with Jezebeth.

It had been a challenging experience, but it had also taught him a lot. Despite the fear and hatred that he had initially felt towards Jezebeth, he had come to understand him better and even found him tolerable.

While he looked terrifying on the outside, he wasn't as scary as Smallsnake originally thought him to be.

He was just… committed.

In his eyes, he only had one goal, and he was the type of person to do anything to achieve that goal, even using underhanded methods.

He seemed rather desperate, and that was when Smallsnake understood he wasn't too different from Ren.

"Haaa… Still, it's been a while since I felt like this…"

Bending down and resting both of his arms on his knees, Smallsnake caught his breath.

After two agonizing years, he was finally free. He felt a mixture of different emotions, and they all came so suddenly that he found himself unable to process them all.

He had a place to return, and that had been his goal since the very beginning.

From the very beginning, his actions had one goal. To get back home. Even if it resulted in him helping out the demons in the process.

At the same time that he helped them, he was also helping himself. Honing his skills and getting a better understanding of how the demons operated.

He made a name for himself, and the mask in his hand represented his status. His achievements.

His capabilities.

It represented who he was now, and it was something he held very dearly.

Slowly, Smallsnake placed the mask over his face, and he took a calm breath. Looking around the forest, he calmly stood up and, without further ado, headed toward the right side.

He could feel a few presences coming from there.

*

'…The problem is that none of us are strong enough to even come close to the Pillar Master. I don't even know if Ren is strong enough… maybe he is, but I'm not sure.'

'So long as the Pillar Master is alive, we are stuck here, and we can only hope for a miracle to happen.'

It was a set of familiar voices. Moving around the forest, Smallsnake's feet came to a sudden halt when he heard a set of familiar words.

but at the moment, he

Ba...Thump! Ba...Thump!

quivered at

Rustle―! Rustle―!

gaze was immediately drawn toward a group of three, and his entire

He recognized them immediately.

looked exactly as they had since he had last seen them. No, upon

them left

a lot longer than

It really

flooded his mind at that very moment, and his body trembled. He

He…

had dreamed many times and replayed this moment in his mind just as many

but as he stared at them, he found himself unable

just stuck there… unable to utter a single thing, and soon,

with Angelica's hostile gaze

"Strategist."

***

of Hein and Ava, her eyes warily staring at the man

in front

He reminded her of a certain

his looks fool

he was someone else. Someone

sharp gaze surveyed the surroundings, looking for any

him, he was always accompanied by multiple guards. The majority of them were powerful, and she feared that

to the

was still far from reaching

looks like everything

did her expression. After a thorough check, she was

need to engage in a fight with him yet. I'll see

him, she did think she could buy

you here,

entire body stiffened, as did Hein's and Ava's. Mouths agape, they stared at the strategist, who slowly removed his mask to reveal a face the

smile on his face, he opened his

a

all too

it when they had been nagged by that very same voice a thousand times

'Clean up after yourself!'

your clothes on the

you think I am,

flood of bottled up emotions almost burst forth out of Ava and

"Don't be fooled!"

gaze

is a trap! Don't get fooled

that he resembled him visually, sounded

'It's not him!'

boiled inside of her at the moment as she glared at

tactics. You may be able to

her gnashed teeth, and a terrifying presence burst out of her body,

Crash―!

body staggered against the ground before crashing against a large tree in the distance.

able

"Angelica!"

"Angelica, wait!"

and Hein, who tried to hold

"Let go."

aback by Angelica's sudden shift in demeanor as they