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.

was them, but at

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

quivered

Rustle―! Rustle―!

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

He recognized them immediately.

them. No, upon closer look, he realized they looked more mature than he had

of them

suddenly felt a lot longer than

It really

flooded his mind at that very moment, and his body trembled. He had longed for this very moment for a very long

He…

times and replayed this moment in his mind just as many

to say at this very moment, but as he stared at them, he found himself unable to utter a single one of the things he wanted to say to

just stuck there… unable to utter a single thing, and soon, his eyes met with the

to his expectations, he was met with Angelica's hostile gaze as her icy words echoed through the

"Strategist."

***

in front of Hein and Ava, her eyes warily

to be confused as to who the person in front of them was,

front of him, he seemed completely harmless… He reminded her of a certain someone,

let his looks fool

several times that he was someone else.

gaze surveyed the surroundings, looking for

had the opportunity to see him, he was always accompanied by multiple guards. The majority of them were powerful, and she feared that such guards were

wasn't arrogant to the point where she believed herself

still far from reaching the

like

her expression. After a thorough check, she was under the impression that he was

no need to engage in a fight with him yet. I'll see how this

think she could buy herself

you

stared at the strategist, who slowly removed his mask to reveal a face the three of them were all too

a soft smile on his face,

a while,

all too

they forget it when they had been nagged by that very same voice

'Clean up after yourself!'

clothes on

do you think I

almost burst forth out of Ava and Hein, but they were

"Don't be fooled!"

shouted, her gaze

where you are! This is a trap! Don't

fact that he resembled him visually, sounded like him, and everything pointed to the fact that it was

'It's not him!'

of her at the moment as

to fool them, but you can't

her body, enveloping Smallsnake's

Crash―!

staggered against the ground before crashing against a large tree in the distance. Angelica's attack

would've been able to react in

"Angelica!"

"Angelica, wait!"

Ava and Hein, who tried to hold

"Let go."

taken aback by Angelica's sudden shift in