The Author's POV

"I,is that Ren?"

Overhearing Donna's shocked mutter, Amanda turned her head and stared at the fight that was happening above them.

BOOM—!

Dunes shattered, and the very air the two were in showed signs of cracking. It was clear as day that the two of them were on a completely different level than anybody else present.

"Since when did he become so strong?"

Amanda couldn't blame them for looking so shocked.

She, too, was shocked by Ren's power. She had originally thought she had a grasp of what his power was, but it seemed like she had underestimated him severely.

'…and here I thought I could catch up to him in the past five years.'

She had trained hard.

Extremely hard in the past few years.

It was all with the goal of getting closer to him in strength. She thought that she had somewhat bridged the gap that existed between the two of them, but she had grossly underestimated just how monstrous Ren was.

'But why does he look like that?'

There was something odd about Ren's appearance… he was completely black, and his expression was somewhat dull.

She couldn't quite understand what was going on with him, but seeing how he was handling that monster of a demon, she assumed that he was using some sort of skill.

One that she wasn't aware of.

Boom—!

"Ren!"

Amanda was startled by the sight of him crashing against a nearby dune. With sand spilling in the air, her vision of him became obscured.

She immediately became worried, and just as she was about to rush up to him, she stopped herself and bit her lips.

"No... I can't."

'If I go now, I'll only make things more difficult for him.'

Staring at Donna and Monica, who were about to stop her, she calmed herself down and lowered her head.

"I know; you don't have to stop me. I'm not going."

It quickly became apparent that this was the extent of her powers.

At the moment, she could only watch Ren getting beat up by that monstrous demon, who seemed to have suddenly gotten a lot stronger.

Boom—! Boom—!

The fight continued, and the situation started to deteriorate quickly.

If Amanda had to describe the fight in a few words, it'd be 'one-sided'. Ren… He was getting manhandled by the Prince, who seemed to be toying with him.

'He was just doing fine before... Why did things suddenly change?'

She had witnessed Ren have the upper hand in the beginning, but out of nowhere, things started to turn for the worst suddenly.

It soon became clear to her and everyone else that the Prince was becoming stronger with each moment the two of them fought.

"Hup."

occasions, Amanda had to cover her mouth with the brutality of what

witnessed his arms disappear out of

over after that, but to her surprise, he regrew his arms and launched a

in the world did he do during

words attracted Amanda's attention, and her

Indeed…

happened during the time when

"Hey, look!"

didn't need to be told

demon's head,

***

"Uhhhh."

contact with the Prince's head. I felt the pores on my body open up as an indescribable power started to filter into

at that moment as I absorbed all of that power, and slowly, I started to feel an

the laws grew stronger, and

feel reinvigorated, and

"Argh!"

moment I started to absorb the laws in his body,

"H.. how..."

didn't let him continue his sentence as I continued to absorb

around the Prince's body started to increase as the air around us

but I endured the pain and

"Stay put."

I injected the power of the laws into my own body, the space around the Prince warped and distorted, and his body

increase my grip on his head further

ever had before, and within a few seconds of making contact, I had taken

just about

anymore, I quickly let go, and the Prince's body disappeared from

"Ha…haa… You…"

looked at me, both startled and incensed. Touching

you done to

"Nothing much."

my hands, which were covered in murky white light. As compared to before, the laws

all was well. Staring at my hands, which were flickering, I knew that the skill [Dark Servant] had

was a consequence of obtaining and using

from using the laws as

a high chance the skill would deactivate,

couldn't allow that

to control the same power as

the demon's words, I raised my head and looked up at him. Seeing the confused look

to you, it would

brought my sword forward

"Let's finish this."

Boom—!

projection, double the size of what it usually was,

"Arkgh!"

in the past, was no longer able to cope with it and

BANG—!

coming into contact with the sword, his entire body took

"Not bad."

staring at the

of my attack had increased, and now I

and pointed it once again in

"Crumble."

area where the

"Uakh!"