The Author's POV

It all happened so quickly, but when she felt 'his' gaze fall on her for just a split second, time seemed to come to an abrupt halt, and so did her world.

His expression was the same as usual—a little aged. Perhaps a little different, but it wasn't so different from how it had always been.

Yet, for some reason, in that moment, it felt as though that simple gaze told her a thousand words.

He nodded at her and said something.

She couldn't quite make out what those words were.

That was because she knew exactly what he was going to do, and in that moment, her mind blanked.

Her usually brilliant mind blanked, and she dully stood on the ground, staring up toward the sky, which was soon enveloped by a brilliant white light that came directly from her father's body. It enveloped the sky in its entirety.

BOOOM—!

That was the last thing she saw before a terrifying explosion covered the sky, and she was hurled a great distance away from the scene.

BANG—!

She collided with a tree, and if it weren't for the protective shield that materialized around her just as she was about to make contact with the tree, she likely would have sustained significant injuries.

"Ugh."

With a groan, she forced herself to look up, and that was when she realized that the mist that had blanketed the sky previously had completely disappeared.

Her mind, which seemed stained with something moments prior, seemed to clear up.

But none of that concerned her at the moment. What she was concerned about was something else, and she hastily looked around in the sky for any signs of 'him'.

But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find him. In fact, she couldn't see anything, and her legs started to go numb.

That was until a hand pressed against her shoulder and a familiar voice reached her ear.

"…He's gone."

"W..what?"

When she turned her head, she caught sight of a hazy, almost transparent figure.

"Who are you?"

She thought he sounded familiar, but the way he looked… was that really who she thought he was?

"It's me."

His voice was hoarse, almost feeble, but when he turned his head and their eyes met, Melissa understood that it was really him.

did you get here?

"No."

stared into the distance. Toward

"Are you really fine?"

"…"

answer. It was a question she didn't know the answer to. Was she fine? She didn't

She just felt… empty.

didn't

found everything hard

"I… I don't know."

out her glasses, her vision started to blur, and

she could've had her eyesight fixed a long

She was rich and was smart enough to produce a potion that

just didn't want

her from feeling people's gazes on her and give

around her at the moment apart from Ren,

see

***

'She's surprisingly calm.'

me. At least, that was what I

too sure, but I didn't have

entire body was writhing, and the pain that was permeating every part of

that he made things

I knew that things weren't over

no state to properly

was something that I had to do before coming here, and that took almost everything from me. But it

Swoosh—!

certain area in the sky and looked around me. That was until my attention was eventually drawn to a dark spot in the sky. It was writhing

didn't waste a second

looks like I've arrived

against the blob, and the moment I made contact with it, I felt a soothing energy spread throughout my

and the excruciating pain that had been pulsating through every part

of times already, and my comprehension of the laws

more I found

destroying it from the outside. It still

"You… who are you?"

warm sensation, I heard a certain voice, and when I looked

the power that radiated from his body was also nothing to scoff

you really be talking to me when you're in that

froze in place. Golden runes whirled

my composure. In spite of this,

of my vision. A powerful force soon enveloped the area that the demon and I were in,

were like that, but when my sight returned, I found myself standing in

sink in, but pain unlike anything I'd ever felt before