The Author's POV

Ren lay on the ground, his body bruised and battered, unable to move. He felt weak and with the chains sucking the mana out of his, his breath came in ragged gasps. Then, a soft voice echoed throughout, piercing through the haze of pain.

"You're strong, Ren, but you've gravely miscalculated the amount of time it would take for him to gather toward all seven pillars..."

The voice said, and he strained to listen, turning his head towards the source.

There, standing before the sun, was a figure that cast a brilliant glow. Ren squinted against the blinding light, trying to make out Jezebeth's figure that was hidden behind the glowing light of the sun.

He looked powerful at this moment…

More powerful than he had ever seen him in the past.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Ren strained with every last ounce of his strength, extending his hand towards Jezebeth and tearing at the chains in his way.

As he covered his figure with his hand, his vision darkened, and he no longer needed to squint. Simultaneously, he sensed an immense power gathering above him, the air trembling with its intensity.

Ren was prepared for it.

He gazed at the chains binding him, briefly closing his eyes, and then slowly clenched his hand.

Chains... he wasn't unfamiliar with them. He had been bound by them for a very long time, especially ones that had been imbued with the laws.

They were like an extension of his body by this point, and they didn't bother him very much.

When he opened his eyes again, sunlight filtered through his fingers as his extended hand, which was aimed above his face, came to a close.

Cr...Crack!

With a resounding crack, the space around Jezebeth shattered like a broken mirror, revealing his figure, frozen, and standing behind the fractured barrier.

"If someone has miscalculated, it's you... Jezebeth."

Ren muttered in a low tone, his eyes fixed on the chains still clinging to his hand. He clenched both fists, and the chains disintegrated into tiny particles, followed by the chains that bound his feet.

Ren reached for a potion, slowly rising to his feet and patting down his clothes.

"As I said before..."

His vision suddenly blurred, and he reappeared in front of Jezebeth, who was trapped behind the shattered glass, seemingly frozen.

"...You only got a fraction of your deductions correct."

Ren pressed his hand forward, shattering the space around Jezebeth, and his figure vanished into nothingness.

Crash—! What followed was utter and complete silence as a gentle breeze blew past, scattering Ren's hair slightly.

"..."

Ren stood motionless, staring at the spot where Jezebeth used to be before suddenly bringing his hand over to his mouth.

"Pftt."

A dark red substance filtered past the narrow gaps of his fingers as his face became incomparably pale. Although his expression had no change, his entire figure was trembling.

Clearly, what he had just done had taken a huge toll on his body.

A testament to this was the fact that he soon felt his body plummet to the streets beneath, crashing down on them and breaking a few cars along the way.

BANG—!

"Haaa… haaa…"

the

apart. The

that it'd be of no use

the extent

occasion, he would've been able to last a lot longer. In

current situation was

at

around the pillars, collecting the remnants of the Protectors, and

had to restrict the amount of mana he could use. It put him at a severe disadvantage and made things a lot

But that was fine…

was the path that

"Haaaa…"

stared at the sky

For now…

he could

He had done enough.

Cr— Crash!

space around

***

WOOOM—!

a couple of steps forward until he fell to his

beneath, he looked up at the sky and stared at

sight. When he looked around him and saw the crumbled

"Finally… we're back."

the moment. He

had happened before continued to flash

"D-damn it."

more

him, and yet all he could do

even do

same was

If only…

not the

to calm down. He was no longer a teenager. He could no longer dwell on such matters as he did in the

to keep himself focused on the goal

Mourning came later.

Rumble—! Rumble—!

rumbling coming from the distance, he was reminded of what he needed to do,

"Nothing's changed."

the location of

need to get into

send a message to the others and verify

WOOOM—!

Thump—! Thump—!

turned his head to see Emma appear from the dimensional crack. She had awakened not too long after the Pillar had collapsed,

to her was Leopold's

"H..help me."

out for him as she heavily gulped for air,

"Ah… yes."

up, Ryan moved toward Emma and offered her a couple of

these; it should help

didn't even

was lying next to Leopold's body, and he didn't want to be reminded of

Not again.

have

didn't give you

at Emma. At a glance, she seemed to have recovered somewhat, and she

look like you need any, so

"Not me, idiot."