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…"

Ren stared at the distant sun with a

and his bones were on the verge of breaking apart. The extent of his injuries was so severe that Ren didn't even bother taking out a potion to

that it'd be of no

is… the extent of

he would've been able to last a lot longer. In fact, he would've perhaps even been able

situation

at

was still lurking around the pillars, collecting the remnants of the

of mana he could use. It put him at

But that was fine…

the path

"Haaaa…"

another deep breath, Ren stared at the

For now…

he could

He had done enough.

Cr— Crash!

around him

***

WOOOM—!

space, Ryan stumbled a couple of steps forward until he fell

up at the sky and stared at the

blue sky… It was a familiar sight. When he looked around him and

"Finally… we're back."

moment. He wasn't sure

to flash in his

"D-damn it."

more talented in combat instead of

yet all he could do was watch as he died right before

even

same was

If only…

not the

He was no longer a teenager. He could no longer dwell on

had to keep himself focused on

Mourning came later.

Rumble—! Rumble—!

the muffled rumbling coming from the distance, he was reminded

"Nothing's changed."

was the location of

need to get into contact

phone, Ryan was just about to send a message to the others and verify who was there, when, all of a sudden, he

WOOOM—!

Thump—! Thump—!

from the dimensional crack. She had awakened not too long after the Pillar had collapsed, and despite his offer to assist her, she had declined

to her

"H..help me."

for him as she heavily gulped

"Ah… yes."

Ryan moved toward Emma and offered her

it should help you

didn't

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

Not again.

have

give

she seemed to have recovered somewhat, and she still

look like you need any,

"Not me, idiot."