The Author's POV

'I'm hurt?'

Staring at his hands, which were soaked in his own blood, Jezebeth was left in wonder. He hadn't expected his attack to be as devastating as it had been.

If not for his armor, he probably would've sustained heavier injuries.

It came from out of nowhere, and he was barely able to resist it. Raising his head to stare at Ren, who was huffing and puffing, Jezebeth felt something boiling inside of him.

'Right… It's not good if I don't reciprocate his intentions.'

Seeing that the attack had taken a toll on him, Jezebeth suppressed his injuries and forced himself forward. With a subtle blur of his vision, he saw Ren's back in front of him, and he reached out with his palm forward.

Golden runes enveloped his palm, and the space around his hand shattered.

A blade immediately blocked the hand just as it was about to reach Ren's back. He didn't know when, but Ren had suddenly turned around and slashed with his sword.

The two stared at each other silently as the space around them started to crumble.

There were no words exchanged with each other like before. Neither left any time to spare any words as they distanced themselves from each other and attacked one another.

BOOOM—! The attacks were devastating, shattering the space around them and creating large waves in the air that spread throughout the entire sky.

Everything beneath them tore apart, and the land disintegrated at their every exchange.

Neither of the two held any advantage. While Jezebeth was indeed injured from the previous strike, Ren had exhausted himself in the process, evening things out.

SHIIIIIIING—!

A bright glow of terrifying pressure suddenly headed Jezebeth's way. It was fast—extremely so. In a matter of seconds, it was upon him, and just as it was about to graze his nose, Jezebeth placed his palm against the side of the glow, and the glow shattered into a fine dust.

Swoosh!

Sensing something behind him, Jezebeth's body twisted as he kicked, and his foot hit something soft.

"Umpf!"

Overhearing something, Jezebeth knew that his hit had landed, and when he came to, he saw Ren's figure hurl away from him in the sky.

He didn't waste a single second of that moment.

Locking his eyes on Ren's figure, Jezebeth pressed his finger forward, and a gigantic crack formed a couple of meters ahead of Ren.

A large projection of his finger appeared from within the crack, and as if it had been timed just right, it moved down and directly pressed against Ren's moving figure.

BOOOM—!

The attack landed squarely on Ren's body, and he spat a mouthful of blood as his body continued to hurl away from Jezebeth.

Ren's body took the full force of the attack, and as his body continued to fly away from him, he spat out a mouthful of blood and coughed up more.

Jezebeth did not pass up such an opportunity and followed him from behind, eventually appearing right in front of him and pressing his hand against his face as he did so.

Swoosh—!

Attempting to contort his body and evade Jezebeth's hand, Ren acted swiftly but fell slightly short. His efforts proved futile as Jezebeth's hand firmly made contact with his face and grasped onto it tightly.

BANG—!

Exerting an immense force, Jezebeth's hand unleashed a surge of power, propelling Ren's body through the air with great momentum. Seizing the opportunity without hesitation, Jezebeth swiftly positioned himself directly beneath Ren, extending his knee in a forceful thrust.

"Aukh!"

Spit flew from Ren's mouth as he landed directly on Jezebeth's knee.

Though faint, Jezebeth could make out a faint cracking sound, and he knew that Ren had sustained some injuries.

Still… He didn't let go.

Jezebeth wasn't the type of person to show mercy to those against him.

Grabbing Ren by the hair, he raised his head toward him and punched at his face.

BANG—!

His fist landed squarely in his face.

BANG—!

He didn't stop at just one punch.

BANG—!

Jezebeth's fist was encased in a white and black glow as he continued to punch Ren's face with all of his strength while simultaneously driving his fist further forward.

BANG—!

It wasn't long before his fist was coated in Ren's blood as it dripped down from his fist.

The warm, viscous fluid trickled down, forming streams that traced intricate patterns along his fingers, carrying with it the evidence of the fierce impact.

A metallic scent filled the air, mingling with the intensity of the moment, as Jezebeth's resolute gaze remained fixed upon the sight.

The sight of Ren's blood became a stark reminder of all the struggle he had to go through just to get to this point, etching a lasting impression upon Jezebeth's conscience even as the battle raged on.

Extending his hand forward and staring at Ren's limping figure in front of him, Jezebeth tried to reach out with his hand to absorb the laws in his body, but just as he tried, as Jezebeth's hand inched closer, a sudden rift materialized in the surrounding space, originating from the vicinity of his arm.

Within the crevice, a spectral manifestation of a sword took shape, its gleaming presence amplifying the already charged atmosphere.

WIIIIIIIIING—!

Jezebeth was left with no other option, so he let go of Ren's body as it descended from the sky.

hands together, and that was when

directly onto Ren's

BOOOOM—!

explosion, Ren's figure came crashing down from the sky, landing against the ground beneath and creating a

should have done

coming from those beneath. He didn't pay much attention to them

touch the ground, he looked down, and that was where he caught sight of Ren lying down in the middle of the crater. His clothes were

down from the side of his mouth,

his eyes were wide open, and they

WIIIING—!

As expected.

just barely able to avoid the incoming attack, but just as he did, a hand came

BAANG—!

back of his head, and his head was brought up once more

BAANG—!

he didn't particularly like, but as he tried to move his body, his head was pulled at again, and once again, his head came smacking against the hard ground

BAANG—!

he grasped at the forearm that was grasping at his

breaking, and whatever was grasping at his head let go, and Jezebeth

caught sight of Ren's arm, which was bent at a weird angle

sight and decided to go on the offensive again. As if he was going to let such an

that his right arm was injured, Jezebeth aimed for Ren's

Swoosh!

a punch directly at the side of Ren's exposed abdomen. Complex golden runes manifested all over his hand, and wherever his hand passed, the space

BANG—!

of his hand, the dust settled, and when he looked to see the aftermath of

fist, complex golden

Swoosh!

above, and Jezebeth retrieved his fist back and counterattacked with a kick, which Ren avoided by bending his body

BANG—!

attack destroyed everything that was around them, and before they knew it, the crater that they were in had become

coming from the sky above them began to dim, and all that they were

continued to

BANG—!

directly on Jezebeth's face, sending him crashing against the ground. Ren took the moment to distance

Rumble! Rumble!

a sudden, a

Cr— Crack!

in the area above him, and the tip of a sword appeared from behind

ground began to crack,

the sword, and the mana that was contained within his body began to drain at a rapid rate, he did

"Ukh!"

to pay off, and the sword quickly began to appear from behind the chasm, revealing

them came to a sudden standstill, and the world around them started to

Creack! Creak!

was producing, but he didn't care and fixed his eyes on Jezebeth, who was staring at the sword in front

"Go."

he pointed his finger at Jezebeth, and the sword moved toward

Rumble! Rumble!

Wherever the sword passed,

devastation, Jezebeth maintained an unwavering composure, fixating his gaze upon the approaching sword with an eerie

he gradually closed his eyes, succumbing to a serene stillness that permeated both his external surroundings

glance, he looked to have given up, but Ren knew... he knew that

the world, intertwining with the

their vision once more, Jezebeth found himself inexplicably positioned directly behind the sword, his hand instinctively reaching out

"..."

*Grip*

Ren utterly dumbfounded as the

sixth movement, the most powerful movement in his arsenal, found itself tamed by the sheer force

astonishment didn't

"Argkhhhhh!"

that pierced the air, the armor encasing Jezebeth's body

with an imposing presence, exuding

upon Ren, Jezebeth's hand began to move with a deliberate purpose, manipulating the sword's trajectory until it aligned menacingly with Ren, its tip pointing directly at him like a harbinger

"I.. h… how?!"

the tip of his own sword, Ren was left utterly shocked, and

Ren, he did not have the luxury of continuing to dwell on the matter for too long, and as he clenched his teeth,

of pieces, and he puked up blood. He had no

"Pfttt."

couple of steps back as a result, and it was right then

hand away from his mouth and

BANG—!

He felt his blood boil at the collision, but he

thrust a kick

BANG—!

with something,

BANG—!

while until, eventually, Jezebeth opened

"Seal."

him, the side of the crater, and beneath the ground, coiling around every part of his body

covered his entire body. The chains that were surrounding him showed signs of cracking, but they didn't break immediately, and that was what Jezebeth was

he appeared right in

BANG—!

up. The chains that were binding his body shattered, and his figure hurled up into the sky, coming out from the hole they were

he looked down, he saw Ren's body coming at him from

hand, and just as Ren's body was about to come crashing against his palm, his

Swoosh!

all happened so fast that Jezebeth was barely able to

overwhelming force that jolted against the side of his cheek, Jezebeth's vision distorted, spinning wildly as he found himself hurtling uncontrollably toward the ground

astonishing; a faint vapor cloud

"!!"

he cast his gaze downward, his eyes widened in disbelief at the sight that awaited him—a vast multitude of sword projections adorned with intricate golden runes erupted from the very ground, their

shockwaves through Jezebeth's core, forcing him to employ every available resource in his arsenal to halt his descent before meeting the deadly convergence of