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.

that was when two large projections manifested around the area

moved closer together and pressed directly onto Ren's body which

BOOOOM—!

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

have

gasp of anxiety coming from those beneath. He didn't pay much attention to them and took a single

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

the side of his mouth, and his

open, and they were locked directly at

WIIIING—!

As expected.

ground beneath him trembled, and something flashed right behind him. Twisting his body, Jexezbeth was just barely able to avoid the

BAANG—!

in his mouth, Jezebeth felt something tug at the back of his head, and his head was brought up once

BAANG—!

as he tried to move his body, his head was pulled at again,

BAANG—!

as his vision blurred. Reaching out with his hand, he grasped at the

was similar to the sound of bones breaking, and whatever was grasping at

Jezebeth caught sight of Ren's arm,

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

injured, Jezebeth aimed for

Swoosh!

sudden breeze, he aimed a punch directly at the side of Ren's exposed abdomen. Complex golden runes

BANG—!

with something, the space crumbled, and a large explosion reverberated. Dust flew into the air, blocking his vision, but with one swipe of his hand, the dust settled, and when he looked to see the aftermath of his attack, he

golden runes revolved

Swoosh!

above, and Jezebeth retrieved his fist back and counterattacked with a kick,

BANG—!

was around them, and before they knew

depth that the light that was coming from the sky above them began to dim, and all that they

neither cared as they continued to fight against

BANG—!

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

Rumble! Rumble!

sudden, a powerful force erupted from out of his body and engulfed everything that was in

Cr— Crack!

and the

tip appeared, the ground began to

to gradually pale at the sight of the sword, and the mana that was contained within his body began to drain at

"Ukh!"

expression started to distort. Even so, his efforts began to pay off, and the sword quickly began to appear from behind the chasm, revealing its body in all of its

surrounding them came to a sudden standstill, and

Creack! Creak!

sword was producing, but he didn't care and fixed his eyes on

"Go."

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

Rumble! Rumble!

massively, and the earth around them collapsed. Wherever the sword passed, it would leave

unwavering composure, fixating his gaze upon the approaching sword with an

gesture that defied the imminent danger, he gradually closed his eyes, succumbing to a serene stillness that permeated both his external

given up, but Ren knew... he knew that this was

the world, intertwining

himself inexplicably positioned directly behind the sword, his hand instinctively reaching out to

"..."

*Grip*

Ren utterly dumbfounded as the unstoppable momentum of the

the gravity of the situation to sink in, as the sixth movement,

the astonishment

"Argkhhhhh!"

the armor encasing Jezebeth's body shattered, revealing

bulging muscles pulsated with an imposing presence, exuding

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 of

"I.. h… how?!"

his own sword, Ren was left utterly shocked, and his face

on the matter for too long, and as he clenched his teeth, power

and he puked up blood. He had no choice but to cancel

"Pfttt."

of steps back as a result, and it

moved his hand away from

BANG—!

fist landed squarely against another, and he was pushed several steps back. He felt his blood

thrust a

BANG—!

kick once again connected with something,

BANG—!

on for quite a while until, eventually, Jezebeth opened his mouth,

"Seal."

Ren's body like snakes. The chains came from everywhere. Above him, the side of

that were surrounding him showed signs of cracking, but they didn't

that moment, he appeared right in

BANG—!

hit. Landing his fist against his abdomen, Jezebeth watched as Ren's expression distorted with pain, and his body floated up. The chains that were binding

and when he looked down, he saw Ren's body

forward, he opened up his palm. Golden runes appeared all over his hand, and just as Ren's body was about to come crashing against his

Swoosh!

that Jezebeth was

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

was nothing short of astonishing; a faint vapor cloud appeared behind him

"!!"

in disbelief at the sight that awaited him—a vast multitude of sword projections adorned with

of the spectacle sent 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