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.

together, and that was when two large projections manifested around the area Ren

and pressed directly onto Ren's body

BOOOOM—!

down from the sky, landing against the ground beneath and

should have

Jezebeth could hear the sudden gasp of anxiety coming from those beneath. He

where he caught sight of Ren lying down in the middle of the crater.

the side of his mouth, and his

wide open,

WIIIING—!

As expected.

avoid the incoming attack, but just as he did, a hand came grasping at his head, and

BAANG—!

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

BAANG—!

his head was pulled at again, and once again, his head came smacking

BAANG—!

vision blurred. Reaching out with his hand, he grasped at the forearm that was grasping at his hand, and he squeezed with everything that he

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

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

the offensive again.

right arm was injured, Jezebeth aimed

Swoosh!

the side of Ren's exposed abdomen. Complex golden runes manifested all over his hand,

BANG—!

the dust settled, and when he looked to see the aftermath of his attack, he was surprised to see his fist hitting against the side of Ren's knee, which was

like his fist, complex golden runes

Swoosh!

from above, and Jezebeth retrieved his fist back and

BANG—!

them, and before they knew it, the crater that

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

neither cared as they continued to fight against each

BANG—!

against the ground. Ren

Rumble! Rumble!

close to him began to twist, and all of a sudden, a powerful force erupted from out of his body and engulfed everything that

Cr— Crack!

the area above him, and the tip of a sword appeared

began to crack, and the air started to

that Ren's complexion began to gradually pale at the sight of the sword, and the mana that was contained within his body began to drain at a rapid rate, he

"Ukh!"

and his expression started to distort. Even so, his efforts began to pay off, and the sword quickly began to appear from

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

Creack! Creak!

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

"Go."

he pointed his finger at Jezebeth, and

Rumble! Rumble!

around them collapsed. Wherever the sword passed, it

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

a gesture that defied the imminent danger, he gradually closed his eyes, succumbing to a

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

the world, intertwining

found himself inexplicably positioned directly

"..."

*Grip*

Ren utterly dumbfounded as the unstoppable momentum of the

movement, the most powerful movement

the astonishment didn't

"Argkhhhhh!"

cry that pierced the air, the armor encasing Jezebeth's body shattered, revealing the

bulging muscles pulsated with an imposing presence, exuding

upon Ren, Jezebeth's hand began to move with a deliberate purpose, manipulating the sword's trajectory until

"I.. h… how?!"

Ren was left utterly shocked, and his face

continuing to dwell on the matter for too long, and as he clenched

into hundreds of pieces, and he puked up blood. He had no choice but to cancel his own

"Pfttt."

a result, and

of pure instinct, he moved his hand away from

BANG—!

felt his blood boil at the collision, but he bore through the pain

thrust a kick

BANG—!

with something,

BANG—!

went 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 the crater, and beneath the ground, coiling around every part of his body and trapping him like a

glow manifested around his body as complex golden runes covered his entire body. The chains that were surrounding him showed signs of cracking, but they didn't break immediately,

that moment, he appeared right in front of Ren and

BANG—!

his body floated up. The chains that were binding his

shifted, and when he looked down,

runes appeared all over his hand, and just as Ren's body was about to come

Swoosh!

so fast that Jezebeth

Jezebeth's vision distorted, spinning wildly as he

of his descent was nothing short of astonishing; a faint vapor

"!!"

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

to employ every available resource in