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.

he did, Jezebeth pressed his hands together, and that was when

directly onto Ren's body which

BOOOOM—!

figure came crashing down from the sky, landing against the ground beneath and creating a massive

should have

could hear the sudden gasp of anxiety coming from those beneath. He didn't pay much attention

caught sight of Ren lying down in the middle

the side of his mouth,

that, his eyes were wide open, and

WIIIING—!

As expected.

to avoid the incoming attack, but just as he did, a hand came grasping at his head, and he felt it smash against

BAANG—!

his head, and his head was brought up once more before

BAANG—!

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

BAANG—!

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

the sound of bones breaking, and whatever was grasping at his head let go, and Jezebeth was able

sight of Ren's arm,

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

that his right arm was injured, Jezebeth

Swoosh!

abdomen. Complex golden

BANG—!

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 raised up

complex golden

Swoosh!

fist back and

BANG—!

before they knew it, the crater that they were in had become even

that the light that was coming from the sky above

cared as they continued to fight against each

BANG—!

to land directly on Jezebeth's face, sending him crashing against the ground.

Rumble! Rumble!

close to him began to twist, and all of a sudden, a powerful force erupted from out of

Cr— Crack!

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

ground began to crack, and

mana that was contained within his body began to drain at a rapid rate, he did not give up and continued to call

"Ukh!"

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

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

Creack! Creak!

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

"Go."

pointed his finger at Jezebeth,

Rumble! Rumble!

surroundings shook massively, and the earth around them collapsed. Wherever the sword

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

danger, he gradually closed his eyes, succumbing to a serene stillness that

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

descended upon the world, intertwining with the tranquility of Jezebeth's

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

"..."

*Grip*

left Ren utterly dumbfounded as the

movement, the most powerful movement in

astonishment didn't end

"Argkhhhhh!"

Jezebeth's body shattered, revealing the

with an imposing

a deliberate purpose, manipulating the sword's trajectory until it aligned menacingly with Ren, its tip pointing directly at him

"I.. h… how?!"

sword, Ren

have the luxury of continuing to dwell on the matter for too long, and as he clenched his teeth, power began to erupt from his body as veins began to protrude along the sides of his

of pieces, and he puked up blood. He

"Pfttt."

a result, and it was right then that he felt something

hand away

BANG—!

and he was pushed several steps back. He felt his blood boil at the

a

BANG—!

once again connected with something, and the

BANG—!

a while until, eventually, Jezebeth opened his mouth,

"Seal."

ground and coiled around Ren's body like snakes. The chains came from everywhere. Above him, the side of the crater,

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, and that was what Jezebeth was looking

in front of Ren and

BANG—!

distorted with pain, and his body floated up. The chains that were binding his body shattered, and

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

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

Swoosh!

happened so fast that Jezebeth was

his cheek, Jezebeth's

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

"!!"

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 razor-sharp tips ominously aimed at

the spectacle sent shockwaves through Jezebeth's core, forcing him to employ every available resource in his arsenal to halt his descent before