The Author's POV

'You're in my domain. So long as we're in here, I'll keep getting stronger and stronger. Whatever you do, it's futile.'

The clues were always there.

It was just that such an option wasn't really feasible. If the pillar crumbled, what would happen to those who were within the pillar?

It was a question that had plagued my mind since the very beginning and stopped me from doing the obvious. 

That… however, only crossed my mind at the very beginning.

Reminding myself of what had happened to my family because of my indecisiveness and realizing that I had no other option, I realized what I needed to do. 

It was as if something had snapped within me, and such questions stopped bothering me.

All I cared about at the moment was winning.

I wanted nothing more than to kill and satiate the numbness I was feeling.

'That's right. Who cares about what happens next… I'll solve nothing if I keep pondering over these matters... I can always deal with the aftermath of my actions later.'

Thus, I didn't think twice before channeling the laws within my body.

Boom—!

Crashing against the dunes beneath, I injected the laws beneath the ground as golden runes and words sank into the sand beneath before moving to another dune and repeating the process.

"Stop dodging."

A hand came and grasped at my throat.

When I looked up, I saw the Prince of Wrath staring menacingly at me with his crimson pupils.

His power was a lot higher than it was before, and it only kept increasing as the fight went on. I was no longer his match, but that was of no concern to me.

'I think that's enough.'

Cr...Crack! 

Raising both of my hands, I twisted my neck, and my vision grew dark.

A sharp pain spread across my neck, sizzling down my back like a web of electricity.

My mana, along with the laws, depleted rapidly, and the tightness that I felt in my throat disappeared.

I wasn't exactly sure what had happened next. I couldn't really see or feel anything. It was just… dark and silent.

Eerily silent.

I wasn't sure how long it had been like that, but the sensation didn't last very long at all. My vision quickly returned, and I found that I was standing in the clouds. 

The normal sky. 

The one that belonged to Earth.

What remained of the pillar and the surrounding debris were scattered beneath me. They dispersed themselves across the land, wreaking havoc on the echo systems that were buried below.

It wasn't a pretty sight, but that was of no concern to me at the moment. Raising my head, my gaze paused on the Prince of Wrath.

Finally, I smiled.

"It seems like you can no longer continue."

The dark red hue that had been enveloping his body had completely vanished, and his body had shrunk back to its original size.

His strength, while still considerably strong, was a far cry from what it was before.

He no longer appeared as menacing as he once did. In fact, without the constraints of the Pillar weighing me down, I discovered that I was becoming more powerful than before.

"Y.. you… you maniac."

The Prince said, his words trembling.

"You would really risk the lives of all those that were within the tower just to kill me? Do… aren't you…"

"Don't bother finishing what you wanted to say."

Taking a step forward, my vision warped, and the Prince appeared right in front of my eyes. Sword in hand, I pointed it straight at his brows. 

Clank—!

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, he was able to react to my movements. But it was to be expected.

Even without the pillar supporting him, he was still considered to be one of the most powerful beings in the known universe.

Still…

"Things need to come to an end."

My hand shook as a searing pain engulfed every part of my body as I extended it forward.

"Stop."

When I spoke, my voice sounded hoarse, but that was the last thing on my mind as the Prince's body came to a sudden stop in front of me.

I took that moment to point my sword at him, and the space around him shattered, revealing over a dozen sword projections that shot in his direction from every angle. 

This time…

This time they managed to land.

"Argh!"

Over a dozen sword projections materialized all over his body as he let out an agonized scream, spraying black blood everywhere. 

I had aimed them precisely so that they would all become lodged in his joints, stopping his every movement.

Taking a step forward, I arrived before the Prince once more. 

Staring at him, whose teeth were clenched and saliva was dripping down the side of his mouth, I didn't particularly feel anything.

If anything, my mind was even number as I reached out to grasp his head.

"You… y,you! What are you doing!?"

He tried to speak, but I wasn't interested in anything that he had to say.

Reaching out with my hand, I grasped onto his head, and through the gap of my fingers, our eyes met.

There were a lot of things that I wanted to say to him at the moment, but when I tried to speak, I stopped myself. 

I didn't have time for such nonsense. I needed to end things quickly.

And so I did. 

"Goodbye."

Swoosh—!

As if a sudden breeze flew past, the Prince's body scattered in the wind, revealing a small core that levitated in the air. Alongside it was a pitch-black orb that materialized as a consequence of the ambers in the Prince's body coming together to form a single mass.

It was my doing, and it had its uses as I brought it to my mouth and ingested it. 

After that, I reached out for the core with my hand and calmly observed it. 

It pulsed with a faint demonic energy that twisted the air around it, and the demonic blood that was within my body pulsed and writhed in response to the power that was hidden within the core.

Wrapping the core with the laws, I put the core away and finally took a deep breath.

'It looks like I've overdone things.'

When I observed my body and saw that a lot of the wounds I sustained weren't healing, I knew that I had gone too far.

Using the laws with this body was simply… a recipe for disaster.

Simply put, this body was not fit to hold the laws.

But what choice did I have? I was desperate. 

"Ren."

A sudden voice broke me out of my thoughts, and when I turned my head, I caught sight of a few familiar figures.

'It seems like they've made it out alive without a problem.' 

I breathed in relief when I saw that. Destroying the Pillar was a reckless move, but I didn't do so without a plan. 

Having injected a portion of the laws within my body, I was able to preserve the structure of the pocket world.

Hopefully, everyone inside was still alive. I could only hope they were. 

"Ren, are you alright? What happened to you?"

The first one to come was obviously Amanda.

She had a worried look on her face as she scanned my body from top to bottom, and on any normal occasion, I would've smiled at her, but I found myself unable to at the moment.

"I'm alright."

The only thing I could do at the moment was reassure her that everything was alright.

"You… do you really expect me to believe you when you can't even look at me?"

'Sharp as always.'

I turned to look at her, and our gazes met. For a brief moment, neither one of us talked as we just kept staring at each other, but eventually, she tore her eyes away from me. She seemed dissatisfied, but at the same time, her focus turned to our surroundings.

"What… what do we do now?"

When I turned my head to look, I felt my brows furrow at the sight.

Where the pillar once stood, all that remained were the ruins of the world within the pillar. There were several space distortions around the ruins, and I closed my eyes.

Opening them up again, I looked at the familiar faces that I hadn't seen in quite a while.

"Donna, Douglas, Monica."

"We got it."

There was no need for the four of us to exchange any words at that moment.

With just a glance, they understood what I wanted from them, and without saying anything else, the three of them darted toward the space distortions that littered the area.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Their figures disappeared into them shortly after, and silence once again reigned over the surroundings.

"What are you going to do now?"

It was Amanda's voice that broke the silence, and I turned my head to stare at the nearest pillar.

It was quite far, with it barely visible, and yellow runes appeared all over the pillar. Even so, it was the nearest pillar and, thus, my next target.

I pointed at it.

"We go there."

"We?"

Amanda seemed rather surprised by my words.

I could tell by her facial expression that she had not anticipated my invitation to accompany me.

Reality was that I actually didn't want her to come with me, but I knew her well enough to know just how stubborn she was. Without a doubt, she was going to insist on bringing her with me, and a lot of time would be wasted trying to convince her otherwise.

Thus, I just decided to bring her along with me and avoid a lot of trouble.

Plus…

'She's improved quite a lot. It's fair to say that she can help me out when the situation arises.'

"Why? You don't want to go?"

"N,no… I want to!"

Amanda answered, flustered. I felt a sudden itch when staring at her expression, but that disappeared as quickly as it came.

Turning my attention back toward the distant pillar, I squinted my eyes.

"If I'm not wrong…"

I carefully studied the runes surrounding the pillar.

"…our next target is the Pillar of Sloth."