The Author's POV

"I've been told that multiple times."

Ren replied in a soft voice, his gaze fixed on Jezebeth. The two of them stared at each other for an unknown period of time. This was until Jezebeth finally cracked a smile, and the mood seemed to relax a little.

"It's been a while since we've last seen each other, how have you been?"

"I've been better."

"Something annoying happened?"

"…You think?"

Ren cocked his head, his gaze pointing right at him.

"Oh, no, " Jezebeth looked dismayed, "you couldn't be talking about me, right?"

"What made you think that?"

There was an undisguised sarcasm in Ren's words, and Jezebeth looked even more dismayed. Of course, he was merely pretending, but to those that were watching, the scene left them utterly terrified.

'Who is he? How is he able to talk to the Demon King like that?'

As the two conversed, an unsettling feeling permeated the air, leaving onlookers with a sense of insignificance. It was almost as if they were mere cogs in a larger machine, manipulated and directed by the pair.

"Hm?"

Right then, Jezebeth's brows raised, and he looked around him. Shortly after that, surprise filled his expression, and he looked back toward Ren, stunned.

"What's this? Why is Earth suddenly so empty?"

"They've gone somewhere."

Ren replied without going much into detail. He just quietly stood there looking at Jezebeth. Such behavior caused Jezebeth to furrow his brows as his eyes soon came to a close and his mind filtered through all the different planets within the universe.

'Nothing?'

He was stunned to notice that he did not find a single trace of the human forces.

"How interesting."

His eyes opened up again, and they landed on Ren. Yet again, he had shown him a surprise. How many times has it been by now?

He truly was…

"You've hidden them pretty well."

Jezebeth complemented.

There weren't many beings that could hide something from him, not even the Protectors, and yet the human who stood before him was capable of such a feat.

A thought suddenly occurred to Jezebeth.

"Could it be that you've killed them a―"

"You previously called me smart. Do you think I'd do something that stupid?"

His sentence was promptly cut off by Ren's voice, and Jezebeth closed his mouth.

"You're right."

'Indeed, things wouldn't be fun if things were this simple.'

The smile returned to his face. Just as he was about to speak, Ren's voice cut through the air.

"What about you? I don't see your forces anywhere. Where are they?"

"About that."

Jezebeth looked behind him, and the smile on his face widened.

"They're just about to be here…"

Woom! Woom! Woom!

Seconds after his words faded, a strange sensation rippled through the very fabric of the world.

It started as a low hum, barely perceptible at first, but quickly grew into a powerful vibration that shook the earth to its core.

Rumble! Rumble!

The seas themselves seemed to come alive, surging and churning with a furious intensity that sent massive waves crashing against the shore.

The very earth itself seemed to shift and heave, with deep, jagged cracks forming on its surface. And as if in response to some unseen force, the towering mountains rose up from their foundations, their peaks piercing the sky above.

"What's going on?"

The changes didn't go unnoticed by Ren who looked around with alarm.

This…

This was something that was well beyond his understanding.

It was then that the sky suddenly grew dark, as if something was blocking the sun.

The clouds parted and swirled apart, revealing a strange sight. Seven enormous pillars, each one of immense radius, hovered in the air, casting a shadow over everything below.

For several moments, the pillars remained suspended in mid-air as if defying gravity itself. The intricate runes etched into their surfaces glowed with an otherworldly light, each one containing a unique array of colors that seemed to shift and change with each passing second.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Then, without warning, the pillars began to plummet toward the earth, hurtling toward the ground with an unstoppable force.

Boom! Boom!

The impact was deafening, with the Earth shaking and quivering with the force of the collision.

Everything in their path was leveled and reduced to rubble and dust in an instant.

Once the dust began to settle, the pillars remained standing, their intricate runes still glowing with an ethereal light.

The air around them shimmered and crackled with demonic energy; a feeling of doom quietly permeated over the surrounding land, and Jezebeth's smile grew at the sight.

"What do you think?"

He asked, his gaze landing over on Ren.

Unfortunately for him, the sudden situation didn't seem to fluster Ren very much, surprising Jezebeth quite a bit.

'Judging from the aura he's giving off, he should still be the new Ren, yet, for some reason… he's reminding me of his other self…"

"Is this some sort of trick?"

Ren's words brought him out of his thoughts, and he smiled at him.

"I wouldn't call this a trick or anything."

He cast his gaze over the seven pillars that covered the ends of the world. They were his pride and joy and something he had been saving up for this very moment.

"You know… You may think you've achieved something by hiding everyone away from me, but you've grossly underestimated the extent of my powers, Ren."

Jezebeth suddenly brought his hand next to him.

"Just because I can't tell where they are, doesn't mean I can't bring them to me."

With a smile on his face, he snapped his fingers.

Snap―!

"I may not be able to sense them, but if they contain mana and aura… they can't escape from me."

The world around Ren turned completely white, and everything within his vicinity disappeared.

The world around him started to shift once more, and grass appeared beneath his feet.

The sky became blue once more, and trees started to sprout from the ground.

A gentle breeze blew past, and a white table appeared not so far from where he was. Beside the table were two chairs and a set of tea cups materialized on top of the table. Steam rose from within the tea cups as a murky liquid poured itself in.

Jezebeth appeared shortly after that, sitting himself down on one of the seats. Extending his hand, he gestured toward the seat opposite him.

"Have a seat."

"…"

Ren didn't utter a single word, but his feet moved on their own, and he sat down in one of the chairs.

Extending his hand, Jezebeth grabbed one of the tea cups and took a gentle sip. Smacking his lips, he showed a satisfied look.

"Have a try. It's quite good. It's something I've gotten from Lemlok, a planet from a distant galaxy. I've been saving it up for this day."

"…"

Ren stared at the teacup for a moment, then brought his hand forward and similarly took a sip of the tea. Please visit f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎

The taste…

It wasn't too bad.

"You know," Jezebeth started to speak, leaning his back against the chair and fixing his gaze toward the sky, "I've had a similar conversation with the other you in the past. I still remember the conversation the two of us had back then… it's been stuck with me for quite a while, and it truly is a pity that the two of us could never work together since our interests conflicted."

Jezebeth paused and took another sip of his tea.

"That being said…"

He put the teacup down and stared at him.

"…Now that the one I'm facing is not him, perhaps I can change your mind."

With a smile on his face, Jezebeth's body turned, and he waved his hand in the air.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

A succession of rectangular projections emerged in the air, one after the other. Over the course of a few seconds, the number of them increased to well over a hundred, and Ren's attention shifted to face them.

It was much to his surprise that he caught sight of people he was familiar with inside of them.

All of them were standing in different environments, some together, some not, and were currently standing in front of a large horde of monsters and demons.

"This right here…" Jezebeth spoke, "Is the beginning of the end. Welcome to the world within the Pillars."