Renu’s shoulder twitched, and Zich didn’t miss the slight movement.
Whoosh!
Something passed in front of Zich, and he backed one step away.
“Oh!” There was a familiar-looking item. It looked like a lump of metal in the shape of a branch. When Zich saw that it looked very similar to his sword, he thought, ‘This must be the key he had.’
Zich judged that the key had probably drawn away the tree of fire’s flames from Renu, but comparing the item to Zich’s Windur seemed like an insult.
‘First of all, it’s clear that they are incomparable because they failed to protect Renu from the tree of fire’s flames properly.’
If Windur was on the same level as the lump of metal, even Zich would be covered with bandages from head to toe. Renu raised his head, and Zich smirked at him. Renu’s eyes were the kind that Zich had seen many times before. They were eyes that had lost all hope after losing everything they desired and wished for. Zich didn’t particularly like those eyes since they belonged to someone who was like a hopeless doll that was simply breathing.
‘It no longer becomes fun to torment them.’
Thankfully, there was a different light also shining through Renu’s eyes; raging crimson hate radiated out of them and sought revenge against the one who had taken everything from him. Through this beam of light left in his eyes, Zich could tell that Renu was inflaming this burning rage towards Zich. However, Zich was also used to this type of emotion—no, he almost had an affectionate longing for it. Furthermore, there was no need for Zich to think about his pre-regression days to recall such a gaze; after all, there were many that had stared at Zich with those same eyes ever since he regressed.
“…Did you ask me if I did everything I could do?” Renu asked Zich.
“Yeah.” It was as if one side was in the middle of a frosty winter and the other side was enjoying a spring filled with warm breezes. Of course, considering the situation, the one in the springy mood was clearly the odd one.
“I don’t know what you are expecting, but there’s still one left.”
“Is that so?” Zich was a bit surprised. He had asked his question for the sole purpose of tormenting Renu; he didn’t think that Renu would actually have one more trick up his sleeve. However, Zich regained his composure a moment later and said, “As expected of His Majesty, Renu Ent Draus. A rat digs up many holes to run away from. I suppose it’s good to share many similarities with cowardly animals.”
“Is that right?”
“You are so calm now. You should’ve been like this from the start. Ah, was that impossible? Humans don’t usually change unless they are facing death, and elves are similar to humans in that way. That means I’m the one who instigated your change. You don’t need to thank me. I already feel satisfied that I was able to have a positive influence on somebody else.”
“Go ahead. Since you act like you know me so well, why don’t you tell me what I’m thinking right now?”
“Of course.” It wasn’t a difficult question, and Zich answered, “You are thinking of killing me.” It was clear that Renu wanted to kill Zich like everyone else who stood in his way.
“You probably don’t have any interest in giving me things such as pain, despair, or humiliation anymore,” Zich continued. He thought Renu’s mindset was different from when he was thinking up all kinds of ways to torture Zich. “You just simply want to end my life, right?”
“Hm…” Renu smiled faintly. His expression no longer belonged to the Iron Tribe King Renu Ent Draus that Zich was familiar with. There was only the face of Renu, whose sole purpose in life was to fulfill his revenge against Zich.
“So, why don’t you make your last attempt to kill me? Who knows? You might succeed miraculously.”
Pierce!
The chilling sound of flesh piercing echoed. Blood poured out of the wounds like raindrops flowing between rocky crevices. Renu’s stomach was pierced, but it wasn’t Zich who had attacked him. Renu was the one who pierced himself, and what pierced Renu’s stomach was the key he was holding.
It was an abnormal situation, but Zich’s expression didn’t change. Instead, he joked, “Did you suddenly become a pervert who gets a kick out of feeling pain?”
“Cough! Kuh…kugh…! Don’t wo…ry… That’s not… it.” While vomiting blood, Renu smiled. Wrapped in his madness, his injuries and pain no longer seemed to hinder him.
“Are you gaining power by offering your life and soul as a sacrifice?”
“…You…noticed?”
“It’s a common method that a cornered rat from the gutters uses. Since they don’t have the skills, they offer their lives. It must be hard to live as someone with so few abilities. I sympathize with you.”
“There’s no need… for you…to do that. A bastard…like you won’t be able…to even…”
Craaash! The key piercing his body twisted and pierced deeper into his stomach.
“Sympathize any longer!”
Craaaaash!
A fireball dropped down from the tree of fire. Zich had been trusting Windur to protect him, but he flinched and backed away.
Craaash!
The fireball struck the spot where Zich had been, and then Zich touched the ends of his clothes. The black, burnt spot crumbled to crisps.
‘Windur doesn’t work against it.’ Zich placed some distance between him and Renu, but in comparison, Renu didn’t move even an inch. He made an eerie smile and glared menacingly at Zich.
Craaash!
Sparks also dropped down to Renu; there was no way his key would protect him against the sparks when even Windur couldn’t protect Zich. Renu’s bandages burned in an instant and revealed his grotesque body. The pain of his flesh burning was more painful than anything else, but Renu continued to smile like a lunatic.
“Kuaaaaaah!”
With a maddening smile, a spark whirled around his body and grew even bigger. The temperature in his surroundings increased exponentially and changed the area into a steamer.
Renu looked towards Zich. His face showed the purest and brightest expression that Zich had ever seen him wear. “Die.”
Crasssssh! The whole castle was swallowed up by flames.
* * *
The flow of the battle in Mentis completely leaned towards one side—it had already been leaning to one side for a while. After some time passed, the troops that were left across the island judged that they no longer had to pretend to be ambushed by Zich’s “subordinates,” and more allied forces continued to arrive at Mentis. Victory began to lean even more heavily towards the allied forces. There were corpses scattered all over Mentis, but the number of corpses from the Iron Tribe was significantly greater.
Even the flame troopers that pushed back the allied forces were dwindling in number, and there were now only a few of them left. The allied forces were going to win soon; it was when they were thinking this that an event occurred.
Crashhhh!
A huge explosion swept the nearby surroundings. The sound was so loud that the soldiers fighting with their lives on the line dropped to the ground and covered their ears on instinct.
“W-what the!”
“What was that!”
Soldiers from both sides tried to figure out the source of the sound. However, it didn’t take long for them to find it. The castle of Mentis was burning bright red. Even though the castle had let out flames a couple of times from the tree of fire before, these flames were on a completely different level. The castle and even the castle walls were covered by flames; it was as if the flames were using the entire castle as its kindling.
The flame troopers that were moving around suddenly all disappeared, making it advantageous for the allied forces. The flame troopers that had persistently let out attacks even with the Lake’s Tear influence were gone. However, no one in the allied forces rejoiced at their disappearance. It was because the flame troopers’ disappearance and the flames swallowing the castle were obviously connected.
Explode!
Something pierced through the flames and came out of the castle. The human figure quickly moved and in an instant, they reached the center of the allied forces’ army. The allied forces moved their weapons towards the moving figure by instinct, but no one blocked them.
Hans pressed down the arm of an elf who was holding a weapon and stated, “It’s not an enemy.” Then he said towards the figure, “Welcome back, Sir Zich.”
Zich brushed off the fiery sparks left on his shoulder and raised his hand. “The battle seems to have gone well.”
“Sir, thanks to you, we are almost finished with controlling the entire island.” Then Hans looked at the burning castle. “But sir, what is that?”
“It’s the last life force that the Iron Tribe King is burning out.”
Hans and the other elves around him stared at the flames in surprise; the Iron Tribe elves were especially shocked. If Zich’s words were true, their king was, at the very least, dying.
“Sir, then is everything over?”
“No, that’s probably not it.” Zich stared at the raging flames and replied confidently. The war was not over yet. It was not time to watch the awe-inspiring flames and become sentimental.
“You bastard, what did you do to Our Majesty!” An Iron Tribe soldier near Zich rushed towards him. It seemed like he was an elf with strong loyalty to Renu. However, the result of his bravado was his body cut into two.
Splash!
The now elf corpse splashed out blood and organs all over the ground.
“Really, these guys don’t know their place…” Zich clicked his tongue.
The other Iron Tribe soldiers that were running towards Zich flinched. With just one movement, they realized that Zich was far superior to them in strength and ability. Thus, no one rushed towards Zich again. The allied forces began wielding their weapons at the Iron Tribe soldiers again. However, Zich didn’t participate in the battle; instead, he quietly watched the burning castle.
Hans' complexion changed as he asked, “…Sir Zich, that ability right now…”
“I’m just using it for a bit. That Clowon power seems to be a pretty interesting object.”
“Sir, is it the same as the situation we encountered in Violuwin?”
“Yep.”
Hans nodded at Zich’s reply. Even though not all of his curiosities were satisfied, this was Zich’s work. There was no reason for him to know more.
“Zich!” Lyla and Snoc moved closer to Zich; Romanne was also with them. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
“See for yourself.” Zich raised his two arms and showed Lyla that he was fine. There was only a light burn mark on the corners of his clothes, and the rest of his body was the definition of healthy.
While looking at the castle, Romanne asked, “What happened to that?”
Zich gave the same answer he gave to Hans, “The castle is blazing from the flames that are burning the last of Renu Ent Draus’ life force.”
“…The life force of the Iron Tribe King?”
“Yes, it’s his hidden attack that uses his own life. It seems like this is his last desperate attempt at retaliation after being driven into a corner.”
“…You are really amazing.” There was even deep respect in Romanne’s voice; it was not surprising that she felt this way. The individual who made the biggest contribution to this war was the outsider that her granddaughter had brought.
“Thank you, but save your compliments for another time. The war isn’t over yet.”
“It’s not over yet? If this is the result of the Iron Tribe King’s desperate attempt at retaliation, isn’t this war basically over?”
Since the Iron Tribe King died and his soldiers had lost the battle, the Iron Tribe’s collapse was inevitable. Was Zich trying to tell her to not lower her guard? However, Zich’s words were not obscure, nor did they have some hidden meaning.
“That fire is the result of Renu Ent Draus’ burning his own life force, but it’s probably not over. On the other hand, his desperate attack is probably only just starting.”
“What do you mean…”
Crash! A new explosion cut off Romanne’s words. However, there was no need for her to finish her sentence as the flames answered her question. The flames raged on and expanded; as if to reach the ends of the sky, they increased in size at an exponential rate. Then, all the people and elves witnessed a shocking sight.
Thud!
A ginormous flame figure walked forward.