The Author's POV

The void was enveloped in a chilly stillness.

I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy as I stared at the white orb that was in front of me and took in everything.

After seeing Everblood appear and Kevin get stabbed by the same dagger he used to 'kill' Malik Alshayatin, I felt an overwhelming urge to hurry over and give him a helping hand.

But...

Despite everything that was happening, I did not take any action.

My mind kept going back to the look Kevin had given me earlier; it wouldn't leave my thoughts, no matter how hard I tried.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I had the distinct impression that he was staring right at me during that brief moment our eyes met.

Was it just me? ...or was he really looking at me? If so, how was it possible?

'It couldn't be that, right?'

When I caught a glimpse of the other version of myself on the edge of my field of vision, I immediately had an implausible thought cross my mind.

'No, it can't be.'

I quickly discarded the thought. Just the idea made my spine tingle.

There was no way Kevin was capable of making such a plan.

Simply no way.

"You seem rather calm, watching your friend die before your own eyes."

The sound of my own voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned my head to look at my other self, whose gaze was still loitering all over the orb that was in front of us.

There was an unwavering serenity in his gaze as he watched Kevin's condition deteriorate before his eyes in a painfully slow manner.

I shook my head.

"What am I meant to do? You tell me. Kevin is currently too far away for me to reach, and I am unaware of his precise location. By the time I reach his location, he will likely already be dead, so what am I supposed to do?"

"Then why did you come here? ...Out of desperation to know whose responsible for his death?"

My lips pursed, and I didn't say anything else, my eyes turning back toward the giant white orb.

Everblood had his hand raised and was about to slash out at Kevin, whose body had become completely limp, and his eyes had lost all clarity at this very moment.

My fists clenched together when I saw Kevin's helpless figure.

Although I did have a plan for rescuing Kevin from the predicament, the image of his face kept playing over and over in my head. It dispelled all previous thoughts and forced me to continue watching the scene unfold.

'Damn it, I hope I'm not imagining things.'

My teeth clenched tightly.

"Everblood, abort!"

I was momentarily startled out of my thoughts by a sudden shout, and when I turned around, I was astounded to see the other version of myself staring at the orb with a solemn expression on his face.

"It's too late."

The void that the other me and I were in was suddenly shaken by a voice, and Kevin, who had been lifeless just a few seconds earlier, abruptly raised his hand and grabbed hold of Everblood's face with his hand.

A mysterious white haze erupted from his hand and engulfed every part of Everblood's body.

His crimson-red eyes shone with an intense crimson hue, and the void shook fiercely.

"What's going on?"

It felt as though I was in the epicenter of an earthquake as I stumbled a couple of steps while attempting to get a proper foothold.

On the other hand, the other version of me was able to maintain a secure foothold. Throughout the entire time, his gaze was directed in Kevin's direction.

'He can make such a face?'

I was immediately taken aback by the expression he was making.

How should I describe it?

It was twisted.

Extremely twisted.

It was as if I was staring into the eyes of a living embodiment of hatred and malice.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

A dull metallic clanking sound reverberated throughout the void, and the area around the other me began to agitate.

'It's as I feared.'

The idea that I had previously written off resurfaced in my mind. The instant chains began forming in the area around the other me, and I turned to look at Kevin with a perplexed expression.

"He's changed."

At this point, I realized that the Kevin before me was not the same Kevin that I had known or that had appeared in my memories.

He was a different Kevin.

A version of Kevin that my other self had never encountered.

"Arghhh!"

The void shook, and the other version of me fought against the chains that attacked him like vicious snakes, shackling his arms and legs and pulling him backward.

"There's no use struggling."

I went over to the other version of myself, which was struggling furiously against the chains.

"Shut up!"

I knew that the chains wouldn't be able to get rid of him and that they were only strengthening the seal that was binding him, but when I looked at the pure desperation and hatred on his face, I knew that whatever was going to happen to him next wasn't going to be anything but pleasant.

He was probably going to go through another form of torture, but there was nothing I could nor wanted to do.

He was me, but I didn't care about him.

If possible, please die.

"No, no, no!"

As his body was dragged back into the void and his eyes turned blood red, I could clearly feel the helplessness and madness that was tinted in his voice.

This was the sound of a broken man.

A man who had been through more sh*t than anyone else but who was once again compelled to live under the torments of the binds that were cursing him.

The real me.

Tak!

My last glimpse was of his hand, which appeared to be reaching out from the depths of the void in an attempt to seize hold of something that would release it from its shackles.

Unfortunately, he was unable to find whatever it was that he was looking for, and he vanished into thin air almost immediately after that, bringing the place into an immediate hush.

"Your real target had never been Malik Alshayatin, was it?"

I broke the silence almost immediately after it arrived, gazing deeply at the white orb in front of me.

At that moment, Kevin's eyes directly met mine, and he nodded his head.

"Yeah..."

"As expected."

I lowered my head in thought.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to make sense of everything that had just happened, and my heart dropped for some reason.

"For you to have predicted that my other self would've tried to interfere with your plan to kill him and bait him into a trap designed to directly seal him..."

How did he know that the other me was going to show up? How did he know that he would suggest such a plan? This had never happened in the past, so how was he able to predict this?

'It doesn't make sense.'

The questions inside of my head were endless.

I couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening, and my head was throbbing.

'How? How? How? How? How?'

That was all I could think of at the moment. So many questions, yet not a single answer.

I paused and looked up.

"Who are you?"

***

Mirrored over Everblood's pupils were two shiny pupils that glowed a crimson-red hue.

When confronted with such a gaze, Everblood felt a shiver run directly through his body. Despite this, he was helpless.

He was completely at the mercy of Kevin, whose eyes were piercing through his very being.

He seemed to be communicating with someone at the moment, but he couldn't make out who he was talking to. The connection with Ren had already disappeared, and he was in no way strong enough to fight against the current Kevin.

He was basically a sitting duck.

There was nothing he could do.

Yet, for some reason, Everblood was not in the least bit scared.

Everblood showed no emotion, possibly because he knew his life was about to end or because he found the prospect of Ren's momentary defeat amusing, but he did not put any resistance.

Within a minute's time, Kevin brought his head back and his eyes regained some clarity.

He stared directly at Everblood who smiled.

"Have you finished?"

"..."

Kevin didn't answer, and Everblood let out a strained laugh.

"Kuek, kuk, ke..."

"This is good. This is good."

He extended his hands in a way that made it seem as though he wanted to hug Kevin. As he smiled savagely, a sudden spray of dark blood covered Kevin's entire face and his face was covered in blood.

"Pfttt!"

Everblood became aware of something penetrating his body, and it wasn't long before Kevin extracted his core from inside of him.

Everblood's last memory was of Kevin's icy voice as he flicked his wrist, causing a small device connected to the core to explode.

"Something isn't a surprise when you know it's going to happen."

'I...know...'

Everblood smiled, and the world around him quaked.

Boom―!

***

A powerful explosion ripped through the building's lower levels, causing structural damage to the structure's foundation.

The building began to lean to one side, and the pieces of furniture were thrown so far that they shattered against the windows, falling into the streets below that had already fallen into a panic.

Kevin remained in the same position that he had been in before and continued to stare at Everblood's face with a face that was devoid of any expression whatsoever.

No one could tell what he was thinking at the moment. Upon closer inspection, blood started leaking out from the side of his lips.

He raised his hand to wipe the blood away.

'It's over.'

At that very moment, he was experiencing a diverse range of emotions all at once. He experienced both some relief and sadness at the same time.

Relief from his plan working out, and sadness for something entirely different...

He lowered his head and slowly pulled out the dagger that had been embedded in his lower abdomen.

Shortly after, he drank a potion, and his injuries slowly started to heal.

'There's not much time left.'

Boom―! Boom―! Boom―!

As the structure Kevin was in completely caved in, explosions could be heard going off outside and could be felt throughout the entire city.

Kevin had long expected this to happen once he killed Everblood, and he had purposely allowed this to happen.

There was only one reason for this.

Everblood was bound by a mana contract. The one that dictated the truce between the Union and the Monolith.

This was in contrast to Kevin, who, because he wielded the powers of the Akashic laws, was not bound by mana contracts.

Everblood's actions constituted a direct violation of the mana contract, and despite the fact that this breach wouldn't exactly do a lot of damage to the Monolith because it was done individually by someone who acted contrary to the wishes of the Monolith, the damage still existed.

The contract was fair, stating that if there was a breach of the contract, the Monolith would suffer damage that was equal to five times the amount of damage that the human domain experienced.

Everblood was not a spy, and he was not coerced into committing such crimes by Kevin; therefore, the Monolith would directly bear the full brunt of his actions, which was Kevin's intention from the very beginning.

That being said, Kevin wasn't heartless enough to kill all the innocent people for the sake of his plan.

Since the contract stipulated that the Monolith would sustain five times the damage inflicted by the breach, Kevin only needed the people to be injured and not directly killed, so he made preparations beforehand.

"Cough."

The color left Kevin's face abruptly, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

At this point in time, the building had already begun its descent toward the ground, and just prior to the building's complete collapse, Kevin disappeared into thin air.

Boom―!