"Hey! Stop delaying and do something!"
Ren yelled, his voice cracking with strain. The shield on his hands flared again, becoming brighter and brighter as the force it held grew stronger, the light almost blinding.
On the edge, it cracked slightly under the weight and sheer strength of the creature's arms pressing down.
It opened its hideous mouth and bit as well, chewing frantically with those rows of jagged teeth.
Then—
The shield on his hands shattered. Parts of it disappeared into the air like smoke. The gloves, as if drained of all power, went dim and lifeless.
"Damn! My arms—"
Ren grimaced in pain, his face twisting.
He tried to withdraw his hands, but he was too slow—one of the creature's teeth caught his palm in the frenzy, tearing through skin.
In an instant, the skin on his hand opened up and blood spurted out in hot streams.
Instead of checking the wound, instead of giving in to the pain screaming through his nerves, he took a step forward and grasped both of the creature's arms with his bleeding hands.
"Damn it! I hope the side effects aren't too bad."
Gritting his teeth hard enough to taste copper, Ren thought of the second effect of his talent—the one he'd been afraid to use.
*Help from the other side.*
In the depths of his mind—
Where there was no distinction between land and sky, where logic didn't exist—he stepped on the sky itself, making ripples like a stone breaking the surface of still water.
In front of him stood a door.
It was made of unknown material, nothing he could name or recognize. It wasn't fancy, but it carried the aura of something mysterious, something you would only see in dreams—half-remembered and impossible to describe.
There was faint mist curling around its structure, alive and breathing.
This door had appeared in his mind since he'd acquired the talent "Unity," providing constant nourishment to his body, feeding him strength in his weakest moments.
Slowly—
The door began to open.
A faint light, soft as sunset glow, slipped through the widening gap and shone on his being, warming him from the inside out.
*"The spiritual light caressed my head, and from that day on, I was never the same again."*
And—
Behind the door, through the light and mist, he seemed to see a silhouette standing in the midst of it all.
Looking in his direction, watching him with eyes he couldn't see but could somehow feel.
Like a bridge being opened between two worlds.
Streams of unexplainable strength surged through his body, circulating through his veins like liquid fire.
When he opened his eyes again, he was already back—back in the fight, back in his body.
---
He clenched his fist, feeling a surging power filling it up, wild and barely contained.
Without saying anything else—
He raised his head. Retracted his arms. Aimed at the figure looming in front of him, taking advantage of its brief loss of balance in the air.
He punched.
This punch didn't use any kind of technique. Only pure, raw power—everything he had.
*Whiss!*
Faintly, it seemed to make a sound of piercing air, cutting through the space between them.
*Boom!*
His fist made contact with the creature's chest. Along the way—skin burst open, flesh was shredded by pure force, and even bones cracked like dry branches snapping.
The pure kinetic energy raged within its body, shattering its internal organs one by one.
The creature—now weighing at least two hundred kilograms by his rough estimate—was lifted clean off the ground, flying backward for several meters before hitting the solid wall with a sickening crunch.
It shrieked weakly, obviously hurt by the attack. But slowly, impossibly, it began to stand up again. The developing bump on its head stopped growing—but instead, it intensified the healing of its injuries, pulling resources from everywhere.
"Why is this guy so hard to kill?"
Ren's face paled slightly. His breathing came in heavy, ragged gasps.
Obviously, just this one punch had taken a heavy toll on him—his body trembling with exhaustion.
It was no wonder, really.
He felt that if a cement wall stood in front of him right now, he could punch a hole clean through it. But this creature had taken his full power—everything—and was still able to hold on, still able to fight.
I'm afraid it's even more durable than a crocodile, he thought with growing dread.
He looked over his shoulder, turning his head slowly.
"Hey—"
His words were cut short.
His eyes widened.
There was a faint light shining through his vision, growing brighter by the second.
He saw her.
"What!?"
Her arms were outstretched. A visible azure whirlpool was condensing on her fingers, spinning faster and faster, pulling in energy from the air itself.
"Thank you for holding on."
Her calm voice, like a gentle breeze, rang out in his ears—soft, but carrying weight.
The azure whirlpool in her hands seemed to finally gather enough energy. A strange pattern briefly appeared at its center, glowing with ancient symbols.
As it appeared—
The room temperature seemed to drop, frost forming on his breath.
With a grasp of her palm—
Silently—
A transparent blue wave seemed to pass by. Ren felt a chill on his skin, like being kissed by ice, delicate and deadly.
"What—"
He turned to look in shock, unable to believe his eyes.
The creature that had been giving him such a hard time now stood there frozen solid, like an ice statue carved by an artist.
He could still see its eyes struggling to move, fighting against the inevitable, before being completely covered by faint ice crystals.
Its regenerative activity stopped completely. At this point, whether there was a weakness on the head didn't matter anymore—nothing mattered anymore.
Blood, teeth, and torn clothing were frozen all together, like a picture of its final moments captured forever.
Surprisingly, the surrounding objects—the walls and floor—weren't too affected. Only a lingering mist on their surfaces proved what had happened wasn't a trick of the eyes.
"T-this.."
Ren was speechless, his mind struggling to process what he'd just witnessed.
"Is it over?"
Behind him, she suddenly dropped to the ground, her legs giving out.
Leaning against the wall, she took deep, calm breaths, trying to steady herself. Her chest rose and fell in rhythm.
She raised her eyes and looked at him.
Something seemed to have changed in her gaze, but he didn't understand what—couldn't read what lay behind those azure eyes.
"Yes. Thanks to you."
Ren breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the tension drain from his shoulders.
Then—
Suddenly—
A sharp pain exploded in his head, as if his veins were burning on fire.
His vision started to blur and darken.
Lights that shouldn't be there started flashing in the corners of his eyes.
"W-what...?"
His last thought as darkness swallowed his vision.
*Thud.*
His body fell to the ground unexpectedly.
Before he lost consciousness, he seemed to hear her concerned voice.
"Hey!... Are... you..."
"...okay?..."