Jhonathan stood from the rubble slowly.
Stone dust fell from his shoulders like ash.
His body was still healing, but the Undying Soul kept pulling him back together without hesitation.
Across from him, the red-haired swordsman finally moved.
For the first time—
he smiled.
"…You're still standing."
Then he vanished.
The next moment—
the entire inn shattered from the impact of two hypersonic forces colliding.
Blade met blade.
Shockwaves folded space inside the room.
Tables, walls, and even sound itself broke apart from the pressure.
Jhonathan and the swordsman clashed like rotating storms—each movement too fast for the eye to properly track.
It looked less like fighting…
and more like reality being repeatedly overwritten.
Then—
a crack.
Jhonathan's crystal blade shattered.
The swordsman stepped back calmly.
His voice carried through the chaos.
"My name is Boaz."
He raised a different blade.
It was massive.
Black-veined.
Covered in anti-regeneration runes.
"This one bypasses immortality."
He swung down.
But Jhonathan caught it.
Silence.
Boaz's eyes widened slightly.
Jhonathan's hands burned with mana.
Not normal mana—
something denser.
Heavier.
Almost infinite.
"Liches have better mana pools…"
Jhonathan muttered.
"…Than gods."
The blade began to crack under pressure.
Boaz gritted his teeth.
"…Impossible—"
CRACK.
The weapon shattered in Jhonathan's grip.
In a single motion—
Jhonathan slammed Boaz into the ground.
The entire inn floor collapsed outward like a crater forming in real time.
A shockwave blasted through the building.
Goja, still weakened from Desiree's vines, turned and ran immediately.
"…Nope. I'm done."
Her shadow flickered and disappeared completely.
Silence returned to the broken battlefield.
Jhonathan stood alone among the ruins.
Breathing heavily.
For the first time in a while—
he looked tired.
Not defeated.
Just… burdened.
He slowly sat down in the corner of the shattered inn.
"…No matter what…"
he whispered.
"…Levincia will win this war."
His eyes lowered.
"…We won't let despair win."
Outside, the night wind moved through the broken city.
Somewhere far away—
the God Slayers were already regrouping.
And something worse than them had started paying attention.