The Author's POV

Caissa headquarters.

"Everything is going as Ren has predicted." 

Ryan mumbled something under his breath as he bit his nails and studied the monitors that were situated in front of him. Ava was standing next to him at the time, and she gave a slight nod as a bird perched on her arm.

"In approximately one week, the forces of the Monolith will make their way to Ashton city. As Ren had predicted, they began their assault on us by first destroying the four cities at the edge of the human domain. They will almost certainly make a brief stop on the outskirts of the city before attempting to breach the city's defenses."

"I agree…" 

Ryan kept gnawing on his fingernails as he moved the pointer of his mouse around the screen and gazed at the deserted streets of Ashton city. In particular, his gaze was drawn toward a few distinct buildings, and he turned his head to inquire about something.

"Have you already set everything up?" 

"Yes. Everything has been arranged. All we have to do is wait for Ren to give us the go ahead before moving." 

"How long do you think that will take?" 

"Probably two more months." 

Ava truthfully answered. 

"He did mention in advance that he would be extremely busy over the course of the next three months. One month has already passed, and there are still two more months to go. Because Angelica is not here with us either, we are unable to proceed with our plans just yet."

"So are we just going to stay here and do nothing while the Monolith attacks next week?" 

Leopold's voice could be heard as he walked into the monitor room with his daughter Sophia following closely behind.

She waved her hand lightly at the two, who waved back at her.

All of the members' families were escorted to the headquarters in order to ensure their own personal safety.

Hein's parents and siblings, Ava's family, Ryan's mom, Leopold's daughter, and so on… 

This place had basically become the home of all the members' families. Fortunately, the warehouse was big enough to house everyone without any problems. 

"Yes, for now, that is." 

Ryan replied to Leopold without looking at him. He had already seen him coming a few seconds ago so he wasn't exactly surprised. 

"What are we supposed to do in the meantime, then?" 

Leopold made himself comfortable on one of the sofas at the back of the room. Ava, staring at him, turned to Sophia and responded.

"I guess you should enjoy your time with your family. Ren did say that after he finishes whatever he's doing, we won't have time to spend with our families for quite some time, so make the most of the time you have with them."

The expression on Leopold's face subtly shifted as he leaned his head down to gaze at his daughter. In the end, he gave a respectful nod of his head and answered.

"Well, okay. If you guys put it that way, then I will do my best to enjoy my time with her. " 

*** 

Within a dark void. 

Swoosh—! Swooosh—! 

Ren could be seen practicing a series of sword moves as his sword danced through space, leaving a faint moonlight-like trace behind.

Swooosh—! Swoooosh—! 

His movements had an ethereal quality to them, and with each new set of moves he would perform, his moves would become increasingly precise and potent.

Another person could be seen standing not too far away from where he was. The figure was restrained by a number of chains, and it just stood there and stared expressionlessly at Ren as he worked on the sequence of moves in the void by himself.

An eerie silence enveloped the space.

This went on for a considerable amount of time until finally, Ren stopped what he was doing and looked at the other Ren. Sweat dripped from every corner of his body.

"What do you think? This is what I've come up with so far."

"…"

The figure continued to stare at Ren without uttering a word, displaying no facial expression.

Ren appeared unconcerned as he sat down on the ground and dropped the sword beside him, which vanished into thin air.

Extending his hand, a green book appeared in his hand. 

"The Levisha style is a sword art that thrives primarily on style and power increases across multiple moves. The more move sets one executes, the more precise and potent their attacks become. It is said that a person's body would sustain so much damage during the final movements that they would die instantly..."

Ren uttered the words out loud while his eyes continued to move slowly over the pages of the book he was holding in his hand.

After reading the following few passages, he discarded the book and picked up a new one to continue reading.

Extending his hand, a new colored book appeared in his hand.

"The Gravar style is a sword art that primarily thrives on perfecting the human body in order to release the latent and raw power that is within the muscles of the human body. The harsher the conditions that their bodies undertake, the more powerful they will become. It is said that upon reaching the final level of the Gravar style, one can directly tear the space with just their fists…" 

When Ren had finished reading the description of the two sword arts, he eventually set that book aside and took out one more.

"The Keiki style…" 

He hadn't even opened the book before he burst out laughing and tossed it to the side of the room. He cocked his head back and looked up at the pitch-black abyss that loomed over him as he leaned back in his chair.

'Who would've thought that there would be such a great space to train here?'

Ren slowly turned his head to the side and looked at his other self.

"You've been quiet for quite a while, now, haven't you? It's been about a month since I decided to practice over here, and yet, not once did I ever hear you speak during the time that I started my training…" 

Ren rose to his feet and moved in the direction of the figure that was restrained in chains. His feet eventually came to a stop in front of him, and he continued speaking even as he did so.

"Do you know why I decided to train over here, instead of outside? It's very obvious that training outside of here would be more efficient given all of the equipment that is available to me, but I chose against, it. Do you know why?" 

The other Ren continued to stare emotionlessly at the space. His face looked completely dead, and Ren's words seemingly passed through his head without ever reaching him.

Ren didn't seem to mind this as he continued speaking. 

"The reason why I decide to train here is because I need you." 

He brought his head forward and whispered in his ear.

"…Only with your help will I be able to create a new sword art and reach the next level." 

*** 

Demon Realm. 

As soon as Angelica entered the demonic realm, she felt something within her shatter, and her body eagerly absorbed the residual demonic energy in the air.

She no longer experienced the suffocating sensation that she had whenever she remained on earth, and instead, she felt a wave of ecstasy wash over her body.

She recalled Leopold saying that once he quit smoking, breathing became a lot easier and less painful. If she had to give an example that best described how she was feeling, she would use Leopold's words to describe her situation.

"I think I'll be able to break through now." 

Angelica reached out with the palm of her hand, and the residual demonic energy in the surrounding air moved in tandem with her motion, eventually amassing at her fingertips as she opened her palm.

Her eyes flashed, and she slowly clenched her hands into fists. 

The demonic energy that was floating through the air suddenly rushed toward where she was standing and began to gather on the surface of her skin.

She was suddenly hit by a powerful wave of energy that erupted from her body, and as it did so, the world around her began to warp and distort.

"Yes…at this rate I might be able to break through faster than I originally anticipated." 

When Angelica realized how plentiful the demonic energy was in the demon realm, she felt an even greater surge of excitement.

She had a hunch that by the time the deadline of three months had passed, she would already have her Duke rank stabilized.

'I should stop wasting time.' 

Angelica wasted no time after realizing that this was a golden opportunity. She turned around and decided to find a secluded area to advance to the next rank.

After breaking into the Duke rank, she planned to pay a visit to her clan. 

There were still a few things that were left unfinished there that needed to be completed by her. As soon as those were resolved, she would actually be able to return without any additional concerns.

Who knows, perhaps she would even be able to grant Ren a very nice opportunity. 

After all, he was the one who helped her ascend the ranks and become a duke. When she got home, her mother would unquestionably be happy to learn of her achievements.

Her mother was a difficult person, but she wasn't an unreasonable demon. When the time was right, she would probably reward Ren for helping her get to the point where she was.

Perhaps, she might even join his side.

Though unlikely, nothing was impossible.

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