The war zone trembled as Sheng walked toward Miss Yin and the members of the Xia Clan, his three strongest elders following behind him.
"Your clan is going to be destroyed," Sheng declared arrogantly, releasing his Serpent Soul. The pressure of it shattered the ground beneath them.
Miss Yin exhaled sharply and released her Dragon Soul. She vanished from sight and reappeared behind Sheng, swinging her sword at his neck—but the blade snapped in half the moment it touched him.
"These little toys don't work on me," Sheng said, raising one brow as the gravity around the entire battlefield intensified. Warriors struggled just to remain standing.
On the other side of the war zone, Sheng's three elders stepped forward toward Kuto, Miss Lan, and the Xia Clan elders.
"We have to do something. Their cosmic energy is too high," Miss Lan said, her eyes narrowing as she assessed the threat.
Kuto clenched his jaw, barely staying on his feet as his cosmic energy drained rapidly.
"I don't… know how much longer I can fight," he admitted breathlessly.
The Xia Clan elders attacked Sheng's elders, but their strikes barely made an impact.
Miss Lan gathered all of her cosmic energy and forced one elder to freeze in place.
"Now, Kuto!" she shouted.
Kuto charged forward and struck the elder, sending him crashing into the ground.
The elder spat blood, glaring at Kuto.
"You really think you can defeat me, kid?" he growled, rising and unleashing even more cosmic energy.
Meanwhile, Miss Yin knelt on one knee, breathing heavily, holding the broken remains of her sword.
"You really thought you could defeat me?" Sheng mocked as he reached out to grab her throat.
Suddenly—
Rien appeared between them, effortlessly gripping Sheng's wrist before ripping his hand completely off.
"You dare touch my queen?" Rien said coldly, tossing the severed hand aside.
Sheng gasped, falling back, trying desperately to regenerate his hand with cosmic energy—but nothing happened.
"W–Why? My cosmic energy… it's not working!" he cried, blood spilling from his shoulder.
Rien's eyes sharpened.
"From this moment onward, I control the cosmic energy of every being. I am the source of existence itself," Rien declared calmly.
Sheng trembled.
"You mean… Seraphina? You killed her?"
Rien nodded once. Instantly, Sheng's three elders collapsed as their cosmic energy was erased from existence.
Miss Lan smirked.
"Now we can finish them easily," she said, happiness in her voice.
Rien stepped toward Sheng.
"Your warriors are dead. Your elders can no longer fight. Will you accept defeat? Or do you want me to erase your existence completely?"
Sheng roared and charged at Rien with everything he had.
Before he even touched Rien—
He vanished. Rien had erased his existence with Absolute Eraser.
Kuto dropped to the ground, exhausted.
"Finally… we won the war," he said with a tired smile.
Miss Lan sat beside him and gently placed her hand over his.
"Thank you… for everything," she said softly.
Around them, the Xia Clan warriors and elders celebrated with relieved smiles.
Rien approached Yin and offered his hand.
"Are you alright, my Queen?" he asked with a calm, warm smile.
Miss Yin blushed, looking away before taking his hand.
"I don't know how I'll ever repay you," she said gently.
Rien turned toward Kuto.
"How are you, idiot?" he asked calmly.
Kuto sat up and huffed. "Bro, you were very late."
Rien laughed softly. "Sorry… I was enjoying a different fight."
Later — In Rien's Room
Rien sat on a chair, eyes closed.
"They finally won," he murmured before teleporting back to the war zone—
Where another Rien was standing.
Everyone froze.
"What the—two Riens?!" Kuto shouted.
The original Rien stepped forward.
"I'm the real one. I just used a tiny bit of my power to create a copy for the war. Battles are boring," he said casually before dissolving the copy.
Miss Lan stared.
"So everything you did… was with less than one percent of your power?" she asked, stunned.
Rien shrugged.
"Of course. Fighting is dull. A copy is more than enough."
Miss Yin smiled at him softly.
"I'm grateful. We won only because of you," she said with love in her tone.
Rien suddenly felt something strange—heat rising to his cheeks. He looked away.
"You're welcome. I just kept my promise," he said awkwardly before walking off.
Kuto watched him go.
"He really never changes…" he muttered.
Two Days Later — Xia Clan
Everything was peaceful again. People worked with bright smiles, their worries gone.
Kuto walked beside Rien in the corridor.
"So… we have to go back now," Kuto said sadly.
But Rien seemed lost in thought—specifically about Yin.
"Huh? Did you say something?" he asked.
Kuto rolled his eyes.
"Bro, are you even listening?"
Rien gave an awkward smile.
"Yeah, yeah. We can leave whenever you want."
Just then, Miss Yin and Lan approached.
"I hope you enjoyed your time here. We'd like both of you to join the clan's celebration," Miss Yin said hopefully.
Kuto lifted his hand to decline, but—
"Of course. We'd be honored," Rien answered immediately.
After the women left, Kuto stared at him.
"I thought you wanted to leave?" he asked.
Rien sighed.
"We can't refuse Miss Yin's request. Do you know how much hope she had when she asked?"
Kuto groaned.
"You're very complicated…"
Rien kept walking.
"And you talk too much."
Rien entered the room and noticed the clothes neatly laid out on the bed.
"Woah! These clothes look amazing!" Kuto said, already hugging an outfit like it was treasure.
Rien glanced at the outfits and smiled. "They're quite impressive," he said calmly.
Before Rien could say anything else, Kuto grabbed his clothes and a towel and sprinted toward the bathroom.
"I'm going first!" he shouted dramatically.
Rien just watched him… then erased the concept of movement for Kuto using his skill Zenith Zero.
Kuto kept "running," but his body stayed stuck in the same spot, legs moving like a cartoon character on loop.
Rien casually walked past him with his own clothes. "Sorry, but I want to bathe first," he said before closing the bathroom door behind him.
Kuto rolled his eyes while still running in place. "HEY! Cheater! You can't just do that!" he yelled, sounding personally betrayed by physics itself.