It all happened so quickly, but when she felt 'his' gaze fall on her for just a split second, time seemed to come to an abrupt halt, and so did her world.

His expression was the same as usual—a little aged. Perhaps a little different, but it wasn't so different from how it had always been.

Yet, for some reason, in that moment, it felt as though that simple gaze told her a thousand words.

He nodded at her and said something.

She couldn't quite make out what those words were.

That was because she knew exactly what he was going to do, and in that moment, her mind blanked.

Her usually brilliant mind blanked, and she dully stood on the ground, staring up toward the sky, which was soon enveloped by a brilliant white light that came directly from her father's body. It enveloped the sky in its entirety.

BOOOM—!

That was the last thing she saw before a terrifying explosion covered the sky, and she was hurled a great distance away from the scene.

BANG—!

She collided with a tree, and if it weren't for the protective shield that materialized around her just as she was about to make contact with the tree, she likely would have sustained significant injuries.

"Ugh."

With a groan, she forced herself to look up, and that was when she realized that the mist that had blanketed the sky previously had completely disappeared.

Her mind, which seemed stained with something moments prior, seemed to clear up.

But none of that concerned her at the moment. What she was concerned about was something else, and she hastily looked around in the sky for any signs of 'him'.

But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find him. In fact, she couldn't see anything, and her legs started to go numb.

That was until a hand pressed against her shoulder and a familiar voice reached her ear.

"…He's gone."

"W..what?"

When she turned her head, she caught sight of a hazy, almost transparent figure.

"Who are you?"

She thought he sounded familiar, but the way he looked… was that really who she thought he was?

"It's me."

His voice was hoarse, almost feeble, but when he turned his head and their eyes met, Melissa understood that it was really him.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here? Were you here originally?"

"No."

He shook his head and stared into the distance. Toward a spot where she couldn't see.

"Are you really fine?"

"…"

Melissa didn't answer. It was a question she didn't know the answer to. Was she fine? She didn't feel very much. And that was a problem.

She just felt… empty.

And she didn't know why.

She just did, and found everything hard to process.

"I… I don't know."

She was eventually able to mutter those words. Taking out her glasses, her vision started to blur, and she found herself unable to see what was ahead anymore.

In all honesty, she could've had her eyesight fixed a long time ago.

Be it a potion or surgery, she could've. She was rich and was smart enough to produce a potion that could fix her eyesight.

She just didn't want to.

There were times when her blurred vision would stop her from feeling people's gazes on her and give her peace of mind.

There was no one around her at the moment apart from Ren, but even so, she didn't want to keep her glasses on.

She… Didn't want to see what was above her anymore.

***

'She's surprisingly calm.'

The thought crossed my mind when I stared at Melissa beside me. At least, that was what I was able to perceive from her on the outside.

Whether she was truly calm, I wasn't too sure, but I didn't have time to care.

My entire body was writhing, and the pain that was permeating every part of me was making it difficult for me to maintain any semblance of sanity.

'It's good that he made things easier for me.'

When I looked up and stared at the area above me, I knew that things weren't over yet. Still, the situation was very advantageous for me at the moment.

Especially since I was in no state to properly fight at the moment.

There was something that I had to do before coming here, and that took almost everything from me. But it was worth it.

Swoosh—!

With the sudden blurring of my vision, I appeared before a certain area in the sky and looked around me. That was until my attention was eventually drawn to a dark spot in the sky. It was writhing in the air, and the skeleton of a figure was gradually beginning to take shape as it did so.

I didn't waste a second and arrived before it.

"It looks like I've arrived on time."

I pressed my hand against the blob, and the moment I made contact with it, I felt a soothing energy spread throughout my entire body from head to toe.

My body, which was briefly disappearing and then reappearing, started to take shape again, and the excruciating pain that had been pulsating through every part of me started to subside.

It was a scene that I had experienced a couple of times already, and my comprehension of the laws started to increase at the same time.

The more I was able to comprehend, the more I found myself able to use Kevin's old powers.

It was also thanks to that that I was able to get into the Pillar without destroying it from the outside. It still took a little toll on me, but it was a necessary struggle.

"You… who are you?"

While I was enjoying the warm sensation, I heard a certain voice, and when I looked down, I saw that the blob had transformed into a demon.

His expression was anything but friendly, and the power that radiated from his body was also nothing to scoff at. With that being said…

"Should you really be talking to me when you're in that state?"

I placed the palm of my hand against the demon's shoulder, and immediately he froze in place. Golden runes whirled all around the area where the Prince and I were standing and wrapped themselves tightly around his body.

My breath left my body, and I found myself struggling to keep my composure. In spite of this, I cast my gaze off into the horizon and nodded my head.

WOOOOOOOM—! A blue light headed our way and enveloped the entirety of my vision. A powerful force soon enveloped the area that the demon and I were in, and everything turned silent.

I wasn't sure for how long things were like that, but when my sight returned, I found myself standing in the middle of the air with two black orbs levitating in front of me.

It took a while for it to sink in, but pain unlike anything I'd ever felt before started to cover every inch of my body.

"Haaaa…. haaa…."

I struggled to keep my breath in check and had to take several large gulps of air in the process. It was for a short moment, but the pain that came upon the complete destruction of my body almost made me faint from the pain.

Ever since the war had started, the only thing I felt was pain, and I was starting to wonder, just when exactly was I going to get used to this pain?

I wanted to get used to this pain.

"Are yer alright?"

It was Gervis's voice that broke me out of my thoughts, and when I turned to look at him, I shook my head.

"No."

The pain I was experiencing wasn't something I could describe with words. I was anything but okay.

Still.

I was still hanging there.

"Is… is it over?"

Gervis asked, looking at the two orbs in the sky. I shook my head again and extended my hand to where the orbs were floating.

"It's not over until the core over here is destroyed."

I was able to feel the demonic energy that was pulsating from the core as soon as I got a hold of it and held it in my grasp. The other orb, on the other hand, softly moved toward my mouth, and I quietly ingested its content.

Once more, I was engulfed in a whole world of pain, but I bore with it.

It was a lot lighter than the other pain I felt.

Crash—!

Only once I finally managed to ingest all of the contents within the orb did I finally clench my hand and smash the core in my hand.

Rumble—! Rumble—!

The entire Pillar began to shake almost instantly after that, and the world contained within it showed signs of collapse.

I turned to look at Gervis for a brief moment before looking down at Melissa below.

"Do me a favor and bring her out with you la—"

I had to stop myself mid-sentence. All of a sudden, a projection appeared right before my very eyes, and all it took was one glance to understand what had happened.

My heart sank.

"I'm sorry."

"Wait, wha—"

Those were the only two words I was able to utter before waving my hand and disappearing from the spot.