Chapter 421

Fortunately, this wasn’t real reality. Otherwise, there was no way he could have remained this calm.

If Kumironi had truly died right in front of him...he would have been devastated.

But the truth was, this spacetime was nothing more than a constantly rewinding, resetting loop. It had nothing to do with him.

Still—

If he appeared too calm, that in itself would look suspicious.

Seeing this, Kanzaki Rei let his voice tremble slightly as he asked, "How can you control Kumironi so easily?"

Kumironi’s eyes, however, were both compassionate and cold. She spoke with detached pity:

"Child."

"Your disguise is far too clumsy."

"I can’t smell even the slightest trace of fear on you. When a lifeform truly feels fear, the scent it gives off is nothing like yours."

"I can feel it—you’re not afraid of me."

Like a phantom, Kumironi drifted closer, her figure light and elusive. She approached Kanzaki Rei, gently inhaling his scent—

Then softly placed her hand against his chest.

Within her pitying gaze was already the omen of his imminent death.

But almost at the same instant—

Kanzaki Rei vanished from before her eyes. Completely. Without a trace.

"Oh?"

"Time."

Sofia hadn’t seen the process of his disappearance. In fact, she could confirm—there was no process.

There were only two possibilities in this world that could be so fast she couldn’t react at all:

One was light—speed approaching infinity.

The other...

was time.

And Kanzaki Rei was obviously not light.

—

Hu—

Kanzaki Rei used the Time Stop granted by his Ascended State to break away.

Within that frozen time—

he instantly activated [Second Forbidden Magic — Time].

Under a ten-thousandfold time dilation,

one second became ten thousand seconds.

In other words, within that single second of stopped time, Kanzaki Rei could move freely for ten thousand seconds.

However, he didn’t linger.

Instead, he reappeared two million kilometers away in an instant.

At the same time, he activated [Seventh Forbidden Magic — Elements].

Buzz—

The initiation sequence began.

Centered on Kanzaki Rei, everything within a radius of one million kilometers transformed into pure elemental matter.

Kumironi narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing in Kanzaki Rei’s direction.

Ripples of time and elemental fluctuations spread faintly through the air.

"To wield two Forbidden Magics simultaneously..."

"Now that’s interesting."

"Since you command Time Forbidden Magic, your connection to Ahekatol must be quite close~"

"Are you her subordinate?"

"Oh~ which means, this place... isn’t your primary timeline, is it?"

Although Kanzaki Rei remained an unsolved mystery—

just the temporal fluctuations emitted from his use of Forbidden Magic — Time were enough for Sofia to make her deductions.

And she had guessed almost perfectly.

"No wonder you’re indifferent to your friend’s death."

"Because you believe none of this is real."

Step by step, Kumironi walked toward Kanzaki Rei.

Each step spanned hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

In just a few steps—

she stood before him once more.

"Well then~"

"Since you have Ahekatol’s protection, I suppose this incarnation of mine won’t be able to kill you so easily."

Kumironi licked her lips.

"But while you’re curious about me, I’m quite curious about Ahekatol as well."

"How about this?"

"I’ll answer your questions, and you tell me what I want to know."

"In the end, you return to your timeline, and I remain in mine. We won’t interfere with each other."

"A fair exchange~ wouldn’t you say?"

"This is the best arrangement for you."

Sofia’s tone was always steeped in pity—

as though Kanzaki Rei were a pitiful creature desperately in need of compassion.

—

Inside his mind, Ansu couldn’t help but feel a trace of shock.

This child... was actually connected to the legendary Ahekatol.

No wonder he could set up such a precise ambush in advance.

After all... how could an ordinary person possibly predict his movements?

Only now did Ansu realize—

this had all already happened once before.

Kanzaki Rei frowned inwardly, though his expression remained unchanged.

He spoke calmly:

"And what makes you so certain I’m connected to Ahekatol? What if I told you I know nothing about her?"

Kumironi let out a helpless, pitying chuckle.

"That wouldn’t matter."

Thump—

A profound, overwhelming fear suddenly surged through his perception.

It had been a very, very long time since he had felt such deep terror.

"I... replace all life."

Pff!

In an instant—

a head sprouted from Kanzaki Rei’s neck. Arms grew from his arms. Legs split and multiplied.

It was as if another human was growing on top of him.

Kumironi’s emerald hair billowed wildly, her presence arrogant and unrestrained.

Snap!

At that exact same second—

Kanzaki Rei’s body exploded, bursting apart like an empty shell—

And immediately after!

Kumironi’s body erupted with countless rays of dazzling light!

Within the frozen world—

Kanzaki Rei launched his attack!

He drove all elements into Kumironi’s body at once!

[Elemental Kaleidoscope]

Boom!!!

From all directions, the abyssal void erupted into a spectrum of radiant colors!

The elements boiled violently!

Kumironi’s body shattered almost instantly!

Bang—

Yet amidst the endless destruction—

Sofia’s voice echoed across the heavens and earth.

"How amusing... how ignorant... how pitiful."

"To think you would attempt to kill a Moon Sovereign who governs life itself..."

"Just because you wield Forbidden Magic, you believe you can do as you please?"

"How... tragic."

—It can’t be killed.

Kanzaki Rei reached that conclusion immediately.

Pff!

Kumironi’s body—reduced to pure elements, burned to nothingness, completely annihilated—

regenerated directly within the empty void.

Meanwhile—

Kanzaki Rei’s body continued to grow more limbs.

Slash!

Slash slash slash slash slash—

In an instant, he severed all the excess limbs growing from his body.

But the growth showed no signs of stopping.

Kumironi’s body had already fully regenerated from total destruction.

Bathed in the raging sea of elements, she gazed at the distant Kanzaki Rei.

Snap!

In her eyes, Kanzaki Rei appeared and disappeared in an instant—

pure teleportation.

But what was the point of running around like that?

"Weren’t you curious what I’m trying to do?"

Sofia could feel Kanzaki Rei’s limbs. She could feel his body.

There was no need for physical contact.

The moment Kanzaki Rei appeared before her—

his fate had already been decided.

"Life... requires an ultimate interpretation."

"The essence of life is not love for life, nor pity for the weak."

"It is to become something truly great."

"To become the sum of all life. Perfection. Flawlessness."

Buzz—

Sofia looked up at Kanzaki Rei as he appeared in the sky, then turned her gaze toward Rhine.

She extended one hand toward him.

Snap—

In an instant, Rhine was pulled toward her—

like a magnet, crashing into Kumironi’s body.

The two of them merged together like lumps of clay, gradually fusing into one.

"Just like this... becoming the sum of all life."

"You’re quite remarkable. Even more so than my beloved Kumironi."

"Though you’re not as perfect a vessel as she is... you’re certainly not worthless life."

A sorrowful voice echoed within Kanzaki Rei’s mind—

"Come... become me."

"I am you. You are me."

"All life in this world... is one and the same."