Getting up, Leron lunged at Ulrich. All the elemental particles in the air began to hum and vibrate. Just as he was within touching distance, they were both thrown into the Void Realm. The sudden change in environment did not stop Ulrich from defending himself. Slowly raising his palm, he met the punch head-on.

  The space around them rippled, and several cracks formed in it, but they rapidly repaired themselves. Seeing that his punch had not done anything significant, Leron hopped back and steadied his stance. There was pitch-black darkness all around them, and the only way to see was to sense the energy. Having high attunement with energy, this was not a problem for Ascenders.

  By now, Renus had also entered the Void Realm and was standing beside Ulrich.

  “You have grown a lot in these past few years. If not for all this happening, you would have most likely ascended further. How about it? Help me deal with Renus, and I will make sure you are properly rewarded. You must know that I am not making empty promises. Moreover, you don’t need to involve yourself with this crazy suicide plan of this old fogey.”

  “Are you done?” Ulrich asked in a deadpan voice. “If you are waiting for reinforcements, they will not come anytime soon. If you have any last words, just say them.”

  Seeing that his persuasion did not work, Leron let out a deep sigh. His gaze then turned to Renus, whose angry face was ready to jump at any moment of carelessness. Realizing there was no way out, he took out a small golden pendant from his pocket.

  Both Renus and Ulrich recognized that pendant. It was one of the relics given by their god for their protection. During the siege, many were lost or looted by their enemies, so Leron having one was perfectly normal.

  However, this pendant was a proper counter to their strategy of ganging up on him. Unless one had completed their Ascension, they had to obey the rules set by the pendant.

  Raising the pendant, Leron just looked at Renus. At that moment, Ulrich felt that something had changed in the atmosphere around him. He instinctively tried to attack Leron but was stopped by a shout from Renus.

  “Stop!” Looking at the paused Ulrich, Renus continued, “The pendant has already taken effect. If you try to meddle in a fight between us now, you will face a penalty and be punished. For now, just stay aside and watch from the sidelines. I will make sure he gets what he deserves.”

  Nodding his head, Ulrich walked to the side. Since there was no land to walk on in the Void Realm, Ascenders channeled a small amount of energy below their feet to use as a foothold. Seeing Ulrich moving aside, Leron nodded his head in satisfaction. The golden pendant glowed around his neck.

  Looking at the smug expression on his arch-enemy’s face, Renus clenched his teeth. “Do you really think you are safe just because you are fighting us one after another?”

  Leron just replied with a smile. “At that time, you were just a Paragon, and I was already an Ascender. Now that you have become an Ascender yourself, you must realize the gap between us is not of power but of control over elemental energy. And experience matters a lot in that case.”

  Instead of verbally speaking, Renus just charged at Leron, his body covered in ice armor. Not standing on ceremony, Leron also manipulated the elemental particles in the Void to form a long ice spear.

  The Void Realm acted as a dumping ground for worlds, which meant all the excess energy and anomalies generated in the world were sent into it. Over countless years, the Void Realm surrounding the worlds had transformed into an energy-rich area.

  Soon, fists met the spear, and both Ascenders fought at a speed not visible to the normal naked eye. Ulrich just stood to the side, watching and observing their movements. His mind analyzed and deduced the way they used their energy, refining the concepts in his mind. To him, it was painfully obvious that sooner or later, Renus was going to die. But he felt nothing about it and just searched for any obvious openings to exploit after his death.

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  Each strike chipped away at Renus’s armor. Once a spot was sufficiently carved out, the spear struck deep, dealing fatal damage. And Renus, with his heavy armor, was not able to cope with the long reach of the spear.

  Renus was completely bloodied in a short span of time. He exchanged blow for blow, ignoring his injuries, but even to him it became painfully obvious that it was hard to inflict any kind of substantial damage on Leron. Although his body was slowly recovering, it was not able to keep pace with the damage being inflicted by his enemy. Banking on this, Leron didn’t give him any chance to recover his breath.

  Just as Leron had said earlier, control over elemental energy was the core of a fight between Ascenders, and he was not going easy while proving it. Whenever Renus’s armor was touched by the spear, he felt the elemental particles being chipped away, and he was losing control over them. In just a short while, the particles he could control had been reduced by half, and Leron had not broken a sweat yet.

  Then suddenly, Renus felt a sharp pain in his left calf. Looking down, he saw that a spear had impaled him there. Taking advantage of his distraction, Leron launched another attack, and the armor protecting Renus’s fist was also destroyed. His unprotected left hand had been completely smashed, with no signs of recovering anytime soon. The blood flowing from his head was covering his eyes and turning his vision red.

  But Leron, who had brought him to this state, was focusing his gaze on Ulrich. He slowly used the spear in his hand to leisurely impale Renus’s other leg. Renus, who was trying to resist, could only flail his hands around while trying to reach Leron. Finally unable to bear it, he fell to his knees.

  Bringing his attention back to his fallen enemy, Leron said with a smile, “Since Ulrich gave me a chance to speak, I will do the same for you, Renus. Go on. Tell us your final words.” This method was a means to spite Ulrich and gain an advantage in the upcoming fight. Even a slight psychological advantage could mean the difference between life and death.

  Slowly raising his head and looking at the enemy in front of him, Renus said in a small, hoarse voice, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, go on,” Leron said confidently, though he was ready to activate his Ascension Spell at any moment.

  Renus could see right through it. Still, raising his head slightly, he said in a small voice, “My Treasure.” At that moment, the image of a cute and lovable girl appeared in his vision. Her cyan hair was tied in small pigtails, and her smile was enough to brighten his whole day. A small tear fell from his eyes. I am coming to you.

  For a brief moment, there was silence. Then suddenly, Renus’s body dissolved into cyan light and formed a small dagger. Alarm bells began to ring in Leron’s head. Without a second thought, he activated his Ascension Spell, Goldilocks Shield. A transparent shield appeared in front of him, possessing just the right strength to defend against the incoming attack. Leron has considered many situations, but he failed to consider the fact that the people in front of him had already forfeited their lives and were using them as simple chess pieces.

  The dagger and the shield tussled with each other, wearing down their opponent’s strength. However, the dagger made from sacrificing a soul was much stronger than a normal attack. When the dagger had just half its strength remaining, the Goldilocks Shield cracked and shattered, and the dagger shot straight toward its prey. Leron used ice elementals to create several layers of defense, but the dagger easily bypassed them and plunged into his chest. However, having lost most of its momentum and energy already, it was not able to kill its target and dissipated without achieving its intended objective.

  Before Leron could feel safe, Ulrich was already beside him, slamming a fist into his back. Leron did not have time to react and was slammed down—if it could be called that. With Renus dead, the duel had ended, and nothing was stopping Ulrich from getting to him. And Ulrich did not have any intention of letting this chance slip.

  “Wolf of Frost.” These were the last words Leron heard before a large maw bit down on him.

  Opening his eyes, he was standing in a dry cavern with only darkness around him. Just as he turned his head, he saw a majestic cyan wolf standing before him. Not giving him a chance to think, it bit down on his separated soul and completely killed him. In his last moments, he remembered the faces of the children from that night. But even if he went back in time, he would still make the same choice again. For the power and for the glory which he could not achieve under the god, he would do anything.

  Standing in the Void Realm, Ulrich looked at the large cyan wolf that had appeared beside him. The wolf spat out the golden pendant at his feet. Then it transformed back into ice elementals and dissolved. Ulrich picked up the pendant and pocketed it. Although one of his comrades had died, there was no remorse or pain on his face, as if nothing could move him.

  Slowly tearing space, he reappeared at his previous place. Looking at the dark clouds gathering above him, he once again tore space and traversed the Void Realm. Soon, a tear appeared above the city walls, and Ulrich emerged. Looking around, most of the normal people had already evacuated the city.

  Suddenly, lightning started raining down on his original spot.

  “Someone is trying to ascend,” he muttered under his breath.