A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

The ring, symbolizing the opposite of reality, the ring Marek used to manipulate everyone, has now reappeared before Bray.

Then the ring fell to the ground and shattered like glass. A ray of light from above shone on Bray's face.

The world in his mind vanished, and Bray collapsed helplessly to the ground.

He wanted to fall gracefully, but with one leg almost crippled by Nalan, he couldn't stand steadily at all.

Bray lay on his side on the ground, staring at the fragments of the black ring.

In his final moments, he saw something in Nalan's eyes.

It's hard to explain, but that's probably what sustained Nalan's memories.

Once he gets involved with Marek, Bray can't imagine what good will come of Nalan.

It's a bit of a pity.

A man who should have become an upright adventurer was reduced to a lackey of desire and transformed into a ferocious beast.

A breeze blew in from outside, bringing a refreshing coolness to Bray.

How long will he lie here? Will he bleed to death because no one finds him?

If that's the case, Bray will feel very frustrated.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" Bray asked.

“It’s slightly different,” Marek said quietly from his high vantage point.

Marek never left, and both Bray and Nalan knew it.

However, both of them chose to ignore the guy who was probably the mastermind behind it all.

Marek did nothing until Nalan died; he simply watched.

“It was more soul-stirring than I imagined,” Marek said, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together in a lingering tone.

Nalan's ideas and decisions exceeded Marek's expectations.

Even after being swallowed by the remnants of the concept, he did not go berserk, which was also unexpected by Marek.

If Nalan had the will to escape, then this world would probably have one more formidable monster—a monster that might have the potential to become a Silver-ranked being.

“Is it fun to treat that guy like a toy?” Bray looked Marek up and down with his lifeless right eye.

Marek gracefully jumped down from the height, striking a thoughtful pose.

"Toys? That's not a good analogy. I was just treating them as actors."

“I have never looked down on anyone, nor have I ever intended to ‘play’ anyone,” Marek said with a smile.

"I just want to see good plays."

The lies were merely for a better performance, and the performance was simply to see something unpredictable that one strongly anticipated.

"Tap, tap, tap." Marek walked slowly toward Bray.

Bray is now completely powerless to resist, and is at the mercy of others.

Marek rarely saw Bray in this state, and once again smiled knowingly.

"Is it because you're too strong, or is Nalan too weak?" Marek walked up to Bray, smiling and looking down at him.

Yes, is it that Bray is too strong, or that Nalan is too weak?

"This world contains many Black Iron races that are too powerful to comprehend."

“They are so strong that they can even use their skills to threaten the Silver race,” Marek said slowly.

"Then, Nalan fought with some of them."

“…” Bray looked at Marek in silence.

"Nalan, let's fight them to the death in this 'battle of life and death'."

"In the end, we won a miraculous victory, just like you did before."

Marek didn't tell Bray how he got those strongmen to fight Nalan to the death; he simply skipped that part and went straight to the result.

"Victory after victory, painful victory, victory filled with despair."

“Facing powerful, despair-inducing enemies time and time again, it’s like hell, don’t you think?” Marek’s smile was like the devil’s wicked grin, sending chills down one’s spine.

"Unfortunately, even after overcoming that hell, I still fell to your hand."

“Even though neither of us received the world’s favor, you still won.” Marek said, giving Bray a meaningful look.

"Then, having narrowly won, you lie on the ground completely unprepared."

"Am I capable of shooting you dead with a single shot?" A hint of curiosity appeared on Marek's pale face.

Bray should have regained the ring's "blessing," meaning he won't die easily again.

Even when faced with a very dangerous situation, there is always a way to get through it.

But what about now?

Marek was only a step away from Bray; if he pulled out his gun, he could blow Bray's head off.

Bray's body was not strong; unable to move, he was practically a target, a vulnerable target.

Those who observe the precepts will not die easily, but that does not mean they will never die.

Marek and Jonathan can both attest to this.

Because they were all once vow-holders, but they escaped the selection of the ring through the cycle of death and reincarnation.

Therefore, they can assert that, under certain irreversible circumstances, a person who observes the precepts will still die.

“…” Bray just stared at Marek, his dead fish eyes showing no fear.

He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, not whether he would die, not whether Marek would make a move.

If you had to pinpoint what he's thinking about right now, it would be whether Naruko and Rei are hungry and whether his younger sister has lost weight.

It's just a bunch of boring things.

It's not that he lacks the will to survive; it's just that he's currently unable to escape.

Unfortunately, that's reality.

Bray was completely exhausted; if it weren't for the mental world supporting him, he wouldn't have been able to unleash his final sword strike.

Now that the mental world has disappeared, he no longer has the strength to stand up.

“Your eyes look very strange,” Marek said with a smile, pulling a gun from his clothes.

“He doesn’t seem to be thinking about how to escape, but he doesn’t seem to have given up on survival either,” Marek said, changing the bullets in his gun.

"What are you thinking?"

“I wasn’t thinking about anything,” Bray said.

"I see, I wasn't thinking about anything."

"But is it really true that you didn't think about anything?" Marek asked rhetorically.

"You talk too much nonsense."

"Sorry, I guess I picked up some bad habits from some people." Marek smiled apologetically and raised the hand holding the gun.

The gun was pointed at—

Naruko stands between Bray and Marek.

"Don't touch that dead fish eye." Naruko gasped for breath, blocking Bray like a protective mother hen.

He ran, weaving between the two, all in one fluid motion.

“That was a real surprise.” Marek looked at Naruko, looking into her eyes.

Her eyes were beautiful, and now they were surprisingly serious.

Marek's gun was almost pressed against her forehead, but Naruko didn't back down an inch.

"Ugh!!!" Next to her was Levy, whose fur was constantly standing on end.

After hearing the noise, they decided to take a bold look.

Finally, they saw the fallen Bray and the "arrogant" Marek.

Of course, Marek knew about their arrival beforehand, but he was just concerned.

Compared to the other two, Bray was definitely more worthy of attention. In his opinion, the lucky girl had no influence on him.

However, he did not expect that this girl would stand between him and Bray like this.

That's really bold... and incredibly fast.

Without the slightest hesitation.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Marek asked.

“I know,” Naruko said earnestly.

"Do you really know what you're doing?" the girl with the pink ponytail in front of Marek asked again.

The girl's act of standing in front of Bray was meaningless.

"As soon as I pull the trigger, you'll fall."

“If I pull the trigger one more time, Mr. Bray will die too.”

"Luckily, my gun can fire in bursts. Before that mixed-race kid can do anything, you two will be finished," Marek said regretfully.

"..." Naruko didn't speak, she just stared at the person holding the gun.

Naruko's expression was not fierce, and there was no murderous intent in her eyes.

There was no hint of backing down in those eyes.

Even though Naruko understood every word Marek said, she still didn't move an inch.

In the past, Naruko would run away without saying a word, because she knew that Bray could do everything and that she would just be in the way.

Not only her, but even Levy would only be a burden in Bray's battle.

Who can keep up with Bray? Nobody.

The only person standing at the very front is Bray himself.

She didn't run away out of cowardice; she simply trusted Blakeras.

Just like Levy, she trusted almost blindly.

But now that guy has fallen.

He will die if no one stands in front of him.

"Your luck allowed you to arrive before Mr. Bray died."

"But that's all there is to it."

“The fact that you are powerless will not change,” Marek said.

"You stood up, and then what?"

"You talk too much." Naruko pouted.

"I remember you. Your name is Marek. You gave us tickets." Naruko vaguely remembered this person who used to wear a hat and round-framed glasses.

"It's so gratifying that you actually recognize me."

Despite Naruko being held at gunpoint and Marek being the one holding the gun, the two of them were having a casual chat.

You've changed so much.

“Yes, I’ve changed so much, but you, Naruko, seem to have remained exactly the same.” Naruko remembered Marek, and Marek remembered this unique girl just as well.

She wasn't particularly likable, but she was someone people envied.

She was so unrestrained that even the fear of life and death could not bind her.

She was like a bird outside a cage, always curiously watching the other birds that were locked up inside.

"Take my advice and move away."

“Otherwise, I will shoot,” Marek said with a smile, his terrifying words sounding so casual to Naruko.