Within the shattered lands of the Shuan Empire, Kuto battled against Xeora's Demoness.
The battlefield had turned into a nightmare of blood, corpses, and broken demon heads scattered across the ruined earth.
"You are strong," the Demoness said with a seductive smile, slowly licking the blood from her lips.
Kuto stared at her with exhausted eyes. Blood streamed down his forehead, and one of his arms hung broken at his side.
"You're not bad either," Kuto replied with a faint but confident smile as he forced himself to stand despite the unbearable pain.
The Demoness smiled arrogantly before regenerating her severed arm instantly.
"How unfortunate," she said mockingly. "Humans are such fragile creatures. You can't even regenerate."
Kuto looked at her calmly before smirking.
"Laugh while you still can," he said confidently. "The moment he returns… your existence ends."
The Demoness walked closer, crimson-black flames swallowing her body entirely.
"I doubt he's ever coming back," she whispered arrogantly.
Suddenly—
The entire sky trembled violently.
Space distorted.
Reality itself bent unnaturally.
Rien appeared high above the battlefield with a calm, unreadable gaze.
"Sorry for being late," Rien said softly before descending between them.
The Demoness froze.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"How are you alive?" she asked in disbelief.
Rien glanced at her and smiled faintly.
"Were you expecting my corpse?" he asked calmly. "That would be impossible."
He then turned toward Kuto.
"What happened to you?" Rien chuckled lightly. "You look like a broken machine."
Kuto rolled his eyes tiredly.
"You wouldn't understand the pain of being human," he sighed. "Handling this much pain is torture."
Rien smiled gently before waving his hand.
In an instant, Kuto's broken arm regenerated completely.
"I created existence itself," Rien said calmly. "And you think I do not understand pain?"
Kuto stretched his healed arm and sighed.
"That's exactly the problem," he replied. "Absolute beings like you can never truly understand human feelings."
Rien looked at him silently for a moment before speaking.
"If you created a machine," Rien asked softly, "what would you expect from it?"
Kuto frowned in confusion.
"To act like a human, obviously."
Rien smiled.
"And why?"
"Because I would be its creator," Kuto answered. "Its feelings would exist because I have also and that why I design him."
Rien gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Exactly."
His voice became quieter. Deeper.
"If every emotion in existence was born from me, then how could I possibly not understand them?"
"Pain is not a flaw."
"It is a warning."
"A function I gave to life so it would protect itself from destruction."
Kuto stared at him silently before waving his hand dismissively.
"Whatever," he sighed. "You handle this. I'm going to buy dumplings."
He casually walked away.
Rien looked toward the Demoness with a faint smile.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "I do not hurt women."
Kuto suddenly stopped walking and glanced back.
"Then fight like a human," he said confidently. "You'll finally understand."
Rien remained silent for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"You still do not understand…"
"Zenith Zero."
The moment those words were spoken—
Every trace of divine authority vanished from Rien's body.
No cosmic aura.
No overwhelming pressure.
No omnipotent presence.
It was as though existence itself had suddenly forgotten what he truly was.
Rien stretched his arms casually before bouncing lightly on his feet.
"Let's warm up."
The Demoness instantly vanished.
She reappeared directly in front of him, her fist moving at monstrous speed toward his face.
"Fast," Rien admitted calmly, "but still within my calculations."
He stepped aside effortlessly, grabbed her wrist, and slammed her into the ground with overwhelming force.
BOOM—
The earth collapsed beneath her.
Blood burst from the Demoness's mouth.
Her eyes trembled in shock.
"There's no energy…" she whispered internally. "No divine power… no cosmic presence… yet his physical strength is monstrous…"
Rien glanced at his fist with mild disappointment.
"My punches became weaker after limiting myself to humanity," he sighed.
The Demoness suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed his shoulder violently.
"GO TO HELL!"
A gigantic sphere of black flames formed in her other hand.
The spear crashed into Rien's shoulder.
A cataclysm exploded across the battlefield.
The earth shattered apart as a blinding blast swallowed the fields whole. Mountains cracked. The sky twisted violently. Across the distant city, thousands of civilians froze in terror as the shockwave ripped through the heavens.
"What… what is happening…?"
One man whispered in horror.
Then chaos erupted.
People screamed and ran through the streets as windows burst apart and buildings trembled like paper beneath the pressure.
Above the burning battlefield, Kuto hovered in the sky, surrounded by raging Asura flames, staring down at the smoke with widened eyes.
As the smoke slowly cleared, the Demoness stood motionless.
Tall.
Dominating.
Terrifying.
She licked the blood from her lips before raising her crimson eyes toward the darkness ahead.
"So… are you alive or not?"
Drops of blood hit the shattered ground.
Drip.
Drip.
Rien stood there silently.
Half of his clothes had been erased from existence. Steam rose from his torn muscles. Blood flowed down his arm while the flesh around his shoulder slowly burned from the impact.
But his expression…
Wasn't pain.
It was fascination.
Rien slowly stared at the blood on his hand with widened eyes.
"Blood…"
His voice echoed softly.
"So this… is what bleeding feels like…"
He brought the blood closer to his face… and inhaled its scent.
"The smell…"
A twisted smile slowly appeared across his face.
The Demoness frowned.
Then she began walking toward him.
"Get ready to die, gentleman."
She extended her arm.
A massive sphere of black cosmic energy formed above her palm, swallowing light itself. The atmosphere screamed apart as shadows consumed the battlefield.
Rien slowly raised his head.
Then—
He smiled.
A calm…
Insane…
Smile.
"Die?"
His laughter suddenly echoed across the entire city.
The world trembled violently.
"This is happening because I allowed it to happen."
BOOOOOOM—!!
The land beneath him exploded apart.
"And you think…"
Rien slowly lifted his burning eyes toward her.
"…you can defeat me?"
The Demoness took a step back unconsciously.
"Have you gone insane?!"
Massive heat erupted from Rien's body.
His muscles hardened like divine steel while blue flames exploded around him in monstrous waves. The air melted from the pressure alone.
"Let's see…"
Rien whispered.
"…who dies first."
The moment he moved—
The continent burst apart.
He vanished instantly.
The Demoness' eyes widened.
Too late.
Rien appeared directly before her.
"You're slow."
His hand wrapped around her throat.
BOOOOOOOOM—!!
Blue flames erupted from his body like a cosmic dragon devouring reality itself.
Even Kuto's eyes widened in disbelief.
"His human form alone is already this powerful…?"
Kuto instantly teleported onto the battlefield.
The Demoness roared and grabbed Rien's wrist before forcing his hand away. Black aura exploded around her fist as the surrounding space cracked apart violently.
"You are NOTHING before me!"
She launched her punch.
At the same moment—
Rien punched forward.
Their fists collided.
And the world died.
The continents cracked apart.
The oceans split open.
Mountains disappeared instantly from existence.
The collision released a shockwave so monstrous that tsunamis erupted across distant nations on the other side of the planet.
Near the seas, civilians looked toward the horizon in horror as walls of water rose into the sky.
"TSUNAMI!!"
People ran desperately toward the cities as the ocean itself screamed.
Back on the battlefield—
The Earth shattered apart completely.
The force of their clash launched both Rien and the Demoness beyond the atmosphere… beyond the moon… beyond planetary gravity itself.
Now they floated within the dark void between planets and stars.
The burning sun illuminated their broken bodies.
The Demoness smirked.
"You're still alive."
Rien looked down silently at his hands.
His skin had completely torn away.
Only fractured bones remained beneath the dripping blood.
Agonizing pain surged through every nerve in his body.
But then—
Rien smiled.
A genuine smile.
"So this…"
He stared at his ruined hand with fascination.
"…is pain."
His eyes slowly widened with excitement.
"That's amazing."
The Demoness felt chills crawl down her spine.
"You monster…"
Suddenly—
BOOOOSH—!!
Her arm exploded instantly.
Blood scattered through space, floating weightlessly in the cosmic darkness.
The Demoness froze.
Her face twisted in horror.
"What… just happened…?"
Rien sat calmly in the void as a dark throne materialized behind him automatically.
He crossed his legs elegantly.
"You still rely on cosmic energy."
His voice was calm.
Cold.
Absolute.
"But out here…"
Rien slowly looked around the infinite universe.
"…the density of cosmic energy is infinitely greater."
The Demoness' eyes widened.
"The moment your power collided with the universe itself…"
Rien rested his face against his fist.
"…your weaker energy lost."
Veins bulged across the Demoness' body violently as her flesh began tearing apart under the pressure.
"My body… can't handle it…?!"
Fear entered her voice for the first time.
Rien smiled softly.
"Your body was never worthy of this level of power."
The Demoness screamed and charged toward him desperately, pouring monstrous cosmic energy into one final punch.
"I WILL KILL YOU—!!"
Before she could even reach him—
Her entire body exploded.
BOOOOOOOOM—!!
Blood.
Bones.
Organs.
Everything scattered silently through space.
Rien simply watched.
Calmly.
"It was a great battle."
Silence consumed the universe.
Then—
Reality suddenly shifted.
Kuto blinked.
Rien was suddenly standing behind him again on Earth as if nothing had happened.
"Let's go."
Kuto's eyes widened completely.
"W-What just happened?!"
Rien walked toward the ruined city with his hands in his pockets.
A calm smile rested on his face while blood dripped from his destroyed arm.
"We won."
Kuto stared at him speechlessly before rushing after him through the burning ruins of the world.