Chapter 657: The Destroyer King's Disregard! A Life Form Attempting to Drill into the Universe!
"Ren, I can also go help you."
The voice was soft, yet imbued with the sharpness of a tempered blade. Busujima Saeko stepped forward, her purple hair cascading over her bare shoulders like a silken waterfall. Her suggestion came without a flicker of hesitation, her dark eyes reflecting nothing but absolute devotion and a warrior's resolve.
She belonged to Ren—body, heart, and soul. To Saeko, the concept of fear in the face of death had long since evaporated, replaced by the singular purpose of serving the man who had conquered her. Therefore, even the mention of an entity as terrifying as the "Destroyer King" could not make her flinch. If Ren was going to face a god of destruction, she would be the steel in his hand.
However, Saeko's sudden declaration startled the other women in the room. The atmosphere, thick with the languid aftermath of their intimacy, suddenly tightened. They sensed something was wrong—Saeko was acting far too serious, her killing intent leaking out just a fraction, sharp enough to prick the skin.
The beautiful swordswoman abruptly raised her head. Her lips, still glistening with the evidence of her service, parted slightly as she looked up at the man towering over them.
"Ren, did something happen? If there's danger, I want to help too!"
Takagi Saya, Takagi Yuriko, and the others immediately tensed up, their relaxed postures vanishing as they sat up amidst the tangled sheets.
"And us!" Saya chimed in, her face flushed but her expression fierce. "We aren't just vases to be kept on a shelf!"
Ren looked down at the garden of beauties surrounding him. He could feel their intentions—a mixture of worry, love, and a fierce desire to protect him, despite the vast gap in their power. A gentle, genuine smile softened his features.
He reached out, his thumb gently wiping the transparent fluid from the corner of Saeko's mouth, his touch tender and possessive.
"Don't worry," Ren said, his voice calm and grounding, like the earth itself. "It's nothing major. It's just to confirm the nature of a certain 'thing'. Even if there is danger, I have the power to leave immediately. None of you need to risk yourselves."
Although he didn't say it explicitly, his eyes conveyed a message that Saeko understood perfectly: You are my home, not my shield.
Saeko closed her eyes for a brief moment, leaning into his hand, then opened them again, her gaze clear. She raised her hand to caress Ren's cheek, lowered her beautiful face, and placed a reverent kiss on his lips.
"Ren, you must return safely."
"I will."
Ren chuckled low in his throat. He lowered his head, his gaze falling on a platter of fruit nearby. He picked up a grape with his teeth, bit into it with a crisp snap, and then offered the other half to Saeko with a mischievous glint in his golden eyes.
"Don't worry," he whispered against her ear, the sound sending shivers down her spine. "There are still a few delicacies waiting for me here. I wouldn't dream of leaving the table before the feast is finished."
With that promise hanging in the air, Ren stepped back.
Under the shy, adoring, and worried gazes of the women, space warped around him. With a faint shimmer, he disappeared from the bedroom, leaving behind only the lingering scent of his presence.
"..."
The air was silent for a moment, the heavy atmosphere of his departure settling over the room.
Then, the silence was broken by movement.
Takagi Saya leaned close to Saeko. She reached for her glasses on the bedside table, put them on with a serious expression, and then stared intently at Saeko's chest. Specifically, she was gazing at the "grape"—the rosy peak that Ren had just been favoring before his departure.
"Saya, what are you doing?" Yuriko asked, her voice carrying a tone of maternal reprimand, though her own cheeks were still dusted pink. "Staring like that is rude."
Saya ignored her mother. She pouted, her lower lip trembling slightly, and tears of indignation welled up in her eyes.
"Ren is biased!" she declared, her voice cracking with grievance.
"Huh?"
Everyone looked confused. Even Marikawa Shizuka, usually the most oblivious, tilted her head, her blonde hair falling over her generous curves.
"Why does Saya-chan say that?" Shizuka asked, blinking innocently. "Isn't Ren-kun very good to us? He takes care of everyone equally and only stops when everyone is comfortable and... well, satisfied, right?"
But Saya shook her head furiously. "That's not it!"
She pointed a trembling finger at Saeko's chest, then ripped the sheet away from her own body, pointing at her own snow-white skin.
"Look!" Saya cried out, indignation burning in her eyes. "Ren bit me with obvious force! It hurt so much, and the tooth marks are clear! But look at Saeko! She doesn't have any marks! He was gentle with her! This is blatant targeting!"
"..."
The air froze.
Marikawa Shizuka blinked. Alice tilted her head. Even Yuriko covered her face with her hand, unable to bear the second-hand embarrassment.
That's it?
Everyone wore strange expressions, a mix of disbelief and amusement.
The collective thought ran through the room: Isn't this Saya's own fault? Acting tsundere and stubborn, always challenging him... of course Ren-kun has to put in some extra effort to make you obedient. Do you know how jealous we are that he marked you so possessively?
Location: Chito and Yuuri's Original World
Far removed from the warmth of the villa, the atmosphere here was cold, desolate, and silent.
A shattered planet hung in the void, a testament to a civilization long dead. The wind howled through the ruins of steel and concrete, carrying the dust of forgotten lives.
Space twisted, and Ren's figure appeared on the surface of the broken world.
"Eh! Ren-nii, you're here!"
"What are you doing?"
Two voices greeted him simultaneously.
Chito, the small girl in the military helmet, stood there, her eyes widening in surprise. But then, realizing Ren's state of dress—or rather, the slight disarray of his clothes and the faint lipstick marks on his neck—she blushed furiously and covered her eyes with her hands, peeking through the gaps.
Standing beside her was a woman who commanded the very air around her.
Esdeath.
The Ice General stood tall, her white uniform pristine against the gray ruins. Her ice-blue eyes stared intently at Ren, scanning him not with shyness, but with a predatory hunger. She noted the red marks on his neck and chest—battle scars of a different kind—and a smirk played on her lips.
"Hmm?"
Ren frowned slightly, staring at Esdeath. He hadn't expected her to be here. This was a dangerous reconnaissance mission, not a field trip.
"Why did you come over?" Ren asked, his voice calm but authoritative. As he spoke, a layer of casual clothing manifested over his body, covering the evidence of his morning activities. "Didn't I say I'd check for danger first?"
He wasn't surprised by Chito's appearance. After all, this was her world, the world she represented in the fusion process. She had to be here as the anchor.
But Esdeath?
Esdeath flicked her waist-length blue hair over her shoulder, her gaze wild and uninhibited. She took a step toward him, the sound of her boots echoing on the cracked pavement.
"Danger? I don't care about danger," she scoffed, her smile widening into something sharp and thrilling. "I want to see with my own eyes this so-called 'Extinction Doomsday' that makes even you cautious."
She stopped right in front of him, looking up into his golden eyes.
"You are the person I want to surpass in my life. You are my goal. If you die here, I will avenge you. And if you die... then so be it."
A hint of indifference mixed with intense passion appeared in her eyes. "Dying alongside the person I want to surpass... doesn't seem so bad. It would be a fitting end for a warrior."
"Oh? With your current strength, you still want to avenge me?"
Hearing Esdeath's firm, albeit slightly arrogant, declaration, Ren merely teased her. He didn't push her away. Instead, he reached out, wrapping his arm around her slender waist and pulling her flush against him. He used his other hand to tilt her smooth chin up, forcing her to look directly at him.
"But you seem to have missed one thing, General," he purred, his voice dropping an octave. "I'm not just the person you want to surpass. I am also the man who conquered you, aren't I?"
"Heh."
Esdeath let out a sound that seemed like a cold laugh, but her cheeks flushed a faint pink. Behind that cold facade was a swirling entanglement of emotions—pride, submission, and an overwhelming love for the only man stronger than her.
"To avenge me, this much power isn't enough for you," Ren whispered.
Currently, Esdeath possessed power roughly equivalent to Level 7 in the system's ranking. It was formidable, enough to crush planets, but against the entities involved in the Lord of Myriad Worlds competition, it was like a candle in a hurricane.
"Ren..."
Ren took advantage of the contact. Golden light began to flow from his hand into her body, surging through her veins like liquid fire.
"Oh? This power..."
Esdeath gasped, her eyes widening. She could feel it—a fundamental change in her very existence. It wasn't just an increase in mana or physical strength; it was an elevation of her concept.
A powerful force, capable of conquering universes, flooded her core. This captivating power came from Ren. He was the first and last man capable of conquering her, and now he was granting her the strength to stand by his side.
She couldn't help but raise her slender, snowy neck, surrendering to the sensation of ascension.
But just at this moment.
[Ding! Warning! The Destroyer King's glance has descended! Extinction Doomsday has arrived!]
The system notification rang out like a death knell in Ren's mind.
"!!!"
Ren abruptly raised his head, releasing Esdeath. His expression shifted from playful to deadly serious in a nanosecond.
He gazed gravely at the starry sky beyond the shattered Earth.
There, in the infinite darkness of the void, a pair of eyes opened. They were vast, spanning galaxies, filled with a deathly stillness that froze the blood. They observed this place through countless worlds, piercing through dimensions.
He especially felt those eyes linger on him for a second.
The Destroyer King.
A powerhouse comparable to the Devouring King and the Time Calamity King. A candidate for the Lord of Myriad Worlds.
Just a glance across countless worlds caused Ren's entire body to scream warnings. His instincts, honed to a razor's edge, roared that this was an entity of absolute annihilation.
But then, the gaze shifted. The eyes closed or looked away.
The other party only gazed for a second before their sight disappeared.
It was as if... they didn't care about them at all.
Treating them like ants. Like dust motes floating in the sun. Or like fireflies trying to outshine the moon.
"We've been ignored," Ren muttered, his eyelids twitching.
A surge of irritation rose within him. To be dismissed so casually... it stung. But he pushed the feeling aside. Survival came first.
"Boom!!!"
The next second, the universe trembled.
It wasn't a sound, but a vibration that rattled the very fabric of reality.
"What... what is happening?" Chito cried out, clutching her helmet as the ground beneath them shook violently.
All three felt a bizarre change. The laws of physics seemed to groan under immense pressure.
"What's happening to the universe?" Esdeath asked, her hand gripping the hilt of her rapier, though there was no enemy to stab.
It felt as if something from outside—something massive and alien—was being forcibly crammed into this universe. The universe let out a painful wail, the stars flickering as space itself was stretched to its breaking point.
A more direct change appeared in the sky.
"Look!" Chito pointed.
Collapsing, fragmented fissures appeared in the void of the universe. They were ugly scars on the face of reality, bleeding darkness.
Countless stars shattered or were sucked into the darkness of the fissures, extinguished in an instant.
But that wasn't a black hole; it was an opening. A breach connecting to the "Outside."
Ren's eyes narrowed slightly, golden light swirling within them as he analyzed the phenomenon.
He sensed it. Some unstoppable entity was expanding the fissure, attempting to squeeze through the gap between worlds. It was like a parasite burrowing into flesh.
"It seems we can't use this place as a battlefield," Ren stated coldly.
If the guy on the other side could destroy the universe just by squeezing in, then what good would world fusion be? The "Unified World" would be crushed before it even began.
"Esdeath, grab Chito. Stay close to me."
"Understood."
With a thought, Ren mobilized the power of the Infinite Tree.
"Layered Cosmos: Deployment."
The universe changed.
Ren didn't just erect a shield; he rewrote the local spatial coordinates. Thousands of artificial universes were instantly superimposed over the current reality, creating a buffer zone of unimaginable depth.
He wrapped the original universe in layers of sacrificial dimensions, thoroughly protecting it like a pearl inside a thousand shells.
These thousands of universes would serve as the battlefield.
"Come then," Ren whispered to the void, his eyes burning with defiance. "Let's see what a subordinate of the Destroyer King is made of."
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