Eren breathed out a sigh of relief, his gaze settling on Renita's reattached arm.
A sense of reassurance washed over him as he observed the successful repair. He was acutely aware, however, that Renita's path to recovery would be more arduous than Altashia's.
The toll of Renita's exhaustion was not restricted to her physical form alone. Her Spiritual Force had been drained to its very limits, a taxing trial on her very soul. Eren surmised that it could take a week or even a fortnight for Renita to awaken from her imposed slumber.
'On the bright side, her awakened Soul Sense will stand as a huge asset for her in the future. I think I did the right thing, even though I wouldn't admit anything about it to her. There are some things a man should never tell to his woman no matter how solid their bond is,' Eren thought as if self-assuring himself.
With a shift of his focus, he directed his attention towards Alephee, who stood near Altashia. His words to her carried a composed tone.
"Alephee, take both Renita and Altashia away from this disputed land. I'll manage things from here and rendezvous with you shortly. There are some expected guests who are just "dying" to see me."
The approach of several Rankers drew Alephee's attention, their movement spells signaling their steady advance toward Eren's current position. Raising her hands, she orchestrated the elevation of the unconscious forms of Renita and Altashia, the two women now hovering around her.
Addressing Eren with a tone of both command and concern, she issued her instructions,
"Alright. However, you need to exercise some restraint with your Master Rank powers, Eren. Your advancement hasn't yet settled completely. Act a bit prudently," With her words hanging in the air, Alephee vanished from the scene, her departure accompanied by the disappearance of Altashia and Renita.
"Keke. Prudent is my middle name, Miss Timeless," Eren said aloud, not knowing if Alephee could still hear him or not.
In the moments leading up to this, Eren had already communicated to his team members that the need for them to secure a perimeter around him was no longer imperative. Thanks to his guildmates and the members of Firebrand, his promotion to the Master Rank had been executed right in the midst of the battlefield without a hitch. Having achieved a breakthrough into the stagnated world enforced by Alephee's Authority, his breakthrough had been a recent achievement in real-time.
Thus, when he issued the order for his companions to retreat, he anticipated that his adversaries would soon be upon him, his swift actions against Hamang acting as a clear signal.
He had also directed his comrades, both from his team and the Firebrand Guild, to cease their interference against the forces of Layos. The battles, including the taxing wyvern hunt, had drained their resources considerably. He could not ask them to persist in futile battles.
"Time to tie loose ends," Eren contemplated inwardly, his gaze resolute as it fell upon his lone remaining foe at the scene.
Determined not to let Hamang be rescued by his allies by some wild cards or the so-called destiny of a protagonist, Eren took swift action to conclude this confrontation.
For the butcher, revenge was a satisfaction best savored briefly. He had come to realize that the act or revenge needed to be concluded at the right time for the sake of his own well-being. There was no use prolonging the act just to gain a vain supply of satisfaction.
With this resolve, Eren materialized before Hamang once more, his gaze unyielding. Hamang, ensnared in the maddening grasp of Gluttony's power, was still consumed by his gruesome feast upon his own flesh.
Only half of his severed arm remained, the other part having been devoured and regurgitated multiple times. His desperation fueled his anger, and he managed to find enough coherence to voice his disdain.
"You… demon… you're a demon, Grimdawn. You make me sick."
Eren's chuckle rippled through the air in response.
"Oddly enough, I find that comparison rather fitting," he retorted, a dark amusement dancing in his eyes.
"Although I might take offense at being likened to a mere demon, rather than the Demon God."
With this witty remark, Eren's hand descended upon Hamang's head, a twist of magic conjuring another Blue Blitz Bolt. Swift and precise, he cleaved Hamang's head from his body, ending the torment once and for all.
"Lord Hamang! Noooo….!"
The cry, thick with both agitation and fear, resounded through the air in the wake of Eren's swift dispatching of Hamang. With a forceful kick, he sent Hamang's lifeless form sprawling backward, coming to rest on the ground. Clasping the severed head of his vanquished foe by the hair, Eren's actions were driven by the impending arrival of anticipated visitors.
Amidst a tense atmosphere, a group of five Expert Rankers materialized, followed closely by a contingent of Adept Rankers. But Eren had no intention of affording them even a moment's pause. He cared not to examine their appearances or discern their expressions. Every second wasted on idle interaction was one relinquished from the battle that beckoned.
Dismissing Hamang's head as if it were naught more than discarded refuse, Eren propelled himself forward, his focus locked onto his new adversaries.
Every nuance of the scene seemed to indicate that the butcher was completely fine by the rapid and unusual ascendancy into the Master Rank, a feat that typically demanded considerable acclimation. And as he surged toward his foes, he made no concession to their potential actions, choosing to take the initiative.
For the forces of Layos, it was a moment both remarkable and disconcerting to witness Eren not only achieving Master Rank status in an astonishingly short interval but also mastering it with an unusual quickness, as evidenced by his apparent readiness for battle. A particular unease simmered among them, intensified by the realization that Eren had slain Hamang Horin, who bore a familial link to their commander, Carvel Horin.
The opposition had harbored elaborate strategies for neutralizing Eren once he officially attained the Master Rank. They had anticipated a degree of instability in his new status and had conceived intricate Battle Formations for coordination.
Yet, their plans were shattered by Eren's ferocity. With a single-minded determination, he killed any notion of dialogue, instantly engaging them in combat as they ventured within his proximity.
'What a timely entry. Just when I was looking for a few test subjects to test my new powers on,' Eren looked at his opponents with a prefatory gaze. A faint smile lingered at the edges of his lips, his anticipation transforming into a palpable excitement as he charged at them.
Bloodline Ability: Partial Shapeshifting
