The Enemy Who Shouldn’t Exist.

Chapter 13 – The Enemy Who Shouldn’t Exist.

Ren and Takashi walked out of the castle and through the royal garden. As always, Ren scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, while Takashi strolled calmly beside him. They crossed a small wooden bridge, beneath which a clear stream flowed gently.

Ren leaned over the railing, staring into the water.

“Look at this. The water’s so clean and calm… I can even count the fish.”

Takashi grabbed Ren by the collar and tugged him back.

“Ren, stop wasting time. The sun is already setting.”

Ren stumbled a step backward but kept talking.

“I know, I know! The moment we entered Kemora, I started scanning the area for irregularities in the spiritual signatures of living beings.”

Takashi turned his head slightly, voice sharp.

“And what did you find, genius?”

Ren straightened up and finally walked properly.

“They’re hiding in the caves on those mountain peaks. You can see them up ahead.”

They continued walking. Some time later, they reached the market—the largest one on the entire planet. The place buzzed with life: merchants shouting prices, carriages rattling past, and crowds moving in every direction.

Ren stretched his arms.

“This place is huge… but well, what else do you expect from the biggest market on the planet?”

Takashi nodded and walked ahead, but Ren suddenly dashed toward a food stall.

“Takashi! We should eat first. And this time—it’s your treat!”

Takashi yelled back, exasperated.

“Try eating with your own money sometimes! It’s hard to earn, you know!”

Ren walked back, confused.

“But you’re a god… why do you even need to earn money? I don’t get it.”

Takashi rubbed his forehead.

“It’s simple, you genius. We can’t just create money with magic. That would destroy the kingdom’s economy. So we have to earn it—and spend it only when it’s important.”

Ren pushed open the shop’s door.

“It is important. So you should spend it. Come on, Takashi.”

Takashi sighed heavily but followed him inside. Ren ordered their meal, and the two of them finally sat down to enjoy the food.

Meanwhile in Paradise, all five of them left the castle, fully prepared and ready for any enemy they might face. Aiyumi led the group. They walked through the garden where Ren’s pets were sleeping, passed the tall trees, and reached the special portals—portals only Ren and the entities could use. These portals connected to all eight planets.

Unlike normal portals on other planets, these ones needed to be activated manually. Aiyumi activated the portal to Kemora. As it powered up, a bright blue light burst outward.

Kouryo stepped forward.

“The portal is fully active. We should go. Justar is waiting for us on the other side.”

Aiyumi agreed. One by one, all five of them teleported into Kemora. With this special portal, they could even choose the exact place they wanted to arrive.

Justar stood at the entrance of a cave, carefully watching every movement around him. The red glow of the setting sun painted the sky and the rocky ground. Suddenly, the blue light of the portal appeared behind him.

“So, you all arrived,” he said without turning. “Our enemy is hiding inside that cave.”

Kouryo came out first, followed by Aiyumi, Hayato, Koharu, and finally Mizuki. Once they were all through, the portal closed behind them.

Mizuki raised her hand.

“I have a question. Why didn’t we just teleport directly into the leader’s room and kill him?”

Justar and Kouryo ignored her completely. Aiyumi and Hayato looked at her in shock. Koharu turned toward her.

“Mizuki, none of us expected that from you. Did you forget? When we teleport through a portal, we can’t know what’s happening on the other side. But the enemy would know someone is arriving. They could attack instantly. It’s too dangerous.”

Justar stepped forward.

“We don’t have time to waste. Get ready—we attack soon.”

In the market, Ren and Takashi finished their meal. As Ren lifted his glass of water, he suddenly sensed the presence of Kouryo, Hayato, Aiyumi, Koharu, and Mizuki.

“Why are they here?” Ren muttered. “I only ordered Justar to investigate. So his presence makes sense… but the others being here doesn’t.”

Ren and Takashi left the shop at once.

“Takashi, did you sense them too?” Ren asked.

Takashi looked toward the mountain peak.

“Yes. Why are all of them here? Did you summon them, Ren?”

Ren kept walking quickly.

“No, I didn’t summon them. I should ask them directly. We need to hurry, Takashi.”

Takashi nodded, and both of them started running.

“Ren, I want to ask you something,” Takashi said as they ran.

“What?”

Takashi turned his head toward him.

“What did you tell the castle guards before we left?”

Ren answered casually, “Simple. I said we’re going to see the capital city.”

Takashi’s expression dropped completely. He muttered to himself,

“How did I even imagine that this idiot would come up with a good excuse…?”

Veythros Nox, unaware that the Entities had arrived, ordered his men to begin the attack. Like thunder, the people in black rushed out of the cave.

Justar sensed their sudden movement and shouted,

“Take your positions! They’re coming—get ready to attack!”

At his command, all five of them took their positions, prepared to strike. As the enemies emerged from the cave, Koharu unleashed her fire magic the moment she saw them. Her attack was so powerful that the rocks around the cave entrance began to melt.

Feeling the intense wave of heat, Veythros stood abruptly.

“Are we under attack? This is… not good.”

At the same time, Ren and Takashi were nearing the location. They could already see the cave entrance when a massive explosion erupted. Trees burst into flames, and a hot shockwave of heat and dust slammed into them. Both covered their faces.

Takashi gripped his sword tightly.

“This isn’t good… they’ve already started attacking the enemy.”

Ren calmly observed the blazing trees.

“That’s Koharu’s fire magic. Takashi, they might actually help us in the end. Focus on what’s happening right now.”

Takashi nodded, and both of them rushed toward the source of the magic.

“We’ll find them there. Increase your speed, Ren!”

Inside the cave, Veythros’s men stopped advancing. Deep inside, Veythros—who had been sitting in the innermost chamber—headed toward the entrance as his men reported the situation. When he reached the mouth of the cave, he saw the raging flames burning everything in their path. Veythros drew his sword. With a single swing, he extinguished the fire entirely.

Outside the cave, the Entities stood in formation. Koharu smirked proudly.

“My flames can burn this entire mountain. No mortal can extinguish them.”

But suddenly, the flames vanished.

Koharu froze in disbelief. Kouryo, Justar, Aiyumi, and Mizuki were equally stunned—they all knew the true strength of Koharu’s magic.

Only Hayato was staring at the entrance. His warrior insects whispered to him that someone incredibly powerful was inside.

“I can’t believe it…” Hayato muttered, trembling. “Someone stronger than me actually exists.”

Fear crept into his voice as he turned to Aiyumi.

“Aiyumi… use your power of creation. Seal the entrance now.”

Aiyumi reacted immediately. She gathered her power and sealed the cave entrance. At that exact moment, Ren and Takashi arrived where the Entities were standing.

Ren, furious, shouted,

“Why are all of you here!?”

Aiyumi spoke fearfully,

“Lord Ren, we believed this enemy wasn’t worth your time… so we came to eliminate him ourselves.”

Ren stepped forward.

“I decide who my opponent is—not you—”

Hayato interrupted urgently,

“Lord Ren, we should focus on the enemy in front of us! He is extremely strong. Only Aiyumi, Takashi, and you are capable of defeating him. None of us—”

Inside the cave, Veythros swung his sword again and broke Aiyumi’s seal. He stepped out and walked straight toward where Ren was standing. Approaching from behind, Veythros spoke with disappointment.

“I expected the Creator of this world to be a powerful being… but here stands a mere teen. This is far from what I imagined.”

Except for Ren, Takashi, and Aiyumi, everyone else stepped back in fear.

Ren ordered the Entities sharply,

“I will face this enemy. All of you finish off his men.”

All seven Entities shouted together,

“As you command, Lord Ren!”

With that, they rushed toward the enemy forces.

Ren stretched his neck and shoulders as he faced Veythros.

“You’re not the mastermind. Your spiritual form is normal—just like a human. So explain something… why are you immortal?”

Veythros Nox laughed loudly.

“What makes you think I’m immortal? Can’t you see? I’m only a human.”

Ren frowned. “A human?”

Veythros raised his sword, preparing to attack.

“I have no time to waste. My master has waited centuries to witness this battle.”

With that, he unleashed the same attack he once used to kill Saelor.

Ren dodged, but the entire forest instantly froze over. Moments later, a massive shockwave burst out, destroying everything above three feet in height.

A little earlier…

The seven Entities had rushed out in five different directions.

Aiyumi, Takashi, and Kouryo each went alone, while Koharu and Mizuki moved together.

Justar and Hayato went in another direction.

Moments later, all of them felt a sudden, violent drop in temperature. Within seconds, the entire forest was frozen solid.

Takashi looked around in disbelief.

“What just happened!?”

Kouryo hovered in the air, speechless.

“In a single second… the whole forest turned to ice.”

Aiyumi felt her heart tighten.

“What kind of enemy is Lord Ren facing…?”

Justar, Hayato, Koharu, and Mizuki stood shocked, unable to understand the phenomenon.

Before they could react, a giant shockwave slammed into them.

Luckily, it was only compressed air. The damage was minimal.

Kouryo, floating high above, barely felt it.

Takashi destroyed the shockwave with a single swing of his left hand.

Aiyumi stopped it effortlessly with her creation magic.

Once the shockwave passed, they returned to Ren’s orders.

Aiyumi eliminated her enemies with grace.

Takashi used his sword—when he finished, an entirely new rift valley had formed where he fought.

Kouryo wiped out his enemies from the sky.

Justar and Hayato defeated their attackers next. After the battle, Justar began questioning the surviving enemies.

Hayato asked, confused,

“Justar… why are you doing that?”

Justar replied calmly,

“Even if they are my enemies, as the God of Justice, I must hear their side.”

Koharu and Mizuki burned through their opponents using fire magic alone.

Mizuki walked beside Koharu.

“I can’t believe this. Only their leader is strong. The rest are so weak.”

Back to Ren

Ren stood up after taking the brunt of the attack head-on. He casually brushed dust off his clothes.

“That’s it? Is this the best you can do?”

Veythros Nox slid his sword back into its sheath.

“My first task was to separate you from the Entities. Now… the real battle begins.”

Veythros Nox drew his sword so fast that even Ren couldn’t see the movement. A moment later, Ren’s left hand fell to the ground.

With a cold smile, Veythros spoke,

“You couldn’t even see my attack, yet you think you can defeat me? Is this a joke?”

Ren grabbed his bleeding shoulder, pain twisting his expression.

“What… just happened? How fast is he really?”

He bent down, picked up his severed hand, and pressed it back onto the wound. Flesh reconnected instantly.

“Painful… but if I can heal myself, what effect does your attack truly have?”

Veythros laughed softly.

“Someone already defeated is asking how I’ll win? Ridiculous.”

Ren spread his arms confidently.

“You shouldn’t believe in yourself that blindly. Overconfidence is your biggest enemy.”

He activated his ability.

“Logic Manipulation — oxygen in this forest becomes poisonous to all living beings.”

Immediately, every plant and Veythros’s soldiers began to collapse. The entities felt the change, but they followed Ren’s order.

Veythros remained standing, completely unharmed. He clapped slowly.

“What a wonderful skill. A power that can alter the laws of the world itself… such a skill should belong to my master.”

Ren narrowed his eyes.

“Why are you unaffected? That shouldn’t be possible.”

Veythros stepped closer.

“How? You want to know? Listen carefully — for me, time itself has stopped. I am dead and alive at the same moment.”

Before Ren could react, Veythros’ sword pierced straight through his chest, directly through his heart.

Ren coughed blood.

“This sword… what is this?”

Veythros smiled.

“You finally noticed. This sword is not from the world you created. My master discovered it. This is the reason why you will lose today.”

Even while impaled, Ren grabbed Veythros’s face with only physical strength and crushed it.

“You think a weapon from another world is enough to defeat me?”

Veythros twisted the sword.

“Wrong again. This sword can’t kill you. I’m using it to separate your consciousness from your body.”

A massive burst of magic exploded outward. Ren’s consciousness was thrown out of his body and sent back to Paradise—into one of the spare vessels he had created long ago.

Meanwhile, in Kemora…

All seven entities felt the shockwave. They rushed toward Ren’s location and found his motionless body lying on the ground.

Anger filled all of them, and they charged at Veythros Nox. But Veythros grabbed Ren’s body and shot into the air.

Encircled by the seven entities, he laughed coldly.

“You really think you can defeat the one who just defeated your God of Creation?”

Takashi drew his divine sword, Karyu, fury burning in his eyes.

“After hurting Ren, you will not escape my blade.”

Kouryo attacked from above, forcing Veythros downward toward Takashi. With a thunderous roar, Takashi swung his sword. A storm erupted, lightning tearing the sky apart, and in a single strike he severed Veythros's left leg and left arm.

The others prepared to unleash their strongest combined attack.

But before they could strike, a brilliant beam of light cut through the raging storm.

A massive teleportation circle formed high in the sky.

Aiyumi looked up in shock.

“Such a complex circle… it feels like Lord Ren’s power, but mixed with pure destruction.”

Through that circle, Veythros Nox escaped—taking Ren’s body with him.

At the same time the Entities were fighting Veythros Nox in Kemora, Ren awakened inside a capsule in Paradise.

He slowly stepped out and stretched.

“I can’t believe it… how did I lose that easily?”

He walked through the long corridor into the meeting hall and sat on his throne-like chair.

“I should recall everything that happened.”

He began listing his thoughts:

• First, there was someone capable of altering spiritual forms.

He changed Saelor’s spiritual form and made him immortal.

• Then Veythros Nox.

He was human — no modification in spiritual form — yet he was still immortal.

Wait…

Ren leaned forward.

“He wasn’t immortal… he was undead. That explains why he wasn’t affected by my skill.”

• The Entities were unaffected because they were not truly living beings.

They were highly compressed mana shaped like living organisms.

• As for Veythros, the only logical explanation was the sword.

It must have rewritten the connection between his spiritual form, physical body, and consciousness — slowing his aging and turning him into an undead being.

Ren exhaled.

“Whatever the case, right now that’s not the biggest problem.”

He clenched his fist.

“I lost my primary body. That’s dangerous.”

He recalled the skills his main body had:

• Logic Manipulation — the ability to change the very logic of the world.

A power closest to pure imagination.

• Complete Healing

• Mana Manipulation

• My World

Ren pressed his temples.

“The skills in this body aren’t fully developed. If the enemy’s master learns to control the skills of my main body… he’ll be unstoppable in this world.”

He looked at his own hands.

“Right now I only have two completed skills:”

• Thermal Manipulation

• Time Control

A faint smile appeared.

“These two are more than enough to defeat them.”

Meanwhile, in Kemora…

All the Entities lay scattered across the frozen battlefield, exhausted and broken.

Takashi stared at his sword in shame.

“I failed to protect Ren… this is my greatest failure.”

Aiyumi placed her hand on his shoulder.

“We all feel the same. Don’t blame yourself. This was our failure.”

Suddenly, Ren’s voice echoed through the air:

“All of you, come to Paradise. Immediately.”

Their sadness vanished instantly.

They stood up at once.

Koharu and Mizuki opened a portal.

Before leaving, Aiyumi restored the forest to its original state, erasing the memories of Ren and Takashi from every person in Kemora.

Then they stepped through the portal.

Back in Paradise

The moment they arrived, all seven Entities rushed toward Ren and hugged him tightly.

Ren laughed awkwardly.

“Hey! Hey! I’m fine! No need to worry that much.”

After calming them, Ren explained everything that had happened.

Finally he stood up, seriousness returning to his voice.

“Prepare yourselves. There will be another attack very soon… and this time, we will win.”

Meanwhile, in Eithralis, the hidden refuge of their master…

The teleportation circle spat out Veythros Nox and Ren’s body.

Veythros stumbled as the glow faded. His left leg and left hand, which had been cut off in the battle, suddenly began to regenerate. New flesh wrapped itself around bone as if time itself were being rewound.

Veythros stared in shock.

“So… my body is healing. This sword’s power is truly incredible. It freezes time for its user… and restores their body to the state it was in when the sword was first picked up.”

Carrying Ren’s unconscious body, Veythros approached a giant stone slab. He gently laid it down and knelt.

“Master,” he said, lowering his head, “I have brought you the strongest body this world can offer. If you take it over… you can finally gain a real body.”

A voice echoed from the blinding light behind the sealed glass chamber.

“Yes… yes, I can see it now. The defeated face of Ren.”

The voice chuckled darkly.

“Ren, you always thought I was trash. This… is your greatest mistake.”

A beam of radiant light fell upon Ren’s body.

His white hair turned pitch black.

His eyes darkened into endless shadows.

A monstrous surge of mana erupted outward, shaking all of Eithralis.

“You have done well, Veythros Nox,” the Mastermind said, voice now louder and clearer.

“Once I master this body and its abilities… we will launch our attack on Paradise.”

In Paradise

Ren suddenly froze.

“…I can’t reclaim my body anymore. Someone has taken it… No—someone has possessed it. This is bad. He might be the true mastermind.”

Determined, Ren clenched his fists.

He began training with Takashi, pushing himself harder, hoping to master his new abilities before it was too late.

Back in Eithralis

The Mastermind now sat upon a massive obsidian throne.

Veythros knelt before him.

Before the throne lay seven ancient weapons—each radiating a strange, destructive aura.

Among them was Veythros’s own sword.

“Ren…” the Mastermind murmured, a twisted smile forming.

“I know no weapon from this world can kill you. Not even these seven…”

His fingers brushed their glowing surfaces.

“But they can destroy you completely. What will you do now, I wonder?”

The questions of the future…

What fate awaits the Nine Planets?

Can Ren defeat the Mastermind now that he has taken Ren’s original body?

How does the Mastermind know Ren?

…And does Ren know him too?

To be continued…