“We’ll continue this, later. For now, I better earn my keep.” Neron said to the redhead.

She pouted upon hearing his words, making her look even cuter than normal.

It was bad for Neron’s cold, cold heart, so he winced at the cuteness displayed by the usually stern and wild Serah Crimson.

“Don’t be jealous. Haha, it won’t take too long.” Patting her head, as though she was a pet, Neron smiled.

“Yeah? Okay then. I’ll just watch, then.”

“What of the Demon Lord you were messing around with?”

“I killed him the moment I saw you. What of it?”

“A-ah, I see. Nothing, then. Okay, you can watch.”

Though Neron was certain of his feelings for the woman before him, and he knew she felt the same, he couldn’t help but get a bit anxious when it came to Serah… and what their future together would turn out to be like.

“Hehehehe.” The red-haired woman just kept giggling, overwhelmed by the giddy emotions swarming her.

And so, both of them decided to cut their little romance short so Neron could handle business.

*******************

“Alright. I’m ready now.”

Abellion was confused for the umpteenth time.

The man before him—the one called Neron by the strange red-haired woman—had asked for a bit of time because of the earlier situation.

Of course, Abellion didn’t intend to accept it. However, before he could even do anything, Neron appeared to be ready for their fight.

Not only had Serah stopped her sharp dash toward Neron, but she was also in a different location from earlier.

The woman simply watched what was going on, and the Automaton that was previously engaged with Abellion also backed off.

“Now that you’re here, I’ll be returning to my master.” It had said.

“Will you be telling Jared of my lateness?” Neron answered with a question that seemed to stem from a playful point.

“There’s no need. He already knows.” With that, the Platinum Armored Automaton flew off in a flash—even faster than Abellion could keep up with.

It made the Demon King wonder why it hadn’t moved that way during their fight.

‘Maybe…?!’

“There’s no need to be concerned about your fight with that guy. He was just meant to buy time until I arrived.” Abellion’s inner conflict was sharply interrupted by Neron’s voice.

“You’re Neron… right? The Head of Ainzlark Academy, and one stated to be on par with the Eastern Kingdom’s Grand Mages.” Abellion spoke in a low tone.

The black-haired man shrugged and said nothing.

“Then, I ask you… were you the one who killed one of my Demon Lords, Lydia of Blanc?”

For a moment, there was silence. Tense and unsettling, the empty void of words pervaded their vicinity.

Until—

“I wish. Na, it wasn’t me. One of my students did. She’s a smart girl. Your Demon Lord didn’t stand a chance.”

“I see…” Abellion controlled the rage swirling within him.

There was the possibility that Neron was lying, but he didn’t see any reason why the man would do that.

“Then, where is this girl now?”

Neron raised a brow once this question was asked.

“Why? You want to bypass me and—?”

“No. I want to know where I need to go after killing you. Your student, whoever she is… must die!”

“O-Oh, I see. Jeez… what’s got you so worked up? Well, yeah, she’s still in Ainzlark. But, I have to say—”

>WHOOOOOOOSSSHHHH<

Before Neron could conclude his speech, a deafening rupture filled the air.

Several twisted blades were instantly launched from Abellion’s blackish-purple portal, all aimed at killing Neron.

However, just about five inches from Neron’s body, all the weapons were paused in time. They simply remained suspended, just like the previous one Abellion launched.

“At least let me finish.” Neron sighed, scratching his head a bit.

“H-How are you doing that?” The Demon King found himself at a loss for words.

“Didn’t your minions tell you anything? Or wait, they didn’t know? Man, this is confusing. I don’t like explaining my abilities every time.” Upon saying this, a burst of power erupted from Neron—causing his hair to change color as white sparks of light danced around him.

“If this is all you’ve got, you won’t be able to touch me, you know?” The transformed man spoke with undiluted confidence.

“Tch. I’ve had enough of this. First that Automaton, and now you… pesky pests just getting in my way!”

The white-haired human rolled his eyes slightly upon hearing this.

He knew Gawain could have beaten Abellion, but the reason he held back was so Neron could fight with the Demon King.

‘He’s a bit of a disappointment, but he should still be useful as an experimental subject.’

“Die!” Abellion growled, now summoning one massive purple hole above him.

Emerging from within it was a very long, thin blade.

It looked more like a javelin than a sword, and the demonic energy it packed was something else.

“Look here, I control time. That won’t wor—”

Before Neron could finish, the javelin blade was launched, tearing through space as it did its best to deal a fatal hit to the target.

>VWOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHH<

“This guy just likes interrupting me…” Neron watched the javelin reach his time barrier… and then…

‘Uh?’

The javelin didn’t stop moving.

It passed the five-inch limit and kept approaching Neron—though it was moving much slower than normal.

“This is…” A look of intrigue was all over Neron’s face as he stretched his hand toward the immensely powerful Javelin-Blade.

>SQUISH<

Blood spurted out of Neron’s outstretched palm, caused by the weapon impaling him.

“Ah, I see. So it defies time causality. The desire to hit your target really birthed something like this? Interesting…”

Even though Neron realized that a weapon like this made his Time Barrier obsolete, he didn’t even flinch or show any fear.

“Y-you caught that?!” The Demon King looked shocked.

He had expected that to be the end of his opponent, yet Neron looked very much alive.

“Hmm, this is a bit unexpected,” Neron smirked, the injury on his hand completely gone—as though nothing ever happened.

“Maybe this could be worthwhile.”