Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss

Chapter 196 196: The End Of A City

Ren descended like a comet, Freedom raised high, the blade gleaming as it whistled through the air. He aimed straight for Vesper, a killing stroke that was meant to end this fight before it even started.

But Vesper wasn't there.

He moved faster than Ren expected, becoming a blur of red and bark as he sidestepped the attack casually. Freedom struck the ground instead, splitting stone and earth, a shockwave rippling outward from the impact, fissures spidering beneath them.

Vesper cackled, his grin stretched too wide. "Still think everyone would be static in their strength like you? Or are you making a habit of relying on that blade like a crutch like your father?"

Thick, sharpened claws burst from his fingers, bark-black and jagged, like extensions of some forest beast.

"Let me show you the difference in our strengths." He lunged, swiping with a feral growl. Ren ducked under the first arm, sidestepped the second, and brought Freedom up in a clean arc to counter.

Sparks flew as steel clanged against bark and bone, Vesper slapping the sides of the sword, knowing perfectly well what the blade could do.

The two weaved around each other, kicking up dust as they clashed. Ren's eyes narrowed as he fought, studying his opponent. Vesper was matching his every move, moving marginally faster than Ren, who barely managed to block the next swipe, and failed to block the one after that.

Vesper's claw raked across his side, blood spraying from the wound. Another jab caught Ren in the shoulder, spinning him sideways.

Ren disengaged, flipping backward to land on the street away from the rubble they'd been fighting on. He clutched his side, his regeneration kicking in as he glared at Vesper. Dust swirled around them, mixing with the smoke rising from burning buildings.

"You really thought I was the same little noble from Albion?" Vesper spat, his smile wide and wild. "I've evolved, Ross. Even if you stayed the same."

Ren said nothing, blurring forward in attack. Freedom swung forward, and Ren carved through the rules of the world. The air distorted around him, and gravity fractured.

Vesper floated, snarling as the ground beneath him lost its pull. His body drifted upward into the zero-gravity space Ren had carved, his claws flailing for something to grab on.

"Nice trick!" Vesper shouted.

Wood erupted from his back, the thick vines anchoring him like roots to the edge of the gravity field. He yanked himself downward just as Ren dove towards him, snarling in anticipation.

He blurred in front of Ren, his claws plunging forward and taring into Ren's gut. Flesh and sinew split apart like parchment. Ren screamed through gritted teeth, blood spraying in all directions.

Vesper howled in joy. "I'll carve you apart, piece by piece!"

Ren's hand snapped downward, and Freedom flashed.

Vesper's eyes widened.

He moved, but it was too late to escape unscathed.

The blade sliced through his shoulder, severing his arm in one clean cut. He roared, kicking Ren with enough force to send both of them flying out of the zero-gravity zone.

They hit the ground hard, skidding across the broken stones. Ren's stomach twisted and reformed before he even stood, his regeneration already hard at work, skin sealing itself over fresh muscle.

Vesper landed on all fours, snarling as his shoulder bubbled. A life-like wooden appendage sprouted from the stump, blooming into a new hand in seconds.

Then they both surged forward.

They met with a loud clash, but this time, they moved faster, fighting like savage dogs. Ren parried, dodged, slashed. Freedom rang out as it was slapped by wood. Vesper moved around the battlefield, dodging Freedom, his vines moving like whips, forcing Ren to abandon his strikes and dodge.

Ren gritted his teeth, slashing through the vines. "How?" He asked as he hacked through clumped vines shaped like a reaching hand. "How did you become this, Vesper?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Vesper laughed as he ducked under Freedom as it passed above him in a slash. "A great gift!" He snarled. "From the great King Kane himself. He gave me power. True power."

Ren blinked, almost losing an arm for it. King Kane? The king of Albion?

Vesper took advantage of the surprise to fight harder. "The Red Plague? You thought it was an accident? A curse? No, Ren. It was a weapon. Albion's first blow. And I'm it's general!"

Ren's eyes widened as he realized just what was happening. This was the origin of the Red Plague. A weapon by Kane Vermilion that had run wild when he died. It had been an act of war!

A vine blurred through the air, and Freedom was knocked from his hand, spinning away across the street.

Vesper grinned savagely. "No more tricks."

He lunged, but Ren dropped to the ground, sweeping his legs.

Vesper leapt over, twisting midair.

Ren twisted too, legs coiling, and kicked hard.

Vesper blocked with crossed arms, but the force of the impact sent him flying through the air, slamming into a collapsed wall.

Ren scrambled across the broken stone, snatching Freedom and rolling into a defensive crouch.

Vesper rose, laughing.

"You can't win, Ren. Your death was fated. The Chained Man saw it all. Every step of your life has been leading to this moment."

Ren's grip on Freedom tightened. The Chained Man?

But he didn't have time to wonder about that.

The ground shook as Vesper's body flared with energy. Branches exploded from his spine, roots tore from his legs, and the ruins around him were consumed in a wave of vines.

Ren slashed through them as they came. He cut and cut and cut again, but the wave didn't stop. The sky grew darker. In the distance, explosions went off like rolling thunder.

Then—

The earth groaned.

Resonance passed through and Ren's eyes widened, just in time for the ground to split.

From beneath Vesper's feet, a spike the size of a tree trunk exploded upward, piercing straight through his torso. He froze, impaled, eyes wide with shock.

Ren didn't waste the opportunity.

He dashed forward, Freedom glowing white-hot, and swung with everything he had.

"Die!"

The blade descended.

It passed through Vesper in a single, perfect stroke, from head to toe.

His body and soul, severed.

Vesper split down the middle, his mouth open in death.

Ren staggered back, breath heaving.

Then the world exploded.

A blast unlike anything before roared outward, vaporizing everything in its path. Buildings collapsed. Flames engulfed what little remained of the city. The blinding white light swallowed Ren whole.

Pain. Endless pain.

Ren felt himself being torn apart, his limbs shredded, his bones pulverized, his flesh vaporized.

There was nothing left.

Darkness.

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He woke up.

Not to sound or light, but sensation.

He could feel his body pulling itself together, piece by agonizing piece. His skull grew around his exposed brain. Limbs sprouted from torn muscles. His eyes popped back into existence, giving him sight, while his chest knitted together, wrapping around his beating heart.

Chunks of him were still scattered across the rubble, but he was alive.

Smoke hung thick in the air. He could only see a few feet ahead. Everything else was charred black.

He stood, naked, bloodied, still regenerating.

Rainhold was gone.

The city had been wiped off the map.