He continued that for a long time until they both were exhausted. Eden paused in the air, holding onto the sword firmly with his hands bruised and bleeding from it. His face was also bruised further, like one being hit. It was a double-edged sword: hitting Kyle with the sword was also like harming himself.

Kyle was on his knees in the air, battered and bruised as he stared up at Eden. His whole body was bleeding from the hits, and he could feel his entire body giving out.

But he forced a smile. "You really are willing to kill yourself... if that means eliminating me, huh?"

Eden said nothing. He struggled to hold the sword firmly. And when he held it, he closed his eyes, reinforcing concentration as he stared at Kyle. "We were mistakes brought into this world, so maybe it’s best for us to leave together. That way, the world can have its peace back."

Kyle shook his head. "No... I don’t want to leave yet... I won’t leave..."

Eden forced a smile. "We don’t have a say, do we?" He smiled as he raised his sword with a loud scream. "Arhhh!"

Purple thunder and lightning filled the sky, all coming down to his sword, which he held firmly. It filled him, the lightning piercing through his body as he held firmly onto the sword.

He was being torn apart by every lightning strike. He could feel each one of them tearing him apart.

But he held himself firmly as he struggled to hold the sword. He couldn’t let go. It was the only way he could end it, even if it meant destroying himself.

The dark sky was filled with purple light as everyone stopped to look up.

"What’s happening...?" Lysander asked. "Is he going to be okay?"

No one had an answer. For a few seconds, they stood there staring into the sky. But the zombies were attacking, so they continued fighting.

Lenny was there, staring up at the sky in his cat form. He couldn’t even bring himself to turn into his fox form to fight or anything. He was too broken to even think about it.

He only sobbed while staring at Eden in the sky, knowing that this was likely the last time he’d see him. He knew Eden had already made up his mind to sacrifice himself to end this, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

He only stared, sobbing hard while recalling all the memories he had spent with Eden.

From the real world where Eden picked him up, from the moments they spent together in his rooms and even when they went out for an outing or to buy things.

To when the two of them came into this novel. Lenny was extremely happy to be able to speak to Eden when they came here.

He had always admired Eden and had a lot to say to him. Appreciation and all, but he was already too busy bickering with him and frying him that he never really had the chance to express it. He guessed he was the type not to express such emotions to people but to use tough love in its place.

And now, he sat there in tears while staring. Everyone was fighting around him, but he was there staring without even getting attacked.

The truth was, he was actually getting attacked. Some zombies had tried coming his way to attack him, but each time they failed.

It was as if some force would push these zombies off. One tried coming to capture Lenny, but a mysterious force blasted it away and sent it flying through the atmosphere, disappearing into thin dust.

Another tried, but that one was squashed into dust almost immediately. No one dared come close to Lenny without meeting their end. It was as though some mysterious force was protecting him while he sat there staring into the sky and crying.

Lenny wasn’t even aware of what was happening, neither did he know that someone was protecting him.

This strange force was also helping out everyone. The rest were humans fighting these zombies. They couldn’t possibly fight them alone or even kill anyone. They couldn’t survive long.

But this force was helping them all defeat most of the zombies while keeping them safe as well. This mysterious force was helping Lenny the most, protecting him like a shield while destroying everyone who came close to him.

---

Eden felt himself break down inside as he swung the sword through the air toward Kyle. The massive energy from the sword went flying toward Kyle.

Kyle gasped as he stared at it. He knew it was over for him if this landed on him, and not only for him—it would also be over for Eden, who sent his powers through him.

"No... It can’t be..." He got to his feet as he placed a hand over his chest, closing his eyes while muttering some words. Kyle opened his eyes, which were glowing in ash. His eyes were glowing along with his hand as dark smoke emerged from his chest onto his hands.

He held onto the smoke, the power of his inner core as well. It was the only strongest thing that could counterattack this and protect himself from Eden’s current attack.

And so he used it to build a shield around himself. The dark shield hovered around him as the lightning from Eden’s strike came toward him.

It hit his shield but didn’t penetrate. The energy from Eden’s sword stopped at the shield, struggling to break its way in. Eden, on the other end, held onto his sword firmly, using the energy he had within himself to push through the sword and let its energy shatter Kyle’s shield.

Kyle, on the other hand, firmly held onto his shield, using it to protect himself from the lightning even though it was tearing him apart. He felt himself breaking. He felt his energy wearing out. He could tell that something in him was already fading from using his inner core.

But he held onto it firmly, protecting himself.

And so the two of them stayed there at opposite ends with their weapon and protection set against each other, not willing to back down anytime soon.