“It’s still better than getting stuck,” Jared answered under his breath. “Better to face uncertainty head-on than be trapped forever in the dark.”

The Dragonslayer Sword gleamed in his grip as he ripped through the folds of reality. Without a prepared passage, his speed dropped sharply, every step a grind against the fabric of existence.

“Kid, incoming!” the Vermilion Demon Lord barked.

No sooner had the warning sounded than a thunderous detonation split the silence.

Before Jared’s eyes, the space itself fractured, shards of shimmering moments scattering like broken glass.

From that jagged rupture, a formless silhouette oozed into view, shadow darker than the void behind it.

Jared did not wait to learn whether the newcomer came in peace. The Dragonslayer Sword whistled forward in a single golden arc, his body following the blade’s promise of first strike, no regret.