I tightly gripped my dagger as we walked separately, side by side, along the tunnel, keeping my eyes on Adam, who walked with a bored expression without his weapon. Eventually, we arrived at the door, and I turned my gaze.

The door was normal this time and had the shape of a tree etched into it.

Nature. Outside. Freedom.

Was this really it? Was this the last ruin?

"Quit your pondering and go open the door," Adam said crudely, his demeaning gaze directed at me.

"Why don't you do it?" I retorted.

"Don't care to."

I shook my head at Adam's response and walked forward while keeping an eye on him, and pushed the door with my left hand. The door moved surprisingly easily, and revealed a dark space.

It was rare to see darkness in the Ruins which seemed to always be lit by some sort of supernatural force.

I turned as if I were some butler keeping the door open and gestured for Adam to walk in. He followed my gesture with a slow and casual walking pace as he observed the surroundings.

When he had gotten through, I walked in myself and let the door disappear.

We were then left in the dark space, where I had trouble making out anything besides some massive pillars.

However, not long after our entry, there was a sound of fire crackling into life, and the massive structure made completely of black stone was revealed in all of its glory by torches that had arctic blue flames dancing at their ends.

I looked around and noticed the pillars weren't the only massive things in the building and that the torches weren't the only sources of light. Inside the structure, there were a total of seven grand statues that all radiated completely different feelings, all of which were deeply negative except for the sole statue that was carved into the wall upfront instead of being lined up on the sides in between pillars like the other six. Then there was a staircase 150 meters or so ahead of us that led to what seemed to be a square platform, which was outlined by pacific blue light that reached so high it illuminated even the roof of the structure, which was as tall as the distance between us and the staircase.

"Hmm, this place kind of reminds me of a church." Adam made a sound that proceeded to echo around the place.

"You're religious?" I asked, raising my brows.

"I never really believed in that stuff, but my mother forced me to go."

I didn't have any follow-up questions prepared, so the conversation stopped there, but I didn't have to endure the silence for long, as I heard my own voice play a message in my head again.

[You have reached the final ruin.]

My eyes opened as I listened eagerly.

[Ensure that you are in the square in 25 minutes, and you will be free.]

[Anything outside the square once time is up will be regarded as sacrifice.]

The messages stopped there.

I looked towards Adam and squeezed my dagger when I noticed Adam's gaze grow more focused and the red parts of his weapon start glowing.

I knew what was coming; however, I was rested and ready for combat, so I wasn't scared at all. My whole life had culminated into this moment.

'I have killed so many to get to this point. Why would I stop here? That's right. I'll just kill one more person and earn my freedom. It's easy,' I thought as I squeezed my weapon with my slightly shaking hand.

If taking Adam's life was the price for my freedom, then so be it.

Let the battle for freedom begin!

I leaped back, dodging Adam's weapon by fixing my eyes on Adam's hand and shoulder movements. I received some cuts in the process but didn't care much, as they would heal in no time.

I proceeded to hide behind one of the large pillars and watch Adam's movements by using his shadow while I thought up a proper strategy.

'His weapon works best in open areas, so I need to stick to—'

My thoughts were interrupted by an abrupt movement from Adam that prompted his weapon to wrap around the pillar.

After having gone around the pillar, the chain pressed up against my throat and restricted my movements for the second it took for the blade to come back around with the intention of decapitating me or slicing my throat open.

I couldn't duck properly because the chain was in the way, so I blocked the blade with my dagger. There was a clink as the blades collided, and to my surprise, the power behind the blade rivaled my blocking power. It was too much for something that was being dragged along the pillar from the other side.

In other words, Adam had to be directly behind me.

Since he had changed positions, the chain wasn't pressing down on me any longer, so immediately after coming to the realization, I ducked down and let the weapon return to Adam.

I then jumped around the pillar, thinking of a way to get away from him just for a few moments, so that I could take advantage of my superior strategic thinking and not end up simply brawling with Adam, who was physically superior to me with his enhanced senses.

I could no longer rely on my earlier strategy of exposing myself to attack in order to make him take damage. It was too risky to do that now, since an injury no longer threatened to cause his death when he would be able to escape the Ruins after taking care of me.

I spun and stayed low, shifting my weight and moving unpredictably to make aiming harder while I maneuvered through the pillars with Adam behind me.

Eventually, I made it to the first statue on the left of a mother holding up her baby with outstretched arms and tears in her eyes.

'Is this a depiction of a sacrifice of some kind?' I wondered as I climbed on top, using some of my jumping power and fairly basic acrobatics, and felt the despair that radiated from the statue as I touched it.

"Why are you running? We're both monsters, so let's just try murdering each other and see who gets what they want," Adam said as I used the chain in his weapon to swing my way up.

'Being in restricted areas forces him as the aggressor to fight using close combat instead of swinging around his rangy weapon, so if I keep maneuvering through the statues, I won't have as many problems with his range advantage and will have the ability to make up the physical prowess with close combat experience," I thought as I stood on the woman's head that was covered by a headscarf.

Then I saw Adam swing himself onto the baby in the hands of the woman and point at me with the hand he was holding the handle of his weapon with.

"You've changed a lot, you know," he said with an expression that was particularly hard to read.

"You too," I said, returning the sentiment honestly with a serious tone as I tried predicting the following events.

"Yeah, but I changed for the better, unlike you."

Was he trying to provoke me to become more aggressive? I wouldn't be shaken so easily.

"Is that what you think?" I said, my eyelids lowering slightly as I tilted my chin downward.

Adam stayed silent, but his smirk was enough of a response for me.

I switched my dagger into a reverse grip, brought my hands up, and took a stance before saying with an unshakable demeanor, "Come and prove it."