From the volley of shots not being able to affect the demons, Nomad had already guessed that they were not going to be of any help in this battle. 

"Silvie. Can you hear me?" Thinking quickly, Nomad opened his communications. 

"Boss? Is that you?! Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine. Just feeling a bit stuffy, being surrounded by twelve children, hah."

"This is not the time, boss! How can we help?!" 

Silvie had already recognized their uselessness in this battle, so she figured she might as well assist Nomadian in other ways. 

"In that case, I'll need you to form a special task force from the Wastelanders. Gather the fastest ones we have. And once that's done, I want you to tell them to ride to the west side of the Desertian region."

"Eventually, they'll come across a single, giant nest made from sand. It'll be dug into the ground, so just keep an eye out for a big hole."

"In the nest, there should be a couple of eggs. I want them to destroy, or at least crack it."

"This will anger the bird. And once that's done, tell them to ride all the way back here as fast as they can."

"Shoot, I have to go. I know you can do it!"

"Wait, boss! How?!" 

Nomad did not respond. His current situation did not allow for it. 

"You guys are pretty small for your mental age. Did your parents never let you guys grow?"

"You bastard! You dare slander His Majesty with your tongue?!"

"Whoa, alright now, little baby. Let's pretend I'm your babysitter, and this "Majesty" of yours has gone out. Now, it's time for some bonding time." Nomadian smiled as he cracked his knuckles.

"Die, human!" 

One of the demons launched their fists at Nomad. 

"Whoa, that's uncalled for. Looks like everybody here needs to be taught a lesson." 

"How about we start with a spanking?" 

***

"This power… it seems artificial. I wonder how it happened?"

The whole situation was simply too unbelievable. John was fully prepared to die to Varnier and restart his "run". 

But just as he had lost all hope, he felt a strange power welling up inside him. It cured him of his injuries and even restored his mana. 

"This isn't the time to think about it! I will not squander this second chance given to me. I will make sure this demon falls!"

"Wait… don't go yet." 

"That voice… Rokas?" 

"Take Leader's sword. It'll help you…" 

With his last remaining strength, Rokas retrieved Dainsleif from its sheath and threw the blade to John. 

"This sword… it's the one Dignitas carried. I can still feel both the light and darkness inhabiting it."

"This should work… I don't feel comfortable using someone else's equipment, but I will try to make do. Thank you, Rokas."

And with that, John turned to face Varnier, who surprisingly had not moved from his spot. 

"A prey's final struggle… This should be entertaining."

"But if you think that sword will help you kill me, then you're wrong. Even that other human's frantic swipes did nothing more than a few scratches. My armor will stand strong."

"That may be true, but…" John continued, "Have you ever fought against someone who has mastered the way of the blade?" 

"Hah? You mean to tell me that a… C rank like you has mastered the blade?" 

"Oh, I do. Let me prove it to you, demon. This is for Curie."

In an instant, John disappeared from his position. Unlike before, the speed at which he vanished seemed almost immediate. 

Expecting a frontal attack, Varnier raised his hands to block the blow. 

However, John didn't take the logical route. Instead of going behind his enemy and attacking a blind spot, he reappeared in front of him. 

"Fusion Style: Spatial Slash." 

*kruk*

"Impossible, my arms were damaged?! I need to regrow them…"

But to Varnier's surprise, the scars in his rocky arms refused to repair themselves. 

"No matter. Take this!" Not planning to stay defensive, Varnier readied himself to counterattack. 

"Shatter the earth!" Using his gigantic arms, Varnier slammed them onto the ground, creating multiple shockwaves that rang across the room. 

The infirmary floor could not handle the constant quakes it began to crumble. Eventually, it gave in. The entire infirmary floor was not spared. Concrete blocks fell to the floor below, creating a small rain of stone. 

Some of the blocks were bigger than others, though. Using these, John platformed himself towards Varnier, before chanting,

"Fusion Style: Dragon's Claw!" John swung downwards, and a blueish mark appeared in the air, cutting through Varnier's body.

"Urgahh!?" 

"More! Fusion Style: Driver Thrust!" John spun his hands in a circular motion, mimicking a drill. His sword followed, spinning at an extreme speed.

Varnier was once again pushed back onto the wall, creating a fracture.

"How is it, demon?" John reappeared, standing on top of a pile of concrete. 

While John may not have been able to take with him any material possessions after his runs, he still retained some things: his knowledge and experience.

Even in his past lives, John was an avid practitioner of the sword. He spent a great deal of time honing his skills and learning various sword styles. 

The ones he used in battle were just a slight fraction of the number of techniques he knew. 

But unbeknownst to John, his attacks were in vain. 

Because even with Dignitas' assistance, the gap between a C rank and an A rank was simply too large. 

***

Being the only known person to have traveled the entirety of the Beast Continent, Nomadian was bound to have some tricks up his sleeve. 

These tricks came in the form of the various skills he would use in order to win his battles. 

And one of them was about to be revealed to the twelve generals. 

"Let's see… twelve to one. That's pretty unfair, isn't it? How about we even the odds?" Nomad snapped his fingers.

It was a mere snap, but everybody in the domain heard it. The sound rang through their heads like a bell. 

And at that very moment, Nomad began to release an insane amount of mana. 

"Plants, hmm? This lady has an interesting view on mana domains. But too bad, my affinity isn't Nature. Let's turn the entire area… pure."

The scenery around began to change before everybody's eyes. The sakura petals had suddenly stopped falling, and the golden lake was beginning to dry up, and the sky turned… white. 

In fact, everything was turning white. 

The whole world was white!

"This mana domain… is different from the ones humans create." One of the generals commented. 

"You're right… it's both empty and full at the same time."

"Alright, welcome, kids! This is my domain, the White World." 

"...White World?" 

"Yep! And the reason why it's white is that it needs to be filled. And it'll be up to you twelve to help me fill it." 

Nomadian surviving the Beast Continent by himself wasn't because of luck. He held a unique power… the power to replicate and use his enemy's abilities. 

"This is stupid. I'm ending this." One of the demons created a burning, deathly flame in their hands.

"Take this, human! Burn in the flames of death!"

"Ope, but not today, little child. I'll be taking that." Nomad replied with a smirk. 

Suddenly, the flame disappeared. It was swallowed by the white walls of the domain. 

"...wha– did my death flame just disappear?!" 

"Death flame… What a peculiar affinity. Let's see how strong this is." Nomad opened his hands, and a black flame twice the size of the demon's original spell appeared. 

"Ah, you went like this, right? "Burn in the flames of death!" Nomadian said, imitating the general. “Unfortunately, it's your turn, demon."

With all of his strength, Nomad threw the black flame in the direction of the twelve generals. 

Noticing the threat, one general shouted, 

"Scatter!" 

No one disobeyed. They all leaped out of the supposed attack's radius. 

But that wasn't all that Nomad was going to show them. He wouldn't be dubbed the leader of the Wastelanders with only this. 

"And… explode." He snapped his fingers.

*boom*

The generals weren't even able to react. The flame that shouldn't even have been strong enough to harm them, had completely swallowed them whole. 

They later emerged unscathed, but the idea of a human being able to output such terrifying power… enraged them greatly. 

This was the power of Nomadian's White World. He swallowed an attack, then sent it back with over twice its original power!