In the middle of the chaotic battlefield, Arou, Airi, Lin, and Nora were fighting against the forces of Hell.
Suddenly, the Hell King emerged from the darkness.
Without hesitation, Arou swung his sword—a combination of fire and ice—and struck the Hell King directly.
The Hell King fell instantly.
Airi stared in disbelief.
"So fast?"
Lin smiled in amazement.
"Arou, I didn't know you were actually this strong."
Nora shook her head.
"I only scolded him for a little while… and now he's completely different."
Arou looked ahead.
"This is nothing yet."
Not long after, the dark sky began to pulse.
A purple figure appeared.
Vowl.
His body had no face, and a dark aura surrounded every movement he made.
Lin stammered.
"V-Vowl?!"
Nora looked serious.
"So he's our main enemy?"
Airi stared at him carefully.
"He… doesn't even have a face."
Vowl looked at Arou coldly.
"Hah… so this is the protagonist?"
Arou slightly raised his sword.
"Yes. I am."
Vowl sneered.
"You're extremely weak."
Arou smiled faintly.
"You haven't seen everything I can do yet."
Vowl pointed at Arou, dark energy radiating from his body.
"Erase…"
Lin shouted.
"Arou!!!"
Airi held her breath.
"What is he going to do?!"
Lin hurriedly explained.
"He can… erase anything he points at!"
Nora's eyes widened.
"Erase?"
Lin nodded firmly.
"The target's existence will disappear as if it never existed."
Airi shouted.
"Arou!! Watch out!!"
Dark purple light shot from Vowl's finger toward Arou.
But…
Arou remained standing.
He didn't move an inch.
Lin swallowed nervously.
"Too late…"
Airi shouted again.
"Arou!!"
Nora couldn't believe her eyes.
"Has he gone insane?! Move, Arou!!"
But the light struck Arou directly.
And yet—
he remained standing.
Vowl was stunned.
"Huh? What did you do?"
Arou smiled.
"I just stood here. Maybe your attack missed."
Vowl finally realized something was wrong.
"I wasn't attacking you…"
"I am a god who was supposed to erase you. So why didn't it work?"
Arou looked directly at him.
"If you're a god, then I am the King of Gods."
"Zao."
"The being who stands against the rules."
Airi looked confused.
"Against the rules? What does that even mean?"
Nora stared at Arou.
"We're just weak creatures… and now we're watching a god fight another god."
Lin nodded firmly.
"Then I officially support Arou as a god."
Airi, Nora, and Lin shouted together.
"Go, Arou!"
Arou looked at Vowl.
"I'll end this. Any last words?"
Vowl laughed loudly.
"Hahahahaha… My ambitions were simply too great."
"Bow before the third-ranked god."
Arou frowned.
"Third?"
"How many Writers are there?"
Vowl gave him a mysterious smile.
"I don't know. All I know is that I'm ranked third."
Arou demanded an answer.
"Then who's first and second?"
Vowl laughed again.
"Haha… Are you trying to change the subject?"
Arou glared at him.
"ANSWER ME! Who are the first and second?"
"I'll defeat them too while I'm at it."
Vowl finally answered.
"First is Zata."
"Second is Angelica."
Arou chuckled.
"Angelica again?"
"Who even is she?"
Vowl shrugged.
"I don't know. All I know is that she's stronger than me."
"Are you sure you can defeat them?"
Arou smiled confidently.
"Zata is under my control, you know."
Vowl's expression changed.
"Huh? Seriously?"
Outside the island, Zata was watching the battle while eating popcorn, with a cup of coffee beside him.
"Don't make things up," he muttered.
Arou turned his head.
"Hey, if you're not going to help, at least keep quiet."
"Otherwise, I won't look cool."
Zata shrugged.
"Oh, is that so?"
"Then just continue with your little lie."
Arou smiled.
"Yeah, thanks."
Airi, Lin, Nora, and even Vowl burst out laughing.
Arou looked at them.
"What's so funny?"
Airi laughed while blushing slightly.
"Turns out you're a terrible liar…"
"I thought you were a professional."
Arou shrugged.
"Hey, forget it."
"Now, our opponent is the third-ranked god."
Nora grinned.
"Yeah, whatever you say."
Arou looked slightly annoyed.
"Hmm…"
Vowl stared at him coldly.
"So you're really going to fight me?"
Arou raised his sword.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"I'm going to take your third-place position."
Vowl nodded.
"Go ahead."
Arou turned toward his friends.
"Airi, Lin, naughty cat, stay behind me."
Airi nodded.
"Okay."
Lin smiled.
"Got it."
Nora frowned.
"Why are you calling me a naughty cat?!"
Arou gave her a mischievous smile.
"Because you're annoying."
Nora covered her mouth.
"Hmph…"
Arou turned toward Vowl.
"Alright, let's begin…"
"A battle between a god and an existence beyond the rules."
---
The battle finally began.
Arou stood firmly, holding his swords of fire and ice.
Both weapons radiated intense energy, ready to be unleashed at any moment.
Vowl stood before him, his faceless figure staring coldly.
He pointed toward Arou.
"Absolute Erasure."
Arou calmly raised his sword and blocked the attack.
Vowl growled.
"Tch… then, Organ Destruction."
Arou blocked it again without difficulty.
"Hell's Calamity."
Once again, Arou stopped the attack without leaving a single opening.
On the other side of the battlefield, Airi, Lin, and Nora were sitting on the ground, watching the battle with sleepy expressions.
Lin spoke quietly.
"So far, Arou is completely fine."
"Even though Vowl has already written all kinds of terrible things about him."
"He really is immune to narrative manipulation."
Airi clapped her hands lightly.
"That's Arou for you."
"If he gets even a little stronger, he'll never stop showing off."
Nora yawned.
"If this is all we're going to see, I'd rather sleep."
"Besides, Arou is always safe."
"Maybe it'll finally get interesting if he gets hurt."
Arou looked at them with a smile.
"I can hear you, you know."
Nora rubbed her eyes lazily.
"Then finish the fight already."
"I want to sleep."
"We have school tomorrow."
Arou stared at her in disbelief.
"You… go to school?"
Without answering, Nora transformed into a tiny white cat.
She jumped onto Airi's lap and immediately fell asleep.
Lin chuckled as he watched them.
"Looks like this battlefield isn't just for Arou…"
Airi smiled at Arou.
"But at least you're still safe, right, King of the Writers?"
Arou looked at Vowl with sharp eyes.
"Don't worry…"
"This battle has only just begun."
---
Arou stared at Vowl.
His swords of fire and ice glowed brightly as a purple-golden aura surrounded him.
"Enough!" he shouted.
"This is the moment you experience the power of Zao, King of Gods!"
Vowl roared as waves of purple narrative energy attempted to consume Arou.
"No… you can't!"
But Arou remained standing.
Arou spun his swords rapidly.
Fire blazed.
Ice froze.
And the power of the Anti-Rule surged through them.
Three powers merged into a single devastating attack.
Vowl's purple wave tried to stop it.
But Arou's attack pierced through it as easily as a hot knife through butter.
Arou shot toward Vowl.
Every step he took left trails of purple-golden light behind him, as if ink itself were rewriting the battlefield.
Vowl counterattacked, creating a mass of darkness meant to erase Arou from existence.
But Arou smiled faintly.
His eyes began to glow.
"Your attacks…"
"…are meaningless."
With one swing, Arou's swords struck Vowl directly.
The power of the Anti-Rule shattered his dark aura.
A massive explosion of light engulfed the battlefield.
The ground trembled.
The wind spiraled violently.
Snow scattered in every direction.
Vowl was thrown backward.
Cracks spread across his purple body, as though his own dark narrative were collapsing from within.
Airi shouted in amazement.
"Arou… he's really strong!"
Lin nodded firmly.
"The King of Gods… amazing!"
Nora remained peacefully asleep on Airi's lap, completely undisturbed by the battle.
Arou looked at what remained of Vowl.
Only a dark shadow remained.
"This is your limit, Vowl," Arou said.
"I rewrite this battlefield."
"I rewrite you."
"There is nothing left for you to erase."
Vowl trembled as his purple narrative began to fall apart.
"What… are you…?"
"Zao…?"
Arou stepped forward.
The aura surrounding his swords grew brighter.
"Yes."
"I am Zao, the Anti-Rule."
"And now…"
"You lose."
With one final movement, Arou swung his swords across the battlefield.
Purple light, fire, and ice collided in one final explosion.
When the smoke and light disappeared—
Vowl was gone.
His dark aura had vanished completely.
Airi and Lin stared at Arou with a mixture of awe and relief.
"He… did it," Airi whispered.
"The King of Gods… is truly unmatched," Lin said.
Arou slowly lowered his swords.
"The battle is over…"
"For now."
Nearby, Nora continued sleeping peacefully, completely untouched by the chaos.
"Looks like I'll need some coffee if I want to wake her up later," Airi muttered with a smile.
Arou looked toward the sky as it slowly began to clear.
"My friends are safe…"
"And I'm still standing."
The battle against Vowl was over.
But the journey of Zao, the King of Gods, had only just begun.