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He turned his attention to Raphael, his expression even more puzzled. It was as though a question mark had been etched onto his face.

He couldn\'t help but wonder what had made Raphael so certain that someone with regenerative abilities bordering on immortality wouldn\'t be able to recover from the attack.

Seeing the look on the figure\'s face, Raphael smirked and gestured toward the two headless corpses behind him.

Slowly, the figure turned his gaze in the direction Raphael indicated. His mouth fell open in shock as his eyes fell upon Sybilla\'s head, and both of her eyes snapped open.

"I see what you did," the figure muttered, seemingly impressed with Raphael\'s resourcefulness.

"I\'m really impressed, now with this intelligence and manipulative side, you\'ve shown me that you are better than this two and you might also be worth backing." He continued.

Meanwhile, as soon as Sybilla\'s eyes opened, she was consumed by panic. Fear was etched into every feature, and she relived the horrifying events that had just transpired.

The decay energy she had felt emanating from the ground was unlike anything she had ever experienced. It had obliterated her legs, body, and every organ and cell within her in the blink of an eye.

The trees and buildings surrounding the area crumbled into nothingness as the terrible decay energy washed over them, leaving the environment a barren wasteland.

Even Rio, the S-Rank beast, a formidable seven-foot-tall creature, hadn\'t been spared from the destructive force. His body had been wiped from existence, but for some reason, his head had survived the catastrophe.

"What did you do? Why am I not dead?!" Sybilla\'s voice was a mix of rage and fear as she grasped her current state.

Most people might have been elated to have survived such a catastrophe, even if only as a disembodied head, but Sybilla was not most people.

To her, the fact that she was still alive after what had transpired meant that Raphael had something else in store for her. And she had no doubt that whatever it was, it could only be terrible.

Soon after Sybilla arrived at her conclusion, Rio\'s eyes sprang open. At first, he appeared puzzled, but as memories of what had transpired flooded his mind, panic seized him, mirroring Sybilla\'s earlier reaction.

He glared at Raphael, and despite his weakened state, a murderous intent shone in his eyes. "Undo this," Rio growled, "or I will kill you and everyone you care about."

"What are you waiting for? Do you have a death wish?"

Raphael remained silent, unmoving. Rio\'s rage intensified, the lethal intent in his eyes intensifying as well. But although Raphael didn\'t speak, his expression was rife with mockery, provoking Rio\'s ire and causing a flicker of unease to cross his face.

"I\'m willing to forgive you," Rio offered, "and let everything go, so long as you undo whatever it is you\'ve done. I promise to spare you." His severed head resting on the ground, Rio still managed to look benevolent, as if he were the one doing Raphael a favor.

Raphael stared at Rio, his face a mix of bewilderment and amusement. Clearly, he thought Rio had lost his mind. Sybilla glared at him, trying to discern his intentions. From the fleeting expressions that crossed his face, it seemed as though he took pleasure from their suffering.

"Fool!" Sybilla hissed.

Latario suddenly spoke up. "You know, Raphael, you are indeed very clever. Because of her ability to revive herself every time she dies, you chose not to kill her but instead to preserve her life."

He continued, "This way, even if she wanted to, she wouldn\'t be able to revive in her full form because she isn\'t dead yet."

"You left her in a precarious state, more cruel than death itself. She can\'t be considered among the living, nor can she be counted among the dead." Latario\'s tone was laced with admiration. "Impressive!"

Hearing Latario\'s words confirmed Sybilla\'s suspicions, and her face contorted with horror. Rio swallowed hard, his panic intensifying. If Raphael had indeed outsmarted Sybilla, as Latario suggested, the two of them were doomed.

Latario stepped forward, his expression shifting to a sadistic grin. "But there\'s something I don\'t understand," he said.

"What do you plan to do about me?" He tilted his head, eyes gleaming with malice. "Because I can ruin your plan with a flick of my hand, and you won\'t be able to stop me."

"So, tell me, Raphael," Latario taunted, "what makes you think your plan will work while I\'m still here?"

Raphael sneered upon hearing Latario\'s words, his contempt for the man evident. With deliberate slowness, he raised his index finger and pointed it directly at Latario.

"If you choose to interfere," he said, his voice cold and steady, "you\'ll be making an enemy of me. I heard your speech earlier, and frankly, I couldn\'t care less about your opinion of me or my actions."

"And the fact that you\'re an SS-Rank meta might give others pause, but not me. An SS-Rank meta boasted about her status to me just a short while ago, and all that remained of her was her head. So believe me when I say I\'m not concerned about your rank."

Sybilla swallowed nervously, knowing full well that Raphael was referring to her. It was humiliating—an A-Rank meta had reduced her to such a pitiful state. Her head had been severed from her body, the latter nowhere to be found.

Latario\'s smile didn\'t falter as he listened to Raphael\'s threats. "You know, you\'re far too stubborn and immature," he said, his tone almost amused.

"Because what if I decide to interfere with your clash against them? Can you possibly stop me, or even kill me?" Latario taunted, his expression filled with mockery.

Raphael didn\'t miss a beat. "Someone else said something similar, and look at the state she\'s in now," he retorted. "I have no doubt that if you continue to push me, I\'ll end you too."

"It seems I need to send a message to those out there. If she won\'t do it, then you\'ll have to be the one to deliver it for them," Raphael added, his gaze never leaving Latario\'s.

To his surprise, Latario remained unperturbed by his words. Instead, he stared back at Raphael with a look of growing interest.

"You know, Raphael, I\'ve heard rumors that you have an ace up your sleeve that fuels your boundless confidence. And now that I\'ve witnessed your arrogance firsthand, I can\'t help but be curious," Latario said, his tone laced with intrigue.

"So, instead of telling me, why not show me exactly what it is that gives you such self-assurance?" He curled his lips inward as he spoke, his eyes fixed on Raphael.

"I won\'t move from where I stand. Give it your best shot. But know this—your time is limited. If you hesitate, I\'ll kill you myself," Latario said, a dark smile playing on his lips.

With that, he closed his eyes and extended his arm, as if welcoming whatever attack Raphael intended to unleash upon him.

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AN- I\'m sure must have noticed that the writing quality of the recent chapter are much better than the past chapters, this is because I just got in contact with an editor.

Rise of the crusader will be going through an upgrade where all chapters will be edited and updated with improved quality, pacing, dialogues, descriptive language etc. The work has started already but it yet to take effect only just on the recent chapter. However, starting from July 1st, it will begin to take effect from chapter 1 to the last chapter.

During this phase, the story update won\'t be frequent as I would be working closely with the editor. But I have always said I won\'t drop ROTC and I won\'t, I will stick with this to the very end.

And all this effort with the editor is make the story more enjoyable, interesting and also improve it marketability. I\'m also suffering from a bit writers block, you must have noticed from the errors I\'ve been making recently but as I work alongside the editor, I hope to gather all the missing pieces together as well.

I want to thank you all for your support and understanding the entire time, because all this won\'t have been possibly without any of you. Shout out to Him_H and Kazumayagami, you\'ve stuck by during this period and I really appreciate. You both still owe be a castle though lol

I was able to hire an editor only because of you all constant support so it really means a lot to me. Once again thank you very much

This isn\'t a goodbye message but I see you later hehe.