"So you're determined to die here today?" Erwin's heart was filled with mixed feelings as he said this. He didn't know whether he should be sympathizing with this man, even though he had tried to kill him on multiple occasions.

"There's no need to look at me like that. I came here to fight one final battle against a powerful opponent. If I die, then so be it, I can leave this world with no regrets," Renjay said with a smile. "This is no longer my time. I can sense that the era for young people like you is about to arrive. Relics of the past age like myself no longer have the drive and energy to stave off the younger generation."

"If you no longer had drive and passion, then why did you trudge all the way up to Fort Breeze to seek out death?" Erwin countered.

"I suddenly had an epiphany when I saw something on your declaration of freedom."

"What did you see?" Erwin asked.

"It said that as humans, we should not easily bend to the will of fate. I've spent most of my life living for others, and it seems like I can never escape fate. Hence, before coming here, I made up my mind that I had to live for myself, even if it's just this once."

He had pursued the woman by the name of Aglea for a decade of his life, only to have her demise put an abrupt end to that journey. He then spent another decade of his life looking after the daughter of a deceased friend, and on this day, he was prepared to sacrifice his own life for the little girl, even going as far as to plan out his own death prior to coming here. It seemed that he had never lived for himself in his life, and he was planning to change that on this day, even though it was going to be the last day of his life.

"That's why you came to challenge me?" Onean asked, finally breaking her silence.

She couldn't help but be moved after hearing what Renjay had to say, and it seemed that she couldn't turn down this challenge. Renjay had tried to take Erwin's life on multiple occasions, but after hearing his story, she simply couldn't bring herself to resent him.

"But your arm..." Onean cast her gaze toward Renjay's crippled arm as she spoke.

"I am an assassin. Even if I could only move a single finger, I can still kill," Renjay said with a proud expression.

"That's good to hear. I'm not going to hold back, and neither should you," Onean said as a cold look appeared on her face.

"Just know that I will step in if the battle gets to a point where you're endangering her life," Erwin said to Renjay prior to the commencement of his clash. The meaning behind his words was very simple: if Renjay tried to kill Onean, then he was definitely going to intervene.

Renjay merely smiled and offered no response.

As Onean and Renjay adopted their positions across from one another in the sky, Stinkbag was looking up at her master from the courtyard down below with a dazed expression, and a lump seemed to have formed in her throat.

A ball of snow sitting on Erwin's palm exploded like a firework in the sky, signaling the commencement of the sparring match between Onean and Renjay.

Erwin had thought that Renjay was a martial artist who specialized in archery, so it was rather surprising for him to see that Renjay was completely unarmed.

However, in the next instant, a dagger fell into Renjay's grasp with a flick of his wrist, and he stepped forward before charging directly toward Onean.

His entire body was like the dagger that he was wielding, piercing through the wind and snow with single-minded ferocity.

Renjay wasn't moving exceptionally quickly, but his peerless killing intent was enough to send chills running down anyone's spine. In terms of pure speed, both Aiden and Jeff were superior to Renjay, but when it came to the ability to inject one's killing intent into one's weapon, Erwin had never seen anyone on the same level as Renjay.

This was a completely emotionless attack. The killing intent wasn't directed toward Onean, it was merely a part of the technique that was being unleashed. Just as he had said earlier, he was an assassin, and there was no need for him to work up any special emotions to kill someone. Killing was second nature to him, and it was just as simple as breathing or walking.

Onean was watching the oncoming dagger intently, and she didn't dare to take her opponent lightly. She arched her back to evade the attack, and at the same time, the ice phoenix flew out of the Everlife Chinaberry Staff in her grasp before flying directly toward Renjay's chest.

Erwin's heart was about to leap out of his throat as he saw a few strands of Onean's silver hair being severed by the dagger, and he was almost unable to hold back the urge to teleport right behind Renjay with his space split technique before blasting an attack straight into his back. However, he could tell that Onean wasn't going all-out yet, so there was no need for him to intervene for now.

Thus, the first clash between the two concluded with a gash being inflicted onto Onean's shoulder by Renjay's dagger, while Onean's ice phoenix had forced Renjay back close to 20 steps.

Onean took a glance at her own shoulder, and her brows furrowed slightly.

As for Renjay, he was panting heavily with his hand over his chest, clearly having been severely injured by the ice phoenix.

Erwin cast his gaze toward Onean, in response to which she shook her head ever so slightly, indicating for him to stay put for now.

Onean had said that she wasn't going to hold back, and she fully intended to follow through on that promise. While the ice phoenix was circling around in the air, she sent countless ice spikes hurtling toward Renjay, not allowing him any respite to catch his breath.

Meanwhile, Erwin was looking on with an intrigued expression. Compared with when he first saw the ice phoenix, it had grown significantly in stature, leading him to become even more curious about how Onean was nurturing the creature with her magic.

Renjay rushed through the air with remarkable speed and agility, avoiding the exploding ice spikes before leaping upward, arriving directly above Onean. However, what was rather strange was that he had his back facing downward. In the blink of an eye, Renjay twisted around with his feet trailing along behind him as he swooped down from the heavens like a bolt of lightning, and his dagger was aimed straight at the top of Onean's head.

"That's Heavenly Moonheart!" Stinkbag couldn't help but exclaim as she watched the unfolding battle from down below. This was the final one of the 13 Godkiller Techniques, and she had always felt like she had already mastered the technique, but at the same time, she would always be struck by new inspiration whenever she saw her master unleash the same technique.

Onean had no time to look up and see what Renjay was doing. As soon as Renjay sprang up into the air above her, she already anticipated that his next attack was going to come from above. Hence, the ice phoenix was already prepared, and before the dagger had a chance to reach Onean, the ice phoenix let loose a loud cry as it flapped its wings and sped directly toward Renjay.

As it did so, a dazzling burst of light erupted out of the ice phoenix's beak to envelop Renjay's entire body in the blink of an eye.

The scintillating white ice flames scorched a series of holes into Renjay's suit of black leather armor, while his exposed skin was reduced to an even more horrific state. His hands and face looked as if they were suffering burst and frostbite at the same time, with patches of purple and blue that were giving off wisps of black smoke.

However, Renjay seemed to be completely unable to feel any pain, despite his terrible condition. He didn't cry out in pain, and the killing intent in his eyes didn't waver in the slightest. His body wasn't even slowed down at all as he continued to fall toward Onean.

His dagger struck the ice phoenix's chest, then slashed all the way downward to slice open its abdomen, resulting in a long and horrific wound. The ice phoenix flapped its wings vigorously and cried out in excruciating agony upon being dealt such a severe injury, and particles that resembled ice crystals were constantly pouring out of its wound.

A furious look immediately surfaced in Onean's eyes at the sight of the wound suffered by the ice phoenix.

Erwin couldn't help but gulp nervously as he took in Onean's expression. He knew that Renjay had truly infuriated her.

All of a sudden, she raised her Everlife Chinaberry Staff, and the snow falling from the sky suddenly came to a complete standstill.

The snow only stood still for a fraction of a second before surging rapidly upward, and all of the snow that had fallen in Fort Breeze also rose up into the sky. If the bystanders of the battle were to inspect their surroundings at this moment, they would discover that all of the snow that had fallen over the entire city of Newfando was also beginning to gather in the heavens.

It was truly a miraculous sight, resembling a mirage in the form of a snowy mountain that was hanging in the sky.

With a wave of Onean's staff, the vast snowy mountain that seemed to encompass the entire sky crashed directly toward Renjay.

In the face of the vast mountain of snow, Renjay was made to look impossibly tiny and insignificant.

However, his determination and dedication to his cause were so fierce that he had sufficient resolve to pierce through even literal mountains and seas to reach his target.

There were no thoughts of hesitation or retreat, everything in his way simply had to be eradicated.

This was the final battle of his life, and nothing was going to stand in his way.

The dagger pierced into the enormous mountain of snow.

In the blink of an eye, Renjay had already made it through to the other side, and his dagger was no more than 10 feet away from Onean. Right at this moment, the severely wounded ice phoenix gave a desperate cry, then mustered up what little energy it had remaining to fly toward Renjay with all its might. Onean faltered slightly upon seeing this, and she wanted to stop the ice phoenix, but it was already too late.

The ice phoenix was rapidly flying through the air like a crescent-shaped blue blade, while Renjay's Heavenly Moonheart resembled a new moon that was descending from the sky. Thus, the clash between the two was like a clash between a pair of new moons.

This was the climax of the battle, and everyone was looking on with bated breath. At this point, it was obvious that the outcome of the battle was about to be decided. Erwin was prepared to unleash a space split technique to save Onean at any moment if required.

In this vital moment of the battle, a faint smile appeared on Renjay's face, and the dagger in his hand diverted away from its original trajectory.

In the next instant, his hand was severed from his body.

The ice phoenix had sliced through Renjay's right hand like a curved blade, while it had also been sliced into two by Renjay's peerless attack. It cast one final gaze toward Onean with longing and affection in its eyes, then exploded into a cloud of ice crystals.

Meanwhile, Renjay's dagger flew past Onean's neck, missing it by a hair's breadth. If Renjay hadn't held back at the last moment, Onean would've already been decapitated.

Even though Erwin had already arrived beside Onean, at this point, the dagger had already flown several dozen feet past her, so it was clear that Erwin was already too late, even though he had used his space split technique. He immediately threw his arms around Onean in a tight embrace, and his chest was heaving violently as he gasped for air. Never had he been so afraid, not even when he had endured his own close calls with death. His heart was throbbing with pain as he looked at the dazed expression on Onean's face. Only at times like this could he truly be fully honest with himself and see his own feelings for what they were.

"Master!" Stinkbag hurriedly rushed toward the spot where her master was falling toward in a blind panic, paying no heed to all of the people around her.

Theresa was feeling quite sorry for her after seeing what had become of Renjay, so she naturally made no effort to stop her.

Right before Renjay's body was about to fall onto the ground, he was caught by Stinkbag.

"Were you watching closely?" Renjay asked as he laid in his disciple's arms with a wary expression, and a faint smile appeared on his face. However, he wasn't smiling for long before he began to cough up large mouthfuls of blood. After being baptized by the ice phoenix's ice flames and forcing his way through the snowy mountain conjured up by Onean, his body was standing on its last legs.

"I was..." Tears were streaming down Stinkbag's face before falling onto Renjay's cheek. She thought back to over a decade ago, when Renjay was teaching her the most basic assassination techniques, and back then, he had asked the same question as well. However, the tone of his voice was far more benevolent here than it was back then. He had always been infuriated by how strict and unforgiving her master was toward her, but the thought of never being able to hear his stern scolding again filled her with sadness.

"You are absolutely hideous when you cry," Renjay jeered while panting heavily. He raised his hand to stroke his disciple's cheek, only to find that his right hand was already nowhere to be found. As for his left hand, it had been crippled by Onean just a few days ago, and he still couldn't even raise it.

Stinkbag was greatly saddened by the sight of her master's terrible condition, but she knew that her master was trying to cheer her up, so she forced a smile onto her own face as she countered, "Not as hideous as you look right now."

"I didn't want to be killed by anyone else. I've always been waiting for the day when you would take my life, but I couldn't make it there in the end," Renjay sighed.

The tears were flowing even faster down Stinkbag's face upon hearing this.

"I've taught you for over 10 years, you better not embarrass me by dying anytime soon, do you hear me?"

Stinkbag nodded with all her might.

"After I'm dead, just find a peaceful place and bury me. And don't come to visit me. I'm already sick of seeing your face, I don't want to have to deal with you even after I'm dead."

Stinkbag didn't even care what her master was saying anymore, all she was doing was nodding furiously while tears and snot streamed down her face.

Shortly thereafter, Erwin and Onean descended before him, and Renjay turned to them with a triumphant smile.

"You won," Erwin said with a serious expression as he looked down at Renjay.

Renjay cast his gaze toward Erwin and Onean, then raised his head to look up at his disciple, and he heaved an internal sigh. The new age was coming, but unfortunately, he no longer had the energy and drive to be a part of it. However, at the same time, he felt a sense of release. He could finally cross over to the other side to pursue the woman who had been living in his memories for most of his life.

Unbeknownst to him, in a cruel twist of fate, the woman that he had desperately pursued had recently awakened somewhere in another dukedom on the northern continent.

Prior to his passing, Renjay cast a meaningful gaze toward Erwin, and Erwin that this was a reminder from Renjay for him to keep his promise.

Erwin nodded in response, then turned to the sobbing Stinkbag with a thoughtful expression.