Strongest Existence Becomes Teacher-Chapter 186: Escaped

The last remnants of the mana beam dissolved into motes of light in Zane’s palm, fading as if they had never existed.

Dren’s breath hitched.

His fingers trembled around the Heart of the Deep Forge, runes flaring erratically as his thoughts spiraled.

Just a little more...

They should be ready... by now...!

Zane flexed his fingers once, shaking off the residual mana like dust.

"That was dangerous," he said lightly, a smile playing on his lips.

Mira rushed forward instinctively.

"P-Professor Zane—are you okay?!"

Grom’s voice followed, rough with tension.

"Are you fine, lad...?"

Zane glanced back at them, utterly relaxed.

"I’m fine," he said, nodding once.

"But let’s finish this."

His gaze returned to Dren.

Dren felt it.

That pressure—no, that presence—locking onto him.

"W-what...?" Dren stammered, backing instinctively, the barrier shimmering as if sensing his fear. "S-stop him!"

Shadows burst outward.

More masked warriors poured from the darkness, blades raised, bodies moving with lethal precision as they rushed Zane from every angle.

They never reached him.

The moment they crossed an invisible boundary—

Their bodies detonated.

Not with fire.

Not with magic.

They simply came apart.

Flesh, bone, and blood exploded into crimson mist mid-stride, painting the warehouse walls and floor in horrifying arcs. Limbs fell lifelessly. Masks clattered to the ground, empty.

Zane didn’t slow.

Didn’t look at them.

Didn’t acknowledge them at all.

He walked forward through the settling mist, boots crunching softly against debris, eyes fixed on Dren alone.

Each step made the barrier tremble.

Dren swallowed hard, sweat dripping down his face as the Heart’s light pulsed wildly in his grip.

"No... no, no—this isn’t right...!"

Zane stopped just in front of the barrier. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Close enough that Dren could see his reflection in Zane’s eyes.

And that terrified him most of all.

"

Ĺl

Zane stopped just in front of the barrier.

Close enough that Dren could see his reflection in Zane’s eyes.

And that terrified him most of all.

Dren stared at Zane, breath ragged, chest heaving.

Fear clawed at his throat—but he forced it down.

A smile stretched across his face. Thin. Desperate.

"N-now what...?" he said, voice trembling despite his effort.

"You can’t do anything about this mana barrier."

The Heart of the Deep Forge pulsed brighter, as if trying to reassure him.

Zane didn’t answer immediately.

He stepped closer.

Then—casually—he placed his hand against the white barrier.

Dren’s smile widened a fraction, relief flickering in his eyes.

And then—

Zane’s hand passed through it.

No resistance.

No distortion.

No reaction at all.

As if the barrier simply... wasn’t there.

The warehouse went deathly silent.

Dren’s eyes widened so far it looked painful.

"...What?"

Zane pushed his arm further in, then stepped forward—

Walking straight through the barrier like mist.

The Heart screamed.

Runes flared violently, spinning out of alignment, pressure rings shattering one by one as if reality itself had rejected their authority.

Zane emerged inside.

Standing right in front of Dren.

Close enough that Dren could feel his breath.

The smile on Dren’s face finally broke.

"N-no—!"

Zane’s hand shot out.

Fingers closed around Dren’s neck.

Not crushing.

Not yet.

Just... absolute control.

Dren gagged, feet lifting off the ground as Zane raised him effortlessly, the Heart slipping from his grasp and clattering to the floor, its glow dimming in panic.

Zane looked at him calmly.

"You relied on a barrier," he said quietly.

"That was your mistake."

Dren clawed at Zane’s wrist, nails digging in uselessly, eyes bloodshot with terror.

"I told you once already," Zane continued, voice steady, cold.

"I don’t need to deal with your defenses."

He leaned in slightly, eyes meeting Dren’s.

"I deal with you."

Zane’s grip tightened.

Dren’s feet kicked weakly in the air, his face flushing as breath was slowly, deliberately cut off. The pressure wasn’t sudden—it was precise, measured. Controlled.

A slow execution.

Yet even then, Dren smiled.

Choking, gasping, his voice scraped out in broken fragments.

"J-just... some more... time..."

Zane tilted his head slightly.

"...More time?"

Something shifted in his eyes.

Then—he smiled.

A real one.

"Oh," Zane said softly. "I get it now."

At that instant, Dren’s body began to glow.

Not mana flaring outward—but something igniting from within. Veins of distorted light spread beneath his skin, crawling like cracks through glass. The Heart of the Deep Forge trembled violently on the floor, its core flashing erratically, responding to its master’s final trigger.

Dren laughed.

It was weak. Broken. But triumphant.

"Heh... goodbye... Master..."

His gaze slid past Zane, toward Grom.

For the first time, something like regret flickered there—twisted, buried under obsession.

"I’ll... see you later..."

Then his eyes locked back onto Zane.

Madness. Hatred. Obsession—all tangled together.

"After I fully complete it..." Dren rasped, voice vibrating unnaturally,

"...you will die."

The glow intensified.

Grom shouted, "Zane—!"

Mira’s breath caught. "Professor—!"

Zane didn’t move.

He didn’t loosen his grip.

He didn’t rush.

He simply watched.

Calm. Curious. Almost amused.

Reality warped around Dren’s body, space bending inward like it was being pulled toward a collapsing point.

Dren’s smile widened one last time.

And then—

His body began to dissolve.

Not into ash.

Not into mana.

But into fragments of distorted light, peeling away from Zane’s grasp like a mirage tearing itself apart. His form unraveled piece by piece, slipping through Zane’s fingers as if he were phasing out of the world entirely.

In the final second before he vanished completely, Dren whispered—

"Vassel... will finish this..."

And then—

He was gone.

Silence slammed into the warehouse.

The Heart of the Deep Forge was also gone..

Along side him

Zane stood there, hand still raised, fingers closing around empty air.

He exhaled slowly.

"...Tch."

Behind him, Grom dropped to one knee, staring at the spot where Dren had been, hands shaking.

Mira stood frozen, eyes wide, chest tight—unable to tell whether she wanted to scream, cry, or collapse.

Zane finally lowered his hand.

"Ran away," he said flatly.

Somewhere in grass plainland,

The world reassembled with a dull thud.

Grass bent under sudden weight.

Dren crashed onto the plains on all fours, fingers digging into the soil as he coughed violently, breath tearing out of his lungs in ragged bursts.

"Ha... ha... hhk—!"

His throat burned. His vision swam. For a few seconds, all he could do was gasp like a drowning man pulled too late from water.

Beside him, the Heart of the Deep Forge hovered unsteadily.

Its glow was weaker now—still radiant, still dangerous—but no longer arrogant. The runes along its surface flickered, unstable, as if shaken by what had just occurred.

Dren dragged in another breath and slowly lifted his head.

Standing a few steps away was a tall figure cloaked entirely in black.

No aura leaked from him.

No pressure pressed down.

No killing intent bled into the air.

And yet—

The very space around him felt wrong.

The man leaned lightly on a staff carved from something that did not belong to this world—its surface swallowing light instead of reflecting it. His face remained hidden beneath the hood, motionless as a statue.

Dren laughed weakly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

"...I thought," he rasped, "you wouldn’t use your magic."

The cloaked man did not answer.

Did not move.

Did not even acknowledge him.

Dren forced himself to sit upright, teeth clenched as pain rippled through his body. His fingers trembled as they brushed against the Heart of the Deep Forge, grounding himself in its presence.

Then he looked up again, eyes burning with twisted resolve.

"Just wait," he muttered, voice low and venomous.

"Zane... Mira... Master..."

A crooked smile spread across his face.

"I’m not finished."