Chapter 356 - Exiting Purgatory

"It's almost been a month, Renar. Our dry food ration is about to run out. And we can't find an exit from this place. What should we do now?"

A nervous voice sounded in an empty and humongous space. The ambiance of the space was maintained by the runes over the ceiling. The luminance was just enough to walk around the space without having to use mana sense.

"Just be glad that we were pulled away from danger just when we were about to die. Those blood-starved beasts were too horrible. The month is about to be over.

According to that bitchy witch Zee, we would be automatically ejected out of the separate dimension as long as we remain alive. So hand on and stay on your toes. We can't really relax here even though it looks safe."

The duo that was conversing in the gloomy space was none other than Renar and Viper. They had spent their days post their first floor battle failures here– waiting for the day they got out of Purgatory. But both of them were feeling nervous and bored because they had nothing to do.

They had been battling with each other to pass time. But they would stop after a few minutes and maintain their energy reserve in case any emergency arises. Just when they were about to start another spar to pass time, they heard a known voice from behind them:

"There you are. I have been looking all over for you guys."

Renar and Viper looked around and saw a familiar figure closing on them out of nowhere. It was Ronny who they recognized instantly. But when they spread their mana sense and checked up on him, they felt something was off.

"Ronny? What… happened to you? You were on a solid stage of the Ace rank before… now.. You seem to be in a liquid stage.

How did you regress in your ranking status?"

Ronny pressed his temples with his right hand as he was getting close to the duo and replied shortly after:

"Errr… let's just say that the tower whooped my ass. I'm glad I survived the first floor at all.

Never mind that. Are you guys ready? You need to be if you don't. Look behind you."

Eren gestured with his eyes and made Renar and Viper look behind their backs to see an array had been lit up. Eren didn't wait for them to make a decision and started walking towards the array. Viper and Renar looked at each. The latter shrugged his shoulders and followed Ronny– leaving Viper to do the same.

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"Did you kill the rest of the Isen's spies as well?"

Jerry asked his new subordinates. The old ones had been taken care of by Ronny's team when the series of blasts claimed their lives. Only Jerry survived that battle. That too only because nobody came for him when he was under the illusion.

"Yes, Adept Jerry. We killed all the guys that were given to us in the list. We killed all seven of them.

'Seven huh! It seems Isen really pulled all his stoppers in trying to rescue his grandkid. Too bad, Arthur saw it coming.'

Jerry thought to himself and shook his head. Then refocused his gaze and said to his subordinates in a low voice:

"What about that guy Ronny? Did you find that fucker?"

The lead of the subordinates had an awkward time answering the question. He scratched the ars below his right ear and bowed a little before answering:

"Boss Jerry, that was not really part of our original assignments. Still, we did as you asked and tried to track them. We found the trails leading to the solo towers. We couldn't do anything more. We don't have any power in the solo tower after all."

The creases on Jerry's forehead increased when he heard his subordinate reply to him. He felt like admonishing him some more. But he saw that a teleportation array had appeared behind them– indicating it was about time they all left Purgatory.

The teleportation arrays would appear in front of every alive participant when it was time to leave Purgatory. It didn't matter whether they were in the tower or somewhere else in the Separate dimension. They would just have to step into the array and they would all be teleported to the entrance of the underground cave.

Not using the teleportation array was dangerous. After a certain time, if the participants don't use the array and try to remain in Purgatory, they would be ejected out of the Separate dimension through spatial tear. The participants' safety wasn't guaranteed when they had been ejected through the spatial tear nor would the location of the teleportation be fixed.

Therefore every sane participant would use the teleportation array as soon as one appears in front of them. Jerry had to do the same too if he wanted to get out of the place safely.

"*Sigh. Never mind. If we couldn't kill him here. We would kill him outside. Heh! We'll see him soon. Follow me."

Jerry started walking towards the teleportation array and planned another way to kill Ronny off. He had deceived him, killed all his subordinates including Gerish who was very close to him from his Novice ranking journey.

But most of all, Ronny had a transcenden-grade time element treasure on him. All his losses would be justified if Jerry could just get his hands on that item after killing the guy.

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"Oh look who do we have here? You guys survived the… "towers" after all. Good for you."

Ronny, Renar, and Viper heard a known voice right after they were teleported to the entrance of the underground cave. They had appeared right in front of that voice's source after all. It was Lady Zee who smiled at them most graciously while welcoming them with perfunctory words.

"Ronny… you are safe. I was worried about you."

Julie Ekheart rushed towards Ronny and hugged him. She softly said to him while hugging him:

"I… I didn't know. You have to trust me."

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AN: Skip this if you want.

Boys, Eren is out of Purgatory. Phew!

Now that we look back, we were in Purgatory for a very long time. 84 chapters to be exact! It could have been a mini arc.

Major things happened inside Purgatory. But it shouldn't be seen as anything random. VEH's storyline was supposed to come here since Reen was introduced at first.

A lot of seemingly boring details add up to make a complete picture in this form. I am also aware that this should have been expedited. Maybe my writing style is not suitable for All's fast-paced environment. But it's fine. I don't and will never regret being here. Because those who support me and VEH are here. And I'm grateful for them.

For some reason, Eliza feels more fit for the book's title than Eren, LOL. In my mind, she has overshadowed him completely.

The very first Sage VEH has introduced acts as an indicator that shows how much room for growth Eren has as a ranker. But Eliza is more than just a Sage. She is an exception among the most exceptional Sages. So taking her as the standard for every Sage won't be apt either. Her epicness will be revealed later down the line.

Least to say, as of now, Eren can't hold a candle to Eliza even with her on the verge of dying. In more ways than one, she has become bigger than what I had planned her to be. It's true what they say, it seems. Some stories write themselves. Writers are just a medium.

Anywho. About Purgatory. Eren fought way too much in that place than all the instances of his previous battles combined before this. He had a lot of close calls that he never used to have due to his OCD-ish nature.

When a man who has gotten used to of his plans coming to fruition experiences that no amount of measures can save him from his loss, the depression feels at that time is on a whole new level. People who are used to YOLOing their daily lives may find it difficult to understand it's severity.

I'm sure all of us have experienced something like this. So just imagine those feelings getting amplified by times 100.

Fate is a fickle mistress though. She shafted Eren but also blessed him by making Ivor the OWB. But then again, which would worse? Getting stamped and haunted as the OWB or letting Eliza hold a leverage? Sigh.

As a reader of my own story, I'm glad that Purgatory ended. But not the way it ended. We left our girl behind after all.

Does it make sense that I look at VEH with two separate perspectives? IDK. The reader in me is downhearted a bit. But I'm looking forward to the day when Eren knocks on Eliza's door again. ;)

What was Eren's best or worst performance in Purgatory according to you? What do you think or hope would happen in the next volumes? Or which character did you come to like or hate? Let me know in this chapter's comments.. Plus, kindly look forward to Volume 02's end as well. Cheers!

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