"So this is the true power of the black flas…" Balthazar whispered. His expression had finally turned solemn. "Just as the reports claid."
He reached into his spatial ring and took out a small jar. Its surface was engraved with ancient demonic inscriptions. He ran his finger across the carvings, and the jar trembled.
A powerful suction force erupted from it.
Almost instantly, the black flas around Mariona began to detach from her skin and flow into the jar like streams of dark smoke.
Even Max paused, surprised.
He had not expected Balthazar to possess sothing capable of absorbing that fla. His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the flas swirl into the container.
When the last trace of black fla vanished, Mariona collapsed to her knees, gasping. Her body was still damaged from the flas, but she had escaped death for the mont.
"She must die," Max said quietly.
He didn't hesitate.
He drew his sword.
A single stroke cut through the air.
Swish!
Mariona didn't even scream. Her body split cleanly into two halves. Her demonic regeneration started reacting, but before it could begin…
Max vanished.
He reappeared before the two halves of her corpse, his hands glowing with purple fire masked in black flas. He unleashed it in one smooth motion. The flas consud her instantly.
Purple light swirled. Black fire roared.
In less than a second, Mariona's body disintegrated entirely.
Not even ashes remained.
"It's your turn, Balthazar." Max fixed his gaze on the demon above the clouds and raised his sword slowly.
Before he could swing it, a narrow beam of radiant light descended from the sky and enveloped Balthazar. The light wrapped around him like a cocoon and vanished in an instant—taking him away with it.
Max lowered his sword slightly.
"Far-range teleportation?" he muttered.
He closed his eyes, extended his senses as far as they could reach, and tried to trace the destination of the light. His consciousness spread through land, sky, and sea, but the trail slipped through his perception.
The beam had been cast from an astonishing distance—far beyond his current spatial reach.
Max let out a frustrated breath.
"I need to comprehend the fifth level of the Concept of Space soon," he said quietly.
If he could reach that level, his spatial mastery would rival Mark's. He would be able to lock space so tightly that even teleportation rays would beco useless. No one would escape his grasp.
After a brief mont of silent reflection, Max disappeared from the ocean and reappeared inside the ancestral chamber with Alice.
"Alice, stay here and wait for Lenavira to awaken," Max said gently.
Alice looked at him, her expression filled with concern. "What are you going to do?"
"Sothing that needs to be done," Max answered solemnly. "Don't worry. I'm not doing it alone. Lucien will be with ."
Alice nodded slowly and turned toward the sacred pool where Lenavira had been taken for her awakening. She gave Max one last look before heading deeper inside.
Once she was inside, Max vanished from the chamber.
He appeared at the top of the Tower of Truth, the winds howling around him.
A mont later, Lucien stepped out of thin air and appeared beside him.
"So, how did it go?" Max asked. His tone was calm but carried an undercurrent of urgency. "Have you all decided when to unseal Mark's remaining two souls?"
The crown was most likely sealed together with one of those souls. There was no other way the otherworldly being could suppress Mark's immortality and tie his essence to objects without dividing his soul.
But unsealing those objects also ant releasing two of Mark's souls.
It ant making Mark even stronger.
It ant pushing the world closer to collapse.
Yet this was the only path available to them.
Max's expression grew solemn as he waited for Lucien's answer.
"Three months," Lucien said, his tone heavy and resolute. "In exactly three months we will unseal the soul trapped inside the Tower of Truth first. After that, we will head for the Celestial Beast Temple and unseal the third and final fragnt of Mark's soul."
Max's brows tightened.
Three months.
Three months was long enough for the world to change completely. Long enough for alliances to break. Long enough for demons to move. Long enough for disaster to spread like wildfire across Acaris.
"Three months…" Max repeated quietly, feeling the weight of those words settle on him.
Lucien noticed his expression and asked, "You look troubled. What did you learn?"
Max exhaled slowly before answering.
"I gathered so intel on what the demons are planning… and it isn't good."
Lucien's expression sharpened. "What intel? I've searched the entire Middle Domain, Lower Domain, and even the lower sectors connected through ley lines. I couldn't find a single demon base. It made no sense at first."
He paused for a mont before continuing.
"Then I realized sothing. The demons aren't hiding in this world. They're living in the secret domain where the Ascendants reside. That place is linked to Acaris through Mark's power. They can enter whenever they wish, but we cannot trace them. Our scouts can't find them. Our spies can't follow them. They vanish as if they never existed."
Max's eyes narrowed.
"A secret domain tied to this world where Ascendants live…"
That description triggered a mory.
A vivid one.
He rembered the sky of Valora Continent cracking open. A long, jagged tear appeared like the world's skin being peeled away, revealing the darkness beneath. From that tear, a small army of Ascendants descended—cold, emotionless, and terrifying.
They had co for him.
And among them was Cain, the supposed vice leader of the Ascendants, second only to Mark. That man had placed a mysterious mark on Max's left hand—a twisted sigil that glowed faintly with an otherworldly light.
At the ti, Cain had said sothing unforgettable:
"If you ever wish to et Mark… burn this mark. You will be teleported before him."
Max lifted his left hand slightly and looked at the faint mark that still rested there.
It had been given to him long ago. He had almost forgotten about it amid the chaos, cultivation, and battles. Now he wondered whether it would still work. Whether Cain had deceived him. Whether it was a trap or a doorway.
Focusing on it, he murmured to himself, "So the demons are hiding there…"
A place outside the reach of this world.
A place only connected through Mark.
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