Max and Lucien exchanged a long look, both of their expressions heavy and grim. Neither of them had expected that beings from the Divine Realm could erase an entire mortal world simply by descending into it. The realization made the scale of the catastrophe surrounding the True Origin Devil Blood feel even more terrifying than before.
Max shook his head lightly, forcing his thoughts back into order, before speaking again. "Well, I have good news for all of you. There is no need to keep restricting the crown or sealing the soul any longer."
The dragon divine beast's shadowy form stiffened instantly. "What do you an?" it asked, its tone sharp and alert.
"It is simple," Max replied calmly. "We plan to end this once and for all. I will return the crown to the crownbearer and also give him back the last fragnt of his soul. After that, we will kill him."
The tortoise divine beast let out a deep and solemn breath. "Are you out of your mind, human boy?" it said heavily. "A crownbearer possesses divine authority that can rival us divine beasts. Back then, that crownbearer alone was able to fight all four of us and the demons at the sa ti and still prevent us from freely acting in the mortal world. Do you truly believe that humans stand any chance against such an existence?"
Max shrugged casually, as if the words carried little weight. "I killed the four demons myself. They were strong. In fact, they were extrely strong. But they were still not strong enough."
The chamber fell into stunned silence.
The Four Divine Beasts had already sensed it when the auras of the four demons vanished from the mortal world. They had assud the demons had retreated back to the Divine Realm. Never had they imagined that those demons had been slain, and slain by a mortal no less.
"How could a mortal possess such strength?" the dragon divine beast asked slowly, disbelief clear in its voice.
"I suppose I am a special mortal," Max replied without arrogance as he walked toward the young man maintaining the spherical forcefield.
The young man had clearly heard every word spoken. However, his full concentration was devoted to suppressing the crown, leaving him unable to move or speak. His face was pale, sweat forming along his temples as he continued to channel his power into the forcefield.
Max stopped before him and shifted his gaze to the sphere containing the dark red crown and the sword. Without hesitation, he activated the fifth level concept of space. Invisible laws bent instantly as he ford a restricted spatial domain around the sphere itself. The mont the spatial restriction took shape, the devil energy ceased leaking outward entirely, remaining perfectly contained even without the young man's direct suppression.
"This…" the young man gasped, his eyes widening in shock. "Fifth level concept of space."
He stared at Max as if he were looking at sothing beyond reason. Even within the Divine Realm, the concept of space was exceedingly rare.
Only a handful of forces possessed legacies related to it, and even among them at the strength level he is, reaching the fifth level was almost unheard of. That level represented the pinnacle of conceptual mastery, a realm where control beca absolute and comprehension bordered on the impossible.
The young man had only ever heard rumors of geniuses capable of achieving such a feat. To witness a mortal stand before him and wield the fifth level concept of space with such ease shattered everything he believed he understood about limits.
Max stepped forward and extended his hand. With a subtle twist of space, the spherical forcefield drifted away from Jim and ca to hover beside Max instead. The oppressive devil energy remained perfectly sealed within the restricted space he had created. "I will take this for now," Max said calmly, his grip on the situation absolute.
The dragon divine beast watched him closely. "Are you truly serious about killing your crownbearer?" it asked, its voice heavy with both caution and disbelief.
"Why do you think I am here?" Max replied without hesitation, his gaze unwavering.
The four divine beasts exchanged looks with one another, ancient thoughts passing silently between them. After a brief mont, the tortoise divine beast spoke on behalf of the rest. "Then we will help you in this battle. This disaster began because of us as well, and it should end with us standing on the battlefield."
"I am in too," Jim said solemnly, his voice firm despite the exhaustion etched into his face.
Max smiled faintly at their resolve. "Good. With the addition of you five, our chances have increased significantly."
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, a realization struck him. His brows drew together as he looked around the chamber once more. "Wait. Sothing is off. We sensed six presences before we entered through the door. You four divine beasts make four, Jim makes five. Where is the last one?"
Jim raised his hand and pointed toward the spherical forcefield floating beside Max. "It is there," he said slowly. "The corrupted crown itself."
Max's eyes narrowed.
"If I am not mistaken," Jim continued, "the True Origin Devil Blood used the divine authority of the crown over these ten thousand years to form an ego of its own. A crude consciousness, born from corruption and power. It is a drop of blood that has developed a mind."
He paused briefly before adding, "When you and Lucien entered this chamber, that ego sensed unfamiliar and dangerous presences. It retreated back into the crown to hide. Intellectually, it is still like an infant, driven by instinct rather than reason."
For the first ti in a long while, Max felt the urge to curse aloud. A single drop of blood, corrupted beyond asure, had not only twisted a world and a crownbearer but had also grown its own consciousness by feeding on divine authority. The implications were horrifying.
"So it is not just a blood anymore," Max said quietly, his expression darkening. "It is a living calamity."
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