Chapter 604: Suspicion of Elias and Aria
“Nobody among the people from the Lower Domain or even inside this citadel has the mark of the curse one receives after killing a mber of our Xuan Family,” Aria muttered, her brows furrowed in deep thought. “Even if they had ganged up to kill Silus, the one who delivered the final blow should have been marked. But I don’t sense it on anyone. And that… that’s strange.”
Her voice was cold and sharp, her gaze sweeping across the entire do like a predator searching for a scent.
Elias nodded, his expression darkening with the sa realization. “I noticed that too,” he said quietly. “That’s the only reason I let everyone go earlier. Even if I never liked Silus, even if he was arrogant and pathetic… killing a direct mber of the Xuan Family is a cri punishable by death. A mark should’ve appeared on the killer. But if I can’t find who has it, I can’t just go around slaughtering everyone, now can I?” he scoffed, shaking his head in annoyance, though his clenched fists revealed his frustration.
“They must’ve used so sort of treasure to wipe away the mark,” Aria said thoughtfully, still looking out over the scattered groups of Lower Domain experts in the distance. “But do such treasures truly exist? Ones capable of erasing the brand of the four divine beast bloodlines?”
The thought was unsettling. Such a thing went against all the rules and legacies handed down by the Four God Nation. If it was true, then soone—sowhere—was hiding sothing incredibly dangerous.
Elias only shrugged, as if brushing the concern off. “Who cares? Let’s focus on why we ca here,” he said casually, pulling out a parchnt from his spatial ring. It was old, yellowed with age, and covered in cryptic symbols and fading ink. “I’ve already uploaded the map to my holowatch, but we’ll use the original as backup. I don’t trust tech alone with sothing this important.”
With a few taps on the sleek silver device on his wrist, a glowing hologram projected into the air in front of them—an exact replica of the ancient map, but updated with their real-ti location within the do. Aria gave a small nod of approval.
“Let’s go,” Elias said with a grin, turning back toward the rest of the group. He looked at the two towering 5th level Master Rank commanders and the other seven elite warriors—four at peak Expert Rank and three already at the 2nd level of the Master Rank. “You all should spread out and explore, but don’t go too far. If anything happens, we might need your assistance,” he ordered calmly, his voice carrying the weight of a superior who expected imdiate obedience.
The others nodded respectfully and without a word began scattering through the do, each heading off in different directions to begin their search.
With that, Elias and Aria stepped away, walking side by side, both unaware that the answer to their mystery was already slipping deeper into the citadel.
***
At this mont, Max was battling a swarm of steel wolves inside a narrow, half-collapsed building buried deep within the third stage of the citadel. His sword—glowing blue with the chilling essence of his Concept of Severing Sword—moved like flashes of moonlight. They were all at the Expert Rank.
Each strike was clean, precise, and deadly. One wolf after another was sliced apart with ease, their tallic bodies clattering to the cracked stone floor with a shower of sparks. Yet for every wolf he killed, another seed to leap from the shadows. Then another. And another.
Max’s eyes narrowed. He had already slain more than thirty, yet their numbers weren’t dwindling. In fact, they were increasing. The more he fought, the thicker the air grew with the scent of iron and the harsh clanging of tal claws. The floor was littered with twitching carcasses, yet a fresh growl would echo before he could catch his breath.
His eyes darted around, senses sharpened by his Three Dinsional Body, scanning every crack and fold in space itself. He twisted to dodge a lunging wolf, slashing upward in a rising arc that split it from jaw to spine.
As its body dropped, Max suddenly felt a ripple—sothing abnormal in the spatial structure near the far wall of the building, like a tear barely being held together. A spatial node. His sword halted in mid-swing as he turned sharply, ignoring the incoming wolves for just a second.
Using his Three Dinsional Body, specializing in space elents, and sure enough, there it was—an invisible slit in space no larger than a door, pulsing faintly with a distorted energy.
A wolf’s snarl pulled his attention back just in ti to duck under a pair of snapping jaws. Max spun low, decapitating the beast with a swipe, and bolted toward the ripple.
As he approached, another wolf leapt out of thin air right in front of him—its body completely ford in a blink, as if summoned from nothing. That confird it. This was where they were coming from.
Max gritted his teeth, cutting the beast down mid-air, his sword glowing ever brighter as he funneled energy through his limbs.
“So this is your den…” he muttered. He kicked forward, his body a blur as he unleashed a barrage of strikes, clearing a path to the node. Every movent was ruthless. Calculated. One mont, a wolf snapped toward his throat—next, its head rolled across the ground.
Like that he moved towards the spatial node and arrived before it shortly.
Finally standing before the node, Max raised both hands holding the sword and used both the Concept of Severing Sword and Concept of Space, its edges trembling with fury. The wolves behind him howled, but he didn’t even glance back.
He took a deep breath, blue glow illuminating his face, and poured all his energy into his sword. “Let’s seal your gate.” With a roar, he slashed at the spatial node itself.
Void Severance Slash!
The mont his blade connected, space scread. A blinding flash burst outward, forcing the wolves to halt mid-charge. The tear twisted, resisted—but under Max’s relentless power and spatial mastery, it began to close. Inch by inch. Spark by spark.
And when it finally vanished, the world went still. No more wolves ca.
Max turned around, eyes gleaming with sharp focus, and without hesitation slashed his sword in a wide arc, the blue blade slicing cleanly through the last of the steel wolves charging at him.
The clang of shattered tal echoed off the cracked stone walls as the final beasts dropped lifeless to the ground. Their glowing red eyes dimd into nothingness.
Max stood still for a mont, letting his breathing calm, his body still humming from the intensity of the battle. Bits of shattered steel and glowing remnants of energy scattered around him like glimring dust.
He lowered his sword slowly, the blade still crackling with residual spatial energy. His gaze swept across the ruined building, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
‘According to Silus’ mories, this place should hold a high-level treasure,’ he recalled, his senses heightening once again. Silus had ntioned this location—hidden behind an unassuming structure, buried beneath what looked like ruin—being marked on the citadel map as a place of interest.
The fact that such an endless tide of steel wolves had been guarding it only added weight to that claim. Beasts like these didn’t guard empty air. Max took a step forward, crunching over twisted wolf remains, his eyes scanning every inch of the room for anything out of place—any chanism, formation, or hidden seal.
The treasure had to be close.
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