Instead of answering imdiately, Max reached into his storage ring and pulled out a small glass bottle no bigger than his palm. The bottle itself looked ordinary, but as he slowly twisted off the cap, the air around them shifted.
In the next instant, black flas roared forth from his hands like living shadows, curling and twisting with an eerie, devouring heat. The flas weren’t normal—they pulsed faintly, as though they carried a will of their own.
Max guided the sinister fire toward the bottle, letting it pour in until it was completely filled. Once the last wisp of black fla had been drawn inside, he sealed the cap tight, and the oppressive aura vanished as if it had never been there.
He held the bottle out to her. "I want you to take this to the Balerog Region, near the mountains of Fukaru. This," he tapped the glass lightly, "is sothing the Black Lotus Guild will not be able to ignore. Once you’re there, they will co to you. And knowing their intelligence network, they’ll recognize you imdiately. When they do, tell them to co to the Greenwood Region and find . Tell them I am in trouble and I could die."
Lyra didn’t take the bottle right away. She stared at him for a mont, her expression unreadable. Then she asked softly, "Do you really think the Black Lotus Guild will help you?"
Max’s lips curved in a faint, confident smile. "And why wouldn’t they? Didn’t you also ask them to help when I was in the Lower Domain?"
Her frown deepened, and she finally accepted the bottle, her fingers curling around its cool surface. "The Black Lotus Guild of the Lower Domain is nothing like the one in the Middle Domain," she said slowly. "Here, they are too silent. Too... empty. They never step into major conflicts, never clash with other powers for treasures, never take part in the grand gas that shape the Middle Domain. It’s as if they’ve buried themselves underground and forgotten the world. The Black Lotus Guild here..." She hesitated for a mont, then continued, "...has lost its charm. It’s like they’re dead from the inside."
Max raised his brows, genuinely surprised by her words. "It’s that bad?"
A thoughtful look crossed his face as he processed the information. ’No wonder,’ he mused silently, ’the Old Saintess ca to the Lower Domain to see if soone there could awaken and rge with the bloodline inside the treasure box. The guild here must have lost the drive it once had.’
"Black Lotus Domain was once counted among the sa tier as the Seven Overlord Forces of the Middle Domain," Lyra said, her voice calm but carrying a faint note of bitterness. "They stood at the very peak of power and influence. But over ti... they declined. Badly. Now, they can’t even compare to the stronger first-class forces. Their glory is gone, their influence diminished to a shadow of what it once was."
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him. "Now, knowing this, do you still think they will co to your aid in this situation?"
Max’s smile didn’t falter. If anything, his confidence seed to grow. "Now," he said, his tone certain, "I think they’ll help even more. Because I have sothing they desperately need right now—and only I can give it to them."
He paused for a brief mont before adding, "And that’s why I’m asking you to do exactly as I’ve said."
Lyra studied him in silence for a few seconds, her eyes sharp, as though trying to read the depths of his intentions.
Finally, she exhaled a soft sigh, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly. "Alright," she agreed reluctantly. "I’ll do as you say. But if they don’t co for you... then I’m calling my father. He has already agreed to help you in this matter."
Max inclined his head in gratitude. "Thank you for this."
Her expression softened slightly, but her next words carried a sharp edge. "Don’t you dare die there, Max."
A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "Don’t worry. I have more than enough ways to keep myself alive."
And with that, their paths diverged. Lyra turned toward the nearest portal station in the Central Hub, her destination set for the Balerog Region and the mountains of Fukaru, the small bottle of black flas safely in her possession.
Max, on the other hand, began making his way toward another portal—one that would lead him to the Almond Region, where the Hunter Association’s headquarters awaited.
The crowd of the Battle Realm quickly swallowed them both, their figures disappearing into the endless movent of rchants, travelers, and experts, each on their own path toward whatever fate the Middle Domain had prepared for them.
---
The Almond Region was exactly as Max rembered—unchanged and unwelcoming. The skies above were stained a deep, ominous red, as though the heavens themselves had been drenched in blood.
A heavy, oppressive aura hung in the air, thick with the stench of death and hostility. It pressed down on anyone who entered, sinking into their skin, making every breath feel slightly heavier. The faint taste of iron lingered on the tongue, and an undercurrent of killing intent seed to ripple through the very atmosphere, ever-present and inescapable.
’The Nulls are always attacking this place...’ Max thought as he stepped out of the Battle Cube stationed at the region’s center. The cube’s protective glow faded behind him, leaving him exposed to the raw hostility of the Almond Region. He swept his gaze over the distant horizon, where flashes of light occasionally flared—likely the aftermath of ongoing skirmishes between human forces and Null raiding parties.
From everything he had learned, there had never been a ti when the Nulls left this region alone. It was as though sothing here drew them in, an unseen magnet pulling them back again and again.
No matter how many were slain, they would return—relentless, unending. And ever since the Hunter Association had established its headquarters here, the situation had only grown more intense.
The Association’s presence turned the Almond Region into a permanent front line, a battleground where the war between humans and Nulls never stopped.
Here, peace was a foreign concept. Every settlent was fortified, every outpost ard, and every person carried a weapon at all tis. This was not a place for the weak—or for the unprepared.
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