After the long discussion with President William, Max and Elder Liam stepped out of the office together. The heavy doors closed behind them, and the muffled bustle of the Hunter Association’s great hall t their ears once more.
They walked side by side down the marble-floored corridor until they reached a quieter corner of the vast tower, a place where only a few passing mbers moved in silence. There, Max stopped and turned to Elder Liam. Without a word, he extended his hand. In his palm, a faint glow shimred to life—sothing small, crystalline, yet pulsing gently as though it carried a fragnt of his very existence.
Elder Liam’s brows furrowed. He reached out, and the instant his fingers brushed against it, he felt the unmistakable weight of soul energy within. His eyes sharpened as he looked at Max. "This... is your soul essence?" His tone carried both confusion and a trace of disbelief. "Why would you give sothing so vital?"
Max’s expression remained calm, though a knowing smile touched his lips. "Because it’s the only way you’ll be able to follow when I’m invisible. If I vanish, this essence will let you sense no matter what. You’ll know exactly where I am."
For the first ti in years, Elder Liam’s composure cracked. His eyes widened, and his usually steady voice wavered. "Wait—what did you just say? Invisible? You’re telling you can beco... invisible?"
Max tilted his head slightly, amused at the elder’s reaction. "Not telling you," he said softly, "showing you."
And then, before Elder Liam’s eyes, Max’s figure blurred like a ripple across water. In less than a heartbeat, his presence was gone. The space where he had stood was utterly empty. No flicker of light, no distortion, not even the faintest shift in the air—Max had vanished completely.
Elder Liam’s eyes darted around, his senses flaring outward. For a man of his experience, invisibility techniques were nothing new. He had seen assassins use them, shadow warriors slip in and out of sight, and illusionists blur their forms. But this... this was on a completely different level. Not even his spiritual perception could detect Max’s aura. If not for the soul essence now pulsing faintly in his hand, he would have thought Max had ceased to exist altogether.
A low breath escaped him as he turned slowly, trying to sense even the faintest trace. "Unbelievable..." he muttered, his shock clear in his tone. "I have seen countless concealnt skills and invisibility techniques, but none... none have reached this level. You’ve completely erased yourself from existence."
Then, with a faint shimr, Max reappeared in front of him, arms folded and a calm smile playing across his face. "So," he said lightly, "now you understand why you’ll need that essence. Without it, even you would lose track of ."
Elder Liam stared at him for a long mont, then chuckled, though there was still disbelief in his eyes. "President William was right... you truly are a monster of a genius." He shook his head, his lips curving into a grin that betrayed both admiration and wariness. "If this is the level of skill you wield now, I almost fear to imagine what heights you’ll reach in the future."
Max only smiled faintly, slipping his hands behind his back. "Then stay close, Elder Liam. The next ti I vanish, only that essence will remind you I was ever there."
Elder Liam stood there, the faint blue glow of Max’s soul essence still resting in his palm, and for the first ti in many years he felt sothing he hadn’t in a long while—unease. His eyes lingered on Max, who had just reappeared before him with that calm, almost playful smile.
’If this boy wanted to... no, if this man wanted to... how many would even realize they had been killed before it was too late?’ Elder Liam thought, his gaze narrowing.
The invisibility Max had displayed wasn’t simply concealnt. It wasn’t so crude trick that could be undone by spiritual perception or special artifacts. It was as if he had erased himself from the world entirely.
Not a flicker of aura, not a ripple of mana, not even the faintest trace of life could be sensed. Without the soul essence in his hand, Liam himself—the First Elder of the Hunter Association, an existence many considered untouchable—would have lost him completely.
’I’ve seen assassins vanish into shadows, I’ve seen illusionists blur their forms until they seed like mist, and I’ve fought killers who could hide in another’s shadow. But this... this is sothing far beyond. This isn’t just stealth—it’s absolute invisibility.’
A cold shiver ran down his spine at the thought. What if Max turned his strength against the world? What if one day this monstrous talent decided he was done with peace and order? How would anyone stop him? How could anyone find him?
For just a heartbeat, Liam imagined the scenario: great forces trembling, empires shaken, even the Overlord Forces sending their armies in vain—all hunting for a ghost they could not see. The chaos it would bring made his gut tighten.
But then, as his eyes rested on Max’s expression—the calm confidence, the unshaken determination—Liam’s unease softened into sothing else. Admiration. Respect. And perhaps, buried deep inside, a cautious relief.
’No... he isn’t reckless. He isn’t cruel. If anything, he fights for his own justice, his own principles. The danger isn’t what he can do... the danger is what others might force him to do.’
Still, he tightened his grip around the soul essence, the weight of it heavier now than before. In that single crystal fragnt rested the only lifeline to keep up with soone who could one day change the fate of the Middle Domain.
Liam exhaled slowly, composing himself. "You’re far more dangerous than even the rumors say, Max," he said at last, his tone quiet but laced with a strange mix of caution and admiration. "Dangerous enough that if you were to turn your blade on the world, even the Seven Overlord Forces would not sleep peacefully."
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