Maxwell’s breathing gradually became heavier inside the endless darkness.

Blood continued dripping from the wounds across his body while black smoke drifted around him endlessly like living shadows swallowing the battlefield whole. His White Heaven Dragon Sense remained fully active, spreading throughout the darkness repeatedly, desperately searching for even the smallest trace of the maid.

Yet every attempt ended the same way.

Nothing.

No clear presence.

No stable mana signature.

No heartbeat.

No footsteps.

Only daggers.

Only pain.

Only darkness.

Tak!

Another blade sliced across his shoulder.

Maxwell immediately retaliated with a claw strike filled with golden mana.

Boom!!!

The attack exploded through the smoke violently.

Still—

Nothing.

The darkness swallowed everything once again.

Inside his dantian, the old master finally spoke.

His tone had completely changed now.

No longer analytical.

No longer calm.

Serious.

"Maxwell."

Maxwell gritted his teeth while another dagger narrowly missed his neck.

"What now?!"

The old man hesitated briefly.

Then—

"Use Forbidden Draconic Magic."

Maxwell froze instantly.

"What?!"

Even another dagger piercing through his side barely registered for a moment.

Because those words alone shocked him deeply.

Forbidden Draconic Magic was not ordinary dragon magic.

It was sealed.

Restricted.

Feared.

Techniques created by ancient dragon bloodlines during wars that nearly destroyed entire Mana Dimensions. Every forbidden spell carried horrifying destructive power, but the cost was equally terrifying.

Some consumed lifespan.

Some damaged dragon veins permanently.

Some destroyed sanity itself.

Maxwell immediately protested.

"Master, are you insane?!"

Another dagger suddenly stabbed through his thigh.

Tak!

Maxwell hissed painfully.

The old man answered immediately.

"You are fighting an assassin capable of bypassing White Heaven Dragon Sense."

His voice remained extremely serious.

"If you continue like this, you will eventually die."

Maxwell’s face darkened heavily.

Because deep inside—

He knew his master was right.

Another dagger came.

Tak!

Blood sprayed across the darkness once again.

Maxwell’s breathing became rougher.

Then slowly—

He clenched his fists.

"Fine..."

Golden mana slowly gathered around his body once more.

The old master immediately began guiding him.

"Do not release it wildly."

"Condense it."

"Compress the dragon light."

"Force it outward only at the moment of activation."

Maxwell slowly inhaled deeply.

The dragon aura around him began changing.

It no longer exploded outward chaotically.

Instead—

It compressed inward.

The surrounding golden light gradually became denser and denser until even the air itself began trembling unnaturally.

Then—

Maxwell opened his eyes.

Golden dragon pupils glowed violently within the darkness.

"Forbidden Draconic Magic..."

His voice echoed lowly.

"Radiant Dragon Pulse."

Boom!!!

A massive explosion of golden light erupted outward from Maxwell instantly.

This time it was completely different from before.

The light no longer spread normally.

It devoured everything around it violently.

The black smoke nearby twisted and trembled from the impact while golden shockwaves blasted through the battlefield repeatedly.

The Holy Knights outside the smoke widened their eyes in horror.

Even Borzoi stared silently now.

Because the pressure erupting from inside the darkness had become monstrous.

Maxwell roared loudly while maintaining the forbidden spell.

Golden dragon shaped streams of mana erupted around him wildly, tearing apart earth and stone in every direction.

For a brief moment—

The darkness actually weakened slightly.

Maxwell’s eyes sharpened immediately.

There!

For the first time—

He vaguely sensed movement.

A faint figure within the smoke.

Fast.

Extremely fast.

Yet before Maxwell could fully lock onto it—

The figure vanished again.

Then—

Tak!

A dagger pierced through his shoulder once more.

Maxwell’s eyes widened.

"How?!"

The forbidden spell was still active.

The battlefield was drowning in destructive dragon light.

Yet—

The attacks continued.

Another dagger came.

Tak!

Then another.

Tak!

Then another.

Tak!

Maxwell immediately unleashed another forbidden spell desperately.

"Forbidden Draconic Magic!"

"Dragon Sun Burst!"

Boom!!!

A gigantic sphere of condensed golden light exploded around him violently this time.

The earth cracked apart completely while the surrounding smoke churned heavily from the sheer pressure.

The light became blinding.

Overwhelming.

Powerful enough to vaporize ordinary enemies instantly.

Yet—

Inside the endless darkness—

A black figure moved silently through the explosions.

Effortlessly.

Like a shadow passing through moonlight.

Maxwell’s eyes widened in disbelief.

His White Heaven Dragon Sense desperately tried following her movements—

But she kept disappearing.

Appearing.

Vanishing again.

Like darkness itself had taken human form.

Tak!

Another dagger sliced across Maxwell’s face.

Blood splattered instantly.

Then another pierced his arm.

Tak!

Maxwell staggered backward slightly now.

The old master inside the dantian had already become completely stunned.

Impossible.

Forbidden Draconic Magic was among the strongest offensive arts of dragon bloodlines.

Its destructive power alone could overwhelm entire battlefields.

Yet this maid—

Continued avoiding everything.

No.

Avoiding was not enough.

She moved through the forbidden spells as though she already knew exactly where every attack would land beforehand.

Maxwell unleashed more golden attacks desperately.

Explosions erupted nonstop across the darkness.

Dragon shaped mana tore through the battlefield repeatedly.

Yet the black figure continued slipping through every attack silently.

Gracefully.

Mercilessly.

Then suddenly—

Maxwell finally saw her briefly.

A faint silhouette within the smoke.

Silver hair.

Dark maid outfit.

Calm eyes.

Then—

Gone again.

Tak!

Another dagger pierced through Maxwell’s ribs immediately afterward.

Maxwell gritted his teeth hard while breathing heavily now.

His forbidden magic was consuming enormous amounts of energy rapidly.

Yet it accomplished almost nothing.

Meanwhile—

The maid continued attacking calmly from the darkness like death itself slowly hunting prey.

Inside his dantian, the old master slowly spoke.

His voice filled with disbelief.

"This..."

Silence briefly followed.

Then he finished heavily.

"She fights like a true shadow assassin..."

Another explosion of golden dragon light erupted violently across the battlefield.

Yet the black smoke swallowed it completely once again.

And within that endless darkness—

Even Forbidden Draconic Light Magic looked utterly useless.

The endless darkness continued swallowing the battlefield.

Golden explosions erupted repeatedly inside the smoke while black daggers flashed endlessly from every direction like invisible predators hunting wounded prey. Maxwell’s breathing had already become rough and uneven while blood covered almost every part of his body.

Even with White Heaven Dragon Sense.

Even with Forbidden Draconic Magic.

Even with his dragon transformation—

He still could not touch her.

Tak!

Another dagger pierced through his shoulder.

Tak!

Another sliced across his ribs.

Tak!

Another stabbed directly through his calf.

Maxwell staggered backward heavily while golden mana erupted wildly around him again.

"Damn it!"

Boom!!!

Another forbidden dragon light explosion burst outward violently.

The surrounding darkness trembled briefly.

Then swallowed everything again.

And inside the smoke—

A calm female voice echoed.

"You are difficult to kill."

Maxwell immediately turned toward the sound.

But once again—

Nothing.

Only darkness.

Then the voice continued calmly.

"Compared to the others..."

A brief silence followed.

Then—

"I cannot kill you easily."

Maxwell’s eyes narrowed.

The old master inside his dantian also became serious instantly.

Because the tone of that sentence felt wrong.

Not frustrated.

Not angry.

Simply factual.

Like an assassin calmly acknowledging prey that survived longer than expected.

Then—

Cerys spoke again.

"Looks like..."

The darkness around the battlefield suddenly became colder.

"...I have to use the Berserk Mode my young master gifted me."

The moment those words echoed—

Borzoi’s eyes widened outside the smoke.

"No way..."

Even the surrounding guards became alarmed.

Meanwhile Maxwell frowned.

"Berserk Mode?"

But before he could think further—

Boom!!!

A terrifying pressure suddenly exploded within the darkness.

The black smoke churned violently.

Not from mana.

Something else.

Something savage.

Something violent.

Something primal.

Maxwell’s White Heaven Dragon Sense instantly screamed danger.

Extreme danger.

Then—

For the first time since entering the smoke—

He sensed her clearly.

Not because she became easier to detect.

Because her presence had become overwhelming.

Like a sleeping beast finally opening its eyes.

Maxwell immediately stepped backward instinctively.

His dragon instincts were screaming now.

Run.

The old master inside his dantian sounded horrified.

"What...?"

The pressure inside the smoke rapidly intensified.

Then slowly—

A red glow began appearing within the darkness.

At first faint.

Then brighter.

And brighter.

Until the endless black smoke itself began reflecting crimson light.

Maxwell’s breathing slowed.

Not from calmness.

From instinctive fear.

Because the presence within the darkness no longer felt human.

Then—

A pair of glowing crimson eyes opened somewhere within the smoke.

Maxwell froze briefly.

The old master’s voice immediately trembled slightly.

"That power..."

The red pressure exploded outward harder.

The black smoke twisted violently while countless tiny crimson lines spread throughout the darkness like veins pulsating endlessly.

Then suddenly—

Tak!

A dagger flew toward Maxwell.

He instantly blocked it—

But his eyes widened.

The force behind it had become completely different.

Boom!

The impact alone sent Maxwell sliding backward several meters.

"What?!"

His claws trembled slightly now.

Then another dagger came.

Tak!

Maxwell blocked again—

Boom!!!

This time his entire arm shook violently from the impact.

The dagger itself exploded with terrifying force despite its small size.

Maxwell’s expression finally changed completely.

Because now—

Every attack felt lethal.

Then the crimson eyes inside the darkness slowly moved.

Watching him.

Hunting him.

And for the first time since awakening White Heaven Dragon Sense—

Maxwell truly felt hunted.

The old master shouted instantly.

"Defend!"

Maxwell immediately unleashed another forbidden dragon spell.

"Forbidden Draconic Magic!"

"Radiant Dragon Barrier!"

Boom!!!

Golden dragon light erupted around his body and formed multiple layers of defensive scales made entirely from condensed mana. Dragon shaped symbols rotated endlessly around him while golden light flooded the surrounding smoke.

This time—

Maxwell no longer used the forbidden magic offensively.

Only defensively.

Because his instincts already understood.

If he dropped his defenses now—

He would die.

Tak!

A crimson infused dagger slammed against the golden barrier instantly.

Crack.

Maxwell’s eyes widened.

The outer layer fractured immediately.

Then another dagger came.

Tak!

Crack!

Another layer shattered.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

The attacks no longer stopped.

They became faster.

Heavier.

Deadlier.

Maxwell’s White Heaven Dragon Sense desperately followed the daggers flying through the darkness while he reinforced the barrier nonstop with forbidden dragon mana.

Golden light and black smoke clashed endlessly around him.

Boom!

Tak!

Boom!

Crack!

The battlefield became complete chaos.

And inside it all—

Maxwell could barely glimpse fragments of a crimson figure moving through the darkness like a nightmare born from shadows.

Sometimes he saw silver hair.

Sometimes glowing crimson eyes.

Sometimes nothing at all.

Then suddenly—

The crimson figure appeared directly before him.

Maxwell’s eyes widened.

Too fast.

Far too fast.

He immediately reinforced the barrier—

Boom!!!

A crimson dagger slammed directly into the defensive spell.

The entire barrier shook violently.

Cracks spread everywhere instantly.

Maxwell coughed blood hard.

The old master immediately realized something horrifying.

"She’s adapting..."

Maxwell’s breathing became rougher.

"What?!"

The old man sounded increasingly grim now.

"The longer this continues..."

"...the stronger her attacks become."

Another crimson dagger struck.

Boom!!!

More cracks spread across the golden barrier.

Then another.

Boom!!!

Another layer shattered completely.

Maxwell’s face turned pale now.

Because the forbidden defensive magic was consuming enormous amounts of energy.

Yet—

It still was not enough.

The crimson figure within the darkness kept approaching slowly.

Patiently.

Like death walking forward one step at a time.

Then the old master finally made a decision.

A terrible decision.

Silence briefly filled Maxwell’s mind.

Then the old man spoke quietly.

"I will sacrifice myself."

Maxwell froze completely.

The old man continued heavily.

"You need to escape."