The golden teleportation formation roared violently beneath Maxwell.

Ancient draconic symbols spun endlessly while space itself distorted around his body. Golden light swallowed him completely now, causing his figure to slowly become transparent little by little.

The teleportation had already begun.

There was no stopping it anymore.

Yet Maxwell did not feel relief.

Because his eyes remained locked onto his master.

The old man stood alone before the endless darkness.

A fading spiritual body facing a monster hidden within shadows.

Maxwell clenched his fists tightly.

"Master..."

The old man did not turn around anymore.

He simply stood there quietly while golden mana continued leaking endlessly from his transparent body.

The surrounding darkness churned violently.

Then suddenly—

Cerys appeared again.

No warning.

No sound.

One moment there was nothing.

The next—

She was already behind the old master.

Her crimson dagger flashed toward his neck instantly.

Rip!!!

The old man reacted immediately and twisted sideways.

The dagger narrowly avoided decapitating him, but a massive wound still opened across his shoulder.

Golden spiritual energy exploded outward like blood.

Maxwell’s eyes widened completely.

"MASTER!"

The old man coughed weakly.

His spiritual form flickered violently again.

Still—

He smiled faintly.

"Good attack."

Then—

Boom!!!

Black smoke exploded around him.

Cerys vanished once more.

The old master immediately raised his guard again.

But this time—

The attacks came differently.

Tak!

A dagger struck from below.

Tak!

Another from behind.

Tak!

Another directly from the side.

The old master blocked desperately, but his movements had already become slower.

Rip!!!

A crimson dagger pierced through his stomach.

Rip!!!

Another buried itself deeply into his thigh.

Golden spiritual particles scattered endlessly across the battlefield.

Maxwell’s breathing became ragged.

"No..."

The teleportation continued dragging his body away little by little.

His arms had already become transparent.

Yet he could do nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

The old master suddenly laughed weakly despite his condition.

"How embarrassing..."

Boom!!!

Another dagger slammed directly into his chest.

This time—

He staggered heavily.

His body nearly collapsed.

The surrounding darkness moved again instantly.

Cerys emerged once more.

This time directly in front of him.

Her crimson eyes glowed coldly within the darkness while black smoke coiled endlessly around her body.

The old master narrowed his eyes.

"So this is your real killing method..."

Cerys said nothing.

She simply attacked again.

Boom!!!

Her dagger exploded toward his throat with terrifying speed.

The old master blocked barely in time.

Clang!!!

But the force still sent him flying backward heavily.

His fading spiritual body slammed across the ground violently before skidding across the ruined battlefield.

Maxwell’s heart pounded wildly.

Because he could see it clearly now.

His master was losing badly.

No.

Not losing.

Being hunted.

The old master slowly rose again while golden spiritual energy continued leaking endlessly from the wounds across his body.

His breathing had become uneven now.

Even maintaining his form looked difficult.

Yet—

He still smiled faintly.

"You are truly terrifying..."

The darkness answered with silence.

Then—

Cerys disappeared again.

The old master immediately stiffened.

He could no longer sense her properly.

Not even slightly.

His eyes rapidly scanned the darkness around him.

Nothing.

No movement.

No sound.

No mana fluctuation.

Only darkness.

Then suddenly—

Rip!!!

A crimson dagger burst directly out from his chest.

The old master froze.

Maxwell’s pupils shrank violently.

Because Cerys—

Had appeared behind him again.

Her dagger pierced completely through his spiritual body from behind.

The old man looked downward silently at the crimson blade sticking through his chest.

Then—

Golden cracks rapidly spread across his body.

Maxwell’s breathing stopped.

"No..."

The old master slowly turned his head slightly toward Maxwell.

His transparent face looked calm now.

Too calm.

Then—

He smiled again.

A gentle smile.

"Looks like..." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

His voice weakened further.

"...this is as far as I go."

Maxwell shook violently.

"No! No! Master!"

The teleportation force pulled harder now.

Space around him distorted heavily.

Yet his eyes never left the old man.

Never.

The old master slowly raised one hand weakly.

Then—

With trembling fingers—

He gave Maxwell a small flick on the forehead from afar using dragon mana.

Just like he always did whenever Maxwell made mistakes during training.

Maxwell’s eyes widened completely.

Then—

The old master spoke one final time.

"Live."

Rip!!!

Cerys pulled the dagger upward violently.

The old master’s spiritual body split apart instantly.

Golden light exploded everywhere.

Cracks spread endlessly across his fading form.

Maxwell screamed.

"MASTER!!!"

Then—

The old man shattered completely.

Like broken glass made from light.

Countless golden fragments scattered silently into the darkness before slowly fading away one after another.

Gone.

Completely gone.

And just as Maxwell reached toward him desperately—

The teleportation finally swallowed him entirely.

The battlefield finally became silent.

The endless black smoke still covered the surroundings while shattered earth and ruined trees stretched endlessly beneath the night sky. The traces of battle remained everywhere.

Cracks.

Burn marks.

Pools of blood.

Broken ground.

And at the very center—

The space where Maxwell disappeared still distorted faintly from the teleportation spell.

Cerys stood there quietly.

Her crimson dagger still dripped with faint golden spiritual energy left behind by the old master she had just killed.

The black smoke surrounding her slowly moved like living shadows crawling across the battlefield.

For several moments—

She remained silent.

Her cold eyes stared directly at the empty space Maxwell escaped from.

Then slowly—

She lowered her dagger.

"You escaped..."

Her voice sounded calm.

But beneath that calmness—

There was dissatisfaction.

Because she failed.

The target survived.

Meanwhile, far away behind her, Borzoi remained lying on the ruined ground while breathing heavily. His battered body still remained in terrible condition after fighting Maxwell earlier.

Yet even while injured—

He stared toward Cerys with disbelief.

Because from beginning until end—

He never properly saw her movements.

Even now—

Standing only several distances away—

Her presence still felt strangely thin.

Like darkness itself had taken human form.

Cerys ignored him completely.

Instead—

She slowly crouched down where Maxwell vanished.

Then—

She touched the ground lightly.

The surrounding shadows suddenly trembled.

Black smoke spread outward instantly across the battlefield like a tide swallowing everything around her.

The darkness thickened rapidly.

Then—

It moved.

The shadows beneath the ground stretched unnaturally before countless black markings spread outward in every direction.

The surrounding darkness became deeper.

Heavier.

The moonlight itself seemed to weaken.

Even the wind stopped moving properly.

Borzoi’s expression changed slightly.

Because he could feel it immediately.

The shadows—

Were alive.

They moved across the battlefield like searching creatures hunting prey.

Cerys slowly closed her eyes.

Then quietly—

She spoke.

"Shadow Vexation."

The moment the words left her mouth—

The darkness exploded.

Boom!!!

The black smoke rapidly spread across the entire battlefield before stretching farther and farther beyond the ruined plains.

The shadows beneath trees expanded unnaturally.

The shadows beneath rocks expanded.

Even the shadows beneath distant ruins and broken corpses began moving.

Everything connected.

Everything linked together.

As though the entire night itself became her hunting ground.

Borzoi’s breathing slowed slightly.

Because he had never seen this spell before.

No.

Calling it a spell felt wrong.

It looked more like an enormous hunting domain created entirely from darkness itself.

The shadows continued spreading endlessly.

Across forests.

Across ruined paths.

Across distant rivers.

Searching.

Endlessly searching.

Meanwhile—

Inside the darkness—

Cerys’ consciousness expanded together with the shadows.

Every connected darkness became her eyes.

Every hidden corner became her reach.

The night itself became her network.

Normally—

Nobody escaped Shadow Vexation.

Nobody.

Not once.

Because even if the target teleported away, the shadows connected to traces left behind by their mana, emotions, movement, and lingering spiritual disturbance.

As long as night existed—

The shadows would hunt endlessly.

That was why Cerys calmly activated it despite Maxwell escaping through teleportation.

Because escape usually did not matter.

The shadows always followed.

Always.

Her expression remained emotionless while the black smoke continued spreading farther and farther.

The searching continued.

Minutes passed.

Then—

Cerys slowly frowned.

The shadows found nothing.

Not a trace.

Not even a distorted mana ripple.

The darkness searched farther.

Still nothing.

Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly.

That was impossible.

The shadows beneath distant forests searched again.

Nothing.

The shadows beneath abandoned roads searched again.

Nothing.

Even the darkness connected to Maxwell’s lingering mana residue found absolutely nothing afterward.

It was like Maxwell—

Vanished completely.

Cerys remained kneeling silently.

The shadows continued moving nonstop around her.

Meanwhile Borzoi slowly forced himself upright while watching her carefully.

Because for the first time—

He noticed something unusual.

The maid looked confused.

Only slightly.

But enough for him to notice.

Cerys slowly opened her eyes again.

Then once more—

She expanded the spell further.

Boom!!!

The darkness spread even farther this time.

The nearby forests dimmed unnaturally.

The shadows beneath distant mountains stretched outward.

Even the darkness beneath the clouds above became linked to the spell.

The searching intensified.

Still—

Nothing.

Not even the faintest trace.

Cerys’ brows furrowed slightly now.

Her fingers slowly tightened around her crimson dagger.

Because this had never happened before.

Not once.

Even powerful assassins from hidden clans failed to escape Shadow Vexation entirely.

Even teleportation experts always left traces eventually.

Shadows remembered.

That was the terrifying part of the spell.

As long as darkness touched someone once—

It became nearly impossible to completely erase their existence from the shadows afterward.

Yet Maxwell—

Had vanished entirely.

Cerys slowly stood up.

The black smoke around her churned violently now as though responding to her confusion.

Meanwhile Borzoi carefully swallowed.

"Madam Maid..."

Cerys ignored him.

Instead—

She stared silently toward the distant horizon where Maxwell escaped.

Then she quietly spoke to herself.

"No traces..."

The shadows searched again.

Still nothing.

Her expression slowly became colder.

Because she finally understood something troubling.

The teleportation spell Maxwell used—

Was not ordinary.

It completely severed all lingering traces connected to him.

Mana.

Presence.

Spiritual residue.

Even darkness itself failed to cling onto him.

That realization disturbed her slightly.

Because if someone could escape Shadow Vexation completely—

Then tracking them afterward became extremely difficult.

The black smoke around her gradually calmed down.

The searching finally stopped.

The darkness slowly returned to normal little by little.

Then—

Cerys finally spoke again.

This time quietly.

Almost disbelief.

"I can’t find him..."

Her crimson eyes narrowed further.

"Even with my Shadow Vexation?"

She fixed her gaze.

"I killed someone important to him but he doesn’t have a shadow of resentment in his heart for me to find?"