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Devastation.

In that moment, Chris witnessed a vision of complete annihilation. Desperation flooded his heart, and his eyes were tainted with the colors of red and black. It was an unimaginably swift and far-reaching area attack, one that defied evasion. Even a master of spatial magic would be unable to escape its grasp, let alone Chris, who possessed knowledge of special magic but lacked mastery.

“B̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!” he roared with spite, but his words were swiftly swallowed by the engulfing waves of destructive red and black energy. The world seemed to fall into a deafening silence, and onlookers stood frozen, astounded. Faced with such a horrifying assault, not only Chris, but an entire army of Platinum-ranked warriors would be reduced to ash in an instant.

After the eerie calm, the storm unleashed its fury.

Boom!

Everything that came into contact with the red and black energy was obliterated. The first victim was the palace, sliced in half like tofu. A colossal trench tore through the earth, stretching into the distant horizon. The illusory sky ruptured, scattering fragments in every direction. The entire heritage site trembled violently.

Terrifying. Unbelievably terrifying. How could a mere human possess such power?

Both the spectators and those in the game world held their breath in shock. Lost in the intensity of the moment, they momentarily forgot they were witnessing a virtual battle. Their delusion convinced them they were physically present, but Yunuen and Little Fairy, truly immersed in the virtual realm, were stupefied by the overwhelming destruction, consumed by fear.

As the red and black energy that threatened to eradicate the world finally dissipated, a colossal dust cloud arose, temporarily obscuring all sight. However, the audience already knew the outcome: [Princess] had emerged victorious. Chris could never survive a direct blow from such an attack; he was likely disintegrated instantly.

“Huff… Huff… Huff…” On the other side, Yaeger struggled to catch her breath, her face pale and her grip on [Sunscorch] trembling uncontrollably. By unleashing an attack ten times stronger, she had exhausted every ounce of her energy. Standing upright became a challenge in itself.

“It’s over… finally…” she managed to whisper weakly.

The battle had been torturous and agonizing, surpassing any previous encounter she had faced. Nevertheless, her efforts were not in vain. She had defeated a formidable adversary, proving her supremacy with her bloodline, chaos artifact, and immense power.

“My supreme Bloodline and chaos Artifact. Huhuhuhehehehahahahahaha! And my immense power! This battle has proven that I am the strongest among the Platinum ranks! No, I can even contend with opponents of higher tiers!”

In that moment, Yaeger basked in the pinnacle of satisfaction, oozing with arrogance. Yet, her arrogance seemed strangely endearing, perhaps due to her captivating appearance. Or maybe, deep down, she had earned the right to be arrogant. After all, she had defeated an initially unbeatable foe, and it was only natural for her excitement to be heightened.

However, as soon as she finished speaking, a strong gust of wind swirled around, dispersing the lingering dust.

Crack!

A jarring sound reverberated through the air. All eyes turned towards a silver statue lying on the tattered ground not far away. It was riddled with cracks, on the verge of shattering into pieces. The silver statue bore an unmistakable resemblance to Chris.

“You… You actually forced me to activate [Holy Silver Armor] and release some of my restrictions. Well done. Very well done!” Chris’ silver lips quivered with spiteful words.

In an instant, the silver material dissolved, revealing a nearly naked figure. It was none other than Chris himself, presumed dead but now standing before them.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Silence enveloped the scene, replaced by an intense, bone-chilling fear that gripped everyone as if they had plunged into an abyss of despair.

They all realized that Yaeger, barely able to stand upright, was utterly defenseless against Chris. In fact, she was on the brink of being mercilessly killed by Chris, who had narrowly avoided death and still retained some strength. Yaeger’s pupils contracted, her face growing even paler as she watched Chris’ resurrection-like appearance. As anticipated by Yunuen and the others, she had reached a point of no return.

Furthermore, she could sense that Chris was now several times stronger than before. He had effortlessly removed his restrictions and withstood her strongest attack. It felt like cheating to Yaeger, draining her of any remaining tears. If her opponent had been on equal footing with her, victory would have been within her grasp. But this was not a fair competition—it was a fight, a fight to the death against a Myth-ranked opponent. Fairness had never been in her favor from the start.

Hence, though surprising, it was all too expected for this turn of events to transpire. “What should I do? What can I do?” Yaeger pondered, realizing that fairness was now an irrelevant concern. She was completely powerless against Chris, who had shed his restrictions and grown exponentially stronger. Even if she gave it her all, defeat was inevitable. It was over. Utterly over.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

As Yaeger sank into despondency, Chris stretched his body, producing the sound of bones realigning. “Strange, why isn’t he making a move? Shouldn’t he be aiming to kill me immediately?” Yaeger found herself bewildered, searching for answers.

Logically speaking, the rules of the underground maze should have immediately taken effect on Chris once he lifted his restrictions. He shouldn’t have been able to remain here any longer. So why was he still motionless?

Suddenly, Yaeger noticed that Chris’s thighs were trembling ever so slightly. Upon closer examination, she saw a pool of blood where he stood. “My attack really did some damage to Chris!” A flash of realization struck Yaeger’s mind. Her previous strike had been incredibly swift and powerful, leaving Chris no time to transform into a silver statue by activating his restrictions. He had absorbed a significant portion of her attack.

“I still have a chance. I just need to hold on until the underground maze expels him,” Yaeger thought, a glimmer of hope rekindling within her. Her gaze fell upon [Sunscorch] in her hands, but to her dismay, she saw that it was riddled with cracks, on the verge of breaking apart. Despair filled her face as she realized she had nothing left to fight Chris with.

“No, there’s still something. I have the replica of the [Sword of Eternity]!” she realized, a flicker of determination shining in her eyes.

But before she could put away [Sunscorch], a resounding sonic boom echoed through the area. It was a sound she was all too familiar with. She turned her gaze in its direction and, as expected, Chris materialized like a phantom, surrounded by a flash of silver light.