Chapter 110: Victor died

The air inside the cave grew impossibly heavy.

It was no longer merely pressure. It was as though the entire universe had stopped breathing. Victor’s newly evolved Eternal Body, which had endured unimaginable transformations, suddenly felt an overwhelming force pressing against every muscle, bone, and cell. Even circulating his spiritual energy became difficult.

The silence itself was terrifying.

It was not the absence of sound. It was the complete suspension of reality. Outside the cave, the vibrant elemental energies that constantly flowed throughout the Ethereum Solar System had frozen in place. Fire no longer burned, wind no longer moved, and even space seemed to have become an immovable solid.

Victor slowly clenched his fists.

His excitement over his breakthrough disappeared instantly, replaced by an instinctive sense of danger that screamed from every fiber of his being. It was the same instinct that prey animals possessed when facing an ancient predator far beyond their understanding.

"A Nebula Rank cultivator..."

His voice was low and solemn.

"Nova. Tell me exactly what we are dealing with."

Nova’s holographic projection flickered violently.

For the first time since Victor had met her, the artificial intelligence had completely abandoned her usual teasing attitude. Even her expression carried unmistakable seriousness as streams of data raced across her glowing blue eyes.

"A Nebula Rank expert is no longer simply a cultivator."

"They are living cosmic disasters."

"They do not merely comprehend elemental laws. They embody them. Every Nebula Rank cultivator possesses an internal world comparable to a miniature nebula. Their spiritual sea contains enough energy to nourish billions of stars for countless years."

Nova paused briefly before continuing.

"A single casual strike from such an existence can collapse multiple star systems. Entire planetary clusters can be erased without leaving behind dust."

Victor remained silent.

Even though he had expected an enormous gap, hearing Nova describe it so plainly made him realize just how hopeless the situation truly was. Against such an existence, numbers, talent, and ordinary strategies had completely lost their meaning.

His gaze slowly rose toward the sky.

His vision pierced through layers of stone, mountains, clouds, and atmosphere until it reached the endless darkness of outer space.

There, above the brilliant Ethereum Star, reality itself suddenly cracked apart.

A massive spatial rift stretched across millions of kilometers, tearing through the void like a wound carved into the universe itself. Violent violet energy poured endlessly from within the crack, causing nearby stars to dim as though afraid to shine before its presence.

Then...

A single figure stepped out.

He wore no divine armor.

He carried no legendary weapon.

He simply wore an elegant deep-purple robe that fluttered gently despite the vacuum of space. Long crimson hair drifted around him like streams of living solar flames, while his eyes contained no pupils whatsoever.

Inside each eye rotated a miniature burning sun.

Galaxies seemed to revolve endlessly within those crimson spirals.

This was Kaelen.

Vice Commander of the Resource Gathering Ministry and one of the supreme commanders serving the Demonic Dragon Empire.

He stood silently in the void with one hand behind his back.

Before him floated the invisible Cosmic Lock that had isolated Ethereum for countless ages. Grade Eight experts had failed to break it. Grade Nine experts had been powerless before it. Even countless Tenth Grade Domain Masters had been forced to retreat after exhausting every possible method.

Kaelen merely extended one finger.

A tiny tap echoed throughout space.

Ping.

The Cosmic Lock shattered like fragile crystal.

Countless invisible fragments dissolved into light before disappearing forever.

"A high-tier planetary concealment array."

Kaelen’s calm voice spread throughout the vacuum itself.

The sound ignored the laws of physics, manifesting directly as violent shockwaves that shook every moon orbiting the distant planets. Entire asteroid belts trembled as his voice passed through them.

"Vladimir’s report appears to have been accurate."

"A primitive civilization hidden behind an ancient seal."

His scarlet eyes slowly swept across the entire solar system.

"The Phoenix Seed should be somewhere within this insignificant place."

Back inside the cave, the World System suddenly issued an urgent warning.

[Ding! Warning.]

[The Nebula Rank expert’s Divine Sense has begun scanning the entire Ethereum Solar System.]

[Estimated time until your location is discovered: 45 seconds.]

[Current survival probability during direct confrontation: 0.00001%.]

Victor’s heartbeat accelerated.

The System had never displayed such an impossibly low survival rate before.

Even during his previous life-and-death battles, there had always been hope.

Now...

There was virtually none.

"System."

Victor forced himself to remain calm despite the overwhelming pressure crushing his mind.

"Can the Chaos Element conceal the Phoenix Core?"

The mechanical voice answered almost immediately.

[I do not believe so.]

[Your Grade Nine Fire Domain and Grade Nine Ice Domain possess extraordinary purity. A Nebula Rank expert would immediately recognize the abnormalities surrounding them.]

[I recommend acquiring a high-grade concealment technique.]

[Evolve the concealment spell to Grade Eleven.]

[Only such a spell possesses a reasonable chance of deceiving a Nebula Rank existence.]

Victor nodded without hesitation.

One trillion Evolution Points disappeared instantly.

The newly acquired concealment technique evolved continuously until it reached Grade Eleven.

A gentle, colorless ripple spread across his body before completely erasing every trace of his aura.

His life force vanished.

His elemental fluctuations disappeared.

Even his connection to the Phoenix Core became perfectly hidden.

Then...

Time resumed flowing.

The suffocating stillness disappeared.

Far above the atmosphere, Kaelen casually took one step.

His figure instantly vanished.

The next moment, he was already standing inside Ethereum’s atmosphere.

Towering mountains stretched endlessly beneath him while magnificent forests covered the continents like emerald oceans.

Kaelen slowly looked around.

"This planet is unexpectedly beautiful."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"It would make an excellent tourist world after the empire occupies it."

His crimson eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Oh?"

"There is someone I cannot perceive completely."

A trace of curiosity finally appeared on his otherwise indifferent expression.

"Interesting."

"Could that person have obtained the Phoenix Seed?"

He frowned slightly.

"But Vladimir clearly reported that the bearer was male."

Without waiting another moment, Kaelen disappeared once again.

...

Deep within a vast wilderness, Diana calmly stood atop a rocky cliff overlooking an endless battlefield.

Victor had disappeared moments earlier, leaving her uncertain about his whereabouts.

Since there was nothing she could currently do for him, she decided to continue eliminating monsters and expanding humanity’s territory.

Suddenly...

A voice sounded directly behind her.

"What exactly are you?"

Diana’s entire body froze. She had sensed absolutely nothing.

No movement.

No energy fluctuation.

No spatial distortion.

It was as though the stranger had always existed behind her.

She slowly turned around.

Standing only a few steps away was a handsome man wearing an elegant purple robe.

His crimson eyes calmly examined every inch of her body, not with lust or hostility, but with the detached curiosity of a scholar studying an unknown species.

"You are not entirely human."

He tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Neither are you a pure demon."

"A hybrid perhaps?"

He smiled faintly.

"Curious."

"Your demonic aura is purer than many full-blooded demons within my empire."

Diana’s breathing became erratic.

Every instinct screamed at her to flee.

Yet she could not even move a finger.

Space itself had imprisoned her body.

Her soul trembled uncontrollably under the invisible pressure radiating from the stranger.

Kaelen slowly extended one hand.

"Come with me."

"I would like to study your bloodline."

His tone remained polite.

As though he were merely inviting someone to tea.

Not abducting them.

Diana desperately tried to resist.

Every muscle strained. Every drop of spiritual energy exploded outward.

Nothing happened.

She remained completely motionless.

Just then...

Space rippled.

A familiar figure suddenly emerged beside her.

Victor.

Without wasting a single second, Victor grabbed Diana’s wrist and activated his teleportation.

The surrounding space folded inward.

Both of them instantly disappeared, crossing tens of thousands of miles in less than a heartbeat.

The World System had informed Victor the instant Diana’s life entered critical danger.

He had come without hesitation.

Unfortunately...

The moment Victor reappeared at their destination...

Kaelen was already standing there.

As though he had been waiting for them all along.

He casually chewed on a strange crimson fruit while smiling pleasantly.

"You possess spatial teleportation?"

His eyes sparkled with interest.

"Now that is rather impressive."

He swallowed the fruit before continuing.

"You must be the individual who obtained the Phoenix Seed."

"Am I correct?"

Victor immediately attempted another teleportation.

Nothing happened.

His pupils contracted.

The surrounding space had become completely solid.

Even with his extraordinary Space Affinity, he could not manipulate the slightest fragment of space.

Kaelen had effortlessly sealed the entire region.

"Victor..."

Diana’s trembling voice finally broke the silence.

"Who... who is he?"

Victor never took his eyes off Kaelen.

His expression remained incomparably grim.

"The greatest catastrophe humanity has ever faced."

Kaelen chuckled softly.

"You understand the situation quite well."

His smile gradually disappeared.

"I have no interest in unnecessary slaughter."

"Hand over the Phoenix Seed.I may allow your death to be painless."

Victor remained silent.

Kaelen sighed.

"I suppose that answers my question."

He casually raised one hand.

An enormous hand formed entirely from divine cosmic energy descended from the sky.

Before it, Victor resembled less than a grain of dust.

The pressure alone shattered the surrounding mountains.

Boom!

The gigantic hand closed instantly.

Victor’s body exploded into countless fragments of blood, flesh, and shattered bone.

Not even a scream escaped his lips.

Kaelen calmly looked down at the blood staining the ground.

His expression showed only mild disappointment.

"Hm."

"So he truly merged with the Phoenix Seed?"

He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"Impossible."

"The assimilation should not have progressed this far."

He looked toward the distant horizon.

"Or perhaps..."

"Vladimir deceived us."

His voice remained completely indifferent.

As though Victor’s death held no greater significance than crushing an insect beneath his foot.

A short distance away...

Diana stood frozen.

Her eyes remained fixed upon the pool of crimson blood scattered across the shattered earth.

Her thoughts stopped.

Her breathing stopped.

Her soul itself seemed to have stopped.

Only moments ago, Victor had been standing beside her.

Now...

Nothing remained.

A deafening silence filled her mind before every emotion exploded at once.

"No..."

Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

Her body trembled violently.

Then an earth-shattering scream erupted from the depths of her soul.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Something ancient awakened.

The pitch-black blood flowing through her veins instantly transformed.

Every remaining trace of impurity vanished.

Her Heavenly Demon Bloodline...

Reached one hundred percent purity.

BOOOOOOM!