Chapter 619: End of Drevon

Chapter 619: End of Drevon

Just a few more minutes remained before the entrance to the fourth stage of the citadel would open, and already, a large crowd had gathered in anticipation. Most of them belonged to the various factions of the Lower Domain—those brought by Elarion and King Magnar.

The air around them buzzed with excitement and satisfaction. Smiles lit up their faces, and their expressions were filled with pride and hope.

Clearly, this third stage had blessed them with significant rewards, fortuitous encounters, and growth beyond expectations. It wasn’t every day that experts from the Lower Domain had access to such opportunities, and they cherished every gain, no matter how small. They were eager to see what awaited in the fourth stage, even more determined to rise higher and prove their worth.

Amid them, however, stood a lone figure whose aura radiated a very different kind of energy. It was Drevon. His gaze was cold, eyes narrowed with fury. His group—the ones he’d brought with such grand plans—was no more. Max had killed them. All three Commandments who had accompanied him were now dead, leaving him the only survivor of his elite unit. That loss burned deep into his bones.

Hatred twisted in his heart like a blade.

He had gained a few treasures and even managed to brush close to the breakthrough into Master Rank, but none of that could extinguish the fire of revenge that burned within him. Every second he spent staring at the happy, relieved faces of the Lower Domain experts was torture.

He clenched his fists tightly. ‘Once I reach Master Rank… I’ll kill every last one of them. Especially him.’

Meanwhile, away from the crowd, Max walked calmly toward the gathering entrance. After parting ways with Aria and Elias, he had spent the remaining time exploring the outskirts of the third stage.

Though he hadn’t encountered any more elaborate trials like the one with the black cube, he still came across several smaller testing zones and treasure rooms. Some had puzzles, others traps, but none were beyond his ability.

He acquired a decent amount of treasure—several weapons, various energy crystals, a few soul-nourishing herbs, and one or two mysterious items whose functions he couldn’t yet decipher. Most were low to mid-tier artifacts, but there were a few high-ranked ones that made him raise an eyebrow in surprise.

Though they weren’t groundbreaking, every single find was a step toward greater strength. And at this stage of his journey, every step mattered.

As he approached the entrance, the atmosphere seemed to shift. Eyes turned toward him—some with awe, others with wariness. Even without trying, Max’s presence had begun to change. Stronger. Sharper. More imposing. The kind of presence that couldn’t be ignored. He walked silently toward the waiting crowd, his gaze calm but alert. He knew the next stage wouldn’t be easy. But he was ready.

“Expert Rank?!” A sudden cry rang out from the crowd, sharp and loud, instantly grabbing everyone’s attention.

“That can’t be right!” someone else shouted, voice laced with disbelief. “I clearly remember! His strength was only at the 8th level of Seeker Rank before we entered the third stage!”

A collective murmur rose like a wave among the people gathered at the entrance to the fourth stage. They all turned, eyes locking on the young man approaching slowly from the distance—Max. A third voice, this one trembling, added in sheer astonishment, “He’s not just in the Expert Rank… he’s already at the 6th level! That’s seven levels above what he was yesterday. A monster… he’s a monster indeed!”

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Mouths fell open. Expressions twisted from confusion to outright shock. Those who had been celebrating their own small breakthroughs now stood frozen in place, completely forgetting their excitement.

Some blinked, others rubbed their eyes as if to check whether what they were sensing was some kind of illusion.

It wasn’t.

The energy Max was emitting—calm, yet suffused with overwhelming depth and weight—was real. He wasn’t even trying to flaunt it, but the sheer density of his aura made it impossible to ignore. He was clearly in the middle levels of the Expert Rank.

And it had only been a single day since everyone last saw him at the 8th level of the Seeker Rank. That kind of leap was unheard of. Impossible even. And yet, here he was, walking calmly, quietly, as if nothing had changed, while in reality, everything had.

Whispers spread like wildfire.

“He must’ve found some grand inheritance…”

“Maybe he took down one of the final guardians and absorbed its core…”

“No… even that wouldn’t explain it. The only thing that makes sense is some mythical opportunity… something ancient…”

Everyone was thinking the same thing: Max had found something far greater than anything they had encountered in this stage. It made even the greatest treasures and weapons they had obtained feel like scraps in comparison.

One thing became clear to everyone at that moment—Max was no longer just a promising talent from the Lower Domain.

He was standing at the same stage as them.

Max slowly swept his eyes over the crowd, his gaze like a silent pressure that made many lower their heads instinctively. But then his eyes locked onto one person—Drevon. The corner of Max’s lips curled into a cold sneer, his expression mocking, as if he had found something amusing.

Drevon, already glaring at him, returned the expression with a cruel smile that was dripping with hatred and vengeance. “I’ve been waiting for you here for a long time,” Drevon hissed, his voice dark with fury.

“Waiting for me?” Max chuckled as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. “Waiting for me to find you and kill you?”

The crowd stirred, whispers and gasps fluttering in the air. Many remembered clearly—on the second floor, when Max was still at the Seeker Rank, he had dared to directly strike Drevon. Now, standing as an Expert Rank powerhouse, no one dared to mock his confidence.

In fact, his bold words sent a chill down the spines of those who thought he was arrogant before. After all, Max had always fought far above his level, and with his recent explosive growth, no one could truly guess how strong he had become.

“Die!” Drevon roared, his emotions boiling over. Blue flames burst from his body like a raging inferno, and his fists ignited with red flames—an aggressive dual-elemental technique that had killed countless before. He shot through the air like a meteor, closing the distance in a blink as he threw a blazing punch straight at Max’s head.

But what happened next silenced the world.

Katcha!

Max didn’t dodge. He didn’t step back. He simply raised his hand and caught Drevon’s flaming punch with his bare palm.

“Impossible!” Drevon shouted, eyes wide in horror. His red flame-enhanced strike, one that had toppled even top-tier Expert Rank warriors, had been caught effortlessly—as if it were nothing more than a child’s slap.

“You truly have no idea what’s possible,” Max said calmly, his voice low but brimming with a terrifying presence. With that, his body surged with raw power as his 600 Draconic Essences awakened in full force. His entire body, radiating overwhelming might. With a simple clench of his hand, Drevon’s arm shattered like glass. Flesh, bone, flame—all crushed into mush in an instant.

“AAAHHHH!” Drevon screamed, his pain echoing through the air as blood sprayed.

Max took a step forward and, without hesitation, grabbed Drevon by the hair, lifting him effortlessly into the air like a broken doll. He stared into Drevon’s terrified eyes and whispered coldly, “You made one mistake… you made me your enemy.”

Then came the end.

With a devastating punch charged with all his physical strength and the ferocious weight of his bloodline, Max struck Drevon’s chest.

The body exploded—torn into countless flaming fragments—flesh, bones, and organs reduced to nothingness. All that remained in Max’s hand was Drevon’s head, which he casually incinerated into ashes with a flicker of black flame.

The rest of Drevon’s body followed, burned to nothing, leaving behind only a single spatial ring, clinking softly as it dropped to the ground.

Max reached down and picked it up, turning it slowly in his hand. His expression remained composed but thoughtful, as if this was just another step on his path. “As the so-called overlord of the Lower Domain,” he murmured, “he was bound to be carrying something worthwhile.”

Not a single person in the crowd dared to speak. Not a breath was heard. Max had turned a dominant force like Drevon into ash in front of their eyes. The same Drevon who had been terrorizing the Lower Domain for decades. He was killed by Max like killing an ant.

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!