Just as Felix was preparing to fight to the death, a sudden howl startled him. At first, he thought some new trap had been triggered in the tomb. But he then realized the sound had come from inside his mind. "Seekstorm?" Felix froze as he recognized the presence. It was Auroris the Seekstorm that had been sleeping in his soul since he had bonded with it. The creature had fallen into slumber after devouring Kevin's bone back in Martial City. Felix had never expected it to wake up at such a critical moment. Auroris whimpered, but Felix just smiled bitterly. It was only good at finding rare herbs and couldn't really offer any help in battle. It was unlucky of Auroris to wake up right now—it would have been better for it to remain asleep and perish alongside its master. "Auroris, I'm sorry. I'll release you from our bond now. Hurry up and run as quickly as you can. Mackenzie probably wouldn't bother with you." Since Auroris had awakened, Felix couldn't let it die with him. The
"Holy crap! Is Auroris this strong? I thought it could only track rare herbs!" Felix was stunned. If Auroris could take down an S-tier Malevolent Phantom, his path forward would be a lot easier.In less than 30 seconds, Auroris darted around Mackenzie like a blur, leaving her screaming until she collapsed motionless on the ground, as if dead. Then, Felix watched as Auroris let out a satisfied burp before trotting over, its three tails wagging wildly like it was begging for praise."Auroris, you're full of surprises! That was amazing!" Felix scooped it up, chuckling in disbelief—but his smile vanished the next second. "Wait. You're going back into hibernation?"Though Auroris could not speak, their bond let Felix sense its exhaustion. It whimpered gently, confirming it needed to sleep again, likely after devouring Mackenzie's soul. The sheer amount of energy must've triggered another growth phase."Fine. Go ahead and rest." Losing his strongest ally sucked, but Felix could not help
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, but in reality, it was lightning-fast. To an outside observer, Felix would have looked like a statue—his eyes glazed over, locked onto the Mystery Parchment in his hands.With his last shred of awareness, he summoned every soul-bound weapon he had, flinging them out in desperation. But neither the Infinite Shield nor Lumen reacted. Without a visible enemy, they had nothing to attack or defend against. The Mountain Mover stayed equally useless.Then, just in time, the Inkspire Quill sprang to life. It slashed across the parchment with a bold stroke, leaving no mark yet snapping Felix back to reality."That was too close!" He shuddered, his back drenched in cold sweat. He did not even understand what had happened—only that he had nearly been lost forever. When Felix glanced down again, the Mystery Parchment flickered with a black dot that swelled and vanished, taking the parchment with it. It was as if the parchment had never existed befor
"What the hell? I collected the whole Scholar's Arsenal, and you're still trying to kill me? That doesn't make sense!" Felix cursed.He figured the tomb could not have been designed just to kill him. Right after he finished grumbling, he noticed an opening suddenly appear on the stone wall ahead, although he had not seen when it actually formed.Nonetheless, he did not have time to question it now. Wherever that opening led, he had no other choice but to take it. Before leaving, he decided to bring Mackenzie's body along with him.Somewhere on the outskirts of Mount Dalinton, a barren clearing stood out in sharp contrast to the lush forest nearby. Suddenly, the ground exploded, and a figure leaped out, landing firmly on solid ground."Finally made it out," Felix muttered to himself.Looking around at his surroundings, he realized he had managed to escape alive. That narrow opening had indeed been an exit. Though the winding path out had been tricky, at least he had survived.Glan
Felix stood quietly, observing Donna carefully. Clearly, she recognized Mackenzie.Donna stepped forward cautiously, touching Mackenzie's lifeless body. Her expression shifted dramatically once again. She muttered in disbelief, "It really is Mackenzie."Only then did Felix speak up, asking, "Really? You can tell who she is even after she's dead?"Donna nodded slowly. "Yes. A Malevolent Phantom's presence can linger clearly for more than a month. It makes identifying them easy."At that point, Donna looked at Felix, showing genuine eagerness for the very first time."How did she die? And what happened to you?" Donna's mind was racing.After all, Mackenzie was a fully powered S-tier Malevolent Phantom, different from the previous one whose soul core was exposed. She could think of a thousand scenarios, yet none involved Felix being capable of taking down someone of Mackenzie's strength. Felix ignored her question, asking instead, "First, tell me how you knew Mackenzie."Donna di
Since Donna was the master of the Mystical Explosive Orb, if it had absorbed another S-tier Malevolent Phantom's soul essence, she would have noticed immediately. But because she had not sensed anything, she trusted Felix's story even more."Donna, the threat from Specter is gone, but other S-tier Phantoms are after me now," Felix said firmly. "If partnering with you means attracting such huge dangers, maybe we should just end our agreement here."Felix genuinely meant what he said. At this point, the Mystical Explosive Orb only sped up the growth of his soul power a bit. He did not even need the phantom core anymore since he already had the Destiny Crystal. Weighed against the danger, it just was not worth it.Donna hesitated briefly before replying, "This was definitely an accident. My situation with Specter was unique. Very few S-tier Phantoms would be so curious—they know clearly that interfering means making an enemy of us. "Mackenzie must've just gotten intrigued when she sa
Felix frowned slightly, thinking, "We're talking business here. What is she blushing about? And honestly, seeing an S-tier Malevolent Phantom get shy is beyond weird."Donna hesitated, raising an eyebrow at him. "Do you really want to know?"Felix did not answer, but his expression said it all.Donna explained quietly, "If you absorb my soul essence, no matter how far apart we are, our spirits will be bound together."Felix nearly choked. No wonder she had been so hesitant—it turned out to be something like that. Sure, Donna was beautiful enough that no guy would refuse her under normal circumstances, but she was still a Malevolent Phantom. The thought alone gave him chills. Although he had no idea what Donna's true form looked like, his imagination definitely was not flattering.Felix sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll take it, and our partnership continues."He carefully absorbed the tiny orb into his soul, feeling no threat at all from its gentle energy.Donna suddenly looked
Donna suddenly remembered Zara's flawless face, causing her confidence to falter slightly. Quickly changing the subject, she said, "The important information I mentioned involves an underground fight club in Fantadio. It's about the lives of thousands of people."Felix was puzzled. Underground fight clubs were everywhere in Dragonia, shady and hidden from the public eye. Sure, deaths happened occasionally, but thousands of lives at stake sounded absurd.Donna continued, "The fight club I'm talking about isn't like the ones you've heard of. This one involves human fighters going up against Malevolent Phantoms.""What?" Felix stood up in disbelief. "Humans fighting Malevolent Phantoms?"Donna nodded seriously. "Yes. I have to admit, once you humans get used to something, your courage can be shocking, even to us. They've actually found ways to profit by using captured Malevolent Phantoms in matches."Felix quickly took out his phone. "Tell me the exact location. I'll have someone han