Max heard every word the three spoke, their arrogance carrying clearly through the heavy air of the wasteland. His face, however, remained calm, his expression betraying nothing of what stirred inside him. Slowly, he turned his gaze toward them. His voice was steady, almost casual, as he asked, "Are you three here to kill me?"

"You are right," Dave sneered, his lips curling in disdain. "Out of all the geniuses blessed with the golden crown, you are by far the weakest. You can only blame yourself for this misfortune." As he spoke, his hand rose, mana gathering rapidly in his palm until it formed into a glowing sphere of condensed energy. The crackling of unstable power hissed in the silence.

Henry did not hesitate either. Around him, the air shimmered as countless small daggers of pure mana materialized, each one sharp enough to slice through steel. They floated around him in a lethal orbit, glinting with cold light as they readied to launch. Patrick followed suit, his body enveloped in raging winds that whipped around him violently. The gusts howled as a sword appeared in his grip, its blade humming with the fury of sharpened wind.

Seeing all three preparing to strike, Nina and Evan exchanged a brief glance. Their decision was silent but immediate. They began to retreat, pulling their group further back until they had put significant distance between themselves and Max. They knew better than to stand between peak geniuses when killing intent was already filling the air.

"Die!" the three attackers roared in unison, their voices echoing as they rushed forward. They came at Max from three different directions, their strategy clear. They had no intention of giving him an escape route, hemming him in with precision and deadly coordination.

Max's lips curled into a faint sneer. His Three Dimensional Body pulsed, revealing every detail of their movements to him as though they were unfolding in slow motion. Their confidence amused him. 'They truly believe I am someone they can kill,' he thought, his eyes narrowing. 'And if they fail, they think they can simply walk away?'

A flash of red light flickered within his gaze, and in the next instant his figure vanished. The air where he had stood shimmered faintly before settling back into silence.

Dave froze mid-stride, his mana sphere still burning in his hand. "Where did he go?" he muttered, his eyes darting frantically. He searched the battlefield, but no trace of Max could be seen. In the distance, the only figures he could make out were Nina's group, watching cautiously from afar.

Henry's face darkened as his daggers spun rapidly around him, forming a tight defensive wall. "How did this man just disappear?" he demanded, his tone edged with unease. His eyes flickered as the realization struck him. "Could he have mastered the Space Concept?"

"I think that is likely the case," Patrick said, his tone laced with unease. "He must have mastered a space concept. That would explain why the secret domain deemed him worthy of a golden crown. Other—" His words broke off suddenly as his eyes widened. He shouted in panic, "Dave, behind you!"

Dave spun around at Patrick's warning, but it was already too late. A phantom-like claw materialized from the air itself, reaching for his throat with silent precision. Its shadowy fingers closed around his neck before he could react. Horror flashed across his face as his body began to change.

At first, his skin lost its color, thinning as though the very essence of his flesh was being drained away. Then the process accelerated. His features sank in, his muscles wasted to nothing, and his skin shriveled tightly against his bones. Within seconds, his entire body was mummified. His eyes melted into black hollows, and his organs collapsed into liquid sludge that dripped from the inside, hissing as it hit the violet soil.

Henry's face turned pale, his expression twisted in horror. "What did you do?!" he roared, his daggers flying into the air around him as he unleashed them at Max in a flurry of flashing steel.

Before they reached their target, Dave's crumbling body ignited. Black flames erupted suddenly, wrapping around him and consuming everything. The fire spread instantly, enveloping Max's figure as well. The daggers shot directly into the burning mass, swallowed whole by the inferno before they could strike.

Nina's eyes widened, her voice sharp as she recognized the sight. "Black flames? No… Yin Flames." Her tone carried both astonishment and calculation. She stared intently at the writhing fire, her mind racing. Yin Flames were no ordinary element. Their destructive nature, their ability to consume and erase, were feared across worlds. The fact that Max wielded them raised questions far more dangerous than answers.

The fire raged for a moment longer, its heat palpable even from where Nina's group stood. Then, slowly, the flames receded. Dave was gone completely, reduced to nothing but ash and liquid remnants that hissed faintly on the scorched earth. Only Max remained, his figure untouched by the flames that had devoured everything else.

He looked toward Henry and Patrick, his expression calm, and a faint smile touched his lips. "His name was Dave, wasn't it?" he asked softly. "Poor guy died a horrible death."

Henry and Patrick froze in place, their bodies stiff as stone. Their eyes remained locked on Max, but the memory of Dave's swift and gruesome end played vividly in their minds. They had seen every moment of it: the mummification, the melting organs, the black flames that erased him completely. It was a sight that seared itself into their thoughts, impossible to forget.

Both of them understood one truth in that moment. Dave's strength had been equal to theirs, yet Max had destroyed him effortlessly. If he could do it to Dave, he could do the same to them without hesitation.

Fear churned in their stomachs, mingling with deep regret. Their earlier arrogance now felt like a death sentence. They realized how foolish it had been to provoke someone chosen by the golden crown, and dread gnawed at their insides as the weight of that mistake pressed down upon them.

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