Max's steps faltered for a brief moment. His brows knitted together as he glanced toward the crimson horizon again. "A spirit? Are you certain?" he asked quietly, keeping his voice steady. The sight of those clouds gave him no comfort, and the fact that they were heading directly toward them made his instincts grow sharper.

"I am certain," Blob replied after a pause. His tone had turned heavy, and even through their mental link, Max could feel the seriousness behind his words. "There is a spirit inside those dark red clouds. Its presence is faint but ancient, something that does not belong here in a natural sense."

Max frowned and spoke in a low voice. "Can you tell what kind of spirit it is? And can you detect any other monsters nearby, something besides those clouds?"

There was a brief silence as Blob focused, and then his voice returned, measured and cautious. "I cannot determine its exact nature from this distance. The aura of the clouds distorts my perception. I will have to get closer to understand what kind of spirit it truly is. As for other creatures, I can only sense the presence of a few smaller beasts in the surrounding area, but they are not approaching. They are fleeing in the opposite direction, as if terrified of the red clouds."

Max's expression darkened. "So these demons are leading the humans here to feed them to that cloud—or rather, to the spirit inside it?" he asked grimly. "And since when does a spirit devour humans?"

Blob went silent at the question. The air between them filled with an uneasy stillness. When he finally spoke again, his voice carried both confusion and disbelief. "That is what I cannot understand. Spirits are beings favored by the laws of the world, born from purity and balance. They do not hunger for flesh, nor do they consume the living. Such an act defies their very nature. For a spirit to eat humans… I simply cannot fathom it."

Max's gaze grew sharper. The red clouds in the distance shifted again, their surface rippling like waves of liquid fire. He could feel a faint vibration in the air, a strange pulse that carried both spirit energy and something darker—something unnatural.

The humans in chains had begun to whisper among themselves, their fear growing stronger with each step they took closer to the valley. Even the demons appeared tense now, their eyes fixed on the red haze ahead with visible caution.

Max lowered his head slightly, concealing the faint glow in his eyes. His mind was already turning over the possibilities. If the spirit inside those clouds had truly fallen into corruption, then what awaited them in the depths of that valley was no mere beast—it was a spirit that had turned against the order of the world itself.

As the group drew closer to the dark red clouds, the atmosphere became increasingly oppressive. The air grew heavy and warm, thick with a metallic scent that clung to the back of the throat.

A faint vibration rippled through the ground beneath their feet, and Max began to notice something that sent a chill down his spine. The soil near the edge of the dark clouds was not still. It was breaking apart, fragmenting into fine dust that rose slowly into the air before being absorbed into the crimson mass ahead.

He watched in silence as the very land seemed to dissolve into countless particles and vanish within the cloud's shifting surface. The process was slow but continuous, as if the earth itself was being consumed.

The sight was deeply unsettling. For something to devour the land so casually, it had to possess power far beyond anything ordinary. Even Max, who had faced countless horrors across realms, felt a faint shiver pass through his chest.

'To devour even the ground beneath us… what kind of monstrous existence could do that?' he thought, his expression hardening. The humans around him were trembling, unaware of what awaited them. The demons continued to march forward, though even they looked uneasy, their steps faltering slightly whenever the dark red light flickered.

"I am taking action, Blob," Max said quietly, his decision already made.

Before Blob could respond, Max's body flickered, and the iron shackles around his wrists shattered with a loud crack. The sound echoed through the valley, breaking the tense silence. In an instant, he shot upward into the sky, his presence flaring like a storm.

"Damn it! A human broke free!" one of the demons roared, his eyes widening in disbelief. Several others reached for their weapons, but they never got the chance to act.

Dozens of beams of sword light descended from the heavens, each one sharp and radiant. They pierced through the demons in a single heartbeat, cutting through their bodies with precise and merciless force.

The air filled with flashes of light and the dull thuds of bodies hitting the ground. None of the demons had time to scream before their lives were extinguished.

As silence reclaimed the valley, Max turned his gaze toward the chained humans. He raised his hand, and countless threads of sword light burst forth, striking each shackle with pinpoint accuracy. The chains shattered one after another, breaking apart into glowing fragments that scattered across the barren land.

"Run! Get as far from this place as you can!" Max's voice echoed across the valley, powerful and commanding.

The humans didn't hesitate. The moment the chains fell away, they summoned what little strength they had left and scattered in every direction. Their figures blurred as they ran, their desperation giving them speed. In a matter of seconds, the once captive crowd had vanished into the distant wasteland, leaving only Max hovering in the air above the fallen demons.

A soft vibration rippled beside him as Blob emerged from the Dimension of Spirit. His form shimmered faintly before solidifying, and his expression was grave as he looked toward the dark red clouds. The ground continued to crumble near their edge, and the faint sound of absorption echoed in the air like a steady heartbeat.

"We should take a closer look," Blob said, his voice low but firm. "I want to see what kind of spirit could devour matter itself."

Max nodded solemnly, his eyes never leaving the red mass ahead. "Let's go," he replied.

With that, the two of them moved forward, their figures gliding over the desolate landscape toward the heart of the crimson mist that was consuming the world beneath it.

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