Silence.
Crushing, suffocating silence.
Not a whisper. Not a breath.
No one moved.
No one could.
Palace Master Hugh—one of the greatest experts in the Lower Domain, an Expert Rank powerhouse—was gone.
Wiped away with a snap of the fingers.
It wasn't just power they had witnessed.
It was something beyond.
Mind-boggling. Terrifying. Unreal.
And Mark?
He just dusted his hands, glanced around the room, and smiled.
Like it was nothing.
Mark's head tilted slightly as his gaze shifted toward the entrance of the shattered hall.
"You've been hiding long enough," he said calmly, voice echoing like a whisper carried by wind. "You can come out now."
The moment the words left his lips, footsteps echoed in the ruined silence.
A middle-aged man stepped into view—dark red hair swept back, his robes pristine despite the chaos around him. He walked with confidence, unhurried.
It was none other than Envoy Lucas.
Max's eyes narrowed instantly, his expression turning pitch-black.
Him.
