Chapter 217 Ruthless Understanding

Then—

"I see you're still thinking of ways to counteract my Space Freeze."

Kate's voice cut through the silence.

Calm. Composed. Absolute.

Her perceptive eyes had already seen through his struggle.

"But it's useless."

Her tone carried the weight of authority—

The authority of someone full of confidence.

She took another step forward.

"Don't struggle, and I'll hand you over to Aurelia in one piece."

Seven feet away.

Max wanted to scoff, to mock her arrogance—

But—

He couldn't even speak.

He was trapped, locked in place like a statue, completely at the mercy of her absolute space suppression.

And then—

His mind froze.

'Wait a minute!'

A sudden realization struck him.

He had been so focused on controlling his black flames—

On reconnecting with the lotus—

That he had overlooked something.

His Three-Dimensional Physique.

It was his strongest means at the moment.

Max pondered its uses.

It wasn't just for movement.

It wasn't just for navigating space.

It was about feeling space itself.

And now—

Even though he was completely frozen, his body was still sensing.

'Let's try this.'

He blocked out everything else.

Forgot about Kate standing before him.

Forgot about the others watching in fear and awe.

He focused.

One second.

Two seconds.

And then—

He felt it.

A faint connection—

A slight sense of familiarity from the very space around him.

It was subtle.

Almost imperceptible.

But—

It was there.

Max's eyes flashed with realization.

'If my comprehension of space were any higher… I would've been able to move.'

The potential of his physique became clear.

He had been thinking the wrong way.

He didn't need to break free physically.

He didn't need to fight the suppression.

He just needed to touch the fabric of space itself.

And if he could do that—

Then he could detonate the lotus.

Right where it was.

Max then contemplated and came with a gamble to set everything in his favor.

If it worked—

Everything would fall into place.

Victory. Freedom. The end of this battle.

If it failed—

Then he would have to let go of killing the Monarch geniuses—

An outcome he wasn't willing to accept.

Kate's calm voice broke through his thoughts.

"I will take that lotus away."

She appeared directly in front of him, her grip firm on a small spherical bubble—

A containment sphere strong enough to seal away the lotus entirely.

Max's eyes sharpened.

This was his moment.

He didn't hesitate.

BOOOOM!

He unleashed his black flames from within—

Surging through his body, pressing outward, trying to explode from his pores, from his fingertips, from every cell of his being.

But—

Nothing.

Not a single flicker of flame escaped.

They were locked inside him—

Suppressed, just like he was—trapped beneath the overwhelming Space Freeze.

But that didn't matter.

Because Max wasn't trying to release them.

He was using them.

Then—

His full attention turned to the space around him.

Not on breaking it.

Not on overpowering Kate's control.

But on understanding it.

Feeling it.

And as the black flames filled his body, saturating every inch of him—

Two connections were formed.

The first—

Between himself and the space that bound him.

The second—

Between the space and the frozen lotus.

And then—

A resonance.

A pulse that linked the flames inside him to the flames within the lotus.

A whisper of power.

A thread of destruction.

And in the very next instant—

Everything turned black.

BOOOOOM!

The 33-petal World Destruction Flaming Lotus detonated.

A wave of black flames erupted, swallowing everything within a ten-meter radius.

The fire crackled and roared, twisting unnaturally, devouring everything in its path.

The frozen space that had trapped Max trembled—

Then—

SHATTERED.

Like fragile glass, the Space Freeze collapsed, the explosion ripping through its structure.

Max was free.

But—

The three Monarch geniuses still trapped inside?

They weren't as lucky.

The black flames clung to their bodies—

Burning through flesh.

Through bone.

Through everything.

Their screams never even had the chance to escape.

Because in the blink of an eye—

They were reduced to nothing.

Ashes.

Not even a single trace of their existence remained.

The guests watched in silence—

Not in awe.

Not in shock.

But in terror.

Terror of the Young Monarch.

They understood.

With the deaths of four out of five Monarch geniuses—

The Young Monarch's wrath was inevitable.

And when that wrath descended—

It would not just fall on Max.

It would engulf the entire East.

Slowly—

They began to die down, retreating like a living entity that had sated its hunger.

Wisps of dark smoke coiled into the air—

Then vanished into nothingness.

The once-solid ground beneath the explosion was scorched beyond recognition—

Cracked. Charred. Still smoldering with faint embers.

The air—suffocatingly hot.

The lingering scent of burned flesh and destruction—heavy with finality.

Where the three geniuses once stood—

Only blackened silhouettes of ash remained.

Fragile. Unmoving.

Then—

A faint breeze swept through.

And with it—

The last remnants of their existence crumbled away.

Scattered into the wind.

Only one person stood there.

Max.

Across from him—

Kate.

Her expression frozen in shock.

She couldn't believe it.

Couldn't process it.

Max had detonated the lotus under her absolute suppression of space.

Moreover—

She had been so close to taking it away.

Yet—

It was all futile.

Kate took a slow breath, regaining her composure.

Then, her voice was calm but heavy.

"What you did will offset everything in the East Region."

Max shrugged.

"If I had spared them, I would've only gotten one year to live. Was this the mercy of a god? No. It was the Young Monarch playing with me. Playing with my life."

His gaze darkened.

"And I don't like someone playing with my life."

"So I did what I thought was the most suitable approach."

Kate's frown deepened.

She understood his reasoning.

She even understood his emotions.

But what truly unsettled her—

Wasn't just his strength.

It was his mindset.

'So young… yet so ruthless.'

With a wave of her hand, Kate enclosed Max in a spherical prison of space.

"You should know I can't let you go now."

Her voice was calm, unwavering.

Max smiled.

"Are you sure you have what it takes to take me away?"

Kate's frown deepened.

She understood his meaning immediately. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Her mind flashed back to the black flames that had erupted when they cornered him before.

Then—

"Kate, just kill him!"

Norton's voice roared, his tone boiling with rage.

"By killing him, we could at least appease the Young Monarch for now! We aren't ready for war! We aren't ready for an attack from the Monarch!"

"Yes! Kill him!"

Kheonne Evernight's voice followed, laced with venom.

"He has doomed the entire East! He cannot be allowed to live!"

Max sneered inwardly.

'They never miss a chance to kill me, do they?'

But before Kate could respond—

A new voice cut through the tension.

"It is I who shall punish Max."

A figure stepped forward.

Aurelia.

Her presence was imposing, her golden gaze sharp as she stood before them.

"He is a member of the Phoenix Order Guild. If he has committed a crime, then it is I who will punish him."

Kate's frown deepened.

Something felt off.

Aurelia never assisted in cornering Max before.

And now, she wanted to take him under her authority?

Before she could voice her suspicion—

A shift in the air.

A suffocating force.

Kate's eyes narrowed.

She felt it.

Not just her.

Norton. Kheonne. Aurelia. James.

Every single guest in the Villa turned their gaze—

Upward.

The sky had changed.

Darkness loomed above them.

Thick, swirling black clouds gathered, forming an ominous vortex.

And amidst it all—

A voice, barely above a whisper, chilled the air.

"I am very curious how you will survive this, Max."

Envoy Lucas muttered, watching the sky spiral into chaos.