The instant those words entered Ray’s ears, fear exploded inside his heart for the very first time.

"No!" Ray shouted frantically.

Boom!!!

Terrifying sharpness erupted from his body once again as he desperately tried to mobilize the power of his Pseudo Cosmic Path. Scarlet spear energy exploded wildly around him while he attempted to launch another attack.

However—

He was too late.

Before Ray could even fully gather his strength, Max’s figure suddenly disappeared from where he originally stood.

Ray’s pupils contracted violently.

Then, in the next instant—

Max appeared directly beside him.

So fast that Ray could not even react properly.

The seven colored lightning surrounding Max’s body illuminated the battlefield brilliantly while terrifying sword intent surged into the heavens.

"Saint Origin Sword Art," Max muttered softly.

At the same time, traces of the half-formed Emotion Severing Cosmic Path fused directly into the sword strike.

The atmosphere around the blade changed instantly.

A terrifying severing aura erupted from the seven colored lightning sword while emotionless sword intent spread outward like an unstoppable tide. It felt as though the sword strike itself had become capable of severing everything in existence.

Ray’s eyes widened completely.

Before he could even defend himself—

Slash!!!

A dazzling sword light flashed across the battlefield.

For a brief moment, everything became silent.

Then Ray’s body froze completely.

The scarlet spear energy surrounding him dispersed instantly while the expression on his face stiffened forever in disbelief and terror.

A thin bloody line slowly appeared across the center of his body.

Then—

His body split apart completely.

Blood exploded into the air as Ray was sliced cleanly into two halves by Max’s sword strike.

The surrounding participants immediately felt chills spread throughout their entire bodies after witnessing that horrifying scene.

Ray Willer—

One of the greatest geniuses present within the Soul Sealing Painting—

Had been killed instantly.

At the same time, countless fragments of light erupted from Ray’s severed body as the rules of the Soul Sealing Painting activated.

Because his soul had not truly been destroyed, Ray’s consciousness was immediately expelled from the Soul Sealing Painting itself.

In the next instant, Ray’s shattered figure disappeared completely from the battlefield.

He had been eliminated.

Max had intentionally chosen not to kill Ray using the Soul Devouring Sword that now rested within his Dimension of Soul.

Although he now possessed complete control over that terrifying weapon, Max understood very clearly what the consequences would be if he truly used it to devour Ray’s soul in front of so many witnesses.

The Soul Devouring Sword was one of the six treasured swords of the Sword God Palace. If Ray’s soul had truly been destroyed here, the force behind him would undoubtedly investigate the matter thoroughly afterward.

At that point, the situation would become troublesome even for Max and for the Black Dragon Clan.

Because of that, Max deliberately chose a different method.

He merely eliminated Ray from the Soul Sealing Painting instead of truly killing him.

However—

That did not mean Max intended to let Ray continue living peacefully afterward.

The moment Max learned that Ray had already joined hands with the Sword God Palace to target him, Max had silently decided Ray’s fate long ago.

Someone who carried such intense killing intent toward him while also possessing terrifying talent and background was not someone Max could afford to leave alive indefinitely.

Especially not after today’s battle.

After this confrontation, Ray’s hatred toward him would only deepen further.

Max naturally understood this clearly.

Which meant there was only one possible outcome waiting for Ray in the future.

Death.

A faintly wicked smile slowly appeared across Max’s face as countless thoughts flashed through his mind silently.

"I could not kill you in front of so many people today," Max thought inwardly while looking at the place where Ray had disappeared moments ago. "But once we leave the Soul Sealing Painting..."

The smile on Max’s face deepened slightly.

"You had better hide well."

Max slowly raised his hand.

Then, in the next instant, the Soul Devouring Sword appeared within his grasp once again.

The pure white blade radiated faint silver light while strange soul fluctuations continuously spread from the sword itself. Even after Ray’s elimination, the weapon still emitted an unsettling aura capable of making ordinary geniuses feel instinctive fear deep within their souls.

Max casually waved the sword through the air several times while carefully sensing the terrifying power hidden within it.

Then a faint smile appeared across his face.

"This really is a good sword," Max muttered softly.

The moment he placed the Soul Devouring Sword inside the Dimension of Soul earlier, everything had changed completely.

Within the Dimension of Soul, Max possessed absolute authority over soul-related powers and objects. Because of that overwhelming authority, the ownership connection between Ray and the Soul Devouring Sword had been forcefully severed.

Now, the sword belonged entirely to Max.

Naturally, such a thing should have been impossible under normal circumstances.

The Sword God Palace had long ago engraved an extremely powerful ownership rune upon the Soul Devouring Sword. That rune existed specifically to prevent others from stealing or using the weapon freely.

As long as the rune remained intact, nobody besides Ray should have been capable of controlling the Soul Devouring Sword.

Even if someone managed to snatch the sword away physically, the weapon would still recognize only Ray as its true owner.

However—

For Max, such restrictions no longer mattered.

Inside the Dimension of Soul, the authority he possessed over soul-related laws and connections was simply too overwhelming. The ownership rune left behind by the Sword God Palace had been completely suppressed and erased the moment the sword entered that dimension.

Max slowly examined the silver-white blade once more as thoughtful light flickered through his eyes. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"The Sword God Palace really seems to possess quite an impressive collection of swords," Max muttered with a faint smile.

The first example was naturally the Dragonheart Sword.

Although the sword had once belonged to the legendary Sword Sovereign, the Sword God Palace’s obsession with retrieving it from him had always felt somewhat unusual to Max.

The lengths they were willing to go merely to reclaim that weapon were simply too excessive.

Because of that, Max had gradually developed a suspicion deep within his heart.

Perhaps—

Even the Dragonheart Sword originally belonged to the Sword God Palace as well.