INTERSTELLAR ERA: MY MIND IS A LIBRARY

"Alfred, take the boy away," Max said calmly, looking at Silas who stood behind him like a personal assistant.

Alfred nodded and moved, collecting Silas immediately.

Max focused deeper on the person, or rather the beast in front of him, a single thought surfacing in his mind.

It was to destroy the Crimson Fang completely.

"To think they have even created something this strong," he muttered.

He was unhurried and unlike Silas’s caution, Max was carefree.

That was until Han could no longer handle the disregard.

He lunged forward, a greatsword appearing in his hand as he closed the distance.

Max looked at him with a scoff.

Thanks to the talent he had gained after fusing with the three eyed human gene, Han’s speed was nothing more than a slightly faster human’s to his eyes.

Max sidestepped calmly, the greatsword slicing downward through the place he once stood.

The sword cleaved into the ground beneath.

Void flames roared from the point of contact, spreading outward like waves.

Max blinked at the scene.

He disappeared from where he stood, reappearing a few feet away from the area of damage.

Han was shocked by Max’s sudden disappearance.

"Monarch tier, at least. And he has also condensed a space core." Han’s pupils widened. Not from fear. He was anything but afraid at this moment.

His eyes widened from joy, from the feeling of finally testing his full power against a worthy opponent.

He drew his blade from the floor and looked at Silas.

"You are strong and worthy of knowing my name. My name is..." Han had not completed his statement when a sharp pain shot through his arm.

Han looked down.

A clean cut ran deeply across his arm. The wound did not bleed immediately, as if the flesh had failed to register what had happened.

Then it did. Black blood poured out, melting the floor wherever it touched.

He spun around.

There, Max stood calmly, daggers resting in his grip. He stared at Han with mild disinterest.

Void flames surged toward the wound but found nothing to stitch.

The wound did not budge, not even closing an inch.

Han looked up at Max. Or at least, where Max used to be.

His eyes widened as he found no one there.

Without hesitation, he released void flames in a controlled burst around himself.

Everything in their path, from air to ground to even sound, was consumed.

But Max was not there.

A sharp whistle tore down from above.

Han raised his head, only to feel another tear, deeper and far more lethal, open across his shoulder.

Han swung wildly, forsaking his defense to attack savagely at the phantom he could not even see.

"You..." Han roared. "Fucking..." He spun around with his sword. "Bastard..."

Max’s third attack came from below, perfectly calculated.

It pierced into Han’s knee, spewing black blood like a fountain.

"If you dare, fight me like a normal person!" Han yelled.

He hated this. After witnessing what it felt like to be truly powerful, he never wanted to let go of that feeling.

Max did not reply. He reappeared a few feet away from Han.

Han grinned.

Pillars of void flames began to rise beneath Max’s feet.

Max’s expression was stoic, as if he had seen through the attack before Han even executed it.

As the void flames surged higher, a portal opened beneath Max, swallowing all of it like a wormhole.

As if expecting it, Han did not linger.

He lunged, greatsword arcing through the air in a clean horizontal cut aimed at Max’s neck.

Max swung upward, his dagger releasing golden sparks as it clashed against the sword.

Taking quick advantage of the opening, Max drove his blade forward at Han’s chest.

The greatsword in Han’s hand dispersed, reforming as a shield that covered his entire chest.

Max’s dagger scraped the armor before bouncing back.

Han’s leg shot forward, driving his full strength toward Max’s head.

Max was as calm as ever, tilting his head slightly to avoid the kick.

In the same instant, his hand shot forward, catching the leg by the ankle.

Before Han could react, a platform made entirely from aether formed beneath him.

Max lifted him by the leg and smashed his head against the platform like a rock against stone.

The platform shattered under the full force of the impact.

Max raised the body again almost instantly. Another platform formed, harder this time, lined with spikes.

He smashed Han against it again.

The platform crumbled into wisps of aether.

Han’s body fell to the floor, almost lifelessly.

Black blood that melted everything it touched oozed from his head like a tide.

Max looked at the battered body and smiled. "Too weak. I could not even enjoy the fight."

From Han’s battle with Silas, he had expected fighting him would be a thrill. But reality said otherwise.

Han had only been able to fight Silas because of the overwhelming gap between them.

Had they been on the same level, Silas would have ended the battle quickly.

Max sneered and pointed a dagger toward Han.

"Ha, you think I would die just like that?" Han yelled, his voice carrying across the entire field like a loudspeaker.

"This planet is going to be doomed whether you kill me or not. And to make sure of that."

He grinned.

His body began to swell, void flames surging through it.

Max furrowed his brows and snapped his fingers casually.

"Ruin detonation," he said calmly.

Like a glitched game, Han’s body shook.

The void flames died down.

Max looked up at the sky with a sigh.

"Still wondering how the Crimson Fang of that time reached a level that could threaten the growth of this planet," he muttered.

Then his gaze turned back to the corpse on the floor.

"How were they able to create something like this?"

His monologue was cut short when he saw Alfred rushing toward him.

"I think you want to see this," Alfred said, holding out a tab.

Max took it calmly and his face turned pale.