Maxwell froze.

"What?"

The old man’s voice became heavier.

You awakened the White Heaven Dragon Sense.

Maxwell’s eyes widened slowly.

Even through all the pain and exhaustion—

Shock still hit him hard.

Because he knew what that meant.

Not completely.

But enough.

The White Heaven Dragon Sense was not ordinary.

It was one of the legendary sensory abilities of the higher Mana Dimensions. A technique said to belong only to true dragon bloodlines whose senses had surpassed mortal limitations entirely.

And the worst part—

It was notoriously difficult.

No.

Difficult was not enough.

Monstrous.

Entire clans had spent centuries attempting to awaken it.

Most failed.

Many died.

Some permanently lost their sanity trying to forcefully develop their dragon senses beyond normal limits.

Yet now—

Inside this lower world.

Inside a battlefield filled with smoke and blood—

He awakened it accidentally.

The old man still sounded shaken.

Do you understand what just happened?

Maxwell slowly clenched his fists.

The darkness around him now felt clearer than ordinary vision itself.

He could feel tiny movements within the smoke.

Tiny vibrations.

Tiny traces of mana.

Nothing escaped his perception anymore.

The old man continued.

The White Heaven Dragon Sense is not simply enhanced perception.

It is the ability to perceive existence itself.

Maxwell’s heart pounded heavily.

Memories immediately surfaced in his mind.

Back in the higher Mana Dimensions—

He remembered the elders speaking about it.

The prodigies who attempted learning it.

The countless failures.

The humiliation.

The despair.

One particular memory resurfaced clearly.

A genius from one of the dragon clans.

A true prodigy.

A being praised by countless elders.

That genius had spent thirty years attempting to awaken White Heaven Dragon Sense.

Thirty years.

In the end—

He failed.

His dragon veins collapsed.

His senses shattered permanently.

He became crippled afterward.

Another memory surfaced.

An elder once saying:

"Those who awaken White Heaven Dragon Sense become monsters among monsters."

Maxwell slowly inhaled.

The darkness no longer frightened him.

In fact—

He now understood it better than before.

The black smoke around him was not ordinary concealment.

It distorted direction.

Sound.

Mana flow.

Even instincts.

A normal person trapped inside this darkness would become helpless eventually.

But now—

Maxwell could feel through it.

His senses pierced through the smoke like invisible waves spreading outward endlessly.

Then—

He sensed her.

Cerys.

Hidden somewhere within the darkness.

Silent.

Calm.

Watching him.

Maxwell slowly smiled.

A dangerous smile.

Meanwhile another dagger flew toward him.

This time—

Without even looking—

He caught it instantly.

Tak.

The black blade stopped completely between his fingers.

Far away inside the smoke—

Cerys paused briefly.

Maxwell immediately noticed it.

Because now—

He could sense even that tiny reaction.

His confidence rapidly grew.

Then he laughed.

Not loudly.

But coldly.

"Heh..."

The dragon aura around his body flared once more.

Yet this time it no longer looked wild or frenzied.

It looked controlled.

Focused.

Like a true predator finally adapting to the darkness.

Inside his dantian, the old man quickly warned him.

Do not become arrogant.

Awakening the sense does not mean victory.

But Maxwell barely listened.

Because for the first time since entering the smoke—

He no longer felt helpless.

Instead—

Excitement began growing inside him.

He slowly lowered his body slightly.

The darkness around him trembled faintly from the pressure of his dragon aura.

Then Maxwell spoke calmly.

"I can see you now."

Silence followed.

Then—

Tak!

Three daggers flew simultaneously from different directions.

Maxwell moved instantly.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

All three were deflected effortlessly.

The surrounding darkness exploded slightly from the force of his movements.

Maxwell’s grin widened further.

His confidence rapidly rose.

Because now he finally understood.

The terrifying maid.

The endless darkness.

The invisible attacks.

They no longer looked impossible.

No longer unreachable.

And inside his heart—

A dangerous thought appeared.

I can deal with this maid easily now.

Maxwell’s grin slowly widened inside the darkness.

The dragon aura around his body continued burning brightly while the White Heaven Dragon Sense spread outward from him like invisible waves. Every breath he took now felt different. Sharper. Clearer. More complete.

The darkness no longer looked impossible to him anymore.

At least—

That was what he thought.

Slowly, Maxwell closed his eyes again.

The black smoke surrounding the battlefield drifted endlessly around him while the broken earth beneath his feet remained covered in blood and shattered stone.

Then—

He focused.

The White Heaven Dragon Sense immediately expanded outward.

He could sense the air.

The movements of dust.

The pressure of mana.

The faint heartbeats of distant people outside the smoke.

Even Borzoi’s unstable breathing several distances away became clear to him.

Maxwell’s confidence rose further.

There.

He sensed faint traces nearby. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Tiny disturbances.

Tiny movements.

Yet—

The moment he tried locking onto them—

They vanished.

Maxwell frowned immediately.

Another dagger suddenly flew toward him.

Tak!

He blocked it easily this time.

Then another.

Clang!

Then another.

Tak!

Maxwell smoothly deflected them one after another.

Yet despite blocking the attacks—

He still could not find Cerys.

Not truly.

Only traces.

Fragments.

Like trying to grab smoke itself.

His brows slowly knitted together.

Where is she?

Maxwell expanded his senses harder.

The White Heaven Dragon Sense spread wider throughout the darkness.

Still—

Nothing.

No clear location.

No stable presence.

No breathing.

No footsteps.

No heartbeat.

It was as though the maid herself had become part of the darkness completely.

Maxwell’s confidence weakened slightly.

Then suddenly—

Tak!

A dagger sliced across his ribs.

Blood splattered instantly.

Maxwell’s eyes widened.

He immediately turned toward the attack—

Nothing.

Empty darkness.

Another dagger came from the opposite direction.

Tak!

It pierced through his shoulder.

Maxwell immediately spun again—

Still nothing.

His expression slowly darkened now.

Because even with the White Heaven Dragon Sense—

He still could not locate her properly.

Only the daggers.

Never the attacker.

Then another realization struck him.

The smoke itself was strange.

Very strange.

His dragon senses could normally perceive mana clearly.

Yet this darkness distorted everything.

It twisted direction.

Distance.

Perception.

Even sound.

Maxwell immediately released a massive burst of golden mana outward.

Boom!!!

The ground shattered violently beneath him while golden light exploded across the battlefield.

The force should have blown ordinary smoke away instantly.

Yet—

The darkness did not disappear.

Not even slightly.

Instead—

The black smoke swallowed the light completely.

Maxwell’s eyes widened slowly.

"What...?"

Another burst erupted from him.

Boom!!!

Still nothing.

The smoke remained endless.

Unmoving.

As though the darkness itself rejected the existence of light.

Inside his dantian, the old man finally sounded serious again.

Careful.

Maxwell clenched his fists.

"No..."

Golden light erupted harder around his body.

"There has to be a limit!"

He attacked the darkness repeatedly.

Explosions erupted nonstop.

Light beams tore through the smoke violently.

Shockwaves spread everywhere.

Yet every single time—

The darkness simply consumed everything.

No matter how much mana Maxwell released—

The smoke remained.

No matter how far he expanded his senses—

He still could not locate the maid.

Then suddenly—

Tak!

A dagger pierced directly through his thigh.

Maxwell gritted his teeth hard.

Another immediately followed.

Tak!

This time through his side.

Then another.

Tak!

Across his neck.

Blood splattered repeatedly once more.

Maxwell’s breathing slowly became rougher.

Not because of physical damage.

Because frustration was beginning to grow again.

How?!

He had awakened White Heaven Dragon Sense.

One of the legendary sensory abilities of dragon bloodlines.

Yet he still could not find her.

Could not catch her.

Could not break the darkness.

Then suddenly—

A cold realization entered his mind.

What if she’s hiding herself completely from mana detection?

Maxwell froze briefly.

Because if that were true—

Then this woman was even more dangerous than he originally thought.

Another dagger flew silently toward his blind spot.

Tak!

It pierced deeply into his arm.

Maxwell instantly retaliated with a violent claw strike toward the direction—

Nothing.

Again.

Empty darkness.

Not even traces remained.

His master finally spoke again.

This time slowly.

Carefully.

Almost unwillingly.

This is no ordinary concealment technique.

Maxwell’s expression hardened.

The old man continued.

Your White Heaven Dragon Sense is functioning properly.

You are sensing everything around you.

Everything... except her.

Maxwell’s pupils narrowed slightly.

"What does that mean?"

Silence followed briefly.

Then—

The old man answered heavily.

It means this maid knows how to erase her existence from perception itself.

Another dagger sliced across Maxwell’s chest.

Blood sprayed once more.

Maxwell immediately retreated several steps instinctively now.

The confidence from earlier had already weakened considerably.

Because he finally understood something terrifying.

Awakening the White Heaven Dragon Sense had only allowed him to survive better.

Not dominate the battlefield.

Not defeat the maid.

Survive.

That alone.

And the fact that he still could not find her despite possessing such a legendary ability—

Made the situation even more terrifying.

Then suddenly—

The old man inside the dantian sounded genuinely stunned.

No wonder...

Maxwell frowned.

"What?"

The old man slowly answered.

This maid...

Silence briefly filled Maxwell’s mind.

Then the old man finished heavily.

...is a formidable assassin.