Freya led him up the stairs, her fingers gently holding her dress against her thigh so he would not notice the knife. But the way she gathered the fabric exposed far more than it hid, revealing that she wore nothing underneath.

It made Max’s body heat up instantly. His gaze almost betrayed him, and for a moment, he nearly stumbled on the lightning stairs from staring too much. He was slightly taken aback by how far this woman was willing to go just to seduce him and make him lower his guard.

He could clearly see she was concealing something by her thigh. That part was almost laughable. She was hiding a blade right beside the temptation she wanted him to lose himself in.

But Max was not that easy.

If it were another man his age, they might have already been dead. But he had already been stabbed once, and he had no desire to feel that kind of pain again.

That experience alone still haunted him to this very day.

Soon, the two of them reached the top. Max channeled his magic through his body, ready to protect himself from an unexpected attack the moment he lost sight of her.

But when he stepped onto the solid, snow-white ground, Freya was standing to the side, her hands folded before her like a maid waiting for her master.

"What’s that look on your face? Did you think I would attack you the moment you lost sight of me?" she purred with a soft laugh.

"Of course. I can see what kind of woman you are," Max said in a rough tone.

He looked around. This place was filled with mana, rich and dense, gathering into a white mist that hid everything more than two meters away from his sight. The air itself felt heavy, pressing against his skin like a silent warning.

Each pulse of lightning beneath the floor lit the mist for a brief moment, showing shapes that vanished as quickly as they appeared.

"And what kind of woman do you think I am?" Freya narrowed her eyes softly as she started walking into the mist.

"Intelligent, powerful, cunning, and most importantly, dangerous," Max replied without holding back at all.

"You’re too sweet. You really know how to make big sister blush." She shook her hips, her fingers drifting slightly to her butt, pushing the fabric of her dress aside to reveal her naked skin as her flirty gaze scanned him.

"Beautiful, but I’m not interested right now. Lead me to the treasure without any more tricks. I’ll save your seduction for later, when you’re lying in my bed."

Max laughed as his void magic surged out, blowing her farther into the mist and forcing her to move faster. Freya clicked her tongue under her breath, her smile stiffening for just a moment before she turned and continued leading the way.

Soon, the two of them stood before a pile of gold and different gems, all shining inside the white mist. Max took a step forward, mesmerized by the sheer scale of it. It looked at least ten times larger than the one he had stolen, no, borrowed, from the Wind Dragon Empire a couple of days ago. His fingers extended, ready to suck everything before him into his dimensional void pocket.

Gold coins towered in uneven hills, while gems of every color glimmered beneath the white glow. Every pulse of lightning made the treasure flash like thousands of tiny stars hiding inside the mist.

In that moment, his body shivered.

He felt a faint shift in the surroundings, a tiny ripple in the mana that brushed against his senses.

Blue lightning cracked from Freya’s feet, slithering up her thigh before launching the hidden knife toward him at a speed almost impossible to react to. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Die, you human scum! This throne was never yours to touch!" she shrieked, hatred filling her eyes.

Darkness surged around Max, blocking the attack as a smirk touched his face. The impact made the nearby gold tremble, scattering a few coins down the pile with sharp metallic clinks.

He turned around, but Freya was already gone.

The white mist swallowed her figure almost instantly, leaving only the faint crackle of blue lightning moving somewhere around him.

He focused, feeling the mana around him.

The next instant, he dodged to the side with a sharp sidestep, feeling something blue flash past him like a streak of lightning. For a heartbeat, the mist lit up, revealing a shadow that was already gone before his eyes could fully catch it.

It was similar to what he had endured before when he fought against Thor’s commanders. Thunder Dragons were fast. Terrifyingly so. He could not afford to let her sever his tendons. Even a small mistake could make him lose balance, and in this kind of battle, losing balance meant death.

Another flash of light attacked him.

Void armor wrapped around his body, blocking the lightning that struck his knee. But it was not Freya. By the time he noticed, she had already retrieved her blade and was rushing for his throat. Several other lightning bolts, formed by her rapid movements, rushed at him at the same time, creating the illusion of several attackers.

Each flash lit the mist from a different direction.

He had to choose.

Only one of them was real.

Max blinked once, and in the next moment, the blade was already inches away from his throat.

Time seemed to freeze.

Her eyes stared daggers into him as they transformed into a light blue color, taking on a dragon shape. Two horns curved from her temples like cannons pointing ahead of her face, and patches of dragon scales spread over her skin, pulsing faintly with trapped lightning.

Her breath came out hot and electric, carrying the sharp scent of storm clouds. It was the first time Max had seen that. He had to admit that her bloodline was terrifying.

And now that death was only a split second away, he could not hold back anymore, even if it meant damaging his hostage a little.

He moved quickly, turning his body to the side.

The knife brushed against his skin, cutting through his void armor and drawing blood from his neck. A cold line opened across his flesh, and for one breath, his body remembered the old knife in his chest.

If he had been even a second late, he would have died.

He gathered an immense concentration of void magic into his palm and forced it forward with the support of void winds. The powerful force slammed into Freya’s passing body, drawing blood on impact and sending her flying into the distance.

Her body tore through the mist and crashed into the treasure pile, scattering gold and gems through the air as her eyes rolled white for a moment.