Then—

SHAAAA!

From the depths of the fairy-like world, something emerged.

A blood-red vine.

It shot forward with unnatural speed, faster than a thought, faster than light.

The moment it appeared—

The phantom's soul trembled.

Its presence alone was enough to send waves of terror through his very existence.

A feeling of absolute dread—one he had never experienced before.

'DANGER!'

His instincts screamed.

This was it.

This was the source of his fear.

Without hesitation, the phantom acted.

His overwhelming soul force surged outward, forming an impenetrable shield around him.

A barrier so dense, it could withstand even the most powerful soul attacks.

"You won't reach me!" he roared, pouring every ounce of his might into the defense.

But then—

The vine didn't stop.

It didn't crash into the barrier.

It didn't shatter against his power.

It simply—

Passed through.

Effortlessly.

Like his shield didn't exist.

Like his power was meaningless.

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

The phantom's violet eyes widened in sheer horror.

"NO!"

He roared, his voice filled with panic and fury.

He refused to accept this.

He refused to die like this.

Tens of grey color swords materialized, hovering around him like deadly fangs.

Each one was a manifestation of his very soul—a solid, refined form of his existence.

These swords had been unstoppable.

They had shattered Max's soul.

There was nothing they couldn't pierce.

And yet—

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The swords shot forward, slashing at the blood-red vine.

CLANG!

The moment they struck—

The vine didn't break.

Didn't tear.

Didn't even flinch.

Instead—

The grey swords shattered.

One after another.

Like fragile glass.

"WHAT?!"

The phantom's eyes widened in pure horror.

"HOW?!"

These weren't just weapons.

These were extensions of his soul itself.

Yet—

They held no power against this vine.

Nothing.

Not a scratch.

Not a dent.

As if they were nothing but twigs before a storm.

And in that moment—

The truth sank in.

His power—his thousands of years of accumulation—

Was useless.

The phantom trembled.

For the first time in his existence—

He felt true helplessness.

Just then—

The red vine closed in.

The phantom man trembled, his violet eyes wild with panic.

With his last ounce of strength, he formed a sword in his hand—a desperate attempt to fight back.

His expression twisted with fear as he swung it down with all his might.

SLASH!

CRACK!

The sword shattered instantly upon contact.

Not even a scratch was left on the vine.

And then—

The red vine coiled around him completely.

It was then he felt the soul force leaving his body.

"NO! MY SOUL! MY SOUL FORCE!"

His screams pierced through the void, his voice filled with terror and agony.

He could feel it—

The red vine was devouring his soul.

And it was happening at a rate far faster than even Max's black flames.

His thousands of years of accumulation—

His power.

His will.

Everything.

It was all being sucked away.

He struggled. Desperately.

He thrashed against the vine.

He tried to pour his remaining soul force into one last attack.

But it was futile.

"DAMN IT! I CAN'T FAIL AT THIS STAGE! I CAN'T!"

His voice cracked, filled with despair and rage.

He had waited for ten thousand years for this moment.

He had planned for everything.

And yet—

Here he was.

Dying.

Not in battle.

Not by an enemy's hands.

But by a plant.

His ethereal body flickered, becoming transparent.

The last of his soul force was draining away.

He felt his very existence crumbling.

And finally—

He understood.

He was bound to fail.

"WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!"

His voice was shattered with hysteria, his once-proud arrogance gone.

He had waited years for this moment.

He had prepared for everything.

And yet—

"Only to get my soul sucked by a plant?!"

His voice cracked, full of disbelief.

But there was no one to answer him.

No one to save him.

His form became nothing but a flicker.

And in his final moment, his voice dropped into a whisper.

"Fate gave me hope… only to take it all away…" Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire

Then—

He was gone.

His soul fully consumed.

Erased.

Not even a single trace of his existence remained.

—

As the phantom man vanished, his existence erased forever, something changed.

A pink hue began to radiate from Max's dim form.

At first—

It was faint.

A soft, gentle glow.

But then—

It intensified.

Brighter. Stronger.

Until it was blinding.

The pink radiance pulsed, growing to an all-time high, filling every corner of the Soul Palace.

Then—

Max felt it.

A surge of pure, overwhelming energy coursing through his being.

His wounds—

The slash marks that had once weakened him—

They began to fade.

Disappearing slowly, but surely.

It was as if his very soul was healing.

The life force that was draining away also began to increase slowly.

He no longer felt weak.

All his memories returned as well.

And then—

'My soul force is increasing…'

Max's eyes widened.

The sensation was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

It was pure. Raw. Limitless.

A force that didn't just restore him—

It transformed him.

From an unknown source, soul force poured into him endlessly.

His body shook, unable to contain it all.

His very soul was evolving.

'It's not stopping!'

In mere moments—

His Soul Stat surpassed its previous limit.

And yet—

It kept rising.

Higher.

Faster.

Stronger.

'I'm overflowing with soul force!'

Max was amazed, feeling the sheer depth of power within him.

This was not just recovery.

This was growth beyond anything he had ever experienced.

Then—

DING!

A notification flashed in his vision.

[Soul increased by 20]

Max's heart pounded.

"An increase of 20 stats?! That's insane!"

He had never gained so much soul force in a single moment before.

Although Max hadn't seen exactly what happened, he understood.

He understood that the soul force that poured into him was of the owner of the temple.

His force had been split into two parts—

Half had been transferred to him.

The other half?

It had been devoured by the red vine.

And that red vine—

It wasn't just a random force.

It was a part of the Spirit growing in the Dimension of Spirit.

Born from Max's own blood.

Max had checked on it before.

Back then, it had been nothing more than a small stem with a single leaf.

But now?

It had grown vines.

Not just any vines.

But ones that could consume a soul.

His pink eyes flickered.

'From the information I got from the spirit… soul force is an essential part of its growth.'

That meant—

The moment the phantom's soul was sensed by the spirit in Max's body—

The Spirit instinctively acted.

It devoured him completely.

And in doing so—

It split the absorbed soul force in half.

Half went to Max.

The other half?

The Spirit took it for its own growth.

'Though the connection between us is very unique.'

Max could feel it now.

A subtle connection.

It was faint—

But it was there.

A thread linking his mind to the Spirit.

'It seems because the Spirit is connected to me by blood… our thoughts are linked.'

His heart pounded.

This wasn't just a simple contract.

This was deeper.

The Spirit wasn't just something he summoned.

It was something that grew with him.

That meant—

If it grew stronger… so did he.

In the end, he sighed.

'It was a close call.'

Max took a deep breath.

He knew it now.

He had been one step away from death.

One step away from losing everything.

If he hadn't used his last efforts to open all of his dimensional doors…

He would have died.

The phantom would have taken his body.

And no one would have been able to stop him.

Instead—

Max won.

Not through sheer strength.

Not through an overwhelming attack.

But through a gamble that paid off.

'I guess this is what's called fortune in misfortune.'

He sighed.

Then—

He clenched his fist.

His soul force burned brighter than ever.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay