At the very center of the swirling crimson vortex, a faint figure appeared, moving with slow and unsteady steps. As Max's vision adjusted to the pulsating red light, the shape became clearer. It was a young girl, no older than ten, her small frame almost swallowed by the vastness of the devouring mist around her.

Her hair was a deep shade of violet, flowing down to her shoulders like threads of twilight. Her skin looked pale under the blood-colored glow, and her large eyes reflected the endless red light around her. But those eyes were not calm or innocent—they were filled with hunger. There was an emptiness in them, a void that stretched deeper than any mortal craving.

She walked forward with a strange grace, each step unsteady but deliberate, as though something unseen was guiding her or pulling her toward a destination. The crimson energy around her seemed to respond to her presence, swirling and pulsating in rhythm with her slow movement. The moment Max saw her face clearly, his entire body froze in disbelief.

"Mimi?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. His eyes widened as if his mind refused to accept what he was seeing. The girl standing at the heart of this monstrous cloud was someone he recognized. Someone he had not seen in years. Someone he had once known as a harmless, cheerful spirit.

The memories rushed back to him in an instant—the first time he met Mimi after his very first dungeon exploration, the strange aura she carried, the curiosity in her eyes, and the gentle laughter that had once brought warmth to the cold, ruined places they had traveled through.

She had vanished long ago, and Max had assumed she had returned to whatever realm of spirits she had come from. Never, not even in his wildest thoughts, had he imagined that the source of this destructive cloud would be her.

"Mimi! What are you doing?!" Max's voice broke through the stillness. The shock in his tone carried across the swirling air as he called out to her again. "Can you hear me? Stop this!"

He could feel a strange pull in his chest, a mix of confusion and desperation. If Mimi was truly the one behind this, then there might be a way to reach her. Maybe this was not intentional. Maybe something had gone wrong. He wanted to believe that the girl he once knew had not become this creature of devouring hunger.

But while Max focused on Mimi, he failed to notice the expression on Blob's face. The spirit beside him had gone completely still, his form flickering faintly as if he had forgotten to maintain his shape. His eyes were wide and fixed on the girl, and a look of pure horror crossed his features. It was not surprise, nor confusion—it was recognition.

"Max…" Blob muttered under his breath, his voice trembling. He looked at her the way one looks at a nightmare that should never have existed. The air around him wavered as though even his spiritual energy was reacting to her presence.

Meanwhile, Mimi continued to walk forward slowly, her steps uneven and heavy. She did not respond to Max's shout or even seem aware of his presence. Her gaze was unfocused, her body moving as if under the control of something far beyond her will. Each step she took made the crimson mist surge, and the ground beneath her feet seemed to dissolve into nothingness.

Max's heart pounded as he watched her walked like a zombie. The hunger in her eyes grew deeper with every passing moment, and the cloud responded like a living being, pulsing with anticipation.

The girl he once knew was still there, but something else had taken hold of her—something ancient, powerful, and terrifying.

"She seems to be under the influence of something," Max muttered under his breath. His eyes never left Mimi as he slowly began to move forward. Her body looked frail and delicate, but the force surrounding her was terrifying, as if the world itself bent to her presence.

He took one cautious step toward her, and the moment his foot touched the crimson ground, he felt something inside him shift.

His body stiffened. A sharp chill spread through his veins, and his heart skipped a beat. In the next instant, he realized that nearly half of the mana inside his body had vanished. It was not dissipated—it was taken.

He could feel it being pulled violently by an unseen force, dragged out of his core and drawn straight toward Mimi. His eyes widened as he saw thin streams of energy flowing out of him like glowing threads, weaving through the crimson mist and merging into her small frame.

The shock hit him hard. Even he, with his overwhelming strength, had never experienced something like this. It was as if his own existence was being consumed. Yet despite the horror that crept through him, Max clenched his fists and steadied his breath. He could not afford to retreat now. Whatever had taken control of Mimi needed to be stopped, and he would not abandon her to it.

Without hesitation, he summoned his power. His body glowed faintly as black flames surged across his skin, intertwining with scales that shimmered like dark crystal. In the next moment, his entire form was enveloped by his Dragon Scales Transformation.

The scales emitted a deep glow, and a fierce draconic aura burst from him, shaking the air around. The black flames coiled tightly over his armor-like skin, forming a second layer of defense to resist the devouring power ahead.

He stepped forward again.

A loud, echoing sound reverberated through the mist. The ground beneath him cracked as the air itself resisted his advance. It felt like he was walking against the current of a mighty river, each step demanding more strength than the last.

The devouring force emanating from Mimi grew stronger the closer he approached. The crimson energy around her moved like a storm, flowing inward toward her body in endless waves. The power she was releasing seemed to drain the very essence of the world.

Max gritted his teeth as the pressure intensified. The air pushed against him, and his energy stirred chaotically inside his body, struggling to maintain balance. It was a strange sensation. While everything around him—mana, life force, even the faint energy of the air—was being sucked into Mimi, he felt himself being repelled by the very flow of that power. It was as though the energy surrounding her rejected his existence while trying to consume everything else.

His steps grew heavier, but he pressed forward. Each time he tried to stabilize his energy, the devouring pull disrupted his circulation again, forcing him to push his strength to the limit just to remain standing.

The closer he got, the harder it became to maintain control over the vast power within him. The aura of hunger radiating from Mimi did not distinguish between what it touched. It sought everything—energy, life, and even soul.

A faint tremor passed through Max's arm as he felt another surge of his mana trying to escape toward her. He forced it back, his dragon scales flaring with light as he anchored himself with raw willpower. One misstep, and the balance within his body would collapse, allowing the devouring force to consume everything he possessed.

"Mimi…" he murmured quietly, his voice firm yet filled with a trace of sorrow. "What happened to you?"

The air around him vibrated with energy. Every breath he took felt heavier, every step more perilous, but Max continued to move forward, his eyes locked on the girl standing at the center of destruction.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.