"Don't look back, turn left!"

  "Now, to the right!"

  Selene's voice echoed urgently and decisively in his mind.

  Draven didn't hesitate; he trusted her judgment completely. Twisting and turning midair, his body was pulled and tossed by violent acceleration and sharp turns until he was nearly out of breath.

  Each change of direction felt like an invisible rope yanking at his heart. But it was precisely these commands that repeatedly allowed them to dodge the deadly black beams.

  The magical energy waves behind grew stronger, like an invisible pressure pressing down on Draven's spine. The oppressive weight was suffocating, as if the Grim Reaper was just within reach.

  Instinctively, he wanted to look back, but before he could turn his neck, Selene's voice rang out again in his mind:

  "Don't look, just do as I say!"

  Draven took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress the instinctive fear. He chose to trust Selene. Sure enough, under her guidance, the Hellwolf skated along the edges of the black light every time, the risk so great it felt like dancing on a blade's edge—any slip, even by half an inch, would turn them to ashes.

  At that moment in Selene City, Gregor appeared on the edge of the black mist with the Serpent Ancestor, standing atop the city walls overlooking the slowly spreading dark area.

  The ink-black fog churned and writhed, faintly revealing twisted shapes and agonized screams within.

  "This is the power of the Dark God."

  The Serpent Ancestor's voice was low, his face pale, eyes filled with confusion and fear, as if suddenly transported back to a distant past.

  "The Dark God?" Gregor whipped his head around in shock."Are you sure?!"

  "I've seen it with my own eyes." The Serpent Ancestor's voice wavered with hesitation and despair."It's weak now, but I wouldn't be mistaken."

  He pointed shakily toward the black mist.

  "When the fog clears, you'll see—they will all become monsters. Those subhumans… there's no saving them."

  Gregor swallowed hard. He had long noticed the strange howls from the fog but had repressed the uneasy suspicions. Now hearing the Serpent Ancestor's confirmation, even his serpent eyes contracted slightly.

  He immediately sought out Lydia and relayed everything truthfully.

  Lydia's face changed drastically, reacting almost instantly. She began mobilizing more troops to block the fog's spread, doing everything possible to protect the remaining territory.

  She knew that while she couldn't intervene in the aerial battle, her role was to minimize losses while Selene was absent.

  She also realized that if Draven hadn't deliberately lured away that black-skinned elf, the city would likely have already fallen into total disaster.

  ...

  In the sky, black streaks of light continued tearing through the air, some even brushing past Draven as they flew along his escape route toward the distance.

  He had no idea where these attacks ultimately landed and no time to worry. His only goal was to survive—and, before the battle ended, to discover the true power of the Hellwolf.

  Last time, the fusion time was too short for him to fully sense it. Apart from the Black Flame, he knew almost nothing about the Hellwolf.

  This time, he couldn't rely on the Black Flame alone. Clara had mutated, her power far beyond before, and the Black Flame had no effect on her anymore. He needed a new breakthrough.

  Selene fully understood his plan.

  But she couldn't take over the Hellwolf for him now. The succubus pact was still in effect. She could only assist Draven through their mental connection, helping him judge the trajectories of incoming attacks and giving dodge commands.

  So far, Draven's choices were correct.

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  The Hellwolf's speed was astonishing. Even though Clara wielded the power of the divine blood, she could barely keep up. However, her speed was gradually increasing, and Draven could clearly feel her closing in. Alarm bells rang in his heart—time was running out.

  In the distance, Clara's smile grew cruel. She knew she was almost upon him, and she was fully aware that the divine blood's power wouldn't last long.

  "It'll be over soon," she muttered softly, as if speaking to the Hellwolf, or perhaps to herself.

  Her goal was clear: kill the Hellwolf, then quickly recover her strength before the divine blood ran out, and finally destroy Selene City completely.

  Looking back now, she thought Freya was right. She shouldn't have delayed—she should have acted long ago. She shouldn't have hesitated.

  Just as she smugly felt victory was within reach.

  The Hellwolf suddenly stopped midair. That moment was like a wild beast abruptly halting in full sprint, the shockwave scattering the surrounding clouds.

  Clara narrowed her eyes, a mocking smile curling at her lips.

  "What's wrong? Not running anymore?"

  It wasn't until this moment that Draven finally saw it clearly—those black beams were actually being emitted from Clara's hands. In each of her palms floated a sphere of pure, pitch-black energy, devouring the surrounding light like miniature black holes.

  She wasn't using any artifact. Just her own power alone was enough to hurl those dark orbs and unleash them as terrifying beams.

  Her energy seemed inexhaustible.

  Draven gritted his teeth, commanding the demon wolf to swerve violently through the air, narrowly dodging each incoming orb with hair's-breadth precision.

  There were too many of them. Clara didn't even seem to need time to recharge—she would throw one, and immediately form another. She had become a walking turret, continuously raining down devastating force on the demon wolf.

  But just seconds ago, Draven had finally sensed a new ability hidden deep within the demon wolf—an ability that had never been awakened before.

  It was a power that could only be triggered at close range. But once unleashed, it might just turn the tide of the entire battle with a single strike. After silently communicating with Selene, the two quickly reached a consensus.

  They didn't know how long Clara's berserk state would last, but one thing was clear: Selene wouldn't last much longer. Her magic was draining rapidly, and the time she could continue maintaining control over the demon wolf was fast approaching its limit.

  If they delayed too long, even if Clara ran out of power on her own, they would no longer have the strength to claim victory. It would be better to act now—take a gamble—and land a decisive blow while she was still locked in the inertia of all-out assault.

  It was a mutually destructive scenario—but also their only chance.

  And so, the demon wolf changed direction. It stopped fleeing. It turned—and launched a sudden counterattack!

  Clara saw this and her smile deepened. She let out a cold laugh, not taking Draven's resistance seriously at all. To her, this was nothing more than a meaningless death throe.

  "Finally done running?" she sneered, her voice dripping with mockery.

  But she didn't let her guard down. Her divine blood was nearly exhausted, and the remaining power had to be used at just the right moment.

  The demon wolf flew ever closer, but Clara didn't strike immediately. She held the two black orbs in her hands, charging them further.

  "Closer... just a little closer..."

  Her heartbeat accelerated. Her breath grew ragged. Her pupils contracted to pinpoints, and her entire body tensed. She knew that just a few more meters, and she could obliterate the demon wolf with the two fully charged orbs.

  And the demon wolf was still accelerating. Draven held his breath, and Selene kept her focus locked on Clara's every movement.

  "Now!"

  Almost simultaneously, both sides launched their attacks!

  Clara hurled the two black spheres with tremendous force. They spiraled through the air like black vortexes, screaming toward the demon wolf's chest with deadly precision.

  At the same moment, the demon wolf's body shuddered. Two shadows burst from within it—phantom-like projections that split from it instantly, as though it had suddenly cloned itself into three!

  The black orbs exploded midair, erupting into an earth-shattering storm of destructive energy. The demon wolf was hit, and within the explosion rang out two gut-wrenching howls—howls that sounded as though souls were being torn apart.

  A victorious grin tugged at Clara's lips.

  But the very next second, her entire body froze.

  "Impossible..." she whispered, stunned, eyes wide in utter disbelief.

  Through the thick smoke of the explosion, she saw clearly—the real demon wolf was completely unharmed. The two doppelgangers had taken the full force of her attack.

  She had never expected the demon wolf to create two solid clones—and use them at the perfect moment to fool her strike.

  Before she could form another black orb, a massive wolf claw came crashing in from the side!

  The claw was thick and powerful, its talons like blades. It tore through her body without resistance.

  Clara flew through the air like a ragdoll, impaled on the claw. Her body twisted grotesquely, bones shattered. Black, ink-like blood gushed from her mouth, splattering into the sky.

  "How... how could this be..." Her voice was hoarse, thick with despair and unwillingness.

  The demon wolf raised its right paw high and brought it down for the final blow—ripping her head clean off.

  Then, a searing pain exploded in its own chest. Magic drained away rapidly, and its consciousness began to blur. With a soft sound, the smoky form of the demon wolf dispersed, its magical form dissolved—and Draven returned to his human body.

  Without the support of the wolf's claw, Clara's corpse fell like a broken rag.

  A flash of silver streaked through the air. A whip lashed out with perfect precision, wrapping around her body. Selene appeared, her whip coiling Clara's corpse.

  This time, she didn't pass out like before—clearly, she had reserved some of her magic.

  With the body secured, another storage ring appeared in Selene's hand—her second prize of the day.

  Then she reached down and grabbed the barely breathing Draven, lifting him into the air.

  She could feel his heart. After their fusion, their minds were linked—she understood his every thought, his every emotion.

  Draven managed a bitter smile. His body was completely drained, his magic entirely spent.