Chapter 2409

There was no fear in Dusky's eyes, only excitement.

"Interesting... Very interesting."

Maxim's attack finally shattered Dusky's true energy defense, and with another punch, he struck Dusky's chest directly. At this moment, Maxim believed victory to be in his hands as the sealing power of the anti-magic stone would not fail him.

"Repent in hell for your arrogance, god!" Maxim shouted.

Just as Maxim's words left his mouth, a massive crack appeared in Dusky's body, expanding rapidly until it split open. Chains appeared from the fissures and pulled Dusky into the depths of hell.

The storm settled, and when Maxim could no longer sense Dusky's presence, he allowed himself to deactivate his powers.

However, as soon as he did, intense pain washed over him. As his opponent was a true god, Maxim had nearly exhausted all of his energy. The sealing technique he used this time was far more taxing than the ones he had employed on the immortals in the past.

Maxim gasped for breath, his body trembling from the strain. He plummeted from the sky, crashing to the ground.

His son, Thresmund, rushed to his side, supporting him.

"Are you alright, Dad?"

"I'll live," Maxim replied. "That guy was much stronger than I expected... But it's over now. He's been dealt with."

"Dealt with?" A chilling voice echoed from behind Maxim and his son.

It was unmistakably Dusky's voice.

Maxim's eyes widened in disbelief as he turned to see Dusky standing there, alive and well. His presence, his true energy-all of it had returned.

"This... This can't be!" Maxim muttered, stunned. His sealing technique had never failed him before, but now...

"Impossible?" Dusky responded in a mocking tone.

"Shall I explain?" His voice was calm, almost friendly.

"You're strong, Maxim. Strong enough that you piqued my curiosity. I wanted to see just how far your powers could go, so I let you land those attacks. Your anti- magic stone, combined with your unique ability, is truly impressive. Tell me, how old are you now? 40 years old?"

Maxim was silent. He could not believe his sealing technique had failed.

Dusky continued his monologue, "I bet you obtained the anti-magic stone during that event, right? The five-part anti-magic stone."

At those words, Maxim's calm demeanor cracked.

"H-How do you know about that?" Maxim stammered.

The five-part anti-magic stone was a relic divided among five powerful families and organizations. Each was entrusted with a piece to maintain balance.

As mentioned before, exorcists like Maxim focused on preserving tradition, and one of the mediums for their power was the anti-magic stone. However, only one intact stone remained in the entirety of Drakonia, and it had been split among five key regions.

The Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and Central Territories each possessed a fragment, ensuring stability throughout the country.

Maxim was indeed present at the ceremony to divide the stone, but he was merely an apprentice then and was accompanying his master. The true participants were the heads of the five families and organizations-the Young family, the Hunter Organization, the Truthspeaker Group, the Ancestral Sea Clan, and the Central Faction.

Dusky proceeded to reveal more of what he knew.

"You have with you the second anti-magic stone I've come across," Dusky continued, as if completely uninterested in Maxim's growing frustration.

"Integrating it into your arm was a clever move, but you're nothing compared to the founder of the Hunter Organization, the head of the Calhoun family. That lunatic? He swallowed the anti-magic stone whole and made it a part of his body.

"Every child born into the Calhoun family now inherits that stone's power. Now, that's genius."

Maxim could barely process Dusky's words. All he wanted to know was why. Why had his ultimate technique, his most powerful sealing method, failed?

"How? I dragged you to hell!" Maxim's voice trembled with disbelief and rage. "How are you still standing here?"

Dusky nodded thoughtfully, then responded with an unsettling calmness, "You're absolutely right. That's exactly where you messed up. If you had sealed me with something earthly, perhaps it would've worked.

"But instead, you pulled me back to hell. You should've known that hell is where I come from. That place is my home. It was like a trip home. I even stopped by to see my girlfriend while I was there and gave her the gift I had brought for her. Simple as that."

Maxim clenched his teeth at the unexpected fact that Dusky was immune to a high-level sealing technique.

"You're strong, no doubt about that." Dusky acknowledged. "Any other god would've been obliterated by the sheer force of your attacks. But here's where your bad luck or, perhaps, your past sins come into play.

"You crossed paths with me, and now, the only logical next step is for me to kill you."