Chapter 283: Paragon’s Judgment Unlocks a New Power! [GOLDEN TICKET AND POWER STONE BONUS - ]

Estelle stared at the distant blue light for several seconds before raising her hand.

"Everyone, move." Without hesitation, she stepped forward.

The Sunborn warriors followed behind her.

One by one, the representatives and their groups began entering the hallway.

Luke glanced toward Selene.

Estelle had already warned them.

That the moment someone entered the portal, they would be teleported to a random location somewhere inside the enormous maze.

Then—

One person after another disappeared into the portal.

Whoosh!

Another figure vanished.

Whoosh!

Another.

Soon, only Luke and Selene remained.

They looked at each other one last time.

Then, without letting go of each other’s hands—

They stepped into the blue light.

WHOOSH!

The hallway had become completely empty.

Or so it seemed.

The next moment—

A black teleportation magic circle silently appeared across the floor.

Fwoosh!

Red flames suddenly erupted from its surface, engulfing the entire circle.

Three figures emerged from within.

All three were dressed in black robes, their bodies completely concealed from head to toe.

Yet there was one detail that immediately stood out.

On the back of each robe was the same symbol—

A golden broken mask, surrounded by three black flames.

The moment the three figures stepped out, the black magic circle vanished.

Not even a trace remained, as though it had never existed.

The figure standing at the front slowly raised his head.

His gaze settled upon the glowing blue portal ahead.

Then, in a deep and solemn voice, he spoke.

"Beyond the cracks lies the truth!"

A voice immediately answered from behind him.

"Beyond the truth lies our salvation!"

Silence followed.

Without another word, all three figures stepped forward and entered the blue portal.

And once the last figure passed through—

The hallway became empty once more.

As though no one had ever been there.

---

Deep within one of the maze’s dark pathways, several strange beasts silently prowled through the darkness.

They stood nearly ten feet tall, their bodies covered in thick armor resembling that of crocodiles.

Yet their legs were anything but normal.

Four long, spider-like legs extended from their bodies, allowing them to effortlessly crawl along both the ground and the towering walls.

And perhaps the most disturbing part—

They had no eyes. Not even empty sockets.

They were completely blind.

Instead, their oversized ears twitched constantly, sensing every faint sound that traveled through the maze.

At first glance, anyone encountering them for the first time would probably describe them in the simplest way possible—

A blind crocodile with spider legs.

And now, pathways, they themselves were enormous.

Most stretched roughly one hundred meters across, although some were far wider, reaching up to a full kilometer.

Yet one hundred meters was the narrowest a pathway could become.

There was no open sky above them, either.

The ceiling was sealed by the same dark material that formed the walls, completely enclosing each passage.

To reach another pathway, one had no choice but to travel through the connected routes of the maze.

The beasts continued moving forward, their movements surprisingly quiet despite their huge bodies.

They were clearly hunting.

Other creatures inhabited this place, and those creatures were their food.

As for where these beasts had originally come from...

That was something only the curious would have to uncover.

Fortunately for them, however, they wouldn’t need to travel very far for their next meal.

Because in the middle of the dark pathway—

Fwoosh!

A small blue light suddenly appeared.

Its glow spread through the darkness, illuminating the surrounding walls.

The beasts immediately stopped. Their ears twitched.

And although they possessed no eyes—

The blue light seemed to have awakened something within them.

"Food delivery system has arrived."

It wasn’t the first time they had seen something like this.

Over the past few years, many unfortunate beings had appeared through those blue lights and ended up becoming food for the creatures dwelling inside the maze.

So when the light appeared again, the five beasts didn’t seem surprised.

All five were Peak Blood Awakening beasts, equivalent to Peak D-Rank beings.

They exchanged glances.

Then, almost as though they had already decided who would take the first bite, they slowly moved toward the glowing blue light.

Their spider-like legs tapped against the ground as they surrounded their incoming meal.

Soon, the blue light flickered.

Flicker... flicker...

And a figure suddenly appeared within it.

Sadly, the person hadn’t even had the chance to properly look around.

"GRAAAH!"

When, all five beasts pounced at once.

They opened their jaws and lunged forward, eager to devour their meal before the others could take it.

Of course, after finishing their food, they would surely express their gratitude toward the unfortunate soul for generously offering himself to them.

But—

"Not a very nice welcome, I guess."

The calm voice instantly interrupted their charge.

The next moment—

SHING!

A brilliant golden sword light flashed outward in a perfect circular motion.

For an instant, everything became still.

Then—

Thud.

One head rolled across the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The remaining four heads followed.

All five Peak D-Rank beasts had been decapitated in an instant.

Their large bodies collapsed a moment later.

BAM!

They hit the ground heavily, lifeless.

They hadn’t even realized what had happened.

But the scene didn’t end there. Something even stranger happened.

The five corpses suddenly began sliding across the ground.

Then—

Whoosh!

All five bodies, along with their severed heads, were pulled toward the golden blade in the person’s hand.

The weapon was unlike any ordinary sword.

Its blade had been forged from pure cosmic energy.

The corpses were gradually swallowed into it.

One after another.

Until—

Nothing remained.

Every trace of the five beasts had been completely devoured by the sword.

Then, from the small circular mouth embedded in the hilt—positioned just above the handle and directly beneath the blade—

"Burp." The tiny mouth let out a satisfied burp.

It then slowly closed.

The strange mouth disappeared, leaving behind nothing more than what appeared to be an ordinary red-colored spherical object attached to the sword’s hilt.

"Huh?" The person stared at it in confusion.

He reached out and touched the red sphere again.

Nothing happened.

The mouth didn’t appear.

Instead—

Something else came.

[DING!]

[Congratulations, Luke!]

Paragon’s Judgment has successfully broken its first seal!

[SSS-Rank Growth Artifact]

[Output Limit Increased]

G-Rank → F-Rank

A portion of the sword’s sealed power has been released.

[Elemental Manifestation — Upgraded]

[Elemental Judgment — Upgraded]

[Affinity Synchronization — Upgraded]

New elemental power can now be manifested at F-Rank.

[New Ability detected, click here to see.]