Chapter 1786: Her Three Moves!
Chapter 1786: Her Three Moves!
Black flames suddenly erupted from his shoulder, wrapping around the cursed eye without burning it. At the same time, seven-colored lightning flickered once around his body, and the golden-black dragon scales released a deep draconic pressure.
The shadow trying to touch the curse mark began twisting violently, as if the Witch’s curse itself refused Morgana’s control. Before Morgana could react, Max lifted his left hand and crushed the frozen shadow with raw physical pressure.
Then Dragonheart moved again.
This time, Max slashed seven times.
Each slash was short, accurate, and merciless.
The first shadow was severed at the neck.
The second was split from shoulder to waist.
The third was pierced through the forehead.
The fourth had its violet eyes cut apart.
The fifth was cut through the knees.
The sixth was divided at the core where its curse threads gathered.
The seventh, the one that had tried to touch the Witch’s mark, was cut last. Max’s blade passed through it silently, and the shadow broke apart into red-black sparks and violet dust.
The Mirror Curse of the Seven Dead Shadows collapsed.
The blackened ground returned to normal.
The starry circle above Max shattered.
Morgana’s face finally changed.
This time, she could not hide it.
Max had not merely defended against the curse. He had broken every part of it and even used the strange resistance of the Witch’s own mark to ruin her attempt to control it. The very curse she had wanted to exploit had refused to become her tool.
Max looked at her calmly.
"Third move."
The words were simple, but they struck Morgana’s pride like a slap.
The witch from Stellar Templar clenched her fingers.
Her purple eyes became icy, and the playful cruelty on her face disappeared completely. The first move had been cut. The second had failed. She had one move left, and everyone was watching.
Rosaline, Kaiden, Orion, Selene’s remaining faction members, Caroline’s group, and even the second faction elves who hated Max were all waiting to see whether Morgana Starveil, one of Stellar Templar’s strongest geniuses, could do anything to him after being given three prepared moves.
Morgana took a slow breath.
Then she bit her finger.
A drop of purple-red blood appeared.
The moment that blood fell into the air, the sky above the Witch God Tree darkened. Stars appeared in the daytime gloom, one after another, forming a vast constellation shaped like a closed eye. The air became cold.
The giant roots beneath the battlefield trembled. The cursed remnants of Witch God Valley stirred in the distance, and countless invisible threads gathered around Max, connecting to his footprints, his breath, his sword aura, the lightning traces left from his battle with Selene, and the tiny fragments of power that had spread from his dragon scales.
Morgana’s voice became low and dangerous.
"Stellar Witchcraft, Star-Coffin Curse of the Nameless Witch."
A coffin made of starlight and curse runes formed around Max.
It did not close from the outside.
It formed directly around him, using the traces he had left in the battlefield as anchors. Violet chains wrapped around the coffin, and ancient witch symbols appeared across its surface.
The moment it manifested, Max felt a force trying to bury his body, seal his energy, silence his soul, and erase his name from the battlefield. It was not a simple damaging technique. It was a burial curse, one meant to trap the target between star fate and witchcraft until their existence weakened enough to be killed.
Morgana’s face was pale after using it, but her eyes were filled with cold confidence.
"This is my third move," she said. "Let me see you walk out of this unscathed."
The Star-Coffin Curse closed.
Boom!
Violet starlight surged like a tide.
The coffin swallowed Max completely.
For several breaths, no one could see him. Only the giant coffin stood in the middle of the battlefield, covered in countless curse runes. The pressure it released made even the second faction elves retreat. Caroline’s face became pale, Jessica looked terrified, and Nancy’s eyes were filled with concern.
Even Rosaline, Kaiden, and Orion looked serious because this was clearly no ordinary witchcraft. Morgana had used blood as a price, the battlefield traces as anchors, and the lingering cursed aura of the Witch God Tree as support.
This was exactly why witches were feared.
When they attacked first with preparation, they were the deadliest.
The coffin trembled once.
Then again.
Morgana smiled faintly despite her pale face.
But the smile lasted only a moment.
A crack appeared on the coffin.
Then another.
A thin sword light leaked out from within, not bright, not violent, but quiet enough to make everyone’s heart turn cold. The crack widened. The violet chains broke one after another. The curse runes on the coffin started vanishing, not because they were being destroyed by brute force, but because the connection holding them together was being severed from within.
Morgana’s pupils shrank.
"No..."
The coffin split open.
Max walked out.
He was completely unscathed.
His golden-black dragon scales remained flawless. His aura had not weakened. His eyes were calm, and Dragonheart rested in his hand with faint traces of Emotion Severing Path lingering along its edge. The Star-Coffin Curse collapsed behind him, breaking into starlight and dust that scattered into the air like the remains of a failed funeral.
The entire battlefield went silent.
Rosaline stared at Max with clear shock.
Kaiden’s expression finally changed slightly.
Orion’s grin slowly returned, but now it carried genuine amazement.
Seraphine and Fin looked as if they had seen a nightmare.
Caroline exhaled shakily, relief flooding her face.
Jessica stared at Max with wide eyes.
Nancy whispered, "He came out... without even a scratch."
Everyone understood what that meant.
Morgana had not been ambushed. She had not been rushed. She had not been forced to defend. Max had given her three moves, and she had used three of her strongest prepared witchcraft techniques.
For a witch of Stellar Templar, that should have been the most dangerous situation for any opponent. When a witch attacked first with preparation, even stronger enemies could die without touching her.
Yet Max had defended against all three.
He had walked out unscathed.
Max stopped several steps away from Morgana and looked at her calmly.
"Three moves are over."
Morgana’s face turned pale.
The violet charms around her trembled faintly, and for the first time, true fear flickered in her eyes.
Max raised Dragonheart.
His voice remained calm.
"Now it is my turn."
Morgana’s face turned pale the moment Max raised Dragonheart.
The confidence she had displayed earlier, the mocking arrogance she had used when she sneered about the rules of the battle royale, and the cruel amusement that had filled her eyes when she bound Max with the roots of the Witch God Tree were all gone now. She had used three of her strongest witchcraft moves with preparation, and each one had failed.
Worse than that, Max had not merely survived them. He had walked out without a single injury, as if her curses, fate needles, shadow mirrors, and star coffin had been nothing more than interesting tricks placed before his sword.
Now it was his turn.