Sylavn and the others’ figures continuously flashed as Ashley pushed her Space Law to its limits, moving toward the teleportation formation at a rapid speed.

A gloomy silence enveloped the group as Ashley strained to squeeze out every last drop of her Space Law power, trying to reach their destination even a second earlier.

"I still think I should have stayed behind instead of him," Sylavn suddenly said, a conflicted expression on his face as he struggled with the urge to turn back.

"Don’t cause any more trouble for him," Ashley stopped him in a grim voice.

"Since he decided to stay behind, he must have something in mind. If you go there, you will only ruin everything for him."

"But—"

"If you want to go back, then go ahead. But if something happens to him because of you, then I won’t forgive you," Ashley cut him off mid-sentence, her eyes slightly red.

Sylavn opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he closed it. Instead, he gently patted Ashley’s shoulder.

"It’s not your fault."

"Of course it is," Ashley shouted upon hearing his words. "If I had been a Rank Six Core Evolver, all of us could have escaped together. I have been at the peak of Rank Five for a long time. I could have broken through to Rank Six long ago, but I didn’t because I was afraid... afraid of failing the breakthrough and losing my life. If only I hadn’t been a coward and had broken through earlier, we wouldn’t be in this situation."

Sylavn remained silent after hearing her words.

Of course, he knew Ashley had been ready to break through to Rank Six for quite some time, yet she chose not to. He had never found anything strange about it because Ashley was still very young and didn’t need to rush her breakthrough until she was absolutely certain of success.

Even now, he knew it wasn’t her fault that they couldn’t escape. But in the current situation, he felt that no matter what he said, she would only continue to blame herself for not advancing.

’I just hope that guy really has something up his sleeves. Otherwise, if something happens to him, she will never be able to escape its shadow.’

Sylavn recalled his own state when he had learned that the Dryads were slaughtered by the Elves.

When the Dryads’ territory had been attacked, he had been away and only returned later. By the time he came back, many of his friends and all the family members were already dead.

Even though it hadn’t been his fault, even now, he still couldn’t forgive himself for not being there when they needed him the most.

’The pain of losing someone close is unbearable. I just hope she won’t have to go through it.’

Sylavn sighed and glanced back, hoping everything would turn out fine.

Just then, all three of them felt a terrifying aura erupt from behind.

Without stopping, they turned back and saw a massive dragon claw descending from the sky, carrying within it the shadow of an entire world.

Ashley and Sylavn’s expressions changed drastically upon seeing it, while Natasha’s face turned pale.

"It’s Eldraker," Sylavn said through gritted teeth. "That bastard isn’t holding back at all."

Seeing the shadow of a world contained within the attack, Sylavn immediately understood that Eldraker had used his full strength, aiming to kill Evan in a single decisive strike.

Although Ashley had already suspected it, hearing Sylavn confirm that Eldraker was going all out nearly caused her to lose control of her Law energy, almost teleporting them to the wrong location.

It wasn’t that Ashley was weak-willed or unable to remain calm in difficult situations.

It was simply that she had spent most of her life within the closed world of the Dryads. The only times she had gone out were to connect the teleportation network of the Dryads to different locations across Utopia.

Not just her, almost all Dryads lived the same way. Unlike Ashley, who had occasionally ventured outside, most of them had never left the safety of their world.

Because all of her friends and family lived within that protected realm, none of them had ever encountered truly life-threatening danger.

It was only after Evan arrived in the Dryads’ world that she began to venture out more frequently with others.

But even then, they had never faced a situation where someone’s life was genuinely at risk.

This was the first time she had seen someone close to her standing on the brink of death and the worst part was that she couldn’t do anything to help him.

All she could do was run away and hide within the safety of the Dryads’ world.

As both Sylavn and Ashley’s hearts churned with turmoil, the sky suddenly turned blood red. A massive crimson pupil opened high in the distance.

At the same time, an uncontrollable and terrifying aura erupted.

"This... it’s Evan’s skill," Sylavn said, a look of surprise flashing across his face as he recognized the Monarch’s Gaze and Evan’s aura.

BOOOOOOM!

A deafening collision echoed across the heavens as a catastrophic shockwave spread in all directions, tearing through the sky and earth alike.

Sylavn’s expression changed as he felt the power of the shockwave. Without hesitation, he used his Law energy to shield Ashley and Natasha, knowing that the force was enough to seriously injure even a Rank Five Core Evolver.

But the shockwave’s effect did not last long.

In the very next instant, a brilliant golden light filled with pure destructive power burst outward, engulfing everything in its path.

"Fu*k.."

Despite being a well-mannered elder, Sylavn couldn’t help but curse as he recognized the skill Evan had used.

’That bastard... is he planning to die alongside them? The last time he used this skill, his entire body was destroyed and he lost consciousness.’

A gloomy look flashed in Sylavn’s eyes as he watched the terrifying golden light surge toward them.

Soon, the three of them were swallowed by the destructive radiance. However, after traveling such a great distance, its power had weakened significantly, allowing Sylavn to resist it with his Law energy and protect them.

"He should be fine, right?" Ashley asked uncertainly as after sensing the overwhelming force of destruction, she was no longer sure whether Evan could survive.

Sylavn took a deep breath and was about to respond when, suddenly, the power of destruction began to recede.

A look of surprise flashed across his face, and his eyes regained some of their former luster.

’Only that guy can control this level of destructive power. Does this mean he is still alive?’

Just as Sylavn was debating whether to return and check on him, an overwhelming sense of terror unlike anything they had ever felt before suddenly engulfed all three of them.

Their faces turned pale as even their souls trembled.

"Wh-what is that thing?" Natasha shouted with a look of horror on her face.

Following the direction she pointed, Sylavn and Ashley turned their heads and through the hazy golden light that was slowly fading, they saw it.

A massive monster!

A being that seemed born solely to bring endless terror upon all living creatures... slowly rising from within the fading golden radiance.