In the throne hall, a woman in black stood stubbornly. Her legs struggled to support her and her arms sagged as they grew heavier.

Every time she swung her sword, blood spilled out of her wounds and painted the stage red.

Her attacks were nullified with ease and a huge white claw reached her in the blink of an eye.

Enigma put up her sword and gave everything she got to defend herself.

Her mind powers pulled the giant wolf into an illusion. Her gravity powers repelled the white claw. And her dark powers created a barrier of darkness.

This was the best she could give.

Despite her heavy injuries and exhaustion, Enigma's attacks would've been enough to repel any normal peak level 7.

While her opponent wasn't a monster like Varian, he was definitely not normal.

"Experience the despair!"

A cold and rough voice filled with hatred and glee thundered in her ears.

Through the wall of darkness, Enigma saw a pair of green eyes, almost mistaking them for green flames.

Even though those eyes were shaking violently, they were brimming with clarity.

'HeHe broke the illusion too fast.' Enigma gritted her teeth.

Things only got worse.

Boom!

The white wolf's claw overcame the repulsion from gravity and slapped the wall of darkness.

At the same time, it opened its mouth and bit the wall with no fear.

'GravityDarkness.'

Enigma's eyes shook and she hurriedly built a dark cocoon around her to protect herself when

Kacha!

Her barriers struggled fiercely but only for a moment. Then, like bubbles popping, they broke down in an instant.

As the wolf's head inched closer and closer, Enigma felt a sense of frustration building inside her.

'Why?!'

Things were turning out fine. If that incident didn't happen, she would've tortured Charles to the point he'd have fainted six times by now.

But it happened. There were no warnings. No explanations.

Enigma was left feeling like a fool who was bullied by the ruins.

'I hate you. I don't want you to win. What you can do? Eh? What can you do?'

It seemed that not just the normal world, but even ruins hated her.

A wry smile hung up on her lips and Enigma's calm eyes saw the wolf head finally reach her.

In the final moment, she twisted her body and dodged what was a bite to crush her neck.

Boom!

Yet when the wolf head fiercely turned to the side and headbutted her, Enigma was sent flying.

The skin on her shoulder split apart and a deep cut in the shape of nails appeared in her flesh. Blood spurted from her black dress and dyed her upper body red.

"Hahaha! Didn't you look at me condescendingly a few minutes ago? Where did that attitude go?" An arrogant roar resounded and the stage shook violently as if someone kicked it.

With the sound of an explosion, the white wolf closed the distance between it and Enigma.

The dynamics of the fight indeed reversed from that moment.

The moment he drank that drop...

Once he drank that drop and reached peak level 7, Charles had a major boost in strength. With his injuries completely healed, he was at his strongest.

Yet, if Enigma faced that Charles when she first entered the prince's hall, she would've won.

Peak level 7 or high level 7, Charles still paled in front of Enigma.

But the game-changing factor had been the numerous battles Enigma fought until that point.

First, she fought with Dwane and his two teammates.

Then, she had to fight Nora, Curtis, and Jamiethe strongest level 7 geniuses. Shortly after, she had to take care of two level 8 geniuses.

Without any break, she had to fight the frenzied mob of level 7s and level 8s that tried to eliminate her.

After all that, she fought the remaining members of Charles' team and eliminated them.

There were too many battles with no time to recover.

So, despite her great strength, Enigma was severely strained, and significantly injured by the time she fought the reborn Charles.

Even then, she fought him for several minutes.

But in the end, that's it.

She couldn't hold it anymore.

'II can't even teleport from here.' Enigma bit her lip as she glanced at the white wolf opening its mouth to rip apart her torso.

"Ergh!" Forcibly twisting her body, Enigma stretched her sword against the wolf's mouth and poured all her mana into the weapon.

Whoosh!

The sword lit up and gave off a brilliant light.

Kacha!

It blocked most of Charles' bite. Enigma was able to withstand the rest on her own.

Still

Kacha!

Cracks spread on the blade and her sword turned into dust.

Enigma barely managed to land on her legs when the wolf reached for her neck once again.

Shuaa!

The wind was sliced through as the sharp teeth of the wolf grazed her fragile neck and a thin red line appeared on her skin.

The hair on her neck stood on its end and Enigma realized how close she was to death.

'Should I quit?'

The thought appeared in Enigma's mind abruptly.

Indeed, if she just said 'I quit', she'd be teleported out of this place and into the royal garden.

Her life would be safe.

But

Enigma looked at the silver throne and gritted her teeth.

Varian fell into the darkness and she didn't know where he was.

She thought he'd be safe with ghost ship. But he didn't appear even after an hour. She didn't want to assume the worst.

But even the best possible case meant he was in trouble. The only way to save him would be that prince's throne.

She didn't even know if it was possible. But she did know that it was the only chance she had.

That's why

'I must win.'

Enigma gritted her teeth and brandished another sword.

She was gambling her life to win a battle she had no way of winning.

Boom!

Enigma dodged the wolf's tail, but it ended up breaking two of her ribs.

"You are a monster to last this long."

Booom!

Enigma leaped to the side to avoid the two claws, but her tired body's speed delayed her speed.

Three deep cuts appeared on her back as Charles' nails dripped in blood.

"But even monsters have limits."

Boom!

Enigma wasn't able to dodge the clenched paw. Like she was hit by a hammer, Enigma's insides shook and she collapsed.

The giant white wolf loomed over her and raised its paw.

"This is your limit."

Whoosh!

Right as the claw swung down, a bright light filled the room.