Selene followed my gesture.

Through the broken sections of the warehouse roof, the cloudy sky was visible.

"This and Lars' personal worlds are the only ones with a visible sky.

"That means the Deputy Director is either here or in Lars' personal world. We'll have to check both."

Selene's expression tightened.

She looked shocked at first, but then she nodded slowly.

She understood what it meant.

We were going after the one controlling the entire experiment.

"Is he really there? In the sky? I can't see anything," she said as we walked out of the warehouse.

"You know how domains work. Appearances can be deceiving," I replied.

Her jaw set.

"Then let's go and kill the Deputy Director."

We left the warehouse together.

I glanced up again, using my Hollow Eyes to look beyond the surface of the world.

But all I saw was a normal sky.

That meant one of two things.

Either the Deputy Director wasn't there, or he was using a mental attack to block my perception.

'Yuna, can you see anything in the sky?' I asked in my mind.

"I can't, Lord of Shadows.

"While any mental attack this cursed Spirit uses won't affect me, the Deputy Director could still be hiding if the sky itself is fake.

"My eyes can see multiple dimensions, but not hidden things like yours.

"That's why I could see personal worlds, but not invisible ones," she said.

Selene's voice pulled me out of the link. "How are we going up there? Your portals?"

"I can't use portals for that kind of distance right now. Firstly, because of this—"

I raised my finger slightly.

A thread shimmered in the air.

Selene looked only at my finger, just as I'd told her earlier not to look where the thread came from.

"If I use portals, I'd have to keep them open the entire time.

"If I close them after passing through, it would cut the thread.

"And secondly, I'm using almost all my mana and focus to keep the Security Guard Cursed Spirit chained down.

"If my concentration slips even a little, it could break free and attack Mira," I explained.

Selene nodded seriously. "Alright. Then hold on to me tightly. I'll fly us up."

"You can fly?" I asked, surprised.

"Not normally," she said, glancing back at her wings. "But with these, if I use my wind magic to help, I can manage."

I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around her waist according to her instructions.

Her body was soft, which was expected since she was a mage and not a warrior.

"You don't have a smell. Ah— I didn't mean that in a bad way. It's just… strange. Every person has their own scent, even a faint one. But with you, I can only smell blood."

"…I like to stay clean," I said simply.

As a Rank 2 Wind Mage, her sense of smell would be sharper than most.

I had forgotten about that.

Erasing my body scent was something I had done out of habit, a leftover from years as an assassin.

'It's not a big deal here. But I should remember to have a natural scent next time, at least while I'm using Alan Veritus's identity,' I thought.

"I'm going up now. Hold on tight. Tell me if you feel like you're going to fall," Selene said.

"Got it."

Her wings spread wide, feathers glowing faintly.

The air around us started to move in small whirlwinds.

She flapped once, hard.

We lifted off the ground.

The wind pressed against my face, cold and sharp.

The warehouse and city below grew smaller as she climbed higher, using both her wings and a spell that boosted her flight.

I tightened my grip on her waist to keep from slipping as the air currents grew rough.

"Lord of Shadows, I can sense distortions in the sky! It's fake! The Deputy Director is above!" Yuna exclaimed.

I nodded, focusing ahead.

The wind roared past, but I forced myself to stay calm.

My breathing slowed.

My thoughts became still.

This was it.

The final battle that would decide everything.

As we rose through the cold air, I called out to Selene, "Be careful! The Deputy Director shouldn't be that strong since fighting is Security Guard Cursed Spirit's job, but he must have something hidden up his sleeve!"

"I'll keep that in mind!" she shouted back, her voice half-drowned by the wind.

We climbed higher and higher.

Then, suddenly, it felt like we hit something invisible.

There was a strange sensation, like pushing through wet paper or thin fabric.

A faint tearing sound echoed around us.

The sky in front of us rippled, then broke.

Our surroundings changed in an instant.

We were no longer in the air.

We appeared inside a massive hall.

The ceiling was layered with twisting tunnels that stretched in every direction.

Countless screens covered the walls, showing scenes of every personal world, every experiment chamber, and even parts of the city below.

The air was silent.

Before I could react, Selene lost balance.

I felt my grip slip.

Then I fell.

I hit the ground hard but rolled immediately to lessen the impact.

The floor was pitch-black, like glass.

A faint shimmer ran across its surface.

Nearby, there was a wide hole in the floor.

Through it, I could see the city far below.

I stood up and glanced around.

"Looks like the floor acts like a massive camera. He's been watching everything from here."

Rows of monitors blinked and flickered, showing live footage from the personal worlds, lab, and intersection of dimensions.

It felt like standing in the heart of the control system.

But something was off.

There was no sound.

No wind.

No heartbeat other than my own.

I looked around again, scanning the dark hall.

Yuna was gone.

Selene was gone too.

I froze.

That was impossible.

Selene had been right beside me a second ago.

Yuna's voice had been echoing in my head.

There was no way both could vanish without a trace.

My hand clenched.

"I'm under a mental attack," I muttered quietly.

That was the only explanation.

Selene could have been separated, but Yuna disappearing meant something was tampering with my perception.

The Deputy Director had to be here, twisting what I saw and heard.

The air shimmered faintly, like heatwaves on asphalt.

I steadied my breathing and raised my guard.

My Hollow Eyes glowed faintly, trying to pierce the illusion.

But the world stayed still.

Black floor. Silent hall.

The hum of the monitors filled the emptiness around me.

"Come out. I know you're watching," I said quietly, scanning the shadows.

At that moment, I saw something move.

A butterfly.

It looked ordinary. Just a small, delicate thing fluttering in the air.

But my instincts screamed otherwise.

'That's the Deputy Director.'

Without a second thought, I raised my hand and created three magic bullets.

They spun rapidly as I wrapped them with telekinesis, turning them into piercing magic bullets.

I fired.

The butterfly darted through the air, dodging with sharp, unnatural movements.

I curved the bullets mid-flight with telekinesis, making them chase it.

It countered by sending out thin wind slashes.

The attacks sliced through the air, slowing down my bullets but not stopping them completely.

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