The once intact wall exploded, leaving a hole over two meters wide, sending stone fragments and smoke flying everywhere.
Without slowing down, Alex plunged through the hole, heading straight for the bed.
Inside the room, a beautiful girl of about twenty lay in a loose nightgown.
She woke with a start, her eyes wide with terror as she saw the man rushing toward her, Alex.
Despite her innocent appearance, Alex hesitated for no moment.
After days of surveillance, he knew she was the spear "Phoenix" from the club.
Without holding back, he swung the longsword, crackling with lightning, and slashed fiercely at her.
Andre and the others who had been following closely rushed into the bedroom, but they were momentarily stunned when they saw the true face of Phoenix.
This young woman, who looked barely twenty, was supposed to be the legendary Phoenix?
The local German wizards, Andre, Edmund, and Allen, all shared the same disbelief.
They were familiar with the silver wand and had known the name Phoenix for over ten years.
Logically, she couldn't possibly be this young.
Seeing her youthful appearance made them question if they had mistaken her identity or if Alex's information was wrong.
Edmund even wanted to stop Alex, but Alex, who had already moved forward, didn't hesitate or waste time.
He drew his sword and slashed fiercely.
Blue and silver electric sparks crackled along the blade as Alex's strike hit the wooden bed with a powerful blow.
The sword's special ability, [Thundris Tempest], unleashed a bolt of lightning from above, adding a second wave of damage.
With a loud crash, the combined force shattered the elegant bed beneath Phoenix into pieces, sending splinters flying amid a cloud of dust and smoke.
Yet Alex's face remained dark and grim, his attack hadn't succeeded as he'd hoped.
Despite his speed, he was still just a step too slow to finish the job in one strike.
Meanwhile, Phoenix, who had just woken up and initially appeared stunned, quickly recovered when Alex's sword came down.
A black gemstone necklace on her chest suddenly glowed with a blinding magical light just before the attack landed, then exploded.
Instantly, her body seemed to dissolve into a dark liquid cloud, transforming into countless wisps of black smoke that drifted away in a flash, leaving Alex's deadly strike slicing through empty air.
The life-saving charms Phoenix had used in that critical moment
It didn't seem to last very long.
Just a few meters away, a plume of black smoke surged again, and Phoenix rolled and crawled out of it.
Now, Phoenix stood there wearing a black silk, hollowed-out nightgown that revealed her delicate, translucent skin.
Her bare feet and legs were clearly visible.
But despite her elegant appearance, Phoenix's face was flushed with embarrassment; her once-smooth skin was smudged with dirt, and her black hair fell messily around her face.
She didn't look like the leader of any criminal organization; she appeared more like an innocent girl who had been bullied.
Phoenix glanced at the crowd that had just broken in, her expression darkening.
Among them, she recognized Andre, the director of the Department of Legal Enforcement, and Edmond, the head of the Schmidt family, leading the group.
She didn't know the young man who had attacked, but the intense magical energy radiating from him told her he was not someone to be taken lightly.
Seeing all these people clearly made Phoenix's heart skip a beat; she silently wondered if these were the main forces behind the recent attacks on the club.
If they had come here to kill them, it was likely they were targeting her specifically.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Phoenix tried to apparate away immediately.
But despite her efforts, she couldn't teleport at all.
Her face darkened with frustration; these attackers had clearly come prepared.
While quickly calculating her options, she forced her expression to look innocent and frightened.
"Who are you all, and why did you suddenly break into my house?" she asked, maintaining a calm tone.
Edmond, standing beside her, looked at the delicate girl with a conflicted expression.
He wasn't yet sure if she was Phoenix, the target wizard of the club, but if she truly was innocent, her narrow escape from Alex's attack just moments ago suggested she was no ordinary witch.
Unlike Edmond's hesitation, Alex sneered, raised his sword, and prepared to charge forward.
"Phoenix, your time is up. You can either surrender today or confess right here and now!" he taunted.
"Why waste words on her?" someone growled nearby, impatient to end things quickly.
"I'll go first! Avada Kedavra!"
Moody moved swiftly and mercilessly from the side.
Duin trusted Alex, saying she was a phoenix, so she must be.
'What a bunch of lunatics!'
Phoenix couldn't help but curse inwardly.
How could these people be so certain about her identity?
Judging by her current appearance, no matter how you looked at it, she seemed like a woman from a respectable family.
But right then, Alex charged at her, and the ugly wizard next to him went mad, casting a killing curse.
Reasoning with these people was clearly impossible.
As the situation became clear, Phoenix's heart wavered, then her expression shifted from innocent and terrified to fiercely determined.
"If that's the case, then all of you will die by my hand!" she declared.
"Anima Dirge! Ha!"
In an instant, Phoenix's demeanor changed.
She waved her hand and pulled a wooden cabinet from the side to block Moody's killing curse.
Then, opening her mouth, she let out a loud, piercing scream, an abnormal, ear-splitting sound that exploded like a sonic bomb centered on her.
The intense waves shattered all the glass and ceramic in the room, and the sharp sound left everyone around dizzy for a moment.
Even Alex, who quickly activated the Silent Amulet, was slowed down.
Though the sonic boom didn't affect him, the magic Phoenix unleashed was more than just loud noise; it had a powerful outward force.
But Phoenix's Anima Dirge was far from over.
Suddenly, an incredible surge of magical energy burst from her body.
Red and black magical lines appeared on her skin like glowing tattoos.
After flickering for a moment, it was clear she had gathered all her strength.
Spreading her hands outward, the red and black lines blazed brightly.
Then, several clusters of magic, wrapped in thick black smoke and centered on Phoenix, spread outwards like an exploding black firework, with Phoenix at the very center.
After releasing those washbasin-sized magic clusters, they swirled and surged toward the trapped crowd as if alive, accompanied by the eerie wails of evil spirits drifting through the black smoke.
If you looked closely, you could make out a pair of grotesque human faces forming within each smoky cluster.
Casting such a large-scale spell clearly took a toll on Phoenix; she looked drained but still managed to steady herself and stomp fiercely on the ground.
Instantly, the floor began to corrode like acid eating through it, melting a large hole beneath her, and Phoenix fell down to the second floor.
The sudden flare of power from Phoenix was complicated to fully grasp, but the entire sequence happened in a flash.
To Alex and the others, it seemed she just shouted and kicked, then vanished from view amid the chaos.
"No, hurry!