Ancient temple

"Rrrrrgghh!!"

Bloody veins popped up in Ella's eyes, and her body spasmed. Her head throbbed in pain and she felt faint, about to lose her consciousness when she heard Max's voice.

"…I… can't… pl…ease… help…" She said through gritted teeth, trying not to blank out but the prospect of fainting so she wouldn't feel pain was too alluring to her right now, so she slowly closed her eyes, a wave of fatigue washing over her mind and body.

Just then, inside her body… near her heart…

The 'showdown' between Max's bloodline energy and the dark pattern came to an end. His bloodline energy had dispersed while the dark pattern flickered faintly, clearly weakened. It then merged back into her heart.

As soon as the dark pattern calmed down, the excruciating pain Ella was feeling vanished. As the wave of relief washed over her, she felt utterly drained and fainted.

Phew!