Draven stood before the massive barrier enclosing Ashan's domain, his brows knitted tightly as he studied its surface.
It didn't shimmer.
It didn't pulse.
It didn't respond.
It simply existed.
'What… is this thing?' he thought grimly. 'A barrier?'
The surface looked smooth and opaque, like frozen space itself, swallowing all light that touched it. No ripples appeared when the mist brushed against it.
No feedback. No resistance.
Just silence.
'Why did he cast this all of a sudden?' Draven wondered. 'And why now?'
His gaze shifted toward the lingering yellow mist that still clung to the hall, creeping low along the floor like a living thing.
'I can't stay here,' he decided. 'I need to observe what's happening inside.'
Raising his wand, Draven pointed it straight upward.
[Spiral Gale]
Mana surged as a powerful whirlwind formed overhead, spinning violently. The air pressure dropped instantly, and the remaining toxic mist was ripped from the hall, sucked upward and compressed into the vortex like smoke into a vacuum.
The floor cleared.
Draven stepped forward and carefully formed a small opening in the barrier, just enough for a human body to pass through.
He moved out.
Eirena and Sisiliya followed closely behind, both of them instinctively tense.
The moment they stood fully outside, the sheer scale of the barrier struck them.
"It's… enormous," Sisiliya whispered.
The structure towered over them like a sealed world, stretching across most of the hall. Even standing close, its edges disappeared into the surroundings.
"And it's non-transparent," Eirena added quietly. "We can't see anything inside."
Sisiliya narrowed her eyes.
"I don't like this," she said slowly. "This feels deliberate."
She turned toward Draven.
"Do you think he's hiding something from us?"
Draven didn't answer immediately. He reached out and placed his right hand against the barrier.
The moment his palm touched it, his expression changed completely.
Shock flashed across his face.
"This… can't be right," he muttered.
Sisiliya frowned and stepped closer. "What is it?"
"I can't feel mana," Draven said quietly, disbelief seeping into his voice. "Not even a trace."
He pressed harder.
"This barrier isn't made of mana at all."
Sisiliya's eyes widened. She placed her hand against it as well.
Her senses searched instinctively: mana flow, spell structure, elemental residue.
Nothing.
'He's telling the truth,' she realized. 'There's no mana here.'
Her heart sank slightly.
'Then what in the world is this thing made of?'
The barrier felt solid. Dense.
'What's happening inside…?'
…
Inside the domain..
The endless ocean churned violently as the guardian monster struggled.
The magma centipede's movements slowed noticeably. The once-fluid magma layer coating its body had partially solidified, forming jagged black crusts that weighed it down like shackles.
Its massive body sank deeper into the water.
Ashan crouched at the edge of the small island, resting one arm on his knee as he looked down at the struggling monster with open mockery.
"Are you really this dumb?" he asked calmly. "Can't you tell what's happening to you?"
The monster thrashed, bubbles erupting from its mouth as it attempted to stabilize itself.
"You're drowning because that layer of yours is weighing you down," Ashan continued. "Just shed it and come at me already."
The centipede let out a low, furious hiss.
Cracks began to spread across its solidified magma armor.
One by one, the hardened layers shattered and peeled away, sinking into the depths like broken stone. Freed from the excess weight, the monster regained its balance, floating more evenly in the water.
Its burning red eyes locked onto Ashan.
The next instant, its massive body twisted, and it dove.
It vanished beneath the surface, the water rippling violently in its wake as it shot toward the island.
Ashan smiled faintly.
"So impatient," he said. "I haven't even started yet."
Crash!
The ocean exploded upward.
From the depths, a gigantic white isopode shikigami erupted, its armored body gleaming under the dim domain light. Its mandibles snapped shut with terrifying force as it caught the centipede from below.
Crunch.
A huge section of the monster's lower body was clamped inside the isopode's jaws.
Purple blood gushed into the water, spreading like ink.
KEEEKK…!
The centipede screamed, the sound echoing endlessly through the domain.
It writhed violently, thrashing its body to escape. But before it could, the isopode tightened its grip, crushing deeper.
Then, something unsettling happened.
The wound began to close.
The torn flesh knit itself together at an unnatural speed. The bleeding stopped entirely.
Ashan's eyes gleamed.
"Oh?" he murmured. "So you can heal."
He straightened slightly.
"Good. Let's see which beast devours the other."
The centipede roared and twisted its body with explosive force, slamming its armored back into the isopode.
BOOM..
The shikigami was sent flying, skipping across the ocean's surface like a thrown stone before crashing back into the depths.
The guardian monster rose higher, its long body coiling as its countless legs churned the water into violent waves. Each movement radiated raw physical power.
The water trembled.
From below, the isopode surged back upward.
It shook its massive body, water cascading from its shell. Its claws dug into the ocean floor as it charged again.
The centipede struck first.
Its body coiled tightly and whipped forward, its tail slamming into the isopode's shell with devastating force.
The impact sounded like two mountains colliding.
Water exploded outward in towering walls of foam.
The isopode retaliated instantly.
Its massive forelegs clamped onto the centipede's midsection. Cursed energy hummed loudly as its claws sank deep, cracking the outer shell and tearing into flesh.
The centipede shrieked again and twisted violently, slamming its body against the shikigami again and again.
Each blow landed like thunder. Cracks spread across the isopode's white shell.
Ashan watched calmly from the island, arms crossed.
'It can sense my water shikigami,' he observed. 'And physically, it's slightly superior.'
He tilted his head.
'But that only matters when it's one-on-one.'
The ocean suddenly surged. Two more massive shapes emerged from the depths.
Two additional isopode shikigami rose, their white armored bodies glistening as they surrounded the centipede from both sides.
The monster froze for half a second. Then panic rippled through its movements.
All three isopodes attacked simultaneously.
They clamped down on different parts of its body, ripping into its outer shell, tearing away flesh in massive chunks. Purple blood flooded the water, staining the domain sea.
The centipede thrashed wildly.
It breathed fire, useless beneath the ocean.
It released toxic mist, instantly diluted.
It vomited acid, but the thick shells of the isopodes resisted it entirely.
Its movements slowed, body weakened.
Ashan's robe fluttered slightly in the distorted currents as he stepped forward.
'This is its limit,' he concluded. 'Time to end it.'
At his will, the isopodes dissolved into cursed energy and vanished.
Ashan stepped onto the ocean surface and began walking forward, then running.
The centipede, covered in wounds, parts of its body missing, outer armor shattered, vomited thick purple blood as it lifted itself weakly.
Ashan stopped right before it.
"You fought well," he said calmly. "It's unfortunate."
The monster roared one last time and lunged, pouring everything it had into a final attack.
Ashan raised his hand.
[Dismantle]
There was no flash. No explosion.
Just silence.
The monster's head split cleanly in half.
Its massive body collapsed, floating lifelessly in the ocean as invisible slashes continued, cutting it apart into dozens of clean sections.
Ashan exhaled slowly.
"I could've done this from the start," he admitted quietly. "But relying on one trump card gets boring."
He turned away.
"Domain: release."
…
Outside..
The opaque barrier vanished in an instant. Everyone stumbled back instinctively.
Chunks of the monster's corpse fell into the magma pond and dissolved instantly.
Ashan stood calmly, holding the severed head before tossing it aside.
Silence consumed the hall.
"What… just happened?"
"He did all that… alone?"
Eirena gripped her sword tightly, her hands trembling.
"You did that by yourself?" she asked, disbelief heavy in her voice.
Sisiliya stepped closer, staring at Ashan as if seeing him for the first time.
Ashan nodded.
"The core's in the head," he said simply. "Take it if you want. But be quick."
Draven walked forward slowly and knelt beside the head.
He touched the cut surface.
His breath caught.
'So smooth,' he thought. 'One slash. No cracks. No resistance.'
His eyes widened.
'That cut… exceeded the speed of sound.'