Chapter 293 — Backing I

The arriving group consisted of two men, one woman, and a young girl.

Both men had silver hair and silver eyes - one older with stern features, the other younger with scholarly glasses. The woman had black hair and black eyes, her presence somehow making the air feel heavier.

The girl, clearly the youngest, had black hair and silver eyes. Her face was unnaturally pale, dark circles under her eyes suggesting someone who hadn’t slept properly. She stumbled slightly as the teleportation ended, her legs shaky.

"Ugh..."

Luna’s face went slightly green, her inexperience with teleportation combining with her already weakened state to make her nauseous.

The empathic overload from watching Damian’s disappearance into the portal more than a day ago had nearly sent her into a coma, thanks to her innate Empath skill. Even now, she barely recovered from the panic attack that had stopped her breathing, she could barely stand without support.

"I told you to brace properly," Lyandra’s voice was gentle as she supported her daughter, maternal instinct overriding the cold fury visible in her eyes.

They’d come as soon as the news broke. The moment they’d heard Damian had survived but was being detained, nothing could have stopped them from retrieving their son immediately.

Alaric’s silver eyes swept across the crowd, his bearing radiating controlled lethality that made people instinctively step back.

Sebastian adjusted his glasses, looking distinctly uncomfortable with the situation.

"I still think we should have called ahead–"

"No time," Alaric interrupted quietly. "My friends could have retrieved him through normal channels, but we’re not leaving our son in SFD custody for one more second than necessary."

Edrin, Zavier, and Ronan were staring at the new arrivals with confusion.

Then Zavier’s eyes widened with recognition, his mind connecting features he’d seen in the video that had been sent to him.

"That’s... Boss’s family," he said quietly to the others. "That woman and that older man - those are his parents."

Lyandra’s black eyes found Zavier immediately, identifying him from the Kestrel Family incident.

She walked toward them with Alaric at her side, Luna following despite still looking ill.

"You must be Zavier," Lyandra’s voice was calm but carried an undercurrent of steel. "Do you know where I can find my son?"

Edrin jumped in before anyone else could speak, his mind recognizing the danger these people represented.

"He’s inside! They haven’t released him yet! Something is wrong! That SFD officer Blackheart took him separately and we haven’t seen him since!"

Lyandra’s expression didn’t change, but something in her black eyes became absolutely cold.

Alaric’s hand moved to rest on his katana’s hilt, the casual gesture somehow making the temperature feel like it had dropped ten degrees.

"I see."

Just two words, spoken with perfect calm.

Then the four of them began walking toward the SFD headquarters’ main entrance with purpose that suggested nothing would stop them.

Elizabeth stepped forward immediately, her Seer abilities screaming warnings.

"Wait! You can’t just–"

Alaric snapped his fingers.

CRACK

And reality itself seemed to freeze!

A Domain erupted outward from Alaric’s position, expanding at impossible speed, covering the entire SFD headquarters, the plaza, the crowd and everything within a kilometer radius.

Everyone stopped moving.

They were not paralyzed or hypnotized - just physically unable to move because space itself had locked them in place.

Elizabeth was frozen mid-step, her hand extended, her purple eyes wide with shock at being caught in a Domain.

Adrian and the others, the entire crowd of hundreds of families and every SFD officer manning the barriers were frozen.

Inside the building, thousands of people going about their duties suddenly found themselves unable to move, locked in place by spatial manipulation so precise it didn’t even allow breathing.

Alaric’s voice carried across the frozen landscape with perfect clarity despite not being particularly loud.

"If my son is not released... then nobody leaves."

His silver eyes swept across the crowd, meeting frozen gazes with absolute certainty.

"Nobody leaves until I have what I came for."

Then the family of four walked through the crowd toward the SFD building’s entrance, passing between frozen bodies like ghosts moving through statues.

****

Every person caught in the Domain could still think, could still see and hear, but their bodies refused to obey commands.

’What the fuck is this?!’ a Noble father thought desperately, trying to move his hand and finding it completely locked in place. ’I can’t even breathe! Is this... is this a Domain?! Why is it so damn powerful?!’

Adrian’s mind was racing despite his frozen body.

’S rank Domain... no, this precision... this range... this might be one of the strongest Domains I have ever seen! Just who are these people?!’

Ronan’s thoughts were simpler but no less intense.

’Holy shit! Boss’s parents are MONSTERS! No wonder he’s so strong! This is... this is beyond anything I’ve seen!’

****

[Inside SFD Headquarters - Main Floor]

Officers and administrative staff were moving through hallways, processing paperwork, conducting their duties with professional efficiency.

Then everyone stopped.

ThudThudThud

The sounds of dropped objects echoed through suddenly silent hallways as thousands of people found themselves frozen mid-motion.

A B rank officer had been walking toward the elevator, his hand extended to press the button.

Now he stood completely still, sweat beginning to pour down his face as realization hit.

’Domain! We’re inside someone’s Domain!’

An A rank secretary at her desk tried desperately to activate defensive techniques, to move even a single finger.

But nothing worked.

Space itself was holding her in place with gentle but absolute authority.

’Who would dare attack SFD headquarters?! Who has the power to trap this many awakeners simultaneously?!’

****

Then four figures walked through the main entrance.

Alaric, Lyandra, Sebastian, and Luna moved through the frozen building with calm purpose, passing officers locked in place, their faces showing no emotion at the fear visible in frozen eyes.

Luna’s pale face had regained some color, but she still looked nauseous.

"Father... is this really okay? Trapping all these people..."

Sebastian sighed, adjusting his glasses with his free hand.

"Your mother and you were the ones who dragged us all here in such a rush. A simple phone call to Alaric’s friends would have been enough to extract him through proper channels."

Lyandra’s voice was soft but carried absolute conviction.

"Our son is being detained by people who’ve been targeting him for over a year. I’m not trusting ’proper channels’."

They moved deeper into the building, which led them toward where Damian was being held.