Chapter 317 — Danger
7 min read ·
One moment there was solid structure. The next, there was nothing but pulverized material and supersonic death screaming through the air.
Davies’s body simply ceased to exist, obliterated so completely that nothing remained but red mist. His wife suffered the same fate, her existence ending before pain could register.
Blood and viscera sprayed across Damian and Brian.
Brian’s instincts screamed.
’DANGER!’
His hands moved before conscious thought.
SNAP
A massive sphere erupted around them, the physical domain manifesting in an instant. The barrier stretched fifty meters in diameter, encompassing what remained of the house.
BOOOOOOM
The first bullet hit the domain.
The impact created a shockwave that made the air itself scream. The barrier rippled violently, visible cracks spreading from the impact point.
BOOOOOOM
BOOOOOOM
Two more bullets slammed into the domain from different angles.
The entire construct shook, the sound like thunder contained in a bottle. Brian’s face went pale as he poured more Aura into reinforcing the barrier, his reserves draining fast.
’What the fuck is hitting us?!’
"Macro Vision!"
Damian’s vision exploded outward, expanding in all directions simultaneously.
And the world became crystal clear.
Four hundred meters away, three figures stood on different rooftops. Professional stances, bodies perfectly balanced despite weapons that should break normal shoulders with recoil.
Dense Aura radiated from each one.
’A rank... All of them.’
But one of them...
’Fuck.’
The center sniper’s Aura was different. It was denser and more refined. The strongest A rank presence Damian had ever felt outside the academy professors.
And their rifles were glowing.
They were not normal weapons. Special construction, designed to channel massive amounts of Aura. Each barrel was surrounded by visible energy as the snipers poured power into them.
They were charging.
"Brian! They’re A rank snipers! Four hundred meters out! Get ready!"
Brian’s jaw clenched, sweat already pouring down his face as he maintained the domain against the assault.
The snipers finished charging.
BOOOOOOOOM
The first bullet hit with enough force to crack reality itself.
The domain didn’t just ripple this time. It fractured, massive cracks spider-webbing across the entire surface like broken glass.
Brian gasped, blood dripping from his nose as the feedback hit him.
"I can’t... hold this... much longer!"
BOOOOOOOOM
The second bullet hit from a different angle.
And the domain shattered.
Pieces of Aura exploded outward before dissolving into nothing, Brian’s Domain construct completely obliterated.
BOOOOOOOOM
The third bullet was already in flight, curving mid-air with telekinetic guidance.
Tracking directly toward Damian’s head.
"Obsidian Hide!"
Damian’s Aura responded, viscous black substance erupting from his pores. It spread across his skin with desperate speed, forming jagged armor across his body.
But he was not fast enough to dodge.
BOOOOOOOOM
The bullet hit him square in the chest at supersonic speed.
The impact was beyond anything he’d experienced. The Obsidian Hide exploded, massive chunks of black armor flying in all directions as the round punched through and kept going.
Damian flew backward, his body ragdolling through the air. He crashed through what remained of the house’s back wall, tumbled across the yard, and slammed into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk.
CRACK
He dropped to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth.
His self-healing skill activated immediately, warmth spreading through the damage as the skill worked to repair the internal damage. But it wasn’t active at its highest possible effect due to his Aura control being debuffed.
The Obsidian Hide reformed simultaneously, liquid obsidian seeping from his pores to replace the destroyed sections.
’Get up... Get the fuck UP!’
BOOOOMBOOOOMBOOOOM
Bullets rained down, each one carrying enough Aura to level buildings.
They tore through the house, through the yard, through neighboring structures as walls exploded, roofs collapsed and fire erupted where Aura-enhanced rounds ignited gas lines.
Brian appeared beside Damian in a blur, his hand reaching into his spatial storage.
Two handguns materialized. He tossed one to Damian even as he grabbed him with his other arm.
"Can you shoot?!"
"Yeah!"
Damian caught the weapon, his healing still working to repair internal damage.
Brian’s legs flooded with Aura.
BOOM
They moved, Brian’s A+ rank speed making the world blur.
BOOOOM
A bullet carved through the space they’d just occupied, obliterating a car behind them.
Damian twisted in Brian’s grip, raising his weapon toward the distant snipers.
’Convergence shot!’
"Omega Point!"
His Will compressed into a seed, embedding itself into the bullet. His Aura followed that intent, condensing around the round with gravitational pull.
BANG
Crimson Aura exploded from the barrel.
The bullet streaked forward, his intent commanding it to harvest ambient Aura from the environment as it traveled.
For the first hundred meters, it worked. The round pulled in energy from the air, growing stronger.
Then his intent wavered.
The mental strain, the damaged Will stat, the pain from his injuries, it all crashed down on his concentration.
And the convergence collapsed.
The bullet continued forward on momentum alone, no longer gathering power, just a regular Aura-enhanced shot.
It slammed into the rooftop where one sniper had been.
CRACK
The impact cratered concrete, but the sniper had already relocated, his enhanced perception tracking the incoming fire with ease.
’Fuck! I can’t maintain the convergence!’
BOOOOM
Return fire came instantly, three rounds curving through the air with expert telekinetic control.
Brian sensed the incoming death and shifted direction mid-stride.
BOOOOM
The first bullet missed by meters, destroying a street light.
BOOOOM
The second curved to follow them, tracking their new position.
Damian raised his weapon again.
BANG
His bullet intercepted the incoming round.
KABOOOOOOOM
The collision created an explosion so massive it shattered every window in a hundred-meter radius.
The shockwave alone knocked cars sideways. A nearby building lost its entire front wall, the structure groaning before it began collapsing in on itself.
Civilians who’d been sleeping, woke up in terror finally and ran, screaming as their neighborhood transformed into a warzone.
BOOOOM
The third bullet was still coming, bending around the explosion with impossible precision.
Brian threw himself sideways.
The round missed Damian’s head by inches, tearing through Brian’s shoulder instead.
Blood sprayed.
Brian grunted but didn’t slow down, his A rank vitality already working to seal the wound even as he ran.
Damian tried again.
BANGBANG
His Convergence Shots started strong, pulling in ambient Aura for the first moments of flight.
Then his focus cracked under the strain, the intent dissolving, the bullets becoming normal shots.
One of the snipers raised his hand, telekinetic force flowing outward.
Damian’s bullets simply stopped mid-air, held in invisible grip.
Then they were deflected, sent spinning harmlessly into empty space.
’They’re too fucking good... I can’t hit them at this range with my control and will this fucked.’
BOOOOMBOOOOMBOOOOM
More rounds came, a coordinated barrage from all three snipers.
High, low, center... All curving with telekinetic guidance to cut off escape routes.
Damian made a split-second decision.
’I can’t kill them... But I can keep us alive.’
He focused on the incoming bullets instead of the distant targets.
BANG
Perfect timing.
KABOOOOOOOM
His bullet met one of the enemy rounds head-on.
The explosion was apocalyptic. An entire intersection simply ceased to exist, replaced by a crater and flying debris.
Cars flipped through the air, street lights torn from the ground and buildings losing walls and structural integrity.
BANG
Another interception.
KABOOOOOOOM
The blast wave sent Brian tumbling, his grip on Damian never loosening despite being thrown like a ragdoll.
They hit the ground hard, rolled and came up running.
But Brian’s speed was flagging, his Aura reserves nearly empty from constant enhancement.
BOOOOM
A round punched through his left leg.
Brian stumbled, blood spraying, but forced himself to keep moving.
BOOOOM
Another caught his side, tearing through his ribs as more blood was spilled.
BOOOOM
His shoulder exploded as a third bullet found its mark.
Brian’s body was being systematically destroyed, holes appearing faster than his A rank vitality could seal them.
Damian fired desperately, intercepting what he could.
BANG
KABOOOOOOOM
But there were too many bullets, coming from too many angles.
BOOOOM
Damian’s left arm took a round, the impact nearly tearing it off.
BOOOOM
His thigh exploded in blood and bone fragments.
They were dying.