Chapter 344 — What Is This?
5 min read ·
Vermont had been a branch family member once, considered inferior by the main bloodline simply because his parents hadn’t been important enough.
But Elizabeth’s father had seen talent where others saw only breeding, had cultivated Vermont’s abilities without restriction or prejudice, had given him resources and training that turned raw potential into genuine S rank power.
And Vermont had repaid that trust with loyalty so absolute it bordered on religious devotion.
The convoy crossed the invisible boundary separating Murdock territory from neutral ground, leaving behind the lands where the family’s influence was strongest.
Night was falling, shadows lengthening across empty fields.
Elizabeth’s eyes suddenly rolled back, whites showing completely, her body going rigid.
Vision!
The shared mental space of her Seer ability opened like a chasm, dragging her consciousness into futures that hadn’t happened yet.
Bodies.
Burning ground.
Purple lightning fighting orange fire.
Adrian unconscious.
Vermont bleeding from wounds that should have killed him.
Bella’s face pale with exhaustion, her Domain flickering.
And herself...
Herself with one arm missing, sword raised in defiance, knowing she was about to die.
Gasp...gasp...
Elizabeth’s eyes snapped back to normal, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"What did you see?"
Adrian’s voice cut through immediately, his hand on her shoulder.
Vermont and Bella were already moving, their bodies tensing, eyes scanning the darkness outside.
Elizabeth opened her mouth to answer.
But the world around them started burning.
****
The orange-haired man stood in the center of empty wasteland, his long hair moving despite no wind, his eyes glowing with power that made the air shimmer.
Five S rank awakeners flanked him, all wearing black clothes and white skull masks, their identities hidden, their intentions clear.
Behind them, hundreds of masked figures waited, organized into precise formations, weapons ready, Aura contained but prepared to explode into violence.
All of them wore the same symbol.
A white skull embroidered on black fabric.
The orange-haired man’s voice came out bored, almost irritated.
"Why was I even brought in for this? You five should be able to handle the S ranks until the others kill that girl."
One of the masked S ranks stepped forward, his voice muffled behind the skull covering.
"None of us have Domains. Can’t risk her calling for backup from her family or from someone else. The Head calculated everything. Elizabeth Murdock dies here with one hundred percent certainty."
His voice carried absolute confidence.
"You just need to open the Domain, block all communication, and don’t let anyone leave. We brought almost every A rank operative we have for this."
The orange-haired man sighed, the sound carrying genuine annoyance.
Then his eyes sharpened, sensing movement in the distance.
"Get ready... Kill the girl and get out. Don’t waste my time."
His hands came together, Aura exploding outward in a wave that made reality scream.
"Domain: Inferno Citadel."
****
A black tower erupted from the earth like a living thing, shooting hundreds of meters into the sky, its surface unmarked by the flames that immediately engulfed everything around it.
The world transformed.
Ground became burning coals that never consumed themselves, sky turned into sheets of orange fire that rolled like ocean waves, air itself became combustible and every breath tasted like ash.
But the masked figures remained untouched, the orange-haired man’s Will exempting them from his Domain’s effects, allowing them to move freely through hell while their enemies burned.
He’d activated a Sealed Boundary, the most costly type of Physical Domain containment.
Nothing could enter and nothing could leave.
A perfect prison where Elizabeth Murdock would die.
****
[Inside the Domain - Elizabeth’s POV]
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
Warning alarms exploded through the vehicle, so loud Elizabeth’s hands flew to her ears on instinct.
The dashboard lit up like something out of a nightmare, every light red, automated voice screaming warnings that made no sense until they did.
"CRITICAL HEAT DETECTED. AURA SHIELDING FAILING. BATTERY OVERLOAD IMMINENT. EVACUATE. EVACUATE. EVACUATE."
Vermont’s hand slammed against the door release, his voice cutting through the chaos.
"OUT! EVERYONE OUT NOW!"
The door exploded outward and Elizabeth was moving before conscious thought, her body hitting burning ground running.
The heat slammed into her like a physical wall.
Her skin blistered instantly despite her A rank Aura reinforcement, her lungs burning with every breath, sweat pouring down her face mixing with tears she couldn’t stop from the sheer pain of existing in this space.
’What... what is this?!’
Behind her, Adrian tumbled out of the vehicle, his face already showing the strain.
Bella appeared beside them, her Aura flaring purple, creating a shield that made the heat bearable enough to think.
Then the vehicles started exploding.
BOOM
The first detonation sent Elizabeth stumbling forward, her hands catching herself on ground that burned through her palms.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
More explosions, one after another, shrapnel screaming past her head, flames consuming everything.
People were screaming.
Murdock family awakeners scattered in every direction, some too slow, their screams cutting off abruptly as fire swallowed them whole.
Elizabeth forced herself upright, her sword in her hand though she didn’t remember drawing it, her Aura blazing around her body in a desperate attempt to counter whatever was trying to cook her alive.
’Domain... This is a Domain... Physical type... Fire-based... Completely sealed from the feel of it.’
Her mind clicked through classifications even as her body struggled just to stay conscious.
Around her, the Murdock forces were fighting just to breathe, their movements sluggish, their Aura consumption skyrocketing.
Then Elizabeth felt it.
Five presences approaching at speeds that made her Tactical Foresight scream warnings she couldn’t fully process.
The air rippled.
Reality itself seemed to struggle tracking movements that shouldn’t be possible.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened as she saw blurred shapes approaching, but even with her sub-skill she couldn’t render clear images of combat happening at those velocities.
’Too fas–’
Five figures materialized simultaneously, their weapons already mid-swing when they became visible.
Vermont’s spear came up in a blur, intercepting three strikes at once.
BOOOOOOM
The impact created a shockwave that flattened everything in a hundred-meter radius.
Elizabeth saw Murdock awakeners closest to the collision simply cease to exist, their bodies unable to withstand the sheer violence of S rank power meeting S rank defense.
Flesh and bone vaporizing before they could even scream.
Just gone.
Like they’d never been there.
The sound arrived after the destruction, a delayed thunderclap that made Elizabeth’s ears ring even worse than they already were.