The pressure rolling off Rowan hit the council chamber like a physical wave.
The elders felt it instantly.
And Darius, more than anyone.
His eyes narrowed. The man standing across from him wasn't just powerful. He was standing firmly at the Heavenly realm, a level high enough to tear the palace apart if unleashed fully.
Still, Darius did not flinch.
Fear never crossed his face.
"You think the Abyssal Dominion can be threatened?" Darius said coldly. "I don't care if you're from an ancient bloodline or some legendary family. This Order is not something you can provoke."
His aura erupted outward in response.
Dark, violent, oppressive.
The two pressures slammed together, warping the air. The hall groaned under the strain. Breathing became difficult. Even the stone beneath their feet began to fracture.
Sullen stepped in front of Leon without thinking, forcing her own power outward to shield him from the crushing pressure of the two clashing auras.
Two Heavenly Realm Magus.
Either one could reduce the palace to rubble.
Rowan's voice was calm.
"So you choose war, Darius?"
Darius tightened his grip around the horn in his hand.
"With this relic," he said, eyes burning, "I would burn nations if I had to."
Rowan's expression turned glacial.
"Then you've declared war on the Drakebane family."
Darius smirked.
"Oh?"
The next instant, his pupils flared black.
A shadow detached itself from the wall and shot toward Lucas.
A man in black robes appeared out of thin air, his hand already reaching with a sharp knife...
...and froze.
His eyes widened in horror.
He couldn't move.
Not a single muscle responded.
Behind him, Garran was already walking forward, each step heavy with killing intent.
Before anyone could react...
Garran's hand closed around the assassin's throat.
"K—kh—!"
The man gagged, feet lifting off the ground. Garran's grip so powerful he felt his neck might break at any moment.
Darius's face twisted.
That had been his move.
Kidnap Lucas. Use him as leverage against Rowan.
He hadn't expected Garran to intercept it instantly.
Nor had he expected Garran to be this strong.
Garran turned his head slightly, eyes locking onto Darius.
"You dared touch the young master," he said quietly. "That was your last mistake."
Crack!
A sharp crack echoed.
The assassin's neck snapped.
Garran casually hurled the corpse across the hall.
Darius immediately moving.
BOOM!
It smashed into the throne, shattering obsidian and splintering stone.
Darius's rage exploded.
"I am Darius Bael, High Master of the Abyssal Dominion!" he roared. "You think you can threaten me?!"
"Is that so?" Garran replied.
He clenched the air.
Reality warped.
Darius vanished.
And reappeared directly in front of Garran, his throat already locked in Garran's grasp.
"W—what—?!" Darius choked.
The elders erupted.
"Release the High Master!" an elder with white hair shouted, charging forward.
Rowan moved.
His fist crossed the distance instantly.
BAM!
The elder was sent flying, crashing back into his seat, blood spraying from his mouth, his jaw clearly broken.
The seven remaining elders froze.
Rowan's smile was sharp.
"Move again," he said calmly, "and I'll kill every one of you."
Silence.
Darius struggled helplessly. His power was completely suppressed, crushed beneath Garran's grip.
"You planned to threaten us by taking the young master," Garran said coldly. "That plan failed the moment you tried it."
Darius couldn't answer. He could barely breathe.
A Heavenly-tier magus level 3, reduced to this.
Worse than the humiliation was the fact that he couldn't even move. The moment Garran laid a hand on him, it was as if something fundamental had been shut off, locking his strength in place and leaving him utterly defenseless.
Nearby, Leon and Sullen stood frozen.
Leon's heart pounded.
This was the Abyssal Dominion.
And yet its High Master was being held like a child.
What kind of monsters did the Drakebane family really have?
Leon clenched his fists.
He would have to face them one day.
And he would not give up.
---
Lucas finally stepped forward.
He looked down at Darius with open disdain.
"So," Lucas said lightly, "you wanted the relic. This is the result."
He tilted his head.
"Or did you really want your Order erased?"
Garran loosened his grip slightly.
Darius gasped.
"You brought two elders with you," Darius rasped bitterly. "Your father must value you greatly."
Lucas smiled.
"Elders?"
He gestured casually.
"The man holding your throat is my personal guard. The one who stopped your council is our family's security chief."
Darius froze.
"…What?"
Neither Garran nor Rowan denied it.
He understood it now, just how terrifying the two men before him truly were. Especially the one gripping him. If his instincts were right, that man stood at the very peak of the Heavenly Realm.
Challenging the Drakebane family wouldn't be a conflict. It would be annihilation.
And Darius was not a fool blinded by pride. He knew when a battle was unwinnable.
"It seems I chose the wrong enemy," he admitted. "Young Master Drakebane, I ask that you refrain from further action against the Dominion."
He swallowed.
"As a gesture of peace… I will grant you access to the Abyss Vault."
Lucas's smile widened.
"I'll also take one hundred high-grade spirit stones."
Darius's eyes snapped open.
"That's absurd!" he snapped. "You're bleeding us dry!"
A single high-grade spirit stone could elevate a low-ranked magus instantly.
One hundred?
It was robbery.
Garran's grip tightened again.
"If you refuse," he said calmly, "your Order will cease to exist."
Darius clenched his teeth.
The cost was devastating.
But refusing meant extinction.
"…Fine," he said at last. "I agree."
Lucas nodded, satisfied.
"Good."