"Damn... this really is a battle between monsters…"

Asta couldn't help but mutter as he glanced back at the battlefield.

Even though they'd put some distance between themselves and the fight, the thunderous roars and magical explosions still felt like they were ringing right in his ears.

Blinding lights, overwhelming magic—the Witch's Forest was completely engulfed in the chaos, and the power continued to spread outward like a storm.

The level of that battle was far beyond anything they could handle.

Asta silently thought to himself,

"Come to think of it… I'm getting further and further away from Ethan Hayes…"

His dream had always been to become the Wizard King. That meant surpassing everyone.

Yet somehow, both he and Yuno had fallen far behind.

Zero Domain.

It was hard to believe that the same guy who had come from the frontier with him had reached that level in just two years.

And Asta?…

"What're you daydreaming about, brat? Now's not the time to be zoning out,"

growled Yami.

"N-nothing, really. Just… feeling a bit reflective, that's all,"

Asta said with a sheepish smile, shaking his head.

Even if he hadn't said anything, Yami—his captain and their "boss"—saw right through him.

And honestly, who could blame him?

It was like three guys arriving in the city to work.

A few years later, one's the CEO, another is a department manager, and the third is still hauling bricks on a construction site.

The gap was hard to put into words.

But—

Yami gave Asta's shoulder a solid pat.

"Don't let it get to you too much. That guy's... built different. Most people'd puke blood trying to compete with him."

Ethan's achievements might have seemed vague or abstract to others, but Yami understood the truth.

Part of it was talent—but most of it? It came from that golden bloodline Ethan carried.

That blood held a mysterious and powerful force.

It enhanced him in every way—granted him gifts most mages could only dream of.

"Yeah… that guy's definitely not someone normal folks can compare to,"

added Secre, her tone calm but certain.

No one understood what Ethan carried inside him better than she did.

If he ever fully unleashed it…

It could bring the world to its knees.

"We're here! That's the Witch Queen's castle up ahead, right? Vanessa's probably inside!"

someone shouted, spotting the looming fortress in the distance.

Everyone picked up their pace.

Ethan was holding off the Witch Queen—but who knew how long that'd last?

Rescuing Vanessa quickly could mean escaping quickly too.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Shockwaves erupted, and a tide of blood-red magic surged through the forest.

Blood Magic—cursed and corrosive by nature.

Just one drop was enough to reduce a normal person to bleached bone and ash.

"Pointless,"

Ethan muttered with a smirk, flames flickering around him as he commanded the Fire Spirit into action.

Sure, the Witch Queen was also in the Zero Domain, but she didn't give off the kind of pressure Julius had.

That might've been due to their magic affinities.

But either way—Ethan didn't see her as a true threat.

"You arrogant brat!"

The Witch Queen's brow twitched, her face tightening with fury.

But she didn't lose her composure.

She knew very well that the strength of the Zero Domain alone wasn't enough to bring down someone like Ethan.

"I don't know how long you've been in the Zero Domain…

But did you really think the Witch's Forest has stood between two great nations all these centuries just with that kind of strength?"

She raised her voice, her eyes sharp.

"Let me show you what it means to be a seasoned wielder of the Domain."

Threefold Dominion!

HAAH!!

It was like the heavens collapsed and the earth surged upward.

That was the first sensation Ethan felt.

It was as if he were trapped in an industrial press—massive pressure came down from all directions.

His body was crushed under the weight, slamming into the ground and embedding deep into the forest floor.

"What the hell… this pressure…"

Ethan's brow furrowed as he struggled to rise.

But forget standing—just lifting a finger required absurd effort.

"Is this magic? No… she uses blood magic. No matter how refined, it couldn't be this… invisible.

Besides, my blood is still flowing normally…"

He couldn't make sense of it.

It felt like an invisible giant hand had slammed him into the earth and held him there, tightening its grip.

The pressure continued to mount, cracking the ground and sinking him deeper into it.

He couldn't move.

Hmph.

As she released the Threefold Dominion, the Witch Queen let out a low laugh.

She had once believed the Zero Domain to be the pinnacle of magic.

But the longer she lived, the more she realized—that wasn't true.

Above the Zero Domain… was the realm of Heaven and Earth Dominion.

A mystical force granted only to those who had mastered the Domain completely.

A power bestowed by the world itself.

Of course, it wasn't easy to harness.

Even after centuries of research and cultivation, she had only mastered three out of nine layers.

But that was more than enough to crush a rookie who barely knew what Dominion even was.

"Now… atone for your sins."

She raised her hand.

Magic began to gather in her palm.

He's going to die.

A blood-red spear took shape—its surface shimmered with deadly brilliance, brimming with compressed magical force.

Just looking at it made Ethan's scalp tingle and heart pound.

If it landed, he wouldn't survive.

SWISH!!

Without hesitation, she hurled the spear at the immobilized Ethan below.

The sound of it ripping through the air twisted the space around it.

100 meters…

50…

10…

In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of him.

"Imperial Sword!!"

Ethan's eyes widened, and he roared the words with all his might.

CLANG!!

A crisp impact rang out.

A crimson beam of energy burst from Ethan's chest, launching upward and meeting the blood spear head-on.

As the two collided, cracks spread across the spear like spiderwebs.

Within a second, it shattered—disintegrating into magical dust.

THUD.

The crimson beam stabbed into the ground beside Ethan.

As the light faded, the Witch Queen finally got a clear look at what it was.

Her eyes narrowed.

"…A sword?"

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