Ethan didn’t draw his twin blades. He didn’t take a stance. He simply took a single, deliberate step forward.
BOOM!
The moment his boot touched the stone tile, an invisible, cataclysmic force erupted from his body. The SSS-Rank Void Sovereign talent awakened fully, expanding his Eternal Domain across a hundred-yard radius.
The ambient light in the plaza violently warped, plunging the entire area into a dim, twilight shadow as if the sun itself had been swallowed by an eclipse.
The two Level 45 A-Rank Academy Enforcers didn’t even have time to raise their gold spears.
A localized gravity field of pure, high-density void energy slammed down directly onto their shoulders with the weight of a collapsing mountain.
CRACK!!!
The reinforced alloy spears in their hands snapped into splinters instantly. Both enforcers let out a muffled, agonizing groan as their knees violently smashed into the concrete floor, fracturing the solid stone into a massive spiderweb of deep craters.
Their heavy armor bent and buckled under the invisible pressure, pinning them flat against the dirt like insects caught in amber. They couldn’t lift their heads; they couldn’t even draw a breath to scream.
"Argh... ugh..." The lead enforcer choked, blood spraying from his lips as his face was pressed ruthlessly into the jagged stones.
The entire plaza of over ten thousand students went completely, deathly silent. The arrogant smirks on the faces of the academy elites evaporated in a fraction of a second, replaced by a cold, paralyzing terror.
Tyler Vance took three frantic steps backward, his breath catching cleanly in his throat.
The premium A-Rank star-iron armor he wore—the pride of the Vance Corporation—began to creak and groan under the passive pressure radiating from Ethan.
"You... you..." Tyler stuttered, his jaw trembling violently, his hands completely frozen on the hilt of his broadsword. He wanted to draw his weapon, but his instincts screamed that if he made a single hostile movement, he would be instantly vaporized into dust.
High above the plaza, inside the glass walls of the VIP viewing deck, the Academy Vice-Principal and three elder representatives from the city’s top combat guilds simultaneously jumped out of their leather seats, smashing their wine glasses on the floor.
"What is that power?!" an elder from the Crimson Fang Guild roared, his eyes bulging out as he stared at the young man below.
"That’s not a relic fluctuation! That’s pure, unadulterated raw attribute density! His stats... his stats are easily at the peak of the Master tier!"
"An F-Rank student?" the Vice-Principal whispered, his face turning completely pale as he gripped the balcony railing until it bent.
"Impossible... the Awakening Crystal never lies! How can a garbage ’Basic Item Gift’ talent produce this level of oppressive gravity?!"
Down in the plaza, Ethan didn’t even glance at the two bleeding enforcers pinned beneath his feet. He kept his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his black trench coat, walking forward with a slow, rhythmic stride.
Every step he took caused the ground to ripple, sending faint shockwaves of void energy through the stone.
He stopped right in front of Tyler. The sheer proximity of Ethan’s presence forced Tyler to drop to one knee, his teeth grinding together as he fought against the passive gravitational pull.
Ethan bent down slightly, his pupils swirling with a pitch-black, bottomless abyss that seemed to drain the warmth from the air.
"You said your family aligns with the proctors, Tyler?" Ethan asked, his voice low, smooth, and echoing with a terrifying cosmic resonance. "You said I wouldn’t see the light of day inside the dungeon?" Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Tyler couldn’t answer. Sweat poured down his face, dripping onto the cracked stones.
Ethan patted Tyler’s silver shoulder armor gently, the casual tap sounding like a heavy iron hammer striking an anvil. Clang. The metal shoulder plate dented deeply under the slight pressure.
"I’m going into the portal now," Ethan whispered, a cold, mocking smirk playing on his lips. "Bring every hidden enforcer your family has. Bring the elders. Bring the whole guild. If you don’t entertain me inside that rift... I’ll ensure the Vance family name disappears from this city by sunset."
Ethan turned away, completely ignoring the trembling young master. He looked back at Cassandra, who was standing at the edge of his domain, her silver eyes blazing with a fanatical, worshipful pride.
"Cassandra. Let’s go," Ethan commanded.
"Yes, My Lord!" she replied instantly, her voice ringing with absolute loyalty.
With a swift, fluid motion, Ethan stepped into the spinning, violent purple vortex of the Ashen Abyss Rift. Cassandra followed half a step behind him, her midnight-blue battle suit disappearing into the blinding spatial light.
The moment Ethan vanished through the portal, the suffocating gravity field snapped shut. The ambient sunlight rushed back into the plaza, and the thousands of students finally let out a collective, desperate gasp for air, many of them collapsing to their knees from sheer exhaustion.
Tyler Vance slumped into the dirt, his face pale, his body shaking uncontrollably. He looked at the glowing purple portal, his mind entirely broken by the display of absolute authority.
The trap he had spent a week preparing suddenly felt like a joke. He wasn’t the hunter anymore.
They had just let a monster into the cage.