"Are you sure you want to use this, Lucida?" Theos asked, leaning close as she gripped the bone dagger tightly in her hand.

"Oi, Theos," Creon grumbled from the side. "Do you magically have a special spell hidden away to tear down a Domain?"

It wasn’t as if they had arrived with a backup plan.

Without that dagger, their only other options would have been equally rare tools, or casting a high-ranking, large-scale destruction spell. Obviously, none of them possessed that kind of raw power, and even if they did, the patrolling guards would never give them the time required to cast it.

"It belonged to her mother," Shana quietly rebuked him, her eyes fixed on the pale bone.

"Yeah, I know. But it’s not like she’s throwing it away for nothing," Dan said, looking directly at Lucida. "We are doing this for a greater purpose. This isn’t just about vengeance, right?"

Lucida slowly nodded her head, her grip on the hilt tightening.

"You are right. It’s not just about vengeance," she said, her voice turning serious as she met their eyes. "We are saving three witches. Three daughters of the Coven. We are taking them back to where they truly belong."

Around her, the group gave a unified nod of agreement.

"Alright. Be ready, everyone," Lucida said, raising the dagger.

Shana nodded, her posture instantly shifting into a defensive stance.

Beside her, Theos, Dan, and Creon drew their weapons in unison. As Blooded Sons, their main duty and training revolved around fighting in close quarters to protect the witches of their Coven.

Unlike witches, who were born with a Root that functioned as a superior mana core, the Blooded Sons possessed standard mana cores. Yet, combined with their training, that was more than enough.

Closing her eyes, Lucida drew in a sharp breath. She immediately channeled her mana, forcing it through her veins and directly into the pale bone of the dagger.

The weapon reacted instantly. The runes carved into its surface flared to life, glowing with a soft light.

She threw one final glance at her companions to ensure they were braced. Then, with all the strength she could muster, she drove the glowing blade directly into the translucent barrier.

The Domain reacted. It rippled fiercely across its entire spherical shape, attempting to defend itself against the foreign intrusion.

But it didn’t last long.

Jagged, glowing cracks appeared at the point of impact. Within seconds, the fractures spiderwebbed outward, tracing rapidly across the entire magical dome that surrounded the estate.

Then, with a sound like a thunderclap, the Domain shattered.

It burst into thousands of glittering glass-like particles, raining harmlessly to the ground as the residual mana exploded into the night air.

"It worked!" Dan shouted, a grin splitting his face.

"Of course it worked!" Creon laughed, adrenaline surging through his veins.

"Ready, everyone?!" Theos said, his hand hardening on the hilt of his sword. "We move together! Keep Lucida and Shana protected at all times!"

"Yeah!" They roared in agreement.

Theos nodded and quickly stepped into Lucida’s space, wrapping his arm securely around her waist.

He would be the one to carry her over.

While Blooded Sons lacked a witch’s Root, they were born with a naturally denser, superior physical constitution compared to ordinary humans with mana cores.

Because of this, clearing a four-meter iron fence in a single bound was trivial for them.

Nearby, Creon moved in to secure Shana.

"Do not touch me anywhere weird," she warned, shooting him a glare.

"Don’t worry," he grinned, sweeping her up.

"Alright! Let’s go!" Theos said.

Holding Lucida tight against his chest, he bent his knees and launched himself into the air. Creon leaped a split second later with Shana, and Dan followed right on their heels.

They soared over the tall iron spikes, completely expecting to land inside Ulrich’s grounds.

Instead, their bodies slammed into something invisible.

"Ughh!"

The brutal impact knocked the breath from their lungs. All five of them were repelled, sent crashing backward toward the outer side of the fence they had just tried to clear.

Theos twisted mid-air, barely managing to recover his footing as he hit the dirt. Creon and Dan hit the ground hard but scrambled up just as quickly, swords instantly raised.

"What the hell just happened?!" Dan shouted, rubbing a bruised shoulder.

"W—What...?"

Lucida stood frozen, her eyes wide with utter shock as she stared upward at the empty air above the fence.

Something else shimmered on the other side of the fence.

A translucent dome, vibrating with a deep crimson hue.

Another Domain.

Lucida watched the second barrier ripple, catching a brief glimpse of the runes woven into its surface.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

It was a Rank 2 Domain.

That meant there could be up to 600 individual runes protecting it. But the number wasn’t what terrified her, it was the alignment. The assemblage and weaving of the runic structure were near perfectio, arranged like she had never seen before.

The tighter and more flawlessly the runes were woven, the stronger the spell became. The craftsmanship of this crimson dome was complex and masterful.

This wasn’t something done in a couple days.

A silence fell over the group as the red Domain faded back into its invisible, dormant state.

"Another Domain..." Theos finally breathed, breaking the silence.

Everyone flinched at his words.

"Under another Domain," Lucida finished, her voice trembling.

It wasn’t entirely unheard of. Highly secure locations often have several domains layered on top of one another. It was an immense drain on mana and resources, but not impossible, even for someone like Ulrich.

Yet, that wasn’t what was causing the cold dread to pool in Lucida’s stomach.

A double Domain was an absurd level of protection, maybe too much for an Estate as protected as Ulrich’s already. But more importantly, the second Domain was stronger than the first one.

It made no sense.

If someone wanted maximum security, the standard configuration was to place the stronger Rank 2 Domain on the outside, using the weaker Rank 1 on the inside as a backup.

Unless...

Lucida’s face drained of all color.

’I... I was baited?’

He had placed the weaker Domain on the outside purposefully. He wanted intruders to think they had successfully broken his defenses. He wanted them to jump the fence.

She snapped her head toward her companions, panic finally bleeding into her voice.

"Everyone! Run! It’s a trap!" She screamed.

They all stared back at her, dumbfounded by her sudden shift in demeanor.

Shana took a hesitant step toward her, her face twisting with confusion and worry.

"What do you mean—"

A sharp imperceptible whistle cut through the night air.

Before anyone could react, something struck Shana directly in the side of the neck.

She froze instantly. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed hard onto her knees.

"Shana! Hey!" Creon lunged forward, catching her by the shoulders before she could hit the dirt.

As he tilted her head back, his eyes locked onto her neck.

Protruding from the skin was a thin, meticulously crafted blowgun dart.

Creon yanked it out, his eyes widening in horror as he recognized the distinct, dark residue coating the tip.

It was a paralyzing poison, specifically crafted to freeze the veins of a witch.

It was a weapon engineered to hunt their kind.

"Watch out!" Theos roared, spinning around on his heel.

The crunch of boots echoed through the darkness. Several imposing silhouettes began to detach themselves from the deeper shadows of the estate outside grounds.

Theos tightened his iron grip on the hilt of his sword.

Suddenly, a blur of motion rushed him.

It was fast. Faster than even a Blooded Son’s enhanced reflexes could track.

He barely had time to flinch, raising his blade to intercept the strike. But before he could even swing, a pale hand clamped brutally over his face.

With overwhelming strength, the assailant lifted the towering man entirely off his feet and hurled him backward.

"Aghha!" Theos let out a choked grunt as his spine slammed against the iron fence.

The impact rattled his bones, his body slumping to the dirt as his back screamed in pain.

"Theos!" Lucida cried out. Snapping out of her paralyzing shock, she scrambled across the grass toward him.

"Now, now. That was a truly wonderful attempt to break through."

An amused feminine voice drifted through the night air, perfectly synchronized with the clicking of approaching footsteps.

Lucida raised her trembling gaze from Theos.

Stepping gracefully into the dim moonlight was a charming and beautiful woman. Her long, light sea-blue hair were up in a ponytail, and her piercing aqua-blue eyes stared down at the intruders with a cold amusement.

With a flick of her wrist, the woman raised a gleaming silver saber, pointing the sharp tip directly toward Lucida.

Her lips curled into a slight smirk.

"Too bad you so foolishly overestimated yourself, little witch," she said, her eyes narrowing with delight. "Or, perhaps I should say... you severely underestimated him."