Master of Dominion-Chapter 57: Testing the array

Rael and Xaphxan headed back toward the territory, the silence of the woods broken only by the heavy scraping of flesh against dirt. Rael trudged forward, hauling the massive, chained-up Colosape behind him.

The beast was a broken mess of white fur and crimson stains, barely clinging to life, its breathing coming in shallow, wet rasps as it was dragged along.

Xaphxan stared back at the Colosape, then at Rael, who was clearly exerting the full limit of his strength to drag the huge beast back. He couldn’t help but wonder to himself, ’Isn’t it already dead at this state?’

The creature had bled out across the forest floor for miles, leaving a dark blood trail behind them. Xaphxan knew the beast was meant to power up the boundary ward sigil, but he was fairly certain that required a living one. He wasn’t at all sure that a nearly cold, drained carcass would be enough to fuel the defences

Of course, he wasn’t about to voice those thoughts. He valued his head from being smacked far too much to question Rael’s methods now.

It wasn’t long before they finally reached the compound, only to find the three sisters perched high above in the trees. They looked down with sharp, questioning gazes, their eyes moving from Rael’s strained figure to the mangled titan he was dragging behind him. Feeling the weight of their silent gaze, Xaphxan immediately slipped backward, trying to put as much distance between himself and Rael as possible.

Rael let go of the chains and took a deep breath before gazing back at them. "Don’t mind us. We just took a stroll and found this big guy. Thought we should bring him along to test how many beasts we’ll need for the array," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"That’s the Colosape... weren’t there supposed to be three of them?" Ayobe questioned, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as she scanned the single,but still breathing mangled body of the colosape

"Oh, that’s true, but it turns out catching beasts is far more complex than simply killing them," Rael replied smoothly. Xaphxan, standing in the background, could only stare at him, knowing the full, chaotic story of how the other two had been pulverized.

"Really?" Ayobe asked, her voice dripping with doubt.

"Well, it seems you did a terrible job of ’capturing’ it. Look at the thing,it’s basically dead," Yasmin retorted as she leaped down from the branches, landing gracefully near the beast to inspect it’s injuries.

"Well, I did know you have healing hands," Rael said, winking at her with a grin

The comment earned him a sharp, venomous glare from Yasmin, who scoffed in reply.

Iyvre remained silent, her watchful gaze fixed on the scene, while Ayobe descended from the treetops. Her curiosity had finally won out as she was eager to see the "Plutonic Array" at its full might.

It didn’t take long for Yasmin to stabilize the Colosape. She was careful to do just enough to keep it breathing, purposefully leaving its major wounds unhealed so it remained incapacitated. With the beast barely clinging to life, Rael dragged it toward the first defensive array ,the second boundary ward sigil he had previously instructed Ayobe to draw beyond the fences. He hauled the massive body to the circular moon sigil at the center of the formation, meticulously placing various beast parts on the necessary points of the array .

Rael stepped back, leaving Ayobe standing alone within the formation, as she was the one who wanted to activate it.

Without wasting a moment, she pressed her palms against the trees that served as the living pillars of the array. Then she stimulated her aether, causing a low, heavy buzzing sound to resonate throughout the entire territory. She immediately felt the violent pull of the array, her aether being siphoned away at an alarming rate,way more than what Rael had estimated, she immediately stopped the flow of Aether through her hands, instantly triggering the moon symbol beneath the beast.

The sigil erupted in a pale glow and luminous energy-like tendrils that rose from the earth, digging deep into the Colosape’s flesh. The creature let out an agonizing roar as the array began to feed on its life force causing Yasmin, Xaphxan, and even Rael to flinched at the raw brutality of the process.

But then, one by one, each tree Ayobe had marked lit up with a brilliant golden light. The light coalesced, weaving together to form a shimmering dome that encompassed the entire territory.

Rael squinted his eyes, feeling his Dominion senses ring with deafening intensity before they slowly began to integrate with the new boundary ward sigil, merging his awareness with it.

Rael was taken aback , it felt as though his consciousness had a certain control over the boundary ward sigil for it even allowed him perceive and understand the boundary ward sigil on a much more intricate level.

"Not yet at full power," he muttered, his voice loud enough for both Xaphxan and Yasmin to hear.

"And how would you know that?" Iyvre asked from where she sat above, having clearly overheard him.

"By testing it," Rael replied. Without hesitation, he pulled the greatsword from his magic pouch, his gaze fixed on the shimmering barrier as he prepared to strike it

Iyvre turned to Yasmin and nodded, prompting her sister to roll her eyes before she, too, raised her hand as a shimmering ball of blue light coalesced and swooshed toward the array, reaching it at the exact moment Rael unleashed a powerful red arc from his greatsword

BOOM.

The two attacks slammed into the boundary ward sigil simultaneously. The impact made the barrier gleam even brighter as a sharp, vibrating ringing sound swept out across the territory. The dome held firm, absorbing the force until it finally stabilized, though its golden light had dimmed noticeably from the strain.

"Hmm, what do you think?" Rael asked, looking toward Ayobe since she remained within the array, her hand resting on her jaw in a thoughtful manner as she scrutinized the shimmering barrier.

"Keep striking it," she replied firmly.

...

In a shadowy forest far away from the territory,Two black-robed figures stood close together, their silhouettes nearly swallowed by the shadow of the trees .

"I think he’s gone mad. That’s what I think," whispered Kaelen, a thin, horned acolyte, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and resentment.

"You had better hope he doesn’t hear you say that. You saw what he did to Zeker the day before right?," replied Azruk, a much more muscular acolyte. His red face was taut with anxiety as he scanned the area, terrified of being overheard.

"That’s exactly what I’m saying! Look at the way he treats us," Kaelen hissed, his fingers gripping the fabric of his robe. "A quarter of our entire squadron has been killed by his hands, not by the claws of beasts, and not by those elven whores. We have to do something, Azruk."

"Ooh and what would you have us do, huh?" Azruk demanded, his gaze shifting to the only two remaining acolytes behind them.

"You want us to go against a Master Acolyte? It would seem you’ve gone mad."

Kaelen hesitated, the cold weight of their reality finally settling in his chest. He looked away, sighing in deep, bitter regret. "I wish I hadn’t volunteered when the Young Patriarch announced this mission. I wish I’d never stepped forward."

"Well, we did," Azruk snapped, though his voice softened with a trace of his own despair. "We foolishly did. And now, all we can do is see it through to the end."

"What really terrifies me most is the fact that the Withered Nights are just four days away, and here we are, lost in the heart of the Zodiac Woods," Azruk Cursed

"But we’re close to human territories," Kaelen countered, a desperation flickering in his eyes. "We might be able to make it there in time."

"I didn’t take you for a fool, Kaelen," Azruk snapped, his expression darkening. "Have you looked at our skin? We’re tieflings probably one of the most hated races in the eyes of humans. You think they’ll welcome us with open arms?"

"And we both know they don’t share in our great beliefs,in our great cause," Azruk finished, his voice trailing off into the cold wind.

"Our beliefs that a higher command, a mission given by the elders, the Young Patriarch, and the Patriarch himself, should be followed without doubt or fear of death right?."

A cold, strict voice cut through the air from behind them. Causing every acolyte to freeze, the blood draining from their faces as they went deathly still.

They all turned in unison, their bodies trembling as they faced the dark, devoted robe-like armor and the scarred, one-eyed face of Lord Drogon. His singular eye stared back at them with a piercing intensity that seemed to strip away their very souls, pinning them to the spot under his cold, judgmental gaze.