"Remnants Cinders of an Ashen World"
Ignatius’ Ashen World Domain took form, transforming the battlefield into a hellscape of perpetual destruction.
The ground was now a volcanic wasteland, rivers of molten lava coursing through the broken, charred terrain.
Any remnants of life disintegrated into ash the moment they were touched, and even the surrounding ground sizzled, seemingly being burned to nothing.
The air itself was thick with scorching heat, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Within this domain, Ignatius, who had already healed up his severe wounds, stood as its ruler.
His figure emanated an ethereal glow of pure flame, the air around him undulating with destructive ripple of energy
---
"Unbelievable!"
"Simply unbelievable!"
"The secret arts of the Burning Family are very few in number, perhaps the smallest among the families’ secret techniques."
"Yet we are able to remain one of the top three most powerful Lost Fallen families..."
"This is because, while our techniques are limited, they are incredibly powerful."
"And one of these techniques is none other than an inherited Domain Expansion technique, Remnants of an Ashen World..."
"There are very few secret arts that grant a user a domain upon activation—so few they can be counted on one hand."
"But we of the Ignatius Family are fortunate enough to possess such an art."
"Still, it is so difficult that only those with the purest of bloodlines can tap into this power."
"One such genius with a pure bloodline is Ignatius."
"He has been able to almost fully master the first step of the technique at just 19 years old."
"A true prodigy, he is..."
The Elder of the Igniting Embers Clan explained, unconcealed pride in his voice, as the other elders flashed in amazement.
They all couldn’t help but turn to the battlefield, and quickly, they could sense the change in tides.
"There is no way the human boy will be able to survive this."
"Even if Ignatius does nothing but wait, the boy will soon burn to nothing but cinders if he dares remain in the domain for long..." an elder noted as they turned their gazes to the Half-Fallen, who simply sat silently, not making any comments, and simply watching.
---
HOT!
FLAMING HOT!
The heat was palpable, forcing Ryuk to back away from Ignatius, yet it did nothing at all.
The concentration of heat was present in equal power in all the areas within the domain.
Slowly raising his hands, Ryuk saw his skin begin drying up and fading into nothing but ashes.
Even as his regeneration hurriedly tried to fix it, the heat was simply too unbearable, and it was slowly losing out.
"So hot!" Ryuk said through clenched teeth as he hurriedly activated:
"Frost Veil..."
The mist began spreading all around him, but it was instantly burned off by the incredible increase in temperature.
Ryuk immediately reacted, choosing to let Frost Veil cover only his body instead of the entire area.
[Warning!]
[Mana: 50 (-30!)]
Yet, even then, his Mana could only hold out so much as the furious heat drained it further, forcing Ryuk to expend even more just to keep Frost Veil activated.
"You fought your hardest, Ryuk..." Ignatius’ voice rang out as he slowly began walking forward toward Ryuk, stretching his arm toward him.
Immediately, Ryuk’s face changed as he saw the flames begin coalescing in the air.
Soon, swords of flame formed all around the domain.
They covered absolutely everywhere, and this time, each sword was a meter in length, their aura of flames seeming to have tripled in intensity.
Ryuk’s hand tightened around his scythe as sweat rained down his face like water.
It was already hard enough trying not to get burned to death in the domain.
And now, he had to fight all of this off.
"Let this circus show come to an end..." Ignatius said with a smirk, and in the next instant, he waved his hand forward.
Like a supreme command, swords rained down on Ryuk from absolutely every direction, leaving him no chance to run at all.
’Run?’
’Try and weave through the attacks?’
’No. None of this will work.’
’To weave through this many, I will need at least a minute to finish.’
’My stamina is hitting rock bottom fast, same for my Mana.’
’If I choose to run, and after a minute, I’ll be completely spent of both Mana and endurance.’
’It’s unknown what Ignatius is still capable of, but he doesn’t seem like one who would be kneeling anytime soon.’
’I can’t run from this. So, I can only stand and face it head-on...’
Ryuk muttered, and in the next instant, the scythe began to spin with incredible speed as Ryuk twisted it around his body.
It was something he had practiced for fun—to make the scythe form a mini-barrier that ensured nothing got past it without being sliced to bits.
And now, there was no better time to use it as instantly, dark beams of energy erupted from the scythe, surrounding Ryuk’s figure.
The sharp scythe blade tore through every single sword attack.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The attacks came like unending rain, continually battering Ryuk. What made him grind his teeth was the explosions.
When every sword was slashed, it exploded, sending flames flying onto Ryuk and draining away the layer of Frost Veil that he used to cool himself off.
Seconds passed quickly, yet it felt like years to Ryuk, who struggled more and more to keep up.
The swords flew from above, wanting to rend him to pieces, while the heat waves came from all around, grinding away at Frost Veil as quickly as they could, making Ryuk suffer even more.
Eventually, a minute passed, and Ryuk finally managed to slash apart the last sword, but he instantly collapsed onto his knees, the giant scythe barely holding him up.
"Ahhh..."
"Ahhh..."
A wave of exhaustion hit Ryuk immediately, his head growing incredibly light-headed.
But suddenly, his face changed as he slashed out with his scythe.
However, in his already exhausted state, the slash was incredibly slow, and a kick smashed straight into Ryuk’s face, sending him flying backward as he crashed into the barrier.
Slowly sliding down, Ryuk’s eyes bulged as a hand wrapped around his neck, lifting him into the air.
Ignatius’ indifferent eyes matched his as he held Ryuk up like he was nothing but a bug before shifting his left hand to the side.
A large blade appeared, and then...
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
Blood spilled out of Ryuk’s lips as he felt something hot piercing through his stomach.
Ignatius’ gigantic blade tore out of Ryuk’s back, and he finally dropped him to the ground, forcing Ryuk to kneel before him, his soulless gaze looking at his feet.
"Your struggle is noteworthy, and for that I’ll save you your dignity."
"Surrender, and I’ll graciously end your pain..."
"Go on."