Chapter 143: Caught Red Handed
Ash waited patiently until his mana reserves had fully recovered, ensuring that they were more than sufficient to reactivate Absolute Concealment.
Only then did he take a calm breath, steadying the subtle acceleration of his heartbeat, which wasn’t from fear but from a quiet tension that came with stepping into the unknown.
With focused intent, he wrapped his fingers around the knob and gently pushed the door open.
The instant it creaked ajar, a whirlpool of deep violet energy surged outward from the gap and coiled around his body like a living current.
It didn’t resist him with force, but it held him tightly, dragging him in without giving him any chance to pull back or resist its pull.
This sensation... I’m being pulled through a spatial tunnel.
The thought echoed faintly in his mind as the world around him lost all stability.
The pressure of the real world faded, replaced by a strange weightlessness, and everything around him twisted unnaturally, as if space itself was folding over and around him.
It was neither painful nor smooth—it was just unreal, like stepping out of a story and into the page margins.
Even before he could open his eyes again, an odd sense of danger began creeping over him. His instincts flared, sending an urgent warning through every nerve in his body.
Shit!! Something is definitely wrong here...
Without hesitation, he tried to activate [Transcendent Step] hoping to blink out of whatever danger awaited him, but the skill didn’t trigger.
Why isn’t it working?
His thoughts barely had time to form before his eyes snapped open, only to be met with the sound of voices echoing around him.
"Didn’t I say someone was definitely following me?"
Another voice, colder but filled with agreement, added, "Yeah, you were right. But who in their right mind would dare to trespass into our sacred place?"
And then came a third voice, laced with disdain and disbelief. "People these days are getting far too bold. To think someone would just enter here like this."
Ash turned his head toward the sources of the voices. What he saw immediately confirmed what he had feared—he was surrounded. Ten figures, all of them middle-aged men and women, stood at equal distances around him, their expressions unreadable but their auras unmistakably dangerous.
Looks like I really got caught...
That realization alone didn’t shake him.
What truly made his gut twist was the unnatural silence inside his body—his mana was gone.
It wasn’t being blocked or sealed. It simply wasn’t there. Like it had never existed.
Looking down, he noticed intricate patterns glowing faintly on the ground beneath his feet, stretching out in every direction.
The formation was complex, yet orderly, and pulsed with an eerie energy that felt like a void swallowing everything magical.
A Mana Nullification Formation... I’ve only read about this formation in the novel, and even then, they were treated like rare, almost mythical things. So this is what it actually feels like...
Lifting his head again, Ash kept his composure, his eyes calm and expression hidden behind the mask. He focused on Kristos, the only familiar person among the group, and spoke in a voice that held no fear.
"How did you know?"
His words were simple, yet they carried weight. Kristos, already understanding the question beneath the surface, gave a casual nod.
He simply responded with the same calmness.
"I already had a lingering suspicion the moment I entered the portal. My senses couldn’t pick up anything concrete, but something felt off—as if there was a presence that did not belong. It wasn’t logic, it was instinct. A sixth sense that kept telling me something was not right."
"So you went ahead and laid a trap for me using this Mana Nullification Formation?" Ash asked, his voice deepened by the mask’s enchantment, making him sound older and far more composed than a child his age should.
Before Kristos could respond, another man stepped forward from the circle. He looked slightly older, with golden hair that gleamed under the dim light and golden eyes that seemed to glow faintly.
The moment Ash saw him, it was obvious—this man was a Golden Dragon.
With a half-smile tugging at the corners of his lips, the man spoke in a calm, almost amused tone, "We don’t really owe you any answers, do we? After all, you’re an intruder. Isn’t it only fair that we punish whoever tries to sneak into our place?"
From his voice, it was clear that he was very angry about this whole situation. With a wave of his hand, Ash was pulled toward him by a strong force that lifted him off the ground.
But before the Golden Dragon could catch him by the neck, Ash manifested all his willpower in his arms and legs.
Turning with full force while still in mid-air, he delivered a powerful kick to the Golden Dragon’s chest.
BAM!
The other nine dragons around them were shocked by the move; their eyes widened in surprise.
What made them even more stunned was that the Golden Dragon was pushed back a step.
Although it was just one step, for dragons, their strength was their pride, and to be pushed back—even if the Golden Dragon had let his guard down—was a shameful thing.
But, contrary to what everyone expected, the Golden Dragon did not get angry.
Instead, he muttered quietly, "Interesting, you have strength even without mana. I thought you were just a coward who only knew how to hide and teleport."
Ash wavered slightly when he heard the word "teleport," but he did not have much time to think because he was pulled again toward the Golden Dragon by a strange and much stronger force.
Is he also using his willpower? But this is stronger than before, I can’t fight it like last time.
Within a second, the Golden Dragon’s hand was gripping Ash’s neck tightly.
"Do not kill him, Ariel. We have many questions to ask," said one of the middle-aged women with black hair and black eyes. She was a Dark Dragon.
"Of course. I am not stupid. How could I kill him when I have so many questions?" Ariel, the Golden Dragon, replied calmly.
Ash watched everything with calm eyes, even though he was being suffocated. His mind raced, thinking about how to get out of this situation.
My mana has not disappeared. I can still feel it inside me. The mana nullification formation is powerful, but my Primordial Core is not just for show. The mana inside it is the same as before.
It’s only when the mana leaves my core that it disappears, and since there is no mana in my surroundings, it cannot recover.
I can cooperate for now and answer their questions, but as soon as they take me away from this place, I will run.
"But would you look at that," said one of the Red Dragons, "even though we are releasing all our aura, he is not flinching at all."
It was true. They were not hiding their power in the least, but Ash was not bothered by any of it.
"If it was a normal person, he would be shaking by now. Even young dragons would be trembling like they had seen death," said a Water Dragon.
"But whoever he is, he is not normal. Otherwise, he would not have been able to hide from my perception," Kristos said.
"How do you know it’s a ’he’? It could be a ’she,’" another dragon challenged.
"Aren’t you also calling him ’he’?" Kristos replied sharply.
"Ugh, you know what I mean. Don’t twist my words," the other said annoyed.
"Be silent for a while. I am going to question him," said the middle-aged man with white hair and white eyes. Although he was not the strongest, he was the second in command of the dragon race.
The white dragon, Alarion, looked straight into Ash’s eyes, while Ash was held by Ariel.
"Tell me, who are you?" he asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Ash replied calmly.
The grip around his neck tightened as Ariel said in a chilling voice, "Answer the question, bastard."
"If I don’t, what will you do? Kill me? Go ahead, do that," Ash said defiantly.
Everyone went silent at his answer, but soon one of the dragons stepped closer and whispered into Ash’s ear. He was a Space Dragon with violet hair and violet eyes.
"Do you think we will give you a peaceful death? We will torture you—"
Before he could finish, Ash cut him off sharply. "Shut up. I haven’t talked to anyone in a long time. My personality has gotten a little rougher, so don’t piss me off."
"Otherwise, blood will flow."
"This bastard is really pissing me off now," Ariel growled with visible anger in his voice, and without warning, he applied more pressure on Ash’s neck. The force was so strong that a faint cracking sound echoed in the silent air around them.
But even then, the eyes behind Ash’s mask remained as calm and emotionless as before. There was no sign of fear, no sign of panic, only a chilling stillness that made the surrounding dragons uncomfortable without knowing why.
The White Dragon, Alarion stepped forward, his expression stern as he raised his hand and placed it over Ariel’s arm, stopping him from going further.
"Don’t kill him. Control yourself," he said calmly, but there was weight behind his words that made Ariel pause.
Ariel took in a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and finally loosened his grip, though his golden eyes never left Ash’s face.
Alarion turned to face Ash again, his eyes meeting the calm gaze behind the mask. His voice was quieter now, but there was still a firm edge to it.
"Just answer us. You were the one who infiltrated this place. No matter what your intentions were, you owe us an explanation."
Ash stayed silent for a few moments, as if thinking about whether it was even worth answering. Then, with a calm tone that matched the stillness in his eyes, he finally spoke.
"I am.....Dragon Slayer."
***