WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 261: Domain - Absolute Magic Control

Meanwhile, inside one of the tunnels Slark had dug, Draeven shouted hoarsely.

"Elvira!

Run!"

He raised his shovel like a halberd and planted his feet in front of her.

Ahead, four knights appeared, their silver armor gleaming in the dim light.

They were taller than normal men but still shorter than a Nephirid.

Each sat on a hybrid beast that looked like a cross between a dragon and a horse, with eyes that glowed faintly red.

Behind them marched twenty-four soldiers.

Every one of them was a Magus.

The pressure they gave off was thick and heavy, like it made the air harder to breathe.

Draeven’s jaw tightened.

He remembered barely surviving against only a few of these enemies.

Now two dozen of them blocked the way.

His grip on the shovel shook until his knuckles turned white.

Hatred boiled in his chest, but he forced it down.

Charging at them blindly would be useless.

The most he could do was buy Elvira some time to escape.

But Elvira did not move.

Her gaze sharpened as she stared at the knights.

"Are you Templars?

Did you kill Slark?"

One of the knights laughed.

His voice sounded hollow, like it came from inside a steel drum.

"Oooh... look what we found.

An Aetheris wandering in the lower layers.

Did you get lost, little bird?"

Another knight leaned forward on his mount.

His voice was deep and cold.

"Do not toy with her, Roland.

She asked you a question first.

Answer her."

Roland chuckled again.

"Patience, Tancred.

She will not live long enough to care about any answers."

The third knight, Galahad, tilted his head.

His tone was strange, half mocking and half curious.

"Interesting, isn’t it?

An Aetheris at this depth.

That means the queen’s plans are moving faster than we thought."

The last one, Tristan, spoke with calm authority.

"Enough chatter.

We have a mission.

Secure her.

Kill the rest."

Elvira’s lips curled.

Her eyes glowed faintly, cold and dangerous.

"An Aetheris here, and your queen’s plans are moving faster, are they?

Care to explain what that means?"

Roland sneered, his laughter echoing through the tunnel.

"Do you not know already?

Why else would you be here, little bird?"

Elvira’s eyes narrowed.

She thought quickly. ’So that is it.

Their queen has plans for my kind.

For me to appear here means they were already expecting it.

Either I escaped her control, or something else forced me down into this layer.’

"Go, Elvira!" Draeven shouted again, his voice raw.

He planted his shovel in the stone and got ready to swing, but his eyes stayed on her.

The air around Elvira crackled.

Thin arcs of energy snapped against the tunnel walls as her presence swelled.

The stone around them groaned under the pressure.

The knights did not flinch.

Roland only leaned closer, tilting his head as if amused.

"Hah.

What is that pitiful spark?

Do you think rattling a few stones will scare us?

To us, you are just a rat squeaking in the dark."

Tancred spoke after him, his tone cold and certain.

"Do not waste your strength.

It will not change the result.

The queen wants every Aetheris alive.

That is the only reason you are still breathing."

Their laughter overlapped while Elvira’s aura grew sharper with every second.

Tristan raised his gauntleted hand.

"Enough stalling.

Bind her."

At his command, the Magus stepped forward together.

Symbols lit up under their feet and spread out in circles that linked together like turning gears.

"Aether Binding Chains!"

From the glowing circles, chains of crackling light burst out and shot through the air like serpents.

Each chain hissed when it hit the stone, leaving scorched marks wherever it scraped the walls.

Draeven moved at once.

He slammed his shovel into the ground and then swung up, sparks flying as he knocked aside the first chain that rushed toward Elvira.

The impact numbed his arms, but he gritted his teeth and swung again, deflecting another.

Two chains.

Three.

Four.

They did not stop.

Nine Magus had cast the spell together.

More chains erupted, crossing over each other and filling the tunnel like a closing net.

"Damn it!" Draeven roared.

His shovel moved in a blur.

He shattered one chain, then another, but for each one he broke, two more took its place.

His muscles burned and screamed, but the tide of chains kept growing.

The tunnel shook as the binding spell thickened.

Hundreds of bright chains raced toward Elvira from every direction.

Elvira’s lips curled in a cold smile.

She did not dodge or retreat.

Instead, she stepped forward and faced the storm of chains head-on.

"I have been preparing this for a while.

I did not think I would need to use it this soon."

She flicked her hand.

A crystal shot upward and shattered in midair with a sharp crack, releasing a burst of light.

From that light, a huge and complex magic circle unfolded and spread across the tunnel ceiling.

The Magus froze.

Even they, trained in many formations, had never seen anything like it.

At first glance it looked like one circle, but a closer look showed hundreds of circles layered together.

Thousands of smaller arrays nested inside, rotating in perfect harmony.

Each rune was its own circle, all bound into one design.

Their eyes widened.

Whispers broke through their calm expressions.

"Impossible..."

"What kind of formation is this?"

Elvira’s gaze swept over them, calm and merciless.

"[Domain-Absolute Magic Control]."

Her voice sounded like a final judgment.

She raised her hand and spoke one word.

"Erase."

The glowing chains shuddered.

Their crackling light flickered, then broke apart into motes of raw mana that scattered through the air like fine dust.

The knights’ mocking smiles faded.

The Magus who had cast the spell felt their control ripped away, as if a stronger law had overridden their magic.

Elvira stood without moving.

Her eyes stayed cold.

"Is that all you can do?

Disappointing."

Silence filled the tunnel.

Even Draeven froze.

His grip on the shovel loosened. ’I knew she had grown stronger, but this?

To cancel a joint spell from nine Magus as if it was nothing... she really is a prodigy.’

Compared to their last fight against the Magus, the difference was like heaven and earth.

Back then, even a single Magus had almost killed all of them.

Now Elvira stood alone in front of an entire army and did not even step back.

One of the knights let out a cold snort.

The sound echoed inside his helm.

"Hmph.

Now this is interesting.

Magus, stop playing around.

Use Aether."

The soldiers shifted at once.

Their staves rose again as a new kind of energy began to form.