Silence Domain

Raiden remained motionless, trembling in his boots as he watched Mack close in on him. Their eyes locked while Mack rolled up his sleeves. Raiden just stood there, his sword resting on his shoulder, his masked expression unshaken.

The moment he got a few steps closer to Raiden, he paused and smirked. Raiden narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to make sense of his intent as he watched Mack clap his hands and whisper, ''Silence Domain.'

'

In an instant, the golden aura radiating from him vanished, drawn from his body as it surged outward, circling around them and forming a spherical barrier.

Raiden's expression darkened; he couldn't hear a thing, not even his own breath or heartbeat. He reached out to touch the barrier but couldn't push through.

He narrowed his eyes and turned to Mack, who seemed to be saying something, but he heard nothing. Raiden smirked, a faint sparkle flickering in his eyes.

"If this is all he can do," he burst into laughter, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. "There has to be more to this Silence Domain; if not, then you're not outmatching me in raw strength."

However, Mack smirked and gestured toward the floor, and Raiden suddenly felt a crushing force drag down on him. His hands and sword were yanked downward by an invisible weight. Gritting his teeth, he fought to pull them back up, bracing his legs and pressing against the floor, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift it. Not even a little.

Raiden tilted his head toward him. "He controls everything within it?" He tried releasing the sword, and to his surprise, his hand let go with ease. "So… no sound, no weapons…"

He rose to his feet while Mack stood there, acting cocky, as if he wanted Raiden to witness the full extent of his domain. Raiden took a deep breath and exhaled, even though he couldn't hear a sound.

He scoffed. "Let's get this over with, buddy…"

Without wasting a moment, he dashed forward. As soon as he was within range, he swung, but Mack dodged with a smile.

Raiden narrowed his eyes. Testing his limits, he launched another strike. When that too was avoided, he used the momentum to fuel a second blow with his other hand, but Mack sidestepped it just as easily, smirking all the while.

Mack moved toward Raiden's sword, widening the distance between them. He picked it up effortlessly, as if it wasn't the same weapon Raiden had struggled with.

Pride gleamed in his eyes as he watched Raiden clench his fists in frustration. Then, he dropped the sword to the floor. Raiden began to sweat.

At that moment, Raiden realized he'd been wrong. His body trembled as he swallowed nervously, over and over. Mack didn't even seem interested in fighting. Instead, he outstretched his arms with a smirk. Raiden heard nothing, but he understood the message perfectly.

"This is my domain, and everything within it belongs to me."

And that terrified him. It made everything worse. He stood frozen, unable to move; his only hope was to beg his body to respond, to do something.

"He's a 7… just like Levi. So how?"

The fear on his face was undeniable now.

However, Mack's expression suddenly darkened. He gestured toward Raiden while touching the tip of his finger; within an instant, a small golden orb formed at his fingertip.

Before Raiden could make sense of it, the glowing sphere shot forward, slamming into his ribs. The impact sent him crashing to the floor, and he felt the sharp crack of breaking bone. Gritting his teeth, he lay there, fighting the urge to scream.

"Should I play dead?" he thought, crawling weakly across the floor, desperate to find a way out. But before he could get far, Mack was already closing in.

Raiden could tell he was saying something, but he couldn't hear a thing. He wasn't going to act tough. He wasn't ready to die. So he lay there, still, forcing himself to breathe slowly as he silently berated himself for never getting rid of this disease.

Why?—he thought, again and again, each time accompanied by a surge of pain and guilt in his chest.

The next thing he felt was something heavy pressing down on his back, so heavy it felt like it was trying to drive a hole through him.

This time, he screamed in agony. It wasn't just the crushing weight concentrated on a single point along his spine; it was sharp, too, like the tip of a sword slowly piercing into him.

Raiden couldn't move—not even to crawl away. He just lay there, his face turning crimson as he slowly ran out of breath.

Mack, however, deactivated his domain and leaned over Raiden's broken form on the floor. "It's not your fault," he whispered into his ear, just as Raiden hovered on the edge of passing out from the pain alone. "I'm just that powerful."

He rose to his feet. "What's on your back is my technique, Thousand Swords," he said with a smirk. "I usually strike it at people's skulls. Kills them instantly."

He leaned back toward Raiden with a smirk. "However, you are pretty, just like me. So, give me the book… and I'll let you go."

Raiden wasn't the kind of person to abandon his duty. Once a task was assigned to him, he made sure it was done, and done well. But in that instant, his priority wasn't keeping the book safe. It was surviving. Getting back to his world. And if he died here, that dream would shatter.

At that moment, he was willing to give up the book, but he wasn't a fool. He tilted his head toward Mack.

"Fuck you…" he muttered through the agony. "Free me first."

Mack smirked, but before he could respond, Leo burst out of nowhere, sprinting forward and hurling himself at Mack, just enough to touch him.

Raiden's eyes lit up, even as pain threatened to consume him. He managed a weak smile as he watched Mack begin to float, panic and confusion flashing in his eyes.

However, before Mack could reactivate his domain, Ash dashed in, her body suddenly growing to nearly ten times its size. With a powerful swing of her tail, she struck Mack hard, sending him flying high into the sky.

Ash shrank back to her normal size instantly, and she and Leo rushed toward Raiden, whose smile was already beginning to fade.

[Are you okay, Papa?] Ash asked, her eyes filled with concern and guilt.

Raiden gave her a faint smile, though the pain was now unbearable.

However, Leo stared at the Thousand Blades, more a golden orb than an actual blade. "I think I can nullify its weight," he said.

Ash turned to him and began nodding. Leo smiled at her, gave a nod in return, then braced himself and reached out to touch the orb, immediately beginning to float.

The moment it lifted, a wave of relief surged through Raiden's body, like plunging into an icy bath. But the comfort didn't last. Pain flared through his ribs and spine at once, sharp and unforgiving, forcing his eyes shut and his fists to clench.

That hurts—he thought.

As he lay there, trying to process the pain, Leo helped him up, though the effort only made it worse. Still, Raiden managed to keep a somewhat calm expression.

[Sorry, Papa,] Ash's words echoed softly in Raiden's mind.

Leo touched the orb once more, deactivating the nullification. The moment it hit the ground, it crashed through the pavement, leaving a hole the exact size of the orb.

"We need to heal your wounds, Raiden," Leo said firmly.