As the ultimatum that the Chaos Immortals had given ended, the residents within the Shadow Domain had taken shelter, awaiting whatever was about to come.

They halted the travel between various cities of the domain, and all Airships were grounded… It would certainly affect the economy of the cities, but if they wanted to prioritize the safety of the citizens, they had to do this much.

Of course, if the ultimatum was only a bluff from them, then that would surely show these Chaos Immortals were afraid of them.

However, as the Immortals and Dragons waited for their arrival, no messengers arrived. No envoys and any other signs or final warnings.

Just silence.

It was as if they were trying to get on their nerves.

Inside the central chamber, Constance stood at the edge of the formation circle…

"They're late," she said.

Odessa also checked the various Mystical Eyes she had created, but couldn't find any signs… "Well, maybe they're already here."

Lisa then frowned as she noticed something…

"I lost my connection to the bats I sent to observe the surroundings of the Shadow Domain…"

At this time, Magnus also realized that the Scryers he had weren't showing any information or giving any feedback…

"I guess this is the start..."

***

Despite that, it still took another day before the Chaos Immortals showed their presence!

They actually delayed their arrival as if they were trying to break their will!

Soon, reports from many of their outposts confirmed what the Mystical Eyes had failed to show. Thousands of Chaos Beasts had appeared just beyond the forest perimeter of the Shadow Domain!

"They were forming a wide ring around the Shadow Domain's outer region." Constance muttered. She wasn't worried about these Chaos Beasts, but she wasn't. They have strong Arcanists and Magic Automatons capable of dealing with them.

Nonetheless, the beasts weren't attacking, nor were they attempting to breach the forest. Instead, they remained stationary.

They were simply positioned with a clear intent to cause trouble, but they were waiting for a signal.

Their presence alone was enough to confirm that the Chaos Immortals weren't bluffing. This was a coordinated operation.

Inside the central chamber, Odessa reviewed the last functioning relay node.

The beasts were organized by type and size, not scattered randomly.

That meant someone was controlling them directly. Constance adjusted the formation circle's parameters, expanding the detection radius to track any sudden movement.

Lisa, meanwhile, was already preparing for the possible coordination they had to do with the dragons if needed.

But the real attack wasn't coming from the outer perimeter.

It had already begun far to the west within the Shadow Domain!

Eustace City, the farthest settlement from the Shadow Castle, had gone dark.

The alert came immediately, confirming that one hundred Chaos Immortals had descended on the city without warning.

There were no envoys, no demands, and just a full encirclement.

Most of the population had already been evacuated or relocated to underground shelters.

Well, the Immortals couldn't really target the mortals due to Karma that could eat them up. If they accumulated too much bad karma by killing mortals, they could be targeted by the Will of the Realm or be rejected by the realm itself.

Nonetheless, there were still a few who had remained in the city, those responsible for maintaining the leyline grid and executing the contingency plan that Vale had prepared years ago.

At the center of the city, three Time Manipulators, Cyper, Elysia, and Ivan, stood at their designated anchor points.

Each of them had been assigned to Eustace specifically for this moment.

In front of them was Chad, the only Immortal present, whose bloodline carried the traits of dragons.

"We're ready…" Chad muttered as he looked behind him.

He had been chosen not for his combat strength, but for his ability to withstand the backlash of the curse they were about to activate.

The Divine Crystals embedded beneath the city were over two hundred in total…

Even for Vale, it wasn't easy to gather them…

Nonetheless, these crystals had remained dormant for years. Each one was sealed as they had agreed that the crystals would only be used when the city was in danger...

That condition had now been met.

Cyper gave the signal.

Elysia and Ivan began syncing with the Formation Array…

"Crystals are responding," Ivan said, eyes locked on the Array. "Sequence is stable."

Elysia nodded. "We're synced. Curse is ready."

Then, Chad entered the ritual circle and began channeling the activation sequence.

Soon, the Divine crystals responded.

Then, a synchronized pattern that spread across the city's foundation had appeared.

What they triggered this time was a curse that wasn't designed to repel the attackers. It was meant to trap them!

As the Chaos Immortals closed in, the curse activated.

The air around Eustace shifted, and it was as if the space distorted.

Soon, the Time Manipulators began with their synchronization…

Time slowed…

Supposedly, the Curse was only meant to trap the target's mind. The other Immortals could still escape from this…

However, with the three Time manipulators around, they created a loop instead!

Indeed, the attackers found themselves caught in a recursive loop, one that reflected their own energy signatures back at them, fragmented and unstable.

One of the Chaos Immortals tried to cast a suppression field. The spell collapsed while casting, then rebounded, striking his own formation.

Another attempted to teleport--only to reappear in the same spot, disoriented and unable to stabilize.

"They're locked," Ivan said. "Loop is holding."

"Good," Cyper replied. "Keep the anchors stable. We need full containment."

Elysia adjusted the outer seals. "Expanding radius. We'll trap all hundred."

Chad didn't wait for confirmation.

He launched forward, targeting the nearest Immortal with a direct strike.

He was also within the range of the Loop Curse, but his Dragon Bloodline protected him from being affected!

"Hahaha! Foolish! You're all dead to me!" Chad laughed as his fist collided with another's chest!

However, the Chaos Immortals weren't pushovers either.

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