The attacker's molten hand remained raised above Zekai's unconscious body.
One strike.
That was all it would take.
Then—
The dust drifting through the shattered wall suddenly froze.
Tiny fragments of concrete hung motionless in the air.
The smoke stopped swirling.
Even the flickering magma flames seemed to lose their rhythm.
...
Step.
A single footstep echoed across the ruined interrogation room.
Step.
Another.
Step.
Each calm footfall carried an inexplicable weight that suffocated the atmosphere.
The attacker slowly turned around.
"..."
His pupils narrowed.
A lone silhouette emerged from the curtain of dust.
Hands tucked inside a long black coat.
His pace never changed. He walked through the devastation as though none of it concerned him.
The orange glow from the magma reflected across his emotionless face.
The attacker felt a strange chill crawl up his spine.
"...You."
The dust finally settled.
"Aldric... Marune."
Aldric's icy gaze swept across the room.
Sebastian collapsed against the wall.
Zekai motionless. Blood staining the floor beneath him.
His eyes lingered for half a second. His expression changed ever so slightly.
"So... it finally happened."
His gaze shifted again.
Iris. Barely breathing. Covered in blood.
Silence.
Aldric sighed.
"...Mmm."
He walked toward an overturned metal chair.
Dragging it across the floor with a loud screech, he positioned it in the center of the room.
Then sat down.
One leg crossed over the other. An exhausted sigh escaped him.
"Ah..."
"Today's been terrible."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I really can't afford to lose anyone else."
His cold eyes settled on the attacker.
"So."
"Surrender."
The attacker's eyebrow twitched.
"...Still another idiot trying to save him?"
His magma erupted violently.
"You people talk too much!"
Without warning, he thrust both palms toward Zekai.
"Magma Flame!"
BOOOOM!!
A torrent of white-hot magma shot toward the unconscious young man.
Yet—
It stopped. Not exploded. Not blocked.
Simply...
Stopped.
Less than a meter from Zekai.
The attacker blinked.
"...What?"
He pushed harder. Veins bulged across his arm.
The magma refused to move another inch.
"What the hell?!"
He looked around frantically.
Nothing. No barrier. No chains. No visible Grave Art.
His breathing quickened.
"What... is holding it?"
Across the room...
Aldric hadn't moved. He wasn't even looking at him.
The attacker growled and tried forcing the flames forward.
Nothing.
Suddenly—
BANG!
An invisible impact slammed into his arm.
"GHK!"
His body flew sideways, crashing violently through a cracked section of the wall.
Chunks of concrete rained down around him.
He quickly stood.
"..."
His eyes remained fixed on Aldric.
'He never moved...'
'Then what hit me...?'
A bead of sweat rolled beneath his mask.
For the first time...
Uncertainty entered his mind.
"...You bastard."
The attacker roared.
His Grave Energy exploded throughout the room.
"MAGMA FLAME!!"
An even larger inferno erupted.
The entire interrogation room transformed into a sea of blazing white-orange fire.
The flames rushed toward Aldric from every direction.
Aldric remained seated. Expressionless. He didn't even bother looking.
The inferno reached him—
—and shattered.
Like waves crashing against an invisible cliff.
The flames dispersed into harmless sparks before fading into nothingness.
Silence.
The attacker's breathing became ragged.
"...Impossible..."
He clenched both fists. The magma condensed. Slowly taking the shape of a massive molten sword.
"If fire won't kill you..."
"I'll cut you apart!"
He swung.
A gigantic arc of blazing magma sliced through the room.
Then another.
Another.
Another.
Each slash capable of cleaving reinforced steel. Each one disappeared against that unseen wall.
Not a single attack reached Aldric.
Not one.
"...Fight me!" the attacker screamed.
Aldric finally spoke.
"...Finished?"
"..."
The single word hit harder than any attack. Veins bulged beneath the attacker's mask.
"You..."
"You mentioned your grandfather."
Aldric's voice remained calm.
"Who is he?"
The attacker suddenly smiled. A twisted smile.
"So..."
"Someone finally asks the right question."
His laughter echoed through the room.
"He saw the False Dawn."
"And he saw..."
His eyes burned with fanaticism.
"...the day your precious monster destroys everything."
"He should've been slaughtered before he awakened!"
His Grave Energy surged to its limit.
The molten sword expanded. The blade became twice its original size.
"I'll kill you first!"
He lunged. The enormous sword pierced toward Aldric's chest.
Only then...
Aldric stood.
Calmly.
He raised both hands. Not to grab the blade. Not even touching it.
CLANG!!
The molten blade never reached Aldric. The sword stopped between his palms.
There was nearly thirty centimeters of empty space between his hands and the molten blade.
Something invisible held it completely still.
The attacker's eyes widened until they nearly burst.
"...How..."
"...How are you doing this?!"
Aldric answered with silence.
Then—
THUD.
His foot struck the attacker's abdomen.
There was no explosion. No flashy technique.
The attacker simply launched backward like a cannonball.
CRAAASH!!
He smashed through another concrete wall before collapsing onto the floor.
Blood spilled beneath his mask.
Yet he laughed.
"You think blocking me changes anything?"
"You think your base is safe?"
"We already infiltrated every section!"
Aldric slowly began walking toward him.
"Hm?"
"That's it?"
The attacker's grin widened.
"You still don't understand."
Aldric stopped.
His expression remained unchanged.
"For the moment I stepped into this building..."
"...it was already over."
The attacker laughed louder.
"What a joke."
At that exact moment—
Bzzzt...
Static burst from the communication device in his ear.
"...Little Boss..."
The communicator crackled violently.
Gunfire echoed in the background. Heavy breathing.
"...We're being pushed back..."
The masked attacker's smile remained.
"You idiots... hold your positions."
Another explosion shook the transmission.
Then—
"Negative!"
A terrified voice shouted over the chaos.
"The First Order has broken through the eastern sector!"
Metal crashed.
Someone screamed.
"The Barrier Division restored the Headquarters seal! Every escape route has been closed!"
The attacker frowned.
"...What?"
Another voice seized the communicator.
"This is Squad Nine!"
"The Third Order came out of nowhere!"
"They're cutting through everyone!"
A deafening impact interrupted the transmission.
The sound of bodies hitting the floor echoed one after another.
"No—!"
"Containment Division has reached the underground corridors!"
"They're sealing every layer!"
"Our Grave Arts don't work inside their suppression fields!"
"We can't break through!"
The attacker clenched his jaw.
"...Impossible."
Another frantic report burst through.
"The Medical Division already evacuated the injured!"
"The Intelligence Division identified every infiltrator!"
"Our disguises have all been exposed!"
Someone screamed.
"They knew exactly where we were!"
Gunfire erupted.
A calm voice answered from the opposite end.
"BSA First Order speaking."
"Hostile squad twenty-one secured."
Another voice followed immediately.
"Third Order."
"Hostile squad thirty-four captured."
A third transmission.
"Containment Division."
"Underground sectors cleared."
Another.
"Barrier Division."
"Dimensional Lock restored."
"No unauthorized spatial movement detected."
Silence.
Only static remained.
Then one final broken whisper reached the communicator.
"...Little Boss..."
Blood filled the man's voice.
"...there are too many..."
"We thought this place was a government office..."
"...it's a fortress..."
Another explosion.
The communicator fell to the floor.
Only static remained.
Connection Lost.
...
✦ End of Chapter 34 — The Man Who Never Drew His Weapon ✦