Awakening Domination System: But I'm a Slave?-Chapter 303: Mother of Demons [2]
Lilith walked forward slowly, savoring the moment.
Each step was deliberate, theatrical.
"You know what I love most?" she said conversationally, as if discussing the weather rather than mass slaughter. "The moment when hope dies. That exact instant when someone realizes they can’t win, can’t survive, can’t do anything except wait for the end."
She crouched beside a collapsed boy who’d fought bravely, who’d killed three corrupted creatures before the pressure brought him down. He tried to move, to crawl away, but his body wouldn’t obey.
Lilith reached out and gently touched his cheek. Almost tender.
"Like this~" she whispered.
Then her hand moved and his head separated from his shoulders.
Blood sprayed across pristine stone.
She stood, licking the blood from her fingers with a satisfied hum. "Delicious. Fear makes everything taste better, don’t you think?"
Nyra’s shadows surged, forming a massive construct that lunged at Lilith from behind—
Lilith’s tail whipped backward without her even looking.
CRACK!
The shadow construct shattered. Nyra gasped, staggered, blood spraying from her mouth.
She dropped to one knee.
"Oh, you’re running out of power~" Lilith observed, turning to face her properly. "How sad. I was hoping you’d last longer."
She walked toward Nyra with that same casual grace, preparing to deliver a finishing blow.
But paused.
As pressure in the area shifted.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
And lightning erupted across the courtyard.
Not white-blue, but... deep crimson, like blood given electrical form, arcing across broken stone and shattered debris with violent, erratic patterns.
Lilith titled her head with genuine interest.
From the smoke and shadow, Alaric emerged.
And around him, that impossible red lightning crackled with increasing intensity.
He didn’t speak. Didn’t announce himself.
Just moved and materialized beside Lilith, his fist already in motion, wreathed in that crimson electrical essence.
The punch connected with her side.
And Lilith stumbled.
Took two steps backward, her expression shifting from amused interest to genuine surprise.
"Oh~?" She looked down at where his fist had struck, then back at him. "That actually hurt a little! How wonderful!"
Alaric didn’t respond. His other hand came and thrust it forward.
Lilith crossed her arms, demonic essence flaring.
BOOM!
The collision released a shockwave that sent debris flying, forced the demons to brace themselves.
When the light cleared, Lilith stood with her arms smoking slightly, small burns marking her pale skin.
Her smile widened impossibly. "YES! This is what I wanted! Show me more!"
[DEFENSIVE INTEGRITY: 45% —> 40%]
Alaric’s body was breaking down. The red lightning was eating him alive from the inside out, burning through essence channels, scorching flesh, destroying the careful balance that let him function.
But he kept attacking.
Fist. Palm strike. Kick. Elbow. Each impact accompanied by devastating electrical discharge.
Lilith met him blow for blow.
They tore across the courtyard in a whirlwind of destruction—
CRACK-BOOM!
Lilith’s tail whipped forward, blade-tip aimed at his chest.
Alaric caught it with his bare hand. The blade cut deep into his palm, blood flowing freely...
[DEFENSIVE INTEGRITY: 40% —> 35%]
But he held firm and yanked, pulling Lilith off-balance.
His other fist came up and connected with her jaw, snapped her head back. She flew upward, crashed into a half-collapsed wall and laughed.
"More! MORE!"
She pushed off the wall and charged.
They collided mid-air.
Alaric’s bones were breaking. His flesh was burning.
[DEFENSIVE INTEGRITY: 35% —> 30%]
Can’t stop.
His vision was going red at the edges.
SLASH!
Lilith’s claws raked across his chest, tearing through flesh and muscle, carving deep enough to expose bone.
[DEFENSIVE INTEGRITY: 30% —> 25%]
He gasped, blood erupting from the wound and grabbed her wrist before she could pull back.
Red lightning exploded from his hand directly into her arm.
CRACK-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP!
Lilith tried to pull back. But...
He held firm, his grip unbreakable. The lightning intensified, arcing up her arm, scorching demonic flesh.
Her other hand drove into his stomach.
CRUNCH!
"ARGH!" A groan tore from his throat.
Claws punched through skin, muscle, organs. Perforating his intestines, nicking his insides, carving devastation through his core.
[DEFENSIVE INTEGRITY: 25% —> 20%]
Alaric’s legs gave out.
One moment he was standing through sheer willpower and impossible crimson lightning, the next his knees buckled and he was falling.
But he didn’t hit the ground.
Small delicate hands caught him and held him upright with strength that defied their size.
"There we go~" Lilith cooed, like comforting a tired child. "You pushed yourself so hard. Such a good boy."
"Let—" Alaric tried to speak, managed only a wet gasp. Blood bubbled between his lips.
"Shhhh." Lilith’s hand stroked his hair with disturbing tenderness. "Rest now. You’ve earned it."
Nyra materialized behind her, blade aimed directly at Lilith’s exposed neck.
But...
Lilith’s tail moved.
The blade-tipped appendage intercepted Nyra’s strike, then whipped around in a blur and struck her across the temple.
The impact was devastating.
Nyra’s head snapped to the side. Her eyes rolled back. Her shadows dispersed instantly as consciousness fled.
She collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
"You’re coming too~" Lilith said brightly, looking down at Nyra’s unconscious form.
She adjusted her grip on Alaric, holding him princess-style with one arm, his blood soaking into her white dress, head lolling against her shoulder, while keeping her other hand free.
Around them, the few students and faculty still conscious stared in horror. Too weak to move. Too depleted to fight. Just... watching.
"Elena~" Lilith called out, her voice sing-song. "Stop hiding and come help!"
From size, Elena came forward.
Her brown hair matted with dried blood, bruises covering her visible skin. The wounds from when Alaric had drained her were still present, barely healed. She moved with visible effort, favoring her right side.
But she was alive. Her hazel eyes found Alaric’s barely-conscious form in Lilith’s arms, and something flickered in her expression.
"As you command, my lady," she said quietly, her voice hoarse.
She walked to Nyra’s collapsed form and crouched, grabbing the unconscious woman under her arms.
Thirty meters away, Elina watched the scene unfold with growing horror.
She was on her hands and knees. The crushing pressure had broken something inside her, cracked ribs, ruptured spleen, internal bleeding that would kill her if left untreated.
But she saw Lilith holding Alaric. Saw Elena dragging Nyra. Saw them taking him.
No.
The word echoed in her mind.
She tried to stand. Failed. Tried again. Her legs trembled, barely supporting her weight, but she forced herself upright through sheer stubborn will.
"Let... him... go..." The words came out as a hiss between clenched teeth.
Lilith’s eyes found her across the distance, and her smile widened.
"Oh~? Still fighting? How adorable!" She tilted her head, studying Elina with genuine interest. "You care about him, don’t you? My little toy has made friends~"
"He’s not... your toy..." Elina took one stumbling step forward. Then another. Her vision swam. Her legs threatened to give out with each movement. "Put him... down..."
Her golden essence tried to manifest, sputtered weakly, barely a flicker.
Not enough. Nowhere near enough.
But she kept moving anyway.
Lilith watched her approach with delighted fascination, like observing an interesting insect.
"Such determination! Such spirit!" She clapped her free hand against Alaric’s shoulder in mock applause. "You’ve chosen your companions well."
Elina was fifteen meters away now.
"Please..."
Her hand reached out, trembling, desperate, futile.
"Don’t... take him..."
Lilith’s expression didn’t softened.
"No. He’s mine." She hugged Alaric closer, possessive. "Has been since the moment he was created. You were just... borrowing him."
She raised her free hand, and shadow began to coalesce around her and Elena and their unconscious prizes.
No no no NO!
Elina lunged forward, her hand extending, trying to reach Alaric before they vanished.
Lilith’s smile became something sharp and cruel.
She snapped her fingers.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
The ground around Elina erupted.
Demons burst from shadow, cutting off her path, their forms radiating malice and hunger.
Elina stumbled to a stop, surrounded, her eyes going wide.
"A parting gift~" Lilith said brightly. "To keep you company while we’re gone."
"NO!" Elina screamed, raw, desperate, breaking.
The shadows collapsed inward.
"ALARIC!"
And they were gone.
Just... vanished. Like they’d never been there at all.
Elina stood in the center of the demon circle, staring at empty space where he’d been, her hand still extended uselessly.
"No..." Her voice was tiny. Broken. "No no no..."
But the demons didn’t cared.
One of them lunged at her exposed back.
She didn’t react. Didn’t defend. Just stood there, eyes locked on that empty space, something fundamental breaking inside her.
The demon’s claw raised high, preparing to carve her spine.
Then suddenly—
CRASH!
CRACK! CRACK!
Multiple chains erupted from the ground.
Golden and radiant, humming with power that made the demons flinch.
They wrapped around the attacking demon’s limbs, its torso, its neck, binding it completely before it could complete its strike.
It shrieked, trying to break free—
But a voice rang out from behind Elina. Deep and authoritative.
"Siphon!"
And suddenly bound demon’s essence began to drain visibly.
Its form started to wither, to shrink, its corruption being pulled out through the chains into... somewhere else.
It thrashed, screamed, fought desperately...
But in seconds, it was over.
The demon collapsed into a dried husk. Skin like ancient leather stretched over bones, all moisture and essence completely gone. It crumbled to dust the moment the chains released it.
The other four demons turned toward this new threat, recognizing danger.
More chains erupted.
Each demon was bound in an instant, their movements frozen, their forms wrapped in golden essence chains that hummed with power.
"Siphon!"
The voice commanded again.
All four demons began to drain simultaneously.
Then silence as they crumbled to dust.
"You alright, brat?"
Elina turned slowly, her movements mechanical.
A man stood there.
Middle-aged, honey-blonde hair swept back from a strong forehead, the same color catching the firelight from burning buildings. Honey-gold eyes that matched his hair exactly, marking him unmistakably as Glimor.
His hands still glowed faintly with residual essence from the technique he’d just used.
Behind him, more figures emerged from the smoke.
Royal guards. Dozens of them. All wearing the Grey family colors, all carrying weapons, moving with military precision.
And more...
