Iron Sovereign: I Hunt the Apex

Chapter 7: The Suppression Circle

The dark red magic circle glowed brightly beneath Aiden's boots, casting a bloody light over his face. Cold magic rushed up through the soles of his shoes, pinning his legs to the marble floor like heavy iron weights. Every time he tried to lift a foot, the red energy pulled him back down, steadily draining the warmth from his muscles.

Around the edges of the circle, twenty elite enforcers dressed in black plate armor moved into position. They held long iron chains attached to thick metal stakes, forming a tight circle around him.

On the high stage, Marcus let out a sharp sigh of relief. He straightened his silver armor, stepped toward the railing, and looked down at Aiden with a mocking grin.

"Did you think you could just walk into the main arena and challenge the guild master?" Marcus called out, his voice full of spite. "You are just a foolish porter who got lucky in the rift. You do not belong on this stage."

Aiden ignored Marcus's taunts. He kept his breathing steady, closing his eyes for a brief second to check his internal state. The red magic circle was designed to suppress normal human mana, but the power flowing through his veins was not normal mana. It was raw physical traits and energy absorbed directly from rift beasts, constructs, and fallen hunters.

He focused on the Shadow Domain trait he had just absorbed from the four-eyed shadow beast. A cool, dark current began to move beneath his skin, clashing against the red magic trying to bind him.

Guild Master Vane leaned over the balcony railing, his gold robes fluttering in the arena wind. "Do not fight it, young man. Hand over the ancient sentry blade and surrender your abnormal absorbing method to the city council. If you cooperate, we might spare your life and let you work in our research labs."

"You only care about stealing my power," Aiden said, his voice deep and clear. He raised his head, staring straight into Vane's eyes. "You do not care about justice or the truth."

Vane's expression hardened into stone. He raised his right hand and gestured to the enforcers. "Drive the stakes. Lock his power down."

Four enforcers stepped forward together, raising heavy iron hammers. They slammed the glowing suppression stakes deep into the marble floor around the edges of the magic circle. Red energy beams shot up from the stakes, connecting in midair to form a cage of light over Aiden's head.

The pressure inside the cage increased immediately. The heavy air pressed down on Aiden's shoulders, trying to force him onto his knees. The red energy blade in his right hand flickered, its heat dimming under the heavy magic suppression.

The crowd in the stands began to murmur in confusion. Many of the spectators had cheered for Aiden after he defeated the shadow beast, and seeing the guild master use suppressing magic on a lone fighter felt underhanded. But no one dared to speak out against Vane's elite enforcers.

Aiden felt his knees bend slightly under the heavy weight. His muscles strained, and sweat poured down his forehead, dripping onto the hot glowing floor.

"It is useless to fight," the head enforcer said, stepping closer with a pair of heavy iron cuffs. "No low-tier hunter can break a high-grade guild array."

Aiden looked down at the red lines glowing beneath his boots. A cold smile touched his lips.

"Your array suppresses mana," Aiden whispered. "But I am not using mana."

Aiden channeled the Rock Armor Structure and the Metal Core Energy through his legs at the same time. His physical muscles expanded slightly, turning as tough as reinforced steel. At the same time, he activated his Shadow Domain, letting dark energy wrap around his boots to neutralize the red magic lines on the floor.

The red circle began to flicker and spark. Small cracks formed on the polished marble beneath his boots.

The head enforcer stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening behind his iron helmet. "What is happening? Increase the power on the stakes!"

The four enforcers rushed to hit the stakes again, but they were too late.

Aiden let out a low roar and slammed both feet into the ground with explosive force.

The marble floor shattered in a wide circle, sending large chunks of stone flying into the air. The heavy shockwave snapped the red energy beams like thin glass threads. The four suppression stakes were torn from the ground, flying backward and slamming into the surrounding enforcers.

The magical cage exploded into red sparks, scattering across the arena floor.

Aiden stood tall in the center of the dust cloud, completely free from the suppression array. The red energy blade in his hand flared back to life, humming with intense, white-hot heat.

The crowd gasped, people standing up from their seats in utter shock. Breaking a guild suppression array with pure physical strength was unheard of in the entire history of the city.

Aiden did not give the enforcers time to recover from the shock wave. He activated his Shadow Stride, vanishing from his spot on the ruined floor.

He reappeared directly in front of the head enforcer, swinging the flat side of his red energy blade like a heavy bat. The strike hit the enforcer's chest plate with a loud metallic clang, sending the heavy man flying thirty feet across the field until he crashed into the outer wall.

The remaining enforcers panicked, drawing their weapons and backing away from the lone fighter.

Aiden turned his gaze away from the fallen enforcers and looked straight toward the high stage where Marcus stood.

Marcus's face turned completely white. He dropped his broadsword onto the floor, taking three fast steps backward toward the rear exit gate of the stage.

"Vane, help me!" Marcus screamed, looking up toward the royal balcony.

Guild Master Vane stood up from his chair, his face dark with rage. He reached inside his gold robes and pulled out a small, black glass orb filled with swirling purple mist.

"You are a threat to the stability of this city, porter," Vane said coldly.

Vane threw the black orb down onto the arena floor. The glass shattered on impact, releasing a thick cloud of purple mist that spread rapidly across the marble ground.

As the purple mist touched the fallen body of the shadow beast, the dead monster's eyes suddenly burst open, glowing with a dark, unnatural purple light. The beast raised its heavy head and let out a bloodcurdling shriek as its broken flesh began to rebuild itself.