Chapter Seventy-Two: Lilith's Domain

I gazed quietly at the remaining three judges, a smile curling at the corners of my lips.

"Does Her Highness Liliana truly believe that simply holding off those two will be enough to stand against us?" the Duke of Poison sneered.

"Of course not. They are merely unexpected variables outside my plans. From the very beginning, I never intended to rely on anyone else's strength," I replied, lifting my head to gaze at the moon overhead. "Time is running short. Before Xuelan and Ang find us, I must resolve this quickly." My words were edged with a sigh.

"Arrogant," the Lady of Ice remarked, her voice as terse as ever.

"It seems Her Highness Liliana is very confident in herself," the fourth judge, the Puppeteer, stroked the puppet hovering before him as he addressed me.

"This was originally a gift prepared for the First Judge. But now, I'll let you experience it first. I hope you won't regret it," I said calmly to the three before me. Mother, forgive me—I cannot keep the promise I made to you. I sighed softly in my heart. The words fell cold from my lips: "Domain—The Lost Paradise." As soon as the words left my mouth, a pitch-black domain enveloped us all in an instant.

"Domain?" The Lady of Ice stared at the darkness that had swallowed all light, surprise in her voice.

"Yes, this is my domain space. Welcome to the Lost Paradise," I appeared before them, speaking with serene detachment.

"This is the first I've heard that Her Highness Liliana possesses a domain," the Puppeteer murmured, marveling at the darkness around him.

"Because this is only the second time I've used my domain," I replied, my tone still placid.

"So what if it's a domain? Surely Her Highness isn't naive enough to believe a domain alone can defeat us?" the Duke of Poison said contemptuously.

"Who can say? Perhaps it might be possible," I answered, still calm.

As we spoke, the temperature around us dropped further, the air beginning to condense, countless droplets of ice raining onto the ground. "Attack," the Lady of Ice commanded the Duke of Poison impatiently. In response, countless ice blades materialized, floating around her and pointing toward me.

"Humph, I don't need your reminders," the Duke of Poison retorted, his tone equally unfriendly. Clearly, even among the judges of the Vampire Council, harmony was elusive. The Duke of Poison became a mist of toxins, spreading rapidly and corroding the ground beneath him, leaving holes where the mist touched.

The Lady of Ice was now surrounded by a dense array of ice blades, intimidating in their numbers. "Ice Rain," she called coldly, and the blades came flying at me, impossible to dodge.

I stood before the incoming barrage, motionless, simply waiting.

The Lady of Ice, angered by my indifference, scoffed, and the blades accelerated even more.

Yet, to her astonishment, as the blades were about to strike, I remained perfectly still. In her shocked gaze, the blades pierced through my body. My form shattered like a bubble and vanished, as if I had never been there at all.

"I'm here," my serene voice sounded behind her.

Startled, she spun to face me. "Teleportation?" she asked uncertainly.

I shook my head gently. "It's not teleportation."

"Playing tricks," the Duke of Poison said scornfully. "Step back, Lady of Ice; leave this to me." With that, his toxic mist surged toward me, enveloping me completely. The Lady of Ice hastily conjured an ice shield to protect herself, blocking the mist and quickly escaping its reach. The shield was soon corroded away, and had she lingered, her fate would have matched the shield's.

"Damn it!" She glared at the Duke of Poison.

"You're not dead, are you?" he replied, utterly unrepentant, as if it were a trivial matter.

"Die!" she hurled ice blades at him in fury, but each was dissolved upon contact with his poisonous mist.

"So, you'd rather bicker among yourselves?" My voice rang out from within the haze, startling the Duke of Poison. "Impossible! You're unharmed?" His disbelief was palpable.

"Your poison mist is troublesome, but to kill me? You're far from capable," I replied, my tone tranquil, as though the mist enveloping me were nothing more than ordinary fog.

"How are you doing this? Even the Blood Knights dare not touch my poison mist—how can you be unaffected?" the Duke of Poison shouted, incredulous. The Lady of Ice, too, was wide-eyed with shock. His mist was potent, terrifying; there was simply no one who could survive it unscathed.

"This is likely not your true self, is it, Your Highness Liliana?" The Puppeteer, silent until now, finally spoke.

"Your judgment is impressive, but you'll be disappointed—within the poison mist, it truly is me," my voice came from within.

"Don't be absurd," the Duke of Poison roared, his fury boiling over. "Die, die! Obliteration!"

With his rage, the mist around him surged, the green deepening until it was as black as ink.

"It's useless. Your poison mist cannot harm me." My voice rang out calmly from within, proof that I remained unscathed.

A cry of agony echoed from the mist—it was the Duke of Poison. As his scream faded, the mist contracted, revealing his figure. He clutched one eye in agony, his face twisted with pain, dark green blood dripping between his fingers and corroding the earth into deep pits.

"What? How can this be?" Even the Puppeteer was stunned. "You actually injured the Duke of Poison in his mist form. Not even the Blood Knights can do that."

"She cannot, but that doesn't mean I cannot," I appeared before them. "Fourth Judge, Puppeteer, do you wish to test yourself against me?"

"I admit defeat," the Puppeteer said with a wry smile. "To defeat the Duke of Poison so easily—Her Highness Liliana, your strength must be approaching that of a Prince. Yet I don't understand—if you possess such power, why were you forced into such dire straits by the First Judge?"

"In this world, possessing great power always comes at a price—a price I could not afford. But now, I've come to realize: if it means protecting those I love, no price is too great, and I have no regrets." I smiled bitterly. "First Judge, Sword Duke, I wonder if I am now worthy to be your opponent?" I called to the sky, pitch-black and devoid of light.

"Humph, Her Highness Liliana, you truly astonish me. I never imagined you possessed such strength. Fascinating. Now, I find you very interesting," the Sword Duke's excited voice echoed from above.

"If it were up to me, I would choose never to possess such power," I replied quietly. "But in this moment, I am grateful for it—the forbidden power." In that instant, my resolve hardened. "Domain—The Lost Paradise, Land of Loss." With my words, countless points of light bloomed in the surrounding darkness, revealing the true form of my domain.