Evan POV

  You know… there’s a lot these cultists have done that I could’ve just ignored.

  Petty schemes. Summoning nonsense. A few botched rituals that blew up in their faces.

  Every single plan they’ve made up until now has thwarted, by me.

  Or by me accidentally walking into the middle of it and ruining it without even trying.

  But this?

  This is where I draw the line.

  You come after my family?

  You mess with Hope and Faith?

  Then congratulations.

  You’ve unlocked Angry Big Dick Richard Mode.

  And now...

  I’m going to show you exactly why they call me that.

  {Author’s Note: Literally no one calls him that.}

  Just in case, I messaged Aisha and told her what was going on before she gets confused as well.

  “Now then.” I said, cracking my knuckles.

  “You guys have angered big dick Richard.”

  I held out my hand, and channeled power into a Mana Ball. I poured mana into it until the sphere pulsed, glowing a deep blue-white.

  Then I tossed it upward.

  Mid-air, it detonated—not violently, but silently. The ball split apart into hundreds of tiny glowing fragments that scattered outward and reformed into a shimmering, translucent dome.

  A massive hemisphere, thick and smooth like enchanted crystal, dropped down around me and the entire group of cultists with a resounding thud, sealing us inside.

  The spell locked us off from the outside completely. No exits. No escape.

  Just me.

  And them.

  “I can’t let you guys escape from this one.”

  I pointed at the robed weirdos, my voice dropping into a dramatic growl.

  “All This? This is to make sure you all experience the full fourteen inches of Big Dick Richard.”

  They all looked at each other, their assholes clenched.

  They knew.

  {Author’s Note: Again. No one. Ever calls him that.}

  The masked dude in the back whom I assume is the leader, immediately started barking orders.

  “Everyone with shields! Up front!” the white-fox-masked guy barked, recovering his voice. “The rest of you—bows! FIRE!!”

  Right on cue, a group of five stepped forward in formation, hoisting oversized iron tower shields that clanked together with a metallic clang, forming a wall and protecting their backlines. While The rest scrambled behind them, fumbling for arrows and knocking them into their bows like nervous interns on their first day of villainy.

  To counter them. I raised a hand and whispered—

  “Gravity Ball.”

  A compact, black orb blinked into existence above me, humming faintly like a distant engine.

  It was a spell I learned while messing around with the Terra-Bond Break skill that Oswald and Lucy used during the dragon attack.

  The thing about this skill is that It didn’t deal damage. Instead, it acted like a gentle but very persuasive magnet—pulling everything toward it with just enough force to completely ruin enemy formations.

  I kept the potency dialed low—just enough to disrupt, not destroy.

  Arrows, dozens of them, were pulled mid-flight. One by one, they curved in the air, veering off trajectory and slamming into the Gravity Ball like birds into a pane of glass.

  They stuck.

  All of them.

  A bouquet of arrows floated above me now, clustered tightly around the orb, buzzing in a silent storm.

  Then—pop.

  The Gravity Ball disappeared.

  And the arrows?

  FWOOOSH!

  They shot out in every direction like divine retribution on fast-forward. They bounced off shields, grazed robes, clipped ears, and sent half the cultists diving for cover like frightened NPCs.

  Gasps filled the dome.

  “W-WHAT THE—?!”

  They screamed, I smiled, taking a step forward. “My turn.”

  I glanced at the frontline—five cultists still trying to stand tall with their massive iron tower shields. A little dented. A little panicked. Still in formation.

  Not for long.

  “Let’s get those shields out of the way first.”

  I called out the next spell—

  “Earth Pillar.”

  Now, it’s not exactly a damage-dealer. But the knockback?

  Chef’s kiss.

  Originally, I thought it only worked from the ground. But suprisingly, turns out I can cast it from thin air, too.

  Which is awesome.

  I used the skill, and it summoned a brown-colored magic circle just beside the leftmost shield guy—floating, glowing, and pulsing like a ticking time bomb.

  “Huh-?” The guy noticed but it was too late.

  THOOM!

  A thick mud-and-stone pillar launched out of the air sideways, slamming into all five shield bearers in one magnificent sweep. It was like watching bowling pins made of armor and bad decisions go flying across the dome.

  They smashed into the dome wall with loud, satisfying clangs—then slumped to the ground, unconscious.

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  Just like that.

  Only a couple cultist was left standing now

  A few of them looked at their fallen comrades…

  The dude with the white fox mask just stood there, saying nothing—his stare locked on me like he was trying to figure out whether I was a threat, a lunatic, or both.

  Meanwhile, some of the cultists around him? They tossed their weapons immediately and dropped to their knees, surrendering.

  Which, I mean, fair.

  Oh crap—I probably should’ve said something cool like, "Anyone who wants to surrender, do it now!"

  …Wait. No.

  These guys tried to kidnap my kids.

  Yeah. Screw mercy.

  Now then…

  I had an idea.

  I wanted all of them captured—not dead. That would’ve been too easy.

  I wanted them to pay for what they did. Slowly. Painfully. Preferably under a lifetime sentence of guilt and magical community service.

  So, I gotta knock 'em all out first.

  They were already halfway there—still trembling from the Gravity Ball trick like it was the end of days.

  I gave it a few seconds to let my mana recharge to full. Just in case.

  Then I activated the next phase.

  I summoned around 200 1-MP mana short swords above me. Thin, glowing, and perfectly sharpened. They floated in a tight spiral overhead—spinning slowly at first, then faster, like a magical blender of doom.

  It was more for the visuals than anything. Intimidation is 50% mana, 50% psychological warfare, and 100% flair.

  Speaking of which—

  I cast a 50-MP Mana Ball, infused with the spell Intimidation, directly onto myself.

  Normally, that spell drains mana over time, but with a full 50 MP reserve, I had barely a minute of operation time.

  Luckily, that’s all I needed.

  Especially since I’d supercharged it through the Mana Ball, which multiplied its effect fivefold.

  For reference, the last time I used regular Intimidation…Tifa peed herself.

  Please don’t flood this dome with me in it.

  I glanced around.

  No one moved.

  Not a single mercenary even breathed. Some of them looked like they were trying to fade out of existence by sheer willpower. Even the white-fox-masked guy took an unconscious step back.

  I don’t know exactly what I looked like in that moment—probably a glowing demon surrounded by a tornado of murder swords and menace.

  But I liked it.

  I cleared my throat, voice calm and smooth.

  “Since I’m such a good guy,” I said, “anyone who wants to surrender—drop your weapon, and tie yourself up tight. All of you… except Mr. Mask over there.”

  A pause.

  Then chaos—but the good kind.

  Everyone who hadn’t surrendered already scrambled to throw down their gear. A few of them even started helping each other tie themselves up with actual rope and belts, like some kind of cultist kindergarten project.

  By the time they were done, half of them couldn’t even move. Some were lying on the ground like wrapped burritos, just to make sure they wouldn’t “accidentally” escape.

  Honestly? I was impressed.

  Terror is an underrated motivator.

  That masked dude still hadn’t moved.

  Not even a twitch.

  Everyone else was tied up, squirming or lying face down like burritos of shame. But him? Frozen. Rigid.

  As soon as I turned toward him and started walking, his survival instincts finally kicked in.

  He let out a startled yelp, tripped over his own feet, and fell flat on his butt.

  Then?

  He started crab-walking backward, eyes locked on me like I was a boss fight he wasn’t leveled up for.

  “S-S-St-Stay B-BACK!!” he stuttered, eyes wide as saucers.

  The crystal-like swords—hundreds of them—were still swirling around me like an orbiting storm of magical death, spinning at Mach-1, casting eerie glows across the dome walls.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, tilting my head. “Don’t like it when you’re the prey?”

  “NOOOOOOO!!!” he screamed.

  He scrambled to his feet, legs wobbling like overcooked noodles, and bolted—straight toward the dome’s barrier.

  Oh?

  Trying to run?

  Guess he forgot he was in the Dome of No Exit.

  He hit the barrier hard, bounced off it like a rejected dodgeball, and crashed onto the ground with a thud.

  Didn’t even glance back.

  Just shoved his hand against the barrier, palm glowing as he shouted in panic:

  “S-Shield Breaker!!”

  Oh?

  Was he trying to cast a barrier-breaking spell?

  Cute.

  Shame for him, though—this ain’t a shield.

  This dome doesn’t repel things. It contains.

  No ins. No outs. Just me. And him.

  {Author Note: AND THIS DIC-}

  And 200 spinning death blades.

  {Author Note: Oh.}

  “W-W-WHY!?” he screeched, back now literally against the dome, eyes darting as I walked slowly toward him.

  I didn’t say anything.

  Just tilted my head again, unnaturally slow. Like one of those Creepypasta gifs people send at 3 a.m.

  He gasped—couldn’t even form full words anymore.

  “W-W-W-What! N-NO! P-P-Please! S-S-S-STOP!”

  Oh yeah, he was broken.

  ...Let’s add a little more trauma to the mix.

  I smiled—too wide. Too slow.

  “Pucker up and get ready for my fourteen inches.”

  “N-NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

  And with that final shriek of despair—he passed out cold.

  Just dropped like a sack of potatoes.

  ...And yeah.

  He peed himself.

  A little puddle forming right under his mask-slumped body.

  I stood over him, swords still swirling ominously.

  “Welp,” I said, crossing my arms. “Deserved it.”

  I walked up to the guy and peeled off his cloak and mask, curious to see the face of the man who just tried to kidnap my daughters and failed spectacularly.

  Holy crap.

  Dude was... handsome.

  Like, ridiculously chiseled. Clean, sharp jawline. Muscular. Probably in his late twenties or early thirties. And—

  Pink hair.

  Wait...

  Pink hair?

  Doesn’t Daisy’s entire family have pink hair?

  …

  Nah. I’m overthinking it. Probably just a coincidence. Right?

  Right?

  I shook off the thought and dismissed the floating swords with a flick. My aura died down as I deactivated Intimidation.

  “Now, what should I do with—OOF!”

  Something small and fast slammed into my back and knocked me forward a bit.

  “PAPA!!” two tiny voices cried in unison.

  “What the—?” I turned around to see that my legs had been caught by a pair of tiny arms.

  Hope and Faith.

  They were crying.

  And hugging my legs so tightly I almost lost balance. And also... they were dangerously close to a certain area I’d rather not name.

  I quickly dropped to one knee and wrapped my arms around them.

  They clung to me, their little faces buried into my shoulders as they sobbed.

  I stayed like that for a while.

  Letting them cry.

  Letting them feel safe again.

  But...

  How the hell did they even get inside the dome?

  Even I can't go through the barrier without dropping it first.

  I blinked. But honestly? I didn’t care.

  Right now, seeing them cry like that made me feel like trash wrapped in failure wrapped in a warm blanket of dad guilt.

  I pulled them a little closer.

  “Hey... hey now,” I whispered. “Why the long faces, huh? Papa’s right here. So be brave little girls... and wipe those tears away, okay?”

  “Sob Y-Yes. Sniff” they both whimpered.

  They slowly pulled back, their faces red and puffy, but they smiled just a little.

  I stayed kneeling and gently ruffled their hair.

  “Good girls.”

  It took them a minute to calm down completely, sniffling here and there.

  “So...” I said, keeping my tone light, “who made my girls cry?”

  Faith wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “When you were fighting the people... and the big monster came... Mama got really scared and told everyone to run.”

  “And when we got out, Aunt Luna started crying and said... we might never meet you again,” Hope added quietly.

  “I got really sad,” Faith said.

  “Me too,” Hope mumbled.

  I let out a long, tired sigh.

  So they were just scared. Understandable.

  I pulled them both into another tight hug.

  “I’m not gonna leave you two... not anytime soon.”

  “Promise?” Hope asked, her tiny hand gripping the corners of my silver armor.

  “Yeah. I promise.”

  I let the hug go and smiled.

  “Alright. Let’s go find the others. They’re probably losing their minds worrying about us.”

  Their expressions lit up with a bit more life. They each took one of my hands.

  “Yes!”

  We started walking toward the edge of the dome, hand in hand.

  “Oh—wait, that reminds me.”

  I glanced down at them.

  “How did you two even get in here?”

  They looked up at me in perfect sync.

  Tilted their heads.

  Innocent. Adorable. Absolutely not answering my question.

  So. Cute.

  “I walked in,” Faith said matter-of-factly.

  “Me too,” Hope added.

  …

  Huh?

  “Wait—really?” I asked, blinking.

  “Yes,” they said in perfect unison, as if I was the crazy one.

  “…Can you two show me?”

  “Yes!”

  They tugged my hands and led me back toward where we’d come from. I half-expected them to do a magic chant or some dramatic sparkle burst—

  But no.

  Just tiny feet stomping confidently toward the dome’s edge.

  When we reached the barrier, Luna was on the other side, furiously punching it.

  “Evan!” she shouted, hand glowing with magic.

  “Oh, hey, you’re still alive,” Aisha said lazily, leaning against a wall. “Looks like you had fun.”

  “Yo, Wut up, guys.” I gave a peace sign.

  Before I could explain anything, the twins pulled on my hand.

  “Papa! Look, we did it like this!” Faith chirped.

  The two of them ran toward the dome’s barrier with their tiny legs and—

  boop

  They just… walked through it. With a little resistance, as the Dome tried its best to Keep them away, but it didn’t matter.

  The dome wall rippled like water around them as they casually phased through to the other side.

  “Like this!” Faith called back cheerfully.

  …

  Da fuq.

  I stared at them. Then at the wall. Then at them again.

  Nah, no way. That can’t be right.

  Let me try.

  I focused all my mana into a charged Mana Ball, maxed it out, and infused it with Seismic Strike. This was one of my most violent combos—used it once to blow a hole in a mountain.

  I slammed it into the dome wall.

  BOOOOOOM!

  The ground erupted. Cracks split the stone like spiderwebs. Debris flew in every direction. The shockwave echoed like a cannon blast.

  The dome?

  Didn’t. Even. Flinch.

  Didn’t crack. Didn’t ripple.

  Didn’t even acknowledge my existence.

  …

  I just stood there. Staring.

  Then slowly turned my head toward the girls.

  Still giggling.

  Still waving from the other side.

  …

  Well.

  Now I finally understand why Elizabeth called them “the strongest race alive.”