An Understated Dominance Novel (Dahlia & Dustin) by Marina Vittori updated 2025-26 - An Understated Dominance Chapter 2696

Chapter 2696

Logan pushed out a grunt as he detonated a surge of Mystical True Energy, shattering the frost crawling up his arm. The force lifted him off the ground, letting him drift backward several feet and put space between him and Dark Murky.

His sword arm shook. His complexion was white as bone.

Dark Murky’s techniques—fluid, unpredictable, everywhere at once—were a nightmare to counter.

“Heh… impressive.” Dark Murky rolled his ice-crystal sword between elegant fingers, the smile on his lips wicked and cold. “But how many times can you keep slipping away? In this Immortal Palace, as long as water exists, I cannot die. No matter how sharp your blade is, you can’t kill a tide.”

As if answering him, the remnant water energy from earlier wounds began burrowing deeper into Logan’s flesh, freezing blood, gnawing at meridians like hungry serpents of ice.

Logan’s brows drew tight. A bad feeling pressed into his chest.

He swung again and again, even willingly taking hits to land his own. Yet every time his sword light slashed through Dark Murky, the man’s body simply liquefied and reformed a few paces away—untouched, mocking.

Near-immortal. Ever-shifting. Relentless.

If this dragged on, Logan knew the result.

He’d fall.

He needed a new approach. Now.

His eyes hardened—steel meeting resolve.

He launched forward again, blade roaring with energy, tearing through the three water dragons until they burst apart. Dark Murky danced away in fluid arcs, his form melting and reappearing with each dodge.

The clash raged—flashes, cold winds, shattering water.
Then—subtly—Logan staggered.

His sword dipped for a breath, and his protective aura wavered.
A tiny gap opened along his left rib.

Barely a flicker.
But to a predator like Dark Murky?

A feast.

“Caught you.”

Dark Murky’s eyes gleamed. His body rippled like liquid silk, instantly appearing at Logan’s flank. The ice blade shot forward like a viper’s fang, aimed straight for the exposed ribs.

He poured eighty percent of his strength into the strike. In his mind, he already saw Logan pierced through, frozen into a crystal statue of death.

But just before steel touched cloth—

Logan’s gaze snapped awake.

Cold. Infinite. Calculated.

He let the killing strike come.

Instead, his left hand—which had been quietly waiting—shot up like lightning. Two fingers extended like a sword, stabbing toward Dark Murky’s brow.

Not steel—but shimmering runes. Thousands of intricate, pale-gold sigils whirled around his fingertips like a divine galaxy.

“Mysterious Purity Seal — Soul Shackles.”

The words slammed into Dark Murky’s spirit like thunder splitting the heavens.

“What?! He faked the opening—?!”

Panic flashed across Dark Murky’s eyes. He tried to retreat.

Too late.

Logan’s fingers pressed to the center of his forehead.

BOOM.

A colossal, ancient power surged forward—runes exploding like chains of divine judgment, diving into Dark Murky’s sea of consciousness and seizing his soul.

His vision darkened. His control over water shattered in an instant—as if someone severed his link to the world.

His ice sword froze in place. Inches from Logan’s ribs.

Its glow dimmed. Crumbled.

He tried to dissolve into water—nothing happened.
The runes wrapped tighter, locking his being in place.

“No… No! Impossible!”

For the first time, terror distorted Dark Murky’s handsome face.
Power drained out of him. His body stiffened—life force fading like sand slipping between fingers.

Logan’s body swayed violently. His skin turned chalk-white. His breath came in tremors. That sealing technique hadn’t just drained him—it tore at his core, devouring mental strength and soul force far beyond the cost of any previous battle.

He nearly collapsed—but forced himself upright, leaning heavily on his sword, still glaring at his frozen enemy.

Across Dark Murky’s skin, golden runes crawled like sacred brands, sinking into flesh and soul. Steam vanished. The ice sword shattered to dust. Every trace of water around him stilled.

He became a statue of fear—beautiful, eerie, stripped of life. Only his widening eyes still trembled with disbelief.

Silence drowned the palace.

The wine pool stilled.
The chilling air melted away.
The once-indulgent men and women lay trembling, pale with terror.

The stunning woman on the platform covered her mouth, eyes wide in shock.
Aukon’s normally frozen expression cracked—the twitch of a jaw, the tightening of his stare. Genuine gravity filled his gaze.

Logan had defeated Aoki.
Now Dark Murky too.
And this new power—this ancient, ruthless sealing technique—

Just how deep did this boy’s strength run?

Logan leaned on his sword, chest heaving, blood mixing with sweat and dripping down his face. He lifted his head slowly, eyes locking onto Aukon and the flawless beauty beside him.

His voice was raspy, worn, but sharper than any blade:

“Next.”