CHAPTER 42
THE FIGHT OF THE DARK LORD
The battlefield erupted into motion.
The moment Shen Karguro finished speaking, Arcane General Vaegas smiled.
It was no longer the smile of an arrogant conqueror.
It was the smile of a warrior who had finally found an opponent worthy of his strength.
For several long seconds...
Neither of them moved.
The wind circled around the ruined battlefield, carrying ash across the shattered remains of Velnar. Broken towers stood like silent gravestones beneath the crimson evening sky, while rivers of molten stone slowly cooled between enormous craters carved into the earth.
Every surviving soldier watched in silence.
No one dared breathe.
No one dared speak.
Even Commander Ryulga quietly removed his pipe from his mouth.
"...Show me."
His words disappeared into the wind.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
Without warning...
Vaegas vanished.
The ground beneath his feet exploded into countless fragments as he crossed the battlefield in less than a heartbeat.
His six crystal wings sliced through the atmosphere.
The pressure alone split the clouds overhead.
His claw descended toward Shen's head with enough force to cleave an entire mountain in half.
Kenya's eyes widened.
"SHEN!"
The warning came far too late.
Shen didn't move.
He simply watched.
Just before the claw reached him...
He tilted his head slightly.
SWOOOOSH!!
The attack sliced through empty air.
The shockwave continued beyond him, carving a canyon several hundred meters long through the ruined city.
Massive towers collapsed one after another.
Stone exploded into the sky.
The battlefield shook violently.
Vaegas frowned.
"...You dodged?"
"I moved."
Shen answered calmly.
"You simply failed to notice."
Before Vaegas could react—
Shen's palm struck the Arcane General's chest.
THOOM!!
The sound echoed like a giant drum across the valley.
The impact folded the surrounding air inward before exploding outward.
Vaegas's body shot across the battlefield like a crimson meteor.
One ruined fortress...
Two mountains...
Three ancient watchtowers...
Everything shattered as he crashed through them before finally disappearing beneath an avalanche of broken stone.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Kenya slowly lowered his raised hand.
"...He..."
"...He hit him with one hand."
Ruke blinked twice.
"No magic."
"No sword."
"...Just one strike."
Even Eliz couldn't hide her astonishment.
She had witnessed Shen's strength before he left with Ryulga.
This...
This wasn't the same person.
Far away...
The mountain of rubble exploded apart.
Black crystal fragments scattered across the valley.
Vaegas slowly stepped forward.
Several cracks covered the armor protecting his chest.
Dark blood dripped onto the shattered earth.
Yet...
He laughed.
"Hahahaha..."
The laughter echoed endlessly.
"So this..."
"...is Ryulga's masterpiece."
Black Arcane energy erupted around his body.
His six crystal wings unfolded completely.
Each wing stretched wider than the walls of a fortress.
Dark crimson lightning crawled across every crystal.
The overwhelming pressure instantly crushed nearby ruins into powder.
The surviving soldiers instinctively stepped backward.
Some fell onto one knee.
Others struggled to breathe.
The atmosphere itself had become unbearably heavy.
Vaegas slowly rotated his injured shoulder.
The cracks covering his armor began repairing themselves.
Crystal spread across broken flesh.
Muscles regenerated.
Bones reformed.
Within seconds...
Every injury had disappeared.
He looked directly toward Shen.
"I admit it."
"You are stronger than I expected."
His golden eyes narrowed.
"But..."
"You have yet to witness why the Arcane Generals ruled this world for centuries."
BOOOOOOOOM!!
His aura exploded.
The sky turned crimson.
Ancient Arcane symbols spread across the heavens.
Every surviving bird fled the surrounding mountains.
The ground continued trembling without pause.
Kenya clenched his fists.
"...He's getting stronger."
Ryulga nodded once.
"No."
"He's revealing the strength he already possessed."
Vaegas slowly spread both arms.
Dark mana condensed around him.
His crystal wings merged together before separating once more.
Each feather transformed into razor-sharp obsidian blades.
His horns lengthened.
Black veins spread across his face.
His tail became wrapped in crimson flames.
The pressure increased again.
The battlefield groaned beneath his power.
Shen quietly watched the transformation.
His expression never changed.
Vaegas smiled.
"Now..."
"Fight me."
BOOOOOOOOM!!
He disappeared again.
This time...
His speed surpassed even his previous attack.
His fist appeared directly before Shen's face.
CLANG!!
A black blade blocked the punch.
For the first time...
Shen had drawn his sword.
The massive black weapon rested effortlessly in his hand.
Its surface reflected no light.
Instead...
The surrounding light seemed to disappear into it.
Vaegas pushed harder.
The earth beneath Shen shattered.
Huge cracks raced across the battlefield.
Yet...
Shen remained perfectly still.
"You've improved."
Vaegas growled.
"You haven't."
Shen calmly replied.
"You still rely only on brute force."
His crimson eyes met the Arcane General's.
"Strength without control..."
"...is wasted."
Vaegas roared.
Thousands of crystal spears erupted behind him.
Each one contained enough Arcane energy to destroy an entire city district.
With a single wave of his arm—
They descended.
The heavens became a storm of crimson destruction.
Eliz's face turned pale.
"There are too many!"
Commander Ryulga quietly folded his arms.
He didn't move.
Neither did Shen.
Darkness spread beneath Shen's feet.
His shadow expanded rapidly.
It flowed across the battlefield like an endless ocean.
Every crystal spear that entered the darkness...
Disappeared.
One after another.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Vaegas frowned.
"...Where did they go?"
The shadows rippled.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOM!!
Every spear emerged from behind Vaegas instead.
His own attack returned.
The battlefield vanished beneath countless explosions.
Crimson fire swallowed the Arcane General whole.
Mountains collapsed.
The sky split apart.
The shockwave reached the distant forests several kilometers away.
When the smoke finally cleared...
Vaegas stood motionless.
His breathing had become slightly heavier.
Several crystal scales had shattered.
Thin streams of blood ran across his cheek.
For the first time...
His smile disappeared.
Shen slowly lowered his sword.
"You've finished testing me."
"Now..."
"I'll begin testing you."
Ancient black runes slowly appeared beneath Shen's feet.
One.
Then ten.
Then hundreds.
The surrounding darkness began responding to his presence.
The wind stopped.
The sunlight faded.
The battlefield grew unnaturally cold.
Kenya felt goosebumps spread across his body.
"...That mana..."
"...I've never felt anything like it."
Eliz silently stared.
Even after months of studying forbidden magic...
She couldn't understand what she was sensing.
This wasn't ordinary darkness.
It felt alive.
Commander Ryulga smiled faintly.
"So..."
"You've decided to use it."
Dark mana climbed across Shen's body like flowing ink.
His black coat dissolved into living shadows.
Ancient markings spread across his arms and neck.
A cloak woven entirely from darkness unfolded behind him.
His crimson eyes blazed brighter than before.
The immense black sword absorbed every remaining ray of sunlight.
The battlefield disappeared beneath endless shadow.
**Dark Mage...**
**Full Awakened Form I.**
Vaegas unconsciously took a single step backward.
For the first time in over six hundred years...
The Arcane General felt genuine unease.
"...What..."
"...are you?"
Vaegas slowly stared into the endless darkness surrounding Shen.
For the first time...
His instincts screamed.
Run.
He crushed the feeling instantly.
"I've survived six hundred years."
"I won't fear a human."
Dark Arcane energy erupted around his body.
Every crystal scale covering him began glowing with crimson light.
The pressure became unbearable.
The earth beneath his feet collapsed another hundred meters.
His six wings slowly spread wider than before.
Ancient symbols ignited across every crystal.
Ryulga quietly narrowed his eyes.
"...He's forcing out everything."
Kenya struggled to breathe.
"...Can monsters really become this strong?"
"No."
Ryulga answered.
"They've always been this strong."
"We simply never survived long enough to witness it."
Vaegas raised one hand.
Thousands of crimson magic circles unfolded behind him.
Each one larger than a castle.
Each one overflowing with destructive Arcane energy.
The sky itself disappeared beneath countless glowing circles.
Ruke's face turned pale.
"...How many spells is that?"
Eliz silently counted.
"...Thousands."
Vaegas smiled.
"Dark Mage..."
"You wanted me to fight seriously."
"Then witness the authority of an Arcane General."
He lowered his hand.
"World Annihilation."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The heavens shattered.
Thousands of crimson beams descended together.
They weren't merely spells.
Each beam carried enough power to erase an entire city.
The battlefield vanished beneath endless destruction.
Mountains exploded.
Forests disappeared.
The horizon itself became engulfed in crimson light.
Kenya instinctively shielded Eliz.
Ruke closed his eyes.
"...Shen..."
Then—
Silence.
The explosions stopped.
Not because the attack had ended.
Because...
Everything had frozen.
Every beam of destruction remained suspended in midair.
As though time itself had stopped.
Vaegas's eyes widened.
"...Impossible."
Shen slowly raised his right hand.
His expression remained calm.
His crimson eyes reflected the countless frozen beams.
"Too loud."
He gently closed his fingers.
CRACK.
Every crimson beam shattered.
Not exploded.
Shattered.
Like fragile glass.
Millions of glowing fragments drifted harmlessly across the battlefield before dissolving into darkness.
No explosion followed.
No shockwave.
The greatest attack of an Arcane General...
Had vanished with a single gesture.
Silence consumed the battlefield once again.
Vaegas stared.
His heartbeat accelerated.
"...What did you do?"
"I erased it."
Shen answered.
"The moment darkness accepted me..."
"It also accepted your magic."
"And rejected it."
Commander Ryulga smiled faintly.
"...He figured it out."
Kenya looked toward him.
"Figured out what?"
Ryulga never looked away from Shen.
"The first law."
"The stronger darkness doesn't destroy."
"It dominates."
Shen slowly began walking.
Each step caused black ripples to spread across the shattered earth.
The surrounding shadows followed him.
Not like magic.
Like loyal servants.
Vaegas roared.
"I refuse to believe this!"
His six wings unfolded completely.
Every crystal feather detached from his body.
Thousands of obsidian blades filled the sky.
Each blade rotated faster than sound.
"Die!"
The storm descended.
Shen didn't raise his sword.
He didn't dodge.
He simply continued walking.
The blades reached him.
Then...
Stopped.
Every obsidian blade hovered inches away from his body.
None could move closer.
None could retreat.
They trembled violently.
As though something invisible had seized them.
Shen looked at them quietly.
"You've forgotten something."
Vaegas frowned.
"...What?"
"They're made from darkness too."
Shen snapped his fingers.
CLICK.
Every blade instantly changed direction.
They no longer pointed toward Shen.
They pointed toward their creator.
Vaegas's pupils shrank.
"No—"
SHRRRRRRRRRK!!
Thousands of crystal blades pierced his body from every direction.
His wings.
His shoulders.
His chest.
His legs.
The battlefield echoed with the sound of crystal breaking.
Dark blood rained across the ruins.
Vaegas stumbled backward.
For the first time...
He coughed blood.
His regeneration activated immediately.
Crystal spread across every wound.
The blades melted back into his body.
Within seconds...
The injuries disappeared.
He laughed.
"...You see?"
"You cannot kill me."
"I evolve."
"I regenerate."
"I am immortal."
Shen finally stopped walking.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"No."
"You simply haven't met someone capable of killing you."
The massive black sword slowly left his shoulder.
For the first time since entering his awakened form...
He held it with both hands.
The surrounding darkness gathered toward the blade.
The sky dimmed further.
Even the stars seemed to disappear.
Vaegas unconsciously stepped backward again.
Ryulga quietly placed his pipe back into his mouth.
"...Now."
"The real lesson begins."
Far above the battlefield...
The clouds slowly split apart.
An enormous black circle appeared across the heavens.
Ancient runes rotated silently around it.
No one present recognized the language.
Not Kenya.
Not Eliz.
Not even Ruke.
Only Ryulga.
His expression became unexpectedly serious.
"...You actually learned that technique."
Shen slowly lifted his sword.
Its blade no longer reflected darkness.
It had become darkness itself.
Vaegas's instincts screamed louder than ever before.
Every survival instinct he possessed begged him to flee.
Yet...
His pride refused.
He gathered every remaining ounce of Arcane power into both hands.
"So be it..."
"If one of us must die today..."
"...let history remember this battle."
Dark crimson lightning erupted around the Arcane General.
Shen quietly lowered his stance.
The battlefield held its breath.
Then—
Both vanished at the exact same instant.
The battlefield disappeared.
Neither Shen...
Nor Vaegas...
Could be seen.
Only shattered air remained where they had stood.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A deafening explosion erupted high above the kingdom.
The clouds were torn apart as two dark figures collided.
CLANG!!
The sound of steel striking crystal echoed for hundreds of kilometers.
Shockwaves rippled across the heavens.
Every mountain surrounding Velnar trembled violently.
Kenya struggled to lift his head.
"...They're..."
"...fighting in the sky?"
Ryulga quietly watched.
"No."
"They're fighting faster than your eyes can follow."
BOOM!!
Another collision.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
Every impact split the clouds apart.
Black lightning intertwined with crimson energy, painting the heavens with violent colors.
Vaegas roared.
His six crystal wings unleashed thousands of razor-sharp slashes.
Each swing cut through space itself.
Entire sections of the sky fractured beneath his attacks.
Shen answered with only his sword.
One swing.
Darkness spread.
Every slash aimed at him vanished into the black wave before dissolving completely.
Vaegas frowned.
"...Again..."
"You erase everything."
Shen's expression never changed.
"You still haven't understood."
"The darkness isn't protecting me."
"It obeys me."
Before Vaegas could react—
Shen disappeared.
His figure dissolved into shadows.
Vaegas's instincts screamed.
Behind!
He spun instantly.
CLANG!!
His claw barely intercepted Shen's descending blade.
The collision sent both of them flying apart.
For the first time...
Vaegas's arms trembled.
"...Impossible."
"My body..."
"...can't keep up."
Shen lowered his sword.
"Ryulga taught me something."
"The strongest warrior..."
"...never wastes movement."
The surrounding shadows gathered beneath Shen's feet.
One step.
He vanished.
Vaegas widened his eyes.
Left.
No...
Right!
Above—
BOOM!!
A kick slammed into his ribs.
Crystal armor exploded apart.
Before he could recover—
Another strike.
His shoulder shattered.
Another.
His jaw cracked.
Another.
His wings splintered.
Each attack came from a different direction.
Faster.
Sharper.
Perfectly timed.
Vaegas couldn't counter.
He couldn't even see Shen.
Only the pain told him where the attacks had landed.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The Arcane General crashed into the earth.
The impact carved a crater several kilometers wide.
Dust swallowed everything.
Silence.
The smoke slowly drifted away.
Vaegas lay at the center of the crater.
His crystal body was covered with fractures.
Dark blood flowed across the broken earth.
His regeneration activated immediately.
The cracks slowly disappeared.
But...
Not all of them.
A thin black line remained across his chest.
It refused to heal.
Vaegas stared at it.
"...What..."
"...did you do?"
Shen landed quietly at the edge of the crater.
"The wound isn't on your body."
"It's on your Arcane Core."
For the first time...
Fear appeared in Vaegas's golden eyes.
"You..."
"...can damage the Core?"
Ryulga slowly smiled.
"So he discovered it."
Eliz looked toward him.
"The Arcane Core..."
"That's their weakness?"
Ryulga nodded once.
"Every Arcane possesses one."
"But reaching it..."
"...is almost impossible."
His gaze never left Shen.
"Almost."
Vaegas slowly stood.
His breathing had become heavier.
The arrogance that had filled his face moments earlier had vanished.
In its place...
There was only caution.
He looked directly at Shen.
"You are no ordinary Dark Mage."
"No."
Shen answered quietly.
"I never was."
The black markings across Shen's body glowed faintly.
The enormous circle above the heavens began rotating faster.
Ancient runes illuminated one after another.
A pressure unlike anything before descended upon the battlefield.
Even Ryulga's smile slowly faded.
"...So you've reached that point."
Kenya looked at him in confusion.
"What point?"
Ryulga exhaled slowly.
"The point..."
"...where even I don't know how strong he's become."
Far above...
The heavens trembled.
The enormous black circle slowly opened.
From within its endless darkness...
Something enormous...
Began opening its eyes.
The enormous eye within the black circle slowly opened.
It wasn't an ordinary eye.
It had no pupil.
No iris.
Only endless darkness.
The instant it gazed upon the battlefield...
The world changed.
The wind ceased.
The drifting ash froze in midair.
Even the flames burning across the ruined kingdom stopped dancing.
Everything...
Became still.
An ancient pressure descended from the heavens.
It wasn't violent.
It wasn't overwhelming.
It was absolute.
Every living creature across the battlefield instinctively lowered its head.
The surviving Arcane Drifters...
The wounded soldiers...
Even the distant Arcane beasts hiding beyond the mountains...
All felt the same thing.
An existence standing far above them.
Kenya's breathing became shallow.
"...Why..."
"...can't I move?"
His body trembled uncontrollably.
Every instinct screamed at him not to look upward.
Beside him, Eliz slowly clenched her fists.
Even after inheriting the Black Archives...
Even after mastering forbidden magic...
The darkness above felt completely different.
It wasn't evil.
It wasn't holy.
It simply existed.
Older than kingdoms.
Older than history.
Ruke slowly forced himself onto one knee.
"...Shen..."
"What..."
"...did Ryulga teach you?"
Commander Ryulga quietly exhaled smoke from his pipe.
For once...
Even his relaxed expression had disappeared.
"...Not me."
He looked toward the heavens.
"He learned from darkness itself."
...
Far above the battlefield...
Vaegas slowly stepped backward.
For the first time in six hundred years...
His heartbeat became unstable.
His golden eyes remained fixed upon the massive black circle hanging above the sky.
"...Impossible..."
"...That technique disappeared..."
"...during the First Arcane War."
Shen stood silently beneath it.
His cloak of living shadows drifted behind him without wind.
The black sword rested calmly in his hands.
His crimson eyes reflected neither hatred nor excitement.
Only calm determination.
"You know this technique?"
Vaegas slowly laughed.
The laughter sounded strained.
"...Know it?"
"I watched entire kingdoms vanish beneath it."
"I watched Arcane Lords kneel before it."
His breathing grew heavier.
"But it should no longer exist."
"It died with the last Shadow Sovereign."
Shen slowly raised his sword.
"It didn't die."
"It was waiting."
The black eye above the heavens narrowed.
Darkness began flowing downward.
Not like mana.
Not like magic.
Like an ocean pouring from another world.
It gathered around Shen's sword.
The massive blade absorbed everything.
Light.
Sound.
Even the surrounding Arcane energy disappeared into its surface.
The battlefield became darker with every passing second.
Vaegas suddenly roared.
"NO!"
Dark crimson lightning exploded around his body.
His crystal wings unfolded to their greatest extent.
One after another...
Ancient symbols ignited across every crystal scale covering him.
His Arcane Core pulsed violently.
The heartbeat echoed across the valley.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The ground cracked with every pulse.
Kenya stared in disbelief.
"...He's..."
"...forcing his Core beyond its limit."
Ryulga nodded once.
"He knows."
"He understands."
"If he doesn't end this now..."
"...he never will."
Vaegas spread both arms.
The sky behind him shattered.
Countless crimson rifts opened across the heavens.
Each rift poured endless Arcane energy into his body.
His broken crystal wings merged together.
His shattered armor rebuilt itself.
His body continued expanding.
Larger.
Taller.
More monstrous.
Black crystal spread across every inch of his skin.
Massive horns curved backward like ancient blades.
His six wings fused into four enormous obsidian wings that stretched across the battlefield.
His Arcane pressure multiplied again.
The surrounding mountains collapsed beneath it.
Forests several kilometers away flattened instantly.
Clouds disappeared completely.
Even space itself seemed to distort around him.
Vaegas slowly lowered his head.
His voice no longer sounded human.
"I am..."
"The final General."
"The last survivor..."
"...of the First Arcane War."
He slowly clenched both fists.
"And I refuse..."
"...to fall before humanity."
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
His aura erupted.
A crimson pillar shot into the heavens.
The black circle trembled for the first time.
The kingdom of Althuria shook violently.
Far beyond its borders...
People looked toward the distant horizon.
Every Arcane.
Every Drifter.
Every mage capable of sensing mana...
Turned their attention toward the same battlefield.
Somewhere deep beneath an ancient ruin...
An unknown Arcane Lord slowly opened one eye.
"...Vaegas..."
"...is fighting seriously."
Elsewhere...
Within the Arcane Drifter Headquarters...
Every detection crystal exploded simultaneously.
Emergency alarms echoed throughout the fortress.
Veteran commanders rushed into the observation chamber.
The enormous mana map displayed only one thing.
A single black point.
Surrounded by endless crimson.
One elderly commander slowly whispered...
"...Who is fighting?"
Back on the battlefield...
Shen remained perfectly still.
His coat fluttered gently.
His sword pointed toward the ground.
He watched Vaegas in silence.
Then...
He smiled.
It wasn't a smile of confidence.
Nor arrogance.
It was the quiet smile of someone who had finally reached the end of a long journey.
"...Commander."
Ryulga looked up.
"You once asked me..."
"...what darkness truly was."
Ryulga quietly nodded.
"I remember."
Shen slowly closed his eyes.
"I finally found the answer."
His crimson eyes opened once more.
They glowed brighter than ever before.
"Darkness..."
"...isn't the absence of light."
"It is the place..."
"...where all things return."
The black eye in the heavens opened completely.
The entire battlefield disappeared beneath endless shadow.
Vaegas roared with everything he possessed.
Shen calmly lifted his sword.
Then...
Both stepped forward.
At the exact same moment.
The world exploded.
The world exploded.
Darkness and crimson collided.
There was no sound.
No light.
Only two overwhelming forces crashing together at the very center of the battlefield.
The collision distorted reality itself.
The air folded inward.
The earth beneath them disappeared.
For a single heartbeat...
Even time seemed to hesitate.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A pillar of black and crimson burst through the heavens.
The clouds above Althuria were torn apart across hundreds of kilometers.
The surrounding mountain ranges collapsed one after another.
Entire forests were uprooted by the expanding shockwave.
Far beyond the kingdom...
The sea itself rose into towering waves.
...
Kenya shielded his face with both arms.
Even from several kilometers away...
The pressure alone felt like thousands of mountains pressing against his body.
"...How..."
"...are they even alive..."
Commander Ryulga calmly watched the distant collision.
Smoke drifted lazily from his pipe.
"They're no longer exchanging strength."
"They're exchanging convictions."
Kenya slowly looked toward him.
"...Commander."
Ryulga didn't answer.
"...Do you really think Shen can win?"
For several seconds...
Ryulga remained silent.
Then...
A faint smile appeared beneath the smoke.
"I've seen countless monsters."
"I've fought kings."
"I've buried legends."
His eyes never left the distant battlefield.
"But..."
"I've never trained anyone stronger than myself."
Kenya stared.
Ryulga continued quietly.
"Until now."
Kenya couldn't help smiling.
"...That idiot..."
"...actually surpassed you?"
Ryulga snorted.
"Don't let it inflate his ego."
"I'll beat him again eventually."
Kenya laughed despite his injuries.
"I'd like to see that."
Suddenly—
Ryulga's expression changed.
His gaze shifted toward the eastern sky.
"...They're here."
Kenya frowned.
"...Who's here?"
The answer came immediately.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Hundreds...
No...
Thousands...
The sky darkened.
An enormous swarm of flying Arcanes poured from the distant mountains.
Their crimson eyes glowed hungrily.
Gigantic winged beasts.
Crystal wyverns.
Bone harpies.
Shadow crows.
The air became filled with monstrous screeches.
At the same time—
The ground began shaking.
BOOM...
BOOM...
BOOM...
Massive Arcane Beasts emerged from every direction.
Towering crystal giants.
Four-legged armored monsters.
Serpentine creatures that burrowed beneath the earth.
Thousands upon thousands.
They completely surrounded the battlefield.
Eliz slowly stood despite her injuries.
"...An army..."
Ruke tightened his grip around the broken Dragon Staff.
"...They've come for the General."
Kenya clenched his fists.
"...No..."
"They've come to kill whoever survives."
The countless Arcanes roared together.
The valley trembled.
Without warning—
They charged.
An endless tide of monsters rushed forward.
Dust swallowed the horizon.
Kenya forced himself into a fighting stance.
"...Guess we're not resting."
Ryulga quietly sighed.
"...Children."
Kenya blinked.
"Huh?"
Ryulga removed the pipe from his mouth.
"...Watch carefully."
He slowly raised...
One finger.
Nothing happened.
The charging Arcanes laughed.
They accelerated.
Thousands of claws.
Thousands of wings.
Thousands of killing intentions.
All aimed toward them.
Ryulga flicked his finger.
Tick.
The sound was almost inaudible.
Then—
PAP!
A tiny black bullet shot forward.
No larger than a pebble.
Kenya stared.
"...That's it?"
The bullet pierced the forehead of the first flying Arcane.
Then—
It split.
One became ten.
Ten became one hundred.
One hundred became thousands.
Each tiny bullet curved independently through the battlefield.
PAP!
PAP!
PAP!
PAP!
PAP!
Every bullet pierced a different Arcane.
Without missing once.
Without slowing.
Without stopping.
Within seconds...
The sky resembled a storm of black rain.
One after another...
Flying Arcanes exploded.
Crystal Wyverns.
Bone Harpies.
Shadow Crows.
None survived.
Bodies rained from the heavens like burning meteors.
Kenya's mouth slowly fell open.
"...One..."
"...One finger..."
Ryulga casually placed his pipe back into his mouth.
"Too many."
He muttered.
"I hate cleaning."
Behind them...
Several gigantic ground Arcanes continued charging.
Kenya smiled.
"...Those are ours."
Despite the pain...
Flames reignited around his fists.
His damaged Fire Demon Evolution began reconstructing itself.
Not completely.
But enough.
"I won't lose to Shen forever."
He rushed forward.
BOOM!!
His fist smashed into the jaw of a crystal giant.
The enormous beast collapsed.
Another lunged.
Kenya spun.
Flames erupted.
CRAAAAASH!!
The second Arcane exploded apart.
Nearby...
Soft emerald light surrounded Eliz.
Her breathing gradually stabilized.
The forbidden darkness covering her body slowly disappeared.
Instead...
Gentle silver mana blossomed from her hands.
She smiled weakly.
"...Looks like..."
"...I've finally figured it out."
Her healing magic had evolved.
The silver light expanded across the battlefield.
It washed over Kenya.
Over Ruke.
Even over exhausted soldiers.
Broken bones reconnected.
Deep wounds slowly closed.
Fatigue lessened.
Kenya looked down at his restored arm.
"...You're kidding."
Eliz smiled.
"Healing isn't just restoring injuries anymore."
"It's restoring hope."
Ruke slowly stood.
His shattered Dragon Staff floated upward.
Lightning danced across the broken fragments.
The two halves rejoined.
CRACK!!
The crystal core reignited.
Golden thunder exploded across the battlefield.
Ruke smiled.
"...About time."
He raised the Dragon Staff toward the heavens.
"Thunder Balar!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A gigantic sphere of golden lightning appeared above the battlefield.
It continued expanding.
Larger.
Brighter.
Until it resembled a second sun.
The flying Arcanes looked upward.
Too late.
The sphere burst.
Thousands of bolts descended simultaneously.
Every flying Arcane caught within the storm vanished instantly.
The skies cleared.
Only drifting ash remained.
Far away...
Within the endless clash between darkness and crimson...
Shen's crimson eyes shifted briefly.
"...Ruke..."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"I can feel it."
"The abstract spirit of thunder..."
"...You've reached it."
Vaegas roared as he launched another devastating strike.
"You dare lose focus?!"
Their fists collided.
The heavens shattered once again.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Shen's black sword cut through the crimson storm.
Darkness engulfed everything.
Vaegas staggered.
For the first time...
His regeneration slowed.
The black wound across his Arcane Core expanded.
It spread like ink.
Ignoring every attempt to heal.
Vaegas slowly looked down.
"...No..."
"...Not yet..."
He raised both hands.
His remaining Arcane energy erupted wildly.
But...
Nothing happened.
His body no longer obeyed him.
The black crack reached the center of his Arcane Core.
His golden eyes slowly lifted toward Shen.
There was no hatred anymore.
Only exhaustion.
"...Why..."
He laughed bitterly.
"...Why did He create me..."
"...as the Third Arcane General..."
A weak smile appeared.
"...Even if..."
"...I had been the First..."
"...I still couldn't defeat..."
"...this evil."
His eyes never left Shen.
"I cannot..."
"...face my people."
"The proud Arcanes..."
"...Forced to hide..."
"...Forced to survive..."
"...Is this..."
"...our curse?"
Silence.
Shen said nothing.
Vaegas slowly gathered the last of his strength.
Then...
He raised his voice.
A voice that echoed across every mountain.
Every forest.
Every battlefield.
Every Arcane capable of hearing it.
"RETREAT!!"
"No more needless deaths!"
"All Arcane forces..."
"Withdraw!!"
Across the battlefield...
Every surviving Arcane froze.
One by one...
They obeyed.
Without hesitation.
Without question.
They retreated toward the horizon.
Vaegas smiled faintly.
Blood flowed from his lips.
"Shen..."
"If you truly wish..."
"...to understand this world..."
"...seek the truth."
"Not..."
"...the history written by humans."
His body began turning into black crystal.
"...There is..."
"...far more..."
"...than this war..."
CRACK.
The Arcane Core shattered.
Countless fragments drifted into the evening wind.
The overwhelming crimson pressure vanished.
Silence returned.
The black eye above the heavens slowly closed.
Dark Mage...
Full Awakened Form I...
Faded.
The living shadows returned to the earth.
The ancient markings disappeared from Shen's skin.
His crimson eyes slowly became normal once again.
His black cloak dissolved into countless dark particles.
The massive sword rested quietly against his shoulder.
Shen stood motionless.
Watching the crystal fragments disappear into the wind.
Only one thought echoed within his mind.
...
Are the Arcanes...
truly the villains of this world?
To be continued …