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Silence ruled the throne room now, etched into the shattered ground beneath Arthur's boots. Cracks ran like spiderwebs across the throne room, scorched marks carved into walls from blade clashes too fast for the eye to follow. And in the center of it all, still as stone and kneeling in final defeat, was Igris.
The Blood-Red Commander.
His red armor no longer pulsed with heat. The inferno in his once-blazing eyes had faded to hollow darkness. His blade, chipped and stuck in the fractured floor, stood like a grave marker. He was motionless. Lifeless.
Arthur stood a few feet away, broad shoulders rising and falling, his breath steady but deep. His Demon King longsword hummed with residual energy, lightning crackling along the blade like it hadn't yet realized the fight was over. He flexed his arms slowly, rolling the tension from his shoulders, his jaw clenched tight.
"…He actually pushed me this far," Arthur muttered under his breath. There was no arrogance in his tone. Only quiet respect.
His gaze fell on the red knight, head bowed in death like a warrior honoring his own fall. Arthur exhaled. "I know I said my sword skill was better than yours," he admitted softly, "but the truth is… I was just physically stronger."
The weight of those words lingered.
He stepped forward slowly, every footfall echoing through the vast, ruined chamber. Kneeling beside the fallen knight, he placed a hand on the cold, dented shoulder plate of Igris's armor. His voice dropped to a reverent murmur.
"You were still the better swordsman."
For a moment, nothing moved. No wind. No sound. Even the ever-burning torches along the high black pillars flickered as if holding their breath.
Arthur closed his eyes.
Then opened them
and they glowed like twin violet stars.
"It is time for you to walk in shadow once more… loyal knight."
"Arise."
The world shifted.
A crack thundered through the air as his hand pulsed with energy, and the room darkened. The throne behind them groaned as tendrils of pure shadow, thick as chains and alive with power, erupted from the ground, spiraling upward in a vortex. Darkness swelled from Igris's body like a storm breaking loose. The floor beneath him trembled. The walls shuddered. That silence..
It was gone.
In its place was a violent, rising hum of raw, unfiltered mana oppressive and ancient. A blinding surge of violet light burst from Igris's corpse, splitting into fragments of power that curved through the air like dancing flames of darkness. A roar one not from a beast, but from something being reborn tore through the throne room.
From the corpse, a new figure rose.
Same armor. Same posture. But refined. More regal. More terrifying.
Shadow Igris stood tall his entire body exuding that deep violet aura that only a creation of the Shadow Monarch could possess. Where once his eyes had burned with red fury, now they glowed with unwavering violet command.
He fell to one knee before Arthur.
Head bowed.
Fist against the floor.
A knight's pledge reborn.
Arthur smiled, something feral and proud in his eyes. "such power.."
A system chime echoed through his mind like divine thunder.
[Shadow Extraction: Success.]
[Shadow Soldier: Blood-red Commander Igris.]
[Rank: Marshall.]
Arthur's grin widened, eyes narrowing as he whispered to himself, "Marshall... and he's already nearing the peak of it. He was a monster in life."
He turned his gaze toward the distant hallway beyond the throne room. Beyond the carnage and cracked pillars.
"I wonder how strong the next ones will be... Especially that one.."
Igris stood silently behind him now, a loyal shadow at last. Not as a tool or a slave.
But as a Knight returned to his true King.
****
JUMP CITY - REBUILT BLACKWYND ESTATE
The Blackwynd Estate stood tall under the golden kiss of the setting sun, its elegant-and-marble structure casting long shadows across the lush gardens and reinforced stone paths. It had been rebuilt from ruin, not just restored, but reborn more beautiful than it ever was.
Inside, warmth crackled from the hearth. Elegant chandeliers hummed with silent energy overhead. But the mood was Surprisingly light.
Raven sat on a deep velvet couch, her legs crossed, a steaming cup of herbal tea hovered gently by her side, held aloft by her magic. Her violet eyes were soft for once, glowing faintly in the calm of the estate's inner chambers.
Across from her sat LadyBlackwynd, regal despite her simplicity, the strength in her posture revealing she hadn't lost her edge, not as a mother, and certainly not as a survivor of a life wrapped in the supernatural lately. Beside her was Adam, Arthur's older brother.
"And so," Adam said, gesturing toward the hallway, "he installs this Wyvern, not a dog, not a drone but an actual flying, growling, fire-breathing Wyvern to patrol the skies above our house."
Raven chuckled behind her cup. "He's thorough. That's one word for it."
His mom leaned in with a smirk. "He's absurd. That's my word for it."
They all laughed. Even Raven allowed herself a full smile. It was rare. But here, in this strange pocket of peace among the people Arthur cares for, she allowed it.
Raven said slowly, setting her tea down. "He doesn't hate being here. You know that, right?"
His mother folded her arms, listening.
"He just…" Raven hesitated, picking her words with the same care she used with her spells. "He shoulders too much. The weight he carries isn't just self-inflicted, it's like, he believes if he rests, if he lets someone else hold the burden for even a second, the whole world might fall apart. The funny part is that he doesn't like Batman, but when it comes to this they are very much alike."
Both Adam and his mother exhaled as she said, "I understand,"
Raven smiled.
During this entire conversation, not everyone found the jokes funny.
Sitting quietly in the corner, back straight, eyes narrowed, was Galatea, the shadow of Kara's clone, loyal only to Arthur. She hadn't said a word this entire time, but her glowing violet eyes flared slightly now. Every mention of Arthur, every quip, every mockery, even if affectionate, made something in her simmer.
She said nothing.
But the room felt it.
Adam, ever perceptive, raised a brow and leaned over to Raven. "You think she's going to try and vaporize me if I make another Arthur joke?"
Raven, hiding a smirk behind her cup again, replied, "Depends. Maybe stick to praising his fashion sense from now on."
Suddenly.
Galatea's eyes flared red, lines of crackling heat etched into the air like scorched lightning. Her hands flexed, fingers twitching , not with hesitation, but with calculated restraint. She wasn't just posturing.
She was ready to fire.
Adam stood up, hands raised. "Okay woah! she's actually going to attack us?"
Raven's brows furrowed. "No... wait..."
It wasn't a joke anymore.
Then they heard it.
A shriek split the air guttural, furious, and monstrous as the walls of the estate trembled beneath the force of it.
"Kaisel." Raven's voice dropped, sharp and alert. She didn't need to see.
Galatea had already turned, moving toward the door like a loaded weapon unleashed. "Someone is here."
Raven stood fast, her cloak fluttering to life around her, magic lacing her fingers. "Yeah…"
She looked back toward Blade, calm but focused. "Blade. Keep them safe."
The shadow nodded and he simply moved, his body dissolving into shadow and reforming at the threshold like a living wall.
Raven and Galatea surged forward.
Out through the balcony, across the estate's high platform, into the sky.
What they saw made even Raven's blood run still.
Above them, Kaisel, the massive wyvern, was thrashing, wings struggling against the crimson energy chains coiled around its body. His flames sputtered in his maw but wouldn't fire. His wings twitched, locked mid-beat. Subdued.
Hovering just beyond the wyvern's horned crown was a figure cloaked in red light. Energy radiated from his body in violent pulses, setting the clouds ablaze with a hellish red glow.
He wasn't just powerful. He was furious.
The figure's arm extended toward Kaisel's skull, red crackling energy forming a brand-like glyph that sizzled against the wyvern's shadow scale.
"Where is he…" the stranger growled. "Where is the Shadow Lantern?"
Kaisel screamed again, writhing in the air, but couldn't break the sigil's hold.
Raven narrowed her eyes. "That aura... that construct energy... it's not green, or yellow... that's a.."
"Red, Dumbass." Galatea cut in, her voice a cold whisper. "He's a Red Lantern."
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want