Free Web NovelChapter 18: Shadow Sovereign
After exchanging several blows with them, Aurielle realized she could no longer afford to hold back.
The three Bronze Knights were coordinating their attacks well, constantly forcing her to defend while Roland searched for an opening. If this continued, the battle would only drag on longer.
A cold look flashed through her eyes.
"Fine."
"You asked for this."
Aurielle slowly raised her hand.
The moment Roland saw her movement, a sense of danger surged through his heart. The other two Bronze Knights also became visibly wary.
"Dark Veil."
Her calm voice echoed across the battlefield.
The surrounding shadows immediately began stretching unnaturally.
**WHOOOOOOOSH!**
Dark mist burst outward like a black tide.
Shadows from shattered buildings, burning tents, and fallen soldiers seemed to come alive as darkness spread in every direction.
Within seconds, the battlefield was swallowed by an ocean of black.
Nearby soldiers immediately panicked.
"My vision!"
"I can’t see anything!"
"Stay together!"
Confused shouts echoed from all directions.
Even the sounds of battle became strangely muffled.
Roland’s expression changed.
"Quick! Use the Light Stone!"
His voice rang out, but even he noticed something was wrong.
The sound seemed weaker and Distant. As if the darkness itself was swallowing every noise.
Without wasting another second, Roland activated his C-Rank Origin Skill.
## Infernal Core
*"A flame born within the heart. The longer it burns, the stronger its wielder becomes."*
**THUMP.**
A powerful heartbeat echoed from within his chest.
**THUMP.**
Crimson-orange light began glowing beneath his skin.
Deep inside his body, a burning core ignited.
From the outside, his chest faintly glowed through the gaps in his armor, while waves of heat spread from his body.
A Bronze Knight quickly activated a Light Stone.
A faint white glow pushed back part of the darkness, illuminating a small area around them.
Three shadows stretched beneath their feet.
The sight only made them more nervous. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
"Where is she?"
One Bronze Knight asked while gripping his sword tightly.
Fear was already creeping into his voice.
His eyes continuously scanned the darkness.
A sudden scream shattered the silence.
"Behind you!!!"
The knight’s entire body froze. His pupils contracted.
Instinctively, he lowered his gaze. His own shadow... Was moving.
The darkness beneath his feet rippled like disturbed water.
A black-purple sword slowly emerged from it as Aurielle emerged alongside the blade.
CLANG!
The Bronze Knight reacted on pure instinct.
He raised his sword and blocked but the moment the two weapons collided—
**BOOOOOOM!**
A terrifying force erupted through his arms and his body was blasted backward.
**CRASH!**
He smashed through a broken wall before tumbling across the ground.
Dust and stone fragments exploded into the air.
Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
Roland’s eyes narrowed the moment he saw Aurielle emerge from the knight’s shadow, and he immediately activated:
Infernal Rush.
Fire gathered around Roland’s legs as the stone beneath his feet rapidly melted.
SSSSSSSS!
White steam billowed upward while intense heat distorted the surrounding air. Crimson flames wrapped around his lower body, and cracks spread across the ground beneath him.
BOOM!
A fiery explosion erupted beneath his feet.
Roland launched forward like a cannonball, tearing through the darkness at terrifying speed. A trail of flames was left behind in his wake, briefly illuminating the battlefield before being swallowed by the shadows once more.
To weaker soldiers watching from afar, it looked as though he had vanished entirely.
BANG!
Roland’s sword slammed into the ground with tremendous force.
Stone and dirt exploded upward as a shockwave rippled across the battlefield. Cracks spread through the earth, and a deep crater formed at the point of impact.
The attack was powerful enough to crush an Iron Knight instantly.
Yet—
The spot was empty as Aurielle had already disappeared.
Only faint ripples remained within the surrounding shadows, as if mocking Roland’s failed strike. His expression immediately darkened as he realized he had missed.
A ripple suddenly appeared behind the wounded Bronze Knight.
The shadows twisted and Aurielle stepped out once more.
Like a hunter emerging from the darkness.
Without wasting a single movement, she swung her Shadow Blade.
"What?!"
The Bronze Knight desperately raised his weapon.
SHATTER!
The moment the black-purple blade struck it, his sword exploded into fragments.
His eyes widened in horror as the Shadow Blade continued toward his neck without slowing.
The remaining Bronze Knight immediately rushed forward to rescue him.
Roland gritted his teeth and activated Infernal Rush once again.
Flames erupted beneath his feet.
His speed exploded.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Yet no matter how desperately he moved—
He was still too late.
SLASH!
A black-purple flash crossed the darkness.
Silence.
For a brief moment, the Bronze Knight remained standing. Then a thin red line appeared across his neck.
PSHHH!
Blood erupted into the air. His expression froze as his head separated from his body and rolled across the shattered ground, leaving a crimson trail behind. The headless corpse swayed briefly before collapsing.
THUD!
The heavy sound echoed across the battlefield, causing several nearby soldiers to feel their hearts tremble. Even those outside the Dark Veil felt a chill run down their spines.
Aurielle’s figure dissolved back into the darkness once again, as if she had never been there.
"Damn it!"
Roland cursed while staring at the headless corpse, veins bulging across his forehead. Beside him, the remaining Bronze Knight’s expression completely changed as fear finally appeared in his eyes.
Inside this darkness, they weren’t hunting Aurielle.
Aurielle was hunting them.
Then he roared in anger.
"Do you think this darkness can stop me?!"
The flames around his body intensified.
Taking a deep breath, Roland drew upon the power of the Infernal Core and finally activated its true Origin Ability.
**Infernal Awakening.**
**THUMP.**
A powerful heartbeat echoed from within his chest.
THUMP.
The sound grew louder, heavier, and more violent with each beat as the temperature of the battlefield rapidly began to rise.
Then—
**BOOOOOOM!**
A wave of scorching heat erupted outward, forcing nearby soldiers to shield their faces as the burning air washed over them.
Crimson-orange cracks spread across Roland’s neck, arms, and face like molten lava flowing beneath his skin, while steam poured from his body in thick waves. His eyes ignited with a fiery orange glow, and the surrounding air visibly distorted from the intense heat.
Grass blackened and withered wherever the heat reached, while scattered wooden debris began to smoke and crackle.
Even the shadows covering the battlefield began to retreat beneath the overwhelming heat, shrinking back as if driven away by the blazing inferno radiating from Roland’s body.
The Dark Veil weakened significantly, and visibility gradually returned as the darkness slowly receded from the battlefield.
"There you are!"
Roland’s eyes immediately locked onto Aurielle’s silhouette.
She stood calmly amidst the fading darkness, her expression unchanged. The terrifying heat that was forcing soldiers to retreat and making the very air tremble seemed incapable of affecting her in the slightest.
Seeing her at last, Roland’s lips slowly curled into a confident grin.
Flames flickered wildly around his body as he activated another skill.
**Blazing Cleave.**
He burst forward, dragging his sword across the shattered ground as he charged.
**SKRRRRAAAAAAPE!**
A shower of sparks exploded behind him while Infernal Energy surged into the blade. The sword rapidly turned bright orange, its metal glowing as though it had just been pulled from a blacksmith’s furnace.
The surrounding temperature climbed even higher, forcing nearby soldiers to retreat instinctively. Some could already feel their skin burning despite the distance.
Roland roared and swung his sword.
**SWOOOOOOOSH!**
A gigantic crescent-shaped wave of fire erupted from the blade and tore across the battlefield like an unstoppable inferno.
The ground cracked apart beneath its path, stone melted into glowing slag, and everything it touched was reduced to ash. The sheer heat distorted the air, causing nearby soldiers to stumble backward in terror.
Yet Aurielle remained calm.
Her expression never changed as her eyes quietly followed the approaching attack.
Then she spoke.
"Time to end this."
Her voice was neither loud nor threatening.
Just calm.
Far too calm.
The moment Roland heard those words, a chill ran down his spine. His excitement vanished instantly, and his pupils contracted as an overwhelming sense of danger erupted within his heart.
Aurielle slowly raised her hand.
S-Rank Origin Skill.
Shadow Sovereign.
"The darkness obeys her call."
THUMP.
WHOOOOOOOSH!
Black mist flowed from Aurielle’s armor like smoke. Her purple eyes gradually darkened, and within them a faint violet glow slowly emerged. The ground around her became covered in moving shadows that slithered and twisted like living creatures responding to their ruler’s command.
Even the remaining Bronze Knight subconsciously took a step back. His instincts screamed at him.
Something terrifying was awakening.
Aurielle’s gaze never left the incoming wave of fire.
"Stop it."
A simple command.
Yet the shadows obeyed.
The surrounding darkness surged forward as countless shadows gathered together, twisting, compressing, and merging into one. Within moments, two gigantic shadow hands formed before her, each larger than a house. They stretched forward and seized the blazing sword arc head-on.
WHOOOOOSHHHHHH!
Fire and darkness collided.
Violent shockwaves erupted across the battlefield as the ground cracked beneath the pressure. The giant shadow hands trembled while the fiery crescent struggled violently, trying to force its way through. Flames exploded in every direction, scorching the earth and shattering nearby stone, yet the attack couldn’t advance even a single meter.
The strike that moments ago seemed capable of reducing everything in its path to ash was now completely restrained.
Roland’s eyes widened.
"Impossible..."
His voice trembled.
He knew exactly how powerful that attack was. With Infernal Awakening amplifying it, the strike had already touched the threshold of the Silver Knight Realm. Even most Bronze Knights would have been killed instantly.
Yet Aurielle had stopped it with a single command.
Before Roland could process what had happened, Aurielle’s mocking voice echoed from the darkness.
"An ant should know its place."
[Chapter End]
