Darkness.

Whoosh

The whistling sound of something cutting through the air could be heard, followed by the heavy breathing of a human male.

Harald had placed the cone-shaped substance in his space ring to avoid any mishaps.

'I have to get over with this… those monsters might return if I don't bring out the relic…'

The space ring was a dimension on its own, so anything placed in it could not relate to Archon.

Alexander, who had been still all this while, made his first move by swinging his hand to the sky.

It was a simple movement, but what followed afterward made Harald notice the gravity of the situation: the sky darkened, slowly disrupting the sun's existence.

'This guy sure doesn't play games—he wants to end me so fast into the fight…'

Harald had expected Alexander to play a little. At least, to gauge his enemy's strengths and weaknesses, but he was wrong—Alexander was in no way interested in stalling and learning his enemy's traits.

Having no choice, Harald revealed his ability, manipulating the air(A/N: it can be interchanged with wind.) In the surrounding area to do his bidding, blowing off the concrete barrier Alexander was creating.

'Finally decided to show your Ability…' Alexander scoffed within, before coming to a conjecture. 'It should be an air-based ability—it surely would be deadly if used well.'

Archon did not have a general way of naming Abilities, so it was left for the individuals to decide their names based on their features—that is if they wish to.

For instance, individuals who control air might decide to name their Ability as air bender; windbreaker; wind blessed; among others. The most important factor is the individual's mindset, which can determine whether he evolves or stays in the same spot.

Alexander, who had knowledge of this situation, observed his enemy's Ability to determine if his consensus was correct. After all, Harald could be using an artifact or has an Ability that functions similarly to air.

'Tsk… I hate using my ability because it is easy to tell its properties and origin… I'm sure he already figured out that I'm a Wind-blessed…' Harald thought in exasperation, feeling a sense of comfort after he successfully dispelled the dark substance.

'It's hard to tell if he is using the darkness element or miasma…' Harald thought as he focused on his enemy. 'Why do both of them have similar characteristics?!'

He could notice the black energy seeping from the trees. It was clear that they have been tainted by the Dark General's ability.

'I'll just consider his ability as all of them, that way, I'll have a higher chance of defeating him…'

Harald decided not to think too much of his enemy's ability and focus on protecting himself from the corruption and taking him down.

Since Harald thought Alexander already knew of his ability or had an idea of how it worked, he let go of the shackles he had placed on himself, increasing the air pressure in the environment.

He slowly made the air around the tentacles dense, impeding their movements.

Alexander, in turn, attempted to move forward but was hindered by the staggering pressure of the air around him. It was like swimming in gum—it felt elastic.

'How frightening…' Alexander thought, simultaneously using the shadow phase to elude the air pressure, getting in a closer proximity to Harald who was amused by Alexander's sudden disappearance, before coming to a sudden realization.

'He had materialized out of darkness when he first arrived… Does that mean he can merge with the dark?'

Harald suddenly had goosebumps over the surface of his skin as he figured out another staggering skill of the Dark General.

'None of our records mentioned this stuff… At least, I can gain more benefits from revealing this terrifying skill…'

Despite the dangerous situation, Harald still thought of the grand prize that awaited him in the Locuria dynasty.

Alexander was limited by range in his shadow phasing skill, so he had to gradually travel through shadows at Close proximity to arrive at his destination, which was Harald's shadow this time.

To his dismay, Harald created a safe distance, immediately cladding his wrist with a five-bead wristband, strange characters expressed on their surface.

'His shadow…! It's gone!' Alexander eyed the weird wristband in annoyance, changing plans to arrive at the closest shadow to his target.

Harald joined his palm in an interlocking manner, muttering as the wind intensified.

The trees fluttered under the pressure of the wind, many trees falling to the ground.

'Controlling air itself is a dangerous ability. I admire your ability and the way you use it…'

Alexander sincerely offered his thoughts on the matter.

'But I'm a Shadow Summoner—I don't need them to exist in my surroundings, I can summon shadows!'

Alexander did his best to remain standing, turning his arm in an anticlockwise manner.

Followed by this casual action of Alexander, was utter darkness, as manifested from the surroundings, leaving Harald who was doing his best to create a hurricane flabbergasted.

'Monster…!'

That was the only thought that came to mind as he struggled to dispel the darkness using the wind.

Though the situation was critical, Harald still had a thought that outweighed the dangers he was facing.

'More information to give, ha ha ha ha. I'm affluent!!!'

His mind was in chaos as he joined his palms together, separating them slowly—one to the left while the other to the right.

A huge gust of wind was created by his actions, a long mass of wind to the horizontal manifesting.

'He copied my shadow-blade using the wind element…'

Alexander was shocked by his enemy's wits in battle—he was able to replicate one of his signature moves within minutes of the fight.

Alexander subconsciously gulped down, imagining how terrifying Harald would have been if he had the same experience in battle as him.

Harald did not waste time dwelling on the specifics of the attack he created, slashing it toward Alexander in one fell swoop.

Alexander, who had manifested quite a mass of shadows, used it to form a protective armor around himself, which was slashed by the wind blade, inflicting a deep wound on his abdomen.

'How frightening—if you had experienced the things I went through, I'm afraid this fight might have ended with me losing a lot.'

Alexander smiled, looking at his enemy with utmost respect before his eyes slowly turned dark, followed by his facial expression.

He observed Harald with dark, pupilless eyes, a hideous smile forming on his dark-handsome face.

'Enemies are meant to be eradicated, they are detrimental to your home…'

Recalling his past, Alexander's heart became flooded with negativities. He was like a walking mass of agony and hatred.

'I'll kill them all—all of them who dared to target my home.

No one would be spared—just die…!!!'

[Shadow of death]