Chapter 84

I'm posting some chapters ahead of time on my discord server: https://discord.gg/r2VSvS5kaH

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"I'm your enemy now."

Sung Jin-woo pointed at the Monarch of White Flames. When he saw this, the latter trampled in fear. There was something about the human successor of Ashborn that made him even more terrifying than Ashborn.

His achievements as the Shadow Monarch were terrifying.

Without the aid from the Rulers, he had defeated the monarchs and assembled their armies into his own shadows. He, alone, made the remaining monarchs nothing more than prey. And he hunted them down. The Monarch of the White Flames wasn't there. He was killed by the previous Shadow Monarch, but after he heard the stories of the other monarchs, he knew one thing for sure. Even if they defeated Ashborn here, the war wasn't over. That's why Antares wanted the black heart. He even seemed more worried about the new Shadow Monarch than Ashborn.

And now, this person stands in front of him. If it wasn't for his pride as a monarch, he would have run away. He had to survive until Antares returns. Together, they would be able to defeat him.

Baran couldn't feel the presence of an army in the shadow of Jin-woo, so he concluded that they were most likely already deployed.

"Bellion, Igris, Beru... We have a lot of work to do today."

The three figures emerged from Jin-woo's shadow. They were the current commanders of Jin-woo's shadow army.

The Monarch of the White Flames couldn't do anything else but take a step back at the sight of the three shadows in front of him. The Beast Monarch once described them as gods of destruction. He didn't take it too seriously back then, but now he was forced to admit it. The power they possessed seemed to be equal even to his. A monarch. And with their infinite regeneration... They were dangerous. Incredibly dangerous. How was he supposed to get out of here?

"What are your commands, my liege?"

"Bellion and Beru, the Frost Monarch and the Plague Monarch, seem to be in the same place. I want them killed."

"It shall be done."

The two shadows bowed and disappeared from their places. Aldir and Agrona, who had regained their powers, felt extremely confused about what was happening. The mana they received... wasn't their lord's, but very similar.

Jin-woo quickly gave orders to the last one, "Igris, track down the others for me while I take care of this one. You may use help from Ashborn's soldiers. For now, they are under my control…"

Agrona and Aldir couldn't explain why they felt such a familiarity with this person. He was eagerly reminiscent of their lord.

"They are still confused, my lord. It is their first time."

"You felt like them too, Igris?"

The shadow soldier with long red hair nodded at his king. He could still remember how it was to abide by his initial summoner. It took him some time to accept Jin-woo as suitable for Ashborn's successor.

"What…? How is this…" Agrona muttered in disbelief. The power in him was returning, but not from his lord, but from the person in front of him. He weirdly stared at Sung Jin-woo, with his eyes and inquired what was happening.

"Ashborn will need every ounce of strength he can muster in his battle. For the time being, I'll be lending you a hand." Jin-woo briefly explained the situation.

Right after he stopped talking, the Shadow Monarch created pitch black daggers and pointed one of them at the Monarch of White Flames.

"I've fought with your puppet. It's time to kill the realone." He said, and took a step forward.

Baran felt chills run down his spine as the mana sparked out of the person. He suddenly felt a tremendous weight on his shoulders. His vision became darker and his mind raced uncontrollably to find a solution.

'Others…'

There was no chance to contact the other monarchs either. There was a creature who blocked the monarch's ways of communication. Sung Jin-woo successfully cornered Baran, and the Monarch was hopeless.

Baran manifested his dual daggers. He had to buy time.

The second shadow monarch took a glance at them, "Oh, I remember those, but they didn't do much damage." He recalled some memories of the demon castle. On the last floor, he received a lot of rewards, including two daggers from the Demon King.

"Although I switched them with Kamish-"

*Slap*

The distracted person brought himself back to a serious demeanor with a loud slap. Agrona and Aldir sweat dropped at this scene. Was this guy even taking this battle seriously?

*Burst*

The speed at which Jin-woo moved forward instantaneously increased to an unimaginable level. In Agrona's eyes, he teleported and also tore apart the ground.

Without Baran's instincts, his head would have been rolling on the ground for a very long time.

'This guy is too quick!' Thought Baran as he engaged his enemy in a close exchange of blows.

Their daggers collided with each other, producing a loud thump with each collision. Still, this could be barely called an exchange of blows.

Jin-woo obviously held the upper hand with his speed. Baran was just blindly covering his weak spots to avoid an injury. At this rate, he'd be exhausted and wouldn't be able to reach the nearest Monarch.

Baran leaped away, but he was instantly followed by his foe. "I don't recall giving you permission to leave." Sung Jin-Woo said in a cold voice.

He was planning to run away, and if he was lucky enough, he would encounter at least someone else. The main problem was, will the monarch hold their own against more Shadow Soldiers? Baran only hoped so as he was chased.

Back to the Frost Monarch and Monarch of Plague, who kept torturing Beru, found out about his strength coming back.

*Slick*

The purple mass cut of the woman's hand before she could harm the ant.

[Quaresha! We have a big problem!] The Frost Monarch shouted.

[You think I don't know that?!] The woman screamed back.

They felt the presence of something terrible. But they didn't know if it was the Shadow Monarch, Baran should've told them if Antares was defeated. The message never came, in the end.

[This bug got back its powers, Antares must've been defeated!]

Quaresha couldn't help but assume. Otherwise, how would the shadow get back its powers?

"Skree!" Beru screeched with much more furious intent and attacked the Plague Monarch. His claws dug into her flesh, and his mana constructs bound her, giving the ant a lot more opportunities to strike.

The Frost Monarch saw an opening in Beru. The ant was solely concerned about Quaresha and completely forgot about him. The air around his hand froze, and the ice spike emerged from his palm.

*Swoosh*

"Skree!"

*Bang*

The frost monarch was sent flying as someone punched him in the face. He balanced himself in the air and looked at who had attacked him...

'Huh?'

It was Beru?

"Skree?"

Beru was also confused, he stopped attacking the woman and turned his attention behind. There he saw... Beru?!

He pointed at the Ant, "Who are you?!"

The second ant also noticed the first and pointed back, "No! Who are you?!"

The two Berus were staring at each other in a similar manner while also pointing at each other like those spidermen from the meme.

The Monarch of Plague thought it was a good idea to attack the ants while they were distracted. Soon she found out that it wasn't quite so. She flapped her insect wings and blurred right in front of the ants.

The two Berus' eyes beamed in purple. Their eyes landed on the Monarch.

*Slash* *Slash*

In a well-coordinated manner, they acted like a seasoned duo and created insanely accurate slashes that opened up a window for a different shadow.

*Bang*

Bellion loudly barged into a fight, his special sword already wrapped around Quaresha. He quickly pulled his sword back and created an effect of cutting with his mana.

*Slick*

The not-so-tough body of a woman was torn apart. It couldn't withstand the strength of the pull and pretty much just fell apart.

[You lowly bugs!]

However, her screams never ceased. Monarchs were spiritual beings, so they didn't require their mouths to speak. Instead, the mana itself traversed their words.

'These shadows! It couldn't be-'

"So one time wasn't enough for you." voiced Bellion with irritation in his voice.

Beru…The First Ant King... I mean, Jin-woo's Beru was surprised to hear his colleague talk like that. For Bellion to show dissatisfaction was something…It was extremely weird. He never acted like that.

"You know what the consequences were of attacking my king..."

Beru finished it instead of the Grand Marshal, "Death to the enemies!" They flew right into the battle.

The Plague Monarch had very little chance of winning against two ants. She was the weakest monarch, and even those stronger than him once fell to the Marshal-level soldiers. She couldn't even use her poison because the Shadow Monarchs' shadows were immune to it. It wasn't the best matchup for Quaresha.

Bellion…he was a special one.

There was a line between the Marshals; you were either a Marshal or you were Bellion. He was the first ever shadow that rose and fulfilled the orders of his lord. He had strength, speed, endurance, mobility, the mind of a warrior, discipline, intelligence, and loyalty.

And once his achievements were underestimated, he beat those who did that to the ground.

"I won't let... even my lord move a finger to kill you." This was the breaking point for Bellion. With the fierce desire to kill monarchs burning in him, he attacked.

*Stomp*

The ground under his feet cracked as he jumped forward. The sword Bellion held turned into a controllable whip again. It moved at the monarch like a snake, avoiding ice barriers in the process.

*Wrap* *Squeeze*

The whip was wrapped around the monarch's hand. It then squeezed it and didn't let the man use it.

'This guy… is on an entirely different level.'

The Frost Monarch never had confrontations with this particular soldier, but he could instantly recognize him. This strength was definitely of the Shadow Army's right wing. Ashborn's former right-hand man.

And now with him being here, it means that the true Shadow Army is here... or was it? Ashborn's successor definitely was. The spark of mana very far away from them is definitely his.

'...it depends solely on Antares now.'

At this stage, he couldn't even lie to himself. His arrogance vanished in this desperate moment. Even if they fought back, there was little to no chance at all.

*Slam*

While he was distracted by his thoughts, Bellion used the special sword to slam him onto the ground. He blurred next to the monarch and stood over him. With a *click*, the sword retracted to its original form.

*Swing* *Freeze*

Before the large sword could impale the Frost Monarch, he hardened his palm with ice and caught the sword's sharp edge. It still couldn't hold off the strength behind the attack, so the sword still struck his shoulder.

*Bang*

Bellion stomped on the Frost Monarch and bashed his face. He wasn't going to let the Monarch even think of getting an opportunity to strike back.

"Do not call yourself a king... with those powers." Bellion almost spat at the Frost Monarch.

Sung Jin-woo, however, was allowing the Monarch of White Flames to retaliate on purpose, so it was impossible to say the same about him. It was as if he was testing how dangerous this monarch was.

In the end, he concluded, 'Definitely stronger than the puppet.'

*Crackle*

Baran opened his mouth to shoot an electricity beam at Jin-woo. Unfortunately for him, the latter just cracked a smile and instantaneously disappeared from his sight.

'He was always so fast?!'

*Grab*

Baran's mouth was grabbed and his magic canceled. He couldn't even notice how that happened. He was overwhelmed, and he desperately thrust his dagger at Jin-woo's chest.

*Thurst* *Cut*

The dagger couldn't reach its destination. The hand in which he held the dangerous weapon was cut off by Jin-woo's.

*Slam*

The Shadow Monarch pressed on with his hand and broke Baran's stability. This made the monarch fall on his back. Jin-woo was quick to act even here.

*Slash*

Multiple cuts spread across the body of Baran. A second passed, and the limbs were completely separated from the main body. Jin-woo put one of his feet on the Monarch's chest and held him there, as a captive.

*Slick*

The double daggers also struck the Monarch's remaining shoulders and nailed him to the ground.

"Now I know why they sent the two of you after Ashborn... Even then, it was a mistake." Jin-woo had to admit Baran was stronger than other Monarchs, but Antares most likely thought that he wouldn't be able to kill a tired Ashborn. That's why he was accompanied by the Beast Monarch.

"Those who ever posed a danger were not you, it was Antares. I can feel it from here."

Jin-woo looked up at the sky. To normal eyes, it would've been invisible, but he could see the flash of red and purple in the cosmos. Those were some violent flashes of color. There was a clash between the dimensions.