The glowing text faded, but its echo lingered inside Knox's mind — a deep hum, resonating through his bones.
Then came the surge.
Like a tide breaking loose.
His vision sharpened, every color deepening — the world around him pulsed with shadows and light. Mana, once thin and unstable, now roared through his veins like a storm. His body felt light, yet unshakably grounded.
A dark aura — black laced with violet — erupted from beneath his boots, spreading in rippling waves across the frost-covered ground. The air itself trembled.
Knox exhaled slowly.
"…So this is it," he murmured, his voice low — detached, yet calm.
For a moment, he almost laughed.
"Right now, I don't feel anything from this 'Shadow Monarch' skill. No presence, no power… nothing".
He'd said that once, half in frustration, half in disbelief. Back then, it felt like a cruel joke — a title with no substance, a locked door with no key.
But now… that same silence had turned into a heartbeat.
Deep inside, something moved.
A faint tremor of power spread through his veins, cold and dark — not violent, but absolute. The kind of power that didn't ask for control; it simply was.
His breathing steadied as black mana began to seep from his skin, twisting and coiling like living smoke.
The forest dimmed — the flames nearby flickered and died as if smothered by shadow.
So this is the condition, he thought, a thin smile tugging at his lips. Pushed to the edge, life on the line… figures.
A chill swept across his body. His white hair bled into black, each strand shimmering faintly under the moonlight. Crimson irises faded to glacial blue. The air felt heavy, oppressive, like the world itself was holding its breath.
Knox opened his eyes, his voice calm but laced with something unfamiliar — authority.
"…Shadow Monarch, huh? About time you showed up."
The air shifted.
It wasn't just mana — it was something deeper, stronger. A suffocating dominion that bent the world around him.
Jasil froze mid-breath. His holy aura flickered, unstable. The moment his gaze met Knox's now-blue eyes, every instinct in his body screamed danger.
"What… is this feeling?" he whispered, stepping back without realizing.
The temperature hadn't changed, but cold sweat slid down his neck. His knees trembled. His fingers — the same ones that once carried out executions without hesitation — now shook uncontrollably.
No… impossible. I've faced heretics, monsters,… I've stood before saintesses themselves.
He clenched his jaw, trying to suppress the quiver in his voice.
Then why… why can't I move?
The pressure thickened — heavy enough to make the air vibrate. His gauntlet-clad hand twitched, trying to grip his sword, but even that felt wrong. Like something unseen was pressing down on him.
He looked down, realizing his hand was shaking violently.
"…Is this… fear?"
The thought alone made his stomach twist. Rage replaced panic in an instant. He bared his teeth, growling through the tension.
"There's no way I'm afraid of a damn kid!"
Holy energy burst from his body — uncontrolled, desperate. His aura flared gold and white, tearing apart the frost at his feet. He roared, forcing every last ounce of his remaining mana into his blade, and swung it downward.
A massive arc of divine light screamed through the air, splitting the clearing in half — the attack of a cornered beast.
But Knox didn't flinch.
He lowered his stance, placing his katana's edge to the frozen ground.
The blade scraped against the earth with a sharp hiss as he drew a half-circle before him, shadows spilling from the line like liquid smoke. Then — with both hands gripping the hilt — he rose, cutting upward in one smooth, fluid motion.
A surge of dark energy erupted from the ground — violet and black intertwining into a crescent slash that met Jasil's holy light head-on.
For a heartbeat, the world went white.
Then, silence.
The divine arc shattered like glass. The shadow wave tore through it, consuming everything in its path.
Jasil's eyes widened — disbelief flashing across his face — just before the world itself split apart.
The black-violet arc cleaved through his holy light, devouring it like a shadow swallowing dawn. For a heartbeat, time froze — the air, the sound, even Jasil's scream — and then everything was erased.
A surge of darkness swept across the clearing. Where Jasil once stood, nothing remained — no body, no armor, not even ash. Only a faint shimmer of light lingered for a second before fading into the night.
Knox stood there, motionless, his katana still lowered from the final swing. The black-violet aura flickered once more before fading entirely.
Then the strength drained from his body. His knees gave out.
"Hah…" His breath hitched, uneven, harsh.
The darkness that had cloaked him — the shadowy aura that pulsed with overwhelming mana — started to unravel like smoke in the wind.
His hair, once turned pitch black, shimmered faintly before the color drained away, strand by strand, returning to its usual silvery-white hue.
The same happened to his eyes — the deep, glowing blue receding until the familiar crimson light returned, dim but alive.
Knox exhaled shakily, the sound barely audible.
His grip loosened, and the katana's tip dipped into the frozen ground.
He tried to move, but his limbs refused to obey.
Damn it… I pushed it too far…
Every muscle screamed in protest. His mana circuits felt scorched — his entire body numb. Maintaining that power, even for mere seconds, had drained him dry.
The funnels that hovered silently above the battlefield flickered, then vanished one by one, dissolving into faint motes of light.
He staggered a step forward — then collapsed, knees hitting the icy ground. His vision blurred, colors bleeding into one another until only vague shapes remained.
The world grew quiet.
His heartbeat slowed.
And then, faintly — the sound of footsteps.
Soft. Controlled. Two pairs.
Out from the shadows stepped two figures.
One with flowing fiery red hair that shimmered faintly under the pale moonlight, the other with gentle, sea-blue hair that reflected the faint frost clinging to the air.
Their presence alone shifted the atmosphere — calm, confident, and suffused with quiet authority.
The red-haired woman's gaze swept across the clearing — over the shattered ground, the frozen trees, the faint traces of mana still drifting like smoke.
"…The mana here is thick," a calm yet commanding voice observed, each word measured and sure. "Something powerful was unleashed."
Her companion — the blue-haired woman — crouched beside Knox's still form. "He's alive," she said softly, her voice steadier than her expression. "Barely, but alive."