As the sun rose above the horizon, its brilliant rays cast a long shadow behind the Dark King.
His shadow stretched far across the ground, larger than himself, larger than what this world could contain.
For a fleeting mont, his shadow seed to grow even bigger, as if it could not be bound by the limits of the universe.
In that single mont, when he declared that he would one day beco an Emperor, his shadow felt limitless.
Strangely enough, even Rekan and the shadowkins felt a peculiar feeling stirring in their chests upon hearing the Dark King's proclamation.
It was so strange. There were many who claid to one day be an Emperor Magus. But such statents almost always elicited a round of laughter and ridicule from the audience.
But the devils were grim and solemn when they listened to Adam.
They couldn't help but wonder…
Just where did a man born on the edge of the Outer Universe find the confidence to declare that he would one day beco an Emperor?
What was an Emperor Magus?
They were beings who had mastered the arcane arts to such a degree that they no longer required spell components. Magic beca innate to them.
They were hallowed entities, recognized by mana itself and granted a true na.
Yet Adam had so casually comnted on becoming just that — an Emperor.
It was laughable.
However, no one found it amusing. Not Rekan. Not the other shadowkins. And most definitely not the Dark King.
When the shadowkin leader glanced at Adam's shadow in that fleeting mont, he felt oddly overwheld.
"I will ask you one last ti," Rekan said after taking a deep breath and gathering his bearings.
"This planet is already dood. Will you continue to stand in our way?"
Adam's confidence did not waver. He was not afraid of the shadowkins. He was not afraid of the rest of the devils arriving on the battlefield. And he was most certainly not afraid of facing the Cult Leader.
"I will," he said proudly. "I was born of this earth, and so it is my duty to protect it."
Rekan deeply looked at the Dark King, trying to ascertain whether the human truly ant what he said, or if he was simply saying things on a whim.
"I see." The shadowkin realized that there was no other choice but to get rid of the Dark King.
After exchanging several blows by now, he had learned that Adam had no intention of withdrawing from this battle. If he had, then given his teleportation skills, he would have long since fled.
Rekan realized that the only reason the youth had chosen to stay back and engage with them was to keep them from causing further chaos on the main battlefield. He found it admirable. Truly.
Coincidentally, the devils had also chosen to engage with the Dark King for the very sa reason. They knew that if he were to let loose on the battlefield, there would be a lot more casualties on their side.
"Spread out!" he barked orders, his dark eyes flashing with resolve.
It was unfortunate that the Dark King wouldn't listen. He would have proven to be quite a capable fighter on the devil's side. But thankfully, there was more than one way to get a Magus to fight for the devils in the Eternal War.
Adam watched the shadowkins surround him. He didn't interrupt them. Instead, his brow arched in amusent. "So what are you guys planning to do now?" he asked. "Co at all at once? Like you hadn't tried that already."
Rekan's expression turned cold and indifferent. The shadowkins had already taken up their positions. Now all that remained was to prevent the Dark King from escaping.
"The sin of pride is strong in you," he said as his figure vanished. He hadn't used a teleportation spell. It was simply pure speed.
Clang!
In the next heartbeat, he appeared right before the youth, swiping his daggers vertically in a vicious manner.
Adam managed to block the blow in a tily manner. But he'd be lying if he claid it didn't take so effort.
"But I will admit," Rekan continued. "You have every right to be arrogant."
"Heh!" Adam scoffed. "You're physically weaker than I am. It must be your technique then. Yes, that's gotta be it. It is quite refined, if I say so myself."
He quickly retreated a few steps and tried to make the simplified hand seal for short-distance teleportation. The other shadowkins had begun performing the spell components simultaneously. Sothing about that caused a faint foreboding feeling to bloom in his heart.
But he was only halfway through the physical component when suddenly…
CLANG!
Rekan appeared before him once again. This ti, his strike was even more ferocious.
"Where do you think you're going?" The devil's words turned deeper and sharper. "The sin of pride… I've seen many great figures carry it. They eventually beca burdened by it."
Adam's expression turned utterly grim. This ti, instead of retreating, he took a step forward and struck with a powerful punch.
Hand of Doom: One Strike!
But Rekan was already one step ahead. Not only did he block the attack with a defensive artifact, but he was also quick enough to dodge the faint shockwaves from the punch by turning into a shadow.
A mont after he dissolved into shadows, he quickly materialized back, preventing Adam from teleporting away to safety. Like this, the pair exchanged several moves in the blink of an eye, with neither side gaining the upper hand.
Until finally…
The shadowkins had finally completed the spell components!
Mana poured from their cores and fueled the combined spell. Their shadows stretched and rged together, engulfing the land within their encirclent by a thick blanket of shadows.
Adam's eyes narrowed as he saw his own shadow drowned by sothing even more dark and sinister.
Right at that mont, Rekan's cold words echoed in his ears.
"In the end, pride will be the reason for your downfall."
The next second, the dark shadow on the ground reached out for Adam. They turned into umbral tendrils and coiled around his limbs and torso. And there was nothing he could do to resist.
Soon, he was pulled into another realm.
This was the sunless plane of darkness.
This was the place where light went to die.
This was the dark echo of the world.
This was the Shadowmuir!
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