SHADOW KING'S RETURN

Chapter 6

"I smell my king..."

The giant’s booming voice echoed throughout the city of Arcadia, shaking the streets' very foundations and pounding the eardrums of thousands until they ached. The voice cut through the nighttime darkness, spreading pure terror and bringing all movement to an abrupt halt.

The Rank B and C Hunters on the dark streets froze in place. The weapons in their hands trembled violently. Soldiers behind barricades of armored vehicles held their breath, unable to pull the triggers of their rifles. Even the small monsters crawling out of the cracks in the Shadow Gate dropped to their knees, stiffly kneeling on the cold asphalt.

Every creature in the district fixed its gaze on a single point:

The collapsed Obsidian Building. The place where Kai Ashborn stood.

Through a gap in the building’s shattered roof, Kai looked up. There, a giant, red-eyed figure stood tall at nearly fifty meters high. Two curved black horns adorned its terrifying head. A pair of tattered wings fluttered slowly on its back, spreading the putrid stench of ancient carcasses that set the foliage along the highway ablaze. Each time its scaly feet struck the ground, massive cracks spread rapidly, destroying the surrounding buildings.

With a thud, Darius suddenly dropped to his knees next to Kai on the stone floor. He gripped the hilt of his massive sword tightly to steady the violent tremors in his chest.

"That figure..." Darius whispered, his voice filled with grief and shock.

Kai furrowed his brow and quickly turned to his subordinate. "You...you know him, Darius?"

Darius nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off the gigantic figure in the sky. "That's Barak. One of your trusted Shadow Generals from the past.”

Kai was stunned. His heart pounded as he looked at the enormous figure, which appeared ferocious.

"If he's one of our forces," Kai's voice trembled slightly, "why is he attacking this city? Why is he destroying people’s homes?”

Darius clenched his armored fist so tightly that it crushed the small rocks beneath his knee. The hinges of his armor clanked bitterly.

"No," Darius replied softly, suppressing the pain in his chest. “His eyes have been controlled. Someone has erased his loyalty and locked away his soul.”

Up above, the giant Barak looked at the sky and roared loudly once more.

"I will find my king!" His scream split the night, sending shockwaves that brought down the remaining concrete walls. "I will find him, even if I have to reduce this entire city to ashes!"

Inside the control room of the Hunter Association headquarters, total chaos ensued.

The operators' shouts echoed amid the incessant wail of emergency sirens. Their fingers danced frantically across the keyboards in an attempt to stabilize the monitoring systems that kept flashing red.

"That monster’s power is increasing!" a female operator cried, her forehead drenched in cold sweat. "That's impossible! Its energy level has exceeded the maximum limit of our gauges!"

"The system can’t read its structure," replied another officer in a hoarse voice. "All the sensors in the Eastern District are malfunctioning!"

Leon Hart stood rigidly in front of the giant monitor screen. His eyes narrowed as he watched the massive, black-scaled creature draw ever closer to the residential area. His hands gripped the edge of the control console so tightly that the wooden trim cracked.

“Don’t panic!” Leon commanded in a firm voice that boomed through the room. "Deploy all Rank A and Rank S Hunters immediately! Set up the main barricade!"

He pointed at the screen with a trembling finger, struggling to contain his anger. "No civilians are to approach the Eastern District!"

Within minutes, dozens of combat helicopters streaked across Arcadia’s dark night sky. On the streets below, a line of tanks and armored vehicles sped forward and took up combat positions along the giant monster’s path.

"Fire!" the military commander shouted over the loudspeaker.

Instantly, dozens of missiles were launched simultaneously, slicing through the night air with long trails of white smoke.

Booom!

The missiles exploded in midair, but not a single one touched Barak’s scaly skin. The giant merely raised one of his massive hands lazily. A thick black mist spewed from his palm and formed a gigantic shield that swallowed all the explosions and projectiles, turning them into smoke.

Leon Hart gritted his teeth as he watched the scene unfold on the monitor. "What kind of monster is that? Why didn’t even a military-grade attack leave so much as a scratch?"

Meanwhile, inside the ruins of the Obsidian Building, Kai observed the failed attack from a distance. The flames engulfing the helicopter and the soldiers’ despair were clearly visible from his vantage point.

Kai clenched both fists tightly. A sense of guilt and an unfamiliar burden suddenly weighed down on his shoulders. If the giant was indeed a remnant of his former troops, then the city’s destruction was his fault.

"If this is all because of me," Kai muttered, staring at his fingers, "then I'm the only one who can stop it."

At that moment, the transparent black screen glowed brightly before his eyes once again.

The main mission has been updated.

New objective: Defeat the Shadow General Barak.

Reward: Shadow Core Synchronization increased to 10%.

Mission bonus: partially restore the Shadow King’s memories.

Kai read the text line by line, holding his breath. Before he could process the significance of the memory recovery, the situation outside changed completely.

Barak’s gigantic body abruptly stopped in the middle of the highway. His two massive, glowing red eyes slowly swiveled, cutting through the night's darkness, and locked onto the ruins of the Obsidian Building.

The giant’s lips, lined with sharp fangs, slowly curved into a wide, terrifying smile.

"I've found you..." Barak whispered, his voice echoing low through the stone walls.

With a stomp that shattered the asphalt, Barak leaped high into the air.

Booom!

The ground shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck nearby. The fifty-meter-tall colossus streaked across the night sky, heading straight for Kai at an incredible speed that seemed impossible for its size. The flapping of its wings created a cold whirlwind that tore off the roofs of the surrounding buildings.

Kai’s eyes widened in shock. The icy wind blew his clothes around wildly and pricked his skin as if thousands of needles were stabbing him.

"It...it's coming here!" Kai shouted, taking a step back.

Darius shot forward and stood directly in front of Kai in a single, lightning-fast movement. He raised his giant sword high and stared straight at the gigantic shadow growing larger above their heads.

"Your Majesty..." Darius whispered in a steady tone, without the slightest hint of doubt. “No matter what happens, I will risk my life to protect you.”

Just before Barak’s colossal body crashed down, flattening the Obsidian Building, the night sky above them suddenly erupted in a blinding burst of golden light.

A massive, three-tiered golden magic circle burst open in the air, blocking the force of the wind and absorbing the giant’s impact.

The heavy pressure weighing down on Kai’s chest was suddenly lifted.

A figure slowly floated down from the center of the golden magic circle. The man wore a pristine white robe that fluttered gracefully amid the nighttime dust. He clutched a long spear that radiated a pure golden glow in his right hand.

He came to a halt in midair, standing between Kai and the giant Barak. He slowly raised his hand and pointed the glowing tip of the spear directly at the Shadow General’s chest.

In a soft, calm voice capable of silencing the city’s commotion, the man said,

"In the name of the Hunter Association, this invasion will end here."