Chapter 119: The King (3)
The momentary pause shattered like glass against stone as the Ancient King shifted his stance, the sun mask’s hollow eyes seeming to burn brighter with malevolent amusement. Arthur’s shadow armor rippled across his form like living darkness, tendrils of black energy coiling around his limbs as he raised his blade. The weapon itself seemed to drink in the light around it, creating a void of pure darkness that made the air shimmer with otherworldly power.
"Stay together!" Arthur barked as sweat beaded on his forehead. "We can’t let him isolate us again!"
The king’s response was swift and merciless. Without warning, he launched himself forward, his ancient blade carving through the air with a whistle that spoke of countless deaths. This time, his target was Kay.
Kay’s war hammer came up in a defensive arc, the weapon’s head easily the size of a man’s torso. When the king’s blade met the hammer’s reinforced handle, the impact created a thunderclap that rattled the room. Kay’s superhuman strength allowed him to hold his ground for a precious moment, his feet sliding only inches across the polished marble despite the tremendous force behind the king’s strike.
"My turn!" Kay roared, pivoting on his heel and swinging his massive war hammer in a brutal horizontal arc. The weapon moved with deceptive speed for something so large, the air displacement creating a visible distortion around its path. The king was forced to leap backward, his reflexes saving him from a blow that would have shattered stone and bone alike.
But Kay’s attack had created an opening, and Aziel was ready to exploit it. Lightning crackled around the spear-wielder’s form as he channeled his power, electricity dancing across his skin like living tattoos. His speed increased exponentially, each movement blurring as he closed the distance between himself and the king in the blink of an eye.
Aziel’s spear thrust forward in a lightning-fast combination, each strike aimed at vital points with surgical precision. The king parried the first three attacks, but the fourth caught him across the ribs, tearing through clothing and skin alike and drawing a thin line of dark ichor. The King’s response was immediate—a backhanded strike that caught Aziel across the jaw, sending him spinning away with blood streaming from his split lip.
"Aziel!" Lara’s voice cut through the chaos as she pressed her attack, her twin blades weaving an intricate pattern of death around the king.
The king found himself momentarily pressed as Lara’s assault intensified. Her twin blades moved in perfect harmony, creating a defensive web that was difficult to penetrate while constantly probing for weaknesses. When one of her strikes finally connected—a shallow cut across the king’s forearm—Lara gasped as warmth flooded through her body. The healing magic inherent in her weapons activated instantly, and she felt her earlier bruises fade as the king’s dark blood fed her restoration.
The kings free hand shot out like a striking serpent, fingers wrapping around Lara’s throat. For a terrifying moment, her feet left the ground as the king’s supernatural strength lifted her effortlessly. Her twin blades flashed in desperate arcs, but the king leaned back just enough to avoid the worst of her strikes, though one blade managed to trace a line across his wrist.
Arthur’s shadow-enhanced speed saved Lara’s life. His dark blade swept in from the side, forcing the king to release his grip and defend against the new threat. Arthur’s shadow armor pulsed with energy, each movement leaving trails of darkness in the air as he pressed his advantage.