Chương 306: Battle fof a Dragon and a Shadow

Ares POV The dragonoid commander stood face to face with the shadow while cold winds swept through the ruined streets beneath the Royal Guard Tower. Distant alarms echoed across Irea as guards scrambled through the city, yet neither warrior spared the chaos any attention. Their entire world had narrowed to the figure standing before them. Shade held his massive onyx greatsword in both hands, the weapon resting with steadiness despite its sheer size.

Dark mist rolled endlessly from his body, thick enough to consume the surrounding light and obscuring nearly every detail beneath it, leaving only two glowing crimson eyes visible through the darkness. Those eyes burned with murderous intensity, and Ares met them. The commander's expression remained calm, though faint irritation lingered beneath the surface as he briefly glanced toward the distant sky where the black raven continued fleeing farther and farther away.

"You must understand something, Shadow," Ares said quietly while lowering himself into a stance,"What I'm about to do is for your master's sake." His voice never rose, but something dangerous rested beneath the calmness of it. Shade answered by raising the colossal blade over one shoulder. The dark mist surrounding him thickened further. Both warriors shifted subtly, testing distance and balance. Tiny movements. Small adjustments.

The tension between them tightened until the ruined street itself seemed unable to bear it any longer. Then they exploded forward simultaneously. The ground shattered beneath their feet as both figures blurred beyond ordinary sight. One moment, they stood dozens of meters apart, the next, Shade's sword was already descending toward Ares' skull like an executioner's blade.

Ares ducked beneath it with terrifying precision, his crimson eyes flickering upward for a single instant before he rose explosively and caught the enormous weapon with one hand. The impact shattered the street beneath him. Shade's eyes grew faintly, but before he could react, Ares' fist buried itself directly into the shadow's abdomen with monstrous force.

A deafening boom erupted through the district as Shade launched backward through multiple buildings before crashing into a stone house hard enough to nearly collapse it entirely. Dust flooded the air while Ares slowly lowered his arm and stared toward the wreckage with something almost resembling pity.

"Do not take this personally," he said.

"I'm merely trying to protect someone very dear to me while you are simply obeying his orders." His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Then a roar split the heavens. Ares froze instantly. His gaze snapped upward toward the sky, where Inferno, the colossal crimson wyvern belonging to Vice Commander Nymia, tore through the heavens in pursuit of Vale and Illu. Genuine alarm crossed the commander's face for the first time.

"What?" he muttered.

"She wasn't supposed to be here…" Nymia had taken the day off. Ares felt his chest tighten immediately as countless possibilities raced through his mind.

"If those two clash seriously…" Disaster. Absolute disaster. He lowered himself to launch skyward immediately, only to stop as shadows crawled around his legs. Ares looked downward sharply.

"Enough-" The sentence never finished. Shade appeared before him instantly. The shadow warrior looked different now. Darker. More violent. The mist surrounding him twisted wildly while his crimson eyes burned brighter than before. Shade inhaled deeply, and the wind around his fist spiraled violently inward before he drove the punch directly into Ares' face. The resulting shockwave tore through the entire district.

Buildings cracked apart, windows exploded across nearby streets, and Ares himself was launched backward through several houses before finally planting his feet hard enough to stop himself. Silence followed. Then a single drop of blood slid from Ares' nose. The commander stared at it with narrowed eyes before slowly wiping it away.

"I don't have time for this…" The frustration in his voice was no longer hidden. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. He clenched his fist tightly and began walking forward once more, crimson eyes sharpening with dangerous intensity.

"Shadow," he said coldly, "I will give you one final choice. You either step aside and allow me to protect your master… or you will be torn apart here." Shade remained completely silent. He simply rolled his shoulders once and cracked his neck slowly, utterly unbothered by the threat. The answer was obvious long before he moved. The shadow attacked again. He erupted forward fast enough to make even Ares flinch briefly, but the commander reacted instantly.

His fist descended with catastrophic force, and Shade barely avoided the strike by stepping backward at the last possible moment. Ares' blow slammed into the street instead. The ground exploded beneath the impact as stone and debris erupted skyward while cracks raced through the district like lightning. Shade's vision vanished behind the cloud of rubble for half a second. That was enough. Ares disappeared.

Shade's eyes searched through the dust before locking upward just as the commander tore downward from the sky like a meteor. Shade leaped backward at the final possible instant while Ares crashed into the ruined street with enough force to crater the entire intersection, sending another violent shockwave roaring through the city. Ares landed where the shadow had stood moments earlier, kneeling within a crater of shattered stone before rising slowly to his feet.

Dust rolled from his shoulders while fractured streets groaned beneath the lingering force of the impact. His patience, already worn thin, was beginning to disappear entirely. Without taking his eyes off Shade, the commander raised a hand to the communication device attached to his wrist.

"Attention all Royal Guard members," he said calmly.

"I am issuing an immediate order. Vice Commander Nymia is to cease pursuit of the rogue gladiator immediately." The command was transmitted across the city at once. Only after the message finished did Ares shift his full attention back toward the shadow standing across from him.

"Now," he said quietly, "allow me to show you exactly who you've been fighting." Shade tilted his head slightly, confusion flickering within his glowing crimson eyes. Then something changed. Ares' expression darkened as the obsidian scales along his shoulders expanded outward and his pupils narrowed into predatory slits.

"I despise this power," he admitted, his voice carrying open contempt.

"It belonged to my forefathers. Treacherous bastards, every last one of them." The air around him began to tremble beneath the pressure radiating from his body.

"But regardless of its origins… it is mine." Then he vanished. Shade's eyes widened violently as Ares reappeared directly before him within a fraction of a second.

"NOW YIELD!" The commander's fist buried itself into Shade's abdomen with enough force to launch the shadow dozens of meters upward into open air, yet Ares did not pause for even an instant. He leaped after him immediately, overtaking the airborne shadow before bringing both fists together overhead and slamming them downward against Shade's body. The impact sent the shadow crashing into the street below like a falling star, creating a crater large enough to swallow an entire building.

Ares landed calmly beside the wreckage while dust and shattered debris rained through the district. Within the crater, Shade's body lay twisted and broken, his crimson eyes extinguished while shattered limbs slowly repaired themselves through the endless darkness leaking from his form. Ares scoffed softly before turning away. Enough time had already been wasted. Using his enhanced senses, he searched for Vale's presence once more. High above the ocean. Falling. Ares' eyes widened in disbelief.

"…Has he gone insane?" Vale had thrown himself directly toward Inferno. The commander lowered himself instantly, preparing to launch skyward once more.

"I have to stop this before he gets himself killed." Then movement stirred behind him. Ares froze. The shadow had risen again. For the first time since the battle began, genuine shock crossed the commander's face. He had struck Shade with enough force to kill even Category Five beasts, yet the shadow still stood. Worse still, he felt stronger now. The mist surrounding Shade no longer drifted aimlessly through the air.

It moved with deliberate purpose, wrapping around his body like living armor while shadows spread across the ruined streets in every direction. Crimson fractures crawled across his form as though his very existence had shattered apart and reassembled itself incorrectly. Ares recognized the change, but his concern had already shifted elsewhere.

"Enough, Lionheart!" he shouted.

"Can't you see your master has already succeeded? This fight serves no purpose anymore. Stop this and help me save him!" Shade ignored him completely. The shadow surged forward again like a natural disaster unleashed. Ares attempted to retreat skyward, only for darkness to seize his feet and halt his movement instantly. Shade struck at once. Ares barely managed to block in time before the impact detonated the air around them.

Another strike followed, then another, then another, each blow faster and heavier than the last until a hurricane of force spiraled around the battlefield itself. Finally, Ares caught one of Shade's fists.

"I've had enough of this." He drove his hand directly through Shade's chest. The wound closed instantly. Darkness wrapped around Ares' arm and trapped it inside the shadow's body. His eyes widened for the briefest moment before Shade's fist crashed directly into his face, forcing the commander backward several steps across the shattered street. Then Ares smiled. At last, he understood. The calm commander vanished completely. What remained looked almost feral.

A maddened grin stretched across his face as he seized Shade's wrist and refused to release it despite the shadow's attempt to pull away. Then Ares kicked him backward with overwhelming force, tearing the arm cleanly from Shade's body before hurling it aside. He attacked again, refusing to allow even a moment to recover. Ares seized Shade by the skull with one hand while driving the other directly through his chest.

"Goodnight," he whispered. Shade's crimson eyes widened. Then Ares tore his head clean off. Silence fell across the ruined district. The body collapsed heavily onto the broken street while darkness recoiled inward toward the bone-like spear embedded within the remains before vanishing completely. Shade was not dead. Ares understood that immediately, but he had finally been defeated. The commander exhaled slowly as the madness faded from his expression.

"You should have surrendered, Shadow." Then a distant explosion echoed across the ocean. Ares turned sharply toward the horizon where crimson fire consumed a falling black raven high above the sea. His senses focused instantly. Vale had fallen into the water. Then Ares felt it. His entire body froze as something ancient stirred deep beneath the ocean floor. The Goliath of the Reef had awakened. Genuine fear crossed the commander's face.

Without another word, he launched himself toward the ocean with terrifying speed. If he failed to reach Vale in time, the Goliath would find him first. And Vale would die.