The Shadow King's True Legacy
Fwoosh--!!
Adel channeled divine power into the Nazas gripped in his hand. Flames erupted along the blade, and the wind swirling around it blazed up wildly.
Flash--!!
Wasting no more time, Adel leaped straight between the two kings.
Clang--!!!!
As he slashed downward from above, half the blade of the eighth king's axe melted away, severed clean.
Crack...!
But in that instant, the king poured his power into the axe, wrapping the melting edge in thick stone.
The eighth king's axe, Earth Dragon.
Crunch--
The stone encasing the blade clamped down even on Adel's sword. He yanked to pull it free, but it wouldn't budge.
[You are no king.]
Purple light gleamed in the eighth king's eyes as he spoke lowly, like a death knell.
Boom--!!
He lifted the axe, forcing Adel to release Nazas under the overwhelming strength.
Grit--
Adel ground his teeth and drew back on Kyeol's string.
Or tried to.
Kwang---!!
A sharp dagger sliced toward the bowstring. Adel barely pulled Kyeol into his embrace and swung it with both hands as hard as he could.
Thwack--!!!
Crack...!
Kyeol, unyielding even against royal treasures, cracked under the blow. The ninth king, struck in the back of the head, staggered.
Adel twisted midair, nocking Kyeol's string.
Boom!!! One shot.
Boom--!! Two.
Kwang--!!! Three.
Each arrow burying into the king's skull drove his face deeper into the ground like a hammered nail.
Shudder...
His embedded body trembled. In that moment, Adel hooked Kyeol's string around the king's neck and yanked.
Slash...!!
The string sliced through the neck like a razor. Wraith-smoke billowed up, scattering into oblivion.
"Here."
Adel picked up the ninth king's fallen dagger and twirled it lightly.
Clink--
Light taps between the two daggers rang out crisp and keen.
[Hmph--]
The last remaining eighth king exhaled slowly and swept his axe lightly from above downward.
Thud thud--!
The wind sword lodged in the blade dropped to the floor. He slammed the axe's tip into the ground, summoning a massive stone wall.
Like a giant shield, the king seized the wall and pulled it toward himself.
[Interesting. Unlike the others, it holds magic power. That's why Nazas couldn't cut it.]
Adel nodded.
"Magic, huh..."
That was his only impression of Earth Dragon.
Tat tat tat...!!
He kicked off with all his might, charging forward. Wind spirits buoyed his back, letting him step through the air in zigzags.
Spin--!!
The dagger danced over his hand like it had always been his.
Shing...!
Snap!!
Lightning flashed as the dagger strike battered the stone wall. Sharp as it was, it fell short of shattering it.
"Hah!!"
Adel raised both arms and drove the dagger into the wall with everything he had.
[Begone.]
The eighth king warned lowly and swung Earth Dragon with full force.
That was when it happened.
Crack...!
Crack crack...!!
Cracks spread from where the dagger was embedded. Shan's magic began devouring the stone.
[You bastard...]
The king's voice grew urgent, his axe swings accelerating. But Adel didn't dodge—instead, he dove straight into the king's guard.
"A weapon infused with magic power. Unlike the others, it might sate Dragon's Gluttony's hunger."
[......!!]
Adel grabbed the massive arm of the eighth king and leaped up.
Crunch...!
Munch...!!
The black armor gaped wide, swallowing Earth Dragon arm and all.
[Gaaahhh!!!]
The king's scream echoed. In that instant, the armor covering his face glowed, spreading to envelop his entire head.
Crumble...!!
The king's arm, devoured by the armor, shattered into sand, and Earth Dragon vanished without a trace.
Stab--
Adel, now in a black helm, plunged his sword into the king's collarbone.
Hiss...
The hulking eighth king collapsed, dissolving into smoke.
Grind--
Grind--
Adel shoved the held dagger into Dragon's Gluttony. But unlike before, the armor showed no change, only a dissatisfied tremor.
"Next time, I'll feed you the real deal."
Adel fed the remaining fake royal weapons into the armor and patted it lightly.
Swoosh---
The spectating wraiths who had watched him vanished. The observing ancestral kings seemed to have acknowledged him through this battle.
"Impressive. A mere boy without even the king's title defeats six ancestral kings. Have you heard of the Ancestral Tomb's trial?"
That was when it happened.
"......!!"
Adel, leaning against Kyeol the Ghost Bow, turned to the man addressing him.
[You... you're...]
Kalderet's voice trembled, and from his reaction, Adel knew who stood before him.
"Are you Ghost Command?"
"Haha, no need for such pompous titles. But you're right—I'm the only one worthy of the tomb's peak. Just call me Alkan."
Adel nodded and stared at him silently.
"Why the stare?"
"Well... aren't you dead?"
Adel regretted the absurd question even as he asked. But there was reason for it.
His voice was different. 'A wraith... no way it isn't.' Unlike the other kings, it wasn't echoing in his mind—it was a real, physical voice.
"Haha, what a delightful first question. Do you wish I were dead?"
Alkan chuckled.
"Well, he'd prefer it."
[No. The opposite. If you didn't die, I'd welcome it. So I could kill you myself.]
Flash...!!!
Kalderet's claws raked at the man's face.
Whoosh--!
Lightning-fast, yet somehow the claws sliced only empty air.
"Still the same. Kalderet. No, even stronger. I thought a new contractor might mellow you."
[Shut up.]
Crack...!
Craaaack...!!
He roared, black whirlwinds rising on either side.
"Indeed... you look better than back then. Vitality fills the once-void you. Kalderet, sealing you was the right call."
[Right call? Bullshit...!!!]
Kwaaaang---!!
Kalderet's black aura surged at Alkan. Astonishingly, it passed straight through him, merely gouging the floor noisily.
"Ta-da."
[......?!]
Pierced by the black divine power, Alkan shrugged and grinned.
"Kalderet, what now? Sadly, I'm dead. No human could live this long. I'm just a wraith buried here, like my descendants."
He laughed as if teasing Kalderet.
[Damn it... That bastard dares mock me?]
Bam! Bam!!
Kalderet scowled and scratched the floor irritably.
"Why the look?"
"Hm. You're not what I imagined for the founding king."
"Oh? Expected more dignity and gravitas?"
"Not exactly... You two just seem unexpectedly close."
[Close? Who? Me? With that prick?]
"Hahaha."
Kalderet bared his fangs in disbelief, growling, while Alkan laughed merrily.
"Hear that? Your contractor says we look close. He has an eye for it."
[Shut up, you mad bastard.]
They bickered, but it didn't feel like banter between sealer and sealed.
"Anyway, for a boy not yet king to climb the tomb and defeat six ancestors—unprecedented."
Curiosity stirred about their bond, but Alkan's pivot stopped Adel from prying.
"So, why come here?"
Adel picked up the fallen Nazas and pointed it at Alkan.
"Nothing much. Curious what's inside the great Shadow King's bow that sealed an ancient god."
"Oh?"
"Among desert kings, none top Ghost Command. No one since has borne the 'Command' epithet."
"Hahaha... Pointless business. Epithets are empty vanities."
"Ancestors leave special gifts in their treasures. So what did the Shadow King leave in this bow...? Couldn't help wondering."
Adel said.
"I don't know the unique true material inside—the tomb's sole genuine one—but it'll form the foundation for my weapon."
"Haha, bold child."
Alkan leaned against the bow and sat.
"Amusing thought. Visitors here only worship treasures, never break them."
Alkan said.
"Lucky with kids. Your father bowed and knelt here too."
"You know my father?"
"Of course. I've seen all who came to forge treasures. As founder, every king is etched in my eyes."
He curled a finger over his eye.
"Haien Temir. Most kingly of all. Though you call me Shadow King... I'm no king."
Alkan stroked his bow.
"Just a humble hunter."
He eyed Adel.
"Know the great hunter's teaching?"
"A true hunter hunts without a bow."
"Right. And its meaning?"
"Skill excuses no tool. But I don't think it's just for hunters."
Adel answered.
"Swordsmen, mages—upon reaching mastery, tools are mere instruments."
He stared, puzzled why the question now.
"Exactly. You know it well."
Unlike Adel's confusion, Alkan nodded approvingly.
"When did you learn it?"
"First lesson in the nest."
"Oh?"
Crack--!!!
Then Alkan slammed down on the Heaven-Piercing Bow beside him with full force.
Astoundingly, the bow shattered into pieces effortlessly.
"......?!!"
"Strange, right? We teach and teach... yet why do they obsess over treasures?"
Adel alternated stunned glances between the shards and Alkan.
"My bow was just an ordinary bow. Disappointed?"
"......"
Alkan gave a wry smile at the speechless Adel.
"But you, learning this, fare better. Ten kings came in centuries; none dared approach my bow. Even your father Haien."
He said coldly.
"......Now I get it."
Adel's eyes gleamed.
"What I must take isn't in the bow—it's in you."