CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43 - WAVE OF SHADOW CREATURES

Mikail kept moving, each precise step and swing, Shots, and blows of his ever-changing weapon causing a shadow creature to vanish into wisps of darkness. His every motion was deliberate, graceful yet brutal, like a storm forged into human form. The battlefield was chaos, yet to him, it was choreography.

The creatures didn’t matter.

Their numbers didn’t matter.

His body knew what to do before his mind could even form the thought.

Dodge. Strike. Shift. Fire. Crush. Move again.

Every strike was final. Every motion, a sentence of death.

His luminous blade morphed once more, reshaping into a chained sickle. He spun it overhead before hurling it into a cluster of enemies. The chain wrapped around one yanked it forward, and-

*BOOM!*

Mikail met it with a glowing uppercut that shattered its form completely. He let the momentum carry him into a spin, the sickle swinging wide and cutting through three more.

And still, they came.

But so did his wrath.

With a roar, he stomped the ground, light burst outward in a radiant pulse, blasting nearby shadows into oblivion.

His system chimed again:

---

[DING!]

[EX-Skill Unlocked: "Phantom Arsenal - Infinite Form"]

[A manifestation of divine authority over light and weaponry. "Phantom Arsenal - Infinite Form" allows the user to summon an infinite number of weapons forged purely from conceptualized light. Each weapon is imbued with unique traits, some burn with solar fire, others pierce through dimensions, while some unravel illusions or reflect spells]

---

"What?!" He whispered, glancing around the battlefield in disbelief. "I could get a skill just by repeating an action?... Damn"

He let out a breathless laugh half amazement, half irritation.

’So that’s how the system works...’ He thought. It’s watching. It rewards mastery.

A spear of golden light shimmered into existence in his hand, humming with cosmic heat. Another formed beside it, then a dozen more, hovering around him like a constellation of death.

"Alright," he muttered, eyes narrowing. "Let’s put this to the test"

But then, his system chimed again:

---

[DING]

[Soul Resonance: 1:37]

---

’... Oh, Damn... *Sigh* Time’s almost up, and these things just keep coming’

Every second was a countdown. Every breath is borrowed time, he was sure; when the Soul Resonance ended, he probably couldn’t control the light this freely anymore.

Mikail gritted his teeth. "No point saving energy now"

He flung the golden spear with a flick of his wrist. It tore through the air like a falling star, punching a hole clean through a shadow beast and exploding on impact.

The radiant shockwave lit up the battlefield like a supernova, momentarily revealing the true scale of the horde.

They were everywhere.

Skittering, crawling, lunging.

Endless.

The constellation of weapons orbiting him expanded, a dozen more taking shape, swords that hummed with truth, daggers that danced with starlight, axes that sang with thunder. They shimmered like ideas made real.

And they obeyed.

With a silent command, he unleashed them. A meteor storm of divine armaments rained down, impaling the horde from every angle. Screeches filled the air as darkness unraveled into nothing.

Yet for every creature he destroyed, more surged forward, crawling over the corpses of their kin, shadows reborn in desperation.

1:11

His breaths were growing shorter. Each second dragged harder on his soul.

But the light didn’t fade. If anything, it grew brighter.

Another chiming alert echoed in his mind:

---

[DING!]

[Weapon Trait Unlocked: "Singularity Edge" - One strike, one annihilation]

[New Title Obtained: "The Eternal Enemy of Shadow"]

[A title bestowed upon one who stands in defiance of the Shadow itself. Whether embraced or rejected by its darkness, this being cannot be consumed, corrupted, or controlled. The shadows recoil from his presence, yet they cannot escape his grasp. He is the paradox, born of light, tempered by darkness, and forever opposed to the will of the Shadow Realm. Those who dwell in the abyss know him as a harbinger of Light, a symbol of rebellion that even the endless night cannot extinguish.

Effects:

Predator of Shadows: The title holder gains a significant attack boost when fighting Shadow Creatures.

Unending Pursuit: The existence of the title holder constantly draws the attention of the Shadow Realm. Shadow Creatures and the like will instinctively seek them out, regardless of distance or concealment.

Resisted Assimilation: Immune to corruption and mind-control effects from shadow-type entities.

---

Mikail blinked. "...You’ve gotta be kidding me"

One of the orbiting swords trembled and shifted. Its blade stretched into impossible geometry, curves, and edges that made no sense in three dimensions. It pulsed with gravity itself.

He reached for it.

The weight of it nearly buckled his knees, not in mass, but in meaning. It was as if holding it meant holding the concept of "the end"

He whispered, "Let’s see if you live up to the name"

With a single slash, he carved horizontally across the swarm.

No flash. No boom.

Just silence.

Then, dozens of shadow creatures simply vanished, erased from existence, cut not just in body, but from the very plane they existed on.

0:49

Mikail exhaled sharply, sweat streaking his face. His body was beginning to fray at the edges, light leaking through cracks in his skin.

This power wasn’t meant for mortals.

But he wasn’t planning to be one forever; he was just not ready yet.

He spun, summoned more weapons, and prepared for the next wave.

"Come on then!" he shouted into the storm of darkness. "Let’s dance until the clock runs out!"

--------

Not far from where Mikail fought against the swarm of Shadow Creatures, two figures stood atop a jagged, shadow-forged building. A man and a woman cloaked in dark garments, watched in silence as the battle unfolded below.

"...Is that the legendary Harbinger of Light?" The man asked, arms crossed, standing slightly behind the woman. "He doesn’t look that strong"

The woman sat at the edge of the structure, legs dangling over the side, her eyes fixed on Mikail. Her voice was calm, almost distant.

"...He’s quite strong for someone who only Awakened a few days ago," She said. "I understand now why Sir Mahesa holds him in such high regard. He’s different... Not like the others. Not like us"

The man scoffed, lightly. "What difference? My Fire is also a form of light, isn’t it?"

The woman glanced back at him, her eyes glowing faintly.

"Idiot. Fire was a form of light... But him?" She turned her gaze back to Mikail. "He is the light itself... That’s the difference"

The man had no comeback. He fell silent, eyes still fixed on the chaos below.

"...So, are we going to help him? Didn’t Sir Mahesa send us here to watch over him?" He asked after a moment.

"Not yet," the woman replied calmly. "Let’s see how far he can go. When he’s truly in danger... that’s when we step in"

A chill crawled down the man’s spine. He shivered, muttering under his breath, "You’re a sadist..."

But the woman’s head tilted slightly, and she turned to face him with a smile that wasn’t a smile at all, sharp, cold, and unreadable.

The water shimmered into existence around her, floating in orbs like silent sentinels.

"...Did you say something?" Her voice was soft, but it carried a dangerous undercurrent.

The man stiffened. "W-What? N-No, I didn’t say a thing"

The water slowly dissipated, and she turned back toward Mikail as if nothing had happened.

--------

Mikail glanced at his system interface, his heart pounding. The countdown for Soul Resonance ticked down mercilessly.

00:11

His breath was heavy, his body aching, the aftereffects of the technique gnawing at his limbs. He shifted his gaze across the battlefield, shadow creatures filled every corner of the twisted landscape, a sea of black mass and glowing eyes. They surrounded him completely, yet none moved.

They waited.

Silently. Patiently.

As if they knew.

They could sense it, his time was almost up. The flickering aura around him had begun to dim, and like predators sensing weakness, they were poised to strike the moment his strength faltered.

Mikail clenched his fists, sweat dripping down his brow.

Ten seconds.

He couldn’t afford to fall here.

Then.

The moment the countdown hit 00:08, something shifted.

The air grew heavier.

The restraint that had held the shadow creatures in place snapped, and they moved.

But not toward Mikail.

Instead, they began to crash into each other with unnatural, bone-jarring impacts. Limbs melded into limbs, forms folding and twisting with sickening cracks and groans. Mikail’s eyes widened as he stepped back, watching the impossible unfold before him.

’...They were merging?’

Writhing masses of darkness intertwined, convulsing and fusing into singular forms, bigger, denser, and far more terrifying than before. In mere moments, the endless swarm that had surrounded him was gone, consumed in the grotesque transformation.

In their place now stood dozens of towering giants, massive shadow beasts whose eyes glowed like dying stars, each radiating pressure so intense it made the ground tremble beneath his feet.

Mikail’s breath caught in his throat.

The system flashed:

00:05

Then-

*ROAARRRR!*

....

...

..

.