Boom. The sky cracked open like glass. Thunder slammed into the earth as the clouds turned pitch black and the sun disappeared behind swirling storm winds. Jin-Woo didn't even blink. He already knew. They were back. The Monarchs. And this time, they didn't come to fight. They came to kill. To destroy. To erase everything. Their wrath had been awakened, and it was pouring down from the sky like a god's punishment.
The air was screaming. Wind howled like dying monsters. Magic pressure hit the ground like waves. A crack opened in the middle of the city and from inside came a golden red light. Lava flowed out in rivers. Fire exploded like volcanoes. The Flame Monarch was here. He stepped out of the portal, tall and burning with power. His body was like a sun, wrapped in armor of molten rock and flame. His eyes glowed like twin burning cores, and every step he took turned stone to ash.
"Shadow King," the Flame Monarch roared, voice shaking buildings. "This time, I finish you."
Jin-Woo didn't move. His hair blew wildly in the heat, his face cold as stone. His shadows stretched long behind him, reaching across the battlefield like black rivers. He simply raised his hand. Instantly, Beru, Iron, Igrit, Tusk, and the shadow dragon all appeared, lined like generals of war.
Then the Monarchs came. Not one. Not two. All of them.
Sillad, still healing from before, arrived with ice spears circling him like deadly stars. Querehsha's insect wings sliced the clouds open, poison dripping from her claws. Rakan dropped from above with beast rage in his eyes, claws ready for blood. And then—Lunarc, the Monarch of Despair. He walked from the shadows with a smile colder than death, dark energy swirling around him like smoke from the underworld.
Jin-Woo was surrounded.
But he didn't step back. Not even once.
The first attack came from the sky. A rain of fire. Thousands of flame meteors hurled down, burning everything. Jin-Woo raised his hand and a massive shadow wall exploded upward, blocking the inferno. The shadows hissed and twisted as they swallowed the fire whole. The moment the flames cleared, Rakan leaped at him like a wild beast. Jin-Woo met his charge with a punch that cracked the air. The two collided and the shockwave destroyed everything nearby.
They fought like animals. Claw to blade. Speed to rage. Rakan bit, scratched, slashed—but Jin-Woo blocked everything. He slashed across Rakan's chest, sending blood flying. But before he could follow up, Sillad threw down a giant frozen tower of ice. Jin-Woo vanished into shadow and appeared behind him, slicing deep. Sillad roared and threw out a frost nova.
Querehsha rained poison bugs down from above, screaming in her creepy insect voice. But Beru launched into the air, spinning and cutting through the swarm like a drill. He reached Querehsha midair and stabbed through her wing, dragging her down with a monstrous roar. The two crashed into a building, exploding it into green smoke and rubble.
Iron and Igrit fought Sillad and Rakan at the same time. Iron's fists slammed into beast skin and ice shields. Igrit danced like a ghost, cutting clean and vanishing. Tusk threw fireballs at anything that moved, blasting apart buildings and Monarch troops.
Then came Lunarc. The true threat. The Monarch of Despair.
He walked slow, hands behind his back. The shadows around him didn't bend — they died. Jin-Woo turned to face him, his body tensing. He felt it. Lunarc's power. It wasn't like the others. It wasn't fire, or ice, or poison. It was death. Pure death.
"You're still not ready, Shadow King," Lunarc said calmly. "You fight like a hero. But you carry the heart of a monster."
Jin-Woo didn't reply. He charged forward, sword raised. But as he neared Lunarc, his vision blurred. The world twisted. His heartbeat slowed. It was like drowning in darkness.
Lunarc smiled. "Fall."
Jin-Woo dropped to one knee, gripping his chest. His shadows screamed but couldn't move. Lunarc's aura was crushing them, deleting their very presence. Jin-Woo's breath caught. His vision turned red.
But just as Lunarc reached out his hand—something inside Jin-Woo broke free.
A voice. Deep and ancient.
**"You are not alone."**
The Shadow King's heart burned. A dark flame rose from his chest, blacker than shadow, older than time. His eyes turned purple, bright and blinding.
Lunarc stepped back. "What—?"
Jin-Woo stood up slowly, body wrapped in a second layer of armor. Dark wings formed behind him, huge and sharp. The Shadow Monarch wasn't just fighting. He was awakening.
He moved. In one blink, he was in front of Lunarc. A punch slammed into the Monarch's face, sending him flying back a mile, crashing through walls and fire.
"I'm done holding back," Jin-Woo said.
The battlefield erupted again.
Sillad was frozen by his own spell as Tusk turned it back with a firestorm. Beru tore off Querehsha's arm mid-flight. Rakan was pinned under Iron's fists. Jin-Woo flew straight at the Flame Monarch.
They clashed midair—fire against shadow. Fist against blade. Flame wings against shadow wings. The sky itself split as their power collided. Jin-Woo screamed and stabbed forward.
The blade pierced flame. Blood and fire exploded in the sky.
The Flame Monarch roared in pain. "Impossible…!"
Jin-Woo didn't stop. He spun midair and slammed the Monarch into the earth, creating a giant crater. The shockwave shattered windows ten miles away.
Everything was burning. Everything was shaking. The battle was wild, brutal, endless.
And just when it seemed like Jin-Woo had crushed them—Lunarc stood back up, wiping blood from his mouth.
"You awakened… good," he whispered. "Now I can finally kill you properly."
And behind him… something else was coming. Something bigger.
A new shadow. A new Monarch.
A force even Jin-Woo didn't recognize.
And the sky… it cracked again.