novelraw Chapter 73: Lord of Darkness
Chapter 73: Lord of Darkness
CLANG!
The impact reverberated through Damon’s bones. His arms trembled, nearly buckling under the force as steel met steel in a whirlwind of movements.
’It’s strong!’ Damon cursed inwardly, staring into the empty greathelm of the knight before him. No eyes gazed back from that darkness, yet he felt the weight of its focus all the same.
"Boss!" Nyla’s voice cut through the throne room as she charged forward, hammer raised high above her head.
"Stay back!" Damon yelled.
Hesitation flickered across their faces. Weapons remained raised, muscles coiled and ready, but they knew better than to disobey a direct order.
They scrambled backwards just as the knight spun with astonishing speed, its blade already arcing toward Damon’s exposed flank.
CLANG!
The Jian sword screamed with each impact, the metal singing a desperate song as it threatened to shatter. Each clash sent tremors up Damon’s arms, the force of the knight’s strikes far beyond anything he’d faced before.
The echoes of their battle carried beyond the castle walls as if the entire mountain peak seemed to absorb and amplify the sounds of their swords clashing.
The group watched with bewildered expressions, only now understanding why he’d ordered them back.
"I can’t even track their movements!" Elias exclaimed, his eyes wide as he tried to follow the two shadowy figures that blurred across the throne room.
Each member shifted uncomfortably. The exchanges happened too fast to determine who held the advantage as the two of them moved like phantoms.
Damon had already activated his Corrosion ability, but the debuff seemed to barely touch the knight. Its strength and speed remained superior, overwhelming him even with the handicap.
But it wasn’t just the stats.
The way it wielded that sword made Damon look like an amateur fumbling with his first weapon. Every movement was flawless, each twitch of its armoured form executed with perfect purpose and precision. There was no wasted motion, just pure lethality.
Damon leapt backwards after another brutal exchange, creating several meters of space between them. His fingers moved in a familiar pattern, and multiple shards of black ice materialised in the air before tearing through the air toward the knight.
They struck true, but merely skidded across its armour without doing much damage.
The knight was already closing the distance, its blade raised for another terrifying strike.
Damon activated Berserker’s Fury and sidestepped at the last possible moment.
The knight’s blade grazed his shoulder, grinding against his armour with a metallic shriek but failing to penetrate as Damon moved away just in time.
His Jian blade lashed out in a counter, striking the knight’s side and leaving a small crack along its black-ice figure.
Damon frowned, feeling a faint draw toward the wound, something familiar yet distant.
But before he could draw any conclusion—
CLANG!
The knight retaliated with newfound fury, transforming the battlefield into a whirlwind of steel and ice. Sparks flew with each clash, illuminating the throne room in brief, violent flashes.
With Berserker’s Fury coursing through his veins, Damon began to slowly find openings in the knight’s defence. But the knight found his as well, each combatant landing strikes of their own.
"Who’s winning?" Nyla asked from across the battlefield, a frown settling over her features.
"Not sure," Elias replied truthfully, his usual confidence absent.
"The look in his eyes has changed," Amber suddenly said, catching everyone off guard.
She never joined conversations, always preferring to sit alone in silence. But now she not only spoke, but she’d also noticed something no one else had.
CLANG!
With another clash of their swords, they watched Damon leap back. His eyes looked empty now, almost unfocused. Responsible for the change was his ability, Absolute Comprehension, though none of them knew it.
Damon didn’t know why it had activated at first. But after finding more wounds scattered across the knight’s body, realisation struck him like lightning.
The cracks in its armour, the way they seemed to call to him, the familiar sensation pulling at his consciousness.
The knight paused, watching as Damon raised his arm toward it.
"Why did they stop?" one of the twins asked, confusion clear in his voice.
Before anyone could take a guess, a loud crack echoed through the entire throne room. Another followed, then another, the sounds building like breaking ice on a frozen lake.
Then, the knight suddenly shattered into a mist of black particles that dispersed into the air like smoke.
A faint smile tugged at Damon’s face as he watched the knight disintegrate.
Everything made sense now. The eerie feeling he’d experienced, the draw he’d felt toward each wound, the reason Absolute Comprehension had activated on its own.
The common thread binding it all together was his ability, Black Ice Manipulation. For reasons unknown to him, the knight was made entirely out of it.
[You have slain a Level 60 Black Knight]
[New Monster Index bonus: +17 Strength, +14 Dexterity, +6 Vitality]
[You have reached Level 49. You have received 1 Stat Point.]
[You have reached Level 50. You have received 1 Stat Point.]
[Threshold for your *First Evolution* has been met.]
[Your class is evolving!]
Just like before, Damon’s consciousness was pulled away toward the Threads of Power being rewritten by Evolution itself.
Though this time, it felt different.
Dark Evolution had worked a lot slower, more methodical and deliberate. The Evolution from reaching Level 50, however, moved with startling speed. New threads began weaving together, expanding upon his class in a matter of a few seconds.
But even with the faster pace, Damon was able to follow every part of it. His Absolute Comprehension allowed him to witness the Evolution as his class transformed.
[Your comprehension of *Evolution* has slightly increased!]
Just as the notification echoed faintly in the back of his mind, understanding bloomed in Damon’s head. He finally grasped the reason why his forced evolution of the Bloodthirst ability had failed before.
’I can fix it now...’ he realised, but then shook the thought away. ’No. I can actually evolve it.’
At that moment, the threads locked into place with an almost audible click.
[Your class has evolved!]
[Warlock of Darkness → Lord of Darkness]
Damon’s consciousness snapped back to reality, back to the rift and the throne room where his body still stood.
The first thing he saw was the worried faces of his group, who had gathered all around him in a protective circle. Their weapons remained drawn, eyes scanning for threats even as they focused on Damon.
"Boss?" Nyla asked the moment she noticed his eyes snap back into focus.