I stepped through the portal created by the demoness—expecting a confrontation, expecting her presence to lash out the moment I crossed the threshold. But instead... silence.

She was nowhere to be found.

That alone was troubling. A being of her caliber should’ve immediately sensed my intrusion. My presence wasn’t subtle—I was still in my transformed state:[Yami no Shogun / Dark Shogun]—a form bursting with concentrated Dark Magic. I hadn’t reverted it on purpose.

The darkness radiating from me was like a flare in the void. There was no way shehadn’tnoticed.

"Nao! Stop!" Envi’s voice rang urgently in my mind, sharp with concern. "You’re going to burn through your mana at this rate! You’ll exhaust yourself before the real fight even begins!"

"I know," I replied, my voice calm, resolute. "But maintaining this form is more effective than deactivating and reactivating it repeatedly. The cost of recharging is higher than sustaining."

"But—"

"We don’t know how strong the enemy ahead is, Envi. I’m not taking any chances. I’ll fight at full power from the beginning."

Envi hesitated... then relented.

"You’re reckless... but I get it."

Then his voice softened, tinged with awe. "Still... theBlessing of the Darkness—it’s incredible. I can feel it. With it, I’m not just borrowing your dark magic anymore... Icommandit."

"Yeah," I nodded, glancing at the black aura flowing around my blade. "I think it’s tied to the trait I awakened recently—[The Heir of the Darkness]."

I still wasn’t sure what it fully meant.

But before I could question further, Runa’s voice joined us—calm, knowing.

"That’s correct, Master," she said. "You possess the trait[Heir of the Darkness]because you were chosen to inherit the legacy of the God of Darkness. That power is stirring within you. It’s still incomplete... but it’s waking."

Her certainty lit a fire in me.

Incomplete? That meant—I could become even stronger.

A quiet resolve settled in my chest.

Then Envi spoke again, this time with a note of suspicion. "This demoness... Something about her doesn’t feel right. If she really wanted to kill you, she would’ve attacked the moment you entered her realm."

I nodded grimly. "You’re right. She’s not avoiding us out of fear. She’sguidingus somewhere... for a purpose we don’t yet understand."

And then—

The end of the portal approached.

Light bled through. My steps slowed. And as I passed through...

My breath caught.

It felt like I had descended intohell.

I emerged into open air—abovethe world. The portal had deposited me in the sky, floating high above a vast battlefield soaked in death.

I looked around for the demoness.

Nothing.

Then my eyes turned downward, and a chill went through me.

There it stood—the colossal, mist-shrouded peak that cut across the horizon like a divine sword.

A mountain so massive its peak was swallowed by the clouds, radiating an ancient magic that even I, in my empowered state, could feel gnawing at my senses.

Mount Archanis.

The final threshold.

A holy divide that split the realms of demons, humans, and other special races. A magical barrier, a divine landmark... and now, the heart of a brutal conflict.

Below me, I saw it—the battlefield. The no-man’s-land where the forces of Braveheart clashed with invading demons, desperate to breach the mountain’s magical defenses and flood into human lands.

But this...

This wasn’t war.

This wasslaughter.

Blood stained the earth in black and crimson hues. The air was thick with death—bodies of knights and demons alike strewn across the valley like discarded dolls. Mangled armor. Torn banners. Scorched terrain.

A graveyard in motion.

Envi’s silence mirrored my dread.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears as familiar faces flashed through my mind like falling stars.

"Freya... Marius... Julius... Luna... Leopold..."

I clenched my fists, trying to suppress the panic rising in my chest.

And then more names came—heavier, more sacred.

"Cain... Lucius... and Aria-sama..."

And finally...

"Father..."Tetsu von Blackmore—the head of my house, the man whose strength defined my lineage. Was he down there too? Was he—?

Envi screamed in my mind, his voice cracking with emotion.

"NAO!! You have to save them! Save your friends—save the Patriarch!!"

I didn’t answer right away. I didn’t need to.

I was already moving.

My wings of shadow unfurled. I soared down like a black comet, scanning the battlefield frantically.

I wouldn’t let them die.

Not a single one.

And then—a blinding flash tore across the sky.

Divine Magic.

Pure, radiant, overwhelming.

A golden light ripped through the storm clouds, illuminating the dark battlefield below like heaven’s wrath.

That mana... that aura...

It was familiar.

"Amelia...?" I murmured, startled.

No.

It was close—but even more refined. Even more powerful.

It had to be—

"Aria von Braveheart."

Amelia’s elder sister. The First Princess. The one said to rival even King Aslan in might.

But something was wrong.

Her aura—it was fading.

Growing unstable.

No—no, that couldn’t be.

She can’t be losing.

Not Aria.

I narrowed my eyes, locking onto the direction of the fading divine magic.

"Hang on," I whispered....

Defeating that kind of enemy... it was impossible—unless theDemon Overlordsthemselves had descended upon the battlefield.

And now, I had arrived.

From high above the chaos, I looked down upon the remnants of theBraveheart Kingdom’s army, desperately holding the line against an endless tide of demons that surged forward like a black ocean of death.

I saw them—my comrades.

Mariusstood at the front, his shield raised, body battered and bloodied, acting as a human bulwark against the swarm. Every blow he took was one less aimed at the others. The sheer will he displayed... it was the mark of a true warrior.

Just behind him,Freya,Luna, andLeopoldfought with relentless fury. Blood stained their armor, pain etched deep into their expressions—but they refused to fall. Freya, in particular, had become something greater. The flames of herPhoenix Magicroared around her, casting a burning halo as she commanded the remaining knights like a truedivision captain.

She had changed. She hadgrown.

My heart swelled with both pride and anguish.

But then... I foundJulius.

And what I saw tore at my soul.

He was surrounded by enemies, yet he fought like a madman. But he was...crying—his entire body trembling, his gaze fixed in one direction, as if something there had shattered him. He wanted to move. His soul screamed to go. But his legs—they wouldn’t obey.

And still, he fought.

He cut through demon after demon, even while sobbing like a child, refusing to give in.

I followed his gaze.

And I understood everything.

The source of theDivine MagicI had felt earlier... it came from that direction.

My pulse quickened.

I reached out with my senses and felt another familiar presence—Cain.

But... his aura was fading.

No—no. A hero of his caliber, someone as powerful as Cain, could not be losing. Could he?

Then—another surge hit me.

The fierce, blazing aura of myfather, thePatriarch of House Blackmore, raged like a storm—but it too was flickering, weakening.

It was like watching a star collapse.

And then... the presence oftwodemonic forces slammed into my soul like twin hammers.

No mistaking it.

TwoDemon Overlordshad descended upon this war.

My eyes widened.

This was no longer just a battle. This was anextermination.

I didn’t waste another second.

I flew toward the source of that overwhelming darkness—and what I saw struck me like a blade through the heart.

It washellincarnate.

The ground below was a sea of blood. Bodies—both human and demon—were scattered like broken dolls, their blood soaking into the cursed soil.

Cainlay crumpled on the earth, barely breathing. His once-shining armor was shattered, his blade cracked, his body trembling. Around him, knights of Braveheart and elite mages fromSoalara, our kingdom’s allied magical order, had all fallen.

Some still breathed.

Most did not.

The air was heavy with death and despair.

This... this was the strength of theOverlords.

I couldn’t breathe.

I looked around desperately—and finally, I found them.

Princess Ariawas lying unconscious, blood pooling beneath her. Her divine aura had all but disappeared. Her wings, once symbols of celestial power, were torn.

My father—the Patriarch—was still standing. He was enveloped in his dark purple fighting aura that engulfed half of his body. His figure became wild, as did his sword, which seemed to merge with the wolf-shaped aura.

But the Patriarch had reached his limit. He had wounded Nosef and Lucius, but he was now nearly helpless. Alone, he fought against two Lords, his sword flickering from the weakening aura, his breath ragged, his consciousness fading.

AndLucius—

I couldn’t find him.

Where was he?

What had happened?

Everything was crumbling.

The battlefield was chaos incarnate.

My hands clenched. My vision darkened—not with fear, but withrage.

I stepped forward, descending into the fray like a storm.

And then I saw it—a demonic blade, glowing with cursed blood magic, descending upon my father to deal the final blow.

"NOT ON MY WATCH!"

In an instant, I moved.

My sword clashed with the demon’s. I shattered its blood-forged blade with a surge ofDark Magic, the force blasting the Overlord back.

My eyes glowed with fury.

"You bastards..." I growled, my voice filled with venom and wrath.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?!"

The ground cracked beneath my feet. The sky darkened above me.

And for the first time since this war began...

TheDark Shogunhad entered the battlefield.

...

..

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com