Shadow Monarch in DC-Chapter 129: The Monarch’s Warning

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A flicker of light stirred behind Raven's tired violet eyes small, but there.

But the moment passed too quickly. She lowered her head again, her shoulders trembling. "I'm not sure anymore that I can do that, Arthur," she whispered, voice brittle as ash. "I thought I could... but I failed. I let him out. I made everything worse."

She couldn't even look at him. The shame on her face, the weight of her father's power, her own weakness it was all pressing down like a crushing tide.

Arthur sighed.

He got closer without a word and gently reached forward. His gloved hand lifted her chin until her eyes met his again.

"That's alright," he said softly.

And then he kissed her.

It was sudden. Fierce, but tender. Raven's eyes widened in shock, caught between a gasp and silence. For a heartbeat, the world stood still the shadows ceased to move, even the embers from the crumbling stone beneath them seemed suspended in time.

Robin froze mid-step. Zatanna raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk. Beastboy's jaw opened just slightly. Starfire blinked, almost confused. Blue Beetle muttered, "Woah?"

John Constantine let out a long exhale. "How lovely, we are totally not in a hurry carry on, Trigon will wait..."

Arthur pulled back, his voice low and calm as he held her gaze.

"Your powers," he said, "are the only thing I can trust when it comes to Trigon. I don't think this idiot here can seal him without summoning something like Lucifer or worse." He gestured casually with his thumb toward Constantine.

"Oi!" John snapped indignantly. "I can hear you, you know."

Arthur ignored him and smiled faintly, helping Raven to her feet. "Let's go now and defeat the son of a bitch."

Raven stood, the doubt still lingering but something stronger now flickered behind her eyes. Determination. Fire. The kiss, unexpected as it was, had anchored her.

Arthur turned toward the group and barked, "Robin. Titans. Get the Justice League members out of here."

Blue Beetle crossed his arms. "Are we taking orders from him now?"

Robin shot him a look. "Do as he says and stop complaining."

Cyborg moved first, hoisting Aquaman onto his shoulder. Starfire flew to grab Hawkgirl. Galatea handed off Black Canary, still unconscious, as Robin moved to Superman and lifted the Man of Steel up with effort.

But as soon as Superman's arm draped over his shoulder, the Kryptonian spoke.

"Arthur Blackwynd..." Superman's voice was ragged, weak but clear.

Robin flinched, startled. "He's awake?"

Arthur turned, unsurprised. 'Of course he's awake,' he thought. 'Obviously the drug hits different with him. Unlike Bruce and the others... he's... 'Superman' after all.'

He said nothing, simply watching as Clark lifted his head slightly.

"We're sorry... for all of this, being useless like this." Clark rasped. The guilt was written across his face. "And thank you."

Arthur gave a slow, honest smile. "That's why I like you more than the Bat."

Then he added, tone light but firm, "It's not exactly your fault. But we'll handle this. Don't worry."

Clark smiled faintly, then let himself fall back into Robin's support.

Arthur turned back to his team.

He looked to John, then Zatanna, then Raven. "C'mon now," he said, eyes beginning to glow again. "Let's finish this."

Zatanna stepped forward, lifting one hand. Her voice was smooth and precise as she chanted a teleportation spell ,''ecno ta nogirt ot su tropelet.''

The air crackling with mystic energy. Light whirled upward in a vortex around them, lifting dust and darkness into the air.

Raven closed her eyes, centering herself, now more determined than ever.

Raven's hand found Arthur's. And in a flash of light and magic, they vanished.

****

With a flash of ethereal light, the group reappeared in the sky high above the skyline of Metropolis.

Wind howled around them. The scent of fire choked the air.

And before them, blotting out the sun, was a nightmare made real.

Trigon.

The demon hovered above the city like a god, his six burning eyes scanning the mortal realm with a contemptuous hunger. His muscular arms were raised, gathering crimson energy in swirling vortexes that seemed to suck the very life from the sky itself. Symbols of ruin and destruction burned around him like solar flares.

Beneath, Metropolis trembled. Buildings started to crack. Windows shattered from the sheer pressure of his presence. Civilians had long since started to flee the city the moment they saw him up there, the city now felt like a place waiting to be cursed and shattered.

Arthur floated midair, his dark cloak rippling behind him, eyes narrowed.

Beside him, his shadow generals hovered Ultra, radiating violet power, his eyes glowing; Galatea, arms crossed, calm but she was eager for a fight and Empress, her form cloaked in dark mist, her sword out, ready to strike.

Zatanna, hovering behind him, clutched John Constantine's collar. "Hold on," she muttered, snapping her fingers with a sharp incantation. A glowing sigil formed beneath John's boots, allowing him to levitate.

John scowled. "Could've just given me a bloody broomstick," he muttered.

Raven's eyes locked on the demon in the sky her father and her curse. "If we don't stop that," she whispered, "he'll lay ruin to this world. There won't be anything left."

Arthur didn't answer immediately.

His gaze was fixed on Trigon unflinching. Unafraid. But behind that stare was calculation, fury.

Then finally, he spoke. "I'll throw everything at him, I don't see another way to keep him busy."

His voice cut through the wind.

He looked at Raven. "Every sword, every punch, every strong shadow under my command he'll feel all of it."

His gaze shifted back to the infernal titan above. "He really looks down on us... as if we're nothing but insects."

John hovered beside them, one cigarette already half lit in his mouth, the wind barely allowing it to stay alight.

"Well," he muttered, "he is just floating there midair... menacingly."

Zatanna snorted but kept her focus sharp. Even humor couldn't mask the tension in her spellwork.

Arthur turned to Raven again. "Start the spell," he said. His tone softened just a little. "Concentrate. I'll distract him. No matter what happens...finish it properly this time."

Raven hesitated, her hands twitching, the pressure evident in her expression. But then she met Arthur's eyes and nodded.

He gave her a small smile then shot toward the sky like a missile, trailing shadows behind him like wings.

"now, with me!" he commanded.

Ultra shot forward in a flash of violet light. Galatea and Empress followed, blurring into black streaks of motion behind Arthur.

The sky screamed as the shadows tore through it.

Raven took a breath.

One hand pressed over her heart, the other extended before her, dark energy forming at her fingertips. Her voice was a whisper ancient, firm, and shaking all at once.

"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos..."

The skies dimmed.

Magic gathered around her like a storm.

Zatanna floated nearby, hands weaving defensive sigils in case anything struck. John hung back, muttering layered counter-spells just in case Trigon decided to attack or interrupt.

Raven's eyes began to glow white, her cloak fluttering like torn silk around her as she ascended slightly with the building power.

"I can feel him," she said, voice deeper now. "His rage. His hatred. It burns through every dimension."

John nodded grimly. "Yeah, that's dear ol' dad for you."

Arthur, now almost upon the demon, clenched his jaw. His Demon king longsword pulsed in his grip with lightning. The Doomsday gauntlets formed again, spikes glinting with dark power.

He appeared without warning in front of Trigon's massive, towering form. The demon's skin was crimson, burning from within with molten veins of fire. His gargantuan six eyes, glowing with infernal light, turned lazily toward Arthur.

Trigon's expression was one of pure disdain not a flicker of alarm or surprise as if Arthur's presence was nothing more than a minor irritation in the endless parade of mortals foolish enough to challenge him.

The demon's great bulk remained still, arms raised, weaving dark energies into the swirling storm overhead, preparing his cataclysmic assault.

Arthur's lips pressed into a thin line. A sharp, mocking tsk escaped him.

Behind him, shadows surged, the forms of Ultra, Galatea, and Empress springing into motion with ferocious speed. They launched a synchronized barrage of punches, fists a blur, slamming into Trigon's chest, arms, and face. The blows struck with the force of a battering ram, shattering stone and rippling with shadow energy.

Trigon didn't flinch.

Not even a twitch. freёnovelkiss.com

He absorbed the onslaught like an immovable mountain, unyielding and indifferent.

Arthur's eyes narrowed with grim determination.

He gathered his strength into a single, earth-shattering punch, the gauntlets around his fists blazing and crackling dark energy.

He threw the blow with all the fury and power he could muster.

The monstrous demon's head tilted just slightly, but unmistakably a rare sign of acknowledgement.

All six eyes locked onto Arthur now, sharp and piercing.

Trigon's voice rumbled like thunder rolling through a burning valley.

"You dare stand against me once again, mortal?

Without hesitation, a searing beam of red-hot energy burst forth from his eyes, aiming straight at Arthur's chest.

But before the blast could land, Ultra leapt with a roar, intercepting the deadly beam. The violet glow around Ultra flared wildly as he absorbed the full force of Trigon's eye lasers, killing him in the process, only to regenerate quickly after.

Arthur's jaw clenched, fury flashing in his gaze.

But then an ominous voice, cold and unyielding, echoed inside his mind, dripping with dark prophecy

"Your strength falters in the shadow of what's to come. Face it unready, and you will be undone...your death, inevitable."

Arthur froze, for a second he thought it came from Trigon but the Demon was indifferent, Arthur's eyes darting as he scanned the surrounding sky, expecting to find the source. But no one was there.

Confusion flickered across his face.

"Who are you?" he demanded, voice low and tense.

The voice replied, resonating with ancient finality as the system interface flickered into view before Arthur's eyes as well

[I am the record of your bitter struggle.

I am the evidence of your resistance.

I am the reward of your pain.

I am death, I am eternal rest,

and I am also... terror.]

Arthur's breath caught in his throat. "...Ashborn?" he whispered, voice trembling with a mix of confusion and awe.

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If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.

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