Chapter-7 The first battle!

The sound of the crash still echoed through the courtyard.Dust whirled in the cold night air.Xavier instinctively raised his arms to shield his face.

When the dust finally cleared, he saw him—

Standing tall in the middle of the courtyard...a dark figure, radiating monstrous energy.Huge black wings spread from his back, as if carved from pure shadow.His hair was long and black, flowing wildly in the wind. His eyes —ghastly white without a single pupil — glowed with death.Long, razor-sharp nails curled at the tips of his fingers.And the long, pointed shape of his ears revealed the truth.He was not human. He was an Ancient.

A Shadow Knight.

Before Xavier could even react, a blur of silver shot past him.

It was Nara.She launched herself at the knight with unimaginable speed — faster than sight.But in one brutal movement, the knight swung his black claw and—

CRASH!

Nara was slammed backward, smashing against the stone wall, cracks spreading behind her from the impact.

"NARA!!" Xavier shouted, fear gripping his chest.

But she wasn't done yet.

Slowly, Nara stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth.Her blue eyes burned with rage.

"This is nothing," she muttered, her voice cold as ice.

She stepped forward, lifting her hand.

Blood dripped from her palm — but instead of falling, it twisted and spun midair, reforming itself into a massive sword.Not forged with metal — but of her very blood, pulsing with a living, deadly power.

The marks glowing on her neck turned a deep, furious red.

The battle began.

Both of them vanished from sight.Only shocks of wind and shattering ground could be seen and heard.

In less than a second, Nara appeared behind the knight, swinging her blood sword —he turned in time, blocking it with his dark talons, sending shockwaves through the courtyard.

They clashed again and again — too fast for a normal human to even perceive.Every strike from Nara sent red sparks through the air.Every counterattack from the knight darkened the ground beneath them, leaving black scars on the earth.

Suddenly, Nara stopped moving.The knight smirked, thinking she had faltered.

Big mistake.

She flicked her hand casually —tiny droplets of blood from her fingers sprayed toward him.

The knight sneered—

but the moment the droplets touched his skin, they sliced deep, cutting through flesh like thousands of invisible blades.His wings shuddered in pain as long bloody lines appeared on them.

The knight roared in fury, lashing out with black tendrils of energy, but Nara weaved through them like a shadow, her speed god-like.

She moved so fast it seemed the very night bent around her.

The knight tried to counter, slashing with his nails, but Nara spun low, cutting his leg with a single elegant sweep of her blood sword.

He staggered, dark blood dripping onto the stones.

"You dare bleed me...?" the knight hissed, voice vibrating with hatred.

"I dare much more," Nara whispered.

She dashed forward, faster than a bullet, slicing a long crimson arc across his chest.

He howled, stumbling back, wings flaring wide, dark mist spilling from the wounds.

But Nara didn't stop.

With a savage roar, she summoned a second blood sword from her other hand, dual-wielding now, moving like a storm.Slashing. Spinning. Striking.

The Shadow Knight struggled to defend, but Nara's relentless assault battered him back, each cut burning like fire.

Above them, the sky churned as their powers clashed — red and black energy tearing at the stars.

🌟

The battle raged like a violent storm —but slowly, the tide shifted.

Nara's blades moved faster, sharper.The knight's wounds grew deeper, his movements slower.

He swung his dark claw in desperation, but Nara ducked under it, slicing a clean line across his chest — black blood pouring out like smoke.

With a furious cry, the Shadow Knight lunged forward one final time—

—but Nara was already behind him.

With one clean, merciless strike, she drove her blood-forged sword through his back, piercing straight through his chest.

The knight gasped, his wings twitching violently, his white eyes wide in disbelief.

Nara stood close behind him, her blade buried deep, her breathing calm and steady.

Slowly, the Shadow Knight dropped to his knees, coughing black mist.

The dark wings crumbled into dust behind him.

Nara knelt down beside him, grabbing a fistful of his black hair, yanking his head up so he could see her silver eyes — cold, unrelenting.

"I have questions," she said softly, voice cutting sharper than any blade.

The knight coughed again, black liquid staining the stone beneath him.

"You'll... get nothing... from me..." he rasped.

"Oh, you will speak," Nara whispered, dragging the tip of her blood sword along his skin, making it hiss and burn. "Tell me.What does the Shadow Realm know about Xavier?"

The knight laughed bitterly — a broken, hateful sound.

"They know," he croaked."Everything."

Nara's grip tightened. "How much is everything?"

The knight's body trembled as he forced the words out:

"They know he... is the heir... they know his power... will awaken.The Realm fears it... but they also crave it."

His breath was failing fast, but he kept speaking, his voice lower, almost a whisper:

"They know... without his swords... he's weak.They will hunt him... before he gathers them.They will... tear him apart... before he rises."

His head sagged forward, but Nara yanked it back again.

"Who gave the order?" she asked sharply.

The knight's lips curled in a cruel smile."You already know..."he gasped, blood pouring from his mouth.

"The High Lord... of Shadows... himself."

And with that final word, his body collapsed into black dust, scattering into the wind like smoke.

Only silence remained.

Nara stood up slowly, looking down at the ashes.Her blood sword dissolved back into droplets, sliding up her arm and disappearing into her skin.

She turned her gaze toward the dark sky, her silver eyes burning.

"This changes everything..." she whispered.

She knew now:Xavier's time was running out.

And so was the world's.

🌑✨⚔️