Chapter 506: Versus Nyx’s clone Part 1

The first wave had been defeated.

The black world had fallen silent once again.

Nero stood alone beneath the endless darkness, his sword resting loosely in his hand.

Around him, countless shadows slowly dispersed.

The remnants of the army he had created during the previous battle dissolved into the ground, returning to the darkness from which they had been born.

Nero looked at the fading shadows.

He had learned a great deal.

He had learned how to create servants.

How to absorb Darkness from defeated enemies.

How to manipulate the Law through his sword.

How to reinforce his body with Darkness.

And, most importantly—

He had learned that Darkness wasn’t simply another element.

It was something far more complex.

Something that could change according to the will of its wielder.

Nero had only begun to understand it.

Then—

Someone appeared.

His eyes narrowed.

A woman stood several dozen meters away.

Nero recognized her immediately.

Nyx.

Or rather—

A clone of Nyx.

She looked exactly like the ruler of Darkness.

Raven hair flowed almost to the ground.

Two curved black horns rose from her head.

Her long ears extended slightly beyond her hair.

Her black eyes contained no pupils.

Her expression was calm.

But the moment Nero looked at her—

His body reacted.

His knees almost gave way.

The pressure surrounding her was overwhelming.

It wasn’t simply prana.

It wasn’t killing intent.

It was authority.

The authority of Darkness itself.

Nero’s fingers tightened around his sword.

He forced his legs to remain steady.

The clone looked at him.

There was no smile.

No words.

She simply raised one hand.

Darkness gathered around her palm.

It didn’t behave like ordinary energy.

It twisted.

Compressed.

Expanded.

Then suddenly took shape.

A gigantic creature emerged from the darkness.

Four legs.

A massive body.

Long claws.

A head surrounded by black flames.

Its entire body seemed to be made from living shadows.

Nero’s eyes sharpened.

The creature lowered itself.

Nyx’s clone pointed toward him.

The monster charged.

BOOM!

The ground exploded beneath its feet.

Nero immediately moved.

His sword swung.

A wave of Darkness surged forward.

The monster passed through it.

Nero’s expression changed slightly.

It wasn’t affected.

The creature opened its jaws.

Nero jumped backward.

A black beam erupted from its mouth.

BOOOOOOM!

The attack tore through the ground.

Nero landed and immediately raised his hand.

The shadows around him moved.

One after another, his shadow soldiers emerged.

Ten.

Twenty.

Fifty.

Then more.

His army charged.

The creature didn’t slow down.

It collided with the first soldier.

BOOM!

The shadow vanished.

Another attacked.

It disappeared.

Another.

Gone.

Within seconds, the army Nero had spent so much effort creating was reduced to smoke.

Nero’s eyes narrowed.

The creature continued forward.

He swung his sword.

The monster’s claw collided with the blade.

CLANG!

The force pushed Nero backward.

He planted his feet.

The ground cracked beneath him.

The creature attacked again.

Nero ducked.

Its claw passed above his head.

He rotated his body and drove his sword upward.

The blade struck the creature’s body.

For an instant—

Nothing happened.

Then the monster dissolved.

Nero’s eyes widened.

The entire creature transformed into a stream of Darkness.

The stream flew toward Nyx’s clone.

It entered her body.

She hadn’t even moved.

Nero immediately understood.

It wasn’t a summoned monster.

It was an extension of her.

A portion of her Darkness.

And she had simply recalled it.

Then—

She disappeared.

Nero’s eyes widened.

Too fast.

She appeared directly in front of him.

Her fist drove forward.

Nero crossed his arms.

Darkness immediately wrapped around his body.

BOOM!

The fist broke through his defense.

Pain exploded through his body as the impact sent him flying.

Nero crashed across the black ground and rolled several times before forcing himself upright.

He coughed once.

His arms trembled.

The Darkness reinforcement around his body had absorbed part of the impact.

But only part.

He had prepared for the attack.

It hadn’t mattered.

Nyx’s clone raised two fingers.

Nero’s instincts screamed.

He moved.

SHING!

A spike of Darkness shot past his face.

Another followed.

Nero twisted sideways.

A third passed beneath his arm.

Then a fourth came from behind.

He spun.

His sword destroyed it.

But another spike was already forming.

Nero jumped.

The spike followed.

He twisted in midair.

Another appeared.

He swung his sword.

CLANG!

The attack shattered.

But the force pushed him sideways.

A fifth spike emerged.

Then a sixth.

Then ten.

Nero’s expression hardened.

She wasn’t giving him time to think.

He created a Darkness shield.

The spikes struck.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The shield cracked.

Nero abandoned it.

He moved instead.

His body became lighter.

Darkness gathered around his legs.

He disappeared.

The next attack passed through empty space.

Nero appeared behind the clone.

His sword descended.

She turned.

Two fingers caught the blade.

Nero froze.

She had stopped it effortlessly.

His eyes narrowed.

He pulled.

The sword didn’t move.

Darkness spread from her fingers across the blade.

Nero immediately released his grip.

The sword dissolved.

He stepped backward.

His weapon reformed in his hand.

The clone tilted her head slightly.

Nero stared at her.

Frustration began building inside him.

She was using the same Law.

The same Darkness.

Yet everything she did was more refined.

Her Darkness didn’t merely obey her.

It understood her intentions.

She didn’t need to create complicated techniques.

She didn’t need to force the Law into a shape.

Darkness simply became whatever she wanted.

Nero charged.

His body accelerated.

His sword moved.

One strike.

Two.

Three.

A chain of attacks followed.

The clone blocked the first with her palm.

Dodged the second.

Tilted her head beneath the third.

She stepped around the fourth.

Nero changed his stance.

His sword became covered in Darkness.

He slashed horizontally.

The blade extended.

The clone stepped backward.

The attack missed.

Nero pursued.

The sword became smaller.

Then longer.

Then split into three blades.

The clone continued dodging.

Nero switched directions.

He attacked from below.

She stepped over the blade.

Nero twisted.

A second sword formed from his shadow.

He attacked with both.

The clone blocked one.

The other passed through her body.

Nero’s eyes widened.

The body was Darkness.

A shadow double.

The clone appeared behind him.

Her palm struck his back.

BOOM!

Nero flew forward.

He landed on one knee.

His breathing became heavier.

The clone stood behind him.

Silent.

Waiting.

Nero slowly stood.

He looked at his sword.

Then at the darkness surrounding him.

Something wasn’t right.

He had been trying to control Darkness the same way he controlled his other Laws.

Fire.

Lightning.

Earth.

Water.

Wind.

Those Laws had defined characteristics.

He could understand their behavior.

Darkness was different.

Every time he tried to force it into a predetermined shape—

It resisted.

Every time he created something complicated—

The Law became slower.

Less responsive.

He was making Darkness obey. Maybe, it was where the problem lay.