Cucking The Demon King
Chapter 125: Nearing the limit

Chapter 125: Nearing the limit

Then—

Snap!

The shadowy man snapped his fingers.

In an instant, the five formless creatures exploded into motion. Their dark bodies streaked forward like liquid shadows, the floor beneath them wilting as they moved. Their forms weren’t fully solid—twisting and coiling like smoke given life.

At the same time, the heretics behind them shouted in unison. One slammed his hands together, and his arms were suddenly covered in thick, shadowed scales. Another let out a sharp laugh, as dark mist oozed from his pores and wrapped around his body like armor. A third clenched his jaw, and his eyes glowed black before he vanished into the air like mist, only to reappear a few feet forward with a heavy, dull thud.

They’d activated their blessings. All of them rooted in darkness. Dangerous—but not overwhelmingly powerful.

And yet, together, they were deadly.

Emerald narrowed her eyes. Then, without hesitation, she dashed forward.

Mana surged violently into her blade, pouring through her arms and into the edge. The white hue on her sword intensified, and with a sudden shout, she slashed in a wide arc.

A massive wave of mana exploded from the sword, crackling as it cut through the air like a white storm.

It struck two of the heretics directly—splitting them down the middle.

They didn’t even have time to scream.

Their bodies collapsed in halves, thudding wetly against the stone floor.

But the rest didn’t stop.

The wave of mana passed harmlessly through the shadow creatures. It was like trying to cut smoke—they weren’t affected in the slightest.

Emerald’s heart thudded hard in her chest.

’They phased through it... again.’

The shadow soldiers were closing in.

The first one lunged, its arms stretching into elongated claws dripping with ink-like fluid. She twisted away, barely avoiding the swipe, and retaliated with a quick upward slash.

Her blade tore through its chest—but it was like slicing through vapor. The creature rippled, then reformed as if nothing had happened.

A second shadow twisted behind her, its body spiraling into a whip-like form and lashing at her side.

She ducked and spun, narrowly avoiding the blow—but it left a faint burn across her arm, the fabric of her sleeve sizzling and crumbling into dust.

’Corrosive mana...’ she realized.

Another charged, its shape widening, and then it spit out a series of small shadow spikes from its center. They shrieked through the air, gleaming with dark energy.

Emerald raised her blade, slashing the spikes out of the air—but three slipped past her and slammed into the floor near the girls behind her, exploding into bursts of black smoke.

Elsa stumbled back, coughing. Lela pulled her behind a broken pillar, shielding her with her arm.

Grace clenched her fists, her eyes filled with fear—but she didn’t run.

Emerald gritted her teeth. Her blade flared again with light as she sliced one of the creatures horizontally, trying to cut it apart.

Nothing.

The thing wavered and then re-formed, lunging at her face with a soundless shriek.

She jumped back.

The fourth and fifth shadows were circling now—one transforming its lower half into tendrils that spread across the ground like roots, trying to bind her feet.

The other grew larger, puffing up like a balloon, then suddenly burst, sending out a pulse of darkness that distorted the air itself.

Emerald covered her face just in time. The pulse hit her shield first, but the sheer pressure behind it cracked the glowing barrier she’d conjured instinctively.

She stumbled back, coughing.

Her vision blurred for a moment. Her body was shuddering now—every inch of her muscle strained, veins screaming in protest. Her fingers refused to stop shaking.

She gripped her sword tighter.

She couldn’t afford to slow down.

The heretics were closing in again, emboldened by the failure of her attacks on the shadow creatures.

One of them laughed, jumping high with a jagged black blade in hand. His feet exploded with dark energy, launching him toward her like a cannonball.

Another heretic followed close behind, his body covered in a thick mist that seemed to sap the light from around him.

"I’ll slice your neck!" the first screamed.

Emerald ducked low, sliding across the floor. As the heretic passed over her, she drove her sword upward with both hands.

The blade punched through his gut.

He let out a choked gasp as she kicked him off and sent his body tumbling.

Before she could recover, the mist-covered one closed the gap.

He reached for her arm, and for a brief moment, his touch grazed her skin.

Instantly, a cold numbness spread across her shoulder—like a hundred needles stabbing through her nerves.

She flinched, slashing wildly in response.

The blade connected with his neck.

He dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

Another two down.

But still the shadow creatures surged forward.

The one with whip-arms lashed again. Emerald raised her sword and blocked, but the impact sent a violent shockwave down her arms. She stumbled backward.

The ground behind her cracked.

Elsa and Grace scrambled out of the way, but one of the shadow tendrils from earlier wrapped around Lela’s ankle.

"Lela!" Elsa shouted.

Lela screamed, her body yanked forward, dragged across the stone floor.

Emerald spun around, lunging to intercept.

She sliced the tendril off just in time, grabbing Lela by the collar and hauling her back.

"You okay?" she shouted.

Lela nodded, but her face was pale.

"I... I can still run."

"Then don’t stop moving!"

Emerald turned back toward the enemies.

The shadows showed no sign of stopping.

The man in shadows hadn’t moved an inch. He stood at the back, arms folded, cloak rustling faintly from the energy in the air. Watching. Measuring.

He was waiting.

Waiting for her to break.

Emerald growled, flicking blood from her blade.

Another one of the shadow soldiers lunged with claws extended—but she jumped up, flipped midair, and came down with a heavy overhead strike.

The blade went straight through it—again, no effect.

They were unkillable. At least with physical attacks.

Or maybe... it wasn’t about killing them.

Maybe they were meant to wear her down.

She couldn’t keep this up. Not forever.

Her body wasn’t built to channel this much raw mana. Not through her veins.

Her vision wobbled slightly.

Her heart pounded.

’It’s getting worse... my veins can’t take much more.’

She looked behind her again. Elsa and Grace had retreated to the side, trying to create distance. Cynthia was still holding a faint shield up around them, sweat pouring down her face.

Lela stayed low, avoiding attention—but she couldn’t run forever.

They were running out of options.

And she still hadn’t found the artifact suppressing her blessing.

The longer it stayed active, the closer they all came to dying here.

One of the shadow creatures shifted form again—this time, curling into a sphere and launching itself like a cannonball.

Emerald ducked, but the creature exploded mid-air, raining down bits of shadow goo that burned whatever they touched.

She winced, shielding her face as a few drops sizzled on her shoulder.

Then a second shadow reached out with clawed hands—grabbing her ankle.

The cold touch sent jolts of mana-static up her leg.

She cried out, slamming the edge of her blade down in a panic.

The creature’s arm was severed—but again, it just reformed.

Emerald took a breath. Her mind raced.

’They can’t be killed like this. There has to be a way. There has to.’

And still... that man watched.

Then he chuckled.

"Impressive indeed."

His voice cut through the clash like a knife.

The remaining heretics hesitated as he stepped forward slightly, though he remained in the shadows.

"You killed three of them. Quite the feat, Emerald."

She stiffened.

Despite having heard him call her name before, it still felt very weird.

The fact that he knew everything about them and their mission, while they knew basically nothing about him was terrifying.

Emerald narrowed her eyes, her blade trembling slightly from the mana coursing through it.

"What do you want from us?" she spat.

The man chuckled again, soft and cruel.

"I told you already. You should have come with us. None of this would have been necessary."

"We’d never follow you," Emerald said. "Not without a fight."

"Mm. Brave words," he said.

"But bravery alone won’t save you."

He stepped back again, arms folding.

"I wonder how long you can keep this up..."

Emerald didn’t answer.

She couldn’t.

Her chest was rising and falling faster now. Her legs were quaking slightly. Sweat drenched her forehead.

And still the shadow soldiers crept closer, their smoky wisp bodies wriggling in the air.

The fight was still on, but she doubted she could last long, as her body was already nearing its limit.

She had been trying to find the artifact blocking her blessing, but with the shadow soldiers attacking her relentlessly, it was impossible to focus.

But still, she couldn’t give up, not when the three students were still behind her.

She took a step forward, blade flaring white.

And prepared to fight again.

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