Cucking The Demon King
Chapter 128: Oppresive power

Chapter 128: Oppresive power

The shadowy man burst into another loud chuckle, the kind that echoed across the broken walls and shattered remains of the hideout like a twisted melody.

"Crush me?" he laughed mockingly, as if he’d just heard a particularly absurd joke. "You girls really are entertaining."

None of the girls responded.

They stood still, poised, their eyes locked on the man, weapons at the ready.

But no one moved.

Not even Elsa.

The blonde-haired girl’s fists clenched tightly. Mana swirled faintly around her fingertips, the golden hue of light forming the outline of a new sword.

She was ready.

More than ready.

But before she could act, Emerald subtly raised a hand.

A silent signal.

Elsa gritted her teeth, her eyes flicking toward the knight in disbelief.

Seriously?

Now?

Emerald didn’t look at her. Her gaze remained fixed on the man before them.

Still, the signal was clear.

Don’t engage.

Elsa clicked her tongue in frustration, the glowing sword she had begun to form vanishing with a faint whip of air. Her arms dropped to her sides.

She didn’t like it. At all.

But after what had happened the last time—when she had rushed ahead and nearly cost them their lives—she had learned.

Emerald always saw things others didn’t.

And when she gave an order, it was best not to disobey.

The shadowy man’s laughter suddenly stopped.

As if a switch had been flipped.

The sound vanished mid-breath, like a breath caught in a throat.

And just like that, the atmosphere changed.

The very air around him seemed to warp.

The playful aura he wore like a cloak vanished. Replaced by something... heavier.

Darker.

Emerald immediately picked up on it.

Her brows twitched, and she adjusted her stance slightly.

Her instincts flared in her chest—warning her.

’Something’s off...’ she thought, her grip tightening on her sword. ’This shift... it’s different from before.’

The ominous feeling that had been coiling quietly inside her heart suddenly began to swell.

It was as if something foul had awakened.

The man tapped the side of his ear gently, like he was listening to a voice only he could hear.

"I was hoping for a little more fun," he muttered to himself.

It was low. Almost too quiet to catch.

But Emerald’s ears picked it up.

Her frown deepened.

’What is he talking about...?’

That creeping wariness inside her grew stronger.

She didn’t know what he meant.

But she didn’t like it.

Not one bit.

She shifted her stance again, glancing quickly at the others behind her, then back to him.

Something was coming.

And she could feel it.

The shadowy man clicked his tongue and tilted his head, disappointment washing over his face. "Alright," he said slowly, his voice turning cold. "Play time’s over."

Without warning, the two remaining shadow soldiers swiftly darted toward him.

The wisps of shadow twisted unnaturally, condensing like smoke being pulled into a vacuum. In the blink of an eye, they slammed into his body and vanished without a trace.

The moment they did, a surge of mana exploded from his form.

The aura that already clung to him like an oppressive cloak intensified tenfold.

It washed over the entire space like a tide of thick fog, causing the air to tremble with sheer force.

Elsa, Lela, and Grace all staggered back.

"W-What is this...?" Lela whispered, her legs wobbling slightly beneath her.

The thick mana wrapped around them, stinging at their skin like needles of ice and fire. It was cold and hot, light and dark—it made no sense, and that’s what made it terrifying.

Emerald’s jaw clenched, her sword instinctively rising into a guarded stance.

Her knuckles whitened around the hilt as she focused every ounce of her senses on the figure before her.

Her chest tightened, not just from the raw power radiating from the man, but from the look in his eyes—like a predator who had grown bored with toying and now intended to kill.

The man smirked.

With a snap of his fingers, a large dark circle burst into life before him. Black flames spiraled from it, forming a massive fireball that pulsed like a living heart.

Emerald’s eyes widened.

"Get back!" she roared to the girls behind her, her body already moving.

The fireball screeched forward, the dark flames swirling violently like a chaotic storm. Its size wasn’t just massive—it was oppressive. It roared through the air like a meteor, warping the space around it.

Emerald lunged in front of the others, planting her feet firmly into the ground.

Her muscles screamed as she held her sword forward, the veins along her arms bulging from the strain. Her fingers twitched again, the tremors returning—but she ignored them.

Mana surged through her once more, far more than before.

Her face turned pale. The erratic flow of energy lashed through her body like a whip, each strand of mana tearing through her strained veins. She could feel her heartbeat stuttering, skipping beats.

’I won’t... let this hit them...!’

The edge of her blade glowed fiercely, and she poured everything into a single, brutal strike.

"RRRRAHHH!"

A colossal wave of white energy exploded from her blade, the force of it cracking the ground beneath her feet. The slash wave surged toward the fireball like a tidal wave of mana.

The moment the two attacks met, the air detonated in a blinding flash.

BOOOOOOOM!

The fireball and the slash wave clashed, the violent collision sending a shockwave in every direction.

Sparks of black and white lightning erupted from the center, tearing deep into the walls and ceiling of the hideout. The ground fractured beneath the pressure, and flames of both light and shadow surged wildly.

Elsa, Lela, and Cynthia were flung backwards by the shockwave, barely able to keep their footing.

Emerald gritted her teeth, keeping her sword raised as the wave of mana raged around her. Her boots dug into the floor, her entire body pushed back several feet from the pressure.

The fireball began to crack, tiny slivers of light piercing through it.

With a final cry, Emerald swung again—this time unleashing a second wave of mana to finish it.

The two waves combined into one, roaring like a hurricane as they cleaved through the fireball.

CRAAAAACK!

The massive dark sphere shattered like glass, bursting into thousands of black flame fragments that dispersed into the air.

But the price was high.

Emerald dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her arm trembled violently, and her vision blurred.

But she was still standing.

She raised her head slowly, eyes blazing with fury.

Across the room, the shadowy man was watching with a calm expression, arms crossed. But the faint twitch of his brow showed he hadn’t expected her to actually stop the attack.

"Tch..." he clicked his tongue again, clearly irritated. "You really are persistent."

Emerald didn’t respond.

Behind her, the three girls slowly stood up. Cynthia clutched her arm, a bruise forming. Elsa and Lela stared at the knight’s trembling form, their expressions full of awe—and worry.

"Emerald... you..." Elsa muttered.

Emerald didn’t turn.

She couldn’t. Her focus was on the man in front of her. She couldn’t afford even a second of distraction.

The man clapped slowly, the sound echoing mockingly through the ruined hideout.

"Bravo," he said with a grin. "You’re still standing. I’m genuinely impressed."

His eyes narrowed, voice lowering to a darker tone. "But let’s be honest—you won’t last much longer, will you?"

Emerald said nothing.

She didn’t need to.

Her body was already telling her the truth. Her veins felt like they were on fire. Her muscles twitched uncontrollably. Her heartbeat was irregular. One wrong step—and it was over.

Still... she wouldn’t fall here.

Not yet.

"Still ignoring me?" the man said, sighing. "Fine."

He raised one hand again. The dark aura around him began to surge once more, but instead of forming a fireball, it condensed around his body.

"Let me show you something special, then," he said, his grin widening.

Emerald raised her sword again, her body screaming in protest. The girls behind her prepared as well, forming light weapons and shields.

Another surge of heat pulsed through the air.

Without a word, the shadowy man raised his hand again, and in an instant, a second fireball materialized beside him—this one five times larger than the last.

Its presence alone warped the space around it. The flames twisted and coiled unnaturally, not like normal fire.

They pulsed with darkness, churning and sizzling as if alive. Black and red, their flickers cast eerie reflections across the stone walls, and the very air began to shimmer.

A sudden wave of unbearable heat swept through the room.

The floor beneath the man’s feet began to melt, darkened stone turning molten. Cracks spider-webbed outward from where he stood, and fire sparked from within them, licking upwards in erratic tongues.

Wooden furniture nearby instantly ignited. Flames leapt across broken shelves and shattered crates, consuming everything in their path.

Even the walls themselves were beginning to blacken, trembling under the oppressive heat. It hadn’t even been launched yet—and the entire room was already falling apart.