Realm Lord
Chapter 78: The Guardian of the Altar

Chapter 78: The Guardian of the Altar

Arthur’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade, his knuckles white with tension.

He had only an instant to register the gleam of the knight’s helm—a flash—before the armored figure moved.

The knight’s speed defied comprehension. One moment it stood motionless, the next its right hand abandoned the hilt of the blade where it rested, balling into a steel-clad fist that blurred through the space between them. Arthur’s muscles tensed to dodge, but his body couldn’t match his mind’s commands.

The knight’s gauntlet drove into Arthur’s torso with devastating force, the impact reverberating through his entire being. Air evacuated his lungs in a violent rush as his body folded around the armored fist like paper. For a suspended moment, Arthur hung there, impaled on pain, before the knight’s arm extended fully and sent him hurtling across the chamber.

Arthur’s back collided with the ancient stone wall with such catastrophic force that the weathered masonry cracked and crumbled beneath the impact, dust and fragments showering down as he slid to the floor. He landed on hands and knees, body trembling with shock, vision swimming with dark spots. Warm saliva dripped from his gaping mouth as his diaphragm spasmed desperately, lungs burning in a frantic attempt to reclaim the breath that had been so violently stolen from him.

"ARTHUR!"

Aziel’s panicked cry echoed through the chamber, laced with horror and disbelief. His eyes widened as he tore his gaze from his fallen comrade, his attention snapping back to their armored adversary—but it was already too late.

The knight had closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, its blade cutting through the air with lethal precision. light from the dim torches reflected off the polished steel as it arced toward Aziel’s exposed flank.

Aziel reacted fast, bringing his spear up to intercept the blow. Steel met steel with a sound like thunder, sparks flying from the point of impact. But with his injured leg robbing him of proper footing, Aziel couldn’t withstand the sheer power behind the knight’s attack. The force of the blow lifted him from his one good foot and sent him flying across the chamber.

Aziel’s body slammed into the heavy oak door with a sickening thud before bouncing forward, his momentum carrying him face-first onto the cold stone floor. His spear clattered beside him, the sound unnaturally loud in the sudden stillness.

Arthur, still fighting for breath, dragged himself upright on trembling legs. His vision cleared just in time to witness the knight striding purposefully toward Aziel’s prone form, its sword raised high above its helm, poised to deliver a killing blow.

Something dark and primal stirred within Arthur’s chest. The darkness of the room seemed to deepen, to reach out toward him with eager fingers. He did not resist their call.

’Power. I need more power.’

Arthur opened himself to the darkness, allowing it to flow into him, through him. The darkness responded eagerly, rushing through his body like water into parched earth, filling every fiber of his being with cold, intoxicating strength.

The darkness consumed him as readily as he consumed it. His muscles swelled with newfound strength, his senses sharpening to preternatural levels. He had grown stronger since first entering this realm, his base power increasing with each monster slain, but this—this was something else entirely.

’But will it be enough? Will I reach him in time?’

Arthur launched himself forward, his body cutting through the darkness as if it were a physical substance, drawing it into himself with each passing moment. The shadows propelled him forward, his sword already swinging as he closed the distance in a blur of motion.

The knight’s blade was descending toward Aziel’s unprotected head when it abruptly halted mid-strike. The armored figure’s helm swiveled toward the approaching threat, its reaction time impossibly quick. In one fluid motion, it redirected its sword to intercept Arthur’s attack.

’Everything I have... all of it in this attack.’

Arthur channeled every ounce of his amplified strength into his swing, his blade meeting the knight’s with a resounding clash that sent vibrations up both their arms. For the first time, the knight showed vulnerability, stumbling backward several paces, thrown off balance by the unexpected power behind Arthur’s strike.

Arthur pressed his advantage without hesitation, closing in with a relentless barrage of attacks. He swung his sword from the side, then from above, then from below, followed by a desperate thrust aimed at the seam in the knight’s armor where neck met breastplate. Yet for all his speed and power, he could not break through the knight’s defense. Each attack was either blocked with precise economy of movement or evaded with unnatural grace.

Frustration mounting, Arthur committed to an overhead strike, putting his weight behind a downward slash that should have cleaved through any normal defense. The knight met the blow with its own blade, but instead of a direct block, it angled its sword subtly. Arthur’s blade slid down the length of the knight’s weapon, momentum carrying him forward and off-balance.

Before he could recover, the knight’s armored elbow smashed into his face with stunning force. light exploded across Arthur’s vision, but he had no time to reel from the blow. The knight’s gauntleted hand seized his head in an iron grip, yanking him forward and down into a rising knee that crashed into his already abused midsection.

Air fled Arthur’s lungs for the second time as agony bloomed through his core. The knight released him with contemptuous ease, shoving him back several stumbling steps. Arthur struggled to remain upright, his vision swimming, his legs threatening to buckle beneath him.

Through the haze of pain, he saw the knight raising its sword once more. The blade came down with such terrifying speed that it seemed to distort the very air around it, creating a visible wake as it cut through space.

Arthur stood frozen, his mind acknowledging what his body could not respond to. It was too late to block, too late to dodge—too late for anything but to witness his own demise hurtling toward him.

The sword was mere inches from his face, close enough that he could see his own terrified reflection in the polished steel, when salvation came unexpectedly.

A long steel spear, crackling with brilliant blue lightning, flew across the chamber with unerring accuracy. It impaled the knight’s armored form with enough force to halt its attack and send the creature hurtling backwards. The knight slammed into the far wall, momentarily pinned in place by the electrified weapon embedded in its chest plate.

Arthur turned in shock to see Aziel leaning heavily against the wall near the door, one hand still extended from the throw. Sweat poured down his dirt-streaked face, his chest heaving with exertion, but his lips were curled into a triumphant grin.

"Got you,"

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