Chapter 186: Light and Darkness 6
“There’s no end to these guys!” Janica shouted, her voice laced with frustration as she dodged another shadowy creature lunging at her.
“Damn it…” Lucas muttered under his breath.
He took a quick glance around the battlefield, eyes narrowing as he saw more of the shadow creatures crawling out from the darkness, regenerating just as quickly as they were being destroyed.
The constant onslaught was wearing him down, but they couldn’t afford to lose focus now. Too many lives were depending on them.
“Janica!” he yelled, his voice firm despite the exhaustion creeping in. “Gather everyone toward the eastern road! Prioritize the children and the injured first!”
“But—” Janica started, hesitating.
She knew Lucas was strong, but facing this endless horde on his own was reckless.
“Hurry!” he snapped, cutting off any further protests as he swung his sword in a powerful arc.
SWOOSH!
A flash of light erupted from the blade, cutting clean through the dark creature that had dared to step too close.
Its shriek pierced the air, echoing through the chaos, before it dissolved into a puff of smoke. But Lucas knew the reprieve wouldn’t last.
Within moments, it would reform, crawling out from the shadows once again.
These creatures weren’t normal—born from darkness, they fed on the despair and fear surrounding them, making them nearly impossible to kill for good.
And there were more of them by the second.
Janica nodded, finally understanding the urgency.
Without another word, she sprinted toward the group of terrified civilians huddled nearby, her mana flaring as she summoned a protective shield around them.
“Everyone this way!” she called, directing them toward the eastern road.
Despite her own fatigue, she made sure to shield them from any incoming threats, guiding the children and the wounded while keeping an eye on the battlefield.
As she ushered the civilians along, she couldn’t help but glance back over her shoulder, watching Lucas fight alone.
His sword flashed again and again, each strike precise and devastating, the light-based aura surrounding his blade cutting through the monsters like they were nothing.
But she knew better than to be fooled by the spectacle. No matter how many creatures he destroyed, they would only rise again, stronger and more relentless than before.
This wasn’t a fight they could win through brute force alone.
Lucas’s breath came in ragged, controlled bursts as he remained focused on his surroundings.
The distant echoes of Janica’s retreating steps and the panicked voices of the civilians grew fainter by the second.
Relief flickered within him, knowing Janica had understood his instructions without hesitation, but that sense of satisfaction didn’t make his situation any less dire.
He had chosen to stay behind, standing between the civilians and the unending tide of darkness that pressed closer with every moment.
‘It’s stupid to act like a hero,’ he mused inwardly, acknowledging the reckless nature of his decision.
But as a future knight, bound by the code of honor he had sworn to uphold, Lucas couldn’t abandon his duty.
Protecting the weak, defending the helpless—these were not just words to him; they were principles he lived by.
With a steadying inhale, Lucas calmed his nerves, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword.
The weight of the blade, once familiar and reassuring, now felt heavier in his hands. But he didn’t let it show. He couldn’t afford to.
Not when so many lives depended on him holding this line.
‘I’ll make sure none pass through…’ he vowed silently, scanning his surroundings with heightened sensitivity.
Every shadow, every flicker in the dark, was a potential threat. His body ached from the relentless pace of the battle, and fatigue gnawed at his edges, but he pushed it all aside.
The eastern gate loomed in the distance, where he sensed the majority of the other students had gathered.
The likelihood of danger was high there as well, given the sheer number of people concentrated in one spot, but Lucas took comfort in knowing that there were more capable fighters defending that position.
The thought of Janica joining their ranks gave him hope.
With her, and the others who had some training, they should be able to hold off the monstrous onslaught. But here—here at this makeshift barricade—Lucas stood alone.
Looking up at the exploding skies above the clocktower, where flashes of light and darkness clashed violently, Lucas couldn’t help but feel the weight of their dire situation.
The heavens seemed to dance with the conflict, as if even the skies themselves were torn between the forces at play.
Lightning streaked across the blackened clouds, illuminating the city below in brief, eerie flashes.
And at the center of it all, looming over the chaos, was the source of their troubles: the Dark Witch.
She stood above, relentlessly raining down spells of darkness, her shadowy magic twisting and writhing like serpents as they collided with the radiant light cast by her opponent.
Rose, bathed in light magic, was the only one capable of countering the witch’s attacks, her every movement calculated, her magic precise.
But as Lucas watched from the ground, his gut churned with frustration.
‘Why did the ex-president do this?’ he thought, his mind briefly wandering to the past.
Dorothy, the former leader of the student council, had always been a beacon of power, authority and respect.
Now, she was a figure of terror, responsible for the destruction around them.
Whatever her reasons, Lucas knew he didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it now.
People were suffering, and his focus had to remain on them.
He quickly pushed the thoughts from his mind, knowing they’d only distract him.
As much as he wanted to rush to Rose’s side, lend her his strength and help finish the battle, there was no way he could abandon the people he and Janica had fought so hard to protect. He wasn’t a mage.
An aerial fight with a powerhouse like Dorothy was beyond him.
His sword, no matter how much light it carried, couldn’t reach the skies.
“Lucas!” Janica’s voice snapped him back to reality, her tone laced with urgency. He turned to see her helping guide the last of the civilians toward the eastern gate.
The terrified cries and sobs of the injured filled the air, a stark contrast to the magical duel above.
It was a grim reminder of what was at stake here.
He couldn’t let his emotions cloud his judgment.
He exhaled slowly, then inhaled deeply, centering himself. ‘Focus,’ he told himself.
With everything happening at once, his mind felt like it was on the verge of overloading, but he knew he needed to remain clear-headed.
His priorities were simple: protect the people, hold the line, and buy Rose enough time to finish her fight.
‘This situation needs to end soon…’
His brow furrowed as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. Every second counted.
He could feel the growing tension in the air, the looming sense of something catastrophic drawing closer.
Though he didn’t know what fate awaited the people who had been swallowed by the darkness, he was certain of one thing—it couldn’t be anything good.
His eyes flicked once more to the chaotic battle above. Dorothy’s magic was vicious, striking down with enough power to level entire blocks.
If it weren’t for Rose’s barriers, Lucas doubted there would be anything left of the city.
He could only hope that Rose’s growing advantage meant the end was near.
But how long could Rose hold out?
The uncertainty gnawed at him she was at an advantage but Lucas wasn’t so sure that was exactly the case with the constant shift of unnatural mana spikes in the air, but he shook the thoughts away.
No time for doubt.
He had his role to play, and right now, it was here, on the ground. Keeping the civilians safe, keeping the shadows at bay.
And if it came down to it, he’d stand as their last defense.
The darkness swelled once again within Lucas, a familiar sensation he had come to manage. As the chaotic battle raged on, he adjusted the flow of mana inside him, carefully modulating the energy to prevent exhaustion.
He had noticed something curious from the very beginning of this relentless onslaught: the shadow monsters, which constantly regenerated, seemed to weaken the moment his light-based aura made contact with them.
Lucas reasoned that his aura, infused with light, must have some sort of dampening effect on the creatures, particularly given how much more significant damage Rose was dealing to the shadow army Dorothy commanded from a distance.
Right now, he had the upper hand against the monsters, his strength surpassing theirs as long as he remained in the darkness.
He could slice through them easily, but in a drawn-out battle of attrition, he knew he would eventually lose.
Their numbers were unending, their regeneration incessant.
And even with his light aura temporarily diminishing their power, it wouldn’t be enough to outlast them in the long run.
He needed to be smarter about his mana usage.
With fewer civilians left to protect for the moment, Lucas made the decision to conserve his strength.
Instead of fully enveloping his body in light-based aura, he allowed only small bits of it to coat his sword, the minimum amount needed to ensure he could cut through the shadows.
He let his normal mana surround his body instead, creating a defensive buffer without wasting the precious light aura on full-body enhancement.
It was a risky choice—relying solely on unfiltered mana made him more vulnerable to direct attacks from the monsters—but as long as he avoided taking a critical hit, Lucas reckoned he could manage.
‘Miss Rose will probably beat the president soon…’ Lucas hoped as he sent a glance toward the distant battle between Rose and Dorothy.
He could feel the intensity of their duel from here, the waves of mana crashing against each other like a storm in the heavens.
Dorothy’s power was immense, but Rose had been steadily gaining the upper hand.
He could sense that the fight was nearing its conclusion.
In the best-case scenario, Rose would defeat the ex-president, ending this nightmare.
But in the worst-case scenario—if Dorothy somehow managed to win, despite everything—Lucas knew he would be the only one left capable of standing against her.
His light aura, though limited, was the one weapon that could harm her, especially with her dark magic saturating the district.
His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword as the weight of that realization sank in. Even if Rose fell, even if Dorothy’s victory came to pass, Lucas had to be ready to fight.
GROAAAKKKKK!!!!
Monstrous screams erupted from the shadows once again, and this time, even more creatures crawled out from the darkness—more than usual.
Lucas’s eyes darted across the battlefield, scanning his surroundings, but his attention was immediately drawn to a disturbing sight.
His breath caught in his throat as he noticed the stronger monsters, the ones he had been struggling to keep at bay, suddenly shifting direction.
They weren’t coming for him anymore.
No—most of them were heading straight for the fight between Rose and Dorothy.
A mix of relief and dread flooded Lucas’s chest.
On one hand, his own battle was about to get a little easier with the more formidable foes now distracted.
But on the other hand, Rose—who had been their strongest hope in this seemingly impossible situation—was now facing even greater odds. His relief quickly turned into concern.
What if Rose fell? What if she couldn’t handle the growing number of shadows converging on her and Dorothy’s battle?
Lucas shook his head, trying to focus.
There was no time for second-guessing or worrying about what might happen.
He had his own fight to finish.
His sharp gaze flickered to the darkened figures around him as he began counting the presences, mentally preparing himself for the onslaught that was about to come.
“One… three… seven… eleven… sixteen…”
He felt their bloodlust like a suffocating fog, thick in the air around him.
It made them easier to detect, even with the limited mana he was using to conserve his strength. It wasn’t going to be easy, but it was doable.
The strongest shadows were already leaving, and he just had to deal with the ones that remained.
Calming his breath, Lucas adjusted his stance, tightening his grip on his sword as he braced himself for the attack.
He would let the monsters make the first move. He had to be patient, wait for the right moment to strike.
His eyes narrowed, watching for any sign of movement from the darkness.
But then something unexpected happened.
The skies above him rumbled, the sound deep and ominous.
RUMBLE—!
RUMBLE—!
His eyes widened, snapping upwards.
‘Storm clouds…?’
Golden lightning crackled across the darkened sky, twisting and dancing like some ethereal serpent, casting brief flashes of light over the battlefield.
Lucas’s heart skipped a beat as he felt an immense surge of mana, so powerful it seemed to shake the very air around him.
The sheer force of it was overwhelming, and for a moment, he could hardly believe what he was sensing.
‘This power… and mana…’
His mind raced, recognition dawning on him.
‘Riley?’
The realization hit him hard. Riley’s mana was unmistakable, a force that Lucas had rarely felt but could never forget.
But why here, why now? Lucas had thought Riley was far away from this chaos, that he wasn’t involved in the conflict between Rose and Dorothy.
Yet the golden lightning was a clear sign—Riley was here, and his power was surging across the battlefield.
Lucas’s neutral lips slowly curled into a smile, his eyes—once filled with urgency and worry—began to reflect something different: hope.
As the golden lightning above continued its dance, descending from the heavens and striking down every shadow in its path, the oppressive darkness that had surrounded him moments before was quickly evaporating.
The heavy pressure that now enveloped the area confirmed what his instincts had already told him.
Riley was here.
The air buzzed with power, a force that radiated authority and strength, filling the battlefield. Lucas’s breath hitched as a familiar voice cut through the chaos, cold yet reliable.
“So, you were here, Lucas…”
The voice was calm but carried an undeniable weight, a presence Lucas had only experienced once before, in a situation just as dire yet in a lighter circumstance.
Thump…!
His heart leaped at the sound, and he turned to face the source.
There… stood Riley, his presence a beacon of power amidst the turmoil.
Golden lightning danced around him, crackling in the air like a tangible force of nature.
His cold blue eyes scanned the battlefield with a calculating gaze, as if analyzing every movement, every possibility.
There was no hint of fear or hesitation—only calm control.
His eyes finally shifted toward the distant battle where Rose and Dorothy were locked in their deadly duel.
Riley’s expression remained unreadable, but his voice betrayed a quiet confidence as he spoke.
“It seems I wasn’t too late…”
“Riley…” Lucas muttered, the sheer relief flooding him was overwhelming.
The tension that had been building inside him for the past hour melted away, replaced by a feeling of reassurance he hadn’t dared to hope for.
He couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief.
The happiness he felt in that moment was palpable, and Lucas allowed himself a brief moment to soak it in.
Riley had arrived, just when everything seemed to be spiraling out of control.
The situation—so grim just moments ago—no longer felt impossible.
It seemed like the tide of the battle was about to turn.
“Looks like you’ve got good timing, no maybe this is bad timing perhaps?”
Lucas said, his grin widening as he turned back to face the remnants of the shadow creatures still lurking in the area.
“This might not be as dire as I thought after all.”
With Riley’s presence, the balance of power had shifted.
