Chapter 75

“The Shadow That Rules”

“Do you… know how to use a special power? If you do, your uncle would reward you greatly.”

“Power…? I’m not sure what you mean.”

At just seven years old, messy and ragged Etias had no idea what his uncle was talking about.

But now—what on earth was happening?

Shadows beneath Etias’s feet, waiting for their master’s command, shot out and wrapped around the Emperor’s ankles.

“Kuhh-!”

The Emperor screamed as he crashed to the ground, thrashing desperately not to be dragged away—but Etias’s shadow chains grabbed his other ankle too.

Damn it! Why does he have powers like that?!

This ability—a rare and legendary power said to appear once every hundred years in the Clyde royal bloodline—was now active.

The Emperor remembered his grandfather, who wielded terrifying strength with these shadows, strong enough to crush beasts with bare shadows. It had left everyone speechless with awe and fear.

If he had known Etias possessed this power, he would never have let him live.

He’s been hiding it all along…!

The realization that Etias had been a beast in disguise, bowing humbly this whole time, made the Emperor tremble.

“You useless fool! Stab the shadow!”

The Emperor barked at a knight. The knight slashed at the shadows on the floor with his sword.

But the shadows writhed like living things—releasing the Emperor only to grab the knight by the throat.

Crack.

The knight’s neck snapped under the pressure, and he collapsed.

“Huff!”

The Emperor used the chance to run again.

The front of the hall connected to other palace wings. He had to escape.

Thump. The knight’s body dropped.

The shadows reformed and chased after the Emperor, who ran into a dark corridor.

But he was a rat in a trap. Etias already knew exactly where he’d hide.

Etias didn’t rush. He calmly walked across the red carpet toward the throne.

Clang, clang—

Outside, the sound of swords clashing filled the air.

His sentient shadows disarmed the royal knights and assisted the revolutionaries.

It looked like a holy war from legend, with Etias’s power leading the charge.

“Gahh—”

“Urgh!”

The same royal knights who once mocked him now stared, unable to believe what they saw.

His blue cape rippled with the pulsing of shadows.

He cut down his enemies with ease, his steps unwavering and unafraid.

Once a pitiful prince in ragged clothes, now…

“He’s a demon born from hell! Aaagh!”

One noblewoman fainted at the sight of the writhing waves of shadow.

Now, in the hall, only a few nobles remained, trembling against the walls.

Etias slowly sat on the Emperor’s throne.

“Khak—”

A revolutionary commander, who had just killed the last resisting royal knight, knelt to him.

One by one, the revolutionaries knelt before him.

His boots were stained with blood. His blue eyes were cold and clear.

“Of course she didn’t show up to her own title ceremony. That’s so like her.”

He muttered with a faint smirk.

Everyone bowed their heads under his gaze. But one thing was certain—she wasn’t here.

He had heard she left Sistina overnight after donating 100 million den.

Her carriage never returned to the Ellemore estate.

“….”

Sitting in the throne he once dreamed of, Etias slowly stood up.

He thought it would feel more satisfying—but it didn’t.

His mind drifted to the one who had helped him get this far.

Her violet eyes trembling under the bed, that memory wouldn’t leave.

Without Katrin’s support, he wouldn’t have made it here.

His body would’ve failed before mastering his powers, and the revolution might have ended in blood.

But now—he was ready.

BOOM—!

Distant explosions echoed through the palace.

The revolutionary army was storming the inner palace. Victory was near.

“Track Katrin Ellemore’s movements thoroughly. Fortify the Montela border.”

“Understood.”

“And make absolutely sure not a single hair on her head is harmed. That’s a royal order.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Etias’s eyes darkened again with deadly resolve.

“Now… I’m going to get the head of that sly old fox.”

He marched toward the passage where the Emperor had fled.

***

“Huff, huff…”

The Emperor, gasping for breath, climbed the tower vault inside the imperial palace, trembling as he desperately searched for something to protect himself.

He remembered what his grandfather once told him:

“Etias’s shadow powers can pierce through anything… except one thing — the Shield of Light.”

“When the shadows touch the Shield of Light, they become powerless.”

There, hidden in this underground tower, was the holy relic imbued with sacred power — his final hope of survival against Etias.

“Damn it, damn it! That treacherous brat! Hiding his cruel and vicious power under that weak, obedient act all these years—just to stab me in the back?!”

Sweat dripped down his brow as sword clashes rang out across the palace — but no one had reached this place yet.

“I’ll bash his filthy head with this holy shield, chop it off, and then I’ll… I’ll reclaim everything!”

He couldn’t let it end like this. He had fought too hard and schemed too much to become Emperor—he wouldn’t give up now.

“If only Katrin Ellemore… if she were here, she would have protected me… Damn it.”

He suddenly realized: why hadn’t Katrin shown up to her own title ceremony?

Just as that question surfaced, he spotted it — the Shield of Light.

“Haah… I’m saved.”

With a sigh of relief, the Emperor grasped the heavy, glowing relic.

The palace was falling to the revolutionaries’ boots, but here, he clutched onto his last lifeline, feeling tension like never before.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed up the spiral staircase.

“…!”

It was Etias, walking up slowly.

No longer the ragged boy skulking in corners — this man was tall, powerful, and radiated royal dignity.

The tired, lifeless eyes he once showed were clearly an act. His sharp blue eyes were now filled with determination—just like the late Emperor’s.

“Huff… huff…”

The Emperor raised the Shield of Light, resting his chin on it as he grinned menacingly.

“Yes… go ahead. Use your shadows. I dare you.”

“Come at me, traitor! I’m not afraid!”

The shadows around Etias writhed, but obeyed their master’s will — they didn’t advance.

Instead, Etias reached for the royal longsword he’d received during the hunting festival.

He heard his father’s voice in his mind:

“Even your great-grandfather’s mighty shadows were useless against the Shield of Light. But remember—”

“It’s still just an old shield.”

“Break it, and it’s over.”

Etias slowly drew the brilliant blade—a weapon that, in truth, he had received thanks to Katrin Ellemore.