Shadow Monarch in DC-Chapter 120: Extinguished

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Arthur's head shot up, his eyes widening.

"Hey!" he roared, dragging himself upright, a bit bruised from the last exchange. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Raven?!"

But she didn't turn to him. Her gaze remained locked on Trigon, unwavering.

"I will go to Earth and break the seal there." she said softly. "If you spare them. Let them leave this place unharmed."

A silence fell.

Then Kara's possessed face twisted into a cruel, knowing smile. Trigon's ghostly form surged outward, peeling from her body like smoke.

"Very well... my daughter." 

Kara's body went limp. She began to fall.

But Arthur was there.

In a blur of motion, he caught her before she hit the ground. He gently cradled her, brushing the hair from her pale, unconscious face. Her breathing was faint, but steady.

Arthur looked up straight at Raven, betrayal written on his face.

"You know I won't stop fighting, right?" His voice was low. A warning and a promise.

Raven turned toward him, eyes tired and heavy with burden.

But she said nothing.

Off to the side, John Constantine staggered to his feet, rubbing a burnt patch on his jacket.

"Does she have any idea what she's about to bloody do?" he muttered. His eyes narrowed. "The idiot."

He glanced at Zatanna. "Cover me Z. I'm gonna bind this bastard for good."

Zatanna, battling three fire demons at once, gave a sharp nod. "Just make it quick!"

As fire raged around them, John began his chant circles of arcane runes spinning from his fingertips, drawing in the energy of the realm itself. The ground beneath him cracked with power.

Zatanna held the line, her voice singing spells through gritted teeth. Flames turned back on the demons, exploding them in bursts of red ash.

John's hands rose, voice climbing

"By blood, by shadow, by the law of realms forbidden!—" 

Then suddenly a swirling violet portal snapped open next to him and Zatanna.

John blinked. "What the..?"

He barely had time to speak before they were sucked in.

"Bollocks! Can I stop being interrupted for five seconds, RAVE—!"

And just like that they were gone.

Arthur turned, eyes wide, seeing the fading light of the portal. His voice was cold.

"Where did you send them?"

Raven's eyes met his at last. She looked so fragile barely able to stand.

"Back to Earth," she whispered.

She looked to Trigon, then back at Arthur, still holding the unconscious Kara in his arms. Her voice was quiet in her own head, heavy with grief and steel.

'I'm sorry, Arthur. I'm sorry, everyone. But you don't know what my father is truly capable of. If he reaches Earth in full power... no army, no god, no Lord of Shadows can stop him. I'll try to seal him myself..back on Earth. I'll find a way... somehow I know I can.' 

She raised her hand toward Arthur, palm glowing with a flicker of violet light. Her fingers shook.

Arthur's eyes flared a brilliant electric blue. The ground beneath him cracked as mana surged through his body, still holding Kara protectively.

"Don't you dare." His voice was low and thunderous, the calm before a storm. "If you do this.."

Raven swallowed hard, pain tearing at her heart. Her voice wavered.

"I have no choice," she whispered. "You must understand..."

Trigon's massive, burning ghost-form hovered nearby, silently watching, his six crimson eyes gleaming with cruel amusement.

He smiled.

Raven's magic surged. With a gasp, she opened a glowing portal in the air right next to Arthur's face. The wind howled as space folded in on itself, the vortex pulling at him with violent force.

Arthur staggered, his boots scraping across scorched stone. He fought against it, summoning Ruler's Authority with a roar to anchor himself.

But then he saw her. Raven was coughing violently, barely standing, blood at the corner of her lips as she poured the last of her energy into forcing the portal open.

Arthur's teeth clenched. He looked down at Kara still unconscious, helpless and then back up at Raven.

And he let go.

The winds ripped him from the ground but not before he hurled one of his swords, the Greatsword of the Lowborn, straight at Trigon's smirking face.

The demon god snarled and fired a beam from all six of his eyes a scorching laser of death that shattered the sword mid-air. Shards of metal exploded in all directions.

But that was the point.

In that moment of distraction a flicker passed beneath Trigon's eyes.

A shadow... that did not belong to him.

One of his soldiers. A shadow demon clinging, silent and unseen latched itself to Raven's own.

Arthur's lips twitched in the briefest smirk as he vanished into the portal with Kara in his arms, consumed in swirling light.

And now, only Raven remained. Her hands, once glowing with resolve, trembled slightly as they fell to her sides. Her long cloak fluttered in the infernal wind.

Trigon loomed above her his six blazing crimson eyes narrowing with triumph as they fixed on her. His dark form pulsed with otherworldly power, the flames around him flickering in rhythm with his voice.

"And now, dear daughter," he rumbled, his tone as ancient as it was cruel, "your turn to go and fulfill our destiny." 

Raven's lips parted, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Our?" she asked bitterly, the word soaked in disdain.

Trigon laughed a deep, echoing roar that rattled the very bones of the plane.

"Oh, little bird..." he said with mock fondness. "I may wear many faces, but never forget, every path you've taken, every choice you've made... it's always led back to me. But first..." 

His voice dropped like a hammer.

With a sudden, violent motion, Trigon's massive clawed hand lashed forward straight into Raven's own shadow.

"What are you doi...?" Raven gasped as her eyes snapped down.

Her shadow, which had been subtly darker since Arthur vanished, twitched unnaturally.

Then

Trigon's hand erupted from the ground, holding something by the throat.

A writhing form.

Wreathed in dark energy.

Its violet eyes burning with rage.

The shadow demon.

Arthur's hidden soldier. His final contingency.

Raven staggered back, shocked.

"That's Arthur's...No... how...how did you..?"

Trigon's flaming grin widened. He lifted the struggling demon higher, its claws slashing in futility, its body twisting violently in his grip.

"Did he truly think I wouldn't notice a parasite hitching a ride beneath my daughter's feet?" Trigon growled, squeezing. "Your little Shadow King underestimates what it means to be eternal." 

The demon hissed one last time then screamed as its form started dissolving into nothingness, vanishing in a flicker of blue and black flame.

Raven stood frozen.

She hadn't sensed it...

Not fully. Not clearly.

Arthur had left her a guardian... and now it was gone.

Trigon exhaled deeply, like a beast finally clearing its den.

"Now..." he said, his six eyes narrowing, his voice a low snarl of possession and hunger,

"We may proceed." 

****

Titans Tower –

The portal spiraled shut behind Arthur and Kara with a crackle of violet light, leaving silence in its wake.

Arthur stood still for a moment, his eyes scanning the room clean steel walls, glowing monitors, broken equipment. Slowly, he lowered Kara onto a nearby couch, her body still limp, her breathing shallow.

She was safe and sound.

For now.

Surprisingly, the same room held two very familiar faces.

John Constantine, leaning against a metal pillar with a cigarette halfway to his lips, muttered immediately,

"Brilliant. She did it again...The Halfwit!."

Zatanna, pacing near a window, arms folded, glanced back with exasperation.

"I think I'm starting to agree with John here. What is she thinking?"

Arthur didn't look at them yet. His hand lingered near Kara's shoulder, checking her vitals, then rising.

Their voices were background noise until

"Enough," he said flatly, cutting through the tension. He finally turned to face them, his voice low and resolved.

"We'll find another way. We know she's coming to Earth. And even if that bastard follows and appears in his true form..."

His eyes began to glow deep, electric blue.

The room dimmed, as if it flinched at the weight of his presence.

"...it won't be a problem," Arthur said, each word steady as stone.

"Anything can be killed."

Then

He stopped. Mid-breath.

The glow in his eyes flickered.

John caught the shift instantly.

His brows furrowed.

"Oi... what's wrong with you now?"

Arthur didn't answer at first. His gaze drifted slightly upward, as if searching for something beyond this realm.

His voice dropped, quiet, unsure.

"My shadow demon..." 

He blinked, once

His connection was gone. Snuffed out.

And that was impossible.

His shadows didn't die, cannot die while he lives, Unless...

Unless something far unpredictable had happened.

Arthur's jaw tightened. His fists clenched at his sides.

Zatanna looked between them, suddenly alert.

"Wait, what do you mean your shadow demon?"

Arthur's voice came out low and controlled.

"...Trigon destroyed it."

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If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.

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If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at

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You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want