Becoming the Dark Lord - Chapter 91

‘Zzzzzt…’

A faint buzz filled the air, and Luke and Allison froze.

A small blue crystal embedded in a tree trunk began to blink. The soft blue glow shifted into a deep, pulsing red with each passing second. Both of them stepped back, carefully, cautiously. The crystal returned to blue. Still. Silent.

Relief washed over them, but it came laced with tension.

Luke took another step forward. Instantly, the crystal flashed red again. He stepped back. Blue once more.

"It’s proximity-based", Allison whispered.

That was exactly what they’d come to confirm. They were here to study the alarm system.

Allison moved forward slowly. The crystal began pulsing in darker, more urgent reds. When she inched just a bit closer, the pulse peaked.

ZWEEEEE—

She pulled back immediately. The alarm hadn’t gone off yet. The glow faded to blue just in time.

Their hearts pounded in sync. The theory was solidifying. The crystal didn’t just react to presence. It measured proximity and duration. It was like a sentient perception field. Stay too long within range, and it would trigger. And with it, summon the Midnight Warden.

They kept testing, slipping in and out of the radius, mapping the boundaries by feel alone. Light steps. Sharp retreats. Absolute silence.

Then they tried stepping together.

ZWEEP... ZWEEP... ZWEEP...

The pulse quickened.

They backed off. Silence. Blue.

"It’s not just distance. Two people make it escalate faster", Luke said.

Allison nodded. It was a cumulative sensor. A defense mechanism built with ruthless precision.

"That’s going to complicate getting in", she murmured. "Or give us exactly the edge we need."

Luke stared at the crystal like it was a living puzzle. They weren’t ready to go in tonight. But they were closer than ever.

"There must be more of these around the fortress. Like a minefield", Allison whispered.

The alarms formed an invisible barrier. Any misstep, any extra person, even a second too long, and everything would collapse.

A stealth approach was possible. But it wouldn’t just take silence. It would take perfection.

"If we go in as a group, and even one person triggers it without realizing, it’s over." said Luke.

Silence returned, thick and heavy.

Charlie had already emerged from his soul, standing nearby. The spectral knight stood tall, eyes fixed ahead like an undead sentinel awaiting orders. Luke gripped a kukri tightly. Allison slowly spun her katana in her hand.

Every muscle was wound tight. The night pressed in. The only light came from that faint blue glow and the weight of a single decision.

Luke felt the chill of the blade in his hand. He drew a deep breath.

Luke’s arm snapped forward with practiced precision.

‘SWOOSH!’

The kukri sliced through the air, catching a glint of moonlight as it spun once, twice, before slamming into the center of the crystal.

‘TINK!’

A sharp crack rang out, echoing through the trees. The crystal exploded into fragments, scattering in a burst of light and sound. Both of them flinched, frozen, their eyes wide and breathing held tight in their chests, waiting for the inevitable retaliation.

Something felt wrong. They could hear nothing but the thumping of their own hearts.

And then, still nothing. No screams. No metallic footsteps. No Midnight Wardens closing in.

Five minutes passed in absolute silence. Crouched in the dark. Listening. Waiting.

But the rhythm of the Midnight Wardens remained unchanged in the distance. No alerts. No response.

Luke looked at Allison. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, trembling.

"It worked", she whispered. "It actually worked."

They had done the impossible. It was possible to reach the second mechanism. Stealth was viable. The key was understanding the alarm’s sensory field and destroying it before it activated.

Simple. But lethal, if they messed up.

Now they knew the way.

"We should go back", Allison said, her voice still trembling.

Luke nodded. The adrenaline still boiled in their veins, but his mind was already racing ahead.

Now they had a plan. And more than that, they had hope.

***

They ran along the edge of the Wild Zone.

Even at night.

Even with Midnight Wardens patrolling the shadows.

Every move was precise. Luke led the way, slipping between broken structures and vanishing into cracks like a predator. When the path was clear, he signaled. Allison followed.

Finally, the borderline.

They crossed.

And for a moment, relief.

But adrenaline still vibrated beneath their skin.

“If we really go through with this... that means...” Luke began, breathless.

Allison picked up where he left off, eyes glowing with hope.

“We’ll have our own Bastion. A Safe Zone. Weekly Event Reward chests…”

She smiled. “With that, we could grow strong enough. Kill a Midnight Warden. Open the gate. Trigger the third mechanism… and go back to Earth.”

There was joy in her voice. A tone so rare it felt almost forgotten.

Luke nodded, though his gaze was sharper. More calculating.

“We’ll need the right people from the Haven. People we can trust. People who actually want to leave this place.”

“And plan for what comes after,” Allison added, her tone sobering.

Luke exhaled.

“Yeah. Taking the fortress is one thing. Holding it… that’s another story.”

That was the issue. Activating the second mechanism was possible now, but without military strength, without a group to defend it, they’d just be handing everything over to Bartholomew or Marshall.

Potions. Territory. A Safe Zone. Resources.

If either one of them wanted it… they’d take it. Then use it to crush the other.

“That’s why Marshall never made a move on the fortress,” Allison said. “Anyone who takes it but can’t hold it just ends up feeding the enemy.”

Luke clicked his tongue, frustrated.

“Maybe the only way this works… is if Angelica’s on our side.”

“But the Haven is full of ordinary people. Bartholomew keeps the warriors. The strong,” Allison said with a sigh.

“Better not get ahead of ourselves. First, we need to find out who’s brave enough to come with us,” she added, trying to stay grounded.

But then, something hit their senses.

Smoke.

The sky was streaked in orange and red.

“Fire,” Luke said.

Flames. Multiple sections of the Safe Zone were burning.

Screams echoed into the night.

Up on the rooftops, flares of magic lit the darkness—mages hurling spells. And in the streets...

Monsters.

Beastlike creatures—twisted hyenas with exposed teeth and eyes full of hatred—rushed through the alleys.

“It’s an invasion,” Allison said, already drawing her blade.

They didn’t hesitate.

Together, they sprinted toward the Haven.

Luke summoned Charlie from his soul. The spectral knight emerged mid-stride, sword in hand, running alongside them.

Chaos gripped the Haven. People screaming, sprinting, diving for cover. Creatures leaped over tents and tore through defenses.

Allison was first into the fray. Her katana carved clean, lethal lines through the air. Charlie followed close, smashing one of the hyenas into the ground with a direct [Iron Fist] strike.

Luke vaulted over a barricade and landed in the center of the fight.

Through the smoke, he spotted a familiar figure.

Anna stood with her bow drawn, spinning and loosing arrows in every direction.

“What’s happening? How did this even start?” Allison shouted, breathless as she rushed toward her.

Anna’s face was streaked with soot and dried blood. Her hands trembled as she nocked another arrow.

“I don’t know. It came out of nowhere. The system didn’t warn us,” she said. “But... they just appeared. Powerful creatures. Beast Lord Captains. So many. Paul, Jonathan, and the others split up to try and stop them.”

A roar split the air.

ROOOOAAAR.

A flaming tyrannosaurus burst through the buildings. It was bigger than any Luke had ever fought in the Wild Zone.

Fire spewed from its mouth in a wild blast, consuming the street and everything in its path.

[Flame Tyrannosaurus, Beast Captain – Lvl 27]

“Luke, I’m going. My powers work well against fire,” Allison shouted as she dashed forward and vanished into the flames.

Luke tried to follow, but then came a scream.

"AAAAH!"

It echoed from the forest.

“Another Captain,” Anna yelled, her eyes wide with panic.

Hyenas were swarming from every direction. People were running toward the hotel, trying to evacuate.

From a distant rooftop, Luke spotted a massive gorilla hurling debris and stones at the people below. Jonathan and a few others were trying to flank it from both sides.

Then came another scream.

“Help me!”

Someone stumbled out of the woods, eyes wide with panic.

“He’s there. In the forest. He’s in there,” the man cried, running.

Luke scanned the chaos around him. Too many threats. Too many directions to go.

But the forest pulled him.

He drew his kukris.

“Let’s go, Charlie.”

They entered the trees.

With every step, the darkness thickened.

The forest grew dense. Still.

Then, two yellow eyes opened in the dark. They glowed.

A massive paw stepped forward.

Then another.

Luke swallowed hard.

From the shadows emerged a monstrous lion, bulging with muscle, fangs bared, eyes wild with hunger.

But that wasn’t all.

From its spine rose a scorpion’s tail, and from its back, leathery bat wings snapped open with a dry crack.

"ROOOOAAAR."

The roar crashed through the forest like thunder.

Yellow sparks danced across its fur. The air shimmered with electric charge.

[Lightning Manticore, Beast Captain – Lvl 27]

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