My Dragon King System-Chapter 357: Lord Shadow’s Vengeance

All three women made their way back to the castle on foot, laughing and chatting even with their exhaustion.

Dirty marks covered their faces. Uriel had only a few smudges on her cheek and forehead, but Arianna and Laela were practically caked in dirt and grime.

"I can’t help but feel you still went easy on us," Laela said, glancing sideways at Uriel.

Arianna nodded in agreement. "I agree."

Uriel smiled but said nothing further.

Aiden was standing in the courtyard, waiting for them as they entered. The cratered grounds had been completely repaired, as though the battle had never happened.

"You three made fifteen dragon eggs hatch prematurely," Aiden said, crossing his arms.

All three women froze mid-step. Arianna winced and brought one hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh no..."

Laela scrunched her face in visible remorse, with her eyes widening slightly. "We didn’t mean to—"

Uriel pressed her lips together and looked away sheepishly.

Aiden shook his head and rolled his eyes amusingly. "It’s fine. They’re healthy."

Tristan and Andrea were floating beside him under the gentle effect of his gravity manipulation.

And the moment they saw their mothers, both babies began motioning their tiny hands eagerly toward them.

Arianna and Laela immediately stretched their hands toward the children in return as their faces lit instantly.

"Come here, my sweet babies," Arianna said in a soft playful tone.

"Mama missed you so much," Laela added gently.

Aiden guided them both forward with a subtle motion of his hand, but as they floated closer, he created a thin wall of light gravity around each child’s skin. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

This was a protective barrier that kept them from truly touching the bodies of their mothers, even as they made contact.

This way, the dirt and grime covering Arianna and Laela wouldn’t rub off onto Tristan and Andrea.

Both women hugged their children close anyway, making soft motherly noises as they nuzzled against them.

"You’re so precious," Arianna whispered to Andrea, kissing her forehead gently.

"My little dragon," Laela murmured to Tristan, rocking him gently in her arms.

Then suddenly—

Aiden felt a sharp tingle in his awareness which caused a sudden shift in expression. His dragon sight narrowed as his vision stretched across cosmic distances in an instant.

It looked like the vastness of space had passed through his sight in an instant until it arrived at Ah’Me, the First Firmament.

What he saw made his gaze widen.

Michael was at the forefront of the realm with his teeth gritted and his hand stretched toward an ever-encroaching darkness that seemed to have swallowed half of the First Firmament already.

In the skies above, angels fought desperately against beings that resembled angels, but these were made entirely of absolute darkness.

Uriel felt it as well. Her connection to the First Firmament alerted her to the danger immediately.

Then she turned sharply toward Aiden with alarm in her golden eyes.

Arianna noticed almost immediately.

"What’s going on?" she asked quickly, with her expression shifting from joy to sudden concern while looking between Aiden and Uriel’s faces.

Laela’s eyes darted between them as well. She also had the same confusion and worry.

Aiden’s voice was calm but firm as he spoke. "I’ll explain later. But right now, you both need to take our children and stay inside the castle."

He paused, making sure they understood the seriousness of what he was about to say next: "Please do not leave for any reason."

Both women nodded without question.

Uriel moved forward immediately. "I’m coming with you."

Aiden nodded. then raised his hand and tore open a portal in midair which led directly to Ah’Me.

The moment they disappeared through the portal, Arianna and Laela turned back toward the castle entrance where Varac stood waiting for them.

He ushered them inside quickly with a calm but urgent expression on his face.

As soon as they entered, all the dragons within Aiden’s realm immediately began moving. Some descended from the skies and landed around the castle grounds.

While others circled overhead in protective formations.

They hadn’t been given prior instructions or commands, but they knew instinctively what their king wanted: this place needed to be the most secure location in existence right now.

——

Inside the castle...

Arianna and Laela were met by its other inhabitants almost immediately. Katherine and Piers emerged from one corner dressed in robes, with worried looks on their faced.

"What’s going on?" Katherine asked urgently. "I suddenly felt the whole castle get tense."

From another corner came Innis, Rin, and Aeris, all three wearing equally concerned expressions as they approached.

Laela shook her head slowly while adjusting Tristan in her arms carefully. "I’m not sure... but Aiden and Uriel both rushed out to deal with it."

Varac approached from behind them then, and said in a deep but reassuring voice

"My queens and honored guests, please stay within the castle and do not fret. Our liege is dealing with whatever this problem is... and this castle is the safest place there could possibly be."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

——-

The moment they arrived at Ah’Me. The first word that came out of Uriel’s mouth was, "No..."

It looked like a war zone. Angels battled desperately across the realm, but their enemies weren’t foreign invaders. They were angels too, or at least they had been.

Now they were shadow soldiers of the Shadow Herrscher.

Their forms of darkness that moved with unnatural speed and struck with malicious intent at their own kind.

The First Firmament, a place that had always been filled with radiant light, was now half-covered in absolute darkness that seemed to only keep spreading, consuming everything it touched.

Uriel’s six wings spread out immediately while her rapier materialized within her grip in a flash of golden light. Without a single question asked, she launched herself into the chaos.

Aiden remained where he stood for a moment before whispering "Longinus."

The spear appeared beside him, but was hovering in the air. He then waved his hand forward causing Longinus to shoot through Ah’Me like a bolt of lightning, moving so fast it was almost invisible.

In almost the same instant, it began tearing through the shadow angels with mercilessly.

It stabbed through the head of one, cleaving straight through its skull and crumbling it into nothingness.

It pierced the heart of another, and that one disintegrated into black mist.

One after another, the spear moved autonomously under Aiden’s will, striking down every shadow soldier it encountered.

Each one that was hit crumbled away into nothingness as they were unable to withstand the weapon’s power.