Arthur lifted his hand slowly and the Shadow Lantern Ring on his finger flared to life.

Behind him, the sky above the colossal fortress twisted into a spiraling void of black-violet energy.

Then Arthur spoke.

"Let create a path."

The words were quiet.

But the result was catastrophic. A massive drill of condensed shadow erupted into existence above him, an enormous rotating spear of darkness and violet light. It wasn’t simply energy, it was pressure and intent made manifest.

Then it launched forward.

The Shadow Drill tore through the air.

The fortress reacted instantly, giant ballistas fired, wyverns descended, armored giant soldiers rushed the battlements, but everything hit the construct and simply disappeared into it.

The drill pierced the outer walls of the castle-city in a single devastating impact.

The stone it evaporated, the entire defensive towers were ripped apart as the construct bored straight through them, carving a glowing tunnel of annihilation through the fortress like a god’s spear.

The giants inside barely had time to register what was happening.

A second later, the drill moved through them.

Hundreds were gone instantly.

No screams survived long enough to matter and the Titans watched as the entire fortress began to collapse inward along a single glowing axis of destruction.

Cyborg stared in disbelief. "He just... made a tunnel through the whole castle..."

Robin’s voice came slower than usual. "He has no filter whatsoever with monsters..."

Beast Boy, gripping the edge of Kamish’s back, swallowed hard.

"I...I don’t feel so good, guys..."

Before anyone could respond, Beast Boy transformed, his body surged upward in a violent burst of green energy, bones shifting, wings tearing outward, until a massive wyvern form replaced him mid-air, far larger and more feral than his usual transformations.

He roared.

Then immediately dove into the chaos.

"Garf!" Cyborg shouted.

Blue Beetle flinched. "Dude what the!"

But the wyvern-Beast Boy slammed into the giants, tearing through their formation with raw instinct, knocking them off balance as he ripped weapons from their hands and flung them aside.

Raven blinked once.

"...That’s actually better than his usual transformations."

Arthur, already moving, glanced back for a second.

A faint smile crossed his face.

"That’s not bad."

Then he dropped.

He fell like a meteor into the fortress.

The moment his boots hit the stone, the impact cracked the ground outward in a spiderweb of destruction. A giant swung a colossal mace down at him,

Arthur didn’t even raise his sword fully.

He tilted his body slightly.

The mace passed through empty air.

One step and Arthur appeared at the giant’s side.

His blade moved once, the weapon shattered and the giant’s arm followed.

A second movement, barely visible, the giant’s head detached from its body and collapsed backward.

Arthur didn’t stop moving as another giant charged.

Two steps, one slash and its spear broke mid-swing.

Its chest opened like paper.

Another came from behind.

Arthur pivoted and a single arc of violet steel.

The giant’s torso split cleanly in two.

Above him, Raven floated down into the battlefield, hands glowing as she restrained incoming giants with dark energy spells, hurling them into Kamish’s flames.

Starfire streaked through the air, blasting armored giants apart with concentrated energy bursts.

Robin moved like a shadow between colossal legs, targeting joints and weak points with precision strikes with his mana boosted staff, disabling giants far larger than him only for Cyborg fired sonic cannons to finish them off, and staggering wyverns before they could dive.

Blue Beetle formed shields and energy blades, barely keeping pace but adapting fast.

And Arthur, was not fighting in a battle. He was basically training, every movement he made reduced a giant from a soldier into silence.

From above, Beast Boy’s wyvern form tore through formations, roaring as he smashed giants into fortress walls, creating chaos across the battlefield.

Arthur’s voice cut through the carnage.

"This place seems in good hands..."

He stopped for a moment, sword dripping violet light.

"...but just in case."

Darkness pooled beside him.

A shadow tore open reality itself.

From it stepped Galatea.

She landed gracefully, kneeling instantly before him.

"My king," she said smoothly. "Your orders."

Arthur glanced toward the Titans mid-fight.

"Keep them safe. Let them fight...but they need to sweat a bit. Just keep them alive."

Galatea’s eyes drifted toward Robin, Cyborg, and the others tearing through giants with effort and chaos.

A soft smile formed.

"Babysitting, I see."

She rose slowly.

"If that is your command, my king... I will ensure these fools remain alive."

Arthur almost exhaled a laugh at her tone.

"Try not to be too harsh on them."

"Of course, my king,"she replied, already moving.

Arthur turned away from the chaos.

And walked straight into the path carved by his Shadow Lantern drill.

The deeper he went, the hotter the air became.

War machines, giant siege weapons built from bone, metal. Crude yet terrifying, designed for wars that lasted centuries.

Giants flooded the corridors ahead, alerted now to his overwhelming presence.

Arthur stopped at the threshold of the massive inner courtyard.

A space the size of a human city square, except everything was built for beings ten times larger.

Weapons were stacked like monuments.

Dead trees of iron and bone rose from the ground.

And in the center...

An army of giants.

All turning toward him at once.

Arthur tilted his head slightly.

His violet eyes reflected the entire battlefield.

"...Yeah."

His voice was quiet.

"This dungeon was not meant for S-rank hunters at all... Even a vessel of the Rulers would find this challenging."

Then he stepped forward.

And the courtyard erupted into war.

Stone cracked beneath the feet of giants as they surged forward in endless waves, armored war machines groaning behind them all aimed towards Arthur. The air itself felt thick with mana, blood, and the oppressive presence of an entire army built for annihilation.

Arthur simply looked at them.

Then he spoke, almost quietly, "I’m glad we got to do this... ourselves."

The first giant reached him.

Arthur’s sword descended in a single arc and shadow erupted outward. A crescent of violet-black energy expanded from the strike like a silent explosion.

The giant didn’t just fall, it was erased, its body splitting into fragments of light and shadow that dissolved before they even touched the ground.

Behind it, the wave continued. The slash carried forward through the courtyard and dozens of giants behind the first were cut down in the same instant.

They were deleted and Arthur didn’t even look back.

His Shadow Lantern Ring flared again.

The air above him fractured as a massive construct formed, this time not a drill, but a towering spectral scythe, larger than the giants themselves. It hovered behind him like a grim omen, its blade dripping with condensed darkness.

Arthur raised his hand slightly.

The scythe moved and it swept horizontally.

A second wave of giants collapsed as the scythe passed through them, their bodies dissolving into ash-like shadows that scattered across the battlefield.

The courtyard became a slaughterhouse.

Every step Arthur took removed another layer of resistance with the power of Death.

Giants tried to surround him, he vanished into shadow and he reappeared above them.

The scythe descended.

The ground ruptured under the weight of its strike, carving a canyon through the battlefield as entire rows of giants were swept away in a single motion.

From above, Raven paused mid-flight for a second, her eyes narrowing as she watched the scale of destruction.

"...He’s gotten much stronger than before," she murmured.

Cyborg exhaled sharply. "Yeah. We’re just watching cleanup at this point."

From the far end of the courtyard, the giants parted.

A massive shape descended from above the clouds.

A Giant Wyvern.

But not like the others. this one was chained in armor-like scales, its wings scarred by ancient scars. On its back stood a giant far larger than the rest, clad in battle-worn armor forged from blackened steel. In his hands rested a greatsword engulfed in living flame, the fire twisting unnaturally.

He landed with a shockwave that cracked the courtyard stone apart.

Dust rose and silence followed.

The giants stopped moving.

The giant’s burning eyes locked onto Arthur immediately.

"Monarch of Shadows..."

His voice was unmistakably different from the rest.

Arthur stood still, the scythe hovering behind him like a patient executioner.

Then he tilted his head slightly,

"Oh..." Arthur said softly.

A faint amused exhale followed.

"You seem to be one of his actual commanders..."

His violet eyes narrowed slightly.

"Legia’s."

The burning giant tightened his grip on his greatsword and the flames around the blade surged higher in response.

/-\

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