Chapter 390: The Portal and the Midnight King

Luke and Mason scaled the outer walls of the castle. The wind howled violently, cold and sharp, slicing through the air and battering the ancient, frost-covered stones. Each step demanded balance and strength. Luke’s hands burned, his body tense, muscles trembling under the strain. Above them, the sky was a storm of black and white, swirling snow and shadow around the silhouette of the Midnight King. The light from his spells flashed through the blizzard, illuminating the ruins as he soared above the main bridge, hurling his stone-speared projectiles.

Down below, the stone golems moved with weight and purpose, crushing soldiers and walls with the same indifferent force. The explosive impacts of the spears reverberated through the corridors, each hit causing the ground to shake. The people hit by the petrifying energy stood frozen in place, transformed into grotesque statues of pain and shock. None of them had returned to normal.

“We’re almost there,” Mason said over the wind and the sounds of battle. His voice was urgent, but controlled. His Rank Skill reduced his own weight to impossible limits. He moved as if the air itself held him, light as a feather, while pulling Luke upward.

When they reached the edge of the roof, the sound of the archangel’s wings echoed above them, a deep, rhythmic beat that made the air vibrate. They ran across the slick tiles toward their goal. The Midnight King hovered high, his four wings spread wide, balancing on an unsettling equilibrium. A long chain hung from his leg, gleaming under the flash of lightning, stretched to the floating throne beside the fortress. That chain was the boundary, the tether that bound him to the castle.

An invisible force seemed to struggle with the archangel itself, pulling the throne back, as if the castle were trying to reclaim what it believed was rightfully its own. The air hummed with magical tension. The archangel tilted his head, his sickly golden gaze descending toward the two invaders.

“DON’T GET IN MY WAY!” The creature’s voice tore through the air, vibrating in the windows and their bones. Stone spears began raining from the sky, crashing through the roof in shards. Luke and Mason sprinted, instinctively dodging. The sound of stone hitting tiles formed a chaotic and deadly symphony.

Soon, the ground beneath them began to shift. Shapes rose, taking form: stone golems, heavy, animated by the castle’s own energy. Luke unsheathed the kukri with his right hand and an iron dagger with his left. His body moved fast, each step precise.

[You have slain a Stone Golem – Lvl 40]
[You have slain a Stone Golem – Lvl 40]
[You have slain a Stone Golem – Lvl 40]
[You have slain a Stone Golem – Lvl 40]

The messages echoed in his mind, almost drowned out by the sound of spears crashing down. Even though he was immune to the magic of the spears, Luke knew one direct hit would be enough to destroy him. The creature was powerful, far beyond any enemy he’d faced so far. A Level 137 monster, Rank D.

Are you there? he thought, calling out to the angel in his mind. Silence. She didn’t respond. She’d fallen asleep again.

The archangel dove from the sky, fast, like an arrow shot from hell.

“Quick, quick!” Mason shouted. They ran to the edge and leaped toward the throne.

“I told you not to get in my way!” The archangel’s voice was thick with rage, his spear gleaming with energy as he descended in a straight line. Luke reacted instinctively, pulling Charlie from his soul.

The three of them gripped the chain binding the archangel and, without thinking, launched themselves off the wall. The wind pulled them in, the abyss yawning below, black, endless. Luke’s body spun, heart racing, the sound of the archangel’s wings vibrating above them.

The creature tried to resist but was dragged downward. The throne descended with it, creaking against the chain, held back by the spell that prevented it from going further. When it reached the limit of its pull, the throne snapped back violently, crashing into the side of the castle. The wall cracked like glass under pressure.

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“Go, Charlie, go!” Luke shouted.

“DAMN YOU!” The Midnight King’s voice echoed, doubled, as if two entities were screaming within the same body.

The creature charged, spear in hand. Charlie leapt, the impact of her fists making the air explode around them. Her blow struck the wall where the throne was anchored, cracking the stones. The structure then gave way with a deep rumble, and they were all sucked into the castle by the throne’s magnetic force.