What followed was a slaughter.

The Logan-like hybrids were the first to fall. Despite their healing factors and feral combat skills, they were no match for knights who had fought in realms of eternal conflict.

Shadow blades found their necks, separating heads from shoulders in sprays of dark red blood. Their healing factors meant nothing when their brains were no longer connected to their bodies.

One hybrid managed to duck under a knight's initial swing and drove his claws toward the shadow warrior's chest.

The claws passed through the armor like it was made of mist, but the return strike was all too real. The shadow knight's sword punched through the hybrid's heart and emerged from his back, the blade crackling with dark energy that seemed to consume the life force around it.

Another hybrid tried to use his speed, darting between the knights and slashing at their legs and joints.

But shadow limbs simply reformed when damaged, while the hybrid's wounds remained permanent. A sword to the skull ended his desperate gambit.

The assault on the Chimeras and Predator X units was even more devastating. These creatures had been designed to counter mutant abilities, but the shadow knights weren't mutants—they existed outside the normal rules of biology and genetics.

A Chimera with four arms and the ability to generate electrical discharges grabbed a knight's sword and sent thousands of volts through the blade. The shadow warrior was completely unaffected as it consumed Lucien's mana to regenerate continuously, while the return slash opened the Chimera from sternum to pelvis.

The Predator X units tried to adapt to the shadow knights' fighting styles, their enhanced senses analyzing movement patterns and combat techniques.

But how do you adapt to enemies that could phase in and out of existence, whose wounds healed instantly through dark magic?

One Predator X managed to bite through a knight's arm, its adaptive jaws crushing what should have been solid bone and metal. But the shadow limb simply flowed back together like liquid darkness, while the creature found itself impaled on three different swords simultaneously.

Behind the knights, robed figures moved with grace. The shadow mages were casting spells that turned the air itself into weapons—bolts of dark energy that punched through Chimera hearts, waves of force that sent Predator X units flying into walls hard enough to crack their spines.

One mage raised its hands and spoke words in a language that predated human civilization.

Ice formed around a group of charging creatures. The ice trapped the creatures, and they shattered like glass when the knights struck them.

The shadows were barely taking damage despite the overwhelming numbers they faced.

Occasionally, a lucky strike would connect—a Predator X managing to rake claws across a knight's armor, a Chimera landing a devastating punch that staggered a shadow warrior. But any damage was regenerated almost instantly.

That's when one of the Predator X units broke through the line.

This one was larger than the others, its silver scales darker and more metallic. It had been watching the battle unfold, analyzing the shadow knights' formations and finding the weak points. When it moved, it was with a purpose.

It slipped between two knights who were engaged with Chimeras, ducked under a mage's spell, and bounded directly toward Lucien. Its massive jaws opened wide, revealing rows of teeth designed with adamantium. It leaped through the air, aiming to take Lucien's head clean off.

Lucien didn't even look at it. He could sense its approach, could have dodged or summoned a weapon to defend himself. Instead, he simply stood there, completely calm.

The Predator X froze mid-air.

Its momentum carried it forward, but something was wrong. It was moving slower, as if the air itself had become thick as molasses. Then lines appeared across its body—perfectly straight cuts that seemed to come from nowhere.

A moment later, the creature fell apart in perfectly sectioned pieces, its body no match for wounds that had been inflicted faster than it could perceive.

Sukuna emerged from Lucien's own shadow, rising like a nightmare given form.

Four arms, four eyes burning with purple fire, and an aura of power that made even the air seem to tremble. He looked coldly at the remaining creatures, his expression suggesting that anything daring to threaten his Lord was beneath contempt.

The King of Curses raised one hand in the air, and immediately the knights and mages stopped their assault. They moved with perfect discipline to positions behind Lucien.

Nathaniel's remaining monsters rushed forward to fill the gap, sensing weakness in what they thought was a retreat. It was the last mistake they would ever make.

Sukuna brought his hands together in a complex gesture, fingers interlocking with each other. The effect was immediate and devastating.

Invisible slashes filled the air. The Chimeras, with their multiple limbs, were carved apart like sculptures made of soft clay.

The remaining Predator X units, despite their metallic scales, found themselves sectioned into neat pieces.

Some tried to flee, their survival instincts finally overriding their programmed aggression. But the slashes reached even them, carving through muscle and reinforced bone.

Blood poured across the facility floor as bodies fell in perfect silence.

In a matter of seconds, Nathaniel's entire army had been wiped out.

The hall fell silent except for the soft dripping of blood and the gentle crackling of dark energy from the shadow army.

Hundreds of creatures—beings that could have challenged experienced X-Men—had been eliminated without a single shadow taking permanent damage.

Nathaniel stared at the carnage with an expression of growing horror. Gone was the confidence he'd displayed just minutes earlier.

Gone was the intellectual aura he had. What remained was uncertainty, confusion, and the dawning realization that he had severely underestimated his opponent.

And it was not even the first time he did so. But this time, even after preparing a large army of monsters, he failed once again.

"Not so confident anymore," Lucien observed, his voice carrying mild amusement.

Nathaniel forced a smile onto his face, though it looked more like a grimace. "Well, you did bring these..." He gestured at the shadow army with obvious unease. "Dark beings."

"These variables were not in my plan at all."

He leaned forward slightly, his scientific curiosity warring with his growing fear. "Tell me, what are they? Some reinforcement by an outside force? Or your ability to summon them?"

Lucien smiled and began moving forward. With each step he took, the entire shadow army followed behind him like a tide of darkness. Knights, mages, and the imposing figure of Sukuna—all moving with their Lord.

"Curious, huh?" Lucien said, echoing Nathaniel's earlier words. "Well, as I said before, I'll let you die with that curiosity."

Nathaniel began stepping backward. For every step Lucien took forward, he took two back, but the hall wasn't infinite. Soon, he would run out of room to retreat.

"Well, that's a pity," Nathaniel said, his voice taking on a desperate edge. "I'll have to work on finding out about them myself."

Then he shouted, loud enough that his voice echoed through the entire facility: "Do it!"

Lucien paused, momentarily confused. Do what? He'd expected some kind of trap, some final gambit that Nathaniel had prepared for exactly this situation. But nothing happened. The air remained still, the shadows continued to advance, and Nathaniel remained exactly where he was.

Nathaniel looked around wildly, his composure finally cracking completely. "Do it!" he shouted again, even louder this time. "Teleport me out of here!"

Again, nothing. No flash of light, no portal, no rescue from whatever allies he'd been counting on. Just silence and the steady approach of shadow-wreathed death.

This time, a look of pure horror filled Nathaniel's face. His red eyes went wide with the realization that he had been abandoned by whatever forces he'd been working with.

"You bastard!" he screamed, his voice breaking with rage and betrayal. "Was this your plan all along? You want me to die after taking my study and the serum?"

Lucien understood immediately. Someone else had been pulling Nathaniel's strings, someone who had decided that the mad scientist was no longer useful.

The timing was too perfect—wait until Nathaniel had committed to this confrontation, then abandon him to face the consequences alone.

Seeing him screaming around and not in that calm, calculated scientist mode gave Lucien a wave of satisfaction.

"So there's someone else too, huh?" Lucien said, filing that information away for later. "Regardless, they'll die as well. But now it's your turn."

Desperation made Nathaniel try one last gambit. "You cannot kill me!" he declared, trying to inject authority into his voice. "Even if you kill me right now, I have other clones! They will come after you! Let me go, and it ends here!"

Lucien's smile widened. "Thanks for the info. And by the way, you wanted to know about my shadows, didn't you? I'll show you up close."

He paused, his voice taking on a tone of absolute certainty. "As for those clones of yours... they won't be coming after me. Rather, you will hunt them down for me."

Nathaniel's face showed complete confusion. "What are you—"

But Lucien was already moving. His dagger materialized in his hand as he closed the distance between them with inhuman speed.

"Wait!" Nathaniel screamed, throwing up his hands in a futile gesture of protection.

The blade split his head in half from crown to jaw. Nathaniel's body stood for a moment longer, as if it didn't understand what had happened, then collapsed to the floor in a spreading pool of blood.

Lucien put his dagger back in his inventory and looked down at the corpse of the man who had done horrifying things in the name of science.

"Arise," he said simply.

Dark energy began to swirl around Nathaniel's body, and slowly, the shadow of Mister Sinister began to take shape.

...

A.N.: Sorry for the delay, Dear Readers, I wrote these two chapters together as one. I thought of publishing them as one chapter, but decided against it.

These chapters constitute yesterday's and today's chapters.

Hope you enjoy them!

.....

POWER STONE GOAL: 700 ( 1 Extra Chapter)

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