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SM/DC Chapter 139 : Legacy Shadow Legion Dungeon - Level 5
🕑 Added 2025-06-05 21:53:44 +0000 UTCArthur’s boots touched down on solid stone with a faint echo. The moment he met the ground, the portal behind him hissed shut, sealing him in complete and consuming darkness.
No stars. No sky. No wind. Just still, damp air and the faint snese of magic.
He narrowed his eyes, taking in the environment jagged cave walls, moss-draped rock, and narrow tunnels that stretched like veins through the belly of the earth.
“Okay…” Arthur muttered.
He exhaled, and as he did, his irises shimmered faintly with arcane light. The silence spoke to him more than sound. He closed his eyes, reaching out not with his hands, but with something deeper. sense. Predator instinct.
A pulse.
Arthur’s eyes snapped open. He turned to the right.
“That way.”
He didn’t hesitate. He moved forward, each step echoing down the hollow tunnel. As he walked, faint droplets of moisture dripped from the ceiling, the echo of their impact like distant whispers. But the presence ahead… was anything but subtle.
By the time he emerged from the narrowing corridor into a wide chamber, the stench of blood was overwhelming.
Red skin. War paint. Jagged weapons.
A dozen figures turned to face him, eyes glowing with hatred and hunger.
Arthur rolled his neck once, a faint pop echoing. He smiled.
“High Orcs, right?” he said with a slow nod. “Heh… then I know who your boss is.”
The orcs roared in unison, massive bodies thundering forward like a stampede of fury. But Arthur didn’t flinch. He didn’t even reach for a weapon.
He cracked his knuckles.
And then he moved fast.
The first orc raised its axe high, but Arthur was already in front of him, his fist slamming into the creature’s gut with a sonic boom. Bone shattered. The orc’s spine cracked through its back as it flew in the air like a broken doll, crashing into the wall behind with enough force to collapse part of it.
Two more came from the sides.
Arthur vanished.
When he reappeared, he was mid-air, both feet landing on one orc’s shoulders, pushing downward as his palm extended toward the second orc’s chest.
Ruler’s Authority.
Invisible force twisted in the air like an angry god’s grip.
The second orc was crushed mid-sprint his arms dislocating, chest imploding like it had been caught in a vice. Blood burst from his mouth before his lifeless body slammed face-first into the ground.
The one beneath Arthur tried to stand.
Arthur stomped down, the orc’s skull cracking into the stone floor like an egg. He didn’t even bother to look down as blood spread beneath his boots.
Another roared, swinging its club wide.
Arthur ducked beneath the swing, grabbed the orc’s wrist mid-motion, and twisted.
360 degrees.
Crack!
The arm dislocated, bones torn like paper. Arthur’s fist met its jaw a moment later, launching teeth across the cave like shrapnel before his second punch crushed its nose into its brain.
The remaining orcs hesitated. One turned to run.
Arthur clenched his fist Ruler’s Authority snapped the orc’s spine from behind like a whip of shadow energy. It twitched violently, then collapsed.
In seconds, the room was covered in bodies, blood dripping from the walls, and the scent of fear settling in thick.
Only one remained.
It had tried to play dead.
Arthur wasn’t fooled.
He stepped over him and then he backed away grabbing the terrified creature by the neck and lifting it off the ground. The orc’s legs dangled, arms flailing weakly.
Arthur’s eyes glowed blue.
“Where’s your boss?” His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of a storm. “This place is a maze, and I’m sensing enemies everywhere.”
The orc began to hyperventilate. Its pupils shook. It lifted a trembling hand, attempting to point…
And then it screamed.
Its tongue twisted on its own, coiling unnaturally.
Blood fountained from its mouth, and before Arthur could react its head exploded, like a balloon of gore. Brain matter sprayed across the cavern wall, and the body went limp in his grip.
Arthur blinked.
“…Right,” he muttered. He opened his hand and let the corpse fall to the floor with a dull thud.
He exhaled, wiped a smear of blood off his cheek, and shook his head.
“Not gonna make this easy, Tusk… are you?” he said with a low grin. “Fine by me.”
Arthur turned away from the carnage, shadows curling around his legs as he disappeared deeper into the maze his smile sharp and eyes glowing brighter than ever.
****
GOTHAM -
The city’s endless shadows loomed overhead, its skyline stitched with flickering lights and brooding towers. Cold wind swirled between the alleyways like a silent observer, but none of it reached the balcony of the estate where Kara Zor-El touched down.
She didn’t knock.
The glass doors slid open as she pushed them. And standing in the polished hallway beyond, clad in a sharply tailored black suit and white gloves, was George unshaken by her arrival.
“Miss Kara,” he said with a small bow, hands clasped neatly behind his back. “It has been some time.”
“Hello George.” Kara gave a small nod, her voice strained with urgency. “Is Arthur here?”
The butler tilted his head with a hint of apologetic grace. “I’m afraid Master Arthur left some time ago… it was urgent according to him.”
Kara’s shoulders eased but only slightly. “So… he’s okay?”
“He is quite well, yes,” George answered. “He left a message for you, should you inquire. He said, and I quote, ‘Tell her not to worry. It’s been handled and you did good.’”
Kara blinked. “I was more of a liability...”
George inclined his head again. “The matter with Trigon, I presume. As you may have already know, he is no longer a threat. Master Arthur and Miss Raven took care of the situation.”
Kara's eyes sharpened. “About that...Raven… she was here right?”
“Indeed,” George replied without hesitation.
‘I knew it!’ Kara thought to herself.
George continued “Two days ago. The aftermath of the conflict required them to rest here, but they departed not long after. I believe they may be at Titans Tower now, though I understand you were recently recovering there yourself? So how did you miss them ?”
Kara looked away, her fingers curling slightly at her sides. “…Yeah. I was. I saw Raven… but she didn’t mention coming here. Or anything about Arthur.”
There was a pause then her brows furrowed, a quiet line of thought passing behind her blue eyes. ‘Something happened...’
She exhaled softly, pushing the question aside for now. “Right. Thank you, George.”
“My pleasure, Miss Kara,” he said with his usual refined composure, bowing once more.
She turned, heading toward the balcony again, the wind brushing at her cape. But just as she stepped onto the edge she stopped.
George, ever attentive, raised an eyebrow. “Something else, miss?”
Kara slowly turned around, eyes avoiding his for a moment. Then with a hesitant frown and a voice so quiet it could barely lift off her lips she asked, “Do you think… something happened between them?”
There was silence.
And then a rich, restrained chuckle from George, not mocking, but amused in the most gentlemanly way possible.
He raised a gloved hand as if to hide the corners of his smile. “Forgive me, Miss Kara… but I do believe that’s a question best directed toward Master Arthur himself.”
Kara’s eyes narrowed with embarrassment, a faint flush coloring her cheeks. She pointed a finger at him half-heartedly. “You—just… forget I asked that..”
“As you wish,” George said gracefully, the corner of his mouth twitching with restraint.
With an exasperated sigh, Kara turned on her heel and leapt into the air, flying off in a streak of blue and red leaving only a whisper of wind and the echo of George’s soft, knowing laughter behind.
He straightened his cufflinks, muttering to himself with wry fondness.
“Careful Master Arthur…Young hearts. Always complicated.”
****
BATCAVE -
The medical machines, half-disassembled now, sat abandoned in the corner of the cave’s infirmary. Only the quiet hum of the Batcomputer far behind kept the darkness from swallowing everything.
Bruce Wayne started to wake up.
His eyes opened slowly, steadily as if the world had been underwater and he was surfacing from beneath. The overhead light was dim, softened to avoid a jarring wake. He tried to sit up instinctively, but a firm, gloved hand gently pressed on his shoulder.
“Easy, Master Bruce..”
The voice was unmistakable. Calm, warm with a pinch of old worry buried deep beneath practiced composure. Alfred Pennyworth sat beside the bed, posture perfect, fatigue hidden behind gentlemanly dignity.
Bruce blinked again, finally letting out a breath. “Alfred... The league, the demons..what happened?”
Alfred reached forward and poured a glass of water, handing it to him without delay. But when Bruce moved to speak again, Alfred raised a hand not rudely, but with the polite authority only he could wield over the Batman.
“There’s no need to strain yourself. The matter has been settled.”
Bruce’s eyes narrowed.
“By whom”
Alfred’s gaze didn’t falter.
“The Titans. John Constantine. Zatanna. And...” A pause. “…Arthur Blackwynd.”
The room was quiet for a moment.
Then Bruce sat up abruptly, ignoring the dull ache that rippled through his body.
“Master Bruce...”
“I knew something like that would happen,” Bruce muttered, his voice more gravel than speech.
His mind was already ten steps ahead. Calculating. Replaying everything he missed.
Alfred sighed, straightening slightly. “You’ve only just regained consciousness. At least give yourself...”
“I don’t like being in the dark about matters like this.” Bruce cut him off. “And Raven was she involved?”
Alfred nodded once. “From what I understand... of course, it was Trigon after all.”
Bruce exhaled through his nose, standing fully now. The robe Alfred had placed over him slid back off his shoulder, exposing the scars of war the cost of bearing the cowl.
“I just hope he didn’t do that,” Bruce said quietly. “..Adding Trigon to his arsenal..”
Comments
Mecha Destroyer98
Careful what you wish for Bruce I believe at the moment Arthur can’t add Trigon just yet I think he needs like theBlack Heart to give a power boost to most likely to be add someone as powerful as Trigon
Mecha Destroyer98
Is Kara jealous of Raven that she didn’t get to have an intimate moment with Arthur
