Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 193: Standoff (3)

At that moment, something inside him shifted.

His desire for a peaceful resolution vanished. The need to de-escalate was gone. He had tried to be diplomatic. He had tried to be reasonable. But this was no longer about diplomacy.

It was about honor.

These people clearly needed to be taught a lesson in respect and humility.

His calm expression did not change. But his eyes grew cold. Now, he just wanted to teach this arrogant woman a lesson. A lesson she would never forget.

He lowered his hands. The warm, gentle light he had been summoning faded away.

The Knight-Captain smirked, thinking he was surrendering. "Finally come to your senses, brat?"

Riku looked at her. A slow, cold smile spread across his face. "Senses? No. I’ve just decided to stop playing with you."

The captain laughed. "Playing? You call that pathetic light show ’playing’? You are a child with a sparkler."

"That was a test," Riku said, his voice quiet. "A test to see if you were worth my time. You failed." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Insolence!" the captain roared, her face flushing with anger. "I will cut that tongue from your mouth!"

"You said darkness is weak," Riku continued, ignoring her threat. "You said it’s tainted."

He smiled again. It was not a kind expression. "Prepare yourself, Knight-Captain. You are about to receive a proper education on what the magic of the dark can truly do."

Riku looked at her. He did not answer.

System, he thought. Time for a new spell

A blue panel flashed in his mind.

Shadow King’s Avatar [-2000 Goodwill points]

The cost was the same as the Berserker King avatar he had used against the bandits. But this was a different kind of power. Not brute force, but pure, untouchable deceit.

Activate!

There was no explosion. No grand transformation.

Instead, Riku seemed to... distort.

His form didn’t vanish. It solidified into shadow. He was still there. A silhouette of pure darkness. But the space he occupied felt empty. It was like looking at a hole in the world shaped like a man.

The Knight-Captain’s smirk vanished. Her eyes widened. "What is this sorcery?"

"I can see him," one of the paladins shouted, his voice laced with panic. "But my senses... they tell me nothing is there! It’s a void!"

"A parlor trick," the Knight-Captain snarled, her knuckles white on her spear. Her earlier confidence was shaken, but her pride would not let her show fear. "You think hiding in the shadows will save you?"

She took a step forward, her own golden aura flaring in defiance of the unnatural presence before her. "I will drag you back into the light myself!"

But even as she gave the order, a shadow of doubt started to take root. How do you attack something that is both there and not there at the same time?

On the other side of the field, the group from Dreadspire stared in stunned silence.

"What... what just happened?" Marci whispered, now confused. Riku, who was using light magic earlier, seemed to have completely switched into a new person.

It was Rudolf who answered. His face was pale. His eyes were wide with a look of profound, terrified awe.

"That pressure..." he breathed, his voice a ragged whisper. "That overwhelming presence... I have it only a few times before."

Marci looked at him, confused. "Felt what? What are you talking about?"

Lord Falco and Vexia were speechless as well, but they turned to listen to Rudolf as well.

Rudolf met their gaze. His eyes were filled with confusion and doubt, but he still tried to answer.

"I have worked with our Darklord a few times in the past," he said, his voice trembling. "The feeling in the air... the sense of being in the presence of absolute, untouchable power... it was exactly like this."

"What?!" Flaco, Marci, and Vexia were shocked. They immediately turned to the Violet Emissary, who had a similar expression.

"Violet Emissary. You must have met the Darklord with your master. Is what Rudolf saying true?"

"..... Yes. In fact, if anything..." She paused, hesitant to speak further.

"If anything, what?" Falco pressed on.

"If anything, that man named Riku appears to be even stronger than my master and the Darklord."

---------------

All eyes turned to Riku and the Lady he was fighting once again.

"A parlor trick," The captain snarled, her knuckles white on her spear. "You think hiding in the shadows will save you?"

She took a step forward. Her own golden aura flared in defiance of the unnatural presence before her. "I will drag you back into the light myself!"

She lunged. Her spear tip, blazing with holy fire, stabbed at the center of the shadow silhouette.

The spear passed through empty air.

Riku was no longer there.

A cold whisper echoed directly behind her. "Too slow."

The captain spun around, her spear swinging in a wide, golden arc. It cut through nothing. The whisper was gone.

"Where is he?" one of the paladins muttered, his voice laced with confusion.

"All around you," Riku’s voice answered. It seemed to come from every shadow in the valley at once.

The Knight-Captain grit her teeth. "A simple illusion! I will not be fooled!"

She raised her spear to the sky. "Radiant Sun!"

A miniature sun, blazing with cleansing light, erupted above the field. It banished every shadow. It illuminated every corner of the valley in a harsh, unforgiving glare.

But there was still no sign of Riku.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?"

The voice came from right beside her. She whirled around, her spear thrusting. It met only air.

A flicker of movement caught her eye. Riku’s silhouette appeared at the edge of the circle of paladins. He stood there for a single, impossible moment.

The Knight-Captain didn’t hesitate this time. She lunged across the field, her golden spear a streak of light aimed directly at the new target.

Her holy blade passed straight through the shadow. It was another perfect illusion.

At the same time, another Riku appeared on the opposite side of the circle. He simply stood there, his arms crossed, watching her.

"Two of them?" another paladin gasped.

Then another Riku appeared. And another. Soon, a dozen shadow silhouettes surrounded the paladins. They all stood silently, watching.

The paladins were completely surrounded. Their formation was broken. They didn’t know which target was real. They were paralyzed with indecision.

The Knight-Captain’s face was flushed a deep red. She was being toyed with. Humiliated. This peasant was making a mockery of her and her sacred Legion.

"Stop it!" she roared, her voice cracking with rage. "Stop hiding in the shadows like a coward!"