The Third Prince Of Darkness

I know some readers don't like Ethan losing control, but don't worry, this chapter will be the last time Ethan loses control.

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**Third-Person POV**

Ethan's dark element had never been seen before among humans. This made it almost impossible for a human to control the dark element. The dark element was an element unique to demons, and even among them, it was extremely rare. The interesting part was that Ethan had managed to control the dark element up until now, albeit with some difficulties.

The dark element was a particularly problematic power because it drew strength from certain emotions.

When a normal human possesses the dark element, the slightest issue can cause them to lose control. Ethan had managed to control his emotions so far, except in extreme situations, but today, he failed.

Seeing Althea gravely injured, That Emilia was burned to death after she started to recover, and then witnessing the person responsible for all this evil smiling, fueled emotions within him that he could no longer contain. Ultimately, the dark element completely overtook Ethan, making it impossible for him to control himself.

Now, what controlled Ethan's body was not Ethan himself, but pure darkness.

"LIAAM! I WILL GUT YOU AND KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE! I WILL FEED YOUR ORGANS TO THE BIRDS AND BURN YOUR EYES IN THE FIRES OF HELL!" Ethan's shouts terrified everyone except Richard, who stood nearby.

The knights reached for their swords, but they wouldn't dare draw their weapons on a prince just because their lives were in danger. So, they all turned to King Richard, but they saw him standing there in shock with a crazed smile on his face.

Ethan drew his sword from the dark shadow beneath him, and while some people began to flee, those who remained stood frozen in fear as they watched Ethan, now entirely enveloped in darkness, charge toward Liam.

"Stop him!" Liam shouted.

The knights hesitated to attack the approaching Ethan, but their survival instincts were telling them to either fight or flee. However, how could a royal knight trained for years even consider fleeing? The knights drew their swords, but before they could strike, three heads flew into the air.

With a single sword strike, Ethan had killed three royal knights, who were supposed to be incredibly powerful in less than a second.

As Ethan noticed the knights surrounding him, he raised his hand and cast the spell [Darkness Fireball], creating a rapidly spinning fireball above his head.

"Everyone, fall back!" Richard shouted.

The soldiers, hearing their king's strange command, reluctantly retreated, unaware that Ethan was not even targeting them. Ethan had aimed the spell at the strongest person present: Richard. Richard looked at the five-meter-wide oval-shaped black fireball hurtling toward him in shock, but in the next second, he activated his Kaizer power.

When the dark fireball collided with Richard, black smoke spread everywhere, and dust shot up into the sky. But in the next moment, Richard's figure emerged, cutting through the smoke and dust with his sword.

– "I knew it...! I knew you were strong... my son! But just how strong are you?"

As these thoughts ran through Richard's mind, a wild smile spread across his face. However, he sensed that if he didn't do something about Ethan's darkness-covered body charging at him, it would be extremely dangerous even for him. Richard watched with great interest as his son unleashed this new and terrifying power.

After all, in the empire-building plans Richard had nurtured in his mind for years, such power could play a crucial role. Yet, the uncontrolled rage and intensity of the darkness in his son's eyes demanded caution.

As Ethan, shrouded in darkness, advanced toward Richard, it was time for Richard to respond using his air and earth elements. Richard created a whirlwind in the air and sent powerful gusts of wind toward Ethan. Without caring that these winds slowed him down, Ethan swung his darkness-covered sword, breaking through Richard's winds as he drew closer.

Richard had expected Ethan's power to be this dangerous, but he didn't want to test it any further. When he saw Ethan gathering all his darkness for the next attack, Richard controlled the earth beneath Ethan, raising massive stone walls around him. But Ethan shattered these walls with a single strike, using his dark element.

Meanwhile, Richard raised his sword and, combining the elements of air and earth, created a massive spear that he hurled at Ethan.

Ethan saw the spear coming toward him and concentrated his dark energy to stop it mid-air. The tremendous power struggle between them was so intense that it shook the very foundations of the palace. When Richard realized that Ethan was becoming more uncontrollable and that the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous, he understood that he had to stop him.

However, the power his son possessed could eventually place him on the imperial throne he had long dreamed of. Therefore, Richard decided to end this battle with one last move. He controlled the earth, causing the ground beneath Ethan to suddenly collapse, and activated the [Wind Man's Sword] spell on his sword with the power of the air element.

As the tons of stones trapped Ethan's legs, Richard attacked Ethan's dark armor with his sword at lightning speed, continuously and relentlessly. From an outsider's perspective, seeing Richard's moves was nearly impossible, but they could see the sword strikes and the effect on Ethan's body.

As Ethan's dark armor began to crack and break, a sword shot out from the black smoke rising from Emilia's burning body, heading straight for Richard.

"Can he summon swords not just from his shadow, but from anything dark?!" Richard thought as he glanced back.

Richard, who was moving at incredible speed, realized that the sword was fast enough to hit him, so he stopped his attacks and tried to deflect the sword. Just barely, Richard managed to parry the sword and then turned back to attack Ethan at high speed. With the attacks he had launched so far, he could have killed someone at the Kaizer stage 6, but how could Ethan's dark armor be so strong?

Ethan continued trying to free his legs from the rocks, ignoring the damage to his dark armor.

As Ethan's dark armor cracked, dark energy began to seep out from the exposed areas. Richard recognized that while the immense power his son wielded could be a blessing for his imperial ambitions, controlling it posed significant challenges.

As Richard waited for the dark armor to shatter completely, he saw an expression on Ethan's face that he had never seen before: a darkness fueled by pure rage and pain.

As Ethan pulled his legs free from the rocks, his dark armor gradually gave way to a dense cloud of darkness surrounding him. Richard took a step back because, at this point, he began to question whether Ethan was even human. If this power were fully unleashed, it could not only destroy the palace but also level the entire capital.

Richard took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving Ethan, and decided to muster all his strength. He had to find another way to subdue Ethan's uncontrolled power; otherwise, he might have to kill his own son. He focused his mind, determined to extinguish the darkness in his son's eyes and regain control over him.

But at that moment, the dark cloud surrounding Ethan began to collapse inward, and Ethan's body started to become visible. When Ethan's dark armor was revealed, there was not even the slightest crack, so it was as if Richard's previous attacks had been in vain. As Ethan prepared to gather his strength and attack Richard again, he suddenly noticed a woman out of the corner of his eye.

Her beautiful black hair was flowing in the wind, and her emerald-green eyes were glaring with anger at the man before her. It was none other than Roxanne, and the person she had fought into was none other than Liam.

Before all this chaos, Roxanne had heard that Ethan had arrived at the palace and had gone outside to meet him. When she eventually learned that Ethan had arrived in the grand garden, she had rushed here. However, upon arriving and seeing the anger in her beloved's eyes, she didn't know exactly what was happening but wanted to kill Liam, the man who had angered the man she loved so much.

Thus, while everyone was focused on the fight between Richard and Ethan, she attacked Liam. After attacking a prince, whether she lived or died didn't matter to her... She only wanted revenge for her beloved... She only wanted to fight for the man she loved.

With her small sword, she managed to sever one of Liam's arms. However, with the help of the royal knights, Roxanne sustained many injuries and was forced to kneel. Liam took a spear from a nearby knight and could not speak because of the severed arm having used up all of his vocal cords in his earlier screams.

He held the spear in one hand, blood dripping from his nose, and in pure rage at the woman who had cut off his arm, he swung it with all his might towards Roxanne, who was kneeling on the ground.

The spear that struck Roxanne's head made a dull, high-pitched sound. Fortunately, it did not manage to hit her with the tip of the spear, but the spear in Liam's hand broke in two. As Roxanne's body fell to the ground, the last thing she saw was her beloved's eyes looking at her in astonishment. Despite the severe blow to her head, she fell to the ground with a smile on her face.

"Roxanne!" Ethan's eyes finally shook violently as the dark element that had overtaken him began to dissipate.

However, seeing Roxanne in this state, Ethan's reclaiming of his body from the darkness also led to the dark armor dispersing and provided a very good opportunity for Richard. Ethan felt as though a needle was being stabbed into the back of his head, and his consciousness began to slowly close.

As his body fell because of the loss of strength from his closing mind, Ethan fell to the ground and began to crawl towards Roxanne with the last of his remaining strength, but he could never reach her.

The last thing Ethan saw before his world was enveloped in darkness was Roxanne's unconscious face with a warm smile, which she had maintained while doing something she believed would be useful for the man she loved.