The Dark Fairy King
Chapter 61: Hidden Potential

Chapter 61: Hidden Potential

"Oh you are going to eat your words emo boy" Lumera challenged.

A small orb of light shimmered on Lumera’s arm, crackling with untamed energy as she faced Devran across the courtroom. Her eyes flickered nervously..

"Performance anxiety?" Devran mocked. "How predictable."

"Fling it!" Scarlette barked from the sidelines, her excitement palpable.

Lumera hesitated.

Devran sneered, spinning one of his curved blades lazily between his fingers. "Double-minded already? Or do you need a sleeping spell to help you focus?"

"Don’t mock me!" Lumera shouted, her frustration snapping through the air as she hurled the ball of light at him.

Devran vaulted gracefully over the projectile, flipping through the air with the elegance of a show-off circus performer. The light ball smashed into a nearby pillar, detonating with a violent crack that sent debris flying onto my apple.

"Hey!" I shouted, my voice echoing in the blasted chamber. "You could have aimed literally anywhere else!"

But of course, they weren’t listening to me.

As the dust settled, I polished my poison apple on my tunic.

Devran whipped one of his blades toward Lumera with alarming speed.

She screamed as the blade pierced the marble floor inches from her feet. Devran sprinted toward her, the second blade glinting in his hand, perfectly aimed to slice at her wings.

"Ahhh!" Lumera panicked, launching another ball of light at him in desperation.

Devran, ever the acrobat, twisted mid-run, grabbing his lodged blade from the floor with a seamless motion. In one fluid spin, he somersaulted onto the courtroom wall, his feet planting against the surface like gravity didn’t apply to him.

Honestly, did this guy secretly moonlight in a circus?

Lumera’s awe flickered across her face—she was watching him like he was some kind of impossible legend.

Big mistake.

"Eyes up, princess!" I called, but she was already scrambling to react as Devran sprang off the wall straight toward her.

Light orbs materialized in both her palms and she hurled them in rapid succession. Devran zipped along the wall, weaving effortlessly through the barrage like a dodgeball champion on some caffeinated rampage.

His blades sliced through the air like silver boomerangs, curving back toward him with uncanny precision. Lumera twisted and ducked, barely evading them—but not without cost.

A lock of her golden hair floated to the ground, severed cleanly.

"My hair!" she shrieked.

"Oops," Devran sniggered, spinning another blade toward her without missing a beat. But there was something tight in his movements—he wasn’t going full force. He was holding back.

She retaliated, hurling more light balls, but Devran’s footwork was maddeningly flawless. He danced around them, side-stepping each attack like he was teasing her.

"I can’t hit him!" Lumera cried out in frustration.

From the sidelines, Scarlette’s voice sliced through the chaos. "Take that chaos. Focus it."

"I can’t" Lumera screamed in anger.

"You are a Light Fairy who had fought darkness within her soul." Scarlette yelled. "Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. Not even you."

Scarlette’s words seem to have struck a chord with her.

Lumera’s eyes flashed, and suddenly—beams of light shot from them like twin lasers, slicing clean through the ornate portraits on the walls. Frame after frame disintegrated in blazing white arcs.

"Really? The paintings too?" I groaned, watching centuries of artwork vaporize in seconds.

Devran spun his blades to deflect the laser beams, the metal glinting as they ricocheted the deadly light in dazzling patterns across the room. For a moment, it looked almost like a deadly light show.

Then Lumera’s hands lifted.

Behind her, a familiar beacon of light formed—a colossal column that pulsed with concentrated magic. Devran’s eyes flickered toward it, lingering just a heartbeat too long.

Moth to a flame.

I would have warned him if I weren’t too busy enjoying the spectacle.

The beacon shimmered, and in a split second, a searing beam of concentrated light shot straight at him.

I don’t know if it was concern or excitement but I called, "Devran!". Except it was too late.

The blast slammed into him with brutal force, launching him backward until he crashed into the palace doors with a resounding thud.

The dust settled. Silence stretched.

"Nice job, Lumera," Scarlette beamed proudly, her hands on her hips like this was all part of the morning lesson plan.

I crossed my arms, glancing at the ruined paintings, the scorched walls, and the faint Devran-shaped dent in the palace door. "Well... at least you didn’t hit my chair," I muttered.

"You’re welcome," Scarlette gloated. "Shifting it to the balcony wasn’t a bad idea huh?"

"Yeah... great foresight, mighty Queen and teacher." I scoffed sarcastically, but she ignored me.

She was far more invested in this fight than I was.

Scarlette stretched her hand towards Devran and a red mist enveloped him, healing his bruises at once.

He looked at Scarlette, confused as he got up from the floor.

From across the room, Devran’s groan drifted toward us as he peeled himself from the door, coughing. "I... let her hit me."

"Sure you did," I deadpanned.

Scarlette grinned. "Ready for round two?"

Devran immediately pointed at me. "Why not let the King join in? I think it’s his turn to taste laser beams."

"Oh no." I backed away, holding up my hands. "I supervise. I supervise with elegance and sarcasm. I don’t sign up for laser target practice."

Scarlette winked. "I’ll convince you later."

I sighed. Somehow, I knew she would.

"But why did you not use your Dark Magic?" I asked Devran, who was still dusting himself off from the fight. "All Dark Fairies have some form of Dark Magic. Did you intentionally nerf yourself?"

No reply.

Scarlette raised a brow, watching Devran suspiciously.

"Yeah, why did you not use your Dark Magic?" Lumera chimed in almost immediately.

"I told you." Devran replied hastily. He turned to me. "It’s to be efficient against the Anti-Magic Mages."

"No," Scarlette cut in, her voice low and deliberate, facing Devran. "You’re lying."

She paused as the next words from her mouth left us shocked and puzzled.

"Devran gave up his Dark Magic."

He looked at her, pale as a sheet.

"All of it," Scarlette added, her gaze pinning him like a blade.

"Is that true, Devran? Why would you do that?" Lumera asked, concerned.

Devran’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

"Where did you put your magic, Devran? It doesn’t just disappear," Scarlette pressed, her curiosity razor sharp. "Choose your words carefully Devran..." she warned. "I could take back the healing I gave you earlier just as easily as I gave it."

Lumera gulped in fear and awe. "She could do that?"

I smirked at her. "You still have lots to learn little lamp."

"I sealed it," he admitted at last, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Sealed? How? Where?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"In a weapon," Devran muttered. "One I carry with me."

"Why would you do something so reckless?" I challenged.

"Because... I was afraid I’d become like the others. Like Judorah or those she controlled."

His answer hung in the air, heavier than I expected.

"Judorah," Lumera repeated. "The Dark Fairy Queen from my dreams..."

"Yes." Devran replied impatiently. "She killed you. You died. She wore your skin. We all know... it’s not about you Lums."

I chuckled. Lumera sulked.

Scarlette’s expression softened slightly, but her voice remained firm. "You can’t run from what you are, Devran. You can choose how to use it, but you can’t pretend it never existed."

"I’m not pretending," Devran said quietly. "I just... made a choice."

I stared at him for a long moment, caught off guard. Most would have clung to their power. They would have chased more. Feared less. But not him. Devran chose to fight without it. Without the very thing that defined him. Maybe he’s foolish. Maybe he’s reckless. But maybe, just maybe... I respect that. Not that I’d ever tell him.

Devran sighed and closed his eyes.

"In the old world, I turned to Judorah because I lost control of my powers many times." He admitted. "She offered me a deal."

"Old world?" Lumera asked but I interrupted her.

"What deal?"

"Control over my dark powers for a price." He shook his head disappointedly. "Mindless servitude."

"You’re such a headache," I muttered, rubbing my temples.

Scarlette smiled faintly. "So you gave up your powers to not be controlled by her?."

"Not in this life or any life." He replied stoically. "I will not be anyone’s puppet."

"So you know how I have felt." Lumera’s voice dragged.

"Maybe more than you know, Lums" Devran looked away.

Scarlette stepped closer to Devran.

"I respect that Devran" She said gently.

Devran looked up at her, surprised.

"No ordinary weapon can absorb all your magic Devran.. So where is it now?" Scarlette asked.

Great. Another risk. Another complication from Devran.

Why couldn’t anything ever be simple around here?

" What kind of weapon are we talking about?" I pressed.

Devran hesitated. "A prison orb."

"A prison orb?" Lumera echoed, curiosity widening her eyes.

He pulled out a black crystal ball from his belt pouch. "This. Imagine an entire realm of magic trapped in a tiny orb, with no way to exit and only one way to enter."

"Like a prison," Lumera whispered.

"Exactly. The prison orb can only be controlled by someone who once wielded Dark Magic and poured their entire magical essence into it."

"Because magic needs balance," Devran added with a shrug. "But I can’t use my magic anymore. It’s locked in here."

Scarlette crossed her arms. "And what happens if you need to unleash it?"

"I can’t unless someone forces me to use the orb against them," he said, his eyes flicking to Scarlette, challenging.

I whispered to her, "He remembers the old world."

She replied coyly. "Good."

As if she was unbothered by the possibility that Devran would use the orb on us.

Have you used it before?" Lumera asked.

Devran smirked. "Why? Want to be the first person trapped in a prison orb?"

"It’s one use only," I added flatly.

"It could trap a whole group of people or a single person." Scarlette scrutinised it. "Such magic requires specific conditions."

Devran rolled his eyes. "Yes, unfortunately. You have to place it at a specific spot and detonate it under the light of the eclipse."

Ancient magic. Dangerous magic. Even I wouldn’t dare tamper with that.

"So why haven’t you used it yet?" I asked.

"No reason to until someone killed my brother." Devran replied. "He was my only family left. Then they tried to kill me."

"Same here. " Lumera added, clenching her fists."Stupid Anti-Magic Mages killed my sister."

Scarlette pulled Lumera closer and gave her a side hug.

Now that surprised even me but I had to be focussed.

"Alright so we all agree on the same target?" I looked around at the three of them.

They nodded in agreement.

Nothing more binding than a mutual enemy as it seems.

Scarlette suddenly brightened. "Didn’t you say that it works under the light of an eclipse?"

"Yes, why?" Devran looked blankly at her.

"Isn’t there an eclipse tomorrow evening? Right after the Anti-Magic Mages’ ceremony?" Scarlette continued.

Devran’s smirk sharpened. "Then we’d better cause a delay."

I didn’t like the way he said that. Not at all.

The smell of impending doom.

But the question is, will Devran use it on us?

What if he is with the mages?