Level Up Legacy

As the three flew into the distance towards their base, Ascent, they realized the deadly combination of artifacts Xeloria had managed to secure. The ability to see the movements of enemies and hide their own made it impossible to foresee their attacks.

"Xeloria will be a difficult enemy to defeat without him," Lian said as he pulled on the reins, making the wyvern fly higher. "Where is he?"

Seraphine knew who the tamer was referring to, but she was in no mood to answer him. Instead, Sarohan was the one to speak, as if he was the same as before. The demon studied him as he talked and laughed as if he were unharmed.

"Our leader is undergoing some extensive training at the moment!" said Sarohan with a grin as he spread his arms. "I heard that once he comes out, he will take the world by storm!"

"I've heard those words too, which is why I revealed myself in advance," said Lian as he gazed into the distance. "My original plan was to build my army of monsters until we left this floor, but things have taken a hectic turn. I was right to tell you about respawning near Xeloria."

"And you never showed yourself, even though we did," said Seraphine, her tone sharp. "We got into all sorts of annoying situations because we tried visiting Xeloria. We should have just threatened a weak lord and left."

"If you hadn't spawned near Xeloria, you wouldn't have met the Knight of Silver Rose," Lian said with a grin, turning toward the furious demon. "I already knew what aspirations that man had for the second floor."

"I thought you just wanted to clear this tower."

"I wanted to grow stronger in this tower," Lian explained with a shake of his head. "I chose the wilderness of Xeloria too when I entered this floor. In fact, I was there when you and Seika chased away the Healer Dragon."

"You were there?" Seraphine asked in surprise. "You should have asked for permission to be away for so long. We follow him, not the other way around."

"I would have told him, but I doubt he cares about my whereabouts," said Lian with a shrug. "The reason I left without saying anything is that I chased the Healer Dragon to its nest. I wanted to tame the dragon as my own, but..."

"You failed, hah!" Seraphine laughed at him with a mocking expression. "After failing so miserably, you were too ashamed to join us again, right?"

Lian looked at her with an annoyed face before he sighed and explained himself, "I did fail, but that wasn't the reason I didn't come back. During my chase of the dragon, I was heavily wounded. Fearing that I would lose the power I had obtained, I took shelter in a cave to recover."

"Did the dragon injure you?" Sarohan asked with genuine concern, which once again irritated Seraphine. This Waiga was far too careless about what happened to him, but she also wanted to know what this tamer was doing. If she sensed that he was betraying them for another lord, she would kill him on the spot. After all, he had been gone for too long without leaving them a message or a clue.

"Another man intercepted the dragon by the time I caught up to it," said Lian with a frown as he stared into the distance. "As the man tried to kill the dragon, I tried to stop him. However, he was too powerful."

"A man who wanted the Healer Dragon dead?" asked Seraphine with confusion. "Could he be someone from Xeloria?"

Lian shook his head as he tightened his grip on the ropes and continued, "This man was not affiliated with any city. His actions were driven by the desire to find a different dragon. He wanted the Healer Dragon to tell him where to find Azkahar the Wise."

"That name is..." muttered Seraphine with surprise as she stood up. "Azkahar is the blue dragon destined to nurture the next demon king. This is the legend we've all known since he defied the gods."

"I had no idea who it was, but I wanted the dragon. After losing against the man, the dragon escaped, and the man chased after it. If not for the cave I found, I would have been eaten by monsters."

"A man was looking for Azkahar almost as soon as we arrived in the tower," muttered Seraphine with confusion as she stared at the scene flashing below them. Her scarlet hair fluttered in the air as she raised her eyes to the tamer. "Who is he?"

"This is what made me hesitate about coming back empty-handed," said Lian as his eyes narrowed while staring in the distance. "That man looked similar to Seika, only older. I asked him about it, and he said something I don't understand."

"What did he say?"

"He said, 'Are you one of my son's friends? Does that mean he is here too? If you do find him, tell him not to meet Azkahar. Otherwise, I will kill those he holds dear.'"

Nothing but the rumbling wind could be heard atop the wyvern once Lian finished his words. As he had proclaimed, no one could understand what this man meant. If he spoke the truth, how could his father say something like this?

"Seika has already met the blue dragon," said Sarohan with worry as his blood mist began to leak from his body. "If something happened to someone he cares about, he will be heartbroken."

"Furthermore, that damned blue dragon announced it to the entire universe," said Seraphine while gritting her teeth. "Although it is fate that brought them together, I want to rip that giant lizard apart."

The other two could not say anything back to her anger. Everyone knew that Azkahar was doing the best thing for their next demon king, allowing him to control the power that was about to destroy him and giving hope to everyone.

"His father seems like he wants to stop Seika from becoming our Demon King," said Seraphine after she calmed down. "Although we don't know the man, we should be able to guess his reasons behind doing so."

"Is he a subordinate of the gods?"

"That wouldn't make sense, given that his son is the literal enemy of every god," said Seraphine with a frown as she touched her forehead. "This is getting too complicated, and we lack the necessary information."

"There is nothing we can do," said Sarohan, grabbing their attention. "Since Seika has already met Azkahar, the threat toward his loved ones has intensified. We need to warn him before his father can do anything."

"There is one man who knows his past," said Seraphine as she turned toward the camp that appeared in the distance. "Land over there, Lian. This is our new base."

"I know," said the tamer as he controlled his monster to take them down. The soldiers grew alert as they saw the wyvern descend toward them, but Ilia Perli stopped them when he spotted Seraphine among the group.

As the group descended with blood covering their bodies and Sarohan looking like he bathed in it, the atmosphere grew grim. However, Seraphine turned toward the tamer and nodded at him, making the tamer raise the Blood Gem for everyone to see.

Cheers erupted among the soldiers as they now possessed three artifacts. Ilia stared at her with suspicion, which she answered with a nod. This made the lord enter his tent as the three followed him inside.

Clink!

The artifact fell on the table with a resounding voice as the tamer and Waiga took their seats in the lounge. Seraphine remained standing before Ilia, who could sense the uneasy emotions that she had.

"What happened to you, and why is he with you?" asked Ilia as he glanced at Lian, who was looking at him with a smile.

"Do you know him?" asked Seraphine with surprise.

"An honor if the great Ilia Perli knows about me," said Lian as he studied Ilia from head to toe. "This man is one of the strongest in my world. I cannot believe that Seika would have such a follower."

"Are you his follower as well, Lian Firebrand?" asked Ilia with a frown as he looked at the tamer. "The last time someone heard about you was less than two years ago. Your family thinks that you died in the trial."

"As I wanted them to believe," said Lian with a grin. "Since we are on the same side now, you don't need to act so hostile. You don't serve Yalen anymore, and I never served Thiria."

"These pitiful matters can wait for later," said Seraphine as she interrupted them. "This man brought valuable information. You are the only one who might know anything about this."

Seraphine then told him what Lian had told them, and watched as Ilia looked at her with genuine fear. Then, the man slumped in his chair once she was done, looking as pale as a ghost.

"The man you described is indeed his father," said Ilia at last, interlocking his fingers to cover his mouth. His entire body leaned forward as his eyes revealed his concern. "That man is a terrorist who destroyed his own city and almost killed his entire family."`