Level Up Legacy

Ramiel knew better than to trust strangers. These two strange men might be assassins sent by Lord Marshal to lure him and arrest him again. Since the half-demon did not have his return scroll, it was easy to apprehend him.

"This half-demon does not trust us," said the flying spirit as he inspected the book with confusion. "He refuses to change the narrative! At this rate, the goddess will have her boost, and the story ends!"

"What is this creature saying?" Ramiel asked the cloaked man, who made more sense than this masked bicycle-riding spirit. "Why does it keep calling me a side character and talking about stories?"

"It seems we cannot change a thing if we do not gain his trust," said the cloaked man with a sigh. "This creature here is a good friend of mine, called the Bookkeeper. He is one of the most knowledgeable creatures in the universe."

"…he is rather unstable," said Ramiel as he saw the spirit laugh and paddle around the bonfire. "Are you sure it's not a deranged spirit?"

"As his title suggests, the Bookkeeper keeps records of all the stories in the world. These stories can be about a pebble fighting against waves or heroic tales of a half-demon trying to save a maiden. In any case, I befriended this spirit for a single purpose."

"Is a big reveal coming?"

"My purpose is to change the narrative. Every step of the way has a meaning. Your existence and quest have a meaning in the grand scheme, and I am here to offer my help accelerate it. Because in the end… everything is about time."

"How are you going to help me?" asked Ramiel after a few moments of thought. Although these two creatures were weird, they did not intend to harm him. "And if there is something you need to do, then how come you don't do it yourselves?"

"This is not our role," said the cloaked man as he walked toward Ramiel and took out a small book from his bag. "This is the story of the half-demon who saved the princess, and the two managed to survive this great ordeal. A result of their victory is weakening the goddess who came to crush the hope in this tower."

Ramiel accepted the book and stared at the words engraved on it. In bold and giant letters, the two words "Ramiel Pureheart" seemed to be carved out from the leather cover. After he traced his fingers on the letters and raised his eyes, the half-demon realized the pair was gone. All that was left was the bonfire, crackling with its final flames.

As he looked around, looking for traces of the two, he found none. Like ghosts that visited to impart him with crucial information, the two disappeared forever. Ramiel opened the book in his hands, and he read the first sentence:

A child was born to a demon and a human, but if you think their story was about love, you could not be more wrong. Ramiel Pureheart is the result of a violent and unsavory tale of the lust demon, and his name is…

Before he read the next words, Ramiel closed the book. His eyes turned bloodshot as he did not think he would read that name again, and in these circumstances. However, since the past that he buried behind became known, this book was authentic.

Ramiel skipped the first few pages and rushed to find the part he was currently at. As the cloaked figure said, Ramiel would rush to save the maiden, none other than Lord Marshal's daughter. However, in this text, Ramiel would not get there in time because he could not find the way.

The half-demon decided to trust the unusual pair of man and spirit and rush in the direction he pointed at. The sunlight was slowly slipping away from the grasps of the day, and night was soon to be here. Even before it was dark, Ramiel could see the giant moon in the sky.

Almost an hour of endless running at top speed, Ramiel finally found himself in the wilderness of Xeloria. Since he did not know which direction to go, he struggled to keep a straight line through the wilderness. If there were trees, he blended into them and rushed forward.

An hour on the dot, Ramiel found the camp. It was filled with life and guards patrolling the place. Instead of bursting inside, Ramiel blended into the ground and swam his way across the ground.

The camp was big, and the half-demon felt like it was impossible to find her. As he was looking in every tent, he heard shouting and the sounds of fighting from the large clearing in the middle of the camp.

"What are you doing to her?" shouted a feminine voice, which made Ramiel rush toward its source. As he climbed a pole and peered from over it, he saw a group of hunters huddling in front of a giant tent. Ramiel squinted to see what was happening.

A pair of men pushed a woman on her knees, each holding an arm and bending it down. A little far away was a woman shouting at them, held back by a single man who was trying to calm her down.

"What are you doing to your own daughter, Freud?!" shouted the woman with short hair, her face full of disgust. "You want to kill her for some fucking goddess? Have you lost your mind?"

The woman made Ramiel realize that someone was standing far away, covered in tattoos and a mask hiding his face. There was no doubt that it was Freud, the same man Ramiel saw seven days ago in Xeloria.

"You think that my daughter would be such a whore?" said Freud from behind his mask, his zealous eyes looking at her with disgust. "This is nothing but a sheep that I kept alive for this day. We shall give her blood to our goddess, and receive what we have always dreamed: respect!"

The hunters around cheered for his words as the two men brought the woman down to the floor, her face slamming to the ground. Ramiel was still watching when he saw the woman's hair, blonde tinted with orange.

"A Moon Offering needs to be a maiden!" shouted the woman while on the ground, her face still kissing the soil. A mask covered her face, but the strength in her face made everyone quiet. "Am I a maiden, or am I a whore? Have you forgotten your brain on your travels, dear uncle?"

"A whore and an ungrateful child," said Freud with a smirk as he walked forward, stepping over her face. "If not for this mask, you would become a whore by dawn!"

Ramiel was seething with anger at his actions and words. The princess had a strange skill that would turn anyone who saw her into mindless beasts. Her beauty was unmistakable, but it had no effect on Ramiel. This is the reason he became her guard in the first place.

"How am I ungrateful, uncle?" asked the masked woman with sadness. "Ever since you gave me shelter in this prison, I did everything you have told me. I wore this mask and lived in the shadows, seducing any man to their deaths as per your commands."

"You lying whore!" shouted Freud as he kicked her face, and the mask fell away. Blood splashed on the ground as it leaked from her mouth, while her azure eyes glared at him with defiance.

A strange aura drifted into the camp the moment her mask was taken off. Anyone who saw her felt lust rising in his body, unable to stop it. The eyes of both men and women changed as they looked at her with desire.

"Look at what you do to others," said Freud with a grin as he seemed unaffected. "Do you want to know the reason I always wore this mask around you?" he asked while pointing at the red half-mask on his face. "I wanted to make sure you do not seduce me like you seduced your own father. I can see you for what you are… a sad and worthless whore that should be grateful for being a Moon Offering."

As he finished his words, Freud took her mask from the ground and slammed it to her face, hiding her beauty once again. She was thrown in the air for several meters before landing while the rest of the camp snapped from their daze.

"Take this whore out of my sight, and put her in a sack! I want her ready to be slaughtered when I ascend to Cloudreign," said Freud as he turned away from her. The hunters gulped and rushed forward to tie her down.

Boom!

A figure leapt through the sunset and landed in front of her, destroying the ground beneath him. It was a tall and scary creature that seemed anything but human, but his features scared them the most.

"I will kill you, Freud Stormblade," announced Ramiel while seething in rage. "As the guard of my lady, Luna Stormblade, I vow to kill you a thousand times!"

The ground began rising as if answering his wrath. Freud turned slowly, glancing back at him with disinterest as if he has already expected it. Then, with a grin, he raised his hand to command all hunters to attack the half-demon.

"You are nothing but an ant, Ramiel Pureheart."