Level Up Legacy

The Horseman of Death raised his other hand, releasing black tar that could erode matter and space alike. It rushed to consume Whisker, who was still pushing with his silver gauntlets to kill the horseman.

Boing!

A giant jellyfish appeared behind the feline, enveloping Whisker within its body. The black tar eroded the jellyfish, but it carried the feline away even as it died. Then, it spat him out after he was safe before dissolving into red particles.

"This artifact can be used outside the tower," said Lian as he looked at the Red Gem that he had. "What is this tower, exactly?"

"Is this really the time?" asked the giant feline with a hoarse voice as he tried to catch his breath. "We need your jellyfish against this horseman. It seems he is the source of corrosion that Oblivion has."

"I understand," said Lian with a nod as he replicated his jellyfish. "Ride on this and it will answer your commands. Use it as a shield without worry since it's just a replica."

Arthur observed their fight and knew he would not be able to get past Death without a pause. The horseman summoned undead monsters continuously. As he looked at the countless monsters spewing out, Arthur slowed his flight.

"We meet in a different timeline, creator," said the black skeleton with a jarring laugh as its bones kept grinding against one another. "In this timeline, I am not restricted by a mortal body."

"And I am not the same as I was before," said Arthur as he raised his dagger. "You caused me a lot of problems. Next time, stay away from my friends."

"Our purpose is to destroy you," said the Horseman as he reined his undead horse in check as black tar fell from its mouth. "As long as you exist, we will tempt those around you toward the darkness until you are alone."

"You chose Ellen on purpose?"

"What would a girl like her offer us, other than being close to the creator?" said the horseman with a ridiculing laugh. "I chose her as a vessel just to make you unable to trust anyone else. In the previous timeline, she died after the battle against you."

"…she couldn't handle the darkness."

"She killed herself once her mother healed. Her sanity was gone after she remembered how many people she killed just to buy her mother a few years. Well, not that it matters anymore, it was all in the past."

"You just made things personal," muttered Arthur with a blank expression as he raised his hand toward Whisker and Lian, who attempted to attack him again. "Give me a second against him."

"We don't have time for revenge, my king!" shouted Ilia as he struck the War Horseman again, engaging in a fierce fight against the calamity. Even as their attacks landed on him, he only seemed to grow stronger. "Aim for Nameless, nothing else!"

"I know that, Ilia," said Arthur as he raised his right hand, holding his black dagger brimming with golden mana. Then, he lowered his body while gripping his right arm with his left hand. "It won't take long."

Boom!

The entire space shook as golden mana erupted from his body. Time froze for a few seconds inside the dark cosmos as Arthur bolted forward, fueled by wrath and his mana of creation. Before the Horseman could respond, Arthur passed him and left a giant gush of golden mana over his body.

Boom!

Another explosion echoed as the golden mana consumed the Horseman, deafening the world and muffling its screams. Arthur soared above him, carrying on with his original trajectory, after delivering a lethal attack to the Horseman.

"You are nothing but the god's puppet, and I am your master's slayer," muttered Arthur as he flew toward Nameless, who still brought its hands together to cause a shift in space. "Don't think we are on the same level."

Death screamed as it burned with golden mana, but Arthur knew that was not enough to kill the horseman of Nameless. However, he did not want to waste his strength on an underlying when the real monster was right behind him.

Undead ethereal creatures rushed toward him, but they were struck down with blood arrows from Seraphine. Arthur reached the last horseman of famine. The frail old man seemed out of place amidst chaos, but it raised its hand toward Arthur.

For the first time since he awakened his wrath, Arthur felt strength leaving his body. A strange energy seeped into his living body and consumed his strength. His mana burned fiercely, but the strange energy managed to devour his strength.

"I am the stealer of life and ender of men," said the withered man with his hand outstretched, the skin having turned black. "You cannot win against me unless you abandon your flesh."

"We will handle him!" shouted Jonathan and Koby as they rushed forward, throwing themselves at the calamity. Koby struck with his ethereal arm, but the energy withered before it reached the horseman. Jonathan used his silver roses to counter famine, and they withered lifeless.

Arthur knew that these two might have a hard time against famine, but he saw another figure emerge. This time, it was Sarohan, flashing with a red glow as he pierced a sword into famine's back. His ambush was so sudden and unnoticeable that even Arthur did not foresee it.

"Strike of Justice!" shouted the Waiga, whatever came to his mind, as if he hadn't just ambushed the horseman. Famine looked surprised as the golden sword pierced him, infusing golden mana through his body.

"How… could it… be?"

Arthur had a moment of déjà vu, remembering how Sarohan ambushed Vesper before. It was a low move that he did not understand how the Waiga managed to pull it off, but he could somehow sneak up on anyone without their notice.

"I have failed you… father…" said the horseman as he crumbled to ashes. Jonathan and the rest were confused and shocked as they stared at Sarohan, who was floating thanks to the tower's help. He looked just as shocked as them as he studied his blade.

"Call me… the Famine Killer!"

"That sounds like a chef's name," said Koby as he tried to contain his laughter, but the next moment filled them with dread. Nameless shifted its eyes toward them, rage filling the red within them.

"I summon thee, Famine!"

Nameless commanded and its monotonous voice echoed. Arthur noticed a small part emerging from its body, turning into another horseman. This time, the horseman was a young man who had sickly eyes.

"He could just recreate them?!" shouted Sarohan as he flew back toward the rest, hiding behind them. "I did my job! Time for a strategic retreat!"

"You call ambushing a job?" muttered Jonathan with shame filling his face. "You denied us a proper fight, Sarohan!"

Arthur retained his calm as he glanced at the Waiga. Something was off about how he managed to kill a horseman of doom on his own. Arthur himself found it hard to face Famine because it could take away his strength.

"How did you kill him, Sarohan?" muttered Arthur after a moment, and the Waiga turned toward him with a confused expression. "Do you have some sort of Art to sneak on enemies?"

"I always had sneaky feet against powerful enemies for some reason," said Sarohan as he pondered the situation. "I think they just look down on me."

Arthur was not convinced, so even in the midst of this battle, he used his analyze rune. There was a crucial aspect about Sarohan that he had failed to notice all this time, and it might be the thing that made him invisible to the powerful.

This damn Waiga had no spiritual energy.

Not a single bit.

Arthur was used to the fact that people had less spiritual energy than he did, and by a lot, so he never noticed that one of his closest comrades lacked spiritual energy. Although he was sure that the Waiga had a soul, his spiritual energy was nonexistent!

Spiritual energy was the core of ascension and evolution for mortals, as they represented how much they could harness the universe. For example, Arthur never had a bottleneck during his training because of his overflowing spiritual energy. Therefore, when these powerful entities evaluated each other, they depended on spiritual energy!

"This is absurd," muttered Arthur with shock written over his face as his rune disappeared. "Sarohan, how can you live without spiritual energy?!"

"Hm? What's that?" muttered the Waiga as he straightened his posture, sensing that something was off. "I heard a lot about it, but I just guessed it's something that higher worlds have. Am I supposed to have it?"

Arthur did not have an answer to that. This was the reason that powerful entities failed to notice this damn Waiga. They considered him a fly that could not even harm them, let alone kill them! What they failed to expect was that a creature with no spiritual energy would have this much strength.