Level Up Legacy

"There is a difference between us of absolute strength," said Sier as he raised his hand toward the sky. "You might be the creator, but even the creator consists of flesh and blood. Therefore, our plans shall go unhindered as long as I kill you before you grow stronger."

"That was the plan all along, has it not been?" Arthur forced a smile as he stared at the countless monsters forming out of Sier's mana. Of course, he knew it was an illusion, but it was hard to pretend like it was not. After all, he had suffered from their attacks earlier.

"What is the plan now, Arthur?" said Sier as his monsters were birthed one after the other. "I know your fake identity and where I can find your family. How does it feel to see your life turn into a living hell?"

"I am the one person you cannot find, so I have no worries. As for the plan: preventing the guardians from obtaining their selfish desire," said Arthur as he readied his conceptual dagger. "I will never let you sacrifice this world for a chance to rule."

"That is our only means for survival against outsiders like yourself," frowned Sier before redirecting his hand toward Arthur. "It doesn't matter. We will find a solution once the outsider is killed. After that, the powers of Gaia will return to its rightful owners."

The monsters roared simultaneously, and their howls filled the skies of the arena. Arthur could feel all of his cells shake as the hair on his body stood erect. The monsters were diverse, ranging from giants to liches, howling and glaring at Arthur.

"Is that the true reason behind your so-called heroism?" smiled Arthur in the face of adversity. "Are you offended that Gaia gave its powers to someone other than the guardians protecting it?"

"The criteria do not make sense, do they?" his friend's face twisted. "How can an emotionless puppet be worthy of defending everything in this world? We are the ones who protected them from the calamities, but we were labeled unworthy!"

"Command them to attack me, Sier," said Arthur as he pointed his dagger at them. "I was given these powers for the sole reason of defeating the so-called gods. If the world decided that you are too selfish, you have no reason to object."

"It does mean very little to complain," said Sier as he touched his face. "I also carry these powers to see a future where you die. Attack, my monsters."

The horde roared as they rushed toward Arthur, consisting of thousands of mythical monsters he never dreamt about killing in real life: cyclops wielding mountains, dragons spewing fire, and whales riding waves.

"The truth is hidden within the illusion," muttered Arthur as he tightened his grip around his dagger. "Even if these can hurt me, they can never withstand normal attacks."

[Denaturing.]

The rune appeared above his weapon, and the chains of order restrained it. However, Arthur used his other hand to break them apart and infuse the rune into his dagger.

"...a combination of runes?" muttered Sier as he squinted his eyes. "We both know that you are still too weak to use this technique."

"I know the truth, but you have to guess it," smiled Arthur as the two runes broke apart and entangled. Then, however, his fingertips began to turn into runes, similar to the time in Runera. "I am also an outsider of your foresight."

[Denaturing Sharpness!]

Arthur withdrew his hand that turned into runes as he took his dagger and pointed it toward Sier. Droplets of sweat rolled down his face as he forced a smile.

"Tell me that I cannot do it again, dear friend," said Arthur as his golden eyes gave an eerie glow. "And I will tell you that these illusions are not enough to withstand the next attack."

Sier's violet globes glared at Arthur holding an infinite amount of resentment. Even without seeing into the future, he can see that Arthur's weapon is capable of destroying his illusions. But then, a smile appeared on his face.

"I felt threatened for a second until I realized that you cannot maintain these runes combined," said Sier. "We both know that your hand is losing its physical form. You are nothing but a container of runes, and all I have to do is wait for your self-destruction."

"Let's see if I die first or if my dagger pierces through your neck. Then, I will be the nightmare you always knew I would be: the one person you could never control."

Before Sier could answer him, Arthur rushed forward. His legs struck the arena's floor to leave deep imprints as he ran toward the nearest giant. The giant waved his sword at him with a towering body of almost a hundred meters.

The air pressure alone pushed Arthur backward, but it wasn't enough to slow him down. Arthur bent his knees before flying upward and landing on top of the sword, using it as his path toward the giant.

It took a single step for Arthur to close in on the giant, which roared through its thick beard. The Denaturing Sharpness slashed at the giant, sending a giant crescent toward its neck. The dusky skin of the monster got torn in half like a paper before it was beheaded.

"There goes one," muttered Arthur while stepping on the giant's shoulder, which was starting to fall toward the rest of the monsters. Then, a dragon flew his way, and Arthur dove forward to meet it. "Here comes the second!"

Arthur raised the dagger high before bringing it down with him. The dragon opened its mandibles as white flames of pure mana erupted from within them. The attack blinded the world, but his Denaturing Sharpness tore through the illusion easily before tearing the dragon in half. Arthur then landed between countless monsters.

"Your illusions are useless if they have no form, and they cannot be perceived as attacks. This rune is your bane, Sier. The mana will scatter before it can make me believe I was injured."

"If an illusion does not kill, then it can be used to distract from the real threat," smiled Sier as he reached out toward the void and pulled out a spear. "I will handle you personally."

"You are making me proud, kid," provoked Arthur with a smile as the countless monsters rushed toward him. "However, don't let my weapon strike you. Otherwise, I will have a corpse to dispose of."

"That is if you can find me," said Sier as he disappeared. "These countless monsters will attack you, and each of them can belly my spear. Let's see if you would survive my attacks or run out of time."

***

"Do you know where he is?" asked Oriole as soon as he heard Julia's words. "I don't know if we can disturb the illusion from the outside, but we can always try."

"Alexie asked that I find Grandmaster Jumana and Captain Velos," said Jumana as she stole glances at the spirits eyeing her. "Are you sure these things are on our side?"

"They are not attacking anymore, are they?" shrugged Oriole. "We have no idea where my master and the captain are, and we have no time to waste on finding them."

"My master has a message!" screamed the spirit, making them flinch. "My master says that a battle is occurring at the mansion in the distance!"

"That must be the noise we heard when we got here," said Maryam as she hugged her arms. "Is it possible that the intruders have met Grandmaster Jumana and Captain Velos?"

"That is the most likely explanation," said Oriole as he scratched his head. "I cannot believe that this is not even the inside of the runes, and just the layers protecting it instead."

"This is more of a dungeon at this point," muttered Julia as she combed her hair out of the blue. "We might truly find a gate at the end of this place."

Oriole frowned at her words but didn't know whether to deny or confirm them. The gate can be a real possibility, but the question was where it would lead them. However, it wasn't time for mystery-solving.

"We can either seek the grandmaster and the captain or find the illusion and try to break through it ourselves. I have no idea which one would succeed."

"The first suggestion has a real risk of getting involved in a fight we cannot handle," said Maryam with a frown. "However, we might be useless even if we find the illusion. After all, our opponent is strong, right?" she asked Julia.

"A mega villain!" said Julia while combing her hair. "We were trapped deep within the illusion. The only reason I managed to escape is that Alexie reflected the illusion on its caster. Otherwise, every time we thought that we broke the illusion, we found ourselves in another one."

"That is indeed tricky to handle," muttered Oriole as he pondered. "However, every illusion needs a reality to mask. If we can find the space Arthur is trapped inside, we can help him see through the illusion."