Level Up Legacy

“They saw through our weakness,” said Koby with panic as he looked around, not knowing where to aim. “We should take cover.”

“Weakness?” muttered Joey with a smirk as he stared at the undead launching their crossbows at them. “There is no such thing,” declared the fighter before he spread his arms, gathering the strange force around his fists.

The sphere of force expanded around his hands, looking like he wore transparent balls. Then, Joey slammed the two spheres of force together, generating a shockwave around them that pushed everything back, including the bolts.

Although the group was also affected, it was better than being impaled by countless bolts. The undead were disorganized, and they fell over, leaving them vulnerable. Arthur took a step forward and raised his hand with a grin.

“Time for payback,” the words carried a strange energy that reached toward the bolts on the ground, raising almost a thousand ones into the sky. Then, they rained down on the undead, causing more chaos among them.

Although the bolts did not harm them much, they served to immobilize them as they stabbed into their feet and through the ground. Arthur aimed for that as he pinned down half of the troops, leaving them unable to re-assume formation.

Since the Dullahan could not see who was pinned and who was free, it was impossible for him to organize a full formation. The break in their formation gave the group the chance to break through the walls, rushing forward once again.

The central tower was surrounded by veteran undead, guarding each of its orders. Giants, at least five meters tall, carried axes as they guarded the four doors of the tower. In front of them was the tower now, and behind them lay the undead monsters who began to regain mobility.

“We have no time,” said Joey with a frown. “I will distract the giant in front of us, while the rest should do the same for the rest. This way, they cannot group together and stop us. The one who should go and defeat the Dullahan… is Alexie.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” nodded Arthur and turned toward the rest. “Can you all handle it?”

“Easy.”

“Effortless.”

“…”

Their lies were exposed by their shaking legs, but they knew that they needed to do their job here. Even if it meant risking their lives, all of them needed to fight here in order to give way for Arthur to reach the central tower.

“I will make it quick, so survive until then,” said Arthur with a nod as he prepared his dagger. Each of the four rushed forward, knowing that the undead coming from behind them made it impossible for them to wait.

Joey took the lead as he began to distract the giant, luring him away from the tower. Seeing their friend get attacked, the other three giants rushed forward to aid him, but fire and arrows rained on them.

Arthur rushed past the giant, who howled and began to destroy everything. The gates were covered in iron, but Arthur waved his hand to summon the fire. Iron melted, and the gate was broken through.

The chaos outside seemed like a distant memory once he was inside. It was dark, but the light from the lanterns illuminated the staircase leading to the top. Arthur looked inside the tower and found it to have four staircases with a bony pillar inside.

“Is this how the Dullahan controls the undead?” muttered Arthur as he stared at the bony pillar radiating strange energy. Knowing that his friends could not survive for long, he rushed through the stairs to reach the top.

Arthur wasted no effort to reach the top of the tower, which was a large arena surrounded by high stone railings. Inside it stood the Dullahan, gazing down on the battlefield. Hearing his arrival, it turned toward him with its dear head in an embrace.

“Are you prepared to die, Dal?” asked Arthur as he huffed and glanced at the situation below. Through the gaps in the railings, he could see each of his teammates fighting against the giant, none of them escaping. In fact, the roles have reversed now, as his group guarded the walls to make sure that no undead followed Arthur.

“Please hear me out,” pleaded the head with a face covered in sweat. “I do not control this undead, either. It has been turned into half a demon by the dark mage. I just wanted to reunite with it, hoping to regain my former self.”

“You used us to get here instead of telling us the truth, because you knew that the most logical thing to do is to kill you,” said Arthur with a smile as he turned toward the horseman. “If we did kill you, we would pass this floor without any issues. Keeping you alive contributed to the enemy’s forces.”

“Even as you plead for mercy, your body is preparing to fight me,” said Arthur as he watched the Dullahan raise his bony spear. The horse beneath him was also an undead, being nothing but a skeleton. “If we want to save you, we would need the gods’ blessing. You came to the wrong person for that.”

The horseman pulled on the reins, making the skeleton creature bolt forward. It rushed toward Arthur with the bony spear in hand, striking with deadly precision. Arthur slashed with his dagger, countering the incoming attack.

Clang!!!

The resonance between the two blades echoed throughout the floor as the two fighters were pushed back. Its hooves scraping against the ground, the skeleton horse neighed and jumped into the air, climbing the sky itself.

Arthur watched the horse descend over him from the sky with the spear launching another attack. Instead of standing there, Arthur stomped on the ground and jumped to the side, avoiding the attack. Then, he sheathed his dagger.

“What are you doing?” asked Dal with confusion. “This monster would kill you with ease without your weapon! It is unlike anything you have fought before!”

“Since we are alone here,” interrupted Arthur the bodiless head with a grin as he began to stretch his body. “I can now use my entire strength instead of holding back. What are the stats of this monster, Dal?”

“All of them are over fifty! This monster is at the level of a lord!”

“That sounds scary,” chuckled Arthur as he tightened his fist while the Dullahan rushed forward again. “It is scary, how difficult it is to hold back all the time.”

Dal did not understand, but the next scene was one of the few he would never forget. Arthur took his stance, barehanded, while the undead horseman rushed toward him. The spear sliced through the air as it came to kill him, leaving a deep mark on the ground it flew above.

Arthur twisted his body as he retracted his fist, then shot it like a cannon. The small hand seemed to explode with so much strength that the spearhead bent when it tried to slice through it. Then, it pushed the spear aside before punching a hole through the undead monster and its horse.

Boom!

A sonic boom exploded as the Dullahan was sent flying, slamming into the railings which he used for support. A large hole appeared in his chest, but he was still an undead. Dal stared at the scene with confusion, not understanding how a simple punch destroyed the bony spear.

Arthur stood in place with a grin, then raised his leg to the sky. His foot was now aimed toward the distant walls of the room while his eyes looked at Dal. A feeling of imminent death washed over the severed head, but he did not understand why.

“The Dullahan is nothing but another undead, controlled by the dark mage,” said Arthur before he shifted his gaze toward the ground. “The bones pillar beneath us is the one controlling the undead. If we destroy it, then this challenge will end.”

Dal witnessed the man in a military outfit bring his foot down to the ground, destroying everything beneath them. The tower exploded as it could not handle the impact it received, and it began splitting in half. The kick traveled downward, destroying the bony pillar beneath them. Then, nothing but dust filled their view.

***

“Cough, cough, cough,” Joey tried to clear the dust from his lungs, but it did not help that it was still covering the entire room. After the earthquake that struck the tower, it began falling from the sky. He managed to get away in time, but it was impossible to see where the enemy was now.

“Joey!” someone called his name, and it turned out that Koby had climbed a giant rock as a vantage point. “Nixie is trapped under the rubble! Come over here and help us!”

Joey sighed before rushing forward with the mage, and they reached the rubble where the archer was buried underneath. Fae was already trying to dig her out but her strength failed her. With a single arm, Joey lifted the broken wall and allowed Fae to rescue her sister.

“What the hell happened?” asked Joey after the four reassembled. “The entire tower has collapsed. Is it possible that Alexie lost?”

“You underestimate me,” said a voice from above the group, making them raise their heads. Atop the broken walls stood a figure while carrying a severed head. Alexie seemed unharmed as he stared at them with a grin. “I just found the door to the ninth floor.”

Behind Alexie was a bony pillar that had been split in half. Within the pillar was a large portal, which seemed to take them out of this floor. Countless lights illuminated the fissure, as if it was a miniature universe.