Level Up Legacy

Oren stared at the man leave before he collapsed once again. His body was weak, unable to support his weight anymore. The body he once thought of as light was now as heavy as lead, a mountain that brought him down to the ground.

“I need… to heal the wounds…” muttered Oren as he tried to flip himself over, but his body did not move. The muscles were strained past their limit, and it was the first time he could not use a single one of them. “Is this… because of the spirit?”

“It is indeed, master. The power I give you is not without a strain, as you are wielding something far stronger than your body can handle. However, you still lost….”

Lancelot appeared before Oren, but the latter could only see the knight’s foot. Lancelot’s blue cloak spread over the clouds as he sat in front of Oren, his armor clinking.

“Are you regretting our contract, Lancelot?” asked Oren with a smile while his eyes lost focus. His vision had black patches in front of him as his body bled without stopping over the white clouds.

“I will never regret a choice I made, master,” said Lancelot in front of him. “A knight is not the one to never lose, but the one who keeps rising despite his losses.”

“…hah…” Oren’s breathing grew labored as his face became sweaty. “Does your lack of regret come from the beliefs?” he asked, wanting to know whether Jono was right about what he said.

“A knight’s path is full of questions but never doubts what he believes in. The moment we lose what has our back, then we would be nothing but murderers.”

“…hah… hah… hah….”

Oren breathed heavily but could not answer. He was still thinking about whether Jono was right about him. Instead of the talk about being a vessel of demons, Oren was more concerned with his refusal to beg for his life.

“I was ready to die for my family, but not beg to protect them,” said Oren as tears gathered in his eyes while biting his lower lips. “Even though I’m so weak, I still acted as if I had the upper hand and provoked him into killing me.”

“That is a knight’s pride, master,” said Lancelot with similar sadness. “A knight is not a person who always survives. We die for our pride and beliefs; there is nothing wrong with how we live. We are the ones to choose the path.”

“…is this… also a result of the contract?” asked Oren, and Lancelot was silent. Although he knew the answer, Oren asked anyway. His hair and soul were not the only ones that changed after he contracted the Abyssal Spirit.

“We are the same, master,” replied Lancelot. “I care about your family just as much as you do, and we share the same beliefs that I do. This is… a contract.”

Oren found this a bit troublesome but somehow incredibly reassuring. It was as if he could be himself with someone who knew him all too well and cared about his life just the same. It was even stronger than his bond with Selena, even though it was less meaningful because it came unnaturally.

“Then, what happened to my mother?”

“She fought bravely, and I helped when I could, even though that made you lose the earlier fight. However, the enemy was too strong, capable of devouring anything.”

“Then… she was captured?”

“That is not the case, too, because… other creatures came along. A giant green one, and shadows that rose from the ground. The battle shifted after that, and that woman should also be getting there.”

“…what are you talking about?” frowned Oren with confusion, but his consciousness was slowly drifting away. The blood loss and tiredness he had ever since he contracted the spirit came crashing down on him.

“I managed to hear their conversations before I arrived here. It seems a ‘god’ sent them to save his mother.”

Oren was losing consciousness, but he smiled. It seems he had no reason to worry anymore about the situation. The relief from knowing his brother was here washed over here, and Oren collapsed instantly.

***

Melania found the battle faster than she should, mostly because of the gunshots ringing through the tunnel. As she arrived to another underground reservoir, she was surprised to find that there were more than just two fighters.

Sarah Silvera pulled the trigger while standing far from the battle, a cigarette resting between her lips. Melania stared with shock at the woman, who she always thought to be a docile housewife.

“Melania?” called Aunt Sarah after she noticed her. “What are you doing here? This place is dangerous!” she seemed to panic as she realized that Melania was here as well, leaving the latter speechless.

“I know it is dangerous… that is why I came to help…” said Melania with confusion as she stared at the changed woman. “Aunty, what is this? I never thought you could fight, not to mention use fire.”

“Everyone has a trick up their sleeves, no?” asked Aunt Sarah before jumping to the side, rolling on the ground as she did. A figure darted across the battlefield, crashing into the spot Oren’s mother was standing.

“Aunty!” shouted Melania while squinting her eyes and raising her arm, looking at the figure that came hurling. It was standing before she even managed to see it down, with a big body almost touching the ceiling.

“Is this… a monster? A demihuman?” asked Melania while staring at the giant green monster that looked neither a human nor an ogre. It seemed to notice her as it turned toward Melania.

“An enemy?” it raised its brows with surprise, seeming to be ready to attack her. However, Aunty Sarah stood between them, seeming to shield her.

“She is not an enemy,” said Aunt Sarah while shaking her head. Melania was confused because, from her words, the monster was on their side. And, to her surprise, the monster nodded and bowed toward her.

“Nice to meet you,” it spoke in a very human-like manner, forcing Melania to bow back and return the greeting. After smiling at her, the monster jumped back toward the battlefield to fight against the soldier.

“…what is that Aunt Sarah?” asked Melania with confusion as she stared at the group of monsters attacking a soldier woman wearing the same clothes as Jono. Even though she was being held back, the woman was not losing.

“According to their words, my boy sent them,” grinned Aunt Sarah with pride as she stared at them. “I was close to being caught when these gobkins appeared to my recuse.”

“Gobkins?”

“That is what they call themselves,” shrugged Aunt Sarah while lighting another cigarette.

“Wait,” said Melania while realizing that even though the woman was being held back, Aunt Sarah was not running away. “Why are you still here instead of running away?”

“I did try to run away, but that woman pursues me every time. So I decided to take care of her with these cuties before we meet Oren.”

“I brought Oren with me,” said Melania while grabbing Aunt Sarah’s arm. “He is waiting at the end of the tunnel. We need to hurry and get out of this place!”

“As if I would let you walk away,” shouted the soldier woman before she jumped through the air and disappeared. Melania was confused before the woman appeared in front of them without a trace of moving in that direction. “Be quiet and surrender!”

“A disrespectful child,” said Aunt Sarah while her gun was in the woman’s face instantly. “I hate to do this, but you are the one to come after me.”

The gunshot made Melania’s ear buzz as flames appeared from the muzzle to shoot through the soldier woman’s face. However, in response, the orange-haired woman opened her mouth and devoured the fire.

Aunt Sarah grabbed Melania before running away, deep into the underground tunnels. The woman seemed unfazed after eating burning flames, and only smoke leaked from her mouth.

“We need to take the fight away from Oren,” said Aunt Sarah while running away. “This woman can devour a lot of things, including distance. This makes it impossible to run away from her.”

“…she is the real monster!” muttered Melania while rushing down the reservoir, acutely feeling the ominous rage behind her back.

“That is a rude thing to say about a woman,” said a voice behind their back, and the two glanced back to see the woman opening her mouth again. “You are not the target so I can devour you!”

Her mouth grew bigger, almost twice her size while reaching out to eat Melania. However, the earlier gobkin that greeted her appeared beside the soldier, punching her in the face. The woman’s mouth returned to normal as she was sent crashing into the walls, leaving Melania dumbfounded.

“And that is how I survived so far,” said Aunt Sarah from beside her with equal unease. “My boy sent one hell of a rescue team.”