Level Up Legacy

Haro stared at one of the most wanted criminals in Ilios, Forger Gray. It was said that whoever handed him to justice would be promoted instantly. However, when her line of thoughts reached that, she realized she had already been promoted to replace Captain Munro. Her stomach churned, and the forger seemed to realize something was wrong.

“Is that a corpse behind you?” asked the forger with confusion after noticing the blood-soaked sheets. “Is this your…”

“It is not!” said Haro with defense, and the forger was quiet before he nodded. Then, he signaled for the rest of them to go on without him. However, the fugitives hesitated before leaving, and Haro was left with the forger.

“You are after me, right? So then those people have nothing to do with it,” Gray said before picking up some of the soil. “I didn’t just escape to be arrested again. So I apologize in advance, but I must take you down.”

“There won’t be any need for that,” said Haro after a short pause. “I will help you leave this district and the rest of the fugitives.”

“It is one thing to let us go, but to help us even?” asked the forger with confusion. “Are you someone with self-destructive tendencies?”

“I have self-destructed the moment I became a knight,” said Haro while glancing at the corpse behind her. “We have no time to waste,” she said, removing her armor. “I can take you to a secret passage that leads to the Copper District.”

“And you can’t do that looking like a knight,” said Gray as he watched her remove her signature armor and cover half her face with clothing. “Why should I believe this isn’t a trap?”

“That corpse over there,” pointed Haro, “belongs to my captain and the man who taught me the sword. I knew him ever since I can remember, but he died at the hands of a Trinity Member over something I did.”

“Is this out of guilt?”

“Far from it, this is out of rage,” said Haro before turning around toward the fugitives. “You can lead them, and I can lead you out of this place. Follow me.”

Haro led the way while the forger stared at her. Then, he made sure to catch up with the rest can convince them to trust her, not that they had a choice. As long as the Mansell Gang chase them, none of them can survive.

This was the reason that Haro wanted to help them. Since the knights were already aware of the Mansell Gang working here, they wouldn’t dare step on their toes by rescuing the prisoners. Haro knew why most of this group had women, which made her sick.

Haro stopped running and raised her hand, making the rest stop. The Mansell Mansion was surrounded by knights who erected roadblocks and checkpoints to ensure no one got in or out without their knowledge.

“What are we going to do?” asked Gray while carrying a teenage girl. Haro stared at her for a moment before looking back at the knights.

“I will knock them out,” said Haro before pulling her bowstring and firing several arrows, each knowing out one of the knights. In an instant, the knights were sprawled on the ground. “We have no time. The moment they find out about this, the more knights they will send.”

Haro led the group of a hundred prisoners down the road, heading toward the small temple at the edge of the Silver District. This temple was built on a hill, but no one knew that this hell had an underground tunnel.

“How do you know about this place?” asked Gray after Haro opened the door leading underground. She stared at the hole for a moment before shaking her head.

“I had to use this once before, under different circumstances,” she said before the temple’s bell rang. Haro stared at the entrance before waving for Gray and the rest to go ahead. “Someone has been following us. I will stall them while you run away. Go down and use the bridge that connects to the Copper District. Never look back.”

Haro left them and walked back toward the temple grounds, which the knights had evacuated. However, the forger grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“What makes you go so far just for us?” asked Gray, confused.

“This is how I repay my debt,” said Haro before breaking free and walking back. The group stared at her with gratitude and confusion before Haro waved her arm. “GO!”

The women started running down the underground tunnel while Haro headed toward the temple grounds. This temple was erected to worship the God of Justice and Light, whom the Emperor of Light served.  Luckily, it was empty.

Haro stood in front of the main building, waiting for their pursuer to show his face. Once he did, Haro’s body started shaking. The one who arrived was also the one who once tormented her and gave her unforgettable scars.

“Erin Voldor,” muttered Haro as she unsummoned her astral bow because the man would recognize her from it. As long as she hid her face from him, Haro would be safe.

“As if I’m reliving a memory,” said Erin Voldor while holding his chest and looking around. “I should have closed this damn place the last time this happened.”

“You were too busy being humiliated,” Haro said as she took a sword from her storage ring. “Night should have castrated you here instead of letting you roam these streets, you fiend.”

“Since you know what happened, you must be one of the women she saved,” said Erin Voldor as he straightened his back. Then, he smirked. “You have something against me, don’t you? I recognize that look in your eyes. You want me dead.”

“More than anything else,” said Haro while taking her stance. “I will finish what my benefactor started and end the plague known as Erin Voldor.”

“A plague?” smirked the man while wiping the blood off his mouth. “I know that you enjoyed what I did for you. So you are here for that reason, huh? You want to enjoy it again.”

Haro felt disgusted by him, and her rage overwhelmed her. She bolted toward him even though Munro taught her never to be the first one to attack. Erin grinned as his chains shot toward her, but Haro used her jellyfish to defend against them. The chains latched to her jellyfish, absorbing the mana within it and feeding Erin, but they couldn’t reach her.

Haro waved her sword at him, but Erin dodged and struck her arm. The sword fell from her hand, and Erin palmed her stomach to send Haro flying toward the temple. She crashed into its pillar before falling to the ground.

“Is that all you wanted to do?” asked Erin as he strolled toward her. “You are so weak that you got caught the first time, and I’ll make sure it happens again. I will do far worse things to you this time than before.”

“Hah, hah,” Haro gasped for air while holding her stomach. His words didn’t frighten her because she knew that all of this was to buy time for the women from earlier. This was why she became a knight, but the irony is that she did it as a vigilante. “You don’t scare me, bastard.”

“Not yet, but I’ll make sure of it,” Erin said before raising his hand to attack her again. “After I’m done with you, I will chase down those fugitives and kill them all.”

Haro summoned her bow, and Erin brought down his fist. However, before he could strike her, orange liquid suddenly fell on him, making Erin howl with pain as he fell back. Then, someone suddenly grabbed Haro and picked her up, bolting out of the temple.

“Forger?” asked Haro as she looked at the man, whose messy hair and beard made him anything but a knight in shining armor. “Why did you come back? I bought you enough time to….”

“I would never use a woman’s life to save my own,” Gray said as he ran out of the temple on the edge of the Silver District. “Furthermore, I am that man’s target. He will leave those women alone just to catch me.”

Haro was quiet as she stared back, seeing Erin still trying to remove the orange liquid from his skin. Then, seeing the steam coming from it, she realized it was molten metal.

“A fire ability?”

“I wish! All I can do is make things reach their melting point,” said Gray as he staggered across the trench’s edge. “We must find a method to escape because that man can never be defeated by us.”

“All we can do is buy more time, which was my plan! You should have left instead of following some sexist ideals!” said Haro as she pounded her fist on his chest.

“I’m not sexist, but sexy!” object Gray. “This is not about looking down on women, but the gentlemen’s code!”