Level Up Legacy

“Are the two of them fighting again?” asked Eloisa, who stood outside the grand hall after she saw the princess accompany Lyle outside. “You would think of them as sworn enemies, but it’s the opposite.”

Arthur realized she was addressing him, so he stopped walking behind the two and turned toward her. Although Eloisa was not a fallen being herself, her unit contained enders.

“Let me grab a seat for this show,” said Eloisa as she interlocked her arm with his, pressing her body against Arthur. “Come on, we’ll be left behind,” she smiled and urged him.

Arthur couldn’t push her away, or it would draw attention to him. In the end, as long as she didn’t realize their plan, it would be alright to let her watch.

The only place where the two could fight at the moment was the balcony itself, which was big enough to fit two hundred people. After choosing a spot far from the pedestal and the working staff, Lyle and the princess stood on opposite sides.

“You are new to this, right?” asked Eloisa when the two stood far away from the battle. “Let me be the commenter for this fight. It would be their three-hundred forty-first fight. In all the previous fights… Lyle was never defeated.”

“Is he that strong?”

“There is a secret that makes the Mantra Family so powerful throughout history, and it has nothing with the astral blessing they wield. Since the Swords Princess is a swordsmanship enthusiast, their duels only involve swords.”

Since Lyle left his sword outside, the princess threw him one. He caught the hilt and drew the sword out while it was mid-air, making the sheath fly and fall on the outstretched hand of a statue. The stone hand became the perfect holder for the sheath.

“In a swords fight, Mantra cannot be defeated.”

The words sent chills down Arthur’s spine as the aura surrounding Lyle changed. He commanded no wind, but the pressure released from his body made a gale swirl on the balcony. Lyle held the sword close to his chest, pointing toward the sky.

“A legend says that long ago, the Mantra Family were the rulers of this land. Then, after the elements disappeared, a single man rose to unite the ancient tribes under his banner. That man was called Mantra. He needed no more than a sword to slay the monsters rushing toward this land.”

“The emperor wouldn’t let someone like this remain as a knight,” said Arthur with objection and a frown. Eloisa turned toward him, a grin plastered on her face.

“You would think as such, right?”

Arthur couldn’t understand her meaning, but the fight was starting. The Swords Princess also held her sword, raising it above her shoulder while her body leaned forward. The tip of her blade reached her lower back while her arm bulged as she gripped the sword tightly.

“Swords Princess Ivory was a genius, creating her style to wield the sword. A sharp, overbearing, and ambitious style with one aim: to cut everything before her.”

Lyle did not move, standing like an arrow before the princess. The hand holding his sword was still curled into a fist on his chest, his back straight and his eyes unmoving.

“In contrast, Mantra created a style that does the exact opposite. It forgets the self to minimize the opposition of the world. Through this, he remained undefeated.”

“Sounds like a fairytale,” said Arthur in response, but the aura that Lyle gave was far from ordinary. Instead, it was slowly merging with the world, as if the man’s existence was fading.

This was a scary concept for Arthur, who relied on the existence of others to make sure he remained vigilant. However, even the fallen beings and followers of Nameless had left a gap in existence that allowed Arthur to sense them.

“Are you ready, Ivory?” asked Lyle, exhaling the air in his lungs.

“My style has never been more ready,” said Ivory before she leaned forward and disappeared. Arthur blinked, and the woman was already in front of Lyle, who still had the same stance. “This is different from all the times before!”

“I can tell, Princess Ivory,” said Lyle, his black hair fluttering in the gale of wind caused by Ivory. A smile appeared on his face as he muttered, “I am proud of your progress.”

“The reason that the two of them are so close,” began Eloisa, “is because Lyle is the one who taught her the sword. Of course, the emperor wanted his daughter’s teacher to be Zonas Mantra, but the previous Knights Commander admitted a shocking truth: he was no match to his grandson’s genius.”

Arthur watched as Princess Ivory cut through the air as if cannon were firing. Her arm caused a sonic boom that shook the balcony as the sword turned into a mirage, cutting toward Lyle. At that moment, he moved.

It was a slow movement, so much that Arthur’s mind glitched. He watched Ivory’s sword, faster than light, and Lyle’s slow movement, like a leaf swaying in the wind. Finally, however, it happened at the same time.

Lyle moved his sword slowly, but the world did not resist it. It reached his enemy’s blade and pushed it aside before making its way toward Ivory. It cut beside her neck, cutting the small cross hanging from her ear.

ZAAAAA!

The diverted slash left a deep gush in the ground, but the sword broke, unable to endure its strike. Ivory stood frozen as the earring flew away from her and landed on the cobblestoned ground. Then, Lyle rested his sword on her neck.

“You lose again, princess,” smiled Lyle for the first time since they entered the palace. Eloisa whistled as the fight ended in a second, and she let go of Arthur to clap.

Arthur strolled toward the two and picked up the cross from the ground. He stared at the small chain ring slashed by Lyle and found the cut to be irregular instead of smooth. The strike was weak, but it struck the exact weak spot that the earring had, slashing through them.

“This man…” muttered Arthur with genuine awe before he turned toward Lyle. The fact that his sword didn’t cut through the chain in a straight line made Arthur realize that he moved the blade through the weakness found within the chain, making him cut it with minimal force. “What a terrifying but familiar style,” said Arthur.

“I hate this,” said Princess Ivory while gritting her teeth but not moving otherwise. “A warrior should strike to kill, not to disable!”

“I will be killed if I kill a princess,” said Lyle before retracting his sword and walking toward the sheath. “If I kill you here, then I will never see the day where you defeat me.”

“Humph,” snorted the princess before she turned toward Arthur and snatched the cross from him. She stared at it with displeasure before pocketing it, “Name your demand.”

“I will,” said Lyle before turning toward Eloisa. “Is there something more you need?” he asked with his poker face.

“Nothing at all,” said Eloisa with a satisfied smile. “Watching the Mantra Style was an unexpected bonus today. So I will leave you youngsters to your bidding now.”

Eloisa was the first to leave the balcony, and Lyle waited until she was gone before he turned toward Ivory with his request, “I want to meet my friend before I execute him.”

“That’s it?” she seemed amazed. “You could have asked that of me without a duel. I will request it from my father, which will be arranged.”

“I needed the duel to demand this remains a secret. I cannot show His Majesty such a weak demand of mine,” said Lyle. Ivory stared at him before nodding and walking away.

“Meet me here in half an hour, and I’ll take you there,” said Ivory as she left the balcony, leaving Lyle and Arthur alone. The two men stared at the departing princess before Lyle gave Arthur his sword.

“Keep this with you since we’ll need it,” said Lyle. “Tell me the plan, so I can relay it to Gray.”

“Before that,” muttered Arthur as he took the sword and stared at it. “That style seems familiar to one I know. How is the Mantra Family related to the Divine Swordsman, Yurirl?”

Lyle lost his composure for a second, and his eyes widened after hearing the name. Arthur didn’t miss that change, knowing that his hunch was correct.

“I never thought that someone would make the connection since we live in different nations now,” said Lyle as he turned to stare into the horizon. “It has been ten years since I last saw him.”

“As I suspected, the two of you use the same style,” muttered Arthur while strapping the sword to his waist. “I won’t force you to tell me how that happened, but it’s my right to know what I’m getting myself into.”

“As long as you help me, I would offer you anything,” said Lyle. “Yurirl and I are two sides of the same coin. I am revenge, while he is defiance.”