Level Up Legacy

Blood gushed like a stream, pooling on the ground after the ambush. There was Erin Voldor with his outstretched arm, his sword an extension of his hand. And there was also Lyle Mantra, with green flames covering his face and hand.

Lyle couldn’t foresee the attack because it had been masked by nothingness. Thus, he was helpless to stop it, and it struck a weak point that he had tried to hide since the beginning.

“Ambushes are for cowards, Erin Voldor,” said Layla with a weak smile as blood dripped from her mouth. Her hand reached toward the sword impaled to her right chest, and she tried to snap it in half. However, her strength was elusive. “Take this… damn thing… out.”

Time seemed frozen in the plaza as the crowd saw Layla step between Lyle and his ambusher. A sword made a precise penetration of her body to reveal itself on her back, like a bloodthirsty fiend. Rivulets of blood trickled down the sharp blade, taking away what little life the knight had.

“…Layla!” roared a voice from the crowd, anxious and high-pitched. Despite the ongoing battle, it broke the silence on the battlefield. Ai rushed through the barricade, her face as white as paper.

No one stopped the saint who rushed through because everyone was fighting for their survival. However, every citizen witnessed the fight atop the execution grounds. The one closest to it was the Knights Commander, Lyle.

“You are hellbent on hindering me, whore of a gangster,” said Erin Voldor as he pulled the blade from her body, leaving her staggering forward. But, unfortunately, his second strike was not as successful as his first, as the Mantra Sword sent him flying with a simple twist.

Erin Voldor rolled on the ground as the black armored woman staggered forward, only to be caught by her foster brother. However, her blood dyed his armor red, covering the greenish engravings it once had.

“What have you done?” asked Lyle, unable to think of anything else. “What the fuck have you done?”

“I did… what every sister would do… for her brother,” said Layla with a weak smile as she closed her eyes. “It has been so long… since you’ve held me… like this….”

Her voice grew weaker, and her breathing was shallow. Lyle could feel the fading warmth of her body as her blood found the world as its final destination. Lyle lowered his body, holding it between his arms to lower it on the ground.

“Wake up,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Wake up, Night. This is… not the time… for jokes. Wake up, damn brat.”

Night was a nickname that Lyle gave her years ago because of her dark hair, which reminded him of night’s blackness. It was the first time he called her by it, and for the shortest second in his life, he thought he saw her smile.

“Wake up.”

Nothing.

“Layla!” shouted the saint as she rushed toward them.

“Your friend is here for you,” said Lyle as he grabbed her arms, digging his fingers into her flesh. “Get up! Please, get up,” his voice grew weak as his hands shook.

However, Layla never responded. No matter how much he called or begged, she was still unmoving. Lyle couldn’t understand how things led to this moment since he had pushed her away from his revenge all his life. How could a single moment be all it took to undo his work?

“It seems you still have people foolish enough to give you their lives,” said the emperor. “Go and finish the job, Erin!”

“As you command, father,” said Erin as he rose from the ground, his chains floating around him. Then, again, he carried his sword toward the two, aiming to strike the right person. “I. won’t screw up again!”

“Shut up, both of you,” said Lyle as he let go of Layla just as the saint climbed the platform and rushed toward Layla. Green flames started flaring around his body, enough to turn an average human to ashes. However, Lyle stood there with wrath. “I WILL KILL YOU ALL!”

Boom!

Green flames erupted from his body, turning his features into a dark silhouette. His abyss eyes have grown larger enough to instill fear into his enemies, turning Lyle from a human to a beast.

“I vow… to kill you all,” said the flaming man as Erin Voldor stood there rooted with fear. “Every last member of the Voldor family will die on my hands.”

His hands have now turned to claws by the flames, and he used them to reach toward Erin Voldor. The Light Emperor yelled for his son to snap out of it, but it was useless. The flaming demon grabbed onto him, making him howl with pain.

“Let go of me!” roared Erin as the claws grabbed his shoulder, melting the flesh and bones into nothingness. He used his other hand to stab the silhouette multiple times, but every wound healed instantly.

The Light Emperor rushed forward, breaking one of the platform’s beams and tearing it apart. Then, he slammed Lyle with it to send him flying. Erin was saved from being turned to ashes in the nick of time, but his left arm was rendered useless.

“Retreat,” said the emperor to his son as he watched wounds on his shoulder. Then, he turned his gaze toward Saint Ai and Layla, sprawled on the ground. The former shook the latter, refusing to accept reality.

“Don’t die,” said Ai as the emperor walked toward them, but she paid him no attention. Instead, she tried using her ability, but mana scattered from her to enter the emperor’s body, strengthening him. “Please, don’t die.”

“It is useless, little girl,” said the emperor as he stepped behind them. “She has since left this world; not even the gods can bring back the dead.”

Saint Ai froze as if realizing the consequences of these events. Her hands shook as she cupped them together, with her lips whispering something. It seemed she was praying.

“What kind of god are you praying to, little girl?” said the emperor as he raised his hand to kill her. “Send him my regards,” said the emperor in farewell, but he managed to hear her words as he got closer.

“Almighty Seika, whose life can revive the dead, please save this woman from the darkness and bring her into the light. Please, please, please.”

The emperor frowned and brought down his fist, but flames engulfed him. Something slammed into his body like a train, and the green flames were enough to tell him his identity. The emperor soared into the sky alongside the furious green phoenix.

“Joseph… Voldor…” muttered Lyle Mantra, who had turned into a giant phoenix of green flames. His eyes embodied chaos within them as he kept slamming his flames toward the emperor, seeking to burn the two in mutual destruction.

“Damn persistent fool,” said the Light Emperor through gritted teeth as his fist sought the man’s neck. “Let’s see who dies first!”

The emperor grabbed Lyle’s neck, seeking to crush it. At the same time, the flames covered his body, inflicting deep burns that reached his bones. However, the emperor used the mana he absorbed to regenerate himself.

As the two wrestled in the sky, the soldiers on the ground were still suffering against the fallen beings. Rain led her enchanted knights to help, but it was useless against the immortal. Finally, the battle was interrupted by the landing of the emperor and Lyle in the middle of the battlefield, causing an earthquake in the plaza.

Knights and rebels ceased battle to stare at the scene since the victor between these two would determine which side would surrender. Then, as the dust cleared, Lyle appeared with his green flames, wielding the Mantra Sword.

“I will have my revenge!” roared Lyle as he grabbed the sword with both hands, stabbing it toward the Light Emperor, who was pinned on the ground with half of his flesh missing. The sight was gruesome, but the emperor had not fallen yet.

“I will never perish!” roared the emperor with a crazed on his face as Lyle stabbed the Mantra Sword into his body. Then, the emperor roared with fury as he grabbed the sword, but Lyle pulled it and stabbed it again and again and again.

The world disappeared around them, except for the sound of his breathing and the mingled flesh. Lyle could not remember how many times he struck the emperor and only stopped when he realized that the emperor had long since stopped moving or shouting.

Then, he staggered out of the crater, feeling the emptiness of a fulfilled revenge. Knights and rebels stared at them alike, unable to understand what had happened. It has never occurred to anyone that the emperor can die.

Lyle staggered forward before falling to the ground. His knees slammed to the pavement while his hand dropped his weapon. It was over. The fight was concluded, but there was nothing inside him. There was no relief that it ended or the satisfaction of having exacted his revenge.

There was… nothing.

“I… will… not… perish…”

Then, there was something.