Level Up Legacy

High above the plaza, a little before it was covered with golden roses, a group of people appeared beside the Runic Dome and Goaty. The two vessels arrived to grant support to the rebellion but were met with unexpected opponents after their first attack. Julia stared at the screen with a frown as she pressed the button to transmit her words to the newcomers.

“What is Dragonir guild master doing here?” Julia asked the dragon rider, who appeared alongside several other figures. All of them were powerful figures belonging to the seven families.

“Ascent has been attacking my guild without a just cause, and I am here to demand justice,” said the dragon rider with a smile. “As for my comrades here, they are here to stop the fight in Ilios. We cannot watch as a nation falls.”

“Are you willing to stand against Arthur Silvera, too, Ilia Perli?” Julia asked the man in uniform, and his face was blank. “The two of you fought against a calamity before, so we always assumed you were a friend.”

“I did what I believe was best.  If Ilios fell, then it might cause another series of invasions and wars,” said Ilia with a complex face. After all, he once followed Arthur Silvera to battle.

Other than the two, there was the flying witch of Sourna wearing a veil and a dress that revealed her stomach. The fourth newcomer was a cloaked man sitting cross-legged atop a snake’s head, which had the body of a tortoise.

Julia knew this was the worst scenario. After all, the situation was as dreadful as it could be, and Arthur had yet to return from prison. Four families sent their families, along with troops they had picked up in the distance.

The cloaked man seemed to be a summoner, making him from the Tenera Kingdom, which had been quiet for some time. Thus, the only two who decided not to interfere with this fight were Orlan and Janea.

“Are you here to fight alongside the emperor?” asked Julia again to make sure.

“We are here to stop the rebels from winning,” said Ilia Perli while gesturing toward the Runic Dome. “If you remain put, then we don’t have a reason to fight.”

Julia was in a pinch. After all, if she decided to ignore them and aid the ones below, it might backfire and drag more monsters into the battle. But, on the other hand, if these four were willing to watch while the fight unfolded, it might be the best method for her to protect the rebellion.

“Send us out,” said a voice behind her, and Julia turned to see the woman Arthur had brought with him. Suyin stared at her with a calm face that assured Julia she wasn’t being reckless. “I can handle two of them.”

“You are still in training,” Lin Xue disagreed, and Julia knew there was some truth to that. “I can’t let you endanger yourself and lose control again. We all know that power isn’t free.”

“We cannot sit idle and wait until Arthur arrives,” said Yuran with a frown as he loaded his magic gun. “We are no match to these four, but we must do something.”

Their current strongest members were Li, Yuran, and Alan. Jonah was far weaker in comparison, making him unfit to join the fight. However, Suyin wasn’t a member of her guild, so she couldn’t get her involved. Lin Xue was the same.

“The three of you should go and fight them, and I’ll try to support you using the Runic Dome,” said Julia, and the fight began. Finally, however, Ilia Perli was the sole enemy, and he was enough to stop the three.

***

The confidence that Arthur Silvera exuded made Osian nervous. It was the first time he had experienced such a feeling ever since he became an empyrean rank. However, he snapped back to reality when he remembered that there was no possible way that this man could stand against him.

“And what if you defeated the calamity?” said Osian as he calmed himself down. “Do you think you can take on the strongest the world has to offer?”

“I can.”

The concise and confident answer angered Osian, who was already feeling humiliated to be looked down upon. Thus, he tried to reassume his stance but failed to move again.

Osian regained control of his body, and the fact that he lost it reminded him that ranks were meaningless in front of this creature. He froze the world with a single command and might be capable of ending it just the same.

“Before we begin,” muttered Arthur Silvera, making Osian pause. Then, he turned toward Lyle, who fell to the ground after the gravity field disappeared. “Go and finish your revenge. The emperor is still alive and has escaped the battlefield.”

Lyle was silent before staring at Rain, seeing she had been healed before he nodded. Then, he turned into the wind and disappeared, going after the fleeing emperor who wanted to save his life.

“We can have our fight now,” said Arthur Silvera toward Osian, who took his stance. “You are strong.”

“I know that already, boy. You will wish to have kept me frozen,” said Osian as he unleashed his strength, exploding his aura to vaporize the ground around him. “This is my Zenith Art. It lets me become the strongest.”

“The strongest, huh?” muttered the crowned man with a hint of distaste and disinterest. “The strongest man is someone who doesn’t want to be that, and that person is me.”

“Foolish!” roared Osian as he stomped on the ground, sending a shockwave across the plaza as his foot dug into the ground. His muscles bulged as his years of training manifested in his form. “The strongest can do anything!”

“Immoral people can do anything, not the strongest,” said Arthur Silvera as he reached out toward the void. Then, he took pulled out a chain that radiated with abnormal strength. Osian thought he would fight with it, but his assumption was wrong. “Isolate.”

The chain flew from his hand as it elongated to surround Arthur and Osian. It created a barrier that contained the destruction, allowing nothing to escape it. Osian glanced at it before looking back at Arthur Silvera, his face drained of color.

“Who… are those… two?” asked Osian with confusion as his old face seemed to age rapidly. Behind Arthur Silvera stood two figures, one golden and the other made of black lightning.

“Answers are for the living.”

“I will not perish here!” roared Osian as his aura exploded. “I am the empyrean rank, capable of harnessing and recreating the universe!”

The world began to evaporate as Osian started turning the elements into his strength, making his body grow bigger. Arthur stood there without attacking, letting him amass whatever strength he needed.

“You look down on the invincible!” roared Osian as his red aura exploded from his body while levitating under the disappearing gravity. The isolating chain of order didn’t prevent others from seeing what was happening inside, but it protected them from being harmed. “Zenith Art, Strongest Trace!”

Osian roared as he bolted forward, destroying everything around him. The ground beneath him disintegrated, pushing the air away from his path. The old man was covered with red energy covering him. He looked like a demon as his human features disappeared.

“Cassius was far stronger than this,” said Arthur with disinterest as he raised his left hand, which was covered with black lightning. It crackled while growing bigger until the world could hear its rumbling. “And he still lost.”

The black lightning exploded from his hand to cover the world. It crackled as it flared to meet Osian the Invincible head-on, disabling whatever strength he had into nothingness.

Osian bolted through the black lightning, still using his physical strength to win against Arthur. The difference between the empyrean-rank and the other ranks was still too great, but it couldn’t compare to Amelio.

[Obliterate]

A rune appeared on Arthur’s right hand, which he clenched into a fist. Then, he punched using the rune, making it explode with unparalleled strength as his mana infused into the rune.

Boom!

Blinding light exploded from the rune as the world was obliterated before it. Osian the Invincible was swallowed by the explosion, which sent him flying, and he slammed against the chains of order. He roared as the rune sought to turn him to nothingness before destroying the chains of order.

“HOW CAN I… LOSE…?!” roared Osian as the world was covered with blinding light, and he was sent flying across the plaza. Ultimately, he slammed into the execution platform before falling to the ground.

The battle stopped between the knights and rebels, all choosing to stare at the fight’s outcome. None of them could believe that the monster who defeated Lyle Mantra in an instant was defeated in a single attack.

“…not yet,” muttered Arthur Silvera as the battlefield cleared from dust. He stood there while staring at Osian and clenched his right fist. “This is not the reason you were called the invincible. Show me the truth. Show me the darkness.”