Level Up Legacy

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“He is a hero, right, Mama?” asked a kid as he tugged on his mother’s robes. She was silent and couldn’t decide what to tell her son. On one hand, he did save them. On the other hand, however, he was indeed… too terrifying.

“You must decide that, kid,” said Grandma Mo, who overheard the situation. “A hero is someone you choose based on their actions. You cannot ask someone else to choose for you.”

“Please don’t fill his head with such things, Grandma Mo,” said the woman with apprehension as she embraced her son. “If someone overhears him such a thing, we would be….”

“After all he did, Arthur Silvera is still feared instead of appreciated,” said Grandma Mo with a sigh before she walked to the woman and slapped her face. The smack brought attention toward them as the citizens flinched at the sound. “You and your son would have died if he had not intervened!”

Grandma Mo shouted at the woman, who remained shaken. Even after being slapped, she didn’t dare to get angry at the old woman. Everyone in the lower districts considered this old woman a mother since she raised half of them.

The citizens lowered their heads, unable to look at the old woman. All of them witnessed what happened to those who supported Arthur Silvera. Not even the great Zonas Mantra was spared, despite being the Knights Commander then.

Grandma Mo glared at the cowards before raising her eyes toward Arthur Silvera. He was still turning ships into rivers like a god, uncaring about what the citizens felt for him. However, it broke her heart to watch him.

“He knows,” muttered the old woman before biting her lips. Tears gathered in her weary eyes, surprising the crowd. None of them has seen Grandma Mo cry before. “He knows everyone, even allies, fears him but still fights for them.”

Her tears fell down her face before she walked forward. The citizens panicked because getting close to Arthur Silvera was too dangerous. However, whoever tried to stop Grandma Mo received a slap and was berated.

In the end, Grandma Mo was standing close to the front lines. She tried to catch her breath before taking a deep breath and shouting toward the sky.

“Arthur Silvera!” shouted the old woman, her voice hoarse. She got a coughing fit just from that shout, but it seemed enough to grab the attention of those in the sky.

The golden figure in the sky stopped before turning toward her. He stared at the old woman with confused eyes and watched her bow her head.

“Thank you for saving my city and my son as you have promised,” said Grandma Mo with her head down. Arthur was silent in response, seeming amused by her antics. But then, he gave a wide smile.

“I’m not done yet, Grandma Mo. Why are you crying?” asked Arthur with concern. The old woman shook her hand before raising her head. She wiped away the tears before smiling back.

“These tears are for a good and miserable person.”

Arthur Silvera smiled without a word and nodded. After that, he turned his head back toward the ships before bringing his hands together. The rivers in the sky started joining into one while the crews began falling through the liquid.

“The show is not over, old woman. Get back.”

As the crowd witnessed the exchange between the old woman and Arthur Silvera, their views started changing. Arthur was an outsider before, so none of them understood why he did the things he did. However, after hearing that he made a promise to their elder, all of them felt ashamed.

After all, none of them cheered for Arthur Silvera. On the contrary, they all feared and criticized him when they could, believing he was the Stealer of Elements. However, even after the truth came out, they still looked at him with cynicism.

A man holding his child was the first to step forward and shout his gratitude at Arthur. He was followed by more before the whole plaza was chanting.

“Hero!”

“Hero!”

“Hero!”

“Hero!”

“Hero!”

The air buzzed with heat and thrill. Everyone was excited as they cheered for the man saving them. It affected the morale of the rebels, making them feel seen. After all, they were naturally the good guys since their leader was the hero.

“I’m not a hero,” said Arthur Silvera. Although he spoke softly, the words forced the citizens to stop cheering. All of them stared at him with confusion, and Arthur turned to address them. “A hero’s motivation is protecting others, while mine is different. The reason I fight here is that I hate these people.”

As he said so, Arthur Silvera turned toward the four leaders who were witnessing his actions with fear. All of them readied themselves for battle as they noticed his gaze.

“People like them who kill others for their gains… are the worst. I fight here not to save anyone or be a hero but to kill these arrogant and self-righteous nobles.”

The words were not heroic at all. Everyone expected Arthur Silvera to say he would protect them no matter what, but… the results were the same despite his different reasons?

“He is… a peculiar kind of hero,” said the kid still held by his mother. “Mama, he is a selfish hero!”

The mother hurried to shush her child, but Grandma Mo burst out laughing at his words. The rest of the citizens tried to hold themselves back, while some feared Arthur Silvera would get angry.

“You are right, kid,” said Arthur Silvera with a grin. “A hero is responsible for saving the day, but I do this because it’s my desire. I will defeat them because I want to!”

“…stop the nonsense,” interrupted Kaius, who was getting angry. His eyes have now changed shape, similar to his dragon. It might have been because of their earlier fusion. “You are no more than a damn anarchist, bastard! You will be the one defeated today!”

“Is that so?” replied Arthur with a carefree attitude. “Have the ability to back up your words before you taint the world with them, foolish tamer.”

Arthur Silvera then raised his hand toward the sky, turning the rivers into a giant liquid sphere. Then, the rippling sphere turned solid, creating a massive ball of wood and metal.

The soldiers on the ships fled or fell through the liquid. All that was left of the enemy lines were the mounted soldiers, those who could fly, and the monsters.

“Let me show you what my art could do now that I can manipulate the world,” said Arthur with a grin before he waved his hand, moving the giant sphere easily. Its speed was absurd, given its size. Before Kaius could do anything, the monsters he called for were crushed.

Screams and cries of the monster echoed before the giant sphere crushed them. Kaius watched with a shaky heart the sheer destructive power before Arthur placed the orb atop the Light Palace, fusing it with the towers.

“There is no chance for us to win,” said Ilia Perli with a frown. “He was not fighting but merely stating that fact. This is mercy because he gave us the wisdom to flee.”

“Close your mouth, old man,” said Kaius with rage. “My wrath will not subside until I tear this man apart.”

“…wrath?” muttered Arthur with a smile. “You have not felt real wrath, ignorant kid.”

“Bastard…!”

“I will retreat,” exclaimed the Princess of Sourna as her eyes studied the giant sphere created from their ships. “We lost our armies and our ships. This is a great financial loss, even if we won, and I highly doubt we would.”

“…me too,” quietly said the cloaked summoner. Kaius glared at the two as if they had betrayed him. Then, before he could say anything, Arthur chuckled.

“You are still the same, Jin,” said Arthur toward the cloaked summoner with a smile far from friendly. “Are you going to stab him in the back if he wishes to fight?”

The cloaked summoner took a step back as he grew alert. Then, he sighed before pulling his hood down, revealing a fact that Arthur had not seen since the First Holy Crown Trial. However, his face now had three deep scars.

“I wish I could say that you are still the same, Arthur Silvera,” said Jin with unease as he stared at him. “And I wish you died in that cave then.”

“Sometimes, I wish for that too, but here we are,” said Arthur as he raised his hand, grabbing into empty air. His golden mana suddenly flared as he caught into a hissing snake. However, before it could do anything, the snake turned to ashes. “Underhanded attacks are your specialty now?”