Level Up Legacy

Julia sobbed over his chest, and he raised his hand to hold her head. His other hand held her closer, hugging her as she grieved her father. Everything she had been holding back, all the tears and frustrations, exploded after she ensured Arthur returned.

The snowflakes covered them as Julia grieved for her father. As she did, Arthur thought about if he could revive him. However, the last time he did that, he had to give a part of himself and sacrifice his growth.

Even if Julius returns, stronger enemies will come after them. Arthur knew how important he was to Julia but had to choose their safety. He still remembers how he could not become a runesmith without Diana and Ai returning what he gave them.

Furthermore, Yuvan said that he used the blood of Doom Owls. These were the same creatures used to create the masks of Mistletoe, which had the function of anti-magic. Their names came from the fact that these monsters were the bane of humans, and their blood was one of the strongest poisons that even destroyed the sea of consciousness.

“I will be here for you,” said Arthur as he held her tighter. “No one can hurt you anymore. I will fight anyone for your sake, Julia. Until the end of times, we will be together.”

Julia did not answer him, but her sobs grew louder as she clenched his robes. Arthur realized that this was what she wanted to hear instead of him going berserk to kill everyone for her sake. Julia wanted reassurance that she was not alone now that her father was gone.

Arthur had no choice but to lie there and stare at the snowing clouds while Julia cried in his embrace. Although the weather was cold, Julia made him feel warm. This entire ordeal brought the two together, closer than before.

A few days ago, he told Julia that she did not know how he felt because she never lost anything. Arthur wished he could meet that version of himself and tell him how much it hurts to see someone you care about go through this.

It was the first time he had seen snow since the ruins of Runera, where he saw the vision of the snowy mountains. The sky had a pink hue, a beautiful sight for a sad day.

The sounds of battle continued, and Arthur knew he had to go. However, Julia was still crying, unable to stop. In the end, her voice grew hoarse. Arthur looked down at her and raised his hand, creating a rune to put her to sleep.

Then, Arthur carried her as he rose from atop the rubbles. Her face was covered in tears, and her eyes were swollen from crying. Arthur gazed down at her, finding her much more vulnerable than usual.

As he looked around, he found himself inside Runera. Runic Guards surrounded him, looking at him with fear from below the fallen rubbles. The walls have mostly crumbled down, and a giant chunk shook the ground every once in a while.

A presence appeared behind him, and Arthur turned to find the dust-covered Yurirl staring at him. His nose was red in the nose, and his face was covered with dirt because of the fall. Once he saw that Arthur had returned to normal, he smiled.

“Good to see that our efforts were enough,” said Yurirl before looking at Julia. “It might be the first time I see someone as courageous. You have good friends in your guild, Arthur.”

“I am in your debt this time, Yurirl,” said Arthur as he looked at the swordsman. “If not for your help, I would have been the one to hurt Julia, and I would never forgive myself if that happened.”

“It was never my intention to help, but it was an order from my master,” said Yurirl as he turned around. “I still think this war is wrong.”

pαndα`noνɐ1–сoМ

Arthur had to entrust Julia to Maryam before he left the Runic Dome again. This time, he gazed down on the battlefield and saw how his army fought against the Runic Guards. After a moment of consideration, he changed his command.

“To all those following me,” called Arthur, his voice reaching the distant parts of the battlefield. “Retreat in order, and allow no enemy to attack. Runera has fallen victim to the manipulations of darkness.”

After giving this command, Arthur used his levitate rune again, soared to stand above the Runic Army, and looked for Velos. Once he found him standing atop the biggest battleship, Arthur sought to converse with him.

“Are you here to surrender?” asked Velos as he stood proudly atop his deck and watched Arthur descend. “If not, then I thank you for saving us the trouble of looking for you,” he said, grabbing his sword.

“Julius Vinera is dead,” said Arthur, making the Runic Guards’ Captain pause with shock. “His daughter was manipulated to kill him, and to prevent that, Julius was the one to pierce his heart. If this plan is something you know, I will kill you here. If not, let us stop this war until we unmask the Twelve Masters.”

“Are you asking me to trust the invaders?”

“I ordered my soldiers to retreat. As you have witnessed, we are not the losing side here,” said Arthur as he turned to gaze at the warriors and elite of Runera. “In your current state, I don’t need my army to crush you or use some cheap tricks.”

“Do you want to prove that?” asked one warrior covered in glamorous armor. He seemed to be young, but his gaze was confident. Arthur turned toward him and then toward Velos.

“Are you going to throw away the lives of your soldiers, Velos?” Arthur asked the man he once admired. However, Velos was silent. Arthur sighed and raised his hand toward the knight, who braced himself and prepared. “What a waste of a good soldier.”

“Fine,” said Velos before Arthur attacked. “If your army retreats, I will agree to meet with the Twelve Masters of Runera.”

“It might be too late for a meeting since I am heading toward them at this moment,” said Arthur as he lowered his hand. “One-Armed Asura is fighting them this instant.”

“…that is natural, given the agreement he made with them about Julius Vinera,” Velos sighed. “I will trust you, Arthur Silvera.”

Arthur nodded in response, and the moment Velos saw the army retreat, he ordered his soldiers to do the same. Then, the two of them bolted toward the walls of Runera, or what remained of them, to find the swordsman fighting against a hundred puppets.

“Are these your Twelve Masters?” Arthur asked as the two landed to see the masked men torn apart before regenerating. “I doubt those are even humans.”

Velos was silent as he stared at the scene and then turned toward the corpse, which had been covered with snow. He walked toward it, crouched down, and wiped the snow from his face. The moment he saw it was Julius, Velos closed his eyes.

“I promised Julia that everything was going to be safe,” said Velos as he clenched his fists. “I cannot believe that this happened right under my nose.”

“The puppeteer is a master of deception, and no one could tell that something was wrong over here, not even One-Armed Asura,” said Arthur before he turned toward the fighting puppets. “This is the traitor I have warned you from: Yuvan Perli.”

“I still cannot believe it,” said Velos as he glared at Yuvan, who noticed their presence but remained calm. “Let me be the one to kill him.”

“Not a chance,” said Arthur as he took several steps toward the puppeteer. Velos rose as well as he walked toward them. Once the two were close enough, the puppets stopped moving as if frozen.

One-Armed Asura noticed them as well and sheathed his sword. Despite fighting against a hundred puppets for the past hour or so, he did not have a single drop of sweat on his face. Furthermore, he was smiling at Arthur.

“Good to see you looking as usual, friend,” said One-Armed Asura with a smirk as he looked at Arthur. “I would have loved to fight you as that, but it was a good learning experience for my disciple.”

“You would have died,” said Arthur with a similar smirk before he turned toward Yuvan, and it turned into one of rage. “Are you prepared to die, traitor?”

“I never betrayed anyone, for I have always been a string of fate,” said Yuvan as his puppets walked back to surround him. “Since the main characters of this fight are gathered here, it is time to start our main event.”