Level Up Legacy

Chapter 1458: The Sovereign of Death - Part 11

Arthur threw a volley of fists, creating a storm of destruction. The undead could not even fathom what was happening before they were blasted away. He created a path ahead, and he advanced through it. As the undead tried to stop him again, another volley of fists rained.

The Sovereign of Death was watching him again. Arthur didn’t want to reveal his insignia just yet. It was his only trump card in this realm, and revealing it too soon was a mistake.

On the other hand, Arthur knew that the Sovereign had assembled his troops today in order to see the extent of Arthur’s abilities. It was only a matter of time before Arthur would be forced to reveal it.

The undead monsters disregarded any wounds he gave them. A zombie-bear had a giant hole in its chest after receiving a punch, but it still ran forward. Arthur could only use the force behind his attacks to move them away.

After reaching the midpoint between the gate and the towers, Arthur sensed a shift in the army’s strategy. Instead of rushing toward him, they seemed to move to lure him in a certain direction. They gathered on the sides, and Arthur could only run through the gap.

Arthur was not worried regarding any traps that they might have. If there were any magic circles or traps, he could disable them. If there was a powerful enemy, it would be wiser to take care of them first.

The more he ran forward, the more the army retreated and surrounded him. Arthur stopped running when he found himself in the middle of a giant ring formed by undead.

"Well, this looks like a good battle arena," Arthur said with a grin as he looked around. The undead monsters were stacked on one another, forming walls to hold him inside. "Don’t worry, I won’t run... so show me what you got."

Arthur stood in silence as the undead stared at him. He waited for another few seconds before a giant shadow appeared on the ground. He looked up at the sun and found a figure floating in the sky.

"Wait..." he muttered in confusion. "I met this thing before."

Arthur remembered his journey in the Red Tower. It was his first real battle against Devaheim and its armies. One of its soldiers was an angel with powerful abilities.

The figure floating in the sky resembled that angel. It was a woman with an iron mask covering her upper face. However, Arthur noticed some differences. Her wings were not white, but red. The blonde hair was now white.

"Is this... an undead divine creature?"

"That’s right!" a voice answered him as another person emerged from behind the angel. It was a young boy with red wings. He stood on the angel’s broad shoulders. "This is my finest creation! A true nightmare descended from the heavens!"

Arthur stared at the newcomer. He looked like a boy, but his aura told Arthur that he was a monster. He was not an undead creature, but something else entirely. He reminded Arthur of Seraphine.

"You’re a demon?" Arthur asked with a frown.

"That’s what Devaheim calls us," the boy said with a grin. "My name is Nyxiel, the Fifth General of Death. I will be the one to take your life."

Arthur stared at the demon and found no resemblance to the elegance of Seraphine. It seemed there were different types of demons, but they were targeted by the gods.

"I’m guessing you created this undead army?"

"A big part of it," Nyxiel said with a grin. "Are you intimidated?"

"Not at all. But I am impressed. What kind of demon are you?"

"A flesh demon," he said with a grin. "A single touch of my fingers is enough to melt your flesh and bones."

"That’s scary," Arthur said without a shred of fear in his voice. "I can see that you are proud of that undead, so go ahead. Let us see its powers."

"You will regret underestimating me," the boy said with rage. "Legan, attack!"

Nyxiel flew away as the angel began to move. It waved its hand and a sword materialized in its grip. Then, with a single flap of its wings, it descended to the ground.

Boom!

The ground shook as the angel landed. Arthur stood with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. Since the Sovereign wanted to test Arthur, the latter would happily do the same.

The angel opened its mouth at the same time that it swung the sword. A strange hum echoed from its mouth, while the sword created arcs of light all rushing toward Arthur.

The arcs cut through the ground like it was paper. There were a total of eleven rushing toward him at the same time, covering all escape routes. Arthur felt his body shake as he listened to the hum of the angel, which should be some kind of paralysis spell.

"Interesting," Arthur said with a grin.

Then, he raised a foot and slammed it to the ground.

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed as dust rose around Arthur. The ground itself rippled as an aftereffect of his strike, rushing in every direction and intercepting the arcs of light.

"He can move while listening to the hum?!" Nyxiel cried out in surprise. "That spell was enough to freeze the First General for three seconds! It had no effect on this man!"

The angel was not done.

After seeing that its attacks had failed, it moved closer. A single flap of its wings brought the undead face to face with Arthur. The long red sword came cleaving down at him as he stood in place.

"He doesn’t have the time to dodge!" Nyxiel cried in joy. "Arrogant bastard!"

Boom!

A bigger dust cloud rose around them. Once it settled, Arthur was still standing in front of the angel, with the latter trying to pull away the red sword held between Arthur’s fingers. He grinned at the angel and then raised a leg, kicking it in the stomach.

The angel flew like a broken kite, leaving the red sword between Arthur’s fingers. It crashed into the wall of undead and didn’t stop rolling for a while.

On the other hand, Arthur was examining the sword. It looked similar to Seraphine’s blood magic, but a lesser version of it. The first time he met the demon, she also tried to kill him with a similar attack.

"Tell me, Demon. How is your relationship with the Blood Demons?" Arthur asked as he held the sword by the hilt and examined it. "This is similar to their works."

Nyxiel was more surprised than angered.

"Blood Demons no longer exist," he said. "I have no relationship with them."

"No longer exist, huh?" Arthur said with a smile. "What if I told you that the Blood Queen is my friend?"

"The Blood Queen?" Nyxiel asked. His voice was a mixture of fear and respect. "You are lying. Our Queen died in her fight against the gods."

"What does lying serve, when I’m so much stronger than you?" Arthur said with a chuckle as he threw the sword into the sky. It bolted toward the demon, grazing his cheek and flying into the distance.

Nyxiel flew away with a yelp. Arthur snickered as he looked at the demon descend to the ground in front of him.

"I can’t believe that the Blood Queen is alive."

"Not even Devaheim believes it. But she is fighting for my guild right now," Arthur said with a grin. "You called her your queen, and that has spared your life, demon. I won’t harm a subordinate of Seraphine."

The demon began trembling.

"That name..."

Nyxiel fell on his knees.

"The Queen is alive?"

"Alive and well," Arthur said. "We plan on killing the gods who killed her people. How about you join us? If we can turn every soldier of the gods to our side, we will have an unstoppable army."

The demon stared at Arthur with confusion, mistrust, and something hidden beneath the surface. Light returned to the demon’s eyes as he rose from the ground.

Arthur recognized the look in his eyes.

It was hope.

"If she lives, then my powers... my army... and my life are hers," Nyxiel said with conviction. "But I don’t understand. Who are you?"

"You know who I am, but you have yet to connect the dots."

"I know?" Nyxiel asked.

"Let me help," Arthur said with a grin. "My name is Arthur Netherborne."

Nyxiel stared in confusion.

Then, realization.

"Netherborne," he muttered. "You are related to Ragnar Netherborne."

"That would be my ancestor," Arthur said with a grin.

"Everything makes sense now," Nyxiel said. "Our lord told us that you can become our greatest ally, but we didn’t understand. He has been waiting for you, the man destined to bring down the gods."

"And I’m here to meet your lord," Arthur said.

"I understand," Nyxiel said. "I’ll take you to the central tower."

"There is no need," Arthur said. "I have a feeling that your lord wants some proof of my strength first. I don’t mind."

Nyxiel nodded before taking out a key from around his neck. "You need four keys to open the central tower. This is one of them. The other generals, each in their own tower, have the other keys."

"You’re not going to fight me?" Arthur asked, teasing.

"I value my life, good sir," Nyxiel said. "I was enraged when you destroyed my tower, but now... I understand that I almost lost my life because of my recklessness."

"I never intended to kill a genius like you," Arthur said as he raised a hand, and the key flew toward him. "Thanks, Nyxiel."

"My pleasure, Lord Netherborne," the demon said with a bow and then rose with a smile. "Welcome to the Lower Realms."