Level Up Legacy

943 Even If

As the battlefield was covered with the sounds of countless rageful victims, it pushed the soldiers to fight to the death. Their hearts could not help but beat with fury, and it strengthened their powers beyond their limits.

Yurirl was standing closest to the sounds, which started to take a toll on him. His Divine Sense, which allowed him to have a perception that transcended this world, also made him sense what stood in this man's shadows.

"Does Arthur always hear these cries of rage?" muttered Yurirl with a frown as he raised his sword. "If so, he might be the best among us in suppressing such feelings. He must be so tired."

Julia clenched her chest because of her aching heart. Although it was full of grief and loss, those were quickly replaced with anger. Her hatred was small but became the tallest tree in her heart, overshadowing everything else.

Then, she glared at Yuvan Perli, who was fighting using his puppets. Her mana, which has been restrained and keeps hold of all the attacks she has stored, started running loose.

"Do not let it consume you as it did with Arthur," said Yurirl as he turned toward her. He seemed to feel her unstable emotions. "It is easy to give in to hatred, but we must reject it to protect those we love."

Julia snapped out of her hatred and remembered what she had to do. Arthur has rushed over here to protect her and lost control of his rage once he saw what happened to her. She needed to protect him from the darkness within him.

"Are you confident in facing him?"

"This is the first time I have encountered such a challenging yet delicate situation, so it should prove good practice for me," said Yurirl without fear. "However, it seems I must take the offense here."

Yurirl then changed his stance, making his sword as high as his mouth while lowering his body. An unusual aura rose from him as if he had just entered this world.

"You are taking this seriously, my disciple," his master said from the sidelines, glancing at them while a dozen puppets rushed toward him. "Remember this scene, Julia! This is one of the rare times that my disciple uses my style!"

Julia wanted to tell him it was sad to be proud of this, but she allowed the old man some happiness. Seeing his stance, she realized it was a similar style to his master. Yurirl was now holding the sword with one hand. As for the other, he opened his palm toward Arthur as if ready to launch his sword.

"Do not blame me for their recklessness," said the hoarse and angry voice before Eragon took his stance. He leaned forward while raising his sword. "This next attack... is hard to survive."

The colorless lightning gathered around the sword, crackling. Julia could feel the clouds gathering, making the snow fall harder, almost forming a blizzard. Julia saw a beast baring his fangs in Eragon's shadow and stance.

As for Yurirl, he looked like a sword, sharp and as straight as an arrow. It took a few seconds, but the two of them bolted toward each other simultaneously.

Boom!

The ground exploded beneath their feet, forming a dust cloud that rose behind them. The two reached each other at the same speed, launching their attacks at each other.

Clang!

The two swords collided, letting out a resonant cry that pushed everything back. Then, the residue of their attacks destroyed everything around the two, but they stood as steady as a mountain. None were being pushed back.

Julia protected her eyes as she tried to regain her footing, unable to believe that Yurirl had managed to stop Arthur in this state. Not even the Light Emperor could match him; even Osian lost against him.

"The walls are crumbling down!" a soldier shouted, and soon enough, Julia felt it too. The ground started to tilt, and she began to lose her balance. However, she knew that her chance was near.

"Miss Julia!" called out Yurirl as his hand began to shake. "I cannot hold him for much longer! This is the only chance you have to get close to him!"

This was the signal that she needed to bolt forward, and Julia did not care about the ground being torn apart or the force pushing her back. Pulses of shockwaves almost threw her off the walls as she tried to jump from one falling boulder to another just to reach the two fighting men.

Even now, the two did not move. The ground beneath them started to collapse, but they glared at each other. Anyone who retracts their blade would end up overwhelmed by the opponent and killed if not careful.

Before she could reach them, Julia watched the two descend with a giant chunk of the wall. She got the edge and jumped without hesitation, diving toward the two.

Eragon noticed her, and he turned his eyes toward her. Thus, he raised his other hand, quickly grabbed by Yurirl, who grimed as he touched the black lightning.

"I am your opponent, wrathful creature," said Yurirl with a tired smile as sweat dripped down his face. "If we are going down, let us go down together."

The three fell toward the ground, but Julia was shining bright colors. These were the attacks she had stored, including wind. She propelled herself like an arrow toward Eragon, slamming toward him as she grabbed onto him.

The balance shifted, but Yurirl retracted his blade before he harmed Julia. Eragon was pushed off the boulder with Julia embracing him, unable to understand what she wanted to do.

"I have just the thing to shock you into awakening, Arthur," said Julia with a smile as she looked at Eragon. Her body began to glow with dangerous lights as she released every stored attack.

These attacks would have killed her if she had used them against any opponent, but this time it was different. The black lightning devoured her attacks, protecting Eragon from her magic. It was the bane of every element but consumed his energy.

"Let go," said Eragon as he grabbed her shoulder, seeking to make her release him. Julia did not budge, even under his terrifying glares. "Let go, or I will kill you."

"You said it before, Eragon," said Julia with a smile. "You promised Arthur that you would not hurt me. You knew Yurirl would block that attack earlier, but you just wanted to scare me."

Eragon looked at her angrily as her body released the elements, and he kept devouring them. Julia finally saw hope when she noticed his frown and released every element inside her sea of consciousness.

***

The moment Arthur saw Julia next to her dying father, he knew he would lose control. The voices of rage were quiet this time, but he was loud. Arthur could hear his heart beating with boiling lava that ran through his veins.

Then, his consciousness began to fade once the rage reached a degree that was too much to bear. Arthur had two choices: burn or sleep and let Eragon out. Even before he could decide, he sank into his sea of consciousness.

Eragon was waiting for him atop the mountain, but this time, he had no chains to hold him back. Wrath stared at him and grinned, knowing it had won again.

"I told you, Arthur. This world is too cruel," said Eragon as he walked toward him. "Let me out, and I will crush those who enraged you."

"Do not touch those I care about," said Arthur as he closed his eyes and opened them while looking at Eragon. "I will let you out, but if you dare touch them, I will kill you myself."

"As long as they do not betray you, too," said Eragon after a short pause. Arthur did not reply and closed his eyes instead. Then, he began to see what Eragon was doing and how Julia stood against him.

Arthur did not understand why she was trying to protect Runera from Eragon, even though Runera had killed her father before her eyes. However, he witnessed how she worked with Yurirl and jumped off a cliff to bring him back.

Her efforts were not in vain. The moment she released her attacks for Eragon to consume, his control over the body grew weaker, and his rage had to shift elsewhere. This was the moment Arthur needed to return to consciousness, which he did.

When he opened his eyes, Arthur saw the snow falling from above. Battleships mottled the grey sky as the snowflakes fell together with the ashes. Then, he looked down and saw Julia resting over his chest.

"What made you stop me, Julia?" asked Arthur with a soft voice, enough to wake her up. Then, she turned and stared at him with big, confused eyes. Tears started gathering in them before she buried her face in his chest and cried.

"They killed my father, Arthur," said Julia as she sobbed. "I could not afford to lose you too or see you throw away everything we worked for just to take revenge for me, even if they killed him, even if it hurts."