Level Up Legacy

"Who the hell are you?" asked one of the men, one with his arm dismembered but still chose to fight. Arthur looked at him for a few short seconds before snickering to himself.

"You care about who I am when I came here to show you the truth? You haven't glanced at your leader, who fled the moment he disappeared."

"We never cared about him," said another man, the closest to the demon. "Even if he ran, we would not do the same. Many of us lost our homes to demons."

"This specific demon?" said Arthur as he pointed at her. She was still staring at him with scarlet eyes, amusement evident from her gaze. "I doubt any of you ever met her before today."

"It does not matter who she is; her race has done enough for us to fight this battle," said the one-armed man. Arthur could not believe what he was hearing and laughed even harder. "What makes you laugh?" asked the man with a frown.

"Those foolish words, of course! This is no battle but a one-sided massacre that you are committing against yourselves! Have you ever thought to believe that these same actions and heroism are what brought doom to your nations?"

His words made the crowd silent. Arthur saw the demon's face change as she no longer smiled. Her face showed surprise, which he considered an excellent time to make a deal.

"Let these men revive in the tower, and I will give you the one who harmed you," said Arthur, surprising the crowd as well. Half of them had died, and they knew that they would not revive. However, this newcomer wanted to save them.

"A demon does not forgive twice," said the scarlet-eyed woman. Arthur did not answer and met her gaze with determination. Then, she took off her robes again, revealing her twin horns. "However, a demon always takes revenge. I will give you a hundred men in exchange for this one."

"The deal is to spare everyone or no deal," said Arthur without hesitation. The demon had her smile again but shook her head. "I will also add another bonus. I will tell you the location of a god."

"…that is a lie," said the demon with a frown.

"Do I look like someone who lies?" said Arthur with a shrug. The demon pondered for a few seconds, and Arthur felt the need to reassure her it was not a scam. "I will tell you where a god would be and when. You can even meet them."

"How would you know?"

"I cannot reveal that without exposing where they would be," said Arthur with a shake of his head. "If it turns out to be a lie, you can just hunt these men and kill them again. You have nothing to lose, only things to gain."

The demon seemed convinced and nodded. Then, she raised her hand, and her red mist evaporated from the forest. Those dismembered by the mist had their limbs fly toward them, reattaching themselves, similar to what happened to Whisker.

"I undid my curse. Give me the man and the information," said the demon. Arthur nodded and kicked Romeo toward her, making him fly several meters before landing in front of the demon. Then, she crouched and grabbed his head.

Red liquid leaked from her hand, but it was darker than blood. Romeo screamed as the liquid devoured him and swallowed him whole before his screams ceased to reach them. The scene made the crowd shiver.

"You… what have you done?" asked the man with his arm detached. He stared at it with fear, not joy. "You made a deal with a demon! The heavens are going to curse us all!" shouted the man with hysteria as he slammed his arm to the ground. "I don't want this arm! I don't want it!"

"…has he lost his mind?" muttered Arthur with confusion as the demon snickered, making him turn toward her. "You seem to know about what is wrong with him."

"You mean them," said the demon as she glanced at the rest of these men. "Demons are cursed to be hated, regardless of what they do. Every creature, monster or human, will hate demons as soon as they lay their eyes on them. This is heaven's verdict."

"Are you saying that the heavens influenced them to attack you?" asked Arthur with a frown, to which the demon nodded. He felt disgusted. "Who do they think they are?"

"A higher race that has the authority to dictate what the world does and does not," said the demon with a smile as she stared at the crowd falling into despair. "I promised that I would spare them once, not twice."

Arthur did not understand until he looked at the crowd. They all stared at the demon, and Arthur, too, with hatred. Their eyes were the same as if something else was controlling them. Seeing them like this, Arthur lost all hope of saving them.

"If they do dare attack again, I will help you kill them," said Arthur with a speechless face. However, the demon just sighed.

"I do not blame them. This is not something they can control," said the demon as she stared at them with pity. "The heaven decided that all demons are enemies and must be killed. This is outside of their control."

"Influenced by the heavens, huh?" muttered Arthur with interest as he walked toward the angry crowd. The demon raised her eyes with surprise as a smile appeared on his face. "If their minds are being tampered with, I have something that can shock some sense into them."

The black lightning began crackling around his body, making the air buzz around them. His hair started to rise as Arthur summoned all the lightning he could master, which coiled around him like a giant snake.

"If the heavens want something, then they should bring their damn asses down and do it themselves," said Arthur as he stopped and raised his hand before slamming into the ground. Black lightning exploded with him in the center, creating a force field that spread to cover the entire forest.

No one was hurt, but the crowd seemed confused once the lightning was over. The anger in their eyes disappeared as they looked around and then at the demon. Most of them now stared at her with fear, but there were some confused gazes.

"What… happened?" muttered the man who wanted to lose his arm earlier. "Why did I hate the goodness you have shown us?" he asked Arthur, unable to understand it himself.

Arthur did not reply but stared at them with a frown. How much did the heavens influence his world if everyone was like this? How many lives were lost because the heavens used them as cannon fodders?

"You canceled the curse?" muttered the demon from behind him, being the most surprised about what she saw. "That… is impossible. Have you influenced their minds as well?"

"I have no such abilities," said Arthur, turning toward her with lightning still crackling from his body. "I just have something that cancels everything. It is not as powerful as your mist but has its uses."

"Cancelation?" the demon seemed shaken but then laughed. Her laugh was one of surprise before it stretched to last a few good seconds. "This is absurd. I never heard about such a thing."

Arthur did not answer her, as she seemed to have some ideas. He turned toward the men, who all looked at him with confusion. He could not let them remain here.

"I will kill Vesper myself, so there is no more reason for you to fight," he shouted, bringing their attention towards him. "Leave the tower and hide inside your rooms where you are safe. You can return in a week, and Sith Town will no longer be the same! I promise you that!"

The crowd was shocked and speechless by the promise, and most did not believe him. However, once they saw the demon waiting for him, some of them hoped that she would be the one to kill Vesper and end his tyrannical rule.

The man who lost his mind earlier was the first to use his return scroll. As his body began to fade, he turned toward Arthur with grateful eyes.

"I have no idea who you are, but I thank you," said the man before disappearing. Like a spark that ignited the fire, the rest of them did the same, all fleeing before thanking Arthur for saving them.

Once the last man was gone, Arthur and the demon were the only ones to remain. Then, he turned to find her still staring at him with a smile. However, he noticed that her eyes had turned different. They were no longer entirely scarlet.

"What did you do to Romeo?" asked Arthur with interest. He still wanted the man to be dead. "I brought him here so you would end his life."

"I would not let him off so easily," said the demon with a smile. "I believe we have yet to introduce ourselves. However, you should know my name just as I know yours."