Arthur read the notification before he stared around the Colosseum, its empty stands, and the blood that had dried over its walls. As he waited for the first-ranked monster to appear, the tower kept sending him notifications.
[Be warned that revival is disabled from now on, and there will be no regeneration in your room. Any injury that you sustain will affect your real body as well.]
A flashing notification appeared before him as the first summoned legendary being appeared. Arthur looked at the creature manifest before him, only to find that it was a woman with angelic features and wings. She wore no armor, only a simple white dress that complented her blond curly hair.
"Are you my new toy?" asked the woman with a grin that was far from angelic as she waved her hand, and a long white sword appeared. "Have you heard stories about , lad?"
"I have no idea who you are…" answered Arthur with a frown. "How can we converse if you are an astral being?"
"This tower has its own translator," said the woman before pouting. "You did not hear about the heroic Miss Angela? I have won many famous battles across the universe! Ever heard of the Demon Kisser?"
"…whoever gave you that title hates you," said Arthur before retrieving his dagger. "I'm afraid I don't have a lot of ti to chat. Let's make this quick and easy."
"I see that you are in a rush, how unattractive," said the angelic woman as she retracted her hand, preparing to slash with her sword. "A single interaction is enough to gauge your strength."
"It would be rude to go all out," said Arthur as he lowered his body, flipping his dagger to use its unsharpened end. "I hold nothing against you."
"A confident man is attractive," said the woman as her wings spread open, before she flipped them and bolted forward. Her figure disappeared from the world as she appeared in front of Arthur, slashing toward him.
Her arm beca a blur as she slashed space apart as if it were fabric. Arthur maintained the sa stance, choosing not to dodge or attempt to block, but to attack. Whoever was weaker among them would be killed, but Arthur made sure to hold back.
In contrast to the flashy attack the woman executed, Arthur was moving slower than a snail. As the angel scoffed at his speed, she lanted having to kill such a young and handso man. It was then that she noticed sothing odd.
Although she could see the man moving slowly, she was even slower than him. Her speed seed to have halted, as if ti flowed slower for her. It was then that she noticed the black light leaking from Arthur, making her pupils constrict.
"That light…!"
Boom!
As if ti flowed in a single gush, everything happened in a split second. Arthur slashed the incoming sword and sent Miss Angela flying to crash into the stands before falling to the ground. As she tried to rise within the dust cloud, her eyes still unable to believe what she had witnessed.
Arthur released his dagger, sending it back where it belonged. Although the tower did not announce his victory, he could tell that this woman knew how to choose her battles.
"Young lad… that light that you have used…" muttered the woman with confusion. "How can you be so calm as you wield wrath?"
"I conquered its kingdom," answered Arthur as he looked at her from above the stage. "Was that single interaction enough?"
"…haha, I admit my defeat indeed," said Miss Angela as she threw away her sword. "My friends will never believe that I t the legendary man."
Arthur laughed at the irony of having to et a legendary figure only to be called a legend by them. He said nothing as he watched the woman tidy herself and then jump to stand before him.
"Greetings, Returning King," said the woman with a grin as she placed a hand over her heart and bowed. "We have been waiting for you."
"Who is we?"
"Every demigod that has been rejected by Devaheim," said Miss Angela with a smirk that hid her anger. "We heard legends that a man will be born who can take on the gods head-on, but most called them childish dreams."
"I never knew the gods were so hated," said Arthur with a raised brow. "Does every demigod feel the sa about them?"
"Those with a backbone at least," said Miss Angela. "I announce my defeat."
[First summoned legend has been defeated.]
[Summoning the next…]
After she announced her defeat, Miss Angela began to disappear. She waved goodbye as she faded into nothingness, replaced by another demigod. This ti, the enemy was a man covered with leaves and had a body of branches.
The two exchanged no words before fighting, and Arthur realized this man was stronger than the angelic woman. After three exchanges, the man had not a single wound.
Arthur wanted to gauge his strength first, but decided that it was boring without the man telling him so things like the woman from earlier. Thus, he used the first stance of his art, Eternal Night. He killed the demigod instantly.
***
All sorts of demigods existed, even ones beyond Arthur's comprehension. The one that caught his eyes the most was a cyborg, who has built himself from nothing but a human to beco a demigod. But in the end, none of them gave him a real challenge.
Demigods should be stronger, Arthur believed. The ones that have appeared did not seem to be the actual bodies, but just an incarnation of the demigod in this tower. Their abilities were weak and their stats were below his.
The tenth demigod appeared, and Arthur noticed sothing strange. It was an ethereal creature made from runes. The strange characters floated inside his ethereal body, but Arthur recognized them as runes.
"Greetings, Returning King," said the demigod as he bowed, his voice childish and pure. "I have been waiting for this ti when we can get to et."
"You don't know ," said Arthur with a blank face. "You should be the one who taught Ai how to find , the astral being who used to know King Arthur before ."
"You are insightful indeed," said the creature while still on the ground. "I sent word together with that human because she had a small shard from your strength. It seems I did well, but I still managed to et you because of this red tower."
"Who are you?"
"I served the Nether King before his death, and have waited all this ti for his return," said the creature as he rose from the ground. "I ca back to serve you, my king, Arthur Netherborne!"
"I appreciate that, but I don't know you," said Arthur with a shake of his head. "If there is sothing you would like to tell , I understand. Otherwise, et another ti and tell who you are."
"There is indeed sothing I wish to report," said the ethereal creature with his childish voice. "The gods have realized your return, and are waiting for the chance to attack once you conquer this tower. It would be then that they could break their contract and invade this dinsion."
"I know about that."
"You cannot defeat them with your current strength," said the creature with a shake of his head. "You have yet to master wrath or creation, and that makes the Divine Army an impossible foe to defeat."
"…how do you know this?"
"I have remained as an astral being, hiding myself in preparation for the day that you return," said the childish creature as he placed a hand over his face. "I abandoned my body and na for that reason. Please believe , Arthur Netherborne."
Arthur could no longer dismiss him, so he had to change his approach. If his current powers weren't enough to fight the gods, then he wouldn't know what would be. After all, he knew his current mastery of wrath was only at the first level.
"What would you suggest?"
"Let gather an army of astral beings to hold back the gods once you arrive. At that ti, go back to your world and hide there until they find you. The ti we obtain will be enough to grow our army for us to finish what we started."
"What we started?"
"Killing all gods."
His voice was still childish, but it contained a certain cold hatred that Arthur realized. In the end, he nodded toward the creature, and it announced his defeat. Arthur watched it fade as he realized that his life will never be the sa anymore.
[You have defeated ten astral beings, passing the second test. As for the next and final test, you will face fear.]
Arthur did not understand what the tower ant by his fear, but he did not feel such an emotion anymore. As the tower transported him to another place, it sent him another notification.
[Ti has been dilated one hundred tis for the purpose of this test. You must spend one hundred hours here, alone.]
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