Arthur walked toward the remains of the Living Armor, and found the key hanging from the helt. He picked up the key and stared at the immobile armor. Then, he let out a sigh.
"A sha," Arthur muttered before he stepped over the rubble.
He found a giant door, hidden behind the collapsed ceiling. He took the stairs down, found another corridor, which led him to a different tower.
Along the way, Arthur noticed that the paintings grew more nurous. So paintings had a dozen people standing together just to save space. He assud that his next opponent specialized in undead magic, and he was right.
The fourth tower was filled with undead monsters. The mont that Arthur stepped inside, he was attacked by a giant skeleton. The skeleton cleaved at him, but Arthur slapped the attack away, letting it destroy the floor, and punched the skeleton.
It kept moving, but Arthur simply left. The fourth tower was a maze filled with monsters, but none of them could stand against Arthur. He climbed each floor of the tower, fought undead monsters who grew stronger with each floor, until he reached the top of the tower.
At the top of the tower was a giant library. Arthur looked around, and sensed the strange presence standing on the far end of the library. He passed through countless bookshelves until he found a figure standing in the center of a giant magic circle.
"Arthur Netherborne..." the figure said in a hoarse, clanky voice. "The man who has it all — power, fa, and wealth."
"And you are?" Arthur asked with a frown. He could feel from the mana in the magical circle that this opponent would be the strongest he fought in this realm.
"My na is Vorathis," the man said as he turned, to reveal that he was in fact a skeleton — a lich with an abundance of mana. "But I’m not here to fight you."
"You’re not?"
"I don’t undertake pointless endeavors," Vorathis said. "Instead, I want to open a portal that would directly take you to et Severis, the First General."
"Are you betraying your lord?"
"Not in a million years," Vorathis said with a laugh. "I am simply aware that if we fought now, then you would defeat . However, you would et Severis in less-than-optimal conditions. I want to witness your fight against him at your best."
"You might be overestimating yourself," Arthur said with a smile. "How about you tell the real reason you don’t want to fight?"
The lich laughed again, producing a sound of tals scraping against one another that gave goosebumps. He waved his wooden staff and created a circle that turned into so sort of image.
Arthur frowned as he looked inside the image. He saw himself, standing next to the Five Generals, with the Death Palace behind them. The image changed to show who they were facing.
"What is this?" Arthur asked in surprise.
"This is the real reason that you are here," Vorathis said. "We are facing an unprecedented challenge. You are destined to help us overco it. That’s why I have no desire to fight you."
"You can see the future?"
"I can only see what I am allowed to see," the lich said. "Take this, and go through that portal. I believe that the First General is prepared to fight you now."
The lich threw a key toward Arthur, who caught it midair. It was similar to the ones he obtained from the generals. He looked at the portal, and could feel that it would take him to a nearby place.
"How do I know this isn’t a trap?" Arthur asked while squinting his eyes.
Vorathis was silent. "I can’t prove that it’s not. But if I wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t show you the future. You didn’t seem to resist the idea of helping us, because it aligns with your goal as a Challenger. Why would I hurt you then?"
"Even more," Arthur said. "I’m confident I would survive whatever you throw at , and then co back to kill you if it’s a trap."
"That’s scary," the lich said with a chuckle. "Let’s et again."
"Sure," Arthur said before he walked toward the portal. He felt his body shift, but wasn’t affected by the spatial change as much as he had been back on Earth.
The world changed around him, as the library was replaced by a giant door with four keyholes. Arthur took out the keys, and they began glowing. They escaped his hand and entered their designated holes before the door started rumbling.
The door opened with a slow, grinding noise. It moved until it revealed an empty room, illuminated from all sides by lanterns. In the middle of the room was a man waiting for him.
Arthur walked inside.
"You must be Severis," Arthur said. "The First General of this castle."
The man looked at him. Arthur noticed that the top half of his head was missing and wrapped in bandages. The rest of his body looked human, chiseled with muscles but carrying an unhealthy pale complexion.
"We et at last," the man said as he drew out his sword. "It’s an honor to et the man who once terrorized the kingdom of gods."
"You flatter , Severis," Arthur said with a smile as he looked around the room. "I must admit that I didn’t expect the final fight to be this simple and straightforward."
"I apologize for disappointing you," Severis said as he pointed his sword at Arthur. "But I promise that... I’ll give you a fight that none of the others could have."
"I don’t doubt that. But let ask you sothing first," Arthur said. "How old are you?"
"...What?" Severis was confused. "Why?"
"It seems that everyone here from the undead has been here for a while," Arthur said. "So of them even served under Ragnar Netherborne in the war."
"The strongest undead creatures are those with powerful souls," Severis explained. "When our lord created the army, he chose the strongest souls as his generals."
"Is that also the case for you? Are you an ancient old soul?"
"I’m a different case," Severis said with a smile. "I was born in this realm, and rose to be the strongest general of his lord’s army."
"But you died."
"Killed by the Sovereign himself when I tried to claim the realm for myself," Severis said. "I was nothing but a foolish young boy."
"I see," Arthur said with a nod. "Well then, let’s fight."
"Take out your weapon," Severis said.
"I’m afraid that the Path is preventing from that. I have a feeling that Nightmare might be a little too much for this realm."
"Suit yourself then," Severis said.
Then, he disappeared.
Arthur was surprised because he couldn’t follow the man’s speed with his eyes. It was the first ti that he encountered soone like this inside the realm.
He assud that Severis would appear when he wanted to attack Arthur, but was proven wrong again. Usually, when soone tries to deliver a strike, they have to take a stance that would reveal their position.
Severis struck without compromising his speed.
Arthur felt the incoming strike with his spiritual energy, which he released for the first ti since he t the Sovereign of Death. If he was late for one more second, then the attack would have caused serious harm.
The sword aid for his chest. Arthur punched out in the sword’s direction while using his insignia. The two attacks collided, causing an explosion that sent Arthur and Severis flying back.
Both landed on their feet.
Arthur was the one to initiate this ti. He bolted forward, almost as fast as Severis, and charged his fist with the insignia. His fist radiated dangerous light as it aid at Severis.
Severis did not dodge. The attack was about to open a hole in his chest when he suddenly disappeared. Arthur knew that he couldn’t have dodged that attack, which only left one possibility.
Teleportation.
Arthur ducked.
A sword slashed right above him.
He twisted his body and kicked at Severis.
His foot struck the man’s abdon, but it wasn’t strong enough to end the fight. Severis flew back as a result, and Arthur used the chance to reposition himself.
As Severis flew away, he waved his sword. Three giant arcs of light erged from his sword, tearing the giant room apart. Arthur dodged the first two, but the third was horizontal and caught him in an awkward position.
He raised his arms to block it.
The attack sent him flying.
Arthur crashed to the wall and fell, while Severis was just adjusting himself. The undead man rushed forward to capitalize on the opportunity.
Right before he reached Arthur, he was pushed back by a sudden eruption of spiritual energy. Severis found himself staggering back under the overbearing pressure.
He raised his head to stare at Arthur, who was rising from the ground.
The world around him seed to cry and beg for a release from his grip.
A suffocating pressure was radiating from Arthur.
"Is this what you have been hiding?" Severis asked with a forced smile.
"A part of it," Arthur replied.
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