Transcending Realms With My Leveling System As A Demon-Chapter 86: The Final Command

Zylus took one step forward. He frowned faintly. The crack stayed still; he didn’t pose as much of a threat as he once did anymore.

He soon took another step, and Zylus’s balance wavered. Only by a little, but it was clear that something was missing, something that cracked Zylus’s sense.

Ivy rushed forward. "Zylus!"

He raised a hand weakly. "Don’t come any closer."

But his voice lacked the authority it had moments ago. The [Connection] pulsed again, but instead of surging, it thinned, like a dying echo. Zylus exhaled sharply.

"...So, this is exhaustion."

His knees collapsed slightly; he was preparing to falter, but he couldn’t have that, so he tried rising again.

Chris stared in disbelief. "...Even you have a limit."

Zylus smirked faintly. "Everything that exists does."

He stumbled once more while trying, but then doubt began creeping in. The Transcendent Soverign had never once felt this pain, but only now has he acknowledged his loss. The arena gasped collectively, though no one dared speak.

Zylus couldn’t have this; he wouldn’t know what they would do to his body if they allowed him to move on. If he were allowed to live now, what could they possibly do to him?

It was obvious, they were likely to apprehend him, to torture him for answers, maybe lean closer to what type of system he holds. The individuals who stood before him were the top five, aside from Ivy. And each of them didn’t hold a significant brace of remorse, as they shouldn’t.

All of them, everyone, had to continue strongly. Zylus wasn’t the only person who had sensed consequences or seen them. Each of them has, and the stronger you become, the more the world starts to change, not in favor of you, but rather, against it.

This world doesn’t let anyone rest, and power will always be balanced with consequence. Thus, the quote, ’With great power comes great responsibility.’

In any lifetime, there’s no way of escaping this. Even when you may think others are beneath you in pain, or they’re suffering less because they’ve been given certain circumstances, this was never the case.

And right here was a scenario that made Zylus comprehend these simple but crucial statements. His life meant nothing to those who have lost equally.

Zylus wasn’t the only one who sought vengeance against the spirits; they all did. However, compared to them, Zylus wanted it to happen as quickly as possible. And here, he understood they probably wouldn’t follow through, causing many losses along the way, that they couldn’t have.

But Zylus didn’t care about loss anymore, him being given this power just meant gain. Gain, gain, and gain. Selfishness is a disease that no human or Demon can escape. A cause of immense suffering and pain that a powerful being, like Zylus, held.

Ivy reached out. "Zylus, please—"

He looked at her, vision blurring, but his smile was softer than it had ever been.

"...Looks like I pushed it too far."

The [Connection] flickered. Warning signals echoed faintly in his mind, but they no longer felt urgent. Just distant. Like voices calling from underwater. His arms dimmed further. The stone lost its glow. The cracks faded from pink to dull gray. His katana stopped vibrating. The pressure vanished. Zylus swayed.

[User Fainting!]

[Demonic Katana Fading...]

[Human System Fading...]

[Connection...]

[Fading...]

[Fatigue: ???]

Chris moved forward reflexively. "He’s falling!"

Zylus took a breath, one that made him lighter.

"...Guess this is where I rest," he muttered.

His vision darkened from the edges inward. The arena faded, the ranks, the sky, even Ivy’s face becoming silhouettes against a growing void.

His last conscious thought wasn’t victory. It wasn’t regret. It was certain. This wasn’t the end. And then Zylus Elwis collapsed. His body hit the stone with a heavy, final thud.

The [Connection] went silent.

And each of them stared at him, as if he were an anomaly. But who would blame them? That’s how Zylus chose to present himself; he decided to demonstrate what a being like him is truly capable of.

Now they understood, his vengeance meant more than just death; it meant risk. And he was all for it.

"Take him!" Chris yelled, "We’ll apprehend him! Don’t finish him off!" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"But Chris-"

"Open the Secret Chambers!" He cut the second rank off smoothly, "Let’s go. Ivy, recover them."

She nodded, leaning closer to everyone who had fallen to the floor. In truth, this was everyone but Chris.

The second rank, Moovrin, the third rank, Sebastian, the fourth rank, Rasper, and of course, the sixth rank, Reynold, were now all getting healed by the same women who had healed Zylus only a month earlier.

"Stop!" Ivy yelled at the second rank, as he still tried to move, "I’ll tend to your moves!" A tear left her face, "Just please don’t try anything stupid."

Moovrin had a soft smile, "Of course I won’t," he whispered, "I wouldn’t want to die before I confess."

Tears continued to fall down her face. She looked deeply into his eyes, not knowing what he had said, "Thank you."

Although she didn’t hold any biased thoughts against the others, Ivy quickly tended to their wounds right after.

...

It took a while, about three hours, but it worked out. Although Ivy used up so much of her ability, she was now fainting. And in these moments, it became a constant recognition of loss. The same areas where she would now fall unconscious for another week, because her powers had reached a limit.

This is a setback for any healer who attempts to surpass their healing limitations.

As she fainted, the second rank caught her, "Good job today."

Chris’s gaze darkened, "Let’s go, pick him up."

Zylus had now become a normal Demon once more. Stone cracks that lit up with pink sparks didn’t glow out from his hand, and neither did his presence hold any hostility. He had surrendered, or rather, had lost, and now, only time will tell what they were about to do with him...

Inside the Secret Chambers.

As Chris yelled the command, he walked over to Mordain Avaris, the sixth rank, who Zylus had ripped apart. His gaze darkened, and he popped a flower from inside his suit, lifting it towards the moonlight, directly over Mordain.

Mordain’s body had suffered a gruesome death indeed for a cruel individual.

"Even though I know you were evil," Chris stated, "nobody deserves death, not even you." He dropped the flower as the stone cracked beneath him.

Soon, his body started falling beneath the colosseum floor, somehow, by a power unheard of. As stone began entangling the ground beneath, Mordain’s body finally disappeared, and the crack that was once over him had gone.

All Chris did was place a flower over his body as a sign of respect.

"Rest in peace," Moovrin called out, lifting Ivy with one arm.

"Let’s go," Sebastian proclaimed with a saddened gaze.

"No time to waste, I’ve just commanded my guards to open the chambers up." Rasper jumped in.

"I said we torture him more than anything," Reynold added, the sixth and final rank, who fought against Zylus.

In truth, ten individuals are known for power. But compared to the top five, the others mean nothing, just a title granted to pose a threat, more like a bluff against the Spirits, so they wouldn’t have any thoughts of sneak attacking.

As the sixth rank, Reynolds, and the fourth, Rasper, carried Zylus together, they began walking outside the colosseum. The other three followed.

Chris, who was known as the ’Demon King,’ was now also known as the top one.

Chris averted his gaze to the sky, "only for show," he thought about what Zylus told him, about the title he had been granted, "How have you gotten so creepy? It’s only been three years."

Each of them realized the crime Zylus committed. One that beared complete and utter selfishness, one that needed to be judged, or be passed through judgment by. Even with this, Chris couldn’t help but wonder how much of a wonderful asset Zylus would be in the war. Yet, he couldn’t forget the death of Mordain.

Zylus treated someone placed in the top five as a mere ragdoll for his enjoyment, to see him suffer.

"Titles might truly just be for show," Chris thought, "And I might just be weak..."

He whispered, and they continued to step towards the exit of the colosseum.

"Are we going to close this place in memory of Mordain?" Reynolds asked, clearly saddened and enraged by what Zylus had done.

"Yes," Chris answered immediately, "from this moment forward, command all soldiers, to close the colosseum for good. Kill all the remaining criminals. From now on, we only commit to preparing for the war, and nothing else."

"We’re going to be doing the first attack?" Moovrin asked.

"Yes, we are," Chris responded confidently.

"When?" Sebastian snapped back.

"Soon..." He paused, stepping just outside the colosseum now, "really soon."

"Leaving so soon?" A voice suddenly crept up from just in front, as they averted their gazes forward.

A man, squeaking in a wheelchair, moving his hands back and forth, slid forward. He held a grin, with white, majestic hair, and a slightly weakened body.

"Why not stay?"

...

"How has he gotten out of his hospital bed...?" Ivy regained consciousness, looking at this newly awakened...

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