Levi’s only thoughts were to get the hell away from here. For some reason, the enormous demon had entered a rage. Scales opened up and thousands, or tens of thousands of black, flying creatures left its body. It was a horrifying sight.

The only reprieve Levi had was that Aleric, the mysterious druid, was right by his side, his face etched with a seriousness that Levi hadn’t seen before. Well, not that he knew much about him in the first place.

“We need to run,” Levi said, turning around as goosebumps rose from his flesh.

“Can’t,” said Aleric, causing Levi to whip around.

Levi said in worry, “You mean we can’t outrun it?”

“Afraid so.” Aleric hefted his axe to his shoulder, resting it there. It looked so heavy that Levi would have thought the man was weak if he hadn’t seen his previous display of might with his own eyes.

“You can’t be thinking of facing up against that thing?”

Aleric laughed. “If I don’t, who will? You? How about it, little lad, want to join me?”

“No.” Levi shot the suggestion down immediately.

“Then get out of here. Your friends are approaching.”

As if on queue, Levi spun to the sound of leaves crumpling and stomping. Bram was the first to arrive, looking worried. When his green eyes set on a mostly unharmed Levi, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Bram had a corpse slung over his shoulder. The others arrived a moment later.

In total, there was Bram, Gregory, and three others he had recognised from back at the inn. Paul, a knight in thick plated armour who wielded a short, one-handed axe. Kara, the healer who had tended to his wounds at the inn. And a man named Elias. He was a mage. Levi saw the vibrant mana within his container. The man refused to hide it, as if he was prideful of how much he had. They all looked angry, sad, maybe.

Levi noticed one of them missing. Mirina didn’t make it. The thought was unsettling. Then his eyes wandered to the corpse over Bram’s shoulder. It was the summoned demon; the real one. They had actually killed it? Shocked, Levi was about to ask a question when he noticed Gregory’s respectful gaze directed towards Aleric. No, Gregory didn’t even dare matching the man’s gaze.

Gregory bowed, much to Levi’s shock. “This one greets the Duke of the Imperial City.”

“Stand,” Aleric said, his voice tinged with a royalty that wasn’t there before. Levi looked at the man in a new light. “Get out of here. Warn the wall that a Titan has arrived. The soldiers will finally see battle. I don’t have high hopes for them.”

Gregory bowed once again. “Your royal command is my mission.”

Bram tapped Levi on the shoulder, signalling him to run. And he did. Together, they bolted through the ancient forest. Levi glanced over his shoulder at the oncoming demon. Aleric stood there like a statue as he awaited his battle.

“A Titan?” Levi asked. He knew of the titans, and had heard of them before. They had arrived in ancient times. In the Forgotten Era, they were the beings that ruled the world. They had enslaved humans, or so the rumours went. But no-one truly knew what happened during those times. If they had, then it wouldn’t be named as such.

“It might not be,” Gregory said while ducking under a low hanging branch. “All we know of Titan’s is that they were creatures capable of blotting out the skies. With a swipe of their claws, they could erase mountains and hills alike. Is that one? Maybe.”

“What is happening, anyway?” Levi asked. “Did that monster tear through the Krag itself? To what, save the demon? I don’t get it.”

“Something is happening,” Gregory replied with a rare frown. “From the moment we met you, to stopping the Devil Worshippers, to now. Someone, or something, is working behind the scenes. They must be.” Gregory sent a glance to the demon on Bram’s shoulders. “Someone summoned that thing. Who? That’s something I need to figure out.”

Not knowing what was going on and why forced a stone in Levi’s throat. While they fast approached the hulking walls in the distance, he kept on looking at the titan. A blazing halo sparked above its head, sending fire spitting all over the place, engulfing the trees in wildfire. It was a monster that signalled the end times, and it was nearing.

“Is it being controlled?” Levi shouted over the sound of its roars.

“Don’t have a clue,” responded Gregory.

“I thought you saw everything?”

“My ability doesn’t work like that.”

Levi was about to ask exactly how his ability worked when he heard an incoming screech. It was sharp and aimed right at Kara. Bram teleported in front of her, swinging his tower shield as if it was a door. With a sickening crunch, a creature that resembled an oversized bat slammed into a tree, exploding into a mess of mangled flesh.

More of the monsters darted through the trees, encroaching from the darkness. Gregory fired his gun, each bullet accurately popping open their skulls like he was crushing fruit.

Paul entered a rage, his eyes glossing over with maddened rage. He swiped his axe across the air, tearing through one of the bats. Kara, who Levi thought of as just a healer, summoned a ball of water in her palm. With a sudden mana surge, the ball condensed and she shot the small bead at a bat, killing it in one swift move. Elias, on the other hand, wasn’t as subtle. Grabbing a coin from his coat pocket, he threw it seemingly randomly in front of him. Instantly, Levi realised that it wasn’t random at all. Mana stormed within his container and he willed it to perform an art of killing. The coin exploded and spikes of copper metal lanced into the bodies of three of the creatures.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A metal mage, Levi thought in surprised admiration.

Levi wasn’t one to waste a moment of experience. Sorry, Aleric. Saying his condolences, Levi summoned fire in his palm and sprayed it outward in all directions. Consuming the leaves on the ground, the foliage on the trees, the bushes; Levi’s fire consumed everything.

Gregory continued to fire through the blanket of flames, accurately striking his mark. Bats flew through the fire, and Levi commanded it to stick to the creatures. Flaming targets, Levi transformed the element into a physical one. Like a grenade strapped to the bat’s flesh, the fire sparked, exploding, and sending fragments of physical fire deep into their flesh.

Levi wasn’t supposed to have such fine control of his element, especially at his age. Even Elias looked at him in shock. But this was hardly enough to warrant surprise. Levi grunted and noticed at least 6 more bats entering his fire. Before they even arrived, Levi willed the fire at his command to reap their lives in an instant. From that moment on, if the monsters dared enter his domain, it would be their last.

A cataclysmic roar ripped through the forest, chased by a strike so loud that it sounded like two trains colliding at high speed. The sound of metal striking metal was deafening. No doubt Aleric and the demon had met in combat.

Their fight was way beyond Levi’s realm of understanding. So, he focused on his own mission; getting back to the wall in one piece. And it wasn’t an easy task. The bats Levi had killed appeared to be the weakest of the bunch. The newest oncomer made that a fact.

A bat at least triple the size of the previous ones tore through his fire field as if it didn’t exist. With a flap of its wings, it extinguished his fire. The other, weaker bats who had avoided the path of flames, flew towards them with renewed vigour.

The titan spawn’s mana container bristled with power and it sent a blade of mana right at Bram, who had taken position at the rear. Bram met with the creature’s attack head on. He took the hit of the bat and slid back as a result. The result wasn’t what Levi expected. Just from the container of the bat, he knew that it wasn’t to be trifled with. If even a spawn of the titan was so strong, how mighty was its parent?

Levi tried to ignore the fact that this bat probably wasn’t even the strongest. Perhaps they’d get even stronger the longer the titan lived. Whatever the possibilities were, Gregory ended the bat's life with an accurate shot, only for another to quickly take its place.

As they fought, it was immediately clear they were surrounded. The titans bats weren’t uncontrolled like they had hoped. No, they were all concentrated on Levi and Gregory’s squad. As the closest prey around, they were an obvious target.

Before they could even get out of the forest, the beasts had forced them to stop and fight. As Gregory and the others fought on, Levi discovered that something wasn’t quite right. Gregory especially was starting to miss shots. Looking closer, Levi noticed blood beading within the captain’s eyes. Elias’s mana container was dwindling. Bram’s muscles were shrinking.

Levi realised that their fight with the demon had really taken it out of them. The demon was probably an opponent at the limit of their capabilities. The situation wasn’t looking good. Levi’s mind spun. Gregory hadn’t made a move yet, or said anything to indicate that he knew what he was doing. Levi had no reason to distrust him. He had to know something…

Gregory’s stare was blank as he kept on shooting. He had no plan, Levi realised. No, perhaps this was his only way. To fight to the last stand. Levi wouldn't stand for that.

“Captain, have you got a Birthright Seed?”

With a grim countenance, Gregory replied back, his words tired, “I have, but why—” his eyes widened as he appeared to understand Levi’s meaning.

“Because–” Levi summoned a burst of his mana, directly killing one of the stronger bats. It took a lot more mana than he had hoped, but that just told him how durable these monsters were. “—Because the only way we’re getting out of here is if I reach the 3rd Tier.”

“Levi, you’ll die,” Bram said grimly.

“Got any other ideas?” Levi asked, his attention placed on Gregory. “If you do, I want to hear it.”

Gregory grit his teeth and shook his head. “I’m afraid we’re running on fumes.”

Levi added. “Do you think Aleric can beat the titan?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you think we’ll receive reinforcements from the wall?”

“Definitely not.”

“Then we have no other option. We need more firepower, and the only way we can do that is by evolving to the 3rd Tier.”

“With those Ingredients you’ve got,” Gregory paused, shooting again, the barrel of his weapon smoking and turning red hot. “They will rip you open from within. Your body is too young. You won’t be able to handle it.”

“I’d rather that then die without trying,” Levi said, knowing full well what the possibilities were. He had felt it when he advanced to Tier 2. The pain and suffering. He could imagine how painful the 3rd would be. He was placing all of his hope in his Arch Magus Talent.

Bram appeared by Levi’s side and smashed another bat away from him.

“Well, do you?” Levi bit his lip. “We don’t have much time, and you’ll need to protect me while I begin the process.”

Gregory reached into his pocket and threw a small brown seed right at Levi. he caught it and wasted no time. Sitting down, he held it in his hands. He looked up at them. “I need one last Ingredient. A magic one, if possible,” Levi paused, then said, “No, it has to be magical.” If he wanted a chance at succeeding, it had to be because of his Talent.

“The body,” Gregory said. “Use it.”

Levi turned his attention to the demon, and focused on his corpse.

Birthright Ingredient (Epic) — Grane Brightsayer: A royal demon of the Krag that was on the path of reaching the peak of Blood Control.

| Class: Mage

| Path: Blood Sorcerer

Levi grinned. Ignoring what he was about to do with the corpse, Levi took out the stopwatch, along with the book of magi-tech. Two Epic Ingredients, along with a Legendary Ingredient of time control. This was going to hurt…

“Captain, you can’t be serious?” Paul shouted through ragged breaths, cleaving his axe into another bat. “He’ll torture himself to death.”

“He’s right, captain,” Kara the healer pleaded. “You can’t allow him to do this.”

Levi looked at Gregory. Gregory matched his gaze. “The little lad is old enough to know what he’s doing. If he thinks he has a chance, then let him. We all die here regardless.”

Levi nodded and began the process right away. He removed the camouflage from the stopwatch and immediately the surroundings changed. A golden pillar of light shot up from the Ingredient. And then, the air swirled as he activated the other two Epic Ingredients.

Even Gregory, who knew what he had, couldn’t help but but furrow his brows; as if even he had severe doubts with Levi’s plan.

“Those Ingredients…” Kara gasped in shock. “Captain, it’s impossible.”

Gregory spat. “He’s made his mind up. Protect him at all costs.”

Kara only grit her teeth and rekindled her efforts to kill and heal.

“Here goes nothing,” Levi muttered and took a readied breath. He opened the Birthright seed, and began the process. A harrowing sense of emergency took over his entire being, pleading at him not to continue.

Yet, something urged him on. An unstoppable arrogance that pierced his bones and had devoured his mana container. Grinning, Levi pushed all the Ingredients into the Seed, grinding them together…