Chapter 3: Weapon of Sacrifice

Every living being in Terra has both light and dark aura inside them. These two auras create balance inside the body. In the instance that one aura becomes strong enough to overpower the other is also the moment that that individual cease to become mortal. Demons have strong dark aura and have little to no light aura, and the opposite goes for the angels. The stronger the auras are, the stronger the wielder is too.

-Adventurer's guild of Excelsius-

"I'm very sorry sir, but as I've said the number of adventurers available right now are very few, you're lucky you even manage to get four people" A lady in the front desk says.

"How am I gonna transport these goods to another town if I don't have protection, I need at least six adventurers to do so" A deliverer in front of the desk says.

"Sir, I've already told you, it just can't be done. Every adventurer right now is either on a quest or getting ready with the main army of Excelsius subjugating that dragon" The lady says with an irritable look.

"Please I'm begging you, Mirabel will kill me if as much as a single loaf becomes missing, I don't know if a measly four E-rank adventurers can do it"

"URGH! Okay look, if you really want to have more escorts, you could ask some of the retired royal knights and adventurers in Excelsius" The lady says.

"I can't guarantee that they'll accept but here"

The lady gives the deliverer a copy of the list of retired knights and adventurers. The deliverer takes it super fast.

"Ugh yeess, my life saver" the deliverer says as he hugs the paper gleefully.

"Uuhh, let's see"

The deliverer scans the paper.

"The strongest person... who's recently retired would beee" The merchant says as he checks the people listed one by one.

"This one! Vincent and Nira Frost"

As the deliverer finished his sentence, a hooded person sitting in a chair in the back suddenly looked at the deliverer.

"Sign me up" The hooded person says.

-Frost's Backyard-

"THIS IS IT DAD! ALL OR NOTHING" Levi shouted.

As Vincent looked at Levi's determined face, he suddenly remembered all the times he taught Levi how to fight. How he spanked him everytime Levi makes mistakes, countless days of training all culminating to this. He smiles and closes his eyes.

"Well played kid, but not enough" Vincent says.

"Demon Arts: Release"

~Demon Arts: Release : The user's dark aura rises rapidly making the user transform into a demon gaining unimaginable power.

A powerful wave of dark energy suddenly bursted out of Vincent's body making Levi fly across the yard. As Levi sits back up, a black smoke surrounded the entire yard leaving him with zero visibility.

*Wha-what the heck was that move!* Levi told himself.

*Did that come from dad?*

*And this smoke. Why do I feel uneasy being surrounded by this*

Levi tries to stand up but fails.

*Urgh, I barely have enough stamina to stand up. Even managing to stay awake at this point is hard, using two Light Spears at the same time really takes a toll on my body* Levi says.

Suddenly Levi felt an aura oozing with bloodlust and rage coming from deep within the smoke. His body was frozen from fear as he gazes in the smoke, finally he saw something. It was two red eyes, Levi couldn't help but look at those red eyes as he shivers from fear. He can also make out a big figure from the smoke where the eyes are coming fron. The eyes grew bigger as the figure grew taller doubling his original height.

*This...This aura* Levi thought to himself as he tries to stay awake.

*What is this!?*

The figure slowly walks towards Levi, the ground shakes with every step. The air became heavier and harder to breathe. Levi is barely managing to stay awake. Suddenly the smoke disperses and Vincent came out. Levi leaves a sigh of relief and faints.

-Frost Residence-

Levi wakes up in his bed.

"What happened!" Levi says as he hurriedly sits up.

Levi looks at himself and sees a couple of bandages here and there but nothing too serious.

"Ugh. I guess I lost...again"

Nira opens Levi's door and saw him awake. Nira drops the plate she's holding and rushed towards Levi.

"Mom, are you o-" Levi's wordsdemon, interrupted by his mom's hug.

"Hoohh Levi, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" Nira says worriedly.

"I'm fine mom, I was just tired and all" Levi answers.

"Your father will get another whoopin after this"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes mom, I feel just fine"

"Okay dear" Nira says then her face becomes angry.

"VINCENT! You come here right this instant!"

"I'll go get you another bowl lf soup okay dear"

"Thanks mom" Levi says.

As Nira walked out of Levi's room, he suddenly remembered his spar with his dad. He remembered the fear he felt as his dad's dark aura envelops the yard. Levi's body froze again as he hears his father's steps slowly walking towards his room.

*Is dad the one walking, or something else*

*Is dad gonna transform again?*

*What was that terrifying creature?*

Every step was heart aching to Levi as the memory was still vivid in his imagination. Vincent stopped in front of Levi's open door.

"Hey kid" Vincent says as he walks inside.

Levi let out a big sigh of relief.

"Dad" Levi says.

"You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, for a second I actually thought a monster would come instead of you"

"Hehe" Vincent laughs awkwardly.

"About that... I'm sorry kiddo"

"For what dad?"

"Showing you that one"

"It's fine dad. It was scary at first but now that I look at it, it just shows how much stronger I need to be in order to be at your level" Levi answers as he looks at his fist.

"I promise you dad, someday I'll definitely beat you"

"That's one day I'll look forward to kid"

"What was that anyway dad?"

"That... Was the ace up my sleeve. My last resort. If all else comes to fail, I use it. It's a spell that lets loose your dark aura causing you to transform into a demon."

"I've never heard of a spell like that even in mother's magic session"

"It was a spell passed down from my father, hence only a few people know of this I guess"

"But as far as I know, once people get turned into a demon, they never return to being humans right?"

"This spell is actually more complicated that just transforming into a demon. The spell puts a seal directly into your light aura making it invulnerable from being eaten by the dark aura, which means you can basically turn it on and off"

"Okay, I get it. But... Won't that put an enormous amount of toll to your body?"

"Normally yes, but as you saw, I only used it for a brief moment making the side effects negligible"

"Ooohh I see" Levi says as he returns to lying in bed.

"Kinda makes you wonder what else is there waiting beyond the horizons" Levi stretches his arms to the ceiling.

"One thing I learned from adventuring and being a royal knight is that no matter how powerful the enemies are, there will always be a way to defeat them"

Levi's mind wandered for a bit.

"Well, a deal's a deal" Levi says.

"I didn't get to hit you once, so it's back to training" Levi sits up again.

"Actually Levi. You passed"

"Really? But I didn't get to hit you, so why?"

"You made me use my trump card. That's better than landing a hit"

"Wait. So. I can be an adventurer now?! Really?" Levi's eyes sparkled.

"Yep"

Levi celebrated as he hears those words. His mother who was at the door teared up for a moment, then she quickly used her sleeve to dry her tears. She walked in with food after.

"Who's hungry for soup" Nira says while smiling.

"MOM! I passed!" Levi says.

"I can be an adventurer now"

"Really?" Nira says as she puts down Levi's food.

Nira sits down by the bed and hugs Levi.

"Ooohh Levi, I'm so proud of you" Nira says as she tears up a bit.

"Hehe, I'm gonna be as strong as you and dad" Levi says.

"You better be. Or else you'll go back to training" Vincent says.

"Well you gotta eat up right now, or you won't have energy for later" Nira says.

"Why mom?" Levi says.

"A man came by a while ago" Nira says.

"He was looking for me and your dad to provide escort for him as mercenaries since we're both retired adventurers"

"And?" Vincent and Levi says simultaneously with hope in their eyes.

"I turned him down" Nira says.

Vincent and Levi's felt like their hopes and dreams got shattered hearing those words.

"What? Why?" Vincent says.

"Well we're both retired dear. So I turned him down. But, Levi, I think you might still be able to catch him" Nira says.

Levi's sad eyes became filled with hope again.

"He said he'll be waiting tomorrow in front of Rosemead 'til noon before departing" Nira continued.

"You still have time to register at the adventurer's guild now" Vincent says as he looks at Levi.

-Excelsius Kingdom-

"It's been quite some time since I last went inside Excelsius" Levi says as he admires the people and scenery.

"Flowers here, buy flowers for your love ones!" A merchant shouts.

"Accessories! Rings! Bracelets! Get yours here" Another merchant shouts.

"Weapons! The best quality in all of Excelsius!" Another one says.

"Armors! Get your armors here, only the best for you" A merchant says.

The weapon shop and armor shop was bustling with people.

"Hmh, that must be Lost Brothers shop dad's talking about" Levi says.

"Seems pretty famous seeing all those people. I'll take a look at it later" Levi added.

"For now."

Levi enters the adventurer's guild. Every person who was noisy suddenly became quiet. The atmosphere became intense. Everyone sitting there glared at Levi, a person they don't recognize. Levi walks to the front desk.

"Hello newcomer, welcome to the adventurer's guild. I'm Liliana, how may I help you sir" Liliana says.

"I came to sign up as an adventurer" Levi says.

"Okay sir just fill up this paper right here" Liliana says as she hands him a paper.

Levi fills up the paper and Liliana gets a crystal ball. She looks at the paper.

"Mr. Levi, if you could place your hand on the magic reactor, we'll know what your affinity and rank are"

Levi puts his hand on the crystal ball but nothing happens.

"Am I suppose to do something or what" Levi asks.

"Hm? That's odd, nothing's happening" Liliana says as she examines the ball

"It doesn't seem to be broken"

The ball starts shaking lightly and different colors started swirling inside the ball.

"Was it suppose to be like that?" Levi asks.

"Uhh, actually... No" Liliana replies as she starts taking cover.

The ball shakes violently as the colors merged into one. The light from the ball becomes blindingly bright.

"Wait, where are you going?" Levi says while panicking.

Everyone at the guild started becoming more interested in what's happening. Some tried to find cover and some stood up hoping to gain a better view. The ball stopped shaking and the light became dimmer. The crystal ball was filled with white color and the letter "B" was written in it. Liliana walked up to the front desk and stopped hiding behind a curtain.

"I think it's done" Levi says.

"A B-rank adventurer?" Liliana says.

Everyone in the background started gossiping and murmuring.

"B rank?"

"Did you hear that? He's a B rank"

"That's just one rank below the royal knights level"

"It's true, he's a B rank" The onlookers say.

Levi hears the gossip of the adventurers.

"Is that a bad thing?" Levi asks.

"Oh no, quite the opposite I suppose. It's rare to get C rank and above upon registration. People usually start with E or D and then gradually become promoted upon gaining more power and experience as they take on quests." Liliana says.

"Oh okay"

*I wonder what's dad and mom's rank during their time adventuring*

*I'll ask them once I get home*

"What I don't understand though... Is this color" Liliana says.

"White? Why? What's wrong with white" Levi asks.

"Well, I've never seen an affinity with a color white" Liliana says.

"Among the nine elements, none of them had the color white. Usually people get blue for water, red for fire, yellow for earth and so on. But never white"

"Hmm I wanna ask the manager but he won't be coming here 'til tomorrow. I guess I'll just leave your affinity blank for now."

Liliana gives Levi a card moments later.

"Here is your adventurer's card, it records all your travels and deeds so we know if you did your quest or not. In the instance that you lost your card, you could always get a new one here where you originally registered but there will be a fee, that is all thank you and best of luck to you adventurer."

"Thank you Liliana, you were wonderful" Levi says

Liliana blushes a bit upon hearing those words. Levi looks at his card proudly and smiles.

*Finally! My own adventurer's card* Levi says to himself.

*This is the best day of my life*

"HEY BOY!" A man from the crowd says.

Levi looks at the man.

"If you're a B rank, I might as well the king of Excelsius" the man says.

The people in the guild started laughing. Levi paid no mind and started walking towards the exit.

"Hey I'm talking to you boy, don't you know who I am? I'm Velfred the Strong, a D-rank adventurer" Velfred says.

"Yeah!"

"Show him Velfred"

"Beat that newbie"

Levi continued walking looking at just his card. Upon seeing that he's getting ignored, Velfred grabbed Levi's shoulder from the back. Levi stopped.

"Didn't you hear me boy? I sai-"

Before Velfred even finished his sentence, Levi grabbed his arm and slammed Velfred to the ground leaving him immobilized and agonizing in pain. Levi wiped his shoulder using his hands and continued walking. As he was nearing the exit, two buffed and big men stood up and blocked him from the exit.

"I'm gonna take my time breaking you" the man on the left says while cracking his knuckles.

"Im gonna have you for dinner boy" the man on the right says.

"Your eyes" Levi says as he looks at the two towering men.

"ARE TOO!" Levi simultaneously punched their stomach leaving them both bowing.

"DAMN!" Levi grabbed both their heads and smashed them together.

"HIGH!" Levi raises his arms and struck down at their backs leaving them unconscious.

Levi then walks towards the exit like nothing happened. Everyone at the guild was left with their jaw dropped.

-In front of the Weapon shop-

"Howling. Swords. Weapon shop" Levi says as he looks at the name of the shop.

*Hmmm this isn't Lost Brothers* Levi thought to himself.

*Maybe they change names*

Levi goes in the shop and saw different kinds of weapons. Every weapon was shiny and brand new. After looking at some of the weapons, he saw a white sword that piqued his interests and picked it up.

"Hey mister, what's the history on this one?" Levi asks the merchant.

"That's the sword of Viktor Autumnblade, the hero of Excelsius who sacrificed his life to defeat the black dragon Trannyr" The merchant says.

"I didn't know Excelsius had a history like that. How much for it?"

"500 gold"

"EEHHH? That much? I only got a hundred with me. I think dad got the wrong information about Excelsius' prices. How much for the cheapest weapon you have?"

"250"

Levi's spirit was completely shattered.

"Listen kid if you ain't gonna buy any, go home or get out, I have a lot of customers waiting to get in" the merchant says"

Levi hopelessly exits the shop.

"I guess I can do things bare-handed for the time being"

Levi suddenly overhears a passerby.

"I'm telling you, that old man is a hoax. He displays all those shiny weapons and only sells to those he call 'worthy'." A passerby says.

"I'm never going back to Lost Brothers again." Another passerby says.

*Wait* Levi tells himself.

*Lost brothers? That's the shop my dad said.*

"HEY! WAIT!" Levi says as he runs towards the two passersby.

"The Lost Brothers weapon shop, where is it?"

-Moments later-

Levi is standing in front of an old and worn down shop in a dark alley.

"Lost Brothers. Hm, I guess this is it."

Levi enters the shop.

"I told you, I ain't selling to you guys!" An old buffed man says while hammering a blade.

"Hello, I'd like to browse some of your weapons" Levi says.

"Oh, you're not them. Okay. Welcome to Lost Brothers"

Levi spent hours browsing and trying out weapons while the old man is creating a sword.

"Hey gramps" Levi says.

"Who you calling gramps you brat!" The blacksmith says.

Levi pulls out a black curved staff.

"How much for this one?" Levi asks.

The blacksmith was shocked seeing what Levi picked.

*This brat's got a good eye* The blacksmith thought to himself.

*Let's test him a bit*

"Out of all the sharp and strong blades here why would you choose a reject?"

"I don't know, out of the 15 weapons I think this one's the strongest" Levi says as he holds the black stick.

*15?! He figured out all the originals from the decoys?* The blacksmith tells himself.

*This kid's something else*

"This weapon. It's calling me" Levi says.

*So you finally chose an owner huh Trannyr*

"How much for this gramps?" Levi says.

"I TOLD YOU DON'T CALL ME GRAMPS!" The blacksmiths shouts.

"It's free"

"Really? Wow dad really was right about this place."

*Dad?* The blacksmiths thought.

"Hey kid, what's your dad's name?"

"Vincent"

*Vincent?*

"Frost"

*FROST?*

"VINCENT FROST?" The blacksmith says as his calm face became filled with rage.

"Wha-why are you suddenly angry?"

"YOUR DAD IS VINCENT FROST?" The blacksmith shouted angrily

"Does he have a debt to you or what?" Levi says.

*Now that I think about it, maybe the hundred gold he gave me was payment for this dude*

"Your dad. GHOSTED ME!"