The Demon King's First General
Chapter 81: Dormant Legacy

Chapter 81: Dormant Legacy

Kizeler stopped his running and stared at the walls of ice that emerged out of nowhere while the temperature dropped to a certain level. With the light being obstructed by a ceiling of ice, darkness enveloped the place.

"What is this now?" He murmured.

Then, as he focused his energy into his eyes to enhance his vision, he saw several sculptures of ice wolves that came to life. Kizeler was about to pull out his sword, but as he remembered the state of it, he changed his mind.

The next second, the wolves pounced at him from all directions; they aimed their ice-cold fangs at Kizeler’s body. Without any weapon to fend off the monsters, blood gushed out from the parts where he was bitten.

’Damn these creatures!’ Kizeler thought.

He pushed the wolves away and slammed his back into the wall of ice, hoping to destroy the monsters sticking behind him from the collision.

Contrary to his expectation, some parts of the wolves got crushed, but as they were made of ice, their fangs remained piercing Kizeler’s body.

Upon noticing that what he did was futile, Kizeler didn’t even try to activate his Legacy; there was no point draining his energy for something that wouldn’t even help him a bit. Instead, he summoned his strength and enhanced both of his fists before grabbing the wolves’ heads.

He was now covered with blood, but his wounds were numb due to the freezing temperature. Then he closed his hands, holding the monsters, causing them to shatter into pieces. However, the wolves pouncing at him were not even decreasing in numbers. They kept spawning every second, giving Kizeler no room to breathe.

’Is this the end for me?’ He thought as he pulled another wolf away from his shoulder.

Images of Priscilla began to appear inside his head; their memories together resurfaced before his breathing started to become rough.

’My head, I’m getting dizzy,’ he conveyed in his mind.

He felt that the place was swaying; he had already lost a lot of blood, and his complexion was now getting paler.

He was still fighting for his dear life, though he was already at his limit and would fall any time soon. Then he remembered what the demon showed him earlier, and as his last attempt to survive, he tried to imitate it. He coated his entire body with energy, and after it reached a certain layer of thickness, he sent another small amount of energy, hoping that it would cause a reaction. However, nothing happened, and the energy he exerted dissipated into thin air.

’Priscilla,’ he thought as his eyes began to close and his body started to fall to the ground.

But before his chest kissed the snow, a hand covered with a black glove grabbed him from the collar of his clothes, and an outburst of energy created a shockwave that caused the pack of ice wolves to shatter in a matter of seconds.

"Not bad; at least you’re now trying," Zeno uttered, smiling.

With a jet-black scythe on his left hand and a dying man being pulled with the right, the demon continued to walk through the path leading into the center of the labyrinth.

. . . . .

In the middle of the irregular network of passages, the wolf was busy munching a corpse. Its snouth was drenched in blood when it glanced at the battle happening a few distance away from it, but upon seeing that the other party was struggling, he returned his focus to the dead body and ate it bit by bit while savoring the taste of fresh human flesh.

Meanwhile, the group of mercenaries was battling for their lives against a horde of ice monsters with different appearances. Wolves, bears, even yetis and trolls were present in the endless wave. They held their ground, but their enemies’ numbers were not even decreasing.

"They keep on coming," the archer yelled as he shot five monsters, destroying the creatures at the same time.

Aryx, along with Froy, was wreaking havoc on the frontline, maintaining a safe distance between the horde and their mage and archer. With just his scimitar coated with fire energy, he sliced every monster within his reach.

"I’ll cast a wide-range fire spell; keep them busy for a few seconds," Anj exclaimed.

Then she started to speak so fast while making sure that not a single word was being emitted from her incantation.

"Raging fire within thee, wreck havoc and be free, set this land ablaze, and put everything into raze," she chanted.

A magic circle appeared beneath the area, and cracks appeared on the ground. Then the next second, pillars of molten magma rose into the air, destroying the horde of monsters.

Aryx and Froy ran away from inside the area of effectivity, not to get caught by the sudden eruption of lava. The attack was so powerful that it even managed to melt the thick ceiling of ice.

Anj, seeing her attack as a success, fell onto her knees, dripping in sweat. She almost used the whole of her energy from initiating that forth-level magic, and it merely killed the pawns; the wolf monster was still standing. Then, as her magic came to an end, a tornado with ice shards inside went in the direction of the group.

"Scatter!" Aryx yelled.

And like he ordered, they leaped sideways while the archer picked up Anj and carried her into safety. However, as soon as they landed, large claws came above them. The archer raised his bow to block the attack, while Anj lost her consciousness as he saw the sharp claws coming at them.

"No! Dodge it!" Aryx shouted, but he was a second late for giving the instruction.

The sharp, pointed claws had already slashed the bow along with two of his comrades. They were torn apart; the face of the archer was sliced to the point that he could not be recognized, while the mage’s body was split into two.

Froy lost all his reasoning and charged at the monster upon seeing what happened to his companions.

"Froy! Don’t!" Aryx yelled once more.

However, blinded by rage, Froy ignored Aryx’s command and continued his attack. He leaped above, and the shield on his hand became bigger. The next second, he slammed it, aiming for the monster’s head, but all that he hit was air.

Afterward, he felt a chilling sensation behind him, and as he looked back, he saw a big mouth with razor-sharp teeth aiming for him whole.

’What the-’ he thought.

However, his line of thinking was cut as he fell into the monster’s mouth. As his shield dropped to the ground, Aryx fell to his knees. His comrades, whom he treasured like a real family, died right before his eyes. He struck his scimitar in the pile of snow in front of him, and tears began to form in the corner of his eyes. Then he looked at his shaking hands.

"Is this my limit?" He uttered, asking himself.

He was not a gifted person, and he attained his current class due to his extreme efforts. Born in the slums of the Frostbloom Kingdom, he knew how harsh the world was. Despite this, he strived to get stronger, but when reality hit him hard, he stopped dreaming.

A person who failed to know his Legacy had no chance to be at the top—that was his realization until he found his circle of friends that accepted him without a single speck of humiliation.

And now, the wolf looked at him after it gulped and licked its mouth, but it didn’t lunge in his direction. Instead, it went towards his other comrades, and like a hungry beast, it began to eat them without any remorse.

Aryx watched his friends get eaten by the monster, and knowing that he would be the next, tears started to flow down his cheeks.

"I will die not even knowing what my Legacy is," he said.

Then he heard a loud explosion right behind him. He looked back and was surprised to see the silver-haired man whom they had met earlier walk through the broken wall. His hands all the way to his arms were covered with jet-black gauntlets. While on the man’s right side, he saw another person drenched in blood.

"At last, I’m finally here," the man said, then he glanced at Aryx, who was kneeling on the ground, and smiled.

"To think that one of you guys was still alive and kicking," he added.

Meanwhile, Aryx’s tears stopped flowing as he realized what the man had done. The walls of ice were so thick and sturdy that a simple fireball could not do any damage to their surface, yet the man broke it down into pieces.

"Are you giving up already?" The man asked, making Aryx lower his head.

"I can’t do a thing with that monstrous creature. You should also leave while you still can," he replied.

But the man laughed upon hearing his words, and he walked closer to him while pulling the other man from the collar of his clothes.

"If you are given a chance to kill that thing with your own hands, will you do it? Though there will be a payment for that to happen." The silver-haired man answered with a question.

Aryx didn’t know the reason behind the man’s statement, but he still nodded without a second thought.

"If what you’re saying is possible, I will gladly accept the condition! For my friends!" He exclaimed, his eyes filled with determination.

"Then are you fine if I take your soul?" The man replied.

"I don’t care; even if I die afterwards, so be it!" Aryx answered.

And the man laughed as he heard him, then spoke with confidence.

"Your dormant Legacy, let me awaken it," he said.

. . . . .