"Levy..." Levin's voice trembled with confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"Dad, I don't understand much of anything anymore. But in the last few days, I've seen things different from what you always told me."
Levin's eyes narrowed. "What things? Saw things like what?"
Levy hesitated, his thoughts racing. "I saw my friend Braxill call upon the God Joy... and he shot thunder from the sky. He created things with his imagination. It's insane... but it's amazing, really."
Levin's expression hardened. "Levy... are you gloating over artists? That is not fitting for a young Artimancer."
Levin simmoned Grave Hand.
LEVIN'S GRAVE HAND
Levy summoned two mancer staffs, each staff summoned multiple Grave hands.
Levin was amazed "He can summon more than one Mancer staff., he truly is my son." Multiple Grave hands were summoned.
LEVY'S GRAVE HANDS
The two hands locked in a baatle to see which had the strongest grip. Levins Grave hand crushed Levys into dust. However the other three hand crashed into Levins grave hand creating an Abi collision that destoryed all the hands at once.
Levy grit his teeth and glanced toward his mother. Naggí was slumped against a broken wall, blood pouring from her shoulder and stomach wounds. Her breathing was shallow and ragged. He thought of the moments they'd shared, the laughter over a bowl of cold, sweet dessert.
"I like ice cream," Levy whispered.
"What?" Levin's brow furrowed. "Ice cream? What the hell is that?"
"It's a dessert from the god Joy. It tastes really good... and I shared some with Mom. And..." He glanced toward her, his voice softening. "And I realized... Mom is kinda cool."
Naggí's eyes widened despite the pain. For a moment, she forgot the blood staining her armor.
"What are you saying?" Levin demanded. "She's an artist. I hate artists, Levy, so you must hate them too."
"I... I don't know if I hate them," Levy said quietly. "You just told me to. Just like you said women aren't strong... but Mom is a knight. And she killed thousands of El Bacteria without breaking a sweat."
Levy "Terra 1"
Levy transformed into his Grander Macer Terra 1
"She's a liar!" Levin roared.
"Then what about Joan of Arc?" Levy shot back, trembling but unrelenting. "Or Rosa the Knight?"
Levin's eyes snapped toward Naggí, furious. "You brought him to that wretched Library, didn't you?"
Naggí said nothing, only using the moment to breathe.
Several garve hands shot from the sky and ground impaling Levin into the earth.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"No," Levy answered. "I snuck in."
Levin toosed a massive rock off of him with ease, he quckly stodd up.
"Impossible!" Levin barked. "That demonic place is only accessible to knights."
"My friend Braxill... he turned us into knights with his art ability imaginatiom."
Naggí stared at him, stunned. Her son was finding his own path.
"You're friends with an artist?" Levin's voice cracked. "Levy... what has happened to you?"
"I'm trying to figure out the world," Levy said, his voice trembling. "I'm confused right now... because the things you said aren't what I'm seeing."
Levin scoffed, trying to regain control. "Like what? Joy, the so-called god? That was probably just an artistic illusion. And Joan of Arc... tell me, Levy, what section of the library was that in?"
Levy's mind scrambled. "I... I can't remember."
"Right," Levin sneered. "That's because it was in the fiction section. You know what fiction means, right, Levy?"
"Fiction..." Levy repeated, the word bitter on his tongue.
Levy returned to his normal state.
Levin continued "It means it's fake. Made up. Imaginative."
Levy's confidence faltered. Doubt crept in. But Naggí's voice, weak but firm, cut through the air. "Levy... don't listen to him. What you saw was real and was not fiction."
She tried to stand, but her legs gave out. She fell to her knees, gasping. Levy's heart shattered. He had never seen his mother so broken.
"You hate her, remember?" Levin pressed. "All the times you ran away. You never liked her, and you had good reasons. She chose art over family, over you."
Tears streamed down Levy's face. "I said a lot of mean things to you, didn't I, Mother?"
"Yes," Naggí whispered, "you have... but it—"
"No," Levy interrupted. "Don't make excuses for me. Since I met Braxill, I realized the world doesn't have to be so rigid. I don't have his imaginative abilities or artistic skills, after all, I'm an Artimancer. But it's his imagination that lets him bypass everything. I wish I was like that."
"That is delusion," Levin snapped. "Chaos. Not practicality. You will stop speaking that way."
Levy's voice rose, anger replacing fear. "Father... tell me, how weak are women?"
"Very weak," Levin said coldly. "Compared to you and I."
"And are the Grand Macer Terra forms the strongest transformations on the planet?"
"That is correct. As of now, there are only five levels of the Grand Macer. Very few Artimancers have even reached Grand Macer 1. Only two others have reached 3."
"Then is it safe to say the Macer forms should be the ultimate state of being?"
"Yes," Levin said, nodding. "You're finally understanding, Levy."
The wind shifted. Levy's expression hardened. "Then if women are so weak... why are you in your Grand Macer 2 form?"
The words sliced through the air like a blade. Levin froze. Naggí stared at her son, stunned. The silence was deafening.
"You told me that form was only for those you deemed worthy of battle, and it's your most powerful form" Levy said. "Then by your own definition... Mother's art is worthy."
"Levy..." Naggí whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"Levy," Levin hissed, his face contorting. "You have been corrupted."
Abi flared violently around him. "To hell with it. In the end, that's the gift of men, we can just start over. I'm going to kill you... and your mother."
"I can't believe you just said that," Levy breathed.
Levin blurred forward, faster than Levy could react. He seized his son by the throat and slammed him into the ground. The impact cracked the earth. Levy gasped for breath, blood spilling from his lips.
"Father... I can't... breathe..." Levy choked, clawing at his father's hand.
"No son of mine will side with an artist," Levin growled, his grip tightening. The primal nature of Grand Macer 2 gnawed at what little reason he had left.
"LEVY!" Naggí screamed. Her primal Python power flared, forcing her broken body forward. She dragged herself across the blood-soaked ground, every step agony. "Get off my son!"
She raised her blade for one final strike. Levin was too focused on Levy to notice until it was too late.
Then, a sound split the air.
SHHKKK!
Levy's eyes widened. Levin's eyes widened. The battlefield went still.
Levin's Abi flickered and died. His monstrous form receded, falling back into his base state. And there, lying motionless on the ground, was Naggí. Her blood pooled beneath her. Her body did not move.
"...Naggí," Levin whispered, voice hollow.
Levy stared at his mother, stunned into silence.
Standing above her was Asteroy's wife, Ladybug, a spear dripping with Naggí's blood clutched in her hands.
"Ladybug..." Levin rasped. "What have you done?"
"I avenged my husband," Ladybug spat. "A knight for an Artimaner."
"I ordered you—"
"Screw your orders!" she shouted. "You were going to kill her anyway. I just got the job done sooner."
Levin turned to his son. Levy didn't hear them. He fell to his knees, crawling toward his mother's body.
"Mother... Mother..." he whispered, voice breaking. He pushed at her body gently. "Mother, please wake up." His voice cracked into sobs. "I'm sorry. I said all those mean things to you... please... please wake up."
Levin stared down at his bloodstained hands. They trembled.
Ladybug scoffed. "Don't tell me you're feeling sorry for her... or for him."
"That's my son," Levin said softly.
"It wasn't a minute ago," Ladybug snapped. "Listen, now what? You gonna finish it, or should I?"
"What are you saying?" Levin asked, his voice distant.
"Kill him," Ladybug said coldly. "Or else he's going to grow up and become the very thing that ends the Artimancer name."