Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

William needed to end the fight as fast as possible. The bird had to die. It was necessary.

He decided to go further—activating his second-stage demonic transformation.

It was different from his first form. In the first form, his body became wrapped in demonic energy—black, and seeming to have a life of its own.

In the second stage, the color shifted to a deep crimson, and his eyes followed the same pattern, turning red.

His hair began to move, as if the energy around his body was so intense it affected everything nearby.

The power inside him was far greater than before. He now had a massive boost to his attributes: 300 points to each one.

That was huge. Even the bird sensed the difference in power and didn't attack immediately. In fact, something curious happened.

The bird flew away.

That massive, majestic creature, the city's guardian, chose to leave upon feeling the level of power emanating from William. It wasn't worth staying and dying in a fight against him.

"That bird is smarter than I thought," William laughed internally, moving away and returning to the temple.

From inside, Turk felt William's power. He started breaking into a cold sweat, and something inside him wanted him to just kneel—as if William were his king.

"What absurd power!" Turk said.

A few others present who were stronger and could sense energy from afar thought the same. Everyone already knew William was strong, but this was the first time they actually felt his power.

He flew toward the temple and arrived in moments. His demonic transformation had already been deactivated—no reason to keep wasting energy.

"What happened? Where's that old man Zanyi?" William asked, his gaze scanning everywhere.

Zanyi's energy was no longer present.

"He entered the inheritance," Turk said. "I'm sorry. We couldn't stop him."

William placed a hand on Turk's shoulder. "It's fine. He was too strong for you anyway. Now it's our turn to enter the inheritance. Come with me."

Everyone moved together, heading toward the statue at the end of the tunnel.

The statue was peculiar. It wasn't human, but rather a grotesque creature with several eyes on its face and multiple arms.

Each arm held a different weapon. William could feel the same demonic energy from his body within the statue.

It was as if that thing was alive.

And behind the statue was a door. This was the door that led directly into the inheritance. The same door Zanyi had passed through moments earlier.

William crept toward the statue, each step ratcheting up the tension for everyone present.

As soon as he drew near, a ghost materialized. The same ghost that had spoken to him at the city's entrance.

Strange. The ghost hadn't appeared for Zanyi when he entered the inheritance. This was something special for William, due to his demonic lineage.

"It seems you've reached the temple," the ghost said, smiling. "Now it's time for the trials. Do you have what it takes to pass?"

William's gaze was locked on the ghost's face. With all the confidence in the world, he uttered a single word, charged with immense power.

"Yes."

It was simple. A word anyone could say. But few possessed William's determination and confidence to say it like that.

The ghost could feel it. He was no fool.

Not only that, but it stirred a memory within the ghost—one from long ago.

"You resemble the king… I will explain how it works, and perhaps give you some tips. But I cannot do much. Not even I can help people pass the tests."

As much as the ghost wanted to help William pass the inheritance trials—after all, it was better for someone with the demonic lineage to succeed than an outsider like Zanyi—he could not help too much.

But that did not mean William would receive no help at all. The ghost would do everything within his power.

"Everyone present must touch the statue. Each one who touches it will receive a portion of the demonic lineage upon completing the trials. But only one person may enter the trials, and that person will receive the lion's share of the benefits."

It was exactly as William had known it would be. He was the one who would attempt to complete the inheritance, and everyone present would get a taste of that power.

One by one, they touched the statue. Turk touched it, and the moment he did, he felt something strange within himself. It was as if he were connected to the statue—a sensation he couldn't explain.

William did the same. After everyone had done so, it was time for William to enter and try his luck with the inheritance.

"The trials are different for each person attempting them," the ghost explained. "But if both complete the trials, in the end, there will be a battle to determine who is worthy of completing the lineage."

That was all he could say. He was forbidden from describing what it was like inside, or what kinds of trials might await William.

"Good luck, and forgive me for not helping you more. I truly hope you pass, and rebuild our lineage… We cannot fade into oblivion. Please, young man, do this for us."

As he spoke, the ghost gradually faded away. Before William could even form a reply, the ghost was gone.

William turned to face everyone present, his voice loud and clear. "Stay inside the temple, hidden. I will complete the trial. You can be sure of that."

The people shouted in unison, fervently. William had already become a leader to them—not just in title, but in their hearts too.

He then headed for the door behind the statue, determined to complete the trials. Not only that, but if old Zanyi completed them as well, William was ready to fight him at the end of it all… and kill him.

*

The door was easy to open. But there was nothing on the other side. Only complete darkness, as if it were the void, limbo itself.

William frowned. "What the hell is in there?"

Anyone would be afraid to step into a place of utter darkness—even someone as powerful as William. The unknown inspired fear in anyone.

But he pressed on, ignoring the fear and drawing on his confidence to move forward, focused on his goal.

The moment he passed through the door and stood inside the pitch-black room, things changed. The surroundings reshaped themselves, crafting a trial specific to William—something unique to him.

He was in a city. It was the same abandoned city where the temple stood. However, the city looked new, completely different from what he had seen. There were several people around wearing armor made of a black metal.

"Armor of the demon army!" The realization hit him.

And the curious thing was, even William was wearing a suit of that same armor. He stood there for a moment, watching the group of warriors running toward the city gate.

A man placed a hand on his shoulder. William turned to see who it was.

It was the same ghost who had spoken to him earlier, but this time he was in the flesh—a living person.

"Is everything all right, soldier?" the man said. "As captain of this squad, I need to make sure everyone is ready for war."

An image of the battlefield outside the city flashed through William's mind. There were many skeletons of soldiers, banners, and shattered armor. They had lost the battle.

"Yes, I'm fine, Captain," William said. "I'll do my best so we can win this fight."

Deep down, the captain knew a mere soldier like William wouldn't make a difference, but he admired his courage.

"Then let's go! Our comrades are waiting for us."

The captain went ahead, running toward the main gate where all the other soldiers were heading. The battle was about to begin.

All the soldiers ran to the gates. There, they were gathering, preparing for the battle to come.

There were many soldiers who would fight on the front lines—warriors. William was one of them.

But there were also warriors on the towers and the wall, ready to attack from a distance and offer support to those on the front lines.

Not only that, but there were catapults and artillery weapons, ready to aid in the counterattack.

William stood in the middle of the crowd. Before him was the current commander who would take part in the fight: the demon prince.

It was strange for him to be there. Unlike everyone else, he knew the battle had been lost, the city destroyed, and worst of all, the demonic lineage completely obliterated.

There were few people with the lineage in the present day. William was one of them. It was strange to think how an entire, powerful civilization had succumbed and been forgotten in the annals of history.

"Could it be…" a thought came to William, a greedy one, "could I change the course of this battle?"

Despite supposedly being someone else—a soldier who had fought in that war—he had his powers intact.

William knew full well that he possessed impressive strength to aid in that fight. Who knows—he might even be able to change the course of events.

Was this his test? Or was the battle impossible to win, no matter what he did?

In any case, in the distance near the hill, William saw the enemy army. They were humans.

And at the front, leading the army, he saw someone. Someone he couldn't believe was right before his eyes.

"Master Elric!"

Elric, the bastard who had summoned him to this world, in the present day.

How the hell was this Elric still alive? Could he be an entity that had lived for thousands of years?