Chapter 129: Excalibur's Power

"Are you willing to join my cause and escort me towards the demon's domain? It won't be a safe trip, and I can't promise your safety. But I will do the best I could to protect every one of you within my powers. That would increase our chances of stopping the war, especially if I would bring more forces for my father," Lilith asked, and gazed into my eyes. "If my father sees our relationship, he might have a change of heart. Demons and humans uniting together is unspoken throughout our time. We would mark those history textbooks and destroy the stigma of those two clashing forces. So, what do you say?"

"I need to consult my friends first before accepting your offer. For now, can you please keep that offer on hold? We would decide once these two woke up," I remarked, and pointed my two fingers at Fenrir and Merleen. "If someone doesn't want to, I won't force them to join this dangerous mission. It's like what you've mentioned, Lilith, This involves taking a risk and entering the lion's den. We can hold against our enemies, but we have some limits."

"Which is why I propose to you another thing, Lilith," I added, while giving her a wink. "You said that you can't promise any protection, since you're just alone. You don't have to, but you're willing to defend us when the time comes?"

"Yes," Lilith answered. "Since you're visiting the demon's kingdom with my permission, I would certainly do that."

"You have a system. I know how that works, especially when that system clearly made me your goal. And since you'd need more power, it won't hurt to use that to our advantage. Plus, you vowed to protect us. Your words mean a lot to me."

Lilith had trouble understanding the words I told her. But she believed everything I said and planned on cooperating with me when the time comes. And all of these projects would happen throughout our journey, considering the hours spent down the road.

If Lilith was a monster without using those systems, I couldn't fathom how powerful she could become with one. That system would strengthen her statistical power by ten-fold, or even higher than that. Considering she was a demon, Lilith would have no trouble listening to my instructions. Demons knew a myriad of things compared to other people huddled inside their villages.

After exchanging our thoughts, Lilith and I spared some conversations throughout the night. Meliodas was the first one to hit the sack, saying that he needed to rest for a while. He was also a part of our team, so we needed his vote for this trip. Everyone had the privilege to do what they wanted, and I won't force them to come towards the demonic kingdom.

"Are you going to take some rest, Arthur? You are a human who needs sufficient time to reset your organs." 

Despite living in this world, Lilith had some good sense of Science inside her head. It was what she had mentioned. Humans needed some time to rest to start the day, compared to the demons and other creatures. Our bodies did not have the strength against other species, considering their stature and inborn statistical powers. 

However, humans could think about the bigger picture. Humans also attacked in a group and never alone, regardless of inner strife.

But it won't take a genius to know that nobody would win in a war. It would be better if these two sides would team up against the great famine that struck the world. 

"No. Actually, I had plenty of rest before arriving in this place. And I would restore them soon or throughout our trip," I replied, while faintly laughing at my words. "We won't have this time as soon as we step on the battlefield. We might as well use this event to converse with each other, Lilith."

I brushed those thoughts and continued our conversation, knowing that there was more to this story. Learning about Lilith's point of view would help us in the future, especially if she planned on joining our team. Since our goals aligned for the greater good, inviting Lilith would always be an option inside my head.

Lilith was the first one to share her thoughts and stories to me. She summarized her entire lifetime and told me about some of her problems. That demon also talked about something important, which kindled my motives.

"Since we are experiencing a famine, the demons and humans have lost a handsome amount of resources, including food and materials. It doesn't seem like it, but those forests are slowly withering into dust as we speak. And instead of sharing the resources, these two sectors keep killing each other. My father wouldn't dare listen to my words even if I plead him about our circumstances," Lilith ranted, while watching the fire burnt the woods. "Truth be told, my mother got killed by the humans from the previous war. The humans also suffered a lot and lost some lands that became our own territory. But those areas would never replace the death of my mother! Even so, I still found some forgiveness inside of me, unlike most demons residing in my kingdom."

I couldn't fit my shoes inside Lillith. She had been through a lot of stress beyond my expectations, which made me silently listen to her story. And when Lilith looked at my face, I scratched my head and flashed her a smile.

"We could stop if you hate telling those grim parts. Or, you could continue sharing what you want to share with me. Any choice would do. I will listen to everything you say, Lilith," I said, and motioned her to continue if she ever wanted to.

Lilith shook her head and replied, "That's all of it for now. I could tell you about the holy grail. But I will leave that story for another time. Maybe on the trip where you'd explain to me the secrets of this system."

When she spoke those words, she opened her windows and revealed to me her identification slot. I caught a glimpse at her descriptions before Lilith could even retract those screens back to her dimensional view. 

Those words written on Lilith's identification table matched her stories. Her system wrote Lilith's deceased mother, who died from the previous war. She was also the demon king's daughter and inherited his powers. Liltih had tremendous statistical powers that reached around five hundred thousand. Those digits alone would land her a spot on the leaderboards if she tried reaching for rank one.

Besides these words, there was nothing that piqued my interest from that identification card. After shaking off those thoughts, Lilith scooched towards me and met my gaze.

"Now that I've told you my story, would you mind sharing your part as well? I'm intrigued to meet a human like you who has the charm of a king. Ironically, the king of Camelot has the same name as you," Lilith confessed, and returned my smile. "I'm interested in those things, Arthur."

I cleared my throat and told her everything I knew. There was no point hiding anything to this demonic girl, considering that Lilith would become our ally soon. 

"You came from a different world?" Lilith asked after listening to my story.

That demonic girl stood from her seat and gaped her mouth wide open. Lilith couldn't believe what she heard when I came from a different reality that knew this world's existence. Well, I left out the parts that this world was just a game from my planet. If Lilith knew that, she would question everything. 

If worse comes to worst, Lilith might disregard everything she believed in and had some special skill called "existential crisis".

"Yes! Now, sit down, Lilith! You haven't heard the best parts yet!" I whispered, and motioned my hand for Lilith to return to her place.

I told the things I narrated to Merleen before when we also first met near the river. Lilith widened her eyes when she heard that my world had finally avoided the third war, unlike this generation. And since we had cool machineries and slightly enough resources, Lilith couldn't help but shuffle her body. 

"Your world sounds like a paradise, Arthur! That's not fair!" Lilith exclaimed, and while looking at the night sky. "I thought that this place was a beautiful world filled with problems. It turns out, there are other things way up there."

"You sure bet!" I replied, and gazed at the stars. "That's why I want to use this power for good. If  I can spare someone, I would spare them. If those creatures need to be killed, I would kill them for the greater good. My power would be used for those people who need me the most. Well, compared to these three, I am nothing but their sidekicks."

"You have Excalibur with you, Arthur. I'm sure your sword would guide you towards your destination. And besides, true power comes with your decisions. Just like my Excalibur…..These swords chose us for a reason. Anyone could do it. But we're the ones doing it for them….For those who cannot."