Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 137. The Man Who Got Back Up as A Hero

"People are counting on me. Carmilla, Natasha, Liora, Sylvia, Zara, Vyra, and thousands of other people!"

"They all believe in me, and I won’t let my past shape my future....! Not anymore, and fuck all of that bullshit!"

Rick broke through the darkness and emerged in a bright light. Like a released rubber band, his mind snapped back into his body, and suddenly he could feel everything again.

He felt the pain from his broken ribs, the fatigue in his muscles, and the throbbing of the demon eye beneath its eyepatch. Yet, he also felt the warmth of four Spirit Bonds growing stronger.

He quickly opened his eyes.

Both of them.

The battlefield looked normal to the human eye. The corrupted Zork was holding Zara, and the corruption beam was just seconds away from exploding.

The demon eye, which Zork himself gave to the person, saw so much more.

Rick reached up and pulled the eyepatch off.

The Eye of the Demon King lit up with a bright amber light that seemed to burn away the air around him that was full of corruption. As soon as Rick’s eyes landed on the Corrupted Zork, power exploded.

Demon Sight turned on, and it showed him every flow of corrupt energy in the creature’s body. True Vision broke through the monster’s armor and showed its core.

Soul Gaze looked at it closely and found the tiny spark of Zork’s original consciousness still trapped deep inside. And Domination, that scary power, locked onto the corrupted will that was controlling the creature.

The corrupted Zork stopped in the middle of its attack, its whole body going stiff as the Demon King’s eye showed who was in charge. The corruption beam went away without hurting anyone as the creature’s mouth snapped shut against its will.

Rick then pushed.

A shockwave of pure amber light burst from his eye and spread out in a sphere of dragon-like power. When it hit the Corrupted Zork, the creature was thrown back, and as it rolled across the training grounds, it let go of Zara.

The amber light didn’t stop there.

It swept over the battlefield, and every corrupted creature it touched recoiled as if it had been burned. The Demon King’s immense power caused the lesser corruption constructs to crumble.

Rick got up, and his body protested every movement, but he did it anyway. Around him, his Spirit Bonds came to life all at once, forming a web of power that lit up the battlefield like a second sun.

Carmilla’s flame of protection.

The frost of Natasha’s winter.

Liora’s divine glow.

Sylvia’s dragon-like strength.

It all flowed through him at once, not in the short burst of Spirit Unity, but as a long-lasting blend of their strengths.

As Liora’s healing power flowed through him, his broken ribs healed. Carmilla’s endurance gave his tired muscles new life.

Natasha’s tactical precision brought clarity to his mind. Sylvia’s dragon-like power made his body thrum. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

But it wasn’t just the ties. Rick felt something new, something that had come to life while he was in the dark. His own will was not based on the confidence of someone who had never failed but on the determination of someone who had failed many times and chosen to keep trying anyway.

"DEMONIC...! OVERDRIVEEEEE!!!!" Rick’s voice echoed across the battlefield as he used the skill that Vyra’s love had given him.

His body was filled with demonic energy, and the multiplier went beyond the safe 1-3x range and kept going up. 4x. 5x. The power coursed through him, both dangerous and exciting.

"TIMES ONE...! TIMES THREE...!!! GRRGGGGHHHH!!!"

"TIMES FIVEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Dragon scales appeared all over his body, not just on his arms. They also covered his torso, legs, and face.

His back suddenly sprouted draconic wings that were bigger and stronger than the ones he had before. Dragon fire and demonic energy surrounded the claws growing in his hands.

The demon army that was watching from the sidelines was shocked and amazed. The new king, a human who had just been broken and was dying, was now something more than human, more than a demon, and more than anything they had ever seen.

Rick’s amber demon eye and his normal eye both focused on the corrupted Zork as it tried to get up. The creature roared, trying to show that it was in charge again, but Rick’s voice cut through it like a knife.

"That’s... ENOUUUGGGHHHH!"

The word had all of Draconic Sovereignty, Guardian’s Resolve, Frozen Clarity, and Divine Aegis in it. It had the same power as a Demon King talking to his people.

It had the strength of a man who had decided to stop running away from his problems and deal with them directly.

Rick started walking toward the Corrupted Zork, and each step was careful and full of meaning. Carmilla and Natasha moved to the sides of him, weapons drawn.

Sylvia flew up into the air again, her wing already healing from Liora’s magic. Liora herself tapped into divine energy to get ready to help Rick with whatever he was planning.

And Zara, freed from the creature’s grip, picked up her twin blades and took her place at Rick’s side. The look she gave him was filled with something he’d never thought he’d see directed at himself.

It was complete trust and respect.

Rick’s voice carried across the battlefield as he said, "Zork believed in me."

"He called me Demon King with his last breath, not because I was strong, but because he saw something in me that made him want to believe in me."

"I’m going to prove to him that he was right..."

His demon eye glowed brighter, and the amber light got stronger until it was almost too bright to look at directly. All of his skills came to life at once, creating a symphony of power that shook the air.

Bond Resonance amplified by Network Resonance, multiplying the effectiveness of all four Spirit Bonds.

Empathic insight showed him exactly what his bonded partners needed from him.

Experience Absorb, drawing on every battle he’d witnessed, every technique he’d observed.

Draconic Resistance and Holy Resistance layer together to protect him from corruption.

Guardian’s Instinct warned him of incoming attacks before they landed.

Tactical Mind calculating the optimal strategy.

Knight’s Endurance ensured he wouldn’t falter.

At the heart of it all were the skills that had defined his journey from the beginning.

Seduce to EXP and Comfort to EXP.

These were not tactics to manipulate others, but genuine bonds with the women who cherished him, despite their awareness of his true identity.

Rick said, "I’m not the hero this world needs."

His changed body gave off a power that even the corrupted Zork hesitated to use. "I’m not a great strategist or a legendary warrior."

"I was a failure in my last life, but I got a second chance."

He opened his dragon wings wide, and the amber light from his demon eye made dramatic shadows on the battlefield.

"But I’ve learned something in this new life..."

"You are not defined by your failures..."

"What you do after you fail is what makes you who you are."

"Do you give up and let the darkness take over, or do you get back up and keep fighting?"

Rick looked around the battlefield, taking in the demon warriors, the three Major Powers that had bought him time, the corrupted creatures that were still swarming, and finally the deformed shape of what had once been a great king.

"I’m getting back up."

"I’m going to fight. And I’m going to save this world, not because I’m strong, smart, or worthy enough."

His voice got louder and louder until it shook the very ground of the demon camp.

"But because the women I love believe I can!"

"Because Sebastian believes I can!"

"Because Zork believed I could!"

"And I refuse to let any of them down!"

The corrupted Zork roared its challenge, and corrupt energy swirled around it as it prepared for another attack. Rick didn’t flinch this time, though.

He didn’t think twice. He didn’t let fear or feelings of inadequacy stop him.

Instead, what Rick showed was his smirk filled with fierceness and determination, like a man who had faced his darkness and come out stronger.

"Come on then," Rick said, and his demon eye lit up with orange fire. "Let’s get this fucking over, shall we?"

And he ran into battle, no longer running away from who he had been, but accepting who he had become.