Levi had died one hundred and thirteen times.
No—more accurately, he had watched the only people who ever treated him like a human die one hundred and thirteen times, and each time he had stolen a fragment of their soul just to keep breathing.
He was good at surviving that way.
Name: Levi
Class: Servant
Rank: E
Current Master Count: 113 → 114 (pending)
The Abyss had no sky.
It had a ceiling—a vast, suffocating dome of writhing black clouds that bled violet lightning like pus from an infected wound. Thunder crawled instead of roared. The ground beneath was a graveyard made solid: shattered armor, powdered bone, cracked weapons fused together by centuries of death.
The air tasted of rust and old screams.
Levi knelt.
His palms pressed flat against cold shards of metal and bone dust, head lowered, posture perfect. Waiting.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Bootsteps.
Heavy. Measured. Unhurried.
A shadow eclipsed him.
Levi did not look up—he didn't need to.
A mountain of black iron stood before him, armor layered thick like a fortress wall. A helm shaped like a dragon's skull stared down with two burning crimson eyes, heat rolling off it in visible waves.
The new master.
Name: Kargan
Class: Berserker
Rank: A+
Temper: Dogshit
Kargan regarded Levi the way one looked at a disposable tool—something already broken, only useful until it snapped.
"So," the Berserker rumbled, voice like gravel dragged across steel.
"You're the Servant that refuses to stay dead."
Levi remained silent.
Kargan snorted. "Fine. From now until you break, you're my shield. Stand up."
SFX: CLINK—
Chains carved directly into Levi's soul tightened.
Protocol Law #2 activated:
You must obey every direct order.
His body moved before thought could intervene.
Levi rose.
Kargan's lip curled in faint disgust. "Name?"
"Levi," he answered immediately. "Master."
"Don't call me that." Kargan spat to the side. "Makes me want to puke. Call me Lord Kargan."
"Yes, Lord Kargan."
Satisfied—or already bored—Kargan turned away and began walking toward the distant howl of war.
Levi followed.
Three steps behind.
One step to the left.
The position of a Servant.
Close enough to intercept a killing blow.
Far enough that no one mistook him for an equal.
They crossed a plain littered with yesterday's dead.
Some corpses still twitched—shadows took longer to realize they were dead than humans did. Levi stepped over a Soldier-class shadow whose skull had been caved in.
Its hollow eyes tracked him.
Levi knew that stare.
He had worn it for the first thirty masters.
Kargan stopped abruptly.
"Listen up, rag," he growled. "The Winged Monarch's legion is pushing again. We're rearguard."
Levi waited.
"That means we die first so the important people can retreat."
Kargan glanced back. "You understand?"
"Yes, Lord Kargan."
"Good. When I say block, you block. When I say die, you die."
The Berserker leaned close, crimson eyes burning.
"If you hesitate even once, I'll carve the Protocol out of your soul and feed it to the hounds. Clear?"
"Crystal clear."
Kargan grinned—tusks bared, all malice—and resumed walking.
Levi followed.
He had done this 113 times.
He would do it again.
The battle began without warning.
One moment—silence.
The next—
SFX: SKREEEEEE—
The horizon split open, vomiting an ocean of white-winged shadows into the Abyss.
Seraph Knights.
The Winged Monarch's elite.
Each one worth a hundred shadows like them.
Holy fire rained from the sky.
Kargan laughed—loud, manic, delighted—and charged headlong into hell.
Levi ran after him.
Arrows of sanctified flame fell like meteors. Kargan swatted them aside with a greataxe the size of a beast, sparks screaming on impact.
Levi stayed in his shadow—literally.
His body flickered between solid and smoke. The only mercy granted to Servant-class: he cost almost no mana to maintain.
A Seraph Knight dove from above—six blazing wings spread wide.
Its spear angled straight for Kargan's heart.
"Block it, Servant!"
The Protocol snapped tight.
Levi moved.
He threw himself between master and spear.
SFX: THRRRUM—
The spear punched through his chest.
Pain bloomed—sharp, total, familiar.
He grabbed the spear with both hands, locking it in place.
The Seraph Knight hesitated.
That moment was enough.
SFX: WHAM—
Kargan's axe took its head off.
Black blood sprayed across Levi's face.
His blood.
Its blood.
It all tasted the same.
Levi collapsed.
HP: 3 / 1200
The hole in his chest steamed. Shadows stitched flesh together slowly—only masters received instant restoration.
Kargan didn't look back.
They advanced.
Ten minutes later—it happened again.
Then again.
Then again.
By the time the main army had retreated, Levi had died four times in miniature, each death buying seconds.
Each resurrection buying knowledge.
Every corpse whispered its final skill into his soul.
He hid the growth.
He always hid the growth.
If they realized a Servant could steal power, they would erase him permanently.
The rearguard dwindled to nineteen.
Kargan was drenched in blood, drunk on slaughter.
Then—
The final wave came.
Heavier.
Colder.
At its head rode a Seraph Captain.
S-Rank.
Six wings unfurled.
A halo burned like a dying star.
Kargan's laughter died.
The Captain leveled a lance of pure light.
For the first time, Kargan's voice cracked.
"Servant—block it!"
Levi stepped forward.
This time—
He did not let the Protocol move him.
He chose.
His body flickered—half shadow, half smoke—as he planted himself directly in the lance's path.
The light struck.
SFX: SHATTERING SILENCE—
White.
Then black.
Then cold.
Levi opened his eyes in the place between deaths.
A void lit by floating violet runes.
The System spoke, cold and absolute.
⊳ Shadow Designated "Kargan" has perished.
⊳ Commencing Memory Inheritance… 1% transfer authorized.
⊳ Skills Acquired:
「Blood Rage」
「Iron Skin」
「Reckless Charge」
⊳ Unique Memory Fragment Obtained:
"The first time I held my daughter."
The memory burned.
A tiny shadow girl, barely to Kargan's knee, tugging on his cloak.
"Daddy… will you come home this time?"
Kargan knelt, tusks hidden behind an awkward smile.
"I always come home, little flame."
He lied.
Tears Levi should not have been able to shed slid down his cheeks—evaporating before they fell.
The void spat him back onto the battlefield.
Levi rose from Kargan's corpse.
The greataxe lay beside a severed arm.
The Seraph Captain was already turning away—one more dead barbarian meant nothing.
Levi picked up the axe.
It was heavier than sin.
A new notification flickered—small, private.
⊳ Master Count: 114 → 113
⊳ Rank: E → E+
⊳ Hidden Achievement Unlocked:
「One Who Carries Regret」
Levi looked at the retreating Seraph host.
At the axe in his hands.
At the merciless ceiling of the Abyss.
"…Thank you," he whispered, voice breaking.
"Thank you for your memories."
Next time, he would not block.
Next time, he would charge.
He tightened his grip on the axe and walked toward the war that would never end.
Behind him, Kargan's corpse dissolved into black mist—ready to be reborn somewhere else, with no memory of a little girl waiting at home.
Levi did not look back.
There was no one left to apologize to.