I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

And when the time came, the demon revealed itself to us. Those recognizable horns greeted themselves as the demon appeared. Crayman, who my team met in the cabin, extended his arms to me.

"Greetings, Arthur. You called for me?" the demon uttered, while flashing me a grin. "I expected you to call me. But I never knew it would be this soon."

When Crayman materialised at my fore, Mordred hurriedly raised his guard. He was about to attack the demon as he slid forward. Fortunately, Fenrir stopped Mordred at the nick of time and prevented unnecessary casualties. Even though her body yelled at her, Fenrir pushed her limits. With those shaking arms, that wolf girl shackled Mordred's movements.

Although Crayman vowed about his pacifist ways, killing him now would relinquish us from our goal. 

"Why are you stopping me? I need some answers! And I want to kill him! That monster is a demon!" Mordred shouted, as he desperately shoved Fenrir's arms. 

Fenrir retorted, still with her hands binding Mordred's body, "Just trust Arthur! Arthur told you to stay put, then do it! If you kill this demon now, everything we've done will be over! We won't save the demons, and you won't know who killed the town!"

As soon as Fenrir shouted those words, Mordred quitted shuffling. Mordred glared at Fenrir and contained his anger swelling inside of him. He didn't have any choice but to listen to the conversation I had with the demon.

"I will keep it short, Crayman. We need a teleportation circle that would lead us inside the demonic castle. And I want to know the demon who issued an attack on Cornwall town!" I demanded, while waiting for Crayman's reply.

The demon consumed a few seconds before giving his answer. Since the things I requested didn't demand much, Crayman must have browsed his list of offers. 

And within a minute, Crayman had finally turned his attention to me. "Arthur, you're really squeezing me to get what you want. But in a trade, we need to reciprocate everything.

After saying those words, Crayman did some hand gestures and conjured a spell. A magic circle materialised before us, with a scroll appearing from the runes. The rolled paper opened by itself, with a feather popping on the side. A container and its ink also revealed itself, which was the pair of this paper.

"Even though I requested two things, you only have one trade offer for me. If you don't, I will kill you right here, right now," I snarled, while palpating Excalibur.

Crayman snickered, with his eyes still hyper focused on the scroll, "Hmph. You're the one who summoned, requested assistance, and troubled me. And yet you have the confidence to threaten me with that?"

Before Crayman could say another word, I chopped off his left horn. Demons pride themselves with their horns, which serve as their royalty for the demon lord. And even though they were not part of that kingdom, novelty horns gave the demons superiority. 

Even though Crayman remained as a vigilante amongst demons, he still had a title beside his name. He just didn't like exerting his power, because the demon lord limited Crayman from doing so.

But since I had the power of an Excalibur, my superiority belittled Crayman. I even had Merleen by my side, which had the light attribute. One flick of my partner's finger, Crayman would disperse into nothingness.

"Well, what did I expect? I told you that threat works on me," Crayman corrected, as he let out a nervous laugh. "Very well, Arthur, my boy. I will grant your wish, and him too. But first thing's first."

Crayman revealed the runes hiding behind the magic circle. Instead of the crimson colour painted on each text, the spell turned into purple. It was my first time witnessing such a dye, which the game never introduced.

But from where I remembered, violet was a spell shrouded with maleficent. Some would say that the colour purple came from the royal blood. And that definition proved itself when Crayman handled the magic.

"All I want is to give you power-the power that would aid to get your goal! I don't want anything more from you, Arthur! Giving you this strength and excess arcane is enough to fill my stomach!" 

It was just as Crayman had mentioned. My system detected a forein mana swirling on my figure, as if penetrating my skin. That arcane was the first of its kind, despite my experience playing Magique. This power seemed limitless to the naked eye as it amplified every miniscule element touching it. 

And when the purple orb touched my wounded hand, the cut disappeared.

"What the hell is this?" I asked, while containing my shudder.

Crayman remained grinning at my fore as he gave his reply, "I never wanted anything from you but to give this power. All I wish to see is you achieving your goals with everything you have, including my arcane.

"And what is the catch? You are not giving me this power for free, are you? It feels like I've been cheated, and there's something else I need to look out for."

"Oh, no, Arthur," Crayman commented. "That power is free of charge, and it goes well with our offer. The arcane I gave you only amplifies your desires, just like your Excalibur's power."

Even Crayman knew the depths of my sword upon first glance. But I knew nothing about this demon, which gave my goosebumps. And that comparison was enough to make me feel small like an ant wandering on Crayman's palm.

But there was something more important we needed to do besides idling around. If we wanted to prevent the war, we must teleport inside the demonic citadel. And upon arriving at that place, we stop King Arthur from killing Abaddon. 

Those teleportation circles would come from Crayman. And that demon would only provide us our needs if I accepted the devil's deal. For every passing second, our chances dropped like flies.

"I accept your offer, Crayman. You didn't even give me a choice. This is all part of your plot, demon!" 

Crayman used my situation to his advantage, not the other way around. That demon knew that I desperately needed to zoom towards the citadel and stop King Arthur. 

When Crayman heard my words, he gave me anod and extended his hands. Those orbs hovered towards my figure and entered my chest. Since I had agreed to do this, the magic circle Crayman promised materialised beside him. 

My teammates wanted to retort, but couldn't. Most of my friends hadn't woken up, while the others understood my responsibility. Since I was the team's leader, I had to make the sacrifice play.

Mordred also tried rejecting Crayman's offer. But when the knight tried to speak, Crayman interrupted him.

"This power I am about to give doesn't come from the demons. It's an ancient spell suitable for Excalibur users

"I am transferring the orbs inside of you, Arthur. These arcanes would amplify your power based on your will and emotions. It all depends on you if you want to be heroic to use this spell. And if you choose the latter, this arcane would still grant you strength," Crayman narrated, as he continued spreading the mana through my veins. "Do not worry, Arthur! This transmission will end soon enough!"

A tingling sensation ran through my body while Crayman did his thing. My skin also turned into a faint darkish purple, just like the mana. Fortunately, nothing had changed besides that, which made me heave out a sigh.

However, the pain grew stronger inside my body. All my appendages jerked as if a seizure attack entered through my nerves. I tried fighting the urge to vibrate, hoping that the throbbing sensation could sotp. But Crayman's words echoed inside of me, which was the only thing I could focus on.

"Fear nothing, Arthur. Everything is going according to plan! This power will give you all that you need for later! The pain will also subside soon. And I know you'd be able to brush it off, Arthur," Crayman uttered, while watching me suffer. 

Truthfully enough, the pain slightly wore off. And as the time passed by, my hands didn't shake like an earthquake. But before the process could complete, Merleen rose from the ground and leapt towards me. 

That girl didn't use any light magic to prevent or attack anyone. When Merleen approached me, she went in front of my body and absorbed the rest of those purple arcane. Roughly ten percent of Crayman's arcane went to Merleen, while my body received the remaining ninety. 

When Crayman noticed the situation, the demon shrugged it off and completed our deal.

"It seemed like your partner wanted some share from that power, Arthur. But I don't mind it at all! Even though that mage doesn't have an excalibur, she could still handle the pressure. If that girl was a normal human, she would have died absorbing those arcanes….But she didn't"