“I… see you.”
A massive demonic eye floated behind Michael, its deathly ray aimed at Mike. Between them were several students, all within the ray’s attack range.
“Wind’s Reach!”
A gentle breeze swept through, and before anyone could grasp what was happening, a roar echoed in their ears.
“Retreat!”
Mike instantly dashed to Michael’s front, ready to intercept the ray while urging everyone else to flee. At this moment, he couldn’t care less about revealing his identity. Saving lives was paramount.
Mike had numerous life-saving methods; even if the Fourth Demon God glanced at him, it would only cost him one life. But if others died, they would be truly dead!
Boom—
The black ray hadn’t even fired before a withered hand pressed it back.
“Stand behind me, kid.”
A shadowy figure floated in front of Mike, shielding him from the Fourth Demon God’s gaze. Shadow Nine’s raspy voice echoed.
“Attack!”
Without needing Shadow Nine’s reminder, the white cloud that had been floating in the sky suddenly descended, enveloping the entire training hall.
Apart from Michael, Mike, and Shadow Nine, everyone else in the training hall collapsed, unconscious, the moment the white cloud covered them.
A strange voice echoed from the cloud, “Ten minutes.”
The black mist responded with a beast-like growl, “Got it!”
They were master and apprentice, their coordination seamless, understanding each other with just a few words.
The black mist contracted sharply, forming a humanoid shape with a katana at its waist.
Then, it drew the blade!
Countless blade lights slashed from the shadow, striking the demonic eye, creating cracks.
Slash again!
The blade lights formed a prison, trapping the Fourth Demon God’s projection within!
Taking advantage of Shadow Nine’s battle with the Fourth Demon God’s projection, Mike retreated.
Since his classmates were safe, with Shadow Nine and Apollo taking action, and the Fourth Demon God revealing his projection, this battlefield had nothing to do with Mike anymore.
Another person made the same judgment at the same time! Michael retreated in the opposite direction, quickly reaching the edge of the white cloud’s coverage.
But his face turned pale, “Can’t get out?!”
At this point, Michael’s mind was in turmoil.
The Fourth Demon Cult had been completely destroyed, yet the Leader survived, injured but alive, eventually ending up here.
It was all a setup! For some reason, the Fourth Demon God was particularly wary of [Thor], wanting to eliminate him at all costs.
Coincidentally, humanity felt the same way. They also wanted to eliminate the Fourth Demon God.
“I am both the bait and the hook.”
Michael’s face was deathly pale, devoid of blood, “I’m a damn fool!”
“I should have realized something was wrong, something was off…”
In a flash, Michael’s thoughts were crystal clear. He was extremely intelligent, reviewing every detail of his rebirth journey.
No issues, every step was steady, no problems. “Rebirth itself is the biggest problem!”
Sweat dripped from Michael’s forehead, his pupils dilating as if seeing the most terrifying scene.
Before him appeared an old, sinister face—his appearance before rebirth—Terenas Bloodscribe!
The old face cackled, mocking Michael,
“Fool, I never had any expertise in soul manipulation, so why would I think of faking my death? And deceive Master Shadow Nine? Doesn’t it seem too smooth? If not for that Supreme Being pulling the strings, do you really think you could be reborn? You idiot, if you had even a tenth of my intelligence, would you have died so cluelessly?”
As a side effect of his rebirth, Michael suffered from schizophrenia and hallucinations.
Clearly, now was not the time for a mental breakdown.
Michael growled, “Get lost!” Forcing the old face to disappear.
In fact, what Terenas Bloodscribe said was just a thought in Michael’s mind. His most feared thought, spoken through the old face.
Now, everything was clear. This rebirth… was orchestrated by Apollo.
Whether Terenas or Michael, both identities had one purpose: to connect to the Fourth Demon God.
To catch a fish, the fish must see the bait.
Through Michael, the Fourth Demon God saw an irresistible bait. So, the Fourth Demon God acted, projecting himself, only to be immediately controlled by Shadow Nine and Apollo.
What Apollo intended to do with the Fourth Demon God’s projection was unknown. But it wouldn’t be anything good!
Michael’s teeth chattered, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. Knowing the truth, he almost cried. “If I’m right, the bait to attract the Fourth Demon God…”
Michael looked across the training hall at the student, “He must be the potential Supreme Being, Thor!”
Michael forced a sinister smile, taking a deep breath, “Or should I say… his real name is Mike?”
Being called out, Mike showed no panic, nor did he retaliate. He didn’t know what role Michael played in this setup.
Michael was a level 899 peak Battle Chief, incredibly powerful, with explosive combat power in life-and-death situations rivaling some Battle Lords.
Mike was sure of one thing: Michael was like him! Someone who would do anything to survive!
“I surrender!”
Michael raised his hands, staring intently at Mike, “I’ll accept any punishment, even death.”
“Alright.”
Surprisingly, Mike agreed to Michael’s surrender. A prompt appeared above Michael’s head:
[Killing this person could weaken the Fourth Demon God’s projection, but he might revive.]
Killing him would help Shadow Nine. But Shadow Nine was too busy to deal with Michael. So, killing Michael fell to Mike!
“In the name of Thor, I sentence you to death.”
“Thunderclap Strike!”
With thirty layers of Charge Up, Blessing of Lightning, Thunderclap Strike descended.
Boom— The red lightning sea engulfed Michael, tearing him to pieces.
When the lightning subsided, Michael reappeared.
Seeing Michael resurrected, Mike chuckled, “I’m not surprised at all.”
[Of course, I wrote that he could revive.]
Michael revived, though at the cost of his level dropping, but he wore a smug smile, pointing around him, “Those three are fighting, leaving us to our own devices.”
A golden shield appeared around Michael. He even said, “Mike, I bet you can understand this shield’s function. After all… your talent should be related to your eyes.”
Michael indeed had some skills, deducing the truth from limited information.
Before Mike, the shield’s description appeared:
[Back from Hell: After resurrection, enter a 10-minute invincible state, unable to harm or be harmed by the outside world, unless you voluntarily step out of the circle.]
This was Michael’s confidence.
“Supreme Being and Demon God need ten minutes to decide the outcome. Half a minute has passed.” chapter-source-MvLeMpYr
Michael sat down, “As long as I stay in this circle, what can you do?”
“Well said.”
Mike clapped lightly, applauding Michael’s performance. “But have you considered that if I know you have this resurrection skill and still kill you, it means I have a way to make you step out of the circle?”
To help Shadow Nine, Mike needed to deal with Michael. “Nonsense, you’re saying you can make me go to my death?”
Michael shook his head firmly, “Impossible. No matter what happens, I won’t leave here.”
He didn’t believe it. Mike must be bluffing!
The next moment, seeing what Mike held in his palm, Michael’s face changed drastically, shouting hysterically, “Where did you get that?!”
Mike held a broken staff. It once belonged to Terenas Bloodscribe, supposed to be in a secret lab in Florida, with Terenas Bloodscribe’s son.
If the staff was in Thor’s hand, then… Michael’s eyes reddened, realizing a possibility.
“It’s you!”
Michael stood with bloodshot eyes, growling as he stepped forward, “You ruined my plans! It’s all your fault!”
He stood at the circle’s edge, one step away from stepping out. New and old grudges surged, tearing at his heart, filling him with rage.
“It’s me.”
Mike casually tossed the broken staff aside, raising a finger and beckoning Michael, smirking, “I’m right here.”
“Do you dare to come out and fight?”