Michael had no idea what was going on, but one thing was clear. Quinn Karta was a traitor.
‘Did he join hands with the Supreme Human Alliance? Why? I thought he hated Dark Heavens who receive orders from the SHA.’ He thought, trying to distract himself from the fact that he’d just lost both of his arms.
Michael didn’t see exactly what Quinn had done but given that he used a Soul Technique from the SHA with his 7-Star Soultrait, it was obvious that the power of the attack had been quite impressive. However, the worst was that the remnants of 6-layered Enhancement had allowed Quinn Karta to take Michael by surprise. If not for Enhancement, he might have been able to block a portion of the attack.
But now that he lost both of his arms, Michael was in a tricky situation. Fountains of blood gushed out of the little arm stumps attached to his shoulders, whereas his arms were lying somewhere on the battlefield. The War Rune on the back of his right hand dimmed down, whereas something deep inside his body began to stir.
After the anchor to his War Rune had been destroyed, Michael would have to access his War Rune directly. The mark on the back of his hand was just a visual extension of the War Rune that was hidden deep within one’s being. Some say that the War Rune manifesting on the body was merely a medium that allowed new Awakened to gain easy access to the Runic Gate, their individual spatial storage, their Soultrait, and the pillar of light.
Michael didn’t need the War Rune to keep using his Soultraits!
He roared in pain and unleashed ten-layered Enhancement, which he weaved into his body with Leviathan Diffusion. The focus of his enhancement was around his lower body, causing his skin to burst and his muscles to bulge. He kicked the ground with all his might to jump high into the air. A shockwave erupted around Michael as he smashed the ground with his feet, and the attention of Alliance members and Tekur was drawn to him, especially after a human appeared above his armless brethren to cut him over and over again.
Michael was fortunate enough to be able to see Quinn with Spirit Eyes now. He could see where Quinn attacked him and twisted his body to evade the worst attacks. He couldn’t evade all of Quinn’s attacks, resulting in several cuts reaching his abdomen and shoulder, but his internal organs and neck hadn’t been damaged.
Michael grit his teeth and used a ten-fold enhanced version of Spiritual Domination, taking Quinn by surprise. A Soul Glacicle Bullet manifested between the two Humans, and almost smashed into Quinn Karta who used Blink in time to change his position in an instant. He teleported back to the ground and returned to Michael the moment the Soul Glacicle Bullet missed him. Quinn Karta was about to slash Michael a few more times, ready to land a finishing blow to end Michael’s life when a solidified Qi Sword manifested underneath Michael’s feet.
Michael kicked the Qi Sword with all his might, turning his body into a cannonball that reached a terrifyingly high velocity until he smashed into the ground near Kaleb, Lincoln, and the rest.
Having his arms severed was a huge loss for Michael, however, his mind didn’t even register the pain anymore. His body was overflowing with adrenaline. The adrenaline pumped up his body, keeping the pain at bay, while also allowing his entire being to enter a state eerily similar to hyper-focus.
Never would have he imagined Quinn Karta to be a traitor, which ended up being his biggest mistake. Michael grit his teeth and empowered the Extraction traces that had taken root within his enemies. He drained their lifeforce while unleashing several bursts of Spiritual Dominion onto those who tried to resist the extraction. Their mental defenses struggled against the ten-fold enhanced Spirit Eyes. Some Tekur even collapsed on the ground right away. 𝑖𝘦𝑎.𝗇t
The lifeforce he’d drained was just enough to stop his arm stumps from bleeding.
Michael felt like the power surging through him increased. As if the sealed potential of his Soultraits and body had been unleashed, something deep within him rumbled, and he felt like he was slowly losing control of his body and being.
Was he panicking because he lost his arms? Did anger and frustration take over his body, forcing him into a state of rage similar to the hyper-focused fighting state of Berserkers? Or was it just the pain he felt and the despair that took over his body?
Michael had no idea, but his entire being was instinctively drawn to the rumbling that occurred in the deepest part of his entire being.
“W-what is going on?!?” A Descendant standing near Michael asked when he saw the armless Lord in front of him. Kaleb, Zeke, and the others were also confused.
They saw what happened in the air, but it didn’t make any sense. Some Tekur must have been using an Illusion Soultrait. That had to be the case. Nothing else made sense!
“Maybe–…” Zeke was just about to say but stopped abruptly when he saw Michael’s expression.
The pressure around Michael was subdued but the energy around him screamed in desperation. Ripples of energy manifested around Michael for everyone to see. The energy around Michael was sucked in his direction and merged with his skin before seeping inside him.
Spirit Eyes’ marks around his eyes had expanded. No. That was not correct. Stigmatas formed around his eyes and they spread rapidly. The stigmas covered his entire face and continued to spread across his neck and face. Intricate patterns that glowed dimly covered Michael’s body. The intricate patterns consisted of millions of miniature runes and letters that were even hard to read for Zeke. He could barely make out some of the runes, but he had a hard time comprehending them. His vast knowledge of runes from his studies about ancient ruins and the Second and Third Epoch were of no help. Zeke had no idea what was going on with Michael.
But the exact same could be said about Quinn. His eyes were pulled away from Michael as Quinn Karta used Blink to appear in front of everyone. 6-layered Enhancement’s effect wore off, and Quinn stopped utilizing the Elite Class Soul Technique as well. He could use the Soul Technique again, but there were too many people in front of him. There was no way he could kill everyone with a single burst of his Elite Class Soul Technique. That didn’t mean he couldn’t try.
“This idiot is really tenacious. I never expected the Spatial Blades to only sever his arms. His body is a lot tougher than most Peak Tier-3 Lords. Looks like High Society found a little diamond amongst the pebbles they’ve picked up over the years,” Quinn scoffed, a faint smile blossoming on his lips.
“He is definitely better than most of you guys. Fucking weaklings.”
Zeke stared at his friend in shock. His eyes quivered and the blade in his hand trembled.
“WHY?!?” He screamed at the top of his lungs, “WHY are you betraying us? You…You hate the Supreme Human Alliance as much as I do…They’re at fault for orchestrating the attack on your family. THEY’RE AT FAULT FOR MY SISTER’S DEATH!!!”
Zeke was slowly losing it. His friend – one of his oldest and best friends – had just betrayed the cause they had been fighting for. Quinn did not only betray his own race but also the goal he and Zeke had been working toward. Quinn became an ally of the enemies he’d promised to kill.
However, Quinn’s gaze were ice-cold and his expression was one of disgust as he looked at his old friend, “High Society betrayed me, not the Supreme Human Alliance. No, that’s not entirely true either. High Society betrayed my family. You are too unsophisticated and gullible to actually believe and trust everything the elders say, either way. I don’t expect you to understand my reasoning.
I joined the Supreme Human Alliance for vengeance. I’m not the one who betrays what we have been working for since that day. It’s just that I am working toward it whereas you are still working with those who are at fault for our misery. Believe it or not, but you will join the SHA soon, as well.”
Zeke grit his teeth and energy erupted from his physique in an uncontrollable manner. He wanted to say something to Quinn, but they weren’t given enough time. The Tekur had no clue why their opponents were fighting with each other, but they did not care. All they detected was that their strongest enemies were injured and that they could make use of the opportunity.
The Tekur began attacking once again.
Meanwhile, Maria’s heart palpitated. She instinctively sensed that something was wrong with her Primal Amplifier, but it was not the fact that Michael misplaced his arms. It was something else. Something…that drained her power. Maria was rushing over to Michael, yet before she could reach him, Archangel’s Grace stirred within her body. Maria lost control of her Soultrait for a few seconds.
Something was about to happen. Something big.
Several pairs of white wings sprouted from Michael’s back. They spanned dozens of meters and revealed an unblemished white radiance that Maria had never seen before. Golden patterns encompassing millions of tiny seals and runes had been engraved all over the ring. A golden halo revealed above Michael’s head, and one could see his arms regrowing at a visible pace.
Not even Maria could regenerate an arm as fast as Michael did right now.
However, that was not even the most surprising thing. The white in Michael’s gaze was shrouded in vibrant gold and the intricate pattern, consisting of millions of seals, continued to spread all over his body, until they engulfed his entire body.
Something deep within Michael reacted. A roar that arrived the cores of everyone in the isolated dimension escaped Michael’s lips.
For a moment, Extraction’s true power was unleashed.
This content is taken from 𝘪𝘳.𝘤𝑜