The Undead Pharaoh was dead, and the energy influx nearly killed Michael as it reached him.
Michael was fortunate that Archangel’s Grace and True Extraction were still active. He used Extraction to drain bits of the energy influx and Insert to insert it into Archangel’s Grace before using the Heavenly Realm Soul Technique to recuperate faster from his injuries.
It didn’t take long to heal Michael to the peak, but he wasn’t in perfect condition even after the effect of Archangel’s Grace deteriorated.
His vision was still hazy, and he stumbled around the throne hall with unsteady steps. Nonetheless, Michael was alive and not on the verge of death anymore. With enough time, he would be fine. That was all that mattered.
“What are we going to do now? The Curse is dead,” Michael asked, only to see a large serpent and a Wolf Head lean over the Undead Pharaoh’s body.
[The Curse’s vessel was destroyed, but the Curse is still there. We’ll exorcise him for you.] The World Serpent explained, and the Wolf Curse growled in agreement.
“I doubt that you are doing this for me. If anything, you are doing this to strengthen your body after whatever happened to you before you emerged from my Summoning Gate. The Wolf is also doing this to loosen the restrictions on the Cursed Seals. But whatever. Continue absorb the Curse. I’m only alive because you two decided to help me.”
Michael was about to say more when he sensed something deep inside him. He frowned deeply and felt a surge of annoyance spread through him. Usually, he wouldn’t be that annoyed, but his emotions were stronger than normal. Even though Michael had expected that he felt weird nonetheless.
Everything felt more intense than it used to be.
‘Using the Wicked Spear Arts once was enough to affect me this much. But it was worth it. I would rather have the Wicked Spear Arts affect me than allow something sentient to take over my body and potentially alter it.’
The Wolf Curse growled deeply. Even the Wolf Head looked up from the Undead Pharaoh’s body to glare at Michael.
“That’s nothing against you. Well, it is, but that’s your fault. You should have been nicer from the beginning. You tried to steal my body from the beginning, only to turn into a lovely puppy after we exorcised Danny’s weakened Curse. That’s suspicious, you know?!” Michael excused his actions, only to receive a snort from the Wolf Curse as a response.
He felt a pang of guilt and frustration erupt from the depths of his being and frowned deeply. He was on the verge of begging the Wolf Curse for forgiveness.
‘Fuck. The amplified emotions are much worse than I expected. How am I supposed to survive like that? In the first place, are the changes permanent, or will the effect wear down after a while? I don’t think Cleave Fenrir had as many problems with the Wicked Spear Arts as I have. He used it for decades before, which was this bad if I recall correctly.’
Michael tilted his head, unsure if the issue was that he was more compatible with the Wicked Spear Arts or if it was the opposite. Maybe practitioners with higher compatibility have fewer issues with the altered intensification to which they feel emotions.
Michael had no idea if the issue was with his body or if it was somehow related to the intensity with which he used the Wicked Spear Arts. It was not unlikely that the latter was the case, but it would require more research to turn the theories in his mind into facts. In the first place, Michael hoped he wouldn’t have to use the Wicked Spear Arts again. Unfortunately, he felt that he would have to use it more often in the future.
Hopefully, he could find a way to weaken the detrimental effect of the Wicked Spear Arts by then.
Michael was deep in thought and busy dealing with the mess of emotions that swept through his entire being. He didn’t even notice that the throne hall began shaking violently or that deep fissures burst through the polished sandstone, swallowing the mountains of gold.
[Your money!!!] Danny screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice shaking Michael awake.
He regained his senses but frowned deeply when Danny continued screaming.
[Get the gold and treasures!]
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Michael clicked his tongue, only to frown deeply at his curt response.
His brother was worried that he would forget about the valuables and the mountains of gold. It wasn’t like Danny annoyed him. At least Michael wouldn’t usually be upset at his brother so easily. Well, most of the time.
‘The Wicked Spear Arts is truly wicked,’ Michael’s frown deepened, but he did what his brother told him to. He spread the bits of energy he’d replenished over the last few minutes and stored everything in the throne chamber inside his War Rune, including the Undead Pharaoh’s body. Maybe it would come in handy.
After that, Michael jumped into the fissure that had swallowed his gold. It was dark down there, but Michael could still hear his gold clinking loudly whenever it scratched and hit the walls. He landed hard on the bottom of the fissure and spread his energy out once more. The fissure was eerie, but Michael didn’t think of staying there for long. He got his mountains of gold and utilized Cosmic Stride before anything evil could grasp him. However, it was not like Michael could sense or see anything powerful down there; he could tell there was something.
He shuddered when he returned to the throne hall, only to look left and right.
“Where is the Staff of Epos?” Michael asked quietly.
The Staff of Epos caused him some trouble, but an Ancient Artifact contained a tremendous amount of curse power. If he could give it to the World Serpent and Wolf Curse to devour once he ascended to a Higher Lifeform, they could grow stronger together quickly.
[The Staff disappeared.]
“Hmm? How did that happen?” Michael groaned, feeling like throwing some stones at the World Serpent for losing the Staff of Epos.
Was the World Serpent powerful and wise, or was that just a farce? How could it lose the Ancient Artifact?
[The Ancient Artifact was pulled away from me when the Undead Pharaoh ceased to exist.]
“Just like that?” Michael frowned, “Did you even try to keep the Staff? I anticipated you to be stronger,”
[Mind your words, puny child. You better control your emotions, or I will forcefully beat some manners into you. Beating the shit out of brats is something I’m very good at!]
The Wolf Curse seemed to agree. However, instead of growling at Michael, it did something entirely different.
The Wolf Curse suddenly expanded within Michael. He couldn’t even react in time because he was too busy scolding the World Serpent and managing his chaotic emotions.
One moment, the Wolf Curse spread through his entire being, and the next moment, Michael noticed that the Wolf Curse did something to him.
The anger and frustration that had filled him until a moment ago seemed to affect him less.
The Wolf Curse devoured some of Michael’s excessive emotions.
Was that a peace offer?
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