?It was much faster and easier to use the Compass Relic with Cosmic Stride to jump through stellar systems. Still, it was obvious that the Compass Relic wasn’t created to carry two dozen people through an entire stellar system. The Compass Relic was almost empty, forcing Michael to insert more energy into it.
In the meantime, the cleansing in the solar system continued…and ended much faster than expected…
It didn’t even take a full day for Palika and his people to kill more than a hundred traitors. They were all Higher Lifeforms and resisted greatly, only to be smashed into smithereens with a single hit or two.
They didn’t encounter any Tier-6 powerhouses at first and killed everyone stupid enough to resist without hesitation. In the meantime, Kraft Viton, his subordinates, and Frederik made their move. First, they traveled to the Orlando family, where they met with some resistance. Frederik watched the Elders of the Orlando family being slaughtered like pigs. They tried attacking Kraft Viton, but the old man crushed their heads with a snap of his fingers. It was a grotesque sight, but Frederik wasn’t displeased.
Watching the Orlando family’s Elders dying the deaths they deserved was…satisfying.
Fortunately, Jacqueline’s Father, Karek Orlando, didn’t resist Kraft Viton. He saw Frederik and remembered what kind of person Kraft Viton was before surrendering. Since Karek never wanted to be part of the Supreme Human Alliance’s scheme, he didn’t have to fear anything. The same applied to Jacqueline, who received a message from her father in the Origin Expanse. She returned from the Origin Expanse to be interrogated along with the other members of the Orlando household.
Even though most doubted that Jacqueline Orlando was a traitor, they were all imprisoned. But that didn’t matter much. They had to go by the book and record the interrogation as well.
Still, Jacqueline and Frederik hugged tightly once they reunited. It had been eons since they had been forced to separate, so their reunion was more passionate than usual. They released each other only from the tight embrace to press their lips on top of each other. The young couple kissed passionately for a few minutes, and nobody doubted that if Kraft Viton, his subordinates, and Karek Orlando weren’t present, they would have disappeared into a room to celebrate their reunion.
Jacqueline and Frederik didn’t want to separate again, but Frederik had been given a mission. He felt obliged to complete Michael’s task, so that is exactly what he did. 𝐟reewb𝚘𝐯𝐞l.c𝚘m
Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. To be precise, many things didn’t go as planned. That was especially true for their encounter with the Blaze Patriarch and his underlings.
Despite the tremendous might of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs, who had gotten additional Symbols, elevating their combat prowess to another level, they didn’t manage to kill the Blaze Patriarch. They encountered the Blaze Patriarch, fought fiercely, and managed to injure him gravely, but the Blaze Patriarch didn’t die.
Michael was certain the Blaze Patriarch’s internal organs were crushed and that Niechol’s Divine Light burned his energy paths, but the Blaze Patriarch was still alive. He could recuperate and return stronger than ever. The Blaze Patriarch used several Artifacts to avoid the deadliest blows. He then increased the distance between the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs before creating an indestructible dome around him. Only Divine Lifeforms could destroy the Dome after a few strikes.
The Dome wasn’t permanent, and Michael could do something to it, weakening the Dome to create an opening for the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Still, the Blaze Patriarch had enough time to create a Runic Gate and flee into the Origin Expanse.
He escaped.
That was bad, but upon informing Kraft Viton and some of the powerful families, who were still on their side, Michael learned that they could create a fortress around the Blaze Patriarch’s anchor, ensuring that the Blaze Patriarch would have a hard time returning. Even if he returned, the powerhouses of the Tritan Alliance would be informed, and the alarm system of the Runic Fortress would be activated, restraining the Blaze Patriarch until his apprehenders would appear.
At least, that was how most Runic Fortresses worked as long as the materials and security system installed were strong enough to restrain the prisoner.
Michael wasn’t satisfied with that, but he could do nothing about it. The Blaze Patriarch was not in the Tritan Alliance anymore, and he could use the next few years in the Origin Expanse to refine his power before coming back to claim the reigns of the Tritan Alliance and annihilate the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs.
The biggest problem with the Blaze Patriarch was that he managed to grow incredibly strong relatively quickly. It was unknown how strong he was then, but his strength must have skyrocketed for six Tier-6 powerhouses with three Soultraits to be unable to kill him instantaneously.
Too many people died or disappeared after the Blaze Patriarch revealed his true self. The only advantage was that the traitorous families – more than 85% of their powerhouses – had been eliminated. Only the young and innocent were left unscathed, but not without deploying watchguards to observe their actions for the next few years.
It was also good that the Blaze household had been removed from existence, though many household members were missing. Either they were sent into hiding in the Origin Expanse, or they were somewhere else…like many other Descendants.
Michael was filled with sadness and frustration. He found Oliver Zeus’ corpse and many bodies of powerful Awakened – good people who’d fought for the Tritan Alliance to prevail.
Michael requested to kill two Tier-6 powerhouses Palika and his people had captured. They had some understanding of Michael’s powers and let him be. Upon killing the Tier-6 powerhouses, Michael used True Extraction at full power, amplified by Cursed Seals and Soul Tears to extract their SoulStar Fragments – earning him more than ten thousand SoulStar Fragments – and several Memory Orbs.
The Memory Orbs were consumed immediately, revealing more information about the Blaze Patriarch’s deal with the Supreme Human Alliance and information about the whereabouts of the Descendants and talented youths who had vanished.
“Alice, Kaleb, Lincoln, Zeke…and everyone else…were kidnapped and brought away…” Michael murmured, a shudder running down his spine.
“Brought away? Where?!” Lincoln’s father, who’d joined their mission to kill the traitors of the Tritan Alliance not too long ago, asked. He was scared. What if something happened to his son?
However, Lincoln’s father wasn’t the only one scared about their children’s whereabouts and safety. All human powerhouses who were missing one or multiple children were frightened. What scared them the most wasn’t the fact that their child had been kidnapped. They trusted their child and their teachings. Everyone had been prepared for similar cases.
However, what terrified the parents was that they couldn’t do anything for their children.
They were the strongest powerhouses of the Tritan Alliance but were helpless when their children were kidnapped. Even though they were strong in the Tritan Alliance, they were nothing more than pesky ants before the Supreme Human Alliance.
They couldn’t do anything.
“I…don’t know. Somewhere.” Michael answered, each word tougher to say than the one before. He was experiencing a hard time controlling his raging emotions. His eyes glowed like the sun, anger filling them, “In the Supreme Human Alliance’s territory.”