Chapter 145: Playing with Fire

In a flash every injury Michael had sustained was nowhere to be seen. Even the scars he had gotten from beating his first General in this life were gone.

And the reason for that was the Lord of Vespera. Despite only seeing her silhouette last time when they contacted her with the communication device, he was effortlessly able to connect her to the figure that stood before him.

Her perfectly proportioned face and body were becoming for people of the Lord realm. People that had attained this level of power were often regarded as perfection, resulting in lustful and jealous glances secretly being thrown their way.

“…Thank you.” Michael’s appreciation came ragged. Not because he was smitten by her beauty, but because he barely remained standing. Funnily enough, now that all of his wounds were gone, the effect of Warlock, along with the power it provided, was gone as well.

Now only the exhaustion remained.

“There is no need for thanks. I am simply returning the favor.” She exclaimed, slowly letting go of his face.

Had he not warned the Lords of the newcomer, things could have turned out to be uglier.

Shifting her gaze to Claire, the Lord added.

“Quite a lucky girl you are… Your boyfriend didn’t hesitate to move and save you. Even if he is a realm lower than you, he is quite a rare catch. Make sure you don’t let go of him.”

“…”

Wordlessly Claire stared at the Lord in a trance. Her mind, still reeling from the shock of seeing Michael so gravely wounded only to be healed in an instant, was thrown completely off balance by the Lord’s misunderstanding.

“W—We aren’t dating!” Claire cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Oh?” The Lord arched an eyebrow. She had simply wanted to congratulate the cute couple but was taken by surprise instead.

Slowly an idea formed in her mind, a mischievous smile spreading wide.

“Then do you mind if I take him~?” Playing to her chaotic nature, the Lord asked, gently getting ahold of his hand.

Claire gritted her teeth. She obviously wanted to argue, but against a Lord she didn’t dare to.

“Hehe~” The Lord chuckled, overjoyed that she had taken Claire for a loop.

Taking a peek at Michael, she expected to see the young soldier to have become flustered.

Thanks to her beauty, she often felt contentment when playing with the emotions of men, manipulating them into thinking she was interested. Creating chaos like this was her way of letting off some steam.

“…!”

However, for the first time in her life, a man didn’t blush despite being close to her.

Quite the opposite was the case. Michael’s eyes had turned unnaturally cold, as if he wasn’t staring at a member of his kin but a being that needed to be exterminated at all costs.

While he effortlessly masked his true feelings, a certain emotion coursed through his veins, overwriting all exhaustion in his body.

Anger.

This person was among the 10 Lords that had allowed Celestia to be captured. All just to ensure they could trap the Overlord and absorb the spiritual energy emitting from its body.

The former ruler of the city had perished, as did countless soldiers that gave their lives for a cause they believed in.

And now this woman dared to act like she hadn’t sacrificed millions of innocent civilians for her agenda?

When she had been so incompetent that at the end of it all, she didn’t even manage to benefit one bit?

Why had the soldiers of humankind fallen when they could have been led better to avoid such tragedy? The lives of numerous families that have been altered, never to be the same again?

’Don’t you dare get any funny ideas!’ Devil’s Tongue roared, picking up on his owner’s anger.

Only his soul weapon was able to take a glimpse of Michael’s true feelings. The pressure rising in him was akin to before meeting the alien forces!

’There is no need to worry. I am far from being able to kill a Lord in the material world. Plus, even if her crimes are worthy of execution, there is no one capable of taking over her duty…’ Michael answered calmly.

Momentarily shifting his gaze to Claire and the members of his crew, he added.

’…Yet.’

Heaving a sigh, the Lord of Vespera let go of his hand.

“You must be really tired.” She judged his lack of interest in her with his exhausted state of mind.

After all, in her eyes no mortal men could remain unshaken by her beauty.

Michael simply nodded, unwilling to elaborate further.

“Name is Caroline, by the way.” The Lord of Vespera introduced herself, going back to the other Lords.

Regardless if the Lords wanted to admit it or not. The operation had been a failure. Sure the city had been liberated, but with the main reason for coming here gone, it darkened their mood.

Even worse, with two of the Lords dead, they had to find replacements. While also investigating who the mysterious Lord that had come to challenge them was and where they had gone.

In a weird twist of fate, the one that benefitted the most was Michael and his crew. He had achieved two breakthroughs. Victoria and Claire were now Peak Masters. The other members of his crew also had managed to achieve a breakthrough. Putting Ava in the Late Expert realm and the others in the Middle Expert realm.

And of course, the new addition to the Indomitable Alliance. Despite his unpredictable nature, Richard would surely prove useful for future endeavors.

“Thank god you guys are alright!”

Once things began to settle, Evelyn greeted them. As a Grandmaster, she had a lot of duties, so she hadn’t followed them to the corpse of the Overlord.

“How is the city doing?” Michael asked, before departing back to Azure, he wanted to get a better scope of Celestia’s future.

“Better than expected.” She shrugged. “While there were a lot of casualties, at the end we liberated the city. Who is going to replace the former Lord as well as the two that died by the hands of a human is another matter…”

Michael was intrigued. “They chose their replacement already? This was surprisingly fast. Do we know anything about them?”

With a sigh, Evelyn nodded.

“Yes… They are all members of the Immortal Legion.”

“…”

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