Chapter 167: Eyes In The Inferno

At the very center of the large alien structure, the alien queen resided. Her chamber was several kilometers in diameter, giving her full freedom to use her limbs without restriction.

Her form was mostly obstructed with millions of aliens flying around her, acting like extensions of her limbs. It was literally impossible to tell when her lackeys ended and when her real body began.

“Ho?”

Genuinely surprised that the human invaders had managed to reach the very heart of the swarm, the Monarch queen moved her colossal head in their direction, a grotesque smile tugging at her face.

“It appears the pests have come to me out of their own volition. Quite fortunate, I don’t have to go all the way to you all.”

Her voice sounded screechy, evidence of her unfamiliarity with speaking the human tongue.

“So this is a Monarch queen…” One of the Lords exclaimed, starting to panic from the aura she was transmitting.

“Could it be that we overestimated ourselves? Maybe it’s not too late to call for backup from a King.”

In actuality, what they were doing was against the law.

Just as the Emperor was tasked with killing any Titan that entered the domain of humanity, the Kings were likewise responsible for eliminating any Monarch that ventured into their lands before disaster could strike.

Not reporting the existence of such aliens was akin to betraying humanity itself.

However, due to their greed, the Lords had come to the consensus that reporting to a King would be a waste. It was smarter to kill her and absorb the spiritual energy for themselves.

“Stop bitching like spineless cowards!” Caroline bellowed, bringing sense back to her teammates.

Swoosh!

At that moment, a hooded figure entered the Monarch’s domain, mere seconds before the Sacred Flames sealed the entrance.

“Took you long enough.” An agent of the Immortal Legion muttered in dejection, seeing the arrival of its ally.

“If you wanted me to come faster, you needed to offer me more money.” The assassin Lord shrugged.

“So you are not even going to attempt to hide your collaboration?!” Azure’s Lord shouted in fury.

“Silence, child.” The assassin Lord said, making fun of the man’s appearance. “We can kill each other after we deal with the queen.”

Azure’s ruler gritted his teeth, not uttering another word.

“HAHAHA!” Amused, the queen began to laugh loudly. “You humans are a different breed. To actually dare argue before me, you really ought to know your place!”

Insulted by her words, the Lords frowned.

“Shut your trap, you disgrace. You are alone and surrounded!”

The queen tilted her head to the side.

“Am I?”

The second she uttered these words, the two Overlords that had been lying in wait showed themselves behind her.

“!!!”

Instantly the Lords became alarmed. The Sacred flames gave them high chances of dealing with the queen. However, they hadn’t accounted for aliens of a different race to cooperate.

Even more daunting, these creatures were Overlords! The last fight they had against such a creature laid waste to a large part of Celestia City.

“Look how quickly they shut up!” One of the Overlords pointed out.

“Must be scared shitless! Now tell me, what did you do with your ally?!” The second demanded answers.

Rather than allowing herself to drown in despair, Caroline chuckled.

“Oh, you mean the one we killed? You’ll be joining it soon. Why not ask it yourself?”

“You wretch!”

The tension became palpable. Exchanging glances, the Lords were the first ones to act. Grasping part of the Sacred Flames, knowing they would not be burned, they hurled it toward the queen.

ROAAAR!

Gone was the queen’s patience the moment she felt the scorching of the flames and how quickly it began to eradicate her precious little minions.

“I will skin you alive!”

BOOM!

The next second, pure chaos descended onto the place, the humans and alien rulers meeting each other in a fearsome battle.

Yet funnily enough, the destruction proved lesser than one would estimate. The reason for that was simple. The Lords made sure to not leave their backs open to their teammates, fearing a backstab.

Meanwhile, the Overlords were careful not to kill the Lords, even when opportunities arose. If the Lords died, nothing would be left to stop the queen’s reign. They waited instead for the mighty queen to fall before dealing with the humans.

After all, they too wanted a full regime of the planet.

The battle progressed, with neither party truly going all out.

That was until the assassin Lord suddenly blurted out.

“Fuck this! I am out! The contract never mentioned fighting more than one alien race, so you can’t blame it on me!”

Immediately the agents of the Immortal Legion became enraged.

“Kenny, don’t you dare turn your back on us!”

In response, Kenny gave them a middle finger. “Kindly go fuck yourself!”

And just like that, he vanished. Having come prepared, his hood protected him from the Sacred Flames that would have reduced everyone else to ash.

“This is why you don’t rely on mercenaries! FUCK!” Enraged, the Immortal Legion members went all out, forcing the other humans and aliens to do the same.

Slash!

It wasn’t long after that the first Lord fell.

“Give up!” The queen roared in rage, assaulting the Lords with the full extent of her aura.

“Ugh!” In response, the human fighters were forced on their knees. Even with the flames burning the very existence of the queen, they found themselves inferior.

“It’s meaningless! If you think resistance will prevent the inevitable, you are delusional!” The queen bellowed, throwing a glance at the Overlords.

The intent was clear: she was ordering them to finish the humans.

However, the Overlords didn’t obey. If they did, the two of them alone wouldn’t be able to beat the queen afterwards.

“Is this betrayal?”

The queen’s eyes narrowed in surprise as the Overlords used their auras to weaken her dominance, allowing the humans to stand.

“Don’t blame us. We simply want to rule over it all. And for that to happen, you will have to die.”

Silently the Lords exchanged glances. If allying with the Overlords would lead them to victory, they would happily collaborate with such monsters.

“INSECTS!” Enraged, the queen prepared to erase them from existence. Her enemies prepared to respond in kind.

Until…

“…!”

A chill ran down everybody’s spines. There were no weaklings here, and if there was one thing that united every powerful entity regardless of their race, it was the full trust they put in their instincts.

Times when they proved useful were rare but invaluable.

Strangely, as of this moment, Lords, Overlords, and even the Monarch queen herself felt a trace of wrongness.

It was important to note that she didn’t worry about facing the humans alongside the Overlords, as she was confident enough to handle them on her own if it came to that.

’What is this feeling?’

Her instincts alerted her about something else.

Instantly she scanned the surroundings searching for a hidden threat. Yet aside from the white flames that had engulfed the place, there was nothing that could pose a danger.

Noting her sudden concern, the Lords observed the flames in puzzlement as well.

It was weird to explain, but they felt like there was a gaze on them.

“…Huh?”

Just when Caroline had been ready to blame the feeling on hysteria, she noticed something disturbing resided among the raging flames.

A pair of crimson eyes stared at her with no trace of emotion.

Even more frightening, the figure to whom these eyes belonged stood completely still, unbothered by the Sacred flames that had engulfed his whole body.

Calmly, Michael stepped forward, catching the attention of everyone due to his burning body.

Unfazed by the gazes of so many powerhouses and indifferent to the way his muscles were slowly being torn apart by the scorching flames, he extended his hand forward…

And summoned the Cursed Mirror.

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