Chapter 169: Checkmate

’Hopefully this is the last time I have to rely on my soul to deal with such weaklings.’ Michael thought. Acknowledging that he had been relying on the same strategy several times by now.

Fortunately his body didn’t scream in pain anymore, as he wasn’t in his material form. That at the very least should help him stay levelheaded.

“HAHAHA!”

Michael’s train of thought was interrupted by the manic laughter of the Monarch queen.

Her laughter was understandable. A few seconds ago she would have been forced to fight against the Lords and Overlords while engulfed in the Sacred flames. However, now the tyrannical fire was gone.

From now on, if her enemies wanted to defeat her, they would have to beat her soul, which was times harder than just beating her material form.

In simpler terms, she had already won, allowing her to take full rein of the whole planet.

“You are a blessing in disguise!” Still lost in laughter, the queen bellowed, throwing a glance at Michael.

“Rejoice! Although you are going to die today, I shall forever remember you and your sacrifice!”

As the queen was having the time of her life, the Lords descended into despair.

“No. NO! We don’t stand a chance in a soul battle!”

With eyes full of despair, Caroline shifted her gaze towards Michael.

“You moron! You doomed us!”

Even in the worst-case scenarios, the Lords had been confident they would leave the battlefield alive, even if it meant sacrificing their troops.

But because of Michael, they were trapped here until there was only one soul remaining!

“I doomed you? No, you doomed yourselves from the very start. Instead of letting greed blind you, you could have helped your cities grow, strengthening humanity in the long run. But you were too arrogant to aid a few ’pesky’ mortals, weren’t you? If there were no immediate rewards, what point did you see in helping at all?”

Michael’s cold voice rang out like a guillotine of death.

Until now he hadn’t been able to speak with the Lords on even ground. Thankfully today that was about to change.

“Fucking imbecile!” An agent of the Immortal Legion shouted. “You’re a mere Master. In no universe do you have the authority to lecture us on our methods. We are Lords, willing to go to any lengths, while you are nothing but a single disposable Master!”

Michael’s face didn’t flinch as he silently observed the Lords slowly descend into insanity. At the same time, the Overlords were exchanging uneasy glances. They too knew they had little chance to deal with the queen. And even if they did, only one of them was walking away from the Cursed Mirror alive.

“Ah… Haha… HAHAHAHA!”

Just as the ever-daunting reality started to press down on everybody’s hearts, Michael’s laughter, which surpassed even the queen’s, cut through them all.

“It never changes! People like you, monsters weighed down by the same sins, you’re all identical, no matter how powerful you become or how high you climb.”

Since Michael had been cautious to point the course of history in certain directions, he had been careful with his words and actions. However, for once he could truly let loose, knowing that nobody that was inside the Cursed Mirror with him would be walking away with their lives.

“Always, without fail. You will deflect any kind of criticism with your status. Using your power to bully and exploit the weak until their ultimate demise! Just like parasites that plague humanity!”

Azure’s Lord flushed red. Now that Michael’s body was no longer ravaged by the Sacred flames, he recognized that this was one of his subordinates.

“This is simply the way of the world. The strong rule the weak and exploit them as they please. Not that you, a mere pawn, would ever understand. Once I am finished with you, I won’t stop until your entire bloodline is erased!”

Despite the provocation, Michael’s grin widened. “You talk so high and mighty even in this situation…”

Nonchalantly he extended his hand forward and opened his palm. “But I wonder how your demeanor will change when you are faced with somebody beyond you? Would you keep your arrogant nature, or will you drop to your knees to beg for forgiveness? Why don’t we find out?”

Swoosh!

Just then the Monarch queen felt a cold chill running down her spine.

It was almost impossible to perceive, but inside Michael’s palm a small black dot began to form. A dot that held such an incredible amount of weight that she knew whatever had control over it surpassed her in every possible way.

“This will be the first time I am going all out.” Michael exclaimed, eyes growing even colder. Ever since his regression, he had been wondering if he could make use of one thing that he had attained at the end of his first life.

“Heed my call… Singularis.”

Instantly the surroundings became deadly cold, as the small dot began to expand hundreds of times, forming a threatening black hole.

The Lords and Overlords alike froze on the spot as they witnessed the black abyss spread staggeringly quickly towards them.

“W—Wait, please! I can offer you money—”

The Immortal Legion agents were the first ones to go, being absorbed by the black hole.

“M—My body! I submit my body to your every desire! Please just don’t—”

Caroline’s plea landed on deaf ears.

“What are you?” Azure’s Lord recoiled backwards in pure terror.

“Your executioner.” Michael replied evenly. “Oh ruler, so useless I didn’t even bother to remember your name.”

The man attempted to drop to his knees to beg, yet before he could even reach the ground, his body was disintegrated.

“…”

In the span of a few seconds all Lords were dead. Leaving the two members of the Etrox race and the Ro’trah queen alone with Michael.

“…Are you the one that killed our ally?” One of the Overlords asked.

Michael chuckled darkly. “What do you think?”

It was a rhetorical question, as he killed them before they could answer.

By now Singularis had grown to a colossal size. Just before the black hole could devour the queen herself, Michael stopped it and paced towards her.

“Where did your arrogant demeanor go?” Michael asked, surprised that the queen wasn’t resisting. Instead, her head was lowered, eyes half-closed.

“There is no point in defying you.” She said in a ragged voice. “Perhaps I could have killed you when you were in your material form, but now… Whatever you are isn’t something that I can deal with.”

Michael whistled. “An alien with a working brain? Now that is rare… It won’t save you though.”

A second later he made Singularis continue expanding.

“Before I go…” The queen spoke again. “Tell me, what does a being like you aim for?”

Surprised by the question, Michael scoffed. “I will exterminate your race.”

“…Hah.” A cold chuckle escaped the queen’s maw. “That’s a bit too insane, even for you. Don’t you agree?”

Michael tilted his head to the side in amusement.

“I already genocided your race once. I will simply do it again.”

“…”

Before the queen could retort, her consciousness was consumed by the black hole. Since the soul battle was over, Michael’s spirit returned to the real world, while the bodies of the Lords, Overlords, and the Monarch queen fell to the ground, their lives extinguished.

Still exposed to the Sacred flames, Michael let out a sigh.

“Finally… It’s done.”

[Quest Liberate Neptune: Completed!]

[Distributing Reward…]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep