Healing System

"You're holding up pretty well," Michael remarked as he walked toward the demon he had spoken to earlier.

Surprisingly, he had managed to survive, but his condition was fatal.

His core was destroyed, and the only thing left of his entire body was the head.

"Piece of shit, you broke the contract!" the demon hissed, but Michael merely scoffed.

"What contract? I didn't sign anything."

"I took your blood, so you signed it by default," the demon announced, making Michael's brows furrow.

He definitely didn't remember being nicked.

However, while he was lost in his thoughts, the demon suddenly opened its mouth and shot out a sharp tongue which headed straight for Michael's heart.

Out of sheer disrespect, Michael didn't evade—letting the tongue destroy his heart until eventually, nothing was left.

But of course, he didn't feel it, as he could still breathe using his mana, and circulating his blood manually to increase his strength had become like second nature.

That was not all, however—as within 5 seconds, a lump formed, quickly growing into something more until eventually, his heart grew back completely.

"Nice try, egghead, but you didn't do much," Michael taunted, before stretching out his finger and cutting it slightly.

As he did, blood began dripping down, soon mixing with some gooey black substance.

It was poison, and he was expelling it from his bloodstream.

Definitely not strong enough to kill him, but as long as it was in his body, it made him feel itchy—so better to be gone early.

"You survived an attack to the heart... as well as the brain-devouring poison...?" the demon said, its eyes lifeless. "Why did I even fucking bother with someone like you—"

Its words stopped as the demon finally faded away, its body turning to ash.

That was the same scenario the other demons were in, as he could see heaps of ash rise into the sky before being blown further by the wind.

I got most of them, didn't I? Michael thought, expanding his mana to check.

And that was definitely the case, as aside from a few, most were gone.

But of course... he created an entire metro in the city, so the aliens would definitely not appreciate it.

However, as long as he blamed it on the demons, it would be fine.

Probably.

Michael whistled as he approached one of the hostages.

It was a man who seemed to be at Tier 3.

A man who could've fought back—but didn't.

"Why didn't you fight?" Michael asked, as he began untying the surprisingly sturdy ropes.

The human man looked down, slumping. "I've vowed to never kill anyone, whether it be demons or monsters. I live for the sole purpose of being sent to heaven."

Michael raised a brow. "Little tip from someone who's from heaven—if you act like a shit and let such events happen, you have a higher chance of ending up in hell."

"W-What? Really?" the man asked, and Michael nodded.

"Definitely."

Is that really the case, system? he asked just to be sure.

[Nope. The world works in weird ways, and everyone's fate is decided the moment they are born. If murderers are sent to heaven, then heaven cleanses their sins. If good people are sent to hell, then they merely get separate quarters from the delinquents—that's 'bout it.] the system explained.

That sounds pretty shitty, Michael thought, as he decided to go around and free most of the hostages.

To his surprise, no one died, and he wasn't sure whether or not that was because he was more powerful—or simply, his attacks didn't kill innocents.

Either way, it was a win-win situation.

Finally, after a few hours, it was done, and he untied all the hostages before thinking up an idea.

Michael summoned a large dome-like structure without a roof and made all 1,400 hostages step on top of it.

With that, Michael sent the swords of light he had been gathering in the sky toward the remaining demons—and soon, he lifted off.

The hostages were being carried on the platform, which he made railings for, and surprisingly, the speed was enough.

Since they were all in motion, they didn't fall nor stumble.

A testament to how stable his mana was despite the circumstances.

Nonetheless, the capital was far away—and along the way, he encountered many more demons.

Obviously, they weren't as strong as what he had fought just a moment ago.

Though fighting might be a slightly strong word... I didn't really fight shit, but wiped them out instead, he snickered inwardly.

It was definitely an easy fight—one he would likely repeat many times on this planet.

Or so he thought—but in the very next moment, he felt an extremely strong presence approach.

It didn't belong to an angel, human, or alien.

In fact, it was some kind of demon.

Nonetheless, Michael didn't let up his speed as he made his way toward a flat area—until eventually, he plopped the hostages down and awaited the demon's arrival.

It didn't take long for it to arrive—and the moment it did, the skies turned black.

This definitely was the strongest demon he had seen by far—and with a strength of Tier 10, it was not something he could handle.

But he wouldn't know without trying—therefore, Michael stepped up and met the demon's white eyes, which looked at him in curiosity.

"Sup, how's it going? Need something?" Michael asked playfully.

However, in the very next moment, the demon raised its hand and sent some sort of sonic attack toward Michael.

He managed to intercept it with his own mana—but the reserves definitely tanked a lot.

Merely blocking a wave of its hand cost him 5% of his mana.

And after everything that had happened, he didn't exactly have much left.

90%.

He could use 90% and block 18 more of its attacks—or simply dodge them, which at the moment, seemed impossible.

"You're an interesting one, and I see you've killed Vlad. He was my subordinate," the demon stated coldly.

"My bad, I couldn't really tell them apart," Michael said, scratching his head. "After all, whenever you eliminate so many at once, it's very hard to tell."

The demon's gaze became colder, and Michael knew he was playing on borrowed time.

But if he could make its attacks irrational by making it angry—then he could definitely stand a chance at winning.

[Who are you kidding? You're a Tier 4, he's an upper Tier 10. I agree you might be able to deal with a Tier 8 on a good day, but Tier 9 and 10 are definitely not within your limits,] the system commented with a scoff. [I suggest you leave the hostages here and scram.]

Nah. Michael shook his head. I can grow much stronger by fighting it. And I am pretty skilled as you can see, so I'll avoid being killed instantly.

The moment Michael's words finished, the demon raised its hand, infused it with demonic mana, and sent a wave of darkness hurling toward Michael.

However, unlike last time with the sonic boom, this attack was much slower.

So slow, in fact, he could dodge.

But there was one massive problem.

If he were to dodge here, then the hostages behind him would all be killed.

What an annoying dilemma, Michael thought with a sigh, before summoning a thin sword—and the moment the black wave of darkness was about to connect with his body, he slashed downward.

His sword cracked slightly, and in total, he used 8% of his mana to block that attack.

But it was worth it—as the wave of darkness split into two and flew away into the distance, until eventually, it collided with the ground.

The moment it did, he could see several small mushroom clouds rise into the air, making a shiver run down his spine.

"That's some serious firepower you've got there," Michael commented. "I don't suppose you could hold back for a bit until my mana is restored?"

"No," the demon denied emotionlessly, before summoning another wave.

However, before it could unleash it, Michael sent the half-broken sword flying toward the demon—its speed further increased by his mana.

Surprisingly, it made contact with the demon and shot clean through its throat.

But just like what Michael had done with the previous demon who stabbed through his heart, this demon was doing the same.

"Wow, you lied to me. You could've definitely helped your subordinate if you wanted to," Michael remarked.

"I might've seen the fight, yes. But it only caught my attention when Vlad died. I don't care about such trivialities further—but since it was a part of my contract with him, I will fulfill his legacy and kill the person responsible for killing him."

"That's some heartwarming stuff—though I'm surprised it's coming from the mouth of a demon," Michael said, before summoning a massive sword and slashing it toward the demon.

However, the demon merely caught it with a single finger.

"It's heartwarming, but I'm afraid you're going to die now, bird."