Healing System

"Bird? Where have you seen birds this big?" Michael teased, but just as he was about to attack, the demon beat him to it.

It sent a crescent strike toward him, and even though it hadn't even made contact with his body, Michael couldn't help but wince in pain.

Fuck blocking that, but... Michael grumbled, as he decided on something a bit different.

He moved the hostages backward as far as he could, and then, with most of his mana, proceeded to kick upward, redirecting the demon's attack into the sky.

Nonetheless, aside from pissing it off—and Michael's leg being severed—it didn't do much.

Or so he thought, but the hostages weren't harmed in the slightest.

"What do you say we take this elsewhere? I know a good restaurant around here," Michael suggested, and the demon merely scoffed before thrusting its claws at him.

Like before, Michael dodged or blocked, before moving slightly to the side.

He did it so subtly that the demon didn't even notice it was being rerouted to a different angle.

Finally, they were no longer facing the hostages.

But still...

I need to get further away.

"I heard you demons taste well. Do you think I could go and eat your partner?" Michael asked with a smile, making the demon's brow rise.

"I'm pretty sure they were talking about our bodily fluids, but be my guest."

Come on...

[Yeah, good shit, Michael. You almost had it,] the system said teasingly. [Idiot.]

Fuck off, Michael shot back, as he decided to do the next best thing.

And that was—run.

He shot backward and made a sonic boom, which seemed to startle the demon for a moment, as it increased its own pace to catch up to Michael.

Nonetheless, he was pretty fast, and the only thing the demon managed to do was slowly close the distance.

However, by the time it had managed to completely gain on Michael, they were already several kilometers out.

"I saw what you did, but I have several demons heading toward the humans, so they will be killed regardless. You just made it harder for yourself to save them," the demon said with a chuckle. "For a bird, you sure are fucking stupid, aren't you?"

"For a strong demon, you're awfully unaware of what's around you, aren't you?" Michael said with a smile.

He wasn't panicking.

After all, the one who was a pussy earlier had now gotten a divine earful from Michael.

And a person like that could definitely defend the hostages from the incoming demons.

After all, the strength of a Tier 3 is greater than a Tier 2—at least normally.

Michael was just an exception.

"I'll be damned. There was another weakling there, but..." the demon trailed off, taking its eyes off Michael.

But the moment it did, Michael sent out a massive arrow of light toward it—piercing the demon's skin, but not severing its body in two.

It was sad he couldn't do much more, even when he had the element of surprise.

But that was fine, as despite his arrow doing little damage, it still managed to make it difficult for the demon to heal.

After all, Light was the polar opposite of Darkness.

And that Darkness was what the demons used to be so evil.

Michael hummed in amusement, as the demon's gaze slowly landed on him.

However, unlike last time, it was lacking all playfulness.

Instead, it was like it actually wanted to kill him now.

"Falling serious now, are you?" Michael chuckled. "I don't suppose you want to take me up on that restaurant offer, do you?"

The demon didn't even bother replying, as it closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye—and with a steady breath, shot out fire from its mouth.

Michael was greatly surprised, as he never expected this demon to spit out fire like some dragon.

But despite that, he always had his shields ready, so at the very least, he was able to survive the attack.

Sadly, his skin was scorched beyond repair, and unless he focused his healing magic on it, it would be impossible to passively heal out.

That fucking stings, Michael thought with a frown.

Not only did it take 20% of his mana to block the attack, it also completely rendered him unable to fight.

Any attack against him now would make his body twitch uncontrollably due to the burns.

But of course, Michael didn't let go of his pride and simply decided to stand still.

After all, there was one presence he began feeling in the distance.

Lila was coming.

"Oh?" The demon's brows raised as it turned toward that powerful presence. "It seems like you have backup."

"And if I do?" Michael asked, as he pooled all of his mana in front of himself. "Will you kill me?"

"Not quite," the demon shook its head. "What I will do, however, is use you as a hostage—"

Before the demon could finish its words, Michael used all of the gathered mana to propel himself backward.

He used his wings to further his flight, and by doing so, managed to make a massive gap between the demon and himself.

Coincidentally, Michael launched himself in Lila's direction—who, after a few seconds, managed to catch him.

"Damn, are you okay?" Lila asked, her eyes wide.

"I'm fine. Just a burn or two," Michael replied with a smile. "Can you deal with him? I want to heal up."

"Huh? Yeah, go for it?" Lila replied, confused. "But how will you heal those injuries? You're still a beginner..."

She trailed off, as not even a moment later, Michael began perfectly getting rid of his burns.

His charred skin fell off—replaced by new skin that was crystal smooth.

"I have my ways," Michael shrugged in amusement, as he flew by himself now. "Though, you took a while, don't you think?"

"It took me a while to get a distress signal. Our operatives are not exactly alive, you see..." Lila trailed off with a gloomy look.

Michael could understand—not everyone was alive due to the demons.

He could only imagine how many people she had lost during her days as a commander.

Nonetheless, he pointed to the side. "I'll help with the hostages. You can deal with the big guy, yeah?"

"Sure, but refer to me as Miss Lila at least. You're way too casual around a higher-up," Lila complained.

"Sorry, but I'm just that type of guy," Michael shrugged, as he blasted off toward the hostages.

None had died yet, but former captain pussy had stepped up and begun slaughtering the demons.

So that was at least a plus—which Michael definitely wouldn't complain about.

He flew down and severed the heads of a couple of stronger demons, before flashing a wave at captain pussy.

"Good job. At least you took my words to heart," Michael said with a smile, as he lifted the dome up. "We're heading back now. No objections."

At those words, Michael began flying away, leaving Lila behind.

He would love nothing more than to watch the fight unfold, but his mana was running low—and if anything, he would only be a nuisance.

Therefore, he merely flew, with some hostages now calmly sleeping—until eventually, he arrived back at the city.

They were still fighting the demons, but their numbers had noticeably decreased.

He saw the girls—who were commanding entire forts—and proceeded to simply glide down over the city, to the amazement of all the people present.

Michael brought the hostages down, and they all scattered—leaving behind dirt and debris in their wake.

He gently tossed it outside the city, hitting the demons in the process.

However, since it was pretty peaceful for now, he approached the shocked commander and flashed a grin.

"I'm glad you were here to welcome my return, and as I promised, I got all the hostages back," Michael said.

There were obviously millions of people in that city, but he couldn't save them all.

Only the 1,400 that were here.

"I'm... I don't even know what to say...?" the commander muttered. "How could I repay this favor? No... the city itself must repay this favor."

"It's fine, just put in a good word for me. My name is Michael Light," Michael replied.

If he was going to reach godhood, the first step was to make his name known.

And now, since he would be jumping worlds, it was the perfect chance to gain immense influence.

Or so I hope... Michael's smile didn't disappear, as he glanced to the side and met Celeste's worried look.

"You're injured..." she remarked in a gloomy tone. "What happened there?"

She obviously saw the hostages, but it seemed like she was more focused on him.

"Big brawl. I won it, though. Also, I'm not injured," Michael pointed to his red hand. "Just burnt."

Even if he could fully heal his arms, the redness would take a few days to disappear.

And for now, he was excited.

After all, he had just completely aced his very first assignment.