Chapter 374: The Emperor’s Due
One of the benefits of communicating with soul weapons was that, rather than using words, they spoke with thoughts and emotions. As such, even if Michael and his weapons were to engage in a deep philosophical debate, it would last barely a few seconds in real time.
Perhaps the biggest boon of them was that with the addition of Heaven’s Judgment, Michael and Devil wouldn’t get blinded as easily, making it much easier to predict the enemy’s patterns and plans at a moment’s notice thanks to the extra point of view.
Deciding to let them rest, Michael made both weapons enter his soul, though not before instructing them to behave.
He had a lingering feeling that if left to their own devices, these two could argue until the end of time, only to never agree on a single thing.
Next, Michael used the 4,000 Skill Points he had gained upon completing the quest of winning the tournament and redistributed them between his Strength and Stamina. With Lightning Surge, there was little point in advancing his Agility any further.
Name: Michael
Soul Realm: Radiant Lord
Cybernetics: Indomitable System, Archwarlock, Lightning Surge, Perfect Senses, Spirit Radiance, Riftstep, Bypasser, Parallel Sight, Fade, Psychokinesis
• Strength: 14,000
• Agility: 13,500
• Stamina: 14,000
• Spirit: 10,000,000
• Mind: 1,000,000
Skill Points: 0
The improvements in his body were almost as substantial as when he had achieved enlightenment, reaching the Lord realm. Should he face any Transcendent Lord, he was not only bound to win but even dominate.
"Good." Michael nodded in contentment. Just as he thought, all the trouble of winning the tournament was more than worth it.
During the brief time he had chatted with Heaven’s Judgment and assessed his gains. The Indomitable Alliance, along with the viewers watching the live broadcast, realized that the tournament had drawn to a close.
"We are indomitable!" Richard’s shout echoed, drunk on glory. "No one managed to stop us until the very end! Just as we declared at the beginning, we are unstoppable!"
Once the man’s proclamation settled, the rest of the faction chanted in delight. The realization of their victory over the supposed strongest factions to exist was akin to being born again. Sure, their foes might not have deployed their strongest forces. However, that didn’t change the outcome.
At this moment, the Indomitable Alliance stood at the very pinnacle of it all, and nobody could deny that.
Their shared happiness seemed to rub off on Michael, causing his grin to widen even more.
Amidst the gathered crowd, only two men didn’t share their enthusiasm.
Honestly, the Emperor was impressed by the Indomitable Alliance’s performance. Not to mention the existence of Michael’s soul weapon, Devil intrigued him greatly.
Despite not having the chance to take a glance at Devil himself, the Emperor was sure there was more to the monster than met the eye.
The entire purpose of holding the tournament was for the Emperor to weed out anyone who might possess enough hidden power to have eliminated his right-hand man, Malice.
Although, sadly, no one had truly stood out. Michael, along with Devil were among the possible suspects...
However, lacking any concrete evidence and stubbornly refusing to believe that the man he had trained so carefully could be defeated by someone who had been merely a Grandmaster at the time, the Emperor chose not to pursue the matter, purely due to his own egotistical pride.
Shifting his gaze, he looked at the second person who wasn’t celebrating with the Indomitable Alliance... Supreme Lord Noctis.
"Given that you can use Authority Manifestation, even if flawed, I would have expected you to win in a matter of seconds. Your defeat greatly lowered my expectations of you and the Immortal Legion for the foreseeable future."
Supreme Lord Noctis bowed deeply, his face betraying no kind of emotion.
"Your Excellency, forgive me for my own incompetence and inability to secure the win. Apparently, my mastery over Authority Manifestation is flawed to such an extent that it caused my own demise before I could deal with all of them."
A lie so masterfully woven with half-truth that the Emperor wasn’t able to detect any change in the demeanor of the Lord.
Noctis would have won had Michael not intervened in his manifested authority. It was true that the Supreme Lord’s mastery over Authority Manifestation lacked in several areas, rendering him unable to stop Michael.
However, the fact that Michael possessed such authority was not to be shared with the Emperor.
Being a loyal member of the Immortal Legion, Noctis answered only to King Zaiden, his one and only true ruler. Michael’s existence could prove invaluable if the King ever wanted to dethrone the Emperor.
Not to mention, thanks to Michael’s intervention, Noctis’ eyes had been opened, bringing him closer to achieving enlightenment and entering the King realm. The fewer people knew about his potential, the better!
As such, once the conversation Noctis had with the Emperor ended, he instantly bolted towards Immortal Legion’s headquarters, eager to report to his King.
Given his status as a Supreme Lord, he was quickly granted an audience with Zaiden.
"I see..." King Zaiden exclaimed, his bottomless eyes darker than an abyss.
"Not sharing the information with the Emperor was the right move. It seems I must pay closer attention to Michael from now on..."
Noctis nodded. "Your acknowledgment brings me honor. However, what may we do with the growing resentment of the Emperor?"
King Zaiden scoffed. "I know how to play that fool like a fiddle. One gift would be more than enough to elevate our status in his eyes. As long as he doesn’t want us gone, everything is proceeding smoothly."
Upon King Zaiden’s command, the mercenary Lord Kenny made his way to the Emperor’s chamber.
"Your Excellency, I bring a gift from the Immortal Legion." Kenny proclaimed, dragging a man by a collar around his neck.
Noting the Emperor raise an eyebrow, the mercenary elaborated.
"As you may know, a recent incident on Venus led to AIs gaining sentience. The individual before you is the Mad Researcher responsible for that breakthrough. Though his methods are unconventional, his work has significantly advanced our technological development. Now that he has outlived his usefulness to us, we believe you may also find him... beneficial."
Kenny paused briefly.
"Those were King Zaiden’s words."
Intrigued, the Emperor accepted the offering.
"So, you’re the man behind the disaster... so-called Mad Researcher? What is your name?" He asked coldly once the two were alone.
The researcher trembled, bloodshot eyes fixed on the ruler of humanity.
"I—I don’t remember." He admitted. Though insanity had long since taken him, he could still sense the danger radiating from the Emperor.
With a scoff, the Emperor tossed several bio-augment devices at his feet... The same ones that had granted Malice overwhelming power, enabling him to assassinate Kings and Queens if needed, without possessing even a spark of spiritual energy.
"These devices are effective, but inherently flawed... They fail to synchronize with individuals who already possess spiritual energy, and over time, they inflict damage on the user. Since you appear to be a miracle worker when it comes to technology, your task will be to eliminate these imperfections."
The Mad Researcher nodded timidly.
"Y—Your word is my command... Though, may I ask, who are they meant for? Knowing will make my work significantly easier."
A slow, menacing smile crept across the Emperor’s face.
"Me."