Michael stood alone in a circle of corpses, each one having a charred, gaping hole in their torsos. Seeing such a macabre image would make anyone feel chills running up and down their spines.
The speed, ease, and surgical precision in which he dispatched of these Maugnetics was harrowing.
Twenty lives were gone, just like that. Even the most hardened killers would feel a little bit of guilt in their hearts. But not Michael.
Somehow, he felt...fine. It was as if ruthlessly killing these people werenât a crime against humanity. It felt like...justice.
[Michael...]
Suddenly, ChatJK5âs voice brought him out of his reverie. He shook his head, his body shivering.
What the hell?!
He didnât think he would have these kinds of thoughts after killing twenty people in cold blood! That... that wasnât normal. It shouldnât be this easy for him to kill people. He shouldnât be this okay with it.
But he was. He didnât know why, but he didnât feel a speck of culpability in depriving someone of their sons and daughters.
Why do I think like this?! Whatâs wrong with me?!
He looked at his hands, tidy and clean. But it shouldnât. It should have been drowning in blood. Yet, his conscience was as speckless as the clothes on his body.
[Michael...]
[Michael...]
He grabbed his head, as if he was trying to force himself to feel pain, to feel any semblance of sensation after such savage killings.
Why... Why do I feel this way?
From his very first interaction with the Frick and the Faux-Stil company, he hadnât been feeling the same way. He was more... aggressive, more pro-active, more ferocious.
He was normally a careful person, someone who wouldnât just willingly set himself up for a trap. He would have asked his friends, the Mermen...anyone... for help to ensure his safety.
But he didnât. He felt that it was his own responsibility to... hunt... these people by himself. They were his prey, and he was going to hunt them at all costs.
It was uncharacteristic of him to be this feral.
Something was wrong.
[MICHAEL!]
ChatJK5 took over his vision with a pop-up window, taking his attention.
He whipped his head forward, realizing that something has changed in his environment.
Corpses were supposed to be as motionless and immobile as the stones in the ground. Yet right in front of his eyes, he saw their limbs move, twitching, as they moved horridly out of their normal range of motions. Their bodies moved and bent with an unknown force dislocating their joints.
Slowly, these undead creatures propped themselves off the ground, their eyes unfocused and grey like a dead fish.
"What the hell..."
Even in a fantasy world, Michael never thought heâd see zombies in the flesh. But now, these revenant abominations were slowly trudging their feet towards him as if they wanted to eat his brains.
He didnât even know how that was possible. He killed them. Their bodies were now devoid of Light mana, the very thing that makes a living thing, a
living
thing.
[Michael... look at their hearts.]
Upon using his Drone Vision to peer through their hearts, his eyes widened.
Their hearts, or more specifically, their GodForge pieces, were now glowing... blue. The heat that was supposed to represent the Aubility Power coursing through their bodies were non-existent, seemingly replaced by something that was the complete opposite of it.
But somehow... it was still Aubility Power. It still emanated a strength that defied reality. He could see the metallic luster of a GodForge piece on their chests slightly peeking out from the charred hole made by his droneâs [Unity Gun].
None of these were making sense.
Especially once he looked at all of their Aubilities.
When he first saw them, he didnât even bother reading the descriptions of their powers. Not only was he still in a fugue state of aggression, but he also didnât need to. They were only in the 1st to 3rd stage of Body Formation after all, meaning they would be susceptible to his powers, and heâd be invulnerable to theirs.
But now, this strange situation made an investigation necessary.
[Frick]
[5th stage Body Formation realm]
[Talent: Artificial Strength]
[Aubility Power: The user gains an enormous amount of power that exceeds that of normal means, transcending even death itself.]
Thatâs... not what it was before.
He was sure that Frickâs Aubility Power wasnât like that before. But that wasnât the only thing different. Even his cultivation has changed, now in the 5th stage, one stage higher than when he was alive.
He looked around the nineteen other zombies walking towards him. And what he saw confused him even more.
[Unnamed]
[4th stage Body Formation realm]
[Talent: Artificial Strength]
[Aubility Power: The user gains an enormous amount of power...]
[...]
All of them had the same talent and Aubility Power. They all also gained a significant cultivation boost, becoming one stage higher than before.
What the hell is going on?
And before he could even get an answer to his question, Frickâs zombified body lunged at him, its hands blurring as it aimed straight for Michaelâs heart.
At the same time, the nineteen other zombies charged at him, all their hands outstretched towards his chest.
It seemed that these zombies werenât after his brain, but his heart instead.
And suddenly, as if a switch had flipped into his mind, his psyche returned to that animalistic, savage state he was before.
When he looked at these zombies, he scowled. They were... repulsive to him. Them being in close proximity to him almost made him wretch.
He pointed his hand at Frick, and immediately, sixteen Mini Drones hiding in the trees showed themselves, the barrels on their undersides glowing incandescent.
Unity beams shot straight at the zombified ninja corpses around him, aimed straight for their heads.
Brain matter and skull fragments exploded into the air, with most of it being incinerated upon contact with the beam.
But still, the zombies moved towards Michael as if he hadnât just decapitated them.
Disgusting.
He didnât even want to use his own powers to dispose of these creatures.
With a single command, his Mini Drones moved.
One of them suddenly buzzed with blue electricity, its propellers imbued with supernatural and reality-defying speed.
This was Jakuâs Aubility, used by his Mini Drone.