Chapter 003 — Burning Once Again
Fwoosh!
“Uuuuuugh!”
The moment white flames engulfed the demon’s entire body, it completely lost its senses from the agony of being burned alive.
Michael looked at the demon’s forehead.
“Quit whining. That’s what you get for acting up.”
Michael slammed the demon straight into the floor, then kicked it hard in the stomach.
The demon went flying and rolled across the floor, desperately trying to put out the flames.
“My body! My body! Aaaaargh!”
“Damn, you sure scream a lot!”
The more it struggled, the fiercer the flames became.
Watching its own body crumble away, the demon gradually collapsed.
The other demons hesitated at the sight.
Then—
“Attack him together! There’s only one of him!”
Someone shouted from among the group of demons.
At the command, they all charged toward Michael at once.
Some swung their fists, while others poured out demonic energy.
Whoosh—
Michael lightly jumped backward and effortlessly avoided the attacks.
While doing so, he gave Shia some advice.
“Everyone is different. Some people make use of their strengths by imbuing weapons with their power. Others wrap that power around their own bodies. And…”
Bam!
Michael kicked away a demon approaching Shia with an aura-covered foot.
Then he continued.
“There were also people like you who suppressed enemies using prayers.”
Sizzle—
“Aaaaaaargh!”
The area struck by Michael’s foot was purified and burned away.
The demon’s screams echoed throughout the cathedral.
“The important thing is this. Don’t copy someone else’s method. Find your own way. If you stubbornly cling to a method that doesn’t suit you, you’ll only waste your power.”
That was the best advice Michael, the enemy of demons, could give her.
Of course, whether she can actually do it is up to her.
Even now, judging from the way Shia was staring at him with wide, innocent eyes as if she understood absolutely nothing, it was obvious she had barely listened.
After finishing his explanation, Michael looked toward the demon that had been giving orders.
Judging by the horns growing from its forehead, it seemed to have possessed its host for quite a long time.
Demonization, huh? The things they do haven’t changed at all, whether it’s the past or the present.
Since ancient times, demons had possessed humans in exchange for fulfilling their desires.
Once possessed, the demon would slowly consume the host’s body.
And when it finally took complete control, the host would undergo demonization.
Tap!
Claws.
Fists.
Strange waves of demonic energy.
Michael avoided every attack coming toward him before lightly jumping backward once more, creating some distance between himself and the demons.
“Consider this the price for being unable to stop your greed.”
Those words were not directed at the demon.
They were meant for the possessed human.
The owner of that body had most likely surrendered it to a demon after being tempted by their own desires.
“Tch. Idiots.”
Michael clicked his tongue and raised an aura-covered arm toward the ceiling.
Then—
White flames spread out until they seemed to cover the entire ceiling.
“I’ll finish this as quickly as possible.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Michael brought his hand down toward the floor.
The white flames scattered through the air and rushed toward the demons.
FWOOSH! SHHHHH—!
“My God…”
“It’s beautiful.”
The priests lying on the floor turned their eyes toward Michael after witnessing the spectacular technique.
To everyone present, the pure-white flames looked less dangerous than elegant.
“God has bestowed upon us the White Flame that purifies evil!”
One of the priests shouted with religious fervor after seeing Michael’s flames.
White Flame?
That’s actually not bad.
Perhaps Michael liked the name that had been created on the spot.
His White Flame spread through the cathedral as though protecting the priests.
SHHHHH—! BOOM!
“Aaaaaaargh!!”
Meanwhile, the demons that failed to avoid the surging explosions began turning into ash.
They scattered in every direction, desperately trying to escape.
But instinctively, they already knew.
Those flames were the natural enemy of demons.
There was no escaping them.
“Kieeeeeek!”
“Hot! It’s hot!!”
Unlike the terrified demons, however, Michael was dissatisfied with the power he was using for the first time in a very long while.
He had burned every demon he could see, but—
Hmm. This is way too weak.
It takes this long just to purify demons of this level?
He could clearly feel how much weaker he had become.
Crackle. Crackle.
Looking at the first demon he had set on fire, which was somehow still burning, Michael repeatedly clenched and opened his aura-covered fist.
Originally, a demon of this level should have turned into ash and scattered the instant the flames touched it.
On top of that, he had failed to burn the demons hiding nearby.
If there’s a reason…
Michael glanced toward the coffin that had imprisoned him.
Ever since emerging from that coffin, the difference between his current firepower and his strength in the past had been painfully obvious.
I don’t know if this is an aftereffect of the seal, but I need to recover as much of my power as possible before the apocalypse begins.
By now, the burning demons had finally turned into ash.
After confirming that, Michael walked toward the remaining enemies.
He needed to test how much power he could currently use.
“Wait!”
Shia swallowed nervously and grabbed Michael’s arm.
With Michael suddenly appearing out of nowhere, she was having difficulty understanding the situation.
Who the hell is he?
Was there someone like this?
She had no idea where he had suddenly appeared from.
She also didn’t understand why he had kicked her.
And then, as if giving her some friendly advice, he had explained things that were completely different from everything she had learned before.
Still, there was one thing she understood.
They shared the same enemy.
Demons.
Especially those white flames Michael used.
They were overwhelmingly effective against demons.
Could he be one of the owners of the Holy Relics I’ve only heard about?
They say every Holy Relic owner possesses monstrous power.
Even Shia had been unable to take her eyes off Michael’s technique.
The fact that he could instantly incapacitate intermediate-level demons was beyond anything she had imagined.
His clothes were strange as well.
He wore a faded, old-fashioned soutane that looked like something out of a history book.
Yet the rosary ring on his hand, an exquisite mixture of black and silver, looked refined and elegant, like a carefully maintained antique.
Why would someone like that be here?
Then—
Ah!
After thinking about it repeatedly, Shia finally reached a conclusion.
There was a high possibility that he had been sent by either the organization Shia belonged to or the Vatican.
Otherwise, his presence here made no sense.
It must be so classified that even someone at my level wasn’t told about it.
If he really was such an important person, it would be better to show him proper respect first.
Shia released his arm and immediately bowed.
“Hello! I’m Priest Yu Shia of the Exorcism Association!”
“…”
There was no response.
An awkward silence followed.
They say the people with the most power are usually the worst.
Even people who merely occupied high positions tended to be arrogant enough already, let alone the owners of Holy Relics.
Still, Michael was currently helping them.
Shia therefore continued speaking as politely as possible.
“First of all, thank you for helping us! Thanks to you, carrying out this mission has become much easier. This is just part of the verification procedure, but may I ask what organization you belong to?”
“…”
“If you don’t want to say that, could you at least tell me your name…?”
“…”
Another silence.
Shia began to feel troubled.
Michael had defeated demons, so he could very well be reinforcements.
But appearing in the middle of an active mission area without warning was no different from being an intruder.
She needed to at least know his name so she could report what had happened.
“Michael.”
“Huh?”
Just as Shia was racking her brain, Michael finally answered in an annoyed voice.
He found it irritating that she had ignored his explanation and was now interrogating him about his identity.
“Michael. That’s my name. I don’t belong to any organization.”
“Ah… haha. I-I see.”
And yet—
For some reason, instead of simply ignoring her, Michael kept answering her questions.
Is it because I mistook her for Helena earlier?
