Healing System

"Boop."

Immediately, the demon's head burst apart, its blood and brains flying all over the place.

And of course, since he destroyed the demonic core, the demon was effectively killed.

It wasn't a hard fight by any means, since all he needed to do was not use a bunch of magic.

Despite that, his arrows were made of magic—which might've appeared as an issue at a glance—but was actually not a problem.

I guess as long as I was close enough, it didn't matter whether I was using magic or not, what a shit attempt by him to block it, Michael laughed inwardly and looked to the side.

The kamikaze bees, as well as what was left of the demons, all looked at him in awe.

After all, he had just killed one of the captains.

And as for the other captains, he couldn't spot them.

That likely meant they had branched outward and left this squad here to fight, while the others looked around nearby.

Because of that, Michael had to end stuff here fast, since if he didn't, that Tier 8 demon was going to fuck his day up.

Or maybe not. Maybe I can kill it. I'll find out soon enough, Michael thought, and immediately kicked off the air, appearing beside a smaller demon.

And before the demon could even react, he gripped its neck and pulled hard, completely beheading the demon in an instant.

At the same time, he sent down a miniature sword of light toward its small core, effectively killing it.

But Michael didn't stop there, as one by one, he dashed through the demonic forces, ripping their heads clean off.

After just a few minutes, the forces dwindled to a point where, by now, they began retreating.

However, it wasn't because there were so few of them. Instead, it was because he had inflicted fear upon them.

So demons can feel fear, that's good to know, Michael thought with a smile, and proceeded to test his luck.

He dashed toward one of the demons and grabbed it by its neck. Then, he made its eyes meet his, and the moment they did, he used a particular skill he had been against using for a while.

Charm.

The demon's eyes began darting around, trying to avoid Michael's gaze.

However, it was to no avail, as in mere seconds, it had stopped its resistance and had now fallen under Michael's control.

"Nice, so tell me now, why have you come here?" Michael asked plainly. "Is it because you wanted to kill the animals, or is there something greater at play?"

Michael looked around, making sure no one heard him as he whispered, "Keep this between us, but if there's something important, I want in."

What better way to get something than to play both sides?

After all, he had helped the animals, but if he also helped the demons in the shadows, then it would be an entirely different playing field.

But of course, even if he helped them, he didn't feel any remorse for killing the demons, and after it was all over and done with, he would personally kill them himself.

Out of all the demons, only Astraea isn't a piece of shit, Michael nodded to himself.

Soon, the demon opened its mouth.

"I don't know our objective. I was merely told to attack you."

"Me?" Michael tilted his head. "You mean the animal kingdom, right?"

The demon shook its head. "No. You were our target all along."

Michael began to feel a certain wave of ominousness wash over him, but before he could even ponder how this was possible, the demon's body suddenly expanded.

But before it could explode, Michael kicked it like a football into the sky.

And in the very next moment...

—BOOOOOOM

Fucking hell... a living bomb, just like the rest of them, isn't that right? Michael thought, locking eyes with the remaining demons, who, after hearing his conversation, finally dropped their facade.

Then, in unison, they began flying toward him, their claws outstretched and their bodies expanding rapidly.

However, before they could get too close, Michael swiped his foot in the air, sending out a fierce amount of mana.

It was like a wind blade—one he would much rather not use since it stung his leg for a while.

But it was either that, or having gallons of demon blood splattered on him.

After all, even if they exploded point blank, he wouldn't die.

Probably...

Therefore, his kick attack soon created multiple wind blades, which, upon staying in the air for more than a second, turned golden.

Now, he held control of golden gusts of wind, which he sent outward to slay the demons, controlling them as if they were threads.

And soon, each of the demons who were heading his way had died.

Still, there was one more demon remaining, and a couple more demons arriving from the distance.

Reinforcements and a Tier 8 demon commander.

Michael would much rather prefer to stay at home instead.

But oh well... I was the one who decided to fly out too far, he shrugged.

Then, he glanced to the side, where a single blue-horned demon was floating, staring at Michael with amusement.

Bingo.

He noted its presence down, and before it could even finish blinking its eyes, Michael appeared in front of it, his fist heading straight for its head.

However, just as he expected, the demon merely raised its arm and blocked his attack before sending out a kick to his side.

Michael tried his best to block the attack since it was too fast to dodge, and thankfully, he succeeded.

For the most part, anyway...

Broken bone, fractured spine, jeez. This is not my day, is it? Michael thought with a sigh and locked gazes with the blue-horned demon.

"Sup. Nice to see you're here, but what's the occasion?"

"There is no occasion, birdie," the blue-horned demon chuckled. "We've merely spotted an angel flying around and hiding its tracks. Why else would we follow you to this weak animal kingdom?"

"Well, weak or not, they had wiped out half of your army, so I guess that makes you weak as well?" Michael teased. "Or maybe, you just can't come to terms with the fact that you're about to fail."

"Fail?" The blue-horned demon tried its best to hold back a laugh, but failed. "Hahaha, you're definitely funny. I am curious though—what is an angel doing so far out? Aren't all of you supposed to be gathered in that one city?"

"I'm not bound to the city, sadly." Michael shook his head. "But hey, if I hadn't come out, then you wouldn't have been able to find me. I guess it's a win-win for the both of us, eh?"

"A win-win?" The blue-horned demon furrowed its brows. "How is it a win in your situation? I overpower you heavily, and backup is about to arrive. You, alongside the animal kingdom, are about to perish."

"Are we really, though?" Michael grinned. "I guess you're confident since you have so much gifted power, but hey, look on the bright side. You'll be able to start all over again after I kill you."

The blue-horned demon scoffed, and before Michael could even react, it appeared right in front of his face and stretched out its hand, gripping his neck tightly.

But that was the plan from the start.

It was a speed demon, meaning that no matter what Michael did, he wouldn't be able to catch up to it in his current state.

However, what if the demon willingly got close?

Even better—what if the demon made contact with his body?

Michael took a deep breath, and in the very next moment, used Sanctuary on only his body, and not the area.

Immediately, the hand that had been gripping his throat turned golden, shocking the demon.

However, the demon soon took it off and attempted to cut off its own hand.

But it was to no avail, as Michael swiftly controlled that portion of golden mana straight toward its demonic core, and firmly gripped it.

And of course, a teasing smile soon followed. "I've got your life in my hands—literally. I wonder, demon, what are you going to do now?"

The blue-horned demon flinched and attempted to strike Michael.

However, before its hit could connect, Michael sidestepped, and with a single kick to its abdomen, he sent the demon flying.

It was scared that he was going to shatter its demonic core, so it refrained from using most of its strength.

But Michael was definitely not planning on dragging out this fight too long either.

Therefore, he decided to do a little something special.

Michael stretched out his mana inside the demon, while also keeping most of it on its demonic core.

Then, by entering each of the blood vessels, he began making them smaller, until finally, the demon no longer had any blood flowing to any part of its body, making it fall limp to the ground.

And of course, Michael looked down on it from above, a sinister smile on his face.

Is this all it took to deal with a Tier 8 demon?

"Pathetic."