Killian, Michael, and Maria were lying on their backs, their chests heaving up and down heavily. Their muscles were sore, and their brains felt like someone had trampled on them for ten minutes straight. The clothes were clinging tightly to their bodies.
They stared into the cloudless artificial sky in silence. All one could hear was their heavy breaths.
Marial felt like she would faint at any moment, whereas blood pooled around Killian and Michael. Not all of the blood belonged to them, but a considerable amount of it was actually theirs. Their arms and legs had been cut deeply, and Michael's stomach had been cleaved open for a few seconds in the battle against 22 Tekur as well. Fortunately, Maria had been ready to heal him and Killian at all times. She healed Michael the moment his stomach was cut open.
It hurt like hell, but Michael hadn't been in mortal danger thanks to Maria's quick actions.
One way or another, the two young men and Maria defeated 22 Tekur on their own, while protecting the camp of survivors behind them. It was an achievement worth celebrating. However, nobody felt like celebrating. All they felt was pain all over their body alongside soreness. The soreness continued to spread through their body. It was nasty.
"How many Soultraits do you have, Michael?" Killian asked after fifteen minutes of silence. His breathing had stabilized and he could lift his arms to retrieve a bunch of potions to recuperate faster. His energy began to replenish and the soreness all over his body subsided.
Killian's question didn't hold an ounce of frustration or jealousy. He was just…shocked.
Because they fought against 22 Tekur at once, Michael had been forced to Insert origin energy into Killian mid-battle. He Inserted seven layers of Enhancement into Killian's body as well. It was a necessity, otherwise, everyone in the camp would have died.
The 22 Tekur were a large group with more than 10 Tekur possessing Soultraits and Soul Techniques that further enhanced their comrades. Michael and Killian had to work together and use everything at their disposal to take out one Tekur after another. Sometimes, they were injured but their trust in Maria was enough for them to keep fighting with all they had. Meanwhile, Maria focused on tending to their wounds and keeping an eye on the situation all over the battlefield.
She warned Killian thrice about an incoming attack from behind. Meanwhile, Michael moved around and acted fast enough to protect himself. He didn't need Maria's warnings.
Killian's combat prowess with seven layers of Enhancement and enough energy to release his strongest attack several times in a row was terrifying. Michael witnessed it first-hand, but he was still having a hard time comprehending that someone could be this strong as a Lesser Lifeform. It was quite shocking.
But then again, Killian was only able to deal this much damage because of Enhancement, his origin energy, and Insert.
Michael knew that he used most of his Soultraits to their limit as well as the Soul Techniques he'd comprehended. No matter how he looked at the fight, anyone could tell that Michael used at least six Soultraits.
"More than enough," Michael responded, not willing to talk more about it.
Killian noticed that, but he wasn't going to leave it at that, "I know that you got more than enough Soultraits."
He clicked his tongue and added, "You've got some unique power that allows you to create Soultraits, and strengthen them, don't you?"
Michael's heart skipped a beat, but he kept staring into the cloudless sky without a word.
"I didn't think too much about your Soultraits and strength before, but when we fought, I noticed something. I recalled a few chats with my Uncle when he came back home from drinking too much." Michael continued to stay silent as Killian added,
"Oliver, my uncle, often complained about Alice and her disciple. He was drunk, so started talking gibberish after a while. But I clearly recall him saying that it made no sense for Alice to pay so much attention to her disciple. He might have had two Soultraits during the assessment at the start of the year, but they didn't contain much Soul Power. The Soultraits of Alice's disciple were only 2-Star, or 3-Star at the highest," Killian said, propping himself up on his elbows.
His head flicked to Michael, who was still staring into the sky.
"But, did you know that Alice never had an official disciple? She only taught her brother…and you. And you have more than 2 Soultraits, and they're definitely not mere 3-Star Soultraits. Oliver is in love with Alice so he researched a lot about you. That is also how I know that your Ice Soultrait and the Sword Qi Soultrait came from a Lord Rift. At least, that is what you uttered before. You might not have lied, but I feel like it's not the entire truth."
A knot formed in Michael's throat, but the more he listened to Killian the calmer he got. The knot in his throat loosened and was untied.
"Even if I change my answer, what are you going to do with it?" Michael didn't intend to sound threatening, but he was ready to do what had to be done to safeguard his secret. It was that simple.
"What I'm going to do with it? Nothing, really. I am just curious about the truth," Killian gave it a shrug. His eyes turned sharp as his eyes moved across the battlefield where the severed corpses of the Tekur lay. The Tekur's unmoving bodies were spread all over the battlefield. Not even one escaped their grasp.
"I'm certainly the strongest Descendant below Tier-4, but even I cannot easily block the techniques of the Tekur. I guess that they use Soul Techniques like Raven did before he transformed into the Undead Skeleton. His Soul Technique forced me to stay in one spot. I couldn't move a single inch even though I am usually stronger than that bastard," He revealed in all honesty.
"But I could disregard their debuffs and curses thanks to Maria cleansing them instantaneously and the boost you provided. I doubt that we could have defeated this many Tekur with only myself and Maria protecting the rest of the camp.
Maybe we could beat the shit out of the Tekur and the Supreme Human Alliance using your power. That might allow mankind to grow in its entirety without having to rely on the Supreme Human Alliance. You can read the memories and minds of the Tekur with one of your Soultraits. That should allow you to learn about the Tekur's Soul Technique which you could then store inside a Memory Crystal. The memory crystal could be analyzed by our researchers and we could start creating our own Soul Techniques in the next few years.
Don't get me wrong. I hate you, but your powers are really useful. Even your Mind Reading Soultrait can be of great use. It has the potential to help us procure Soul Techniques which would strengthen mankind as a whole, giving us a huge leverage in dealing with the Tekur once everyone is in possession of their own Soul Technique."
Michael never heard Killian talk this much, and he was not exactly sure if he liked this side of that nasty bastard. Killian was not dumb, and he was not as narrow-minded as Michael initially thought. He respected those with useful Soultraits and strength. Michael possessed both. So it was obvious that he was curious.
While the two chatted, Maria's condition had improved a bit. She lifted her upper body to look at the two Awakened and decided to join their conversation, "I think your power is unique as well, Michael. I could sense something old, ancient, within you. It was something I never experienced before."
Killian furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't like where the conversation was going, but he chose to keep listening to Maria.
"But, I understand that you will attract the attention of High Society, and the traitorous families if you were to reveal your power. Since you're not officially affiliated with any family yet, you will probably turn into the prime goal for most dark organizations, maybe even High Nobles, Sects, and Guilds the instant you expose yourself. It makes sense for you to attempt hiding your power, for the time being, at least."
Michael heard the tone hidden in her voice. Maria stressed on a few words intentionally.
'Not yet officially affiliated with any family…for the time being…Are you calling dibs on me, or what?'
He felt a bit odd conversing indirectly about his power. However, it was also weirdly relieving that someone finally found out about his Soultraits' power.
Michael guessed that more people had found out about his secrets at this point. Some thorough research should be more than enough to tell that something about his strength was odd. Not even a year ago, Michael had been tested to have less than 300 Soul Power Units with two Soultraits. If they were to repeat the same test now, he might easily surpass his former record – by a huge margin.
The only reason High Society didn't find out about his secret yet was that their interest in his progress had been close to non-existent. That was about to change.
Interestingly enough, Michael wasn't too worried about the future. If anything, he could finally put the pedal to the metal and get moving. Lots of trouble might await him once everyone found out about his secrets, but Michael had overcome so many ordeals and adversaries that a few more didn't really matter.
He was confident to survive and grow stronger after every challenge.
A smile crept up on his face as he realized something.
'It seems that my secret is not that much of a secret anymore. Looks like I can tell Kaleb and the others the truth soon.'
His heart experienced much lighter than ever. Finally, he didn't have to worry about his secret anymore.
Now the only worry left behind was how to make sure that nobody might kidnap him and turn him into a prince locked up in a tower.
