Chapter 1010: Unexpected

Michael chose to use the Star Cores for a particular task. They might be worth a lot if converted into something else via Permute, but Michael used Insert on them to merge them with the four Undead Souls he had formed from the billions of Undead Souls he'd acquired with the Volcano God's help.

The Undead Souls were massive Wraths, souls tarnished by their raging emotions, but they didn't look Hyuman. The Undead Souls were made of eerily black fog, which was shaped into a Hyuman upper body with an elongated neck and head and a cloud-shaped lower body. Their appearance was interesting, but nothing to spend hours studying intensely. Michael solidified their abilities by inserting a Star Core into each of the four Undead Souls.

The resulting power was tremendous, even if the Undead Souls were not yet powerful enough to defeat a God. They weren't Godly Undead Souls but should be powerful enough to deal with Demi Gods and could negate physical attacks. They were immune to mental attacks and physical blows, which left only magical and soul attacks to obliterate them.

The Volcano God didn't have any attacks affecting souls, but the Volcano Essence and streams of lava were of a magical nature. Michael used Greater Enhancement on the Undead Souls a few times in quick succession, enhancing them before they whizzed to the Volcano God. Their bodies inflated, and they seemed to lose shape as they inched closer to the Volcano God. Michael watched the Undead Souls for a moment but lost interest in their actions after seeing how easily they merged with the surrounding space. It might not be a problem for the Volcano God to kill the Undead Souls with one or two precise hits, but for that, he would have to hit the Undead Souls in the first place. That wasn't going to be easy.

Michael jumped into action a moment later as well. Several dead planets were now stored alongside the Void Ingots in the Swallow Domain storage. Some of the Void Ingots had already been consumed, but the Floating Union comprised more than a dozen Void Ingots. The Floating Union had been a massive structure that would keep him supplied with everything he needed.

Still, Michael prepared the planets for what was about to happen.

'I think I need some help. There is no need to continue with this fight.' Michael requested help from the God Curses, who unleashed their domains through Michael for the first time.

Three domains, one golden, one black, and one poisonous green, burst from Michael. They expanded rapidly expanded and overwhelmed the Volcano God's domain by combining their power. The three domains fused, creating a darkish-green domain with vibrant golden streaks and spots. The streaks and spots combined, creating a vein-like pattern, which expanded quickly as the Essence and energy infused increased.

"This feels much better," Michael mumbled, feeling refreshed. The domain of the Volcano God was rendered useless against Michael now that the God Curses supported him. This allowed Michael to stop channeling ice into his healing serum and blood since there was no need to keep wasting precious energy on keeping his body temperature low.

The alterations caused by Curse Infusion grew more potent. The serpent tail expanded and a new layer of pristinely polished serpent scale armor grew from his skin. His hair shimmered like the stars in the cosmic sea while something particular in his eyes changed. Michael didn't look at the Volcano God like the God was a more formidable enemy anymore. The situation changed with the intervention of the God Curses, and Michael sensed that instinctively. The Volcano God would die today.

Michael was going to make sure of that, but he didn't take a few things into account. He had been too focused on the enemy before him that he forgot the enemies lurking in the shadows. The Undead Souls attacked the Volcano God, who gave his utmost to defeat the pesky wraths before they could hit and harm him. After all, even wraths, augmented by Star Cores, could inflict damage to a God. The Star Cores made it possible. Michael tried to focus on the Volcano God, but an unsettling feeling swept through him when he prepared for the all-out battle. The three God Curses unleashed their power through Michael while he retrieved the Pure Aether to form into a massive blade coated in Emperor Qi, Soul Tear's reinforcement, True Extraction Essence, God Curse Poison, Death, and Unlimited Enhancement.

Michael was about to burst forward and behead the Volcano God when time slowed down, At least that was what it felt like to Michael, the God Curses, and the Volcano God. Even the Undead Souls stopped moving.

The space farther away distorted and was torn apart. The fabric of space and reality ripped open, and something...someone emerged from it.

The fissure in the fabric of reality looked grotesque. The edges of the torn fabric seemed to be bleeding purple blood while wailing in pain, sadness, and terror. That was what Michael picked up through Seer's True Vision. The fabric of space was...sentient. Or was it just this particular part of the fabric? Neither was important enough to distract him from the man emerging out of nowhere.

The atmosphere in the planetary system switched with the arrival of the unknown man. He wasn't overly tall, and his physique wasn't special either. In fact, Michael couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since he saw a powerhouse with a small belly. The metabolism of Divine Lifeforms was extremely high. That was why most Awakened at the 7th Tier or higher started using energy to supplement their system rather than relying on mortal food. Yet, energy couldn't fill someone like this. There was no way someone could grow a belly like this from energy. After all, all excessive energy would be transferred to the Energy Pillars. That was the norm.

But the newcomer was different. He was...overflowing with Essence.

Michael paled, and so did the Volcano God, who retreated instinctively when the man with pitch-black eyes turned to them.

[That was dumb.] Fenrir commented, barely containing his rage.

A moment later, Michael realized what the Beast God meant. The newcomer blinked once, and a surge of Essence shot from his eyes.

The Volcano God didn't have time to move. Maybe, if his Divinity hadn't been cut open - by himself - the God would have been able to move. Maybe he would have been fast enough. But he didn't even have the slightest chance. The Volcano God groaned in pain and...exploded into countless pieces.

Michael swallowed hard as the Death Authority picked up the Volcano God's death. Energy surged into him, but Michael wasn't happy. On the contrary, he was scared because he knew who or rather what had appeared before them.

[One of the Primal.] Hel informed Michael, but he didn't respond.

Michael had already figured that a Primal had appeared before them. That was...unfortunate.