Chapter 739: Crimson

Katharina Zenovia unleashed a chilly aura in all directions, destroying the blazing pillar that was about to melt through the ice, shrouding her. In the meantime, the Extraction Globe didn't sustain any severe damage. It was affected by the chilly aura but didn't burst apart just yet.

However, the Extraction Globe erupted once it was close enough to damage the Zenovia household's Matriarch considerably. Dozens of golden currents shot in all directions, devouring everything obstructing their path.

Katharina frowned slightly when she noticed that her chilly aura was affected by Michael's Extraction Globe. She lost control of her chilly aura in every spot touched by the golden currents.

'A Lesser Lifeform can do that much?'

A frown surfaced on her face as realization struck her. However, Michael was not yet done. He unleashed the Cursed Seals alongside the Serpent Seals, only to trigger Heavenly Beast Physique, Foundation Break, and Enhancement.

Michael's physical might increased drastically, and his skin burst open. He used Cosmic Stride to appear next to the Matriarch, whose expression turned more serious as she sensed the sudden increase in Michael's power. An Aethyr Blade coated in Qi and several Enhancement layers manifested in his hands, but that was not all. Michael focused True Extraction's might on the tip of the Aethyr Blade and thrust the blade toward the Matriarch's chest.

The Matriarch conjured a large ice shield before her, only to realize that the Aethyr Blade's tip pierced neatly through it. The Aethyr Blade was coated in Enhancement layers, and Qi was already powerful, but True Extraction added a significant boost to the weapon's piercing power.

True Extraction extracted everything it touched, significantly decreasing the difficulty of piercing the ice shield. Unfortunately, that was still not enough to pierce through the entire shield. Merely, the Aethyr Blade's tip managed to pierce the shield neatly. That was all Michael needed. He channeled a significant amount of fire-attributed energy through the Aethyr Blade while also tapping into the Elemental Empress' power.

The Aethyr Blade transformed into a blazing blade for a second until Michael unleashed the compressed flames through the blade's tip. He used Insert to combine True Extraction with the azure flames as they burst from the blade, taking the Matriarch by surprise.

She didn't want to move but was forced to take a step to the side to neatly evade the stream of flames. Katharina Zenovia struck Michael with an ice sword she conjured in her hands, but Michael was nowhere to be seen again. Only his blazing armor was left where he'd been standing a moment earlier.

He appeared beside the Matriarch, his eyes glimmering dangerously. The Matriarch noticed a subtle change in Michael's demeanor at this point. She grasped that Michael was angry and that he was having a hard time differentiating this fight from his life-and-death battles in the Origin Expanse.

He was ready to fight with his life on the line. Even if his body had to crack and break, Michael would move onward because he thought that his life depended on it.

'Did I overdo it?' Katharina Zenovia wondered, only to shrug lightly, "Cool down a little."

Her voice was no more than a whisper, but the effect was enormous. A wave of ice engulfed Michael, nearly extinguishing the flames coating him instantly. The cone of ice shrouding Michael was highly resistant to flames and rapidly swallowed the heat surrounding it, threatening Michael and his companion. Their lives were on the line the moment the ice cone engulfed them.

Michael was forced to recall Zeroa into his body to ensure that she wouldn't die instantly. The azure armor dispersed, and a big tattoo of the Elemental Empress formed on his arm.

"You did very well. I was forced to take you seriously. That was better than expected," Katharina Zenovia acknowledged. Glancing down at her feet, she sighed lightly. "You managed to make me move as well. That's not something a Lesser Lifeform can do easily."

Michael would have frowned if he could move his body, but he couldn't even use True Extraction in the cone of ice at this moment. It felt like his entire being, including his soul, had been temporarily frozen.

"That's very arrogant to say as a mere Higher Lifeform," An unfamiliar voice resounded beside Michael.

A young man with crimson hair and eyes appeared next to Michael. He pressed his fingertip gently against the ice cone, shattering it instantaneously with a light burst of white flames.

The white flames washed over Michael, the horrendous heat taking him by surprise. Somehow, he expected to be swallowed alive and burned to a cinder within a second, but that didn't happen. The flames flushed past him and retracted back into the crimson-haired guy's finger without harming Michael.

"Who are you?!" Katharina asked, her voice filled with vigilance.

She knew better than anyone how powerful the ice cone was. Even fellow Tier-6 Lords would have issues breaking out of the Eternal Ice Prison, like the guy in front of her.

However, the guy didn't pay any attention to her. Instead, he appraised Michael from head to toe.

"So, you're the one who killed those idiots who joined the righteous path? I thought Quinn and Raven exaggerated when their report about you reached me, but it looks like I was mistaken. I didn't expect to find someone like you in a backwater galaxy like this," The crimson-haired guy mumbled, the corners of his lips curling upward into a fiendish smile.

He disappeared from Michael's sight for a quarter of a second, causing him to tense up badly. He tried using Cosmic Stride to create some distance from the crimson-haired guy, but the Soultrait failed him.

"Your teleportation Soultrait is useless right now," The crimson-

haired man said, reappearing next to Michael. A white flame flickered around his finger before leaping toward Michael's chest. His Spirit Armor Set burned alongside his shirt near-

instantaneously, revealing Michael's well-built body.

The crimson-haired man frowned deeply at first, only for repulsion to wash all over his face.

"Two Curses with access to several Seals. That's a shame," He murmured, "I guessed that you had one Curse with one or two Seals, but that is a little bit too much. I wonder if you'll survive Purgatory."

Michael couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about the crimson-haired guy. His look at the Cursed Seals and the Living Image of the World Serpents was overflowing with disgust.

"What are you talking about?"

The crimson guy shrugged lightly, his attention pulling to Michael's golden eyes, "Not much. Just concentrate on yourself. I'm going to help you."

"Help me?"

Goosebumps spread all over Michael's body.

"I'm going to remove what tainted you. It's a little bit dangerous, and you might die, but it's worth the risk. Removing those disgusting Curses to free your Soul is necessary!"

Michael's mind went blank for a moment. He had no idea what was happening but could tell the crimson-haired guy was dangerous.

"I will bring you to a better place. The Supreme Human Alliance has been waiting for someone like you for a long time," The crimson-haired man explained, the devilish smile on his face widening, "All you have to do is endure the agony and survive."

A instant later, white flames engulfed Michael. They didn't hurt at first. Only when they invaded Michael's body by tearing open his pores did the agony start.

The world around Michael went white.

Unbearable agony was all that followed alongside his desperate scream.