Chapter 948: Dead
Michael's expression stiffened. He looked at Lincoln Piedra's body, and the happiness he had felt upon reuniting with Alice was gone. Sadness and anger filled his entire being.
He was sad about his friend's death and angry at himself for having been too late. 'If I had only been a little bit stronger. A bit faster and everything would have been fine...'
A deep sigh escaped his lips, and he knelt next to Lincoln. Alice was sleeping soundly in the artificial coma. The Blood Incursion didn't do anything to kill her, which was exactly what Michael had hoped for. But Lincoln couldn't be saved. He was dead, probably more than 24 hours at this point.
"How did he die?" Michael asked the Nest Leader. Selena looked back at him but could only shrug, "I don't know. We found your friend like that. The corpses of some Altors surrounded him, but that was all I could find out. But, to be honest, I didn't research his death just yet. I don't think the Altors Union will appreciate if I or anyone else from the Nest questions his people about the deaths of their enemies."
She looked deep into Michael's golden eyes and added, "And I don't think it matters much how he died. We know he killed innocent people. That includes Awakened from the Altors Union but also innocent Ordinaries." Michael swallowed and nodded slowly, but he thought differently inwardly.
'I need to know how he died.' He mumbled in his mind before using Mind Watcher to read Lincoln's memories. He knew corpses retained a portion of their memories even after death. It was unknown how it worked and Michael didn't care either. Michael cared only about Lincoln's last moment right now.
Mind Watcher consumed a significant portion of Michael's energy reserves, but a wide variety of pictures appeared before Michael's eyes when he touched Lincoln's forehead. He saw a few scenes unfold before him from Lincoln's point of view.
His entire being was filled with wrath and bloodlust as he stood on the battlefield. He was surrounded by allies and enemies simultaneously and transformed. His body expanded as he transformed into an Earth Dragon using the combination of his two Soultraits. Michael never thought his Soultraits would be used that way, but they caused death and destruction as Lincoln let loose. He tore several Altors Awakened apart, squashed many to death, and reaped lives even easier than Michael would have been able to at Lincoln's Tier. Something about Lincoln had changed...and it wasn't good.
Lincoln was not the kind of guy Michael had gotten to know anymore. If anything, all kindness had been sucked out of Lincoln, leaving him as a vessel filled with darkness, anger, and the desire to tear everyone around him apart.
The scenery changed for a few seconds, revealing several cities - outside the Altors Union - which Lincoln and his comrades had attacked and conquered. Lincoln killed many. Most of his victims were innocent people. Even children and fragile old people, but Lincoln killed them with as much wrath as he'd slain the Altors Awakened.
The scene unfolding before Michael's eyes changed again. It showed Lincoln's last moments. He was again surrounded by many High Awakened, but they feared him. They didn't dare approach him for fear of becoming like their comrades. But suddenly, something changed. Lincoln screamed in pain. His Earth Dragon-like body crumbled down, revealing his human appearance. He writhed in pain and...stabbed an earth spike into his chest. Michael swallowed hard as he watched Lincoln's last scenes from his own point of view. His mind was still foggy, but the anger dispersed. The wrath and bloodlust vanished into thin air, revealing Lincoln's true self for a quarter of a second. The earth spike in his chest crumbled and disappeared, leaving no trace of his action, but Michael had seen it. He...was proud of Lincoln.
As if he could sense Michael's approval, Lincoln smiled. Tears trickled down his cheeks, and regret filled his mind. He took a deep breath and nodded again.
"I'm sorry," He mumbled to the Atlors Awakened, "I...truly am..." The last words escaped his quivering lips before the last bits of strength escaped his body. Lincoln collapsed to the ground and stopped moving for eternity.
The vivid images disappeared, and Michael returned to reality. He swallowed hard.
"Fuck..."
Some of Lincoln's memories surfaced with a little delay, but Michael had already known about some of the things his friend had done and witnessed. The Supreme Human Alliance did many horrible things in the past. Their actions were terrible, to put it into simple terms, but whatever they had done to him in the Divine Academy broke Lincoln. He was not the same anymore and barely regained bits and pieces of his old self to kill himself.
At the end of his journey, Lincoln killed himself with regret. He struggled with the last step but gathered enough courage to ensure he would never hurt any innocent soul again.
Lincoln would much rather die than stay alive like this.
The scene where Lincoln and his colleagues killed and eradicated entire civilizations was horrifying, for the lack of a better word, and it filled Michael with terror and uncontrollable anger.
Even the God Curses shuddered in the deepest parts of Michael's soul. They couldn't accept the Supreme Human Alliance's actions anymore, either. It was time to do something.
Michael nibbled on his lower lip and turned to the Nest Leader.
"How are you faring against the Supreme Human Alliance? I know it's not going well, but how bad is it?" He asked while storing Lincoln's body away. He would have to bring Lincoln to Zeke. His childhood friend would probably want to say goodbye to his friend. Maybe Zeke would bring Lincoln back to the Tritan Alliance once he found a way to return to the Tritan Alliance without entering the Nest.
"The situation is not good. I already told you...the Supreme Human Alliance is powerful. The Altors Union might be strong, but from the looks of it, they're slowly losing. They moved too late when the Supreme Human Alliance attacked first. There are not as many truly powerful Divine Lifeforms in the Altors Union as the SHA has prepared." Eren explained instead.
Michael merely nodded.
He ran some numbers in his mind, his golden eyes coldly staring ahead. He was in his world of thoughts trying to figure out the best solution, only to shrug and look between Eren and Selena.
"How many Soultraits do you and the rest of the Nest need to stall the Supreme Human Alliance and push them back a little? I'm not expecting to change the War of Titans, but my Soultraits should be of help."
Selena's eyes widened slightly, but she nodded slowly, "Your Soultraits would help a lot. I don't know how taxing it is to create Soultraits with a higher star-rating, but if you could provide 4-Star or 5-Star Soultraits that would probably for the best. Suppose we combine our Soultraits with your Soultraits and establish a decent connection with our Curse. In that case, we can acquire a higher mastery with your Soultrait Symbols quickly while also elevating our combat prowess to a much higher level."
She licked her lips, a trace of hope glimmering in her eyes.
"How about it? Let's kick the Supreme Human Alliance in the butt!"