The magic incantation array dissipated after a few more seconds. This was due to the energy powering the Void Zone spell had been drained completely.
Michael wasn't too certain that his gamble would work, so he had to make sure that there was enough juice within the magic array to power the spell for only a handful of seconds.
The spell only needed to last just long enough for him to carry out his plan. After which, it would work against him.
If his power did not work, he would flee the instant the array dissipated. There was no point in fighting against a demon, especially in physical combat. They were all born with vastly superior physical might than most species, and it would be suicidal to challenge them on that term.
Of course, Michael was sure that he could best Balthazar in term of magical powers, but there was no point in doing that either. Fighting and defeating Balthazar was not the objective. His objective was to locate those who were responsible for the death of Eric Cromwell and enact revenge upon them.
Anything that did not help him further his objective was secondary.
Luckily, his gamble worked like he had theorized it would. The probability was high, given the fact that everything he had touched so far could be disassembled into pixels and then assimilated into his being, including the very air itself.
That said, Michael was surprised to find himself gaining a demon soul. Not just any demon soul, but a greater demon soul. With it in his possession, he could spawn a demon into his world.
Or into the outside world at a cost. Was it worth it to summon monsters into the outside world? Many things could go wrong, and an apocalypse might happen. Just like one that was happening right before his nonexistent eyes.
Still, having the power to spawn a demon onto Earth was an option. An option that Michael would not take too lightly.
The demon he could spawn was not the same demon he had just fought, as all soul within his Domain had their experiences and memories wiped clean upon physical death. There is a way to prevent that from happening, but Michael wasn't sure whether he should allow that.
In any case, with the demon body now disassembled and absorbed, Michael could take on its form as his avatar. Of course, he would tweak its appearance to suit his need. That was always possible due to the character creation system he devised with Linus.
Having Linus here would be great.
"At least I would have someone to talk to about all of this," Michael let out a sigh and casted heal. The spell mended his bones, returning him to tiptop condition. With another spell, he removed the metal block bounded within his ribcage, as the dense material had served its purpose.
It was used to stop Balthazar from cutting him up. Without magic to keep the demon blade enchanted, the weapon could not cut through the steel block like it would be able to otherwise.
Speaking of the demon blade, Michael realized that he had a model for it within his asset library. If he spawned it into his world or the outside world, the weapon would behave exactly the same as the one wielded by Balthazar. Its magics, abilities and enchantments would still be there.
Just thinking about wielding a demonic blade was quite frightening, and Michael left the thought alone for now. He did not have the power to summon it nor the swordsmanship skill to wield it in combat.
Since the demon was now out of the way, Michael continued onwards towards his objective. He would need to head to the Kingdom that had started all of this.
The Kingdom had murdered someone it should not have, all to protect one of its royalty.
Even in this world, things like that had never changed, and it bothered Michael more than he wanted to express.
Good thing that the Kingdom wasn't that far away from the chasm. Bad thing that the road leading to there was infested with undead monsters. Not a bad thing for him since he was an undead himself.
It was bad for the Kingdom, as with this many undead around, the Kingdom might have already fallen some time ago. And even if it did not, it might have an incredible difficult time surviving with all supply lines being cut off.
Fears and worries surface within his mind, relating to a certain young girl despite he himself had never met her in person before. Despite that, Michael hoped that she was okay. She was quite important to him.
His suspicion was confirmed when he arrived at the Kingdom. Or at least what used to be a place filled with countless of people. Now, it was filled with walking corpses and skeletal remains.
The extensive damages to the steel gates and high walls told Michael that a demon had led the attack, as undead did not have the sufficient might to inflict that much damage. The place also reeks of tainted magical residues.
Demonic energy.
Since Michael was still here in this world despite the ruins all around him, he was sure that those who were responsible years ago were still alive. Somewhere out there.
That was a problem, as Michael did not have time to go and hunt them down. It was also tedious, very tedious. There was also a more pressing problem, and it became more and more severe the longer he remained in this world.
Without any lead other than a few speculations, Michael headed to his former home. The one that he shared with his younger sister. Michael realized that he had just thought of himself as Eric Cromwell.
No. He had assumed himself to be Eric Cromwell for a while now without him noticing.
Michael shook his head, trying to clear his mind and retaining what made him Michael. He was Michael and Michael only. Even so, it was inevitable. Both set of memories would intertwine regardless of how much he was fighting against it mentally.
It was better to accept the new set of memory, at least then, his mind would not be so conflicted right now. He would be able to focus more on the task at hand.
His former home was not there, and from the charred earth, it looked like it has been burned down a long time ago. Likely shortly after he was executed for the crime against mankind. If that was the case, then what happened to his sister? She did not perish in the inferno, did she?
Dalton had promised him that his sister would be alright!
It was that very promise that he could enter the dark willingly!
"She is alive somewhere," Michael told himself and left the area in search for those who had done him wrong as well as his only family member in this world. "She has to be. She has to be!"
Michael managed to find his sister a couple of hours later. She was wandering about outside the skirt of the city along with countless others in an ever-growing horde.
His sister did not recognize him even when he took her into his tight embrace. So tightly that her bones threatened to break due to numerous fractures. So tightly that the bloodstains plastered on her ripped and torn dress could imprint back onto his rags. So tightly that he could hear her scream desperately for him to come and protect her like he had promised.
"He promises. He promises. He promises!" Michael roared, as the last strand chaining him to humanity faded away.