"I am the embodiment of your demise, Mikaela; embrace your death with open arms!" Miguel screamed as he ordered the titan clouds to charge toward Mikaela. "Dodge it, and everyone behind you will die. Face it, and you will die."
"The kids of this generation are a bunch of egotistical maniacs," Mikaela commented as she waved her great sword. "Light Cyclone!"
A roaring cyclone made of searing light engulfed the charging cloud titans, destroying them with its overwhelming might.
However, it was not over.
"Greater Shadow Hellhounds..." Miguel uttered, and instantaneously summoned an army of minions around Mikaela.
The ferocious hellhounds jumped towards her, brandishing their powerful and sharp fangs. Due to the fact that she had just used a powerful skill, her body was still recovering slowly—the downside of her age.
Using her remaining physical strength, she waved her great sword; her strength was enough to annihilate many of them, but she was no longer fast or even strong enough to catch up with the army charging in all directions.
Many of the hounds reached her and crunched her with their fangs; blood came out, but the battle was not one-sided. In every wound she took, Mikaela waved her sword with precision, destroying many of the enemies.
"There's more!" Miguel screamed. "Shadow Spears!"
As if the army of shadow hounds were not enough, black spears rained down on Mikaela. The scenery was a terrifying sight to behold, like a nightmare that turned into reality—the hero got overwhelmed by the force of darkness.
"Do you really think I will go down easily?" Mikaela's entire body lit up in light, indicating a powerful attack that was about to get released. "Ground Zero."
A roaring series of implosions and explosions of light occurred, destroying all the enemies surrounding Mikaela. The moment the light disappeared, what left was her image standing alone—wounded but not defeated.
Miguel's maniacal laughter echoed throughout the place. "I see it now. You are holding back. You can unleash a powerful attack to reach and destroy me, but you didn't because of the people currently in the middle of evacuation." A sinister smile appeared on his face. "You are choosing to lose this battle in order to protect those weaklings. You decided to buy time instead of trying to defeat me. Why? Does your old age no longer allow you to control your own abilities?"
Mikaela laughed. "Ah, you are smarter than you look," she said as she stabbed her sword to the ground, exhausted.
"I heard you were one of the most aggressive members of the hero's party. But it seems you have gotten soft." Miguel clicked his tongue. "How pitiful."
"Having a bunch of adorable grandchildren would do the trick," Mikaela said as she pulled her sword.
"You are an honorable fool. My most hated kind of people." Miguel raised his hand. "I can't believe I am saying this, but... This is why Zero is better than any of you; he would never hesitate to sacrifice countless innocent lives for the sake of winning."
Five more cloud titans were formed, their massive image looking at Mikaela alone and completely vulnerable.
"Kid, who wrote the history book you read? I think you read very badly written propaganda," Mikaela said, smirking.
"You and your annoying mouth," Miguel said with rage in his eyes. "Farewell... Mikaela."
All five cloud titans merged and rushed towards Mikaela, forming a much smaller but extremely potent corrosion cloud that could easily melt anything upon contact.
"Lady Mikaela!" The people could only scream as they watched Mikaela get devoured by the pitch-black cloud of destruction.
No screams, no crying, just pure silence. It was over before anyone could comprehend what fate had befallen their hero.
"You were strong—one of the strongest to be exact. However, we humans had one fatal weakness compared to the other races—time. And your time had long gone," Miguel said as he watched the pitch-black cloud slowly disappear. "All of your deeds and this kingdom will be erased in the annals of history; your legacy will be gone."
"Oh, shut up your mouth already, can you?" Mikaela's voice echoed from inside the cloud. "Does being a drama queen run in your family? No wonder Zero killed your brothers—brutal deaths at that—you and your brothers are annoyingly theatrical morons."
The black cloud disappeared, revealing Mikaela standing strong with a blue barrier protecting her from the corrosion cloud. But the most noticeable thing was the absence of her wounds—she was completely healed.
"How? You shouldn't have any spare mana or strength to create such a barrier," Miguel said as he read Mikaela's mana flow. His eyes widened upon realizing something. "No. Don't tell me that barrier that has been saving people..." He looked around with caution in his eyes. "All this time he was here! He has been watching me!"
Mikaela chuckled. "Wow, I'll repeat it; you really are much smarter than you look." Mikaela stood properly, stretching her hips. "You really wanted to see me getting beat up to pulp before starting to move, were not you? Do you hate me that much?" She was talking to someone else.
"Where is he?" Miguel screamed as he looked around, trying to detect all the mana of the people around him, but found no one fit the person he was looking for. "Where are you?"
"Or perhaps you genuinely thought I could defeat this brat. As much as I hate to admit it, I can no longer do that," Mikaela said with a smile as she looked up in the sky. "What took you so long? You idiot."
From the sky, an extremely fast silhouette rushed to the ground, landing on the stone road with a thud. The spot was covered with dirt and smoke that immediately disappeared, revealing the person who had arrived.
Squatting in front of Mikaela, Zero's image appeared—he was doing a super hero landing pose. All eyes immediately darted on him, taking all the attention the moment he arrived.
Miguel's eyes shivered; excitement could be seen in his face as he smiled. "You finally showed yourself... Zero."
"It seems I overestimated you, Mikaela. You have gotten really weak compared to your prime. Pathetic." Zero's voice echoed—filled with arrogance and cruelty, his red eyes darted to Mikaela. "An old hag like you should just be staying at home, taking care of your equally pathetic grandchildren."
Mikaela furrowed her eyebrows, trying to resist the urge to throw her sword at him. "Yeah, I have been getting a lot of that lately, not with that tone though."