Healing System

"Shut up," Arthur muttered, emptying the entire magazine without hitting a single target. "I swear these demons are dodging on purpose."

"They're literally standing still now," Michael replied with a sigh and fired.

Clean headshot.

The demon fell, and despite it not dying, it still felt pain.

"I loosened it for you," Arthur added. "How else would you hit all those demons?"

"Uh-huh..." Michael rolled his eyes, putting the weapon away. "Did you know I'm the king of all Klaxians? That's why I can shoot so well."

"You wish you were the king of us," Arthur scoffed. "People like you wouldn't even be allowed to take one step into our empire."

"How scary," Michael replied, faking a shiver as he suddenly looked off to the side.

The moment he did, a fierce wind washed over him, rolling back his hair.

However, despite it seeming so innocent, a massive frown appeared on Michael's face.

"Woah... your hairline is not the greatest. I guess that's what happens when you don't cut your hair for so long," Arthur remarked, whistling.

But that was not why Michael frowned; instead, it was because of the wind itself.

This place didn't even allow him to summon his wings, so how could it have wind? The wind would simply get crushed, just like the oxygen.

After all, no one would be able to survive in this place without the usage of mana.

"Tell me, fish, do you sense anything?" Michael asked, earning a glare from Arthur.

"Once again, I'm not a fish... but no, I don't feel anything out of the ordinary—"

"Hm?" Michael tilted his head. "What is it?"

"There's something in the distance." Arthur's frown increased. "It seems like a massive horde of monsters, but I can't tell which race they're from."

"So? Why is that a big issue?" Michael wondered. "I can't recognize half of the monsters I kill."

"You don't understand." Arthur shook his head. "We Klaxians have a lot of knowledge. Some might even say we are the smartest beings in the entire cosmos."

"Were," Michael corrected, then nodded along. "You can continue."

Arthur's brows twitched. "As I was saying... I know every single monster that exists in all the worlds, whether it is some kind of rat with 500 fingers or even a mosquito with razor-sharp teeth. I know everything."

"And yet you don't know what those things are, huh?" Michael caught on, now sharing a frown. "How strong are they?"

"Not strong, but their number is a big problem," Arthur replied. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's in the couple million range."

"What!?" Michael's eyes widened. "What do you mean, couple million? Are we being attacked by ants?"

"Of course not," Arthur scoffed. "Each of them is our height, size, and even build. However, their figures are shrouded in darkness, and I can't really figure anything out. They resemble slimes in their elasticity; however, they also have massive horns resembling minotaurs..."

"Do you think it could be a chimera?" Michael brought up. "That would make sense, I believe. Most monsters like that—"

"Nope," Arthur interjected. "I know every single possible chimera combination. Doesn't matter if they used 0.001% of a monster's DNA, or even less. I memorized everything."

"For a fish, you sure are fucking smart, aren't you?" Michael whistled in amusement. "So what? Do you want to kill the demons, or do you want to go out there and kill those weird things?"

"I'll have to put the killing of demons on hold for the time being," Arthur replied with a sigh. "I'll take point, just follow me. You might die, after all."

"I doubt it, but sure," Michael said, and soon, they began jogging out of the city.

It seemed like the monsters were coming from the south, right where they had come in from.

However, as he gazed outward, he noticed some demon guards already heading south—some in cars, while others on some hovering vehicles.

Nonetheless, Michael trailed them, and also Arthur, who seemed reluctant to go in the first place.

But Michael didn't exactly care about his opinion, since he was very curious about what kind of monsters Arthur was referring to.

After all, for a walking encyclopedia to not know something was a very rare sight.

Therefore, after several minutes, they had arrived at some kind of barricade that they had missed when they first got here.

It seemed like the demons had also finished setting up. Heavy artillery was scattered everywhere, and if Michael didn't know any better, he'd assume this wasn't the first time they had fought these types of monsters before.

But just in case, he decided to ask, since it never hurt to be too sure.

"Excuse me, what are those things?" Michael asked nicely.

He had approached some old demon commander, and since it didn't turn him away, Michael felt like he could proceed with his questions.

"My fish and I have spotted them from in the city. They seemed to be some chimera-like creatures. Do you know anything about that?"

"Fish...?" The demon tilted its head, looking the fuming Arthur up and down. "I guess you're right. He does kind of resemble a fish."

Michael smiled, and soon, the demon continued. "They're unknown beings who have no race. They resemble mimics at first, but after careful DNA analysis, we've not managed to find a match. After all, even mimics had a true physical form once. These monsters aren't ghosts either, so the only explanation I have is them being formed from the mana of this place."

"Hmm... so you're saying the excess pressure and deaths that had piled up caused the monsters to just automatically manifest?" Michael pushed. "Wouldn't there need to be some sort of catalyst? I mean, look at them."

Michael pointed in the distance, where, just barely, a single black minotaur head was visible.

"They have traits of other monsters, and if a natural phenomenon made them like this, then there needs to be a place where all of this was happening."

"You might be right, but alas, we've had similar conclusions to yours in the past," the demon replied. "We've searched where they come from. However, we've never really gotten too close. At some point, their numbers just become overwhelming."

"So how do you deal with them?" Michael asked.

"We don't," the demon shrugged. "We let Mother Nature deal with them instead. After all, once a full cycle passes, they simply vanish. It's an interesting sight; however, they still appear the next day."

Michael nodded, rubbing his chin. "...Is it always a set time when they appear?"

"Correct," the demon replied. "Not once in the last couple of centuries have their movements changed. They always remained the same, and even their strength—it's simply unbelievable how much chaos they could cause if we do not hold them back."

"Aha..." Michael muttered. "So do they ever take any other forms? Perhaps something similar to you demons?"

The demon merely shrugged. "I can't say I've seen that before. We usually just focus on long-distance fighting. We also booby-trapped the terrain, so the only thing we have to do on our end is patiently wait overnight."

"How troublesome..." Michael sighed. "Mind if my friend and I go take a look?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," the demon said. "When I said booby-trapped, I meant it. We arm them every night, and they're currently armed. If you walk over them, you will be killed."

"My fish has a good sense of smell, or so I've heard," Michael said, turning to Arthur. "Ain't that right?"

"I'm going to fucking decapitate you," Arthur shot back and jabbed toward Michael.

But of course, like the previous times, Michael grabbed Arthur's fist, twirled it around, and delivered a fierce kick to the fish's balls.

"Ugh!" Arthur recoiled, his entire body shaking. "How can you do this with your frail body?"

Michael shrugged. "I'm not as frail as I look. On another note though, what do you say? Wanna check it out?"

"Did you not hear what that ugly old demon said?" Arthur grumbled. "It's booby-trapped, and we will die if we cross that land."

"Right... but what if we take a detour?" Michael suggested with a smirk. "South is booby-trapped, but not the west. Do you see how many there are? We can literally just cross to the side and we would be fine."

"So you're just bored, is that it?" Arthur asked with a sigh.

Michael didn't deny it and simply nodded. "Of course. Why else would I suggest something so stupid?"

Nonetheless, since they had decided their goals, it was time to do them.

Therefore, Michael proceeded west, leaving the stunned demon behind.

However, not even two steps in, the ground beneath his feet caved in.

And as it did, Michael suddenly manifested a large staff, making sure not to fall in.

But Arthur merely scoffed. "Nice one. It was clearly a trap. You should've seen the ground's elevation."

"You have a pretty good nose for a fucking fish, don't you?"