Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Michael did not really know what to say or how to react.

Due to Jester’s nature, Michael had always been cautious around him, especially in the beginning. That caution had lessened as Michael grew stronger, but it had never fully disappeared, and so hearing that Jester had actually touched his family had nearly stirred something close to anger in him. Then he stopped himself and wondered what exactly he was supposed to be angry about.

He recognized the bias in his own thinking almost immediately. Somewhere inside him he had always assumed Jester was up to no good simply because of what Jester was, and that assumption had nearly caused him to react to something that was not actually a problem. His family was safe, unconscious but accounted for. Michael forced himself to set the irritation aside and let it go.

Jester looked at him. "What do we do now?"

Michael’s answer came without hesitation. "We get out of the city."

Neither of them said anything beyond that. There was no mention of the people still trapped inside, no discussion of what would happen to Brightgate while they left. The silence on that subject was simply there, and both of them let it sit without comment.

For Michael, the priority was his family. Getting them out and to safety came first. Everything else followed after that.

For Jester, the reasoning was considerably simpler. He wanted things to go back to how they were yesterday. The city could handle its own problems. That was not his concern.

"How?" Jester asked. "We’re sealed in, but since you made it here I assume you already have something in mind."

Michael nodded. "The barrier has weak points. They’re barely visible under normal circumstances, but with the right perception they become readable. I found a pattern in how several of them connect, and if enough pressure is applied to those connected points at the same time..."

Jester completed the thought without pausing. "A temporary gap opens in the network before the formation can compensate."

Michael looked at him for a moment. "How long does the gap stay open?" Jester asked.

"Not long. A second at most, probably less. Which means we move the moment it appears and we do not hesitate."

Jester glanced down at Aunt Mia and Lily, both still unconscious in his arms, then back at Michael. "Lead the way, master."

Michael nodded and had just summoned the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten when his expression changed.

"Come out," he said sharply, addressing a specific point in the air, and two figures immediately appeared.

"To think you were able to sense us," one of them said, sounding almost impressed, only to be met with Michael’s cold stare. The other looked at Jester and the two unconscious figures in his arms with quiet interest before shifting his attention to the transparent wall behind them.

"Well," he said, "this makes things considerably easier for us."

These two were the demonic supernaturals who had been stationed outside Michael’s apartment, their assignment being to take his family. A short while earlier, when the ground cracks began opening and creatures started pouring into the city, they had taken that as their signal and entered Michael’s home directly, only to find it empty.

Fortunately for them, they had not been careless. Earlier that morning when Aunt Mia left for work, they had quietly placed a tracking spell on her without her knowledge. Through that connection they had followed her here. What they had not expected was to find Michael as well.

For a moment both of them studied him.

Michael’s anger climbed steadily at the sight of the two hovering above him. He did not yet know the full story, but he did not need it. They were demonic supernaturals and they had clearly been after his family. That alone was enough. A cold pressure rolled off him as his eyes locked onto them, the fury in his chest building until even the already unstable air around them seemed to respond to it.

Their presence also made one thing clear. As long as they were here, he could not focus entirely on breaking through the wall behind him. That irritated him further.

Under the surprised eyes of the two intruders, Michael placed Jester and the two unconscious figures into the miniature coffin, which disappeared immediately after.

For the first time, one of the demonic supernaturals lost his composure. His expression darkened. "Our targets—"

Then he stopped. The anger faded and a slow smile returned to his face.

The family had never truly been the primary objective. Their only real value had been as leverage to reach Michael. Michael himself was always the one that mattered most. If the family had vanished into whatever that item was, that was fine. They would simply take him instead.

The second demonic supernatural had clearly arrived at the same conclusion. His gaze on Michael shifted, settling into something calmer and more calculating. "Well," he said, "that works too."

Michael said nothing. His eyes were cold.

The first one looked him over carefully, reading his aura. Rank 3, clearly, and from everything they had heard about him he was likely stronger than the average Rank 3. But they were both late-stage Rank 3 with considerable experience behind them. They did not believe for a single moment that this boy could resist them.

One of them took a slow step forward in midair. "Come quietly. If you do that, perhaps your family suffers less later."

Michael’s expression did not change. Inside, however, something dark settled deeper into his chest. He was already angry. That sentence made it considerably worse.

The second one stepped forward as well, positioning himself slightly to the side, naturally cutting off retreat without needing to announce it. "This city is sealed. The Federation is trapped. You are trapped." A faint smile touched his lips. "You should understand by now that standing against us accomplishes nothing."

Michael finally spoke, his voice completely flat. "You talk too much."

The first one chuckled. "And you don’t understand your position."

Michael’s shoulders loosened slightly.

Then he moved first.

His figure vanished and reappeared directly in front of the one on the left, fist already halfway to the man’s face with enough force behind it to split the air open.

And something did split open. The demonic supernatural’s head.

Bone, flesh, and blood exploded outward in a violent spray, the shockwave distorting the air around them for several meters in every direction.

For a fraction of a second everything went still.

The second demonic supernatural froze. His mind went blank. He had known Michael was stronger than the average Rank 3. But there was a significant difference between accepting something as information and watching it happen directly in front of you.

His partner’s head had simply ceased to exist.

Horror crept into his expression. Then his head burst open as well.

Both bodies remained suspended in the air for the briefest instant, held up by nothing, before dropping lifelessly toward the ground below.

The sound they made when they hit was distant and irrelevant.

Silence followed. Michael stood there, his fist still slightly extended, then he lowered his arm slowly.

"...Tch."

Though he was not satisfied the killing intent that had been building steadily around him since he saw those two step forward settled by a fraction.

A moment later the miniature coffin reappeared at his side and his undead emerged around him, taking up their positions in the air.

Without wasting any further time Michael activated his Eye of Truth and layered it over the heightened perception that came with Wisdom’s state, combining both until the barrier in front of him became something he could read properly rather than simply feel.

The weak points reappeared in his vision. More clearly this time. He could see the connections between them with greater precision than before,.

His family was currently safe within the coffin but he would only feel settled once they were on the other side of that wall, before whatever was coming through those cracks in the sky fully arrived so be needed to hurry.

What Michael did not know was that his earlier breach had not gone as unnoticed as he believed.

Inside the formation chamber somewhere within the city, the one maintaining the barrier had not actually dismissed that strange sensation when it first passed through him. He had wanted to. Fear of embarrassment had nearly won. But fear of death had a sharper edge, and it had kept pulling at his attention even after the others stopped paying him any mind.

So he had continued watching.

For a while nothing appeared visibly wrong and others around him talked amongst themselves ashe said nothing.

Then his eyes narrowed.

Among the countless impacts striking the barrier from the outside, one section stood out. It was being struck harder than the rest.

His expression changed completely. "...Something’s wrong."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

As his reaction was quite visible, the others around focused on him.

*

A/N: Happy new month dear readers!