Read Novel Full Chapter 918: Reunion
Chapter 918: Reunion
After receiving Michael’s permission, Jester moved.
There was no visible surge of power or grand display. He simply placed a hand over the man’s head. For a moment nothing seemed to happen. Then the man’s body trembled faintly. His breathing stuttered, uneven and shallow. A low, almost inaudible sound escaped his throat before fading completely.
Jester’s eyes remained calm.
Seconds passed. Then he withdrew his hand.
The man remained still. His chest still rose and fell, but when Michael examined him he already knew. The man was effectively dead. Not in the physical sense. But everything that had made him who he was had been stripped away entirely.
Now he was simply a shell.
Michael’s gaze lingered on the body. He found himself wondering what to do with it now. As much as he was a necromancer, he had come to prefer working with actual corpses rather than people reduced to this state.
After a brief moment the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten opened once more and Michael placed the body back inside. Another matter to be resolved later. For now it could wait.
Michael shifted his attention back to Jester and waited quietly.
Jester stood with his eyes closed, sorting through the memories he had just consumed. A minute passed before his eyes opened slowly.
Michael spoke first. "What did you find?"
Jester did not answer immediately. The information he had taken was vast, scattered, and layered with fragments that did not fit neatly together. He took a brief moment to arrange everything into something coherent before speaking.
"The chaos in the city was planned."
Michael knew this much but did not interrupt.
"It is connected to the Federation’s recent actions. Their attempt to bring ordinary civilians closer to the supernatural world has caused significant unrest among certain factions. The demonic faction in particular views this as a direct provocation. Their presence has been nearly nonexistent in the public eye for a long time, yet they continue to be painted as a primary threat. Despite making no significant moves recently, they have been treated as pests and used for educational purposes. So they chose to respond."
"This was their way of stepping out into the public eye. It appears to be their usual method. Brightgate was simply one of several selected targets. Not the only one."
Michael felt a wave of disgust rise within him. Meaningless destruction. Pointless casualties. All to make a statement.
But before that feeling could settle, Jester spoke again. "There is another factor."
Michael’s eyes narrowed.
"You."
Silence filled the room for a brief moment.
"From the memories I accessed, there were plans to capture individuals close to you, which in this case would obviously be Aunt Mia and Lily."
As Jester said this, his eyes went cold in their own quiet way. It was not anger exactly, not any strong emotion. To Jester, Lily was his master’s property and his ongoing research subject. Had Michael known what Jester was actually thinking in that moment, he would have delivered a thorough lecture. But Michael’s focus had already fixed entirely on the last words Jester had spoken.
For a split second the air around Michael distorted. Mana surged outward uncontrollably, pressing against the walls of the room. The temperature dropped and the pressure in the air became briefly suffocating.
Then it stopped. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished.
Michael exhaled slowly. His expression returned to something close to normal, but his eyes were cold.
"I see."
Once again the demonic supernaturals had pushed Michael further from any neutral stance toward them. At this point they were branded in his mind as mortal enemies. If he ever found himself with sufficient power and a clear enough situation, he would not hesitate.
Jester watched him quietly for a moment longer before continuing. "There is more."
Michael’s gaze shifted back to him.
"The one whose memories I consumed was over forty years old and had been part of the demonic faction for nearly twenty years. During that time he gained access to several of their hideouts. Some were located in the wilds. Others were concealed inside cities."
Michael’s eyes sharpened. That piece of information alone carried significant weight.
Before he could think further, Jester continued. "Based on what I found, why don’t we attack them?"
Michael did not answer immediately. His fingers tapped lightly against the arm of the chair as his mind worked through it.
Attacking the hideouts made logical sense on the surface. The demonic faction had already made him and his family a target. They had acted first, so striking back was not without justification.
But that same reasoning brought another problem to mind.
If he moved against them now, there would be consequences. Not only from the demonic faction itself, but potentially from the Federation as well, depending on what he found, what he did, and how much attention he attracted in the process.
Michael did not delude himself into thinking his situation with the Federation was resolved. He had seen enough to know how far they were willing to go for certain things. For all he knew, staying outside the academy too long would make him a target for kidnapping again or making a visible mistake could give them exactly the leverage they needed.
He had seen this kind of dynamic before, even back on Earth. Cases where the person who acted in response became the one blamed. Killing demonic supernaturals sounded righteous in principle, but if he struck first, it could be framed against him. The law, as that Rank 4 demonic supernatural had once told him in hell, was often nothing more than a tool for those above.
Still, the information itself was valuable. Even if he chose not to act directly, he could pass it along to the academy and let them determine what to do from there.
Michael then asked whether the man had known of any treasure vaults belonging to the faction. He might not be tempted toward a kill streak just yet, but a treasure vault was an entirely different matter. For that, he was more than willing to get his hands dirty.
Jester’s expression did not change. "No. He was an ordinary member. Useful, but not significant. He knew hideouts, routes, signals, and some operational methods, but had no direct contact with the true core figures. No names worth noting. No access to their deeper structure."
Michael’s eyes dimmed slightly. For a brief moment he had hoped they had caught a thread leading somewhere larger. But it was not entirely surprising. If the man had been truly important, he likely would not have been so easy to capture.
Michael temporarily set aside the matter of the demonic faction and was about to give Jester another task regarding the half-dead Rank 4 demonic supernatural still waiting in the coffin when he heard footsteps.
They were uneven.
Both Michael and Jester turned toward the hallway at the same time. A moment later two figures appeared at the entrance to the living room.
Lily and Aunt Mia.
Both of them looked as though they had only just woken up. Their movements were slightly unsteady and their expressions carried the particular disorientation of someone emerging from sleep they had not chosen.
For a brief second neither of them spoke as they took in the living room.
There were two Michaels.
Or at least that was what it appeared to be at first glance. Realization hit almost immediately after.
"Michael?"
Aunt Mia’s voice came first, carrying both relief and disbelief in equal measure. The next moment she moved, her steps still slightly unsteady but not enough to slow her down. Michael stood just in time for her to reach him.
She grabbed his arms, then his shoulders, as if checking that what she was seeing was real.
"You’re back."
There was a slight tremble in her voice, though she tried to conceal it. Michael could feel it clearly. The fear from when she lost consciousness had not fully passed. The relief now was real enough to cover most of it, but not all.
"I’m back," he said quietly.
At the side, Lily had also moved, but unlike Aunt Mia she slowed before fully reaching him. Michael noticed it immediately.
She was happy. That much was obvious. Her eyes had brightened the moment she recognized him. But there was restraint there as well. A strange and uncomfortable distance that she seemed unable to close entirely.
Michael felt it the moment she stopped just a little short. For some reason that small gap made his chest tighten.
Still, Lily looked at him and said softly, "You really came back."
Michael felt there was far more contained in those words than what was spoken.
Even he did not fully understand it yet, but somewhere along the way Lily had developed a trauma from what happened in Woodstone. When she saw those cracks opening above the city, the first person she had thought of was not her mother or any authority. It had been Michael. Seeing him now reminded her of who her cousin actually was.
Thanks to the Federation, Lily was no longer as sheltered as she had been the year before.
Michael nodded at her. "Of course I did."
That seemed to help. The stiffness in her shoulders eased, though not completely. Aunt Mia had far less of that hesitation. Whatever distance existed in her was faint, almost negligible in comparison. To her, Michael was still Michael before anything else. Her hand remained on his arm as if she did not quite want to let go just yet.
Michael looked between the two of them, then at Jester standing silently nearby.
After so long, he was finally back home.