Supreme Lord: I can extract everything!

The skinny Primal weren't weak, but they didn't overflow with as much Essence as the chubbier ones. The weave didn't abandon them but didn't fill their reserves until every corner of their being was filled with Essence. Still, they were strong enough to contend with the Rebels even after they metamorphosed. The Primal had to be more careful now that their Essences could cause more damage. After all, their Essences were strong enough to destroy Laws and Authorities, something the Primal wanted to prevent if they did not wish to alter the weave too much.

Once a Law or Authority infused into a Divinity was destroyed, the weave would have to be created again from scratch. However, after the weave had been altered, nobody could tell how much the recreation of the Laws and Authorities would change them. Even the recreation of the simplest Laws and Authority could change everything for the better or worse.

The difficulty level increased drastically for the Primal, forcing them to fight their enemies more carefully. After all, they had to pay much more attention to their actions than the Rebels. The Rebels could go all-out!

Nonetheless, the Primal weren't dispirited. They had been the uncontended rulers of the weave since the beginning of time. That will not change today or anytime soon. It would never happen!

As long Primal Xerx survived, that is.

The situation in the isolated planetary system looked a little different than expected. The Rebels were positioned at the border of the system, using their Essences to maintain the Weave Seal. It drained enough Essence and mental power from the Rebels to disarm them. Even if they wished to kill Primal Xerx, they could never focus on the Weave Seal and fight with full might against the Primal. Still, everyone stared at the Primal, their eyes glimmering in excitement.

Did their plan work? The planetary had been separated from the weave with the Primal inside it. Thus, the Primal had to be separated from the weave as well…right?

Everyone stared at the skinny Primal, the hope in their eyes stronger than ever. If this plan failed, everything would be over. It was no wonder everyone grasped desperately on their hope.

However, instead of seeing a flustered expression, or shock in Primal Xerx's face, he studied Michael and the Rebels calmly.

Primal Xerx was still overflowing with Essence.

"Did we fail?" Someone asked, his hope cracking. Fortunately, Michael's voice rang through the Rebels' minds, encouraging them to keep going.

[He was cut off from the weave. Keep the system separated from the weave as long as you can. I will take him down, but it might take a while.] The confidence in Michael's voice invigorated the Rebels. Some were about to give up and resign to their fate, only to return to their peak condition from a few words. However, these words were worth much more than one may presume. They were everything to the Rebels.

'How is it possible to possess so much Essence? Aren't Primal supposed to get leaner and skinnier when they fight and lose some of their Essence? Why does it feel like his Essence has been compressed after the fight with Beelzebub?' Michael asked the God Curses, but they were also unsure.

[Maybe he's been consuming the Essence of some gods…or straight from the source to replenish the Essence he lost against Beelzebub and the others only to notice that his appearance stays the same, or he never lost any Essence and has been compressing his Essence contrary to whatever the other Primal have been doing.] Jormungandr commented.

[Shouldn't you know what he did? You have been busy rushing through Beelzebub's memories for a while now.] Hel asked, but Michael didn't have a good answer to offer.

'Something about Primal Xerx is different. He seems stronger yet weaker at the same time. His Essence looks stronger but given his appearance and some spots spread throughout his body – areas indicating where Beelzebub has injured the Primal – indicate the Primal never recovered from the injuries. Did Beelzebub use Pure Aether or something with a similar effect to fight Xerx?'

The God Curses thought about it for a moment, but it was Michael who found the answer in Beelzebub's mind.

Before Beelzebub was killed and his Essence sealed in the Tatoo Soultrait, Symbol of Gluttony, the Demon God possessed several Authorities and Laws. The Law of Corruption, the Decay Authority, the Law of Destruction, and another Authority. The Authority of Oblivion. 'What a crazy bastard. He prepared those Laws and Authorities to deal with the Primal, didn't he? To think that wasn't enough to kill Xerx…oh Nevermind. Xerx received some help.'

[He received help? From whom? Do you think he would have been strong enough to kill Primal Xerx if not for that help? Who helped him?] Fenrir tormented Michael with questions.

Xerx must have noticed something and impaled Michael with an Essence Spear. The Spear tore through the serpent scale armor and Michael's heart, nearly killing him on the spot as the Primal's Essence obliterated everything it touched.

'Don't distract me, Fenrir! Shut up now, or we'll all die!!'

The God Curses went silent while The Nature Divinity and River of Vigor combined, putting Michael's body back into one piece. He cursed softly, his eyes lingering on Primal Xerx.

"It would have been a disappointment to kill you like this," Xerx commented, his flat voice ringing through the vicinity.

Michael shrugged and simultaneously teleported behind the Primal. He kicked the Primal fiercely into the side, his legs coated in spikes of Pure Aether. The spikes never touched the Primal, but they pierced his Essence as a wall of Essence erupted from the Primal.

"You're trying to kill me with your average kicks? You didn't even use your Soultraits or energy to amplify the kick. That's boring." The Primal commented, but Michael smiled.

Seer, True Vision to be precise, showed Michael that the Primal, while he might have an abundance of Essence stored and compressed in his skinny body, he did not have the same infinite supply of power as the Primal connected to the weave. He had been cut off from the weave, severing his access to the infinite supply of Essence from the weave. The spikes tearing into the Primal's Essence showed that clearly.

The Primal didn't lose much Essence through the Essence wall since the Aether spikes didn't tear deeply into the Essence, but there were some minor losses. That was enough for Michael.

He could get started.

A short glimpse in Loki's direction told Michael everyone was fine. Primal Xerx hurled a few Essence Spears in their direction, but everyone could move freely. Maintaining the Weave Seal might drain their Essence and mental power, but it didn't stop them from moving around. In fact, the Rebels moved around all the time, using unpredictable movements to make it harder to transform into easy-to-hit targets.

Primal Xerx's tongue clicked, which Michael used to teleprot again. He slipped through the planetary system a few times again, gathered Pure Aether all over his body, and added his Divinities again. He used Unlimited Enhancement on Beast Halo to summon the God Curses alongside the Red Dragon, Zeroa, and a Halo of Sun Demos. Sun Demos couldn't move well in space, but given Beast Halo's potency, all Halos were stronger than their norm.

Michael weaved through the Halos as they gathered energy to attack, appeared above Primal Xerx, and punched him a few times. Pure Aether Knuckles covered his hands and transformed into tiny blades right before impact.

Primal Xerx didn't think much about the punches and countered by grasping Michael at his abdomen – one of his hands pierced through his abdomen while the other hand transformed into an Essence blade – and cut Michael in half. The lower half of Michael's body disappeared while his punches impacted heavily. The Pure Aether knuckles did some damage but more importantly was the Poison Law, Power of Extraction, Power Authority, and Death afflictions used in his attack. The Power Authority increased the damage of the initial impact, thus cutting through more Essence than initially expected, whereas Insert was applies to the Poison, Extraction, and Death that had been applied to the knuckles.

Several punches struck Primal Xerx, meaning Death, Poison, and threads of Extraction entered Primal Xerx's body through six different spots.

That might not seem like a lot, especially with Primal Xerx cleansing his body with Essence, but Michael's Unlimited Enhancement and his Divinities didn't go down just like that. Extraction drained some of Primal Xerx's Essence before it was destroyed, and the Death Afflictions, as well as the poison of the Law of Poison, caused considerable damage.

It might only look like six punches but the damage done to the Primal's Essence storage was not as insignificant as one may think.

'This works better than expected.' Michael thought, allowing Primal Xerx to rip his internal organs out of his body to teleport to his lower body.

He reached for his lower body, unleashed Perfect Enhancement on River of Vigor, and used the Nature Divinity to mend his body. Primal Xerx's eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed what was happening, and he turned to Michael, his expression dead serious.

"I will tear you apart and feed you the Rebels!"

Michael smiled through the Primal's provocation. Provoking him was already an achievement in itself, but Michael was not yet done. freewebnoveℓ.com

He was just getting started!