It had taken time and effort tracking down Champion Michael, but asking around had led me right to him. In the plaza of East Bastion, no less. I paused to watch what was occurring near the store pillars. I was not about to have them wrecked near me again.

I was checking for any traps. There were none as far as I could see. He was being cut open. Oh, how ironic. The Astrologer or his Homunculus had done something to him. I smiled slightly at that. Dogs will always bite each other.

I advanced into the plaza, checking for any traps, but there were none. Well he had clearly used my treasury on himself based on his energy, but his stats were less than mine. It would be a hard fight, but I would win in the end, of that I had no doubt.

“How interesting. Your pain tolerance is quite impressive. I will have to think quite hard about how to get around it.” He acted instantly, as he healed himself and flipped away. I had timed things perfectly to see what the doctor had extracted out of Champion Michael. Interesting, but it was not my concern.

I let the man scurry away. If I didn’t get answers from Champion Michael, I would hunt him down next and extract answers from him. Anyone Michael deemed important enough to cut his body open was important enough to know other things if I didn’t get the answers I desired.

One thing I had learned after all the killing, was to leave one or two alive so I could extract answers later on. It was annoying when there was no one to torture and question and having to hunt down more knowledgeable people.

“Divine Empress,” he said while I advanced. He retreated slowly. Time to build up the fear and break him down. I had used him as bait before to lure out the Homunculus, but this time, I was going to question him myself. I had learned a thing or two from the Master Fleshcrafter over the years and I wasn’t afraid to implement some of his more esoteric ideas.

“It was quite a hassle to find you. I had to kill so many of your people and then I got lucky near that one city, what was it?” I asked to probe his mental state.

“Neo Brasilia.” I gave a slight nod at this.

“That cesspool of filth. To be honest, you kidnapping my child, robbing my treasury, impersonating me, killing my advisors, destroying my capital, pissing on my bed, and ruining my empire has made me achieve a state of inner peace I never knew I had.” I truly was at peace. I knew what I was doing and would not let rage blind me and kill him quickly.

“No problem, always happy to help.” Flippant, but I could sense his fear.

“I want you to know, that you made me so mad, that it was impossible to get any madder. All that rage, anger, well it crystalized into a realization. That you were purposely trying to enrage me, just like the Avatar.” I was not an idiot to be constantly led around by their nose. I was the Divine Empress. “In truth, you have managed to anger me more than the Astrologer.”

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“Is he really the father?” I asked. I frowned for a moment at that. The violation that had been forced upon me. But he would pay in time just like Michael was about to pay.

“Yes. And he will pay in time. But now, it is time to pay your bill. While I called you a dog before, I recognize you, Champion Michael.” I had etched his name and title into my mind. It was never leaving until I crushed the life out of him personally.

“Thank you, perhaps we should call it even, after all you put a hole in my chest and you don’t want anything to happen to your child. You kill me, then he will be tortured.”

“I know. It will build his character just like it built mine.” I was not going to negotiate. If I did that, then I would never get back my son. If they killed him, they killed him. If they tortured him, they tortured him. That would not deter me.

He came to a stop in the middle of the store pillars. “If I go, I am taking you with me,” he said, and I paused in my advance. “No way you can kill me without collateral damage.”

How quaint and how foolish. I continued to advance and threw a needle. It exploded behind him. That was a decent dodge, but it was just a warning throw. Nothing serious. He ran and I chased him. My Body stat was higher than his and I kept closing the distance, forcing him to use his skill to keep ahead of me.

Once he was worn down, I would remove his hands and his feet carefully so he wouldn’t die. Then he wouldn’t be able to escape. Then I would make those injuries permanent and torture him. It would be unending until he told me everything.

Then I would torture him some more for my amusement. I would turn his body into that of a dog and bring him to heel. It would be amusing and send a message to all who would think to raise their hands against me or raise up their heads in defiance.

He came to a stop in the tunnel. Well, now was a good time as any. I had seen his skills and I was not impressed. I leapt forward, hand outstretched as a water barrier formed up around him. It was weak and I was already pushing energy out around my arm to shield me from any minor effects.

Danger! I quickly pulled back, but an annihilation reaction occurred. I created a barrier and my left hand slammed into it allowing me to push away, even as my right arm was cut off. The blast went through my barrier partially and hit my body.

My arm hit the ground with a plop. He had taken my arm. He had taken my arm! “That was just my opening act.” But I could tell he was low on energy. He was not getting away that easily, with a cheap trick like this.

“What is it you people like to say? It is just a flesh wound,” I responded, pushing past the pain and damage my throat had sustained. I had suffered far worse in a level 6 zone. Far worse and come out alive.

He raced in and we exchanged blows, but I was limited, since I wanted to capture him, not kill him. I went tumbling along the ground. I had lost the exchange. Missing an arm meant it was impossible to win.

I retreated. My Sense stat was focused on him, even as I put all speed in getting back to the pillars. My energy was unstable from taking that annihilation blast. It was being repaired, but I needed to move quickly. I couldn’t let him escape. I was not going to be running around looking for him for days or months on end. I had him in my sights and he was not escaping no matter what.

I made it make to the pillars and quickly purchased a restoration and began my pursuit. There were errors. I could tell. I had studied my energy extensively and learned of it through combat. I knew every twitch, every hitch, and every inch of energy inside of me.

Correcting it took time and focus. Neither of which I could spare at the moment when I had a dog to catch and bring to heel.