Even though right now he didn’t have to worry about Elio using his fourth technique on him, Michael still had to think about Raphael.
Raphael was without a doubt the biggest backup both him and Leo had right now. The fact that Raphael’s strength couldn’t be used much because he had to fight off that damn fire was a real problem.
"Is that move hard to dodge?"
Back then Michael didn’t see any big technique. So at the time he wasn’t clear on what he’d run into until the system notified him.
"Honestly, it’s not that you can’t dodge or block it. That technique is mainly for sneak attacks; head-on, it usually doesn’t threaten a demigod.
If that technique was that strong and also couldn’t be stopped, it’d be a huge bug in this world. But in that situation, if I dodged, Elio would definitely keep chasing. I also guessed he’d use that technique, which is why I turned my back."
Raphael had seen a lot of weird abilities in his life, but almost all of them had their limits. Some techniques were very unreasonable but still couldn’t reach a level where they couldn’t be countered.
"So what level is your strength at now?"
This question was also what Michael was really most concerned about right now. He needed an existence strong enough to protect him until he could grow up.
"I’m still level ninety-one. But I can’t use skills unless I want to die. Even though my body looks pretty worn out, actually my physical strength hasn’t dropped much.
But I also can’t go all out. In other words, if you guys are in life-threatening danger, I can still step in, but after that you’re carrying me back."
Raphael clearly stated his intention to protect the two of them. He felt that if a god was involved with Leo, then Leo’s talent couldn’t possibly be bad.
Plus, with Leo’s unusual behavior like talking way too early, language being too rich, constantly training and doing it very purposefully... Put all of it together, if Raphael didn’t see the issue, then his brain really must have been kicked by a mule.
"Huh? So you’re gonna protect me?"
Even though it was a question, Michael’s cheerful smile said it all. With a demigod protecting him, wouldn’t he be able to buy enough time to become a god?
"Of course."
Raphael didn’t shout it out or speak with certainty. Even Leo was made suspicious by this behavior from Raphael, wondering if the one he’d met before was a ’fake’ Raphael.
Seeing Raphael so eager to help, naturally Michael would care about him more.
"Is there really no way to remove Eternal Flame or make it weaker?"
Now he genuinely wanted Raphael to return to his previous handsome and strong self. Only someone like that could fully protect him safely.
"There really isn’t any way... Ah no, there is one way."
"What way?"
This time both Leo and Michael asked at the same time. If there was such a good method, they definitely had to learn it in case they came across that move later and needed to counter it.
But thinking about it, this method probably wasn’t very feasible. If it were, Raphael would’ve done it long ago.
"Don’t tell me you mean to have Elio take it back? That makes sense since you two have a good relationship. Wait! If he’s that good, why has he left that fire in your body for years?"
The more Michael spoke, the more suspicious he got. It was even harder to understand whether Raphael and Elio’s relationship was really as good as they said. What kind of good friend tortures their friend year after year?
"You’re misunderstanding Elio. He really has no way to take the flame back because the condition for taking it back is that I have to be within a certain range. If he came to find me, that’d be no different from reporting my location to The Great Sun Temple.
Besides, he wants me to stay in a state where I can’t harm The Great Sun Temple, so he wouldn’t take back Eternal Flame either. Leaving the flame inside me is the best option for both of us."
Although the scenario of Leo losing his temper and running off to fight Elio was very unlikely, Raphael still needed to find a way to prevent it. At the very least, he had to let Leo know Elio really wasn’t a bad guy.
"So what exactly is this way?"
Michael frowned as he looked at Raphael. The more he talked, the more Michael felt like there really was no way here.
"Of course there is one way. It’s that if Elio naturally dies, the flame inside me will disappear on its own. But how could Elio... F*ck? Elio is dead???"
Feeling the flame suddenly vanish inside him made Raphael freeze. He had thought of many scenarios, but none of them had Elio dying this early.
???
Leo and Michael looked at each other, then both looked at Raphael. Right now in their heads, it seemed like a lot of question marks had appeared. Could a coincidence like this actually be true?
"Huh? You’re joking, right? How could the temple master of The Great Sun Temple die? Even if there are people who hate him, there are still a lot of people protecting him."
Michael didn’t know how many people were on Elio’s side, but at least Glacior and Ignivar wouldn’t let Elio die so easily.
Raphael suddenly stands up. Deep in his eyes, one could see that he was now radiating the fierce aura of a dangerous monster who had just broken free from years of imprisonment.
Energy like a raging storm surged forth, releasing outward and pushing both Michael and Leo back. Michael, being weaker, kept sliding backward until he hit a large log.
"Ha ha ha, this feeling is great... Ops, who dared to kill my friend? If I ever meet them, I’ll definitely make you pay!"
Raphael’s powerful declaration left both of them stunned. Logically speaking, after so many years of being tortured, not holding a grudge was already good enough, so how could he still have this kind of good relationship?
"Hey, have you been tortured so long you’ve gone delusional?"
Michael couldn’t help but ask. He was genuinely afraid Raphael had suddenly gone crazy and would recklessly use his strength and end up killing himself.