29 Have I become Superman?

"HRAHHHHHH!!!!"

Michael experienced deep burning pain all over his body! He tensed up all his muscles and tried to endure but it was to no avail! The holy light seeped into every pore of his body and dark vapour arose everywhere around him! Especially his arm that still hold onto that damnable child felt like it was being put into molten lava!

Slowly but surely his transformation was also being undone and Michael returned to his former human appearance. His dark wings, tail and claws all grew back as if they had never existed to begin with and his face resembled less and less a bloody monster.

"Son, you need to let go!", a familiar female voice urgently sounded out in his ears,

You need to let go or we will both be destroyed under this accursed pillar!"

"I-, I can't!", he said through firm gritted teeth,

"My hand, it's stuck on his face! I can't let go! What is going on here?!"

"It's a divine presence! This, he is receiving a 'blessing'!", yet in her tone lied a part of hesitation and a part of uncertainty while she spoke,

"Regardless! You have to let go! Or we are doomed in this place and this will become our burial ground my son!"

Michael finally recognized the gravity of the situation they were in and looked at his left arm with a reluctant gaze. But right in the next moment his unwillingness was gone and replaced with an indestructable determination to survive!

He gathered every bits and pieces of strength he had left in his right arm. Suddenly it turned back into it's demon like form again!

However, at the same time the dark smoke reappeared over his skin and Michael's right arm only managed to retain a big half deformed hand with slightly large claws on some of his fingers.

Still, it would be enough for his purposes!

He lunged out at his shocked left arm, straight at the joint and decisively cut through his own flesh without even a twitch!

After getting rid of this burden his arm transformed back into its human form and Michael left the area of light with breakneck speed!

Walking out of the critical zone felt like entering paradise and the hellish sensation from before vanished into thin air. Yet the damage they had caused remained behind.

His left arm, or the stump that was there now was covered in a black layer that looked like burned coal! A shiver ran down Michael's spine when he saw the injury. If he hadn't acted quick enough maybe the rest of his body would have also turned into nothing more than a bunch of burned coal and dark smoke!

His skin was scorched red and blisters were being revealed all over him. His former blond hair was covered with a layer of greyish dust. This miserable state, He would have never imagined to end up like this because of a stupid weak child!

"Mother, why is this happening?", he asked with a hoarse voice, his lungs still sore from exhaustion.

"It's a call from the heavens ... a blessing is being bestowed upon him ...", a voice answered suspiciously and a women in white gowns appeared out from nowhere behind Michael. Her tattered clothes and ghostly look on her faces showed she hadn't escaped unscathed as well.

"A blessing?!", he asked astonished and looked at her incredulously,

"But this ... this can't be! Why here?! Now?! *cough* *cough*", he had heard about blessings before in hearsay but nowhere did it mention such heavy reactions!

"I don't know ... but we should avoid him for now."

"NOO! We can't!", so close to his goal Michael didn't want to let go of this chance,

"He is the only one who knows where the book is! We need him!"

Just in that moment the pillar of light suddenly ceased to exist and Sieg fell down upon the earth. The magical signs in the sky also disappeared and silence befell this stretch of the woods once again.

"You little son of a bitch!", deep hatred poured into Michael's eyes when looking at the boy who was kneeling on the ground.

He rushed up to him as well as he could in his pitiful state and wanted to grab that boy by the throat! He stretched out his remaining right arm and made contact with his neck, but then something bizarre happened.

The boy grabbed his arm, struggeling to break free and then burning sensation Michael had felt before reappeared on his skin and he had to let go to escape the intense pain!

"Shit! What's going on here?", he cursed out loudly while flinching back in shock. The memories about that excruciating pain were still too fresh in his mind.

Sieg and Michael stared at each other cautiously and a bit startled as well. No one took the initiative or advanced anyhow.

........

Sieg's heart beat like a drum and it felt like almost exploding inside his chest. Too many things had happened too quickly one after another, it overwhelmed him so much so that he couldn't form any clear thoughts for a couple of seconds.

First he was caught by that monster, nearly meeting his end. Then he was tortured through unknown means and he had felt like going insane! And then ... then ... everything turned white. His sight, the surroundings, everything was soaked in this ... warm light.

His sensory orientation? Completely gone. But he had felt much better, refreshing ... no. The right word should be empowering. It had felt like something was being carved onto his flesh, yet he couldn't see what it was. A wave of energy rushed through that place like a gate into his body, removing his fatique, pain and stress.

And then it was gone, from one moment to the next.

But when, when that person attempted to grab him again, he resisted with all his strength and that strange sensation re-emerged, went into his arm and suddenly he heard that man shout loudly and curse!

Sieg looked fearfully back at Michael not knowing what to do.

"What happened just now?", he thought to himself full of doubt.

Michael spoke out angrily and shot deadly daggers at Sieg:

"Mother! What is wrong?! What did he do?!"

The woman in the white gown appeared again by his side, her eyes looking over Michael's arm and then going to Sieg.

It only only a couple of moments but then ...their gazes met! Her eyes contracted and she said astonished:

"He can see me ..."

"What?", Michael didn't understand and he looked over to Sieg and his mother.

"He can see ... my presence ... the blessing gave him powers ... look at his chest.", she told him and pointed at Sieg's body.

Sieg was totally perplexed now and he thought his mind might be playing tricks to him! Suddenly a woman showed up from nothing standing next to the man. His name was Michael Sieg assumed from their earlier clash. And he called that woman his mother, but was she ghost?!

However, when he heard her talking about his chest he couldn't help but look down as well. Suddenly his mind felt like being under pressure! As if a 5 kg hammer had hit him right on top of his head, he needed to hold his head in his hands to suppress the pain.

But then the empowering feeling from before turned up again and shielded him from this sudden attack and gave him new energy. He then looked down and found a vibrant sign on his chest glowing through his white shirt. It looked like a ... a heart being stabbed?

"Ahhhhh!", the woman screamed at the same time with a pained tone in her voice.

"What did you do to her you monster?!", Michael's rage flared up again and he dashed up to Sieg's position. Blinded by wrath he just wanted to quickly end Sieg's life.

"Did he just call me the monster?", Sieg wondered confused but braced himself for the impact. He was too slow to outrun him, so he intended to protect himself as well as he could.

Michael was quickly by Sieg's side and pulled him up by his clothes in front of his face with his right arm.

Sieg might have vomited in any other situation because of Michael's bad breath, he could even see some foul teeth in his mouth. The two men stared at each other, one tall standing, the other small and hanging. Michael's eyes were filled with hatered and he spoke through yellow gritted teeth:

"Nobody who dares threaten and hurt my mother will escape or come out alive! No one!"

He threw Sieg onto the ground and pulled back his arm wanting to smash Sieg's head like a watermelon!

Sieg reacted instinctively and attempted to stop the punch!

Michael had his fist clenched with all the strength and fury he could summon! He could already imagine the bloody scene playing out in his mind!

He threw his fist at Sieg's head, his victory certain, but then ... something unbelievable happened!

A shockwave verberated into the surroundings and Michael speechlessly looked at his fist which came to a halt midway. As the dust had settled he finally saw the reason for this standstill!

Instead of a crimson carnage, what revealed itself before him was a scene nobody would ever believe him while still being sober! It was Sieg who had grabbed his large fist with both of his small hands and made it stay fixed in the air!

"What son of a monster are you child!", he shouted dumbfounded.

Sieg himself was stupefied about this unexpected outcome, he thought in his mind:

"Was he always this weak? Or have I turned into superman?"