"Don't move." Victoria said as she gently wiped Michael's mouth, getting rid of the blood.
"I can do this too!" Ava, who had naturally followed them to the recovery room, retorted.
"Sure you can, but I am responsible for his state, so it's only right that I treat his injuries." Victoria stated, leaving Ava speechless.
Once she was done treating his face, her gaze moved downwards to his torso.
'Now that I think about it. This is the first time I am seeing the naked body of a man so up close.' She thought, her fingers carefully applying the cream containing healing capabilities.
'It's like I am touching metal. Do all men have such rough skin, or is he an exception?' She wondered.
"I am done treating your body. You can put on your suit before I continue with your hands."
Michael shook his head slowly.
"I don't want to dirty them up with the cream on my body, so I will wait some more."
She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you embarrassed to be naked?"
He chuckled warmly. "It won't be right for me to act embarrassed, especially considering that I have seen you." He was referring to the time when a slime shot had dissolved Victoria's clothes, leaving her with a naked torso.
'He remembers…' Victoria felt her cheeks slowly blushing when she remembered the experience.
"Please don't bring up the incident anymore." She muttered before applying the cream over his arms.
"Thank you, Victoria… If most people were leaders like yourself, I am sure that we would have won the war against the aliens a long time ago." He flashed her a warm smile before standing up.
Her gaze lingered on his bare chest for a few more seconds before nodding. "It's only right I atone for my mistakes. Now if you excuse me, I have to deal with the remaining portals as well as get ready for the incoming invasion. With the retreat of the Immortal Legion, fighting against them would be more troublesome than it is worth."
"I am sure that we will be fine… I, as well as my teammates, will do anything to assist you after all." Michael said, putting on his suit now that the cream had done its job.
"Tch!" Ava clicked her tongue when his body hid behind the veil of his clothes.
Not wanting to be a nuisance, the two left Victoria alone.
"Heavens, this was nerve-wracking." Ava mumbled, getting out a cigarette from her belt. It had been forever since she last smoked.
"Hm?" Michael mused, lowering his face to hers.
"M—Michael?!" Her body froze, thinking that he was about to kiss her.
To her surprise, however, he put his two fingers on the unlit cigar, gently pulling it out of her mouth.
"You said that you owe me for saving your life, right?" He patted her on the head. "Can you promise me that you won't harm the life I have saved any longer?"
He was basically asking her to give up smoking, since even if someone were to replace their lungs and heart with cybernetic parts, their body would still be harmed regardless.
This was by no means easy. Ava was used to calming her nerves with a smoke occasionally.
"O—Okay, I promise." Yet to her own surprise, she agreed on the spot.
'He didn't insist… it just felt so natural to agree.' She thought. Truthfully, since she had been around him, she didn't feel the need to smoke much. So maybe stopping them could prove to be easier than anticipated.
"Thank you." He smiled with his face still close, causing Ava to blush even more.
Leo must have had enough time to restock their vehicle, so they went to the agreed-upon spot.
"Sorry, if I had known what was happening, I would have tried to help too." Leo felt guilty for waiting in the vehicle while Michael was fighting for his life.
"It's no big deal." Michael reassured before climbing aboard and departing towards a place with high spiritual energy.
Meanwhile in the general room, Victoria was looking at the last batch of paperwork she was supposed to complete before heading out to join the battle.
"Crap… I can't focus at all." She sighed. Many things had happened so fast that she was having trouble readjusting.
"... It was thanks to Michael that I got rid of Oliver." A vision of him standing above bloodied Oliver appeared in her mind, causing her heart to skip a beat.
With an awkward cough, she contacted her grandfather.
"I just want to make sure that they are not being targeted."
At the headquarters of the Golden Vanguard, a man of age with grey hair yet peerless skin sat on a throne.
"King Arthur. With this concluded my report of the Immortal Legion's current activities." A woman clad in golden armor spoke with her head lowered in absolute respect.
"Good work, Eliza. You may rest until my next order." Arthur nodded. "No matter what dirty tactics they might use when the battle for Triton comes, they won't reach even a tenth of our power, much less the Emperor himself."
Before the leader of the Golden Vanguard could proceed with his duties, a message from a certain line directly caught his attention.
"Ho? It's rare for her to contact me directly. It must be something urgent." Arthur mused.
Once he read the message, he called out to Eliza, who was about to leave. "Sorry to trouble you, Eliza. But it appears I got a new job for you. Don't worry, it's not something serious."
"I obey." Eliza kneeled again without hesitation.
Arthur shook his head. "As I said, it's not something serious. It's just that there has been a clash between my granddaughter and members of the Immortal Legion. Apparently there is a cadet that could have his family targeted. You just have to make sure that no one is threatening their safety or following them."
Without hesitation, Eliza turned into a lightning bolt and disappeared from his line of sight.
"Victoria, you haven't contacted me in so long… And now that you do, are you worried about some simple cadet?" Arthur muttered.
"Could it be that he is someone special, or maybe he has somehow managed to get into your cold heart?" He wondered for a few moments before disregarding the thought.
"Whatever the case, as long as it does not interfere with her growth, I shall not intervene."