A man and a woman were sitting with their eyes closed, resting. Michael thought this action wasn't scientific at all, but this was probably how people in this world sped up recovery.
The clothes they wore weren't ordinary either, no less impressive than the other three's. Clearly, all five of them were from extremely powerful classes, not commoners.
The woman had sea-blue hair, and her outfit seemed to take inspiration from that, with wave-like patterns. Her features were delicate and could pass for a supermodel without issue. Even with her face covered in blood and her body full of wounds, her extraordinary aura still showed through.
The man was also far from ordinary. Even though he looked utterly battered right now, his face was textbook male idol material. His hair color matched Elio's, but it was cut short instead of long. His outfit also had a similar color scheme to Elio's, but it was engraved with sword motifs. Combined with the calluses on his hands from gripping something, he was probably a sword user.
The infant didn't need much thought. Being protected by these two, there is at least a ninety percent chance it was their child. The remaining ten percent was that he was the son of a king or emperor from a fallen or overthrown kingdom.
Michael could see this clearly because now he was less than a hundred meters away from them. With his weird vision and the support of these strange devices, it was enough for him to see everything clearly.
"Damn it, is this some kind of hidden-identity teenager avoiding enemy pursuit scenario? System, that baby is the chosen one, right?"
The moment he saw those three, countless novel plots flooded his mind. If he couldn't guess who the chosen one was now, he'd be letting down those ten years he spent loafing around at home.
[You guessed right this time. But there's no reward.]
"The hell did I say I needed you to reward me? What kind of person do you think I am?"
Despite Michael's cursing, the system didn't respond at all. Here, the system was the superior one; it spoke when it wanted and didn't when it didn't. Aside from its responsibilities, everything else like chit-chat was its own decision.
Suddenly, he thought of an extremely important issue. If that infant was the chosen one, then what kind of wish did it make?
Hold on, let's not even get into the fact that right now it can't talk; its brain hasn't even fully developed. There's no way to communicate or use consciousness to interact with a body that's basically a mess like this, so how is it supposed to make a wish?
"System, how can a baby that small make a wish? If it doesn't make a wish, am I just supposed to wait in the magic lamp for several years? Isn't that just being punished for no reason?"
Thinking about having to sit alone in the magic lamp for three to four years, Michael felt like he was about to lose his mind. What kind of crappy space is this for a person… a genie to be stuck in?
[Don't worry. It won't make you wait that long. The magic lamp has a 'time-skip' function. As long as you decide what age the chosen one will be when you appear, you can instantly go to that time.]
The system not explaining exactly how it worked made Michael a little suspicious. But if the system dared to say it, then it must be able to do it.
Now what he needed to consider was when to appear. This kid, looking like this as a newborn and already going through something this horrible, even if he's not the usual protagonist type, he's definitely a super villain.
With existences like this, you absolutely can't mess with them once they're grown up. Those scheming types will definitely wish for something way over the top for a trash genie's abilities like his.
If it's just a three-year-old kid, he could talk about something tasty or get a toy or some fun little thing to tempt it. If it wished for something like that, Michael wouldn't even need superpowers to easily fulfill the wish.
The more he imagined it, the more the corner of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a sleazy curve. His first job was bound to be an easy success, and then he could leisurely level up with his god-tier talent.
"System, after I watch them fight and then go meet that god you mentioned, help me fast-forward to when the chosen one is three years old. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
[…]
The system fell silent for a moment. How could a genie look this shameless and pathetic? This despicable scheme was immediately detected by the system, but it had no right to interfere with this matter.
[Fine. When you want to 'go to the future', just tell me. I guarantee the timing won't be off by a single second.]
Since the system agreed, Michael could now relax and watch the drama unfold. Based on his observations, in just a few minutes, those three would catch up.
The space inside the magic lamp, which was originally boring and dull, had now turned into a movie theater for his entertainment. Plus, the viewing angle could change however he wanted. This was an experience you couldn't get in a regular theater.
Sure enough, just as he predicted, within a few minutes, the two who were sitting suddenly opened their eyes. Their gazes focused intently on the sky.
Michael saw the surrounding space light up as if a new sun had just appeared in the sky. He adjusted his viewing angle and saw a massive fireball blotting out the sky, and beneath it were three familiar figures.
Elio held the fireball, as large as a high-rise building, with one hand. His golden eyes flickered beneath the sparks as he stared toward the enemy.
"This is the end."
Third Technique – Little Sun!
He threw the massive fireball down. Its terrifying heat incinerated everything nearby—animals, plants, and energy monsters—none could escape.