The central town in the Grafted Cluster was finally free from the grasp of the tyrannical Flarecorp company. They found themselves looking over to the horizon and saw it with crystal clear clarity.
In the outskirts of the town, there were still burn marks on the ground, evidence of where the flaming barrier used to be. People walked up to it and hesitated as they tried to touch the other side.
They were worried for nothing. They could finally exit the town without the fear of being burned into a crisp!
"Huzzah!"
"We're free, mom!"
"Finally freedom!"
Their cheers and shouts echoed along the town. Celebrations were abound. But of course, they didn't forget to search for the boy who made all of this possible.
Michael. The golden-haired boy.
His stature in the town became sort of a legendary figure, not just because he freed them from their gilded cage, but also because of that metallic woman apparition that they saw just a few minutes ago.
So, when Michael announced to the entire town with a [Speaker Audio] spell that he was part of a company, the citizens of this town were immediately beholden to Reborn.
With a booming voice that echoed through every corner of the town, Michael addressed every single one of them.
"In a while later, my men will arrive in this town and bring support for all of you after this ordeal."
The reception to this was an overwhelming positivity. They raised their hands in the air in thanks for his help.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"We are honored!"
"This whole town is in your gratitude!"
Just then, one of the citizens, an old man, approached Michael from below and kneeled.
"Please. I know that we are in debt to your assistance, but we have just one more favor to ask of you. Please kick out the traitorous Bulren Inc.!"
As soon as he said those words, the other citizens voiced their approval of the old man's words.
When Bulren Inc. told them that the arrival of the Flarecorp wizards was cause for celebration, they believed him. When Bulren Inc. told them that the flaming barrier was for their own safety, they believed them.
But after experiencing the tyrannical rule of Flarecorp, forcing them to buy only products from their company and burning any other brands into ashes, they knew that they had been duped.
Their previous loyalty to Bulren Inc. was destroyed. They wanted him out and hoped that the Reborn company could replace them.
Michael looked towards Bulren's mansion in the center of the town. The huge manor made out of pristine stone material stood tall in the skyline. Yet, there were a lot of people knocking on their doors and climbing on the walls trying to get redemption against the man that betrayed them.
He floated up in the and arrived at Bulren's balcony. There, he saw the man in tears as he kneeled on the ground.
Bulren looked up at Michael and recognized him.
"I have betrayed my customers," Bulren muttered with a hoarse voice. "I took advantage of them and made them."
Michael looked at him and commanded his shadow to open up a portal in Angora City.
A couple of seconds later, Barcus, his twin brother, ascended from the shadow in the ground.
Bulren looked at his brother and tears fell even harder.
"You were right, brother. I should have trusted your words," Bulren weeped.
Barcus felt sorry for his sibling, but knew that he had chosen this route; he had to bear the consequences of this choice.
"I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't say those words to me. You have to say those to them," Barcus said as he pointed out the window, where the citizens of the town were gathering at his gates.
Bulren nodded, wiping his tears. "There is no way for me to atone this sin. It is only best for them to be in the hands of someone much more suited than me, and that is you, Michael. I hereby withdraw from my own company."
Barcus looked at Michael with expectation. "That's right, Michael. Please take Bulren Inc. into Reborn and make it your own. Please save the Grafted Cluster."
Michael nodded. "It is my honor."
With both Bulren Inc. and Barcus Inc. becoming subsidiaries of the Reborn company, he no longer had any roadblocks in spreading the Golden Road in the Grafted Cluster.
Not only that, but the natural resources and assets that both of those companies held together will make the construction of the Golden Road a lot smoother than before.
With that done, Michael had his shadows transport Bulren and Barcus to the Nation of Reborn.
Bulren voluntarily admitted himself to the Nation's prison in order to atone. On the other hand, Barcus decided to move to the Nation of Reborn for now to support his brother.
This left Michael all alone in the central town of the Grafted Cluster.
A few hours later, the Reborn automobiles and trucks entered the gates with a warm welcome from the citizens of the town. They stared in wonder at the horseless carriages and started to kneel as they rolled down the stone brick roads.
"AHH! As expected! Only he could create such marvelous works of metal!" one of the citizens shouted.
"He truly is blessed!"
"This must be a child of that Goddess!" another proclaimed as he pointed at a giant truck.
And somehow, that kind of thinking stuck to the citizens of the town. They didn't think of the automobile as some kind of lifeless machine, but instead treated it as a living being that was conceived by that metallic woman that appeared above Michael.
It didn't help that the headlights on the cars looked like eyes, while the bumper looked like mouths.
"Boss," one of the Mankeys reported to Michael. "They're saying weird things about our cars!"
Michael heard about it too and he didn't know how to feel about it.
"Sigh…Just ignore them for now," he said to the Yellow Mankey. "Are the crates ready to disembark?"
All the automobiles carried crates of food and other support items for the whole town after their forced isolation. Not only that, but Michael also had cement and other materials transported here to start the construction of the Golden Road.
"It is going well, boss. Though, our men are feeling quite strange with all of the people kneeling and worshipping the automobiles."
Michael knew that this had to stop soon or else a lot of misunderstandings could happen.
And one of the ways he thought he could solve this was through Fudge.
"Fudge, can you have your Shadow Orcs make some kind of illusion that will make them forget all about that metallic woman?"
Fudge jumped out of his shadow and immediately shook his head. "No, Master, that's too invasive! I'm not such a bad guy that I can just brainwash a lot of people!"
"You're right," Michael acquiesced. "Just convince them that the automobile is a lifeless machine."
Fudge looked at him and just silently nodded with a smile. This made him a little bit suspicious of the supposed 'good' ninja.
"I can trust you'll do this, right Fudge?"
The violet slime smiled again and saluted at Michael.
"Don't worry, Master! Everything I do is for Reborn…hehehe…"