Chapter 420 - Electric Substance
Sophia and Kylo were surprised when they heard Dante's words.
Ezequiel's authority in the Neo-Demon race reached a level almost equal to Zatiel's. If the Supreme gave a command, every Neo-Demon must obey unless the Ancestor told explicitly otherwise.
However, Ezequiel usually spent all of his time strengthening himself and handled his tasks independently, without requesting anybody's help. It was very odd for him to make a summoning.
"Why is Ezequiel calling us?" Sophia could not figure out a reason for Ezequiel to be calling them back to the Neo-Demon Realm. Their strength improved significantly over the years, but she highly doubted the Supreme Neo-Demon needed their help in a fight.
"I don't know. The Supreme only told me to give the command and that he would be out of reach for the next couple of years. Would you like me to relay a message when he resurfaces?"
While Sophia's status wasn't technically superior to the rest of Zatiel's inner circle, she knew Ezequiel from the time he was a little boy, so their relationship was deeper.
"There is no need. We will be there."
The tadpole gave a soft nod and closed its mouth before going back into Sophia's space ring.
"Kylo, we will rest and return to our peak before hunting again. Our target will be the 5th Engraving Stage, Count Sioe."
The draconic Neo-Demon looked at Sophia with shock when he heard that. The Chimera Demon was at the 4th Engraving Stage, and they only defeated him by working together and taking advantage of his carelessness.
Count Sioe was a mighty and oddly cunning Demon Lord. Kylo did not know if they could equal him in a battle, much less defeat him, but after seeing the severe expression on Sophia's face, he limited himself to nodding.
...
Zatiel returned to the mountain range three months after meeting with Eon Six. He did not go to the battlefield but instead spent all that time handling the last steps of the plan with the Supernova Race man.
Once he was back in the Blood Duke's Renegenation Pool, he completely isolated himself from the outside world and focused solely on his cultivation.
The Neo-Demon was confident in their plan, especially with all the preparation put in place, but still, he knew things could go wrong very fast.
The crazy and wounded Blood Duke was more than powerful enough to completely overwhelm six Devil Marquises, more than ten Devil Counts, and Blood Child, whose battle power reached the bottom of Rank 6.
Zatiel was not someone who liked to depend on luck. The only thing that would never fail him was hard work and commitment.
The Neo-Demon improved the speed at which his cells were modified, consuming the life force and blood energy in the pool at a much faster rate. He also focused part of his mind on deciphering the phenomenon related to the Law of Death inside his bloodline.
His Mind Force diminished at an impressive speed as he pushed his cognitive abilities to a level that put his brain under tremendous stress.
By pouring his Elemental Chaos into his Dream Dimension, Zatiel replenished his Mind Force, allowing him to stay in that enhanced cognitive state indefinitely.
Ten months into secluded training, Zatiel's Soul Origin increased as he reached the Fifth Origin Cycle and his consciousness expanded, allowing his energy pool to soar.
The Neo-Demon obtained a five to ten percent improvement in his battle power, along with the ability to keep One with the Law active for more time, but that did not make him feel prepared.
Eighteen months into secluded training, the blood energy and life force in the Blood Duke's Regeneration Pool drained up.
Once that happened, Zatiel stopped enhancing his cognitive abilities with Mind Force and rested for an entire day. After the severe headache calmed down, he opened his eyes and began to analyze his body.
Zatiel reached the absolute Peak of Rank 4 in the True Doomsday Body's Path of Power. By taking advantage of the Rebirth Law and the immense amount of life force and blood energy at his disposal, he pushed his constitution to a level that should have been almost impossible for a Rank 4 Neo-Demon.
He clenched his fist, using his full physical strength heightened by Astral Origin, and released a force that made the entire mountain tremble.
A thoughtful expression appeared on Zatiel's face as he detected the might of his body, but he shook his head the next second.
'I am ready to seal the fourth Apocalyptic Star and become a Rank 5 Neo-Demon, but if I do things according to my plan, I would need a few years of seclusion after that, so I can't do it now.'
After reaching Rank 5, Zatiel was sure he could at least maintain his life if he fought a Hollow Sun Domain Devil Duke alone, but he did not have the time.
Since he no longer needed to focus on his body, Zatiel spent all his time improving his Soul Origin and law comprehension.
Twenty-one months and twelve days into his secluded training, Zatiel's True Soul trembled, and a force that sought to bring all life into a state of stillness began to accumulate in his soul dimension before contracting into a dark seed.
Despite its nefarious appearance, the power in this seed was not evil. It transcended terms like good or bad and acted like a cosmic force that brought balance to the universe by binding every life form beneath the Prima Universe's Laws to a lifespan.
Zatiel finally formed his first Law Essence, and it was Death Essence!
The birth of Death Essence not only improved the Neo-Demon's already monstrous spirit defenses and the speed at which his Soul Origin grew, but it also granted him an impressive upgrade in offensive power.
The Neo-Demon grinned when he saw the dark seed in his soul dimension, but the next second, his eyes widened as an immense pain assaulted him.
He almost lost consciousness due to the agony, but the True Will opened his eyes right then and helped to suppress the pain.
'Motherfucker, son of a bitch, what the hell was that!?' The pain took Zatiel by surprise. When he first developed a Law Essence in his past life, he never experienced something like that.
After the initial outburst of rage, the Neo-Demon took a deep breath, searched his soul and body for a reason, and found it almost immediately.
The addition of Death Essence to the soul dimension made Terminus' aura purer and mightier, generating changes in Zatiel's left eye.
The Eye of Death and Destruction grew stronger, surpassing the Eye of Life and Creation and closer to the Rebirth Eye's power.
The progress of his True Name and the Eye of the Death and Destruction's enhancement was not the origin of the pain that almost knockout Zatiel. That responsibility fell in the substance that manifested inside the left eye.
It had a white core, surrounded by a black force with a dark-red electric edge.
Shock filled the Neo-Demon's face when he understood the nature of the substance inside the Eye of Death and Destruction.
"HAHAHAHAHA." Zatiel began to laugh with all of his strength. He was delighted with the appearance of the substance, and it proved to him that his bloodline was indeed one that reached the peak of the Prima Universe.
However, his enthusiasm diminished a little when he detected how hard it was to mobilize it.
'Ahhh, it is understandable. To give birth to this power in my second life, I required both the Law of Death and the Law of Destruction at the Grand Completion level. My bloodline gave me access to it much sooner, but my soul and body are too weak to use it properly.'
Zatiel was like a child with a giant war hammer. He had a deadly weapon at his disposal but lacked the strength to wave it with proficiency.
Despite everything, the Neo-Demon was still very happy. He was already one step ahead of his previous life, and if he kept growing like this, he would overcome the limitations that stopped the Incarnation of Death and Destruction.
He decided to make a proper assessment of his power, and what better for the job than the always reliable A.I. Chip.
"Bip... Scanning the host.
Race: Neo-Demon (Rebirth Eclipse Bloodline)
Paths of Power: Animus (Peak Rank 4)/ True Soul (Fifth Origin Cycle)/ True Doomsday Body (Third Heaven)/ True Will (Middle Star Breaker)
Strength: 7.1--> 8.5
Phisyque: 9.9--> 12.1
Speed: 8.9--> 10.1
Rebirth Force: 5.8--> 7.0
Elemental Chaos: 5.2--> 6.2
Soul Origin: 5.1--> 6.1
Astral Origin: 5.4--> 6.9
Mind Force: 4.9-->6.0
Laws: Law of Life (Late Initial level), Law of Creation (Low Initial level)/ Law of Death (Low Minor Completion level)/ Law of Destruction (Middle Initial level)/ Soul Law (Middle Initial level)/ Rebirth Law (Low Initial level)."
Zatiel was extremely satisfied with his stats, especially his physique. The highest stat of a Demon Lord with a Sacred Body of Laws focused on body-refinement would vary between 12 to 15 points.
Thanks to his ingenuity and use of the laws, Zatiel pushed his strongest stat to that level despite still being a Rank 4 life form.
Just as he was going through the information of the A.I. Chip, a blue ring in his hand broke.
The Neo-Demon's eyes narrowed, and killing intent emerged from them. That was the signal Eon Six would give the Darkness Poison Duke left his seclusion.
"It is time."