Heinz, Totto, Zitra, and Sophia were in the lobby of the residence where they have been living for the past few days.
Unlike Zatiel who had met Sirin and Gabriel in the white room, they took less than a minute to inspect the items they have bought, and now they were waiting for the Neo-Demon.
Zatiel appeared a little while after them, and he was accompanied by Gabriel.
The group was surprised when they found out that the Second Prince will be escorting them into the domains of the empire. His status and power made him someone who could roam through the entire Magi Wold unhindered and they found it very weird he will do this type of job.
Of course, they were all very happy to have him in the group. The three Soul Forging existences knew very well how dangerous the trip through The Ocean of a Thousand Wonders will be now that individuals are lurking in the dark waiting for the right prey to appear.
The territories governed by powerful organizations like the Aeternum Empire and the Eye Dynasty have codes that seek to maintain order so their civilization can flourish. These codes created a layer of security for people, a relative one, but one nonetheless.
However, The Ocean of a Thousand Wonders was different. No organization has control over it and the surveillance in it is null. This made this ocean a paradise for robbers, especially now that there will be people traveling with all sorts of unique goods.
The six of them left the residence and were heading to the exit of the kingdom. The force field that covered most of the continent made any attempt of teleportation in and out of it almost impossible, so they first needed to reach the shore before Gabriel could lead them away.
All of a sudden Zatiel face becomes cold and stops in mid-air before making the Eye of Life and Creation appear in his forehead.
The rest were confused by his behavior but he did not have time to explain. He focuses on the direction from where he had just felt a sharp killing intent directed to him.
It was extremely fast and hidden very well to the point that even with his instinct and experience he almost didn't notice.
It took him a moment but he was able to track it to a man in his mid-forties. He has dark hair and his most distinctive feature was the two red bloodline eyes he had on his forehead.
He was an Eye Holder and his power had reached Rank 4, giving him the title of Eye Tyrant. He was not alone since he was part of a team of Soul Forging individuals that were following an old woman whose bloodline eyes were dark green and whose face was filled with arrogance.
The old woman was the most powerful of the group by a large margin and there was an impure and nefarious aura around her. Despite her appearance, the Eye of Life and Creation showed Zatiel the immense life force inside her.
Zatiel's memory was perfect and he was able to see the similarities between the man with the red eyes and a naive and arrogant man he had crippled during one of his first mission on the Magi World after he reached Rank 1.
'He is the person that Azel threatened me with so many years ago, the Patriarch of the Blood Eye Clan, Finz Santorum.' Zatiel eyes were cold and he was frowning.
If you look him attentively you will notice that there was uncertainty on the eyes of the Neo-Demon.
He was not fond of underestimating his enemies so after his magic tower was completed one of the tasks he has given to Dante, was to find all the information he could about the Blood Eye Clan. That is why he was able to recognize the Eye Tyrant so fast.
The Blood Eye Clan was a Rank 4 bloodline clan under the Ominous Eye Clan. The reason for the man hatred was the fact that Tritus, his son, was born with a mutated bloodline and unlike the rest of the clan whose bloodline reached maturity at Rank 4 he had a King bloodline, which made him extremely important.
The reason why Zatiel was feeling confused was not the Eye Tyrant. Truthfully, he did not consider him a threat, since Totto and Zitra could easily equal him and Heinz could kill him without a problem, but the old woman he was accompanying was a different subject.
If she had been willing to help Finz in attacking them once they left the kingdom, then they would have been forced to escape with all their force and if the woman has a level of dominion over the Law of Space, then they would have been in real danger.
But the moment Gabriel joined their party, that epic tale was replaced for a boring journey.
It seems a pure coincidence that they have met here and now but Zatiel could not shake the feeling that something more happening.
He made some deductions with the information he had present and although the possibility was very low, Zatiel always trusted his instinct.
'Fate!' Zatiel's eyes became incredibly colder when he thought about it.
Gabriel has been watching Zatiel behavior and when he saw the coldness with which he looked at the group of Eye Holders, his eyes narrowed.
From the Second Prince a consciousness so immensely powerful that was like an invincible ancient creature was released and charged at the group of Eye Holders. It encompasses all of them in less than a fraction of a second.
The natural energy around the Eye Holders froze and the Eye Tyrants could not help but tremble as they felt in the consciousness a power high enough to crush their bodies in an instant. The old woman was more composed but the arrogance in her face had disappeared and was carefully looking at Gabriel.
Gabriel did not speak or try to explain himself, he just concentrated the energy of his consciousness and branded every single Eye Holder with a rune in their chest.
When the old woman saw the rune, her eyes became frosty but she was not targeting Gabriel. She was staring at Finz, making his face pale.
The old woman sneered when he saw the behavior of the man and she looks at Gabriel for a moment before bowing and leaving with the rest of his people.
The Second Prince did not stop them and he concentrates a great amount of energy into his hand, creating a black stone filled with runic inscriptions.
"If they had attacked or at least threaten you, I could have killed them, but since they behaved and followed the rules of the kingdom this is the best I can do. This stone will show you their position at any time and if they get near you, you can use it to activate the runes I left in their bodies. It will fatally injure those at Rank 4 but it will only incapacitate the Law Engraving woman enough time so you can escape." Gabriel's face was peaceful as he extends his hand with the stone to Zatiel.
When Heinz, ZItra, Sophia, and Totto hear this they were shocked and could not help but look at Gabriel with admiration. He was very young with a thriving life force like a furious volcano and yet his control over the laws and the energy of the world could only be described as godly.
Zatiel did not immediately take the stone and look deeply at the man before speaking.
"I am thankful but why did you do it, this was not something the King commanded you to do but something that you chose."
Gabriel was a little surprised by the question but he founded it very easy to answer.
"In my kingdom there is a saying, 'The Royal Family is above all his subjects'. It doesn't mean we are superior to the rest of our people but that we watch over them and protect them from any harm. I am a Prince of the Scientia Kingdom and from the moment I was born, my purpose has always been to protect my people, and that includes you." Gabriel's eyes displayed an immense sense of righteousness and honor.
His behavior was not something that was indoctrinated to him or forced, it was something he believed from the deepest part of his soul and he takes great pride in it.
When Zatiel hears him, for the first time in a very long time, he felt a sense of inferiority. It was not targeting the prince in front of him but to the man who created this kingdom.
The sense of purpose and conviction he saw in Gabriel's eyes, was the same that was present in Ezequiel and Rax.
Right now every Neo-Demon was someone who put their race above themself and it was something Zatiel took great pride on, but what about those born after ten generations, or ten thousand. Even he could not say that every member of his race could still have such devotion to his people like the man in front of him.
"I must say that the creator of the Scientia Kingdom is someone worthy of respect and admiration."
After saying those words, Zatiel took the stone and keep it on his ring.
For the first time since they met, the group saw Gabriel smiling. It was clear that hearing someone praise his leader made him happy.
"Let's go, my responsibilities are many so we need to move fast."
