Nero was flying out of the forest and there was resolution in his face as he took a crystal from his personal storage space and sent a message to all the Rank 4 Fallen.
"We need to have an emergency meeting. The attempt to ally with the Magi invader force has failed. Dimitry was hurt badly during the encounter and they made clear their animosity to our group. We will need to be prepared for possible future confrontations."
Right after Nero's message ended, another voice was heard from the crystal. It was filled with vanity and a sense of self-righteousness that would make most people uncomfortable.
"Hmph, Nero, I told you that trying to ally with inferior beings like them will result in problems. Your actions have shown a pattern of recklessness that we cannot allow in our leader. You will have to answer for your failures in the gathering."
This message was not only sent to Nero but just like the seven winged Fallen did before, the man used the channel that connected to all Rank 4 Fallen.
Nero's eyes were cold when he heard those words but he did not rebuke and chose to maintain silence.
Sebastian was by his side, and there was a complicated look on the old man's face as he thought what they were about to do.
"Leader, are you sure this is the right path for our people."
"I understand your concerns and I will be lying if I say I don't have any. But we have to believe in ourselves and push forward. We have to get rid of this tumor or else it will continue to grow until it destroys us. As for what happens next, we will face it together as one!." The blue light appeared in Nero's eyes when he spoke and a great sense of pride could be felt in his words.
Pride was known, in some cultures, as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Considered the vilest and source of the other six. An inflated desire to be more important than others, refusing to acknowledge the work of the rest and excessive love of one's self.
But that was an extremely narrow-minded understanding of this emotion.
Pride can be born from satisfaction on one's choice when you push yourself to the limit and manage to achieve what before appeared impossible. There is also national pride that is born out of love for one's nation and its people, while racial pride is born out of love for one's fellow race.
Laws do not follow the preconceived standards of good and evil. They are forces of the universe and how those with the power to wield them chose to manifest them is their choice.
When they saw that determination, Sebastian and the other two Angels of Supremacy felt all of their doubts disappear.
A voice interrupted this scene. It belonged to Dimitry who was flying very close to Nero and the other Angels of Supremacy. He was speaking to a ring in his hand.
"Yes Lord Verius, as you had predicted, the Magi are no different than the beasts that live in this world. They launched a sneak attack, taking advantage of my guard being down since this was a diplomatic mission. Total failure on Nero's part. I will be sure to tell everything in the gathering and emphasis that you were against this from the beginning."
Dimitry's behavior was no different from before leaving for the meeting with the Magi. His mannerism and even the tempo of his voice was identical.
He looked very weak right now, but that could be easily explained by the wound in his chest.
As soon as that conversation was over, Dimitry sent a message through the ring.
"All of you must gather at Zaru island. An important development is going to happen in the organization and Lord Verius wants all of you there. Only those who had already proven their loyalty received this message. You must not share this information with anyone. We have reason to believe Nero's group has infiltrated our members."
Dimitry's words were loud but it seems as if the Angelic Paragon was not aware of the presence of the rest of the group.
After finishing speaking he just continues flying with the rest. Everything about him seems fine, but it was clear that there was something very wrong.
The group continued advancing until they left the continent and were very deep into the ocean.
This was a very good place to hide, despite the constant danger in it. Unlike the Fornes continent that was under permanent surveillance by the Heavenly race, always looking for spikes in energy and changes in the laws, the ocean did not suffer those inspections since they were not practical.
The ocean name was Ravaging Ocean, due to the constant fights between magic creatures. Those fights create alterations in natural energy and laws, and the Heavenly race couldn't be monitoring all of them.
Nero and the rest submerged themselves underwater and descended for hours until they reach a place where the pressure of the ocean could kill Rank 3 life forms. They enter a tunnel that leads to some sort of cave and in there, two groups were already formed.
Even though they were part of the same organization, there was clear aversion between these two groups.
Dimitry separated from Nero and the rest and went to a group. With his addition, that group had five Angels of Supremacy and two Angelic Paragons.
Nero did not show anything when he saw the man leaving, and along with the three Angels of Supremacy by his side went to the other group. They were in total seven Angels of Supremacy and three Angelic Paragons, by counting the seven winged Fallen as one of the latter.
Despite Dimitry's group being less in number and power, all of them had an expression of superiority. That was especially true in the man at the center of the group.
Verius was a man with a thin built and pretty face. There was powerful energy running through his body and he had six wings made of shadows that released a terrifying aura.
There was a vicious smile on his face and a prideful glare on his eyes. Unlike Nero's pride who was born from countless trials and an unbreakable will, the pride of Verius was born out of the belief he was better than every other life form.
When the Angelic Paragon saw Dimitry's figure he could not help but frown. He detected something wrong with the man, but after analyzing his soul fluctuations and seeing no problem with them, he decides to handle him after the gathering.
"Nero, what do you have to say in your defense?. You have harmed our people by trying to establish that foolish alliance with those beasts, and not only did you fail but also create a new enemy for us. I and my brothers don't have enough fighting those magic creatures to protect our people, to have to worry about the invaders as well." Verius words were vicious, blaming Nero of not caring for the safety of the Fallen.
"That is right, your actions are not fit for a leader."
"You must take responsibility for your mistake"
"Aren't we risking ourselves enough for you to bring another threat to us?"
The group around Verius immediately started to blame Nero while highlighting their sacrifice for the Fallen. The truth was they never take dangerous missions, always using some sort of excuse to leave the hard work to Nero and the rest.
The seven winged Fallen knew they would run away at the first sign of true danger, leaving those who they were tasked to protect alone. Therefore, forcing them to take a dangerous task will only endanger his people.
Sebastian and the others were not going to remain silent as they insulted their leader and they immediately responded to those accusations.
"Who do you think you are talking to?. If it wasn't for our leader, all of you would have died at the hand of the Heavenly race."
"You are always trying to make things hard for our leader, never daring to take any type of risk, and yet you dare to call yourself martyrs."
The two groups continue to discuss but Nero did not bother with that. His mind was on an island in the distance.
'It should be starting now.'
.........
On an island close to the shore of the Fornes continent there were hundreds of Fallen. There were Rank 1, 2, and 3 life forms among them. Most of them were normal Angels, but you could also see Angels of Supremacy and even a few Angelic Paragons.
Their wings and the type of energy they controlled vary greatly but all of them shared a wicked aura.
As they were speaking among themselves, none of them noticed the forty-five meters giant that was looking at them from the sky.
On the shoulder of this giant, there was a man with three eyes, one golden and two black.
"Remember Ezequiel, none of them can escape."
