Zatiel's oath surprised the people of the Heavenly race. They are known as one of the most vicious and cruel races of the universe, equal to devils and demons, but the torture the man in front of them described was the most horrible thing they could imagine.
Pain is a powerful torture tool, but there comes a time when its effectiveness is lost. Even a life form with a weak will would be able to ignore after a few millennia. It would be different if it targets the soul, but in that case, there is the risk of death, and it would be counterproductive if your goal was to proportionate eternal anguish.
However, a prison of eternal darkness and solitude with only the memories of how your loved ones were butchered as a consequence of your decisions was the perfect hell. Not even the most vicious souls of Baator were submitted to something like that.
The only escape would be madness and every moment of sanity would produce unbearable agony.
The light returned to the Neo-Demon's eyes after he said those words. He no longer bothered with Oliver and just like Ezequiel, he focused on healing. The message was delivered so there was no point in saying anything more.
Oliver's face was pale and his back was soaked by a cold sweat. If any other Rank 3 life form were to say that to him, he would consider it a joke, but his instinct screamed like crazy as if the worst danger that existed approached him.
'I have to kill him now!' The duke was not stupid and understood very well that Zatiel would have no problem to reach Soul Forging soon. When that happens, he would have to hide forever since there is no way he would be able to defeat an individual that as a Rank 3 life form could display Rank 4 battle power.
Now that the Neo-Demon was injured, it was probably the best chance he would ever get.
"If you go alone they will kill you, or worse, they may be able to capture you alive." Tomas had noticed the state of his comrade and stopped him from acting without thinking. He did not blame him, since the future Zatiel described was unbearable.
Oliver trembled when he heard those words. As a seasoned warrior that has gone through countless battles, he was not afraid of death, but he could not let them seize him alive.
The duke focused on the rest of the Rank 4 life forms. If they charged with him and stopped the rest of the Magi, there was a chance he would be able to kill Zatiel, but unfortunately, he was not the leader of the army.
The Angelic Paragon with wings made of crystal focused on the Magi army and although her cloak covered her face, the hate in her eyes could be felt. The Heavenly race withstood massive casualties and to make things worse, most of the warriors that had the Origin Runic Set engraved in them had died and their bodies were destroyed.
The loss of such military might was a great humiliation for her but despite her vanity and narcissism, she was not stupid. She was a talented commander, or else she would not have been sent into this world to deal with the Magi threat.
The Rank 4 life forms of the Heavenly race could still fight since the weakening effect of the Second Layer was not that potent in them and their numbers were higher but the battle between the Magi army and the Everlasting Snake Runic Set wasted a lot of time.
It would not be long before the magic tower is completed and once that happens, they would be forced to make a hasty retreat. That would put in great danger the rest of the army that was severely wounded.
"We are leaving."
Oliver's eyes widened when he heard that order. The duke was about to argue when he felt two eyes that were like daggers focus on him. He understood the woman would not allow any disobedience.
The Magi army started to cheer as they saw the army of the Heavenly race leave. Most of the Rank 4 life forms in the sky sighed and they relaxed.
This was the best possible outcome for this battle. Their casualties were less than fifteen percent and most of them were just replaceable drones, meanwhile their opponent lost more than a third of their forces.
Once the magic tower was finished, the full force of the Ten Tower Formation extended for one thousand kilometers and reached this area. It did not stop there and filled hundreds of kilometers more in every direction.
Now around this new tower, just like in the rest of the force field, the power of the Rank 4 life forms of the Heavenly race will drop to ten percent.
The army started to explore the surroundings. There was a great territory that needed to be thoroughly investigated and many resources to harvest.
The land was not going to be divided yet. It won't be long before the entire army marches again. The plan was to continue fighting and killing until the entire continent was under their control.
In one of the upper floors of the magic tower, Zatiel and Ezequiel were in a meditative position. Golden flames were regenerating the body of one while red lightning fixed the wounds in the other.
The damage they received during the battle was great and their condition worsened now that they had to endure the backlash of Blood Essence Combustion and Burn: Life Vessel. They would have to rest for a couple of months before fighting again.
As for their life force, although they had to burn part of it, it did not truly affected them. The technique had very high requirements with only individuals with a Law Bloodline being able to use it, but that reduced the damage it provoked.
A normal Rank 3 Neo-Demon had a life span of five thousand years and their bloodlines made that even higher, so the loss of a couple of decades was not significant.
Neither of them wasted time and used this chance to advance in their Consciousness Solidification and the transformation of their bodies.
Right now they had a massive amount of pure energy at their disposal. That was thanks to Heaven Swallowing that had absorbed the energy of the thousands of warriors of the Heavenly race they killed.
The rune had been modified by Zatiel, which allowed them to swallow the energy of those dead warriors without the need to establish direct physical contact, as long as they were in close range. The amount of energy that the rune could take from every victim was lesser that way, but it allowed them to use it as they fight a great number of enemies.
It now also had a storage function that allowed both Neo-Demons to use the energy whenever they wanted.
This improved Heaven Swallowing rune was not only very expensive but also incredibly difficult to craft, and it was only when Zatiel reached Rank 3 that he was able to create it.
They used the energy to nurture their Chaotic-Core and increase the Abyss Aura in their consciousness. But as Neo-Demons they had to also focus on their bodies.
A Rank 1 Neo-Demon had to transform their original heart into an Elemental Chaos Heart and mature their Bloodline Heart. At Rank 2 they needed to use the blood essence they obtained from those hearts to alter their bone marrow which would provoke a modification in their spinal cord.
The Absolute Empyrean and Universe Shatterer would now have to use their new blood to change the rest of their bodies from the inside out. This is a procedure that would allow them to use Elemental Chaos instead of Abyssal Aura in the future.
First, their viscera, muscles, and skin will be transformed which would increase their physical might tremendously.
That part was easy and although they would feel like their bodies were being incinerated, it was just physical pain and it could not affect the duo.
Once they finished with that, they would have to complete the transformation of their spinal cord and then continued with the rest of their nervous system which included their brains.
They would have to be very careful once they reach that portion of their transformation. It is in the brain where the soul resides and any mistake with energy so dangerous as Elemental Chaos could provoke damage that would take years to completely heal.
