The Angelic Paragon name was Maverick and you could see in his eyes the resolution to fulfill his task no matter what. He even went to the extreme of burning his life force just to increase his speed and diminish the time it would take to reach Zatiel.
He extended his arm and he sought to grab the Neo-Demon. His palm was loaded with extremely dense and nefarious energy that had the form of boiling asphalt.
Heinz was in the sky fighting and his eyes widened when he detected the presence of the Angelic Paragon. He was shocked and could not believe that this man was able to not only hide from him but also secretly infiltrate the Second Layer until he was less than fifty meters away from Zatiel.
He had used his consciousness to scan the warriors of the Heavenly race when they arrived. With the immense power of his soul and his domain over the Law of Space, even if someone concealed themselves underground and had the Law of Earth at the 'Initial' level, they should not be able to hide from him.
He must have started to approach the force field when the fights between the Soul Forging existences of both sides had reached their zenith and everyone was focused on their opponents.
But even then, the Second Layer could detect intrusions and not even Heinz with his Law of Space or Zitra with her Law of Shadows could hide from it. That is why no one thought even for a second that something like this could happen.
The Cultivator channeled every single ounce of strength that his body and soul had as he prepared to go and save Zatiel. This would leave him open to all types of attacks from the Angelic Paragon with wings of crystal and the rest but he couldn't care less.
He was not alone since Zitra and Totto were also prepared to do the same and the resolution in their hearts was not inferior to the one of Heinz.
Nero was also ready to blast his way through the Angelic Paragons on his path. Unlike the trio, the Fallen decision had a more pragmatic nature. He knew very well that the destiny of thousands of his kind was in the hand of the Neo-Demon.
Unfortunately for them just when Maverick appeared, Tomas, Oliver, and the Angelic Paragon with crystal wings made black orbs appear before shattering them.
A black gas extended through the Rank 4 battlefield which generated immense pressure on everyone and stirred space, making teleportation impossible.
Zitra, Totto, and even Nero were not able to do anything against this gas and their bodies were paralyzed.
However when it was about to cover Heinz's body, the eyes of the Cultivator glowed with resoluteness and he made the Blood Incarnation, the one in which he spent so much time and effort to create, self-destruct.
A red explosion that had an immense power was generated and due to the proximity of the incarnation with his opponents, the Angel of Supremacy died while the Angelic Paragon was left with extremely severe injuries.
The fate of those two was not important to Heinz, but the force of the explosion drew back the gas and allowed him to move.
'Impossible!' The Angelic Paragon with crystal wings was shocked. Even for a Rank 4 life form, that reaction speed was too exaggerated.
The only way he could have reacted so fast was that if he acted purely by instinct. But to not hesitate in the slightest when you destroy something so precious as a Blood Incarnation was not possible in the mind of the woman.
Heinz took the opportunity and used all of his power to perform Void Disruption to the limit and he propelled himself to where Zatiel was.
As he blazed through space like a shooting star his Law Avatar left his sword and fused with his body. Heinz's height increased while an armor appeared around his body, and his eyes filled with killing intent.
Zatiel did not look beneath him, but his eyes narrowed when the Angelic Paragon with wings made of mud was about to grab him and without hesitation, the Mirage rune that was placed on his chest started to glow.
When Heinz detected the power of space around the Neo-Demon's body, excitement filled his eyes. Zitra and Totto were able to discover it as well. A beautiful smile appeared on the face of the Magus while the anxiousness in the eyes of the Lich disappeared.
Even if he was only able to move a couple of hundreds of meters, it would be enough for Heinz to reach his side and protect him.
However, Maverick was ready and from his body, a black fog was released. It did not have a pressure that could paralyze a Rank 4 life form and its diameter was less than one hundred meters.
But it was more than enough to cover Zatiel, and the power of space was annulled by wicked and corrupt energy.
When the Neo-Demon noticed how his life-saving card was disabled, he did not feel disappointed, since he expected such a result. In the next moment, the hand of the Angelic Paragon grabbed his foot, and the boiling asphalt on the palm entered in contact with his body.
As that malicious and devious power infiltrated him, Zatiel did not lose his composure and focused on the reaction of his loved ones.
He could see Heinz killing intent as he pushed his body forward with everything he had, with the hope to kill the Angelic Paragon and rescue him. He saw the panic and dread in Zitra's eyes, something you would find very difficult to imagine would appear in the always calm ice beauty. Totto's found hard to express his emotion on his face, but Zatiel noticed the anxiousness that invaded the Lich's heart.
Zatiel also looked at those who were near him. Due to their strength, they were slower to detect the Angelic Paragon than the Soul Forging existences but their emotions were not any less potent.
Their reaction speed was too slow and they could only see as the asphalt extended over Zatiel's body.
Ezequiel immediately attempted to activate Burn: Life Vessel. He would not hesitate to launch himself against Maverick, even if that meant death. Unfortunately, he was too slow and there was nothing he could do to help Zatiel.
Rax and Kilo felt immense pain in their hearts as they saw the person who saved them and their tribe being consumed by that boiling asphalt. He was the one who rescued them from a life of fear and sadness and granted them glory.
The father and son duo would not hesitate to burn their souls if that meant helping the one that allowed them to see the children of their tribe live a happy infancy full of bliss.
Dante had spent decades tempering his will. He had seen hundreds of warriors die under his command and had experienced many life and death scenarios. All of it to not disappoint his father, like the time he lost control over his emotions.
But right now, he felt no different than when he was a small soul inside the body of an Elder Brain and looked at the man who gave him life.
As Zatiel detected their sadness and pain, he could not help but sigh.
'I apologize to make all of you pass through this but I will explain everything when I see you again' The asphalt had already reached his waist but Zatiel's eyes were calm.
'FASTER, FASTER, GODDAM MOVE FASTER!' Heinz's body broke the space around him as he moved forward.
His sword was charged with all his power and he was ready to act the moment he reached Zatiel's side.
Although that boiling asphalt made the Cultivator's instinct scream in fear, he was sure that as long as he killed that Angelic Paragon, they would be able to purge that energy from Zatiel's body and save him.
'Hold on just for an instant, hold on' Heinz was very close to Zatiel and he was ready to act and rescue him.
The Neo-Demon understood the nature of this energy and knew what would happen next so when he saw the hope in Heinz's eyes, as this one thought he would be able to save his brother, he could only shake his head.
"Goodbye." There was a radiant smile on Zatiel's face as he spoke. The next moment the asphalt wrapped him completely, and then the black cocoon that contained the Neo-Demon vanished from everyone's sight.
