Zitra and Totto focused on Ezequiel after Heinz made that question. They did not find it weird that the message was left with him since Ezequiel was the person Zatiel trusted the most.
Dante and the other two Neo-Demon also were looking at him and they were full of doubts. After they found out that Heinz's attempt to save Zatiel was a failure and he was brought to Saint City, every Neo-Demon in the Beta Heavenly World was enraged.
The trio knew it would be impossible for them to rescue Zatiel, so they planned to cast their rage on the members of the Heavenly race that still resided in the Fornes continent. Everyone knew the risk of going to the north of the continent, but they did not care about the danger and were ready to kill.
However, before they could leave, Ezequiel gave the order that no Neo-Demon could leave the force field. This surprised everybody since they were sure the Neo-Demon with the Primordial bloodline would be joining them in their crusade and leading the attack against the Heavenly race.
Dante was not willing to just sit by but even though he was the son of the Neo-Demons' Ancestor and was recognized as one of the great experts of the race, even he could not question "The Will of the Neo-Demons' Ancestor".
Whether it was due to status, prestige, or power, the only one who could define the commands of Ezequiel, was Zatiel.
The Supreme Neo-Demon locked himself in the 11th magic tower after Zatiel was captured and no one could speak with him. Today was the first time they saw him after the battle of the 14th magic tower.
Even though he was stared at by three Soul Forging existences and one of them had a killing aura that appeared capable of shattering stars, Ezequiel's expression did not change.
"Follow me, all of your questions along with Master's message will be answered inside the tower."
Ezequiel's secrecy could be described as paranoid since they were under the force field made by the Ten Tower Formation and thanks to Heinz's power and domain over the Law of Space, it should be impossible for someone to spy them, but then again, it should have also been impossible for someone to sneak inside the Second Layer and capture Zatiel, so everyone followed him.
The Neo-Demon brought them to one of the floors of the tower that he and Zatiel had used to train. Thanks to Zatiel's authority, no one could access that floor without the approval of one of them. Not even the other Rank 4 Magi could enter unless they forcefully broke the tower's defenses.
The moment they entered the floor, they saw an old man who slept on the ground while he maintained a meditative position. His hair was black and his face full of wrinkles.
Even though he appeared to be an eighty years old man, his back was straight as a spear and his body was filled with power. His skin was covered with red runes.
Although he had changed a lot, everybody here was powerful enough to identify the life aura on the old man.
"Father!" Dante's eyes widened. He was the youngest of all of them and his experiences were less, so when he saw Zatiel he found it very hard to control his emotions. He was about to flash to him when a hand grabbed his shoulder.
Even though as a Neo-Demon, his body was very powerful, the moment this palm positioned itself over his shoulder, he felt like a mountain was crushing his body and he couldn't move.
"Calm down, your father is resting and we should not bother him." After he spoke those words, Ezequiel removed his hand from Dante's shoulder and the young man was able to move his body again.
"What happened to him." Heinz was the first to regain his calm and discovered that Zatiel's life force was weak.
"Master will explain everything when he wakes up. I was tasked to bring you all here this day." Ezequiel sit down after saying that and indicated the others to do the same.
"When I saw you on the battlefield, I was sure you were ready to give your life to try and save that copy of Zatiel." The one who spoke was Zitra and her eyes narrowed as she focused on Ezequiel.
The rest were also confused and they stared at Ezequiel. The reaction and emotions he displayed on that occasion were too real.
Ezequiel stared back at Zitra and after a moment he spoke.
"Master and I altered my memories, so at that moment I truly believed that who was being captured was him. It was only after everything was over that my memory was unlocked. The enemy this time is a formidable one and his information gathering skills are too mysterious. To trick him, everyone had to believe that Master was the one captured and act like that for the next couple of days. I entered the tower and did not show myself to make sure I did not act strangely."
When everybody heard that they felt a little relieved and a small smile appeared on Zitra's face. The deception was not a matter of trust but that they needed to believe that Zatiel was truly captured so their response would be genuine.
However, in the next moment, a solemn expression appeared on everyone's face. Zatiel's abilities had always appeared to be endless and he could easily handle any problem, but it was clear that this opponent forced him to pay a great price to trick him.
They all sit down and waited for almost three hours until Zatiel's eyes finally opened.
The instant he woke up, his face twisted by what could only be described as a pain that could tear the soul. The blood vessels in his eyes became visible and his body shivered uncontrollably.
He clenched his fist so hard that his nails buried in his skin and the next second he grabbed his head with his bloody palms.
Heinz and the rest were shocked by the violent reaction of Zatiel but just as they were about to move they heard his voice.
"It's okay... I just need... a minute." Zatiel's voice was hoarse and you could clearly see that the pain he felt was so high he could barely speak.
When they heard his words, the expression of everyone became ugly as they felt impotent. Zatiel wasn't a vain person so he would have asked for their help if they could do something.
They could only see as he was assaulted by pain so immense he could not stop shaking.
Little by little, Zatiel gained control over his body until he finally was able to maintain his posture and stop shaking. It was clear, however, that the pain was still there, he was just containing it.
Despite that, his eyes still burned with the will of an overlord and it appeared he did not care at all about his condition.
He could see that the eyes of the people in front of him were filled with curiosity and concern. A smile appeared on Zatiel's face and calmness filled his eyes. He knew the questions that filled their minds so he proceeded to answer them.
"The enemy was someone who could not be deceived with something so simple as a clone, no matter how good it was. That body was a copy made from my flesh and blood and I transferred part of my life force so it was indistinguishable from my original body."
When they heard his words, they all understood why his body looked like that of an old man. Rank 1 life forms and above would usually maintain their youthful appearance for most of their lives but Zatiel had damaged his life force so his body aged quickly.
"But even with that, in his core, he was still just a replica so I took things to the next level. I ripped a piece of my soul and inserted it in him. In essence, the one who was captured was really Zatiel Daybreak." Zatiel spoke those words as if they were not a big deal but it shocked everyone who heard them.
A piece of your consciousness being destroyed would cause so much pain that some people would go crazy, and the soul was hundreds if not thousands of times more sensitive. Before they could process what they just heard, Zatiel dropped another bomb.
"That type of procedure is dangerous since if the connection between the two of us is broken, the will and ego in that fragment of my soul could change. To stop that, I maintained our bond and he and I are still just one, but it meant that the wound on my soul could not close. Long story short, I have to endure the pain of ripping a piece of my soul over and over again until the Zatiel that is currently captured by the Heavenly race die."
