The fire blast that Sophia created in the magmatic chamber of a giant volcano reached temperatures that could rival the surface of a Low World's sun. However, that was nothing in comparison with the might in the explosion that occurred in Saint City.
One millisecond after the one hundred thousand meter demodand detonated, a gargantuan ball of plasma hotter than a sun erupted from the center of the blast zone, annihilating at a molecular level everything within its radius.
Luckily for the Heavenly race, the demodand detonated high above the city, or else that explosion would have been all that was needed to kill every single one of them.
From the blast, a light so hot that produced a thermal pulse was emitted, and it burned everything that could be burned inside the city.
From the winged castle, every ounce of energy that had accumulated from its creation was used and formed a protective white mantle around every Rank 4 member of the Heavenly race. Even though the Heavenly race's culture promoted the protection of all of its members, the protocol programmed in the castle stated that if the Rank 3 and beneath life forms had less than five percent chance of surviving an event like the one happening now, then all energy should be focused on the Soul Forging existences.
The first ones to die were the natives who resided in the city's sewers. They could barely be considered Rank 0 life forms, and their bodies were disintegrated instantly by the blast.
Heinz was not a merciless person. He would normally make sure that the collateral damage of his attacks did not reach the innocent. Unfortunately for the natives, the Cultivator would not risk his plan for them.
As the explosion progressed, a bubble of superheated and super-compressed air began to rapidly expand hundreds of times faster than the speed of sound, decimating the already burning buildings, people, and everything else on its path.
Every life form at Rank 3 and beneath had their bodies evaporated, and their souls were destroyed. Even those at Rank 4 and protected by the white mantle suffered severe injuries. A couple of Soul Forging existences that were too close to the center of the explosion died as well, despite the protection of the winged castle.
After that apocalyptic explosion was over, the gargantuan figure of the demodand was gone, and a fifteen-meter tall man with silver hair and a black armor had replaced it. There were space fragments around the Cultivator protecting him. His inner organs, bones, and muscles had taken a red metallic color and were filled with blood energy.
The body and energy of Heinz had crossed Rank 4 a long time ago, but it was only now that the core of his power, his True Soul, had finally reached Rank 5. According to the standard used by the great powers of the universe, Heinz was a Law Engraving existence.
Right between Heinz's eyebrows, there was a small creature that was the exact copy of the one hundred thousand meters demodand that appeared above Saint City. That was his Demodand Constitution, and it filled every part of the Cultivator's body with immense physical power, greatly enhancing his speed and strength.
What exploded and leveled the headquarters of the Heavenly race was an incarnation the Cultivator was able to create once he reached the third level of the Blood Demodand Technique.
The spell was named Demodand Inferno, and it consisted of using an immense amount of blood to build a powerful incarnation. The creator would stay inside the creature and use it to fight, but its most powerful ability was to explode and release all the energy it had in an instant.
To control the explosion and make sure it displayed its greatest power, the creator of the incarnation needed to be inside the Demodand Inferno. He would stay in a special dimension that would protect them from most of the blast power, but even then, they would still take some damage.
Heinz owned a Demodand Constitution and had formed a Space Storm around him while being fused with his Law Avatar, so his defenses were impressive even for a Rank 5 life form. However, his face was pale, and there was blood in the corner of his mouth.
The Cultivator showed no weakness despite the damage he endured. His eyes displayed immense battle will as he focused on a remote part of the destroyed city.
The warehouse that was the Silent House no longer existed, but there was a cocoon made of boiling asphalt that was now present, which contained two Angelic Paragon, a grey humanoid, and a paralyzed man.
The entire city was filled with flames and destruction, but inside the cocoon, there was not a single sign of damage. The Sage could not let any harm reach Zatiel since that would activate his runes and kill him. It was clear to him that the Neo-Demon was determined to die.
The grey humanoid figure had become almost transparent and it appeared that defending from Heinz's attack was not easy. His eyes were focused on the Cultivator, and they seem to be analyzing him.
Despite the depletion of his energy and the impressive opponent he was facing, there was not a single shred of worry inside the Sage's mind. If it wasn't because showing himself would expose his identity and ruin the plans he had for the dukes, he would have already launched himself to Heinz.
The Sage's eyes released an immense amount of Mind Force as he focused on Heinz, and he grabbed the air before starting to twist.
Heinz had detected the Sage's presence. He was not going to waste time and prepared to attack him when all of a sudden, his aura became stronger and much more dangerous. His power remained the same, but anyone looking at the Cultivator would think he was a Rank 6 life form.
The Cultivator's eyes widened as he realized what this meant. Right after his aura changed, Heinz felt an unstoppable force grab him.
The World Consciousness had been acting on him from the moment he reached Rank 5, but under normal circumstances, he would still have been able to remain inside the world for a short time. However, now that the World Consciousness perceived him as a Rank 6 life form, everything changed.
As a newly advanced Rank 5 life form, Heinz was able to devastate the greatest city in the Beta Heavenly World and make uninhabitable a substantial part of the continent to any life form beneath Rank 3 for hundreds of years. A Rank 6 life form that could destroy the entire continent if he used all of his power, so it was no wonder the World Consciousness acted so fiercely once it detected one.
There was no way Heinz could resist the power of the World Consciousness now that it treated him as a Rank 6 life form. His body was immediately pulled upward, and he was being expelled into the void.
The Sage saw Heinz leave his sight, but his eyes narrowed as he felt a monstrous killing intent targeting him.
"One blood sword to kill all existence!" Those words reached Saint City and all those Rank 4 warriors of the Heavenly race who were still awake trembled when they heard them.
Thunder and lightning filled the sky, and storms raged all over the continent as a giant beam of red sword light fell from above.
That attack carried every ounce of the power of Heinz's body, energy, and soul. The red sword light was not only powerful but also incredibly dense and heavy. It cut the space in front of it, increasing his speed and also attracting pieces of broken space to enhance its might.
The grey humanoid showed no expression, but deep inside those white eyes, rage could be felt as he stared at the beam of sword light that was about to fall on him.
The explosion of the Demodand Inferno had affected space, so teleportation was impossible, and Heinz's attack was too fast to dodge it.
The amount of Mind Force the Sage generated increased greatly before his body was transformed into threads of grey aura. Some of them fused with the black cocoon made of boiling asphalt and increased its defensive power, while others formed another, smaller cocoon around the Neo-Demon.
Right after the Sage finished his preparation, the beam of sword light landed, and another explosion assaulted Saint City. The power of the attack focused on the black cocoon and all those Soul Forging existences covered by the power of the winged castle were sent flying away.
Heinz's attack buried deep into the ground. Dozens of earthquakes occurred all over the continent, and the earth split apart, forming canyons from where lava rose.
That day was a living nightmare for every life form on the Vixus continent. Millions of lives were lost, and the damage was so great that weak life forms would find it impossible to live in a considerable portion of the continent from now on.
