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Six months have passed since the World Gate on the Sinux Magic Tower received hundreds of thousands of people in less than a day. Such a massive influx of life forms drew the attention of the powerhouses in the empire, mostly because more than ninety percent of them were aliens, foreigners from a different world.
At first, things were fairly calm since the ruler of the Sinux Magic Tower was a Law Engraving existence, and his authority in the empire was large enough to quiet all other Rank 5 life forms about things happening in his territory. Since the aliens were all Rank 0 life forms and Heinz communicated that the Daybreak Clan would handle them, no Rank 6 powerhouse bothered with them anymore.
However, soon things began to escalate rather quickly. It all started with inquiries about the absence of Uluizer and several other Rank 4 Magi. Rumors spread about Heinz being responsible for their disappearance since the only thing they all had in common was the fact they acted against the wishes of the Cultivator once this one left the Beta Heavenly World.
Normally, Heinz would not bother with rumors, but they began to gain notoriety. Before long he was called to the capital to help with the investigation.
Rank 4 life forms were important for any organization, so an inquiry had already been done soon after the Magi Invader Force passed through the World Gate.
According to the reports, a Being of Laws had found the Beta Heavenly World and attempted to break the Crystal Wall to absorb its origin and natural energies. Disasters filled the world as these two entities fought, and they all decided to escape. No one knew where Uluizer and the others were during that time, but they were sure that neither Totto nor anyone else attacked them since they were all together and the Lich was the one who guided all the people out of the world. As for the natives, it turns out that Zitra and Zatiel had spent the last few years rescuing them, and they were allowed to use the World Gate under the authority of Zitra, Zatiel, and Totto.
That story was truly fantastic and a little hard to believe, but every single person told the same and with complete honesty in their hearts. The demise of Uluizer and the rest was considered bad luck since they should have been harvesting some resources and were trapped during the battle between the Being of Laws and the World Consciousness.
The case was closed, and there should be no need for Heinz to go to the capital. It was easy for the Cultivator to notice that someone was going after him and wanted to blame him for the deaths of Uluizer and the rest.
Truth can be changed, so there was a possibility of indicting him with a totally false crime the moment he made any mistake. Despite all that, there was no fear in the Cultivator's heart. Things could have been difficult if he was still a Soul Forging existence, but he had reached Rank 5, and despite all the rules in the empire, the one that reigns supreme is that power is everything.
The moment Heinz reached the capital, he was immediately received by a group of investigators that was prepared to bombard him with questions. Before they could even start, the Cultivator released his killing intent and showed the immense difference in power between them.
The investigators were all Rank 4 life forms, but they found it difficult to form complete sentences in the presence of Heinz. Less than an hour after he arrived in the capital, Heinz was already back in the Sinux Magic Tower.
Although he was able to handle that situation without a problem, Heinz understood that the one going after him was someone with influence and power in the Aeternum Empire.
The City of the Sun was immense, so it wasn't hard to manage the hundreds of thousands of natives from the Beta Heavenly World. The life of the natives had been so horrible that just having food and enjoying the sun was heaven for them. They were given the Sunlight Champion Path Technique, and they all trained like maniacs. The reason for their attitude was simple, the weak are the ones who desire power the most.
The number of warriors in the City of the Sun began to grow at an accelerated rate, but not much time after Heinz was summoned to the capital, problems also arrived at the Daybreak Clan.
First, it was their commercial routes in the empire. The items were being stolen continuously, the demand for anything originated on the Daybreak Clan diminished greatly, and the clans and families that had made deals with them broke their business relationships.
After that, began the allegations against the Daybreak Clan for their 'disgusting act' of allowing inferior species like dwarfs and magic creatures to join them and obtain the citizenship of the Aeternum Empire. No rule forbade those actions, and Zatiel was certainly not the first to allow not-human beings into his clan, but that mattered little, and the accusations only grew.
Indictments against the Daybreak Clan did not only originate from the Aeternum Empire. In the Eye Dynasty, the Blood Eye Clan began to complain about Zatiel disregard for the life of the members of the dynasty and demanded retribution for his horrendous acts. That wasn't all since the Patriarch of the clan also accused Zatiel and his people of interfering with the Holy Trial and forcing Eye Holders to it.
Sigrid and Aren immediately came forward and denied the words of the Blood Eye Clan, making clear that Zatiel had only helped them and that the decision to take the trial was theirs and no one else.
The siblings had gained fame after achieving a Tier 3 completion and were made honorary members of a clan led by a Soul Law Domain existence. Their status was high, and their words should have been more than enough to silence the Blood Eye Clan's false accusation, but things didn't go as the duo hopped, and the charges against Zatiel remained.
There was someone in the darkness inside the Eye Dynasty, suppressing the voice of the duo and enhancing the one of the Patriarch of the Blood Eye Clan.
Due to Zatiel's absence, the current leader of the Daybreak Clan was Ezequiel. His prestige was second only to the one of the Ancestor, and not even Dante could compare with the Supreme Neo-Demon.
The defamation campaign against the Daybreak Clan only grew as time passed, and the public opinion of them became worse and worse.
Ezequiel couldn't care less what other people thought of him, and the pressure he was facing due to the countless accusations was insignificant in his mind. With Heinz in the Sinux Magic Tower, no one would dare to attack them, and even if they did, the defenses of the City of the Sun were powerful enough to resist the spells of a Rank 5 life form. Their income was affected due to the damage in their commercial routes, but the wealth that the Daybreak Clan had accumulated was large enough that they did not have to worry for years.
The true damage the Daybreak Clan was taking was negligible. However, their enemies took the next step this day.
The Supreme Neo-Demon was in the sky of Wasteland. He was looking at the forty-seven mangled bodies beneath him. They were dark elves, dwarves, and gnolls, all of them Sunlight Champions, who had come to search for new people who would like to join the clan.
"How bad is the state of their souls?" Ezequiel's eyes showed nothing, and his voice carried no emotion at all.
Two people were accompanying Ezequiel. They were Totto and a man with a brutish appearance and a body full of muscles. Both were Rank 4 life forms, but they stood one step behind the Supreme Neo-Demon and displayed a respectful attitude.
The Lich's eyes glowed as he focused on the bodies. After a moment, anger appeared on his face before sighing.
"Their souls were not broken, but whoever attacked them made sure to destroy great parts of their consciousness, so even if we revived them, they would remain in a coma forever. The perpetrator was likely a Rank 3 life form, and he wasn't able to shatter their souls."
"I see. Pick up their bodies and reconstruct them. We will decide what to do once my Master comes back." Ezequiel's eyes were still calm, but that was just the peace before a massive storm. Even though the dead were not Neo-Demons, they were members of the Daybreak Clan, and that made them his people.
Totto nodded and stored the bodies inside his space ring.
"Has there been any message from the Lord?" The one who spoke was the muscular man. He was not that skilled in containing his emotions, and a thick killing intent surrounded his body after he saw the broken corpses.
"Nothing, but it doesn't matter. We were told to wait, and that is what we will do." Ezequiel's voice carried an unquestionable resolution.
Totto and the man nodded after hearing his words and flew back to the City of the Sun.
