Zatiel wasn't surprised about this man knowing his true identity. Actually, if he had not figured it out with all the information he had, the Neo-Demon would have found it odd.
"Why do you speak as if this was the first time you see me? Didn't we meet a long time ago, when I defeated you and extracted your soul from your body?." Zatiel was speaking peacefully, and his attitude appeared to be extremely relaxed, but the truth was he had his guard up and attempted to discern the authentic nature of the man in front of him.
The Final Purgatory was strong enough to contain this man and stop him from using his power. The reason why he could form an incarnation of energy was due to Zatiel allowing him to do so. Therefore, the damage he could do physically was almost null, but just like the Ancestor of the Neo-Demon race could trick a unique entity like the Sage with just his words, the blonde man was also capable of such a feat
The reason why Zatiel was so cautious of this man was due to his identities.
He was once the ultimate leader of the forces of the universe, The Champion of Justice and Order, and the greatest powerhouse of this epoch.
However, the Incarnation of Death and Destruction knew him as the embodiment of evilness and deceits.
The man kept smiling after hearing Zatiel's words and softly shook his head.
"The one that fought you was an empty shell, a puppet that guided his action based on the desires of someone else. I was never truly him..." The man paused for a moment before continuing, "..or at least that's what I tell myself."
Zatiel's eyes narrowed when he heard that and understood the meaning behind his words.
"So are you telling me you have been purged from his contamination?."
The man displayed a self-mocking expression on his face when he heard that and shook his head.
"His power has infected me for too long and managed to corrupt the core of my existence. Even with the amazing purging skills of your creation, it is impossible to purify my soul. But enough of it was expelled for my ego to return to its original state, and as long I have the help of this place, I can suppress what is left of his filth from affecting my mind."
Although Zatiel took his words with caution and did not trust them, he could not help but feel disappointed. If this man could help him, the chances of achieving his ultimate goal would be higher, but now it appeared the assistance he could bring was severely limited.
"I see. If I had been able to act on your soul the moment the corruption started, I may have been able to help you more, but I guess giving you back your ego is the best I can do. After all, we are talking about that individual's power." Zatiel shook his head and focused once again on the man.
Both the Incarnation of Death and Destruction and The Champion of Justice and Order were entities who had forgotten the meaning of fear a long time ago. Nevertheless, neither of them dared to speak that individual's name out loud.
"I know you don't trust me and won't risk speaking about your plans with me, at least until you are strong enough that I can't hide anything from you, so I can only assume that the reason you came to this place and took the time to chat with me is due to that thing." The blonde man focused on the shadow cocoon.
Zatiel waved his hand, and a tear appeared on the cocoon, showing the amorphous mass of tentacles that was contained in it.
When the man saw the figure of the Sage, he frowned, and a peculiar expression appeared on his face.
"How odd, I have never seen this type of life form before. Although I can detect some characteristics of the Mind Ruler race, this thing is something different. Is this a new race born in the last couple of millions of years I was absent?"
"I don't think so. Although my grasp over the events occurring in the universe is not what it used to be, at least there is no information about a race of beings like him in the archives of a Principal World."
"What an odd being. Well, it doesn't really matter where it came from. I will take care of it if that is what you want." The blonde man could feel the evil aura that surrounded the Sage's body, so he had no problem annihilating him.
"You are mistaken. I did not come here to ask you to kill him. For that, I am going to use the thing that is on the 1st layer." Zatiel looked to the sky of the second layer, and there was a solemn expression on his face.
Unlike the other layers of The Final Purgatory, there was no runic formation in the 2nd layer that led to an upper layer. However, the Neo-Demon knew that there is a hidden entrance, covered by the power of the Omega Law, that can only be opened by the NRAI, with the authority of the Ruler of the Neo-Demon Realm.
"What!" The Champion of Justice and Order was startled, and he lost his composure for a moment.
"I don't know what you have trapped in there, but I can perceive that it is a true monster with an extremely ominous aura. Even at my peak, I don't think I could handle such a monstrosity. If you allow me to use my full power, I assure you, I can send enough force to the creature in the cocoon to annihilate his existence and anything connected to it, even if this thing's true identity is that of a Being of Laws."
The capabilities the blonde man claimed to possess appeared too incredible to be true since Beings of Laws were known for being very difficult to kill, and trying to do that by attacking an incarnation or avatar of them was unbelievable.
Zatiel knew how high this man's control over the laws and fundamental forces of the universe was, so he was confident that he could perform such a feat. However, the Neo-Demon wanted to submit the Sage to something even more definitive than just stopping his soul from reaching The Eternal River of the Afterlife.
"I have already made my decision. The reason I am speaking with you is that although the being in the 1st layer will not be able to escape, and the gate between the layers will shut down instantly, he may send an attack that will reach this layer and interfere with your recovery. So, I will allow you to use your power once to neutralize it."
The blonde man understood that once individuals like Zatiel make a decision, it is impossible to convince them otherwise. He limited himself to nodding and focused on the sky.
Zatiel was not afraid of the man using the chance to attack him. Once the Sage went through the gate and reached the 1st layer, he would use the power of the NRAI and teleport out of The Final Purgatory. While climbing the black pyramid must be done one layer at a time, leaving was much easier.
The white membrane grew stronger, and after using the Black Hole Runic Set to fill his body with amazing strength, he grabbed the cocoon that contained the Sage and threw him to the sky.
As he saw the enemy that forced him to so many setbacks rising into the sky, Zatiel's eyes glowed with determination, and he sent the command to the NRAI.
Right? in front of the flying cocoon, a tear, less than three meters long, appeared in space. It was impossible to see what was on the other side of the tear, and the Sage vanished inside it.
Once that happened, the NRAI used his power to make Zatiel disappear from the 2nd layer before allowing the blonde man to use his strength once.
The tear in space began to shut down the instant the Sage reached the 1st layer, but despite the amazing speed at which it happened, it was not fast enough.
"ROOOOOOAAAARRRRRRRR!"
A roar full of chaotic madness was heard in the 2nd layer, and a dark shockwave that originated in the 1st layer passed through the tear.
The entire second layer began to tremble, but the blonde man was ready, and the moment NRAI allowed him to use his power, he made the white fog that covered millions of kilometers gather into a palm less than four meters wide and struck the portal with it.
Although the fog hand may not seem much, it had the power to pierce a High World from one end to the other without a problem, and yet the shock wave originated from the roar of the monster in the 1st layer was proving to be superior.
Luckily, the tear closed, and the shock wave vanished. The palm made of fog was full of cracks, and once the opponent was no longer present, it lost its form, and white fog once again filled the 2nd layer.
The thickness of the fog diminished greatly, and it was clear a great amount of it was lost in that clash.
"That power!" The blonde man was shocked when he felt the aura in the attack, and an extremely solemn expression appeared on his face.
"What did he seal away in that layer?."
