Silence reigned once the explosions in the sky ended and the Ash Dragon was destroyed, but the next moment, as they saw Zatiel descending, the entire City of the Sun burst into cheers. From the children to the elders, all the members of the Daybreak Clan released cries of excitement.
Ezequiel's red sun fist and Zatiel's bone flaming sword were engraved in their mind, and they would never forget them. In all of them, an immense hunger for power was raging along with the desire to stand proudly in the sky and show their might to the world.
A smile appeared on the Neo-Demon when he saw his people display happiness and admiration.
However, the expression of the Rebirth Incarnations was the opposite. Coldness and killing intent filled their eyes as they waved their wings and disappeared into the distance. Zatiel had a mission for them, and they needed to hurry up before the soul, body, and energy of their vessels were completely burned out.
A group of people rose from the Daybreak Magic Tower. They were Ezequiel, Zitra, Totto, Nero, and the bulky man. The Supreme Neo-Demon was still recovering from his wounds, but the drop of blood had healed him enough to regain consciousness and move without a problem.
Zatiel was able to recognize the bulky man immediately. He was the Rank 4 Abomination Gorilla, Tyrus.
The reason for the change in appearance was not a transmutation spell. The magic creature was very proud of his body. He would not change it for something so vain as the opinion of others, and neither would Zatiel ask him to do it.
The reason for his body being that of a human was due to a Path Technique he and almost all the other magic creatures in the City of the Sun were training.
The technique name was The Mind Follows the Body. It allowed magic creatures to obtain a human body that could not only express all the power and abilities of their original bodies but also granted them an enhanced dexterity. Another main feature of this technique was the ability to obtain greater control over their instincts and develop their wisdom.
Once they complete the first level of this technique, even those Rank 0 Magic Creatures would have perfect control over their instincts, and their wisdom would not be worse than that of a Magus. By then, there would no longer be the need for those Rank 4 Magic Creatures to keep an eye on them to make sure they do not go wild.
As Zatiel and the others got closer, a person drew the attention of the Neo-Demon. He looked to the side and saw the only person in the group that came with Sirius and that remained alive, the previous Vice-Head of the Empire Commercial Association, Tritus Fonder.
The rest also focused on him when they saw Zatiel's staring at him. The man was so decrepit that it was just a matter of time before he passed away.
Being stared at by so many powerful individuals would terrify most Rank 3 life forms, but there was peace in the Magus' eyes. He was already resigned to his fate, and since he did not have much life span left, he saw no need to beg to remain alive.
A peculiar light appeared on Zatiel's eyes, and he proceeded to approach the Magus. When the rest saw this, they were surprised.
Totto was about to stop him since it would not be fit for an absolute genius like him to take care of a Rank 3 life. It was better if someone else killed him as his reputation was too important. However, before he could do anything, Ezequiel gave him a signal for him to remain calm and see what is going to happen.
A small smile appeared on Tritus' face when he saw Zatiel's figure approaching. Being killed by a unique being like him would be an honorable end.
"This old man humbly greets the mighty Ash Dragon Slayer, Zatiel Daybreak." The Magus' words were full of respect, and he performed a ninety-degree bow.
"It has been a long time since our last meeting. Are you aware of the cause of your downfall?" Zatiel words had a deep meaning, and if Tritus could not give him a satisfactory answer, there was no point in proceeding with his plan.
Surprise appeared on the Magus' face, and he could not help but sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, an extremely cunning light filled them. It was like he had become a completely different person.
"I know it was Jenner, the one who interfered with the awakening of my True Soul and impeded my advance to Rank 4. But she was too stupid to be able to see through my mask, so someone more powerful must have helped her."
When Totto and the rest heard those words, they were confused. The only one who understood what was happening was Ezequiel.
Both the Ancestor of the Neo-Demon race and the Supreme Neo-Demon had all the information the Elder Brain was able to extract from Jenner's mind.
Tritus Fonder had always given everyone the idea he was a man without aspiration and that he was perfectly comfortable with his position. However, he was, in reality, a very scheming person who preferred to work in the dark and make his moves out of everyone's sight.
His deception skills were so great he was able to even trick himself into believing he was really a harmless elder who only wanted the best for his organization.
He had managed to get control over almost the entire Empire Comercial Association as the Vice-Head. The only thing he needed to fulfill his goal was to reach Rank 4.
Unfortunately, someone had warned Jenner about his schemes. The woman used a special artifact to interfere with the awakening of his True Soul, which left him in his current situation.
Jenner had been careful and left no evidence of her actions, but it was easy for Tritus to figure out what had happened due to the woman's attitude and flagrant abuse from that day on.
Zatiel nodded when he heard that. His ambitions vanished due to his current hopeless condition, but his cunning mind was still present. The next moment the Rebirth Eye released an invisible force that invaded the mind and soul of the Magus.
Tritus could not resist the power of that eye full of purple energy. He felt how his life experiences from the moment of his birth until now were being examined.
It lasted less than a minute, but Tritus felt years had passed. He found it hard to control his breath, and his entire body was soaked in a cold sweat.
"You have been blessed with a cunning mind from your birth, and your deception skills have developed over the years until they reached a sublime level, at least for someone who only depended on himself. You follow the principle of equal exchange. Although you do not betray your allies, you do not care about them after they have fulfilled their purpose. You are not fit to become a member of my clan since you would never be able to put the race above the individual. Nonetheless, there are arrangements we can make since it would be a waste to lose such a scheming mind."
Tritus was surprised when he heard Zatiel's words. The next moment he was almost sent flying away when golden energy burst out of Neo-Demon's body.
Zatiel did not offer an answer and began to act immediately. His True Soul that was in a meditative position, inside his soul dimension, opened his eyes and rose his hand before concentrating Soul Origin in his index finger.
The Neo-Demon's body mimicked the movements of the True Soul. A drop of purple blood filled with Origin Energy gathered in his index finger.
The next moment, he began to draw rune lines in the air with a dexterity, speed, and control that shocked all those who saw him.
They soon understood that Zatiel was making a rune, but the expression of one of them was of utter shock.
Totto, who was the oldest and more knowledgeable of all, understood the true nature of Zatiel's rune.
He could feel the True Soul of the Neo-Demon acting in tandem with him, and that could only mean one thing.
"He is making a Soul Rune!"
