The two groups noticed Zatiel and Kita. One team showed an even greater killing intent when the duo arrived, while the members of the other team displayed a smile.
The duo went to the team that was welcoming them. Zatiel and Kita repaid the courtesy and greeted them all, but they knew that these "comrades" were just as dangerous as their enemies.
The moment something precious appeared in the fortress, everybody would become an enemy.
With the addition of the Neo-Demon and female Devil Lord, the party that served Duke Krior had seven members, while the other only had five.
After that short reception was over, the Devil Lords focused on the space in front of them. There was nothing there other than some ruins, but you could detect invisible cracks in space connected to another dimension if you were strong enough.
The Devil Lords' powerful consciousnesses were like invisible beasts that swept everything in their path as they scanned the terrain.
Zatiel did not join them since the first thing in his mind was to assess the threats around him.
He could not use his consciousness to examine them since they would notice, and Heart Scan was not very useful in determining the target's strength, but his Rebirth Eye could show him a lot of an individual.
The Neo-Demon's right eye focused on the Devil Lord floating a couple of meters above the other Counts. She was a woman approximately two meters tall, with a snake body and two heads.
He could see a thriving life force like an ocean, an extraordinarily dense and pure soul force, and engraved laws in every cell of her body.
'A Sacred Body of Laws.'
Zatiel recognized the qualities of the women's body that depicted her as a Devil Marquess, a Peak Rank 5 life form!.
He marked her as an extremely dangerous individual since his current strength would only let him run from her.
The Neo-Demon battle power allowed him to handle life forms at the 2nd and maybe 3rd Engraving Stage, but someone at Peak Rank 5 was five to seven times stronger.
After he finished with the strongest, his Rebirth Eye began to analyze the Devil Counts. They were a Hell Lion, a Fiend Dragonborn, a Spider-Wolf, a Storm Hawk, and a Shadow Frog.
According to Kenner's intel, the group's strongest was supposed to be the Hell Lion. His name was Sirex, and he had reached the peak of the 3rd Engraving Stage.
However, the Neo-Demon's attention was drawn to the Shadow Frog, named Severian. He was at the edge of the group and had a very timid and cowardly attitude. No one found that odd since he was supposed to be at the 1st Engraving Stage, but Zatiel's Rebirth Eye showed him a soul force more extraordinary than that of the Hell Lion.
The Devil Count appeared to have detected Zatiel's stare and glanced at him.
A strange light appeared in the Shadow Frog's eyes before giving a humble smile and looking away.
'He obtained a technique that permitted him to hide his true power. Since they do not see him as a threat, the rest unconsciously put less attention on him, giving him more freedom. He is like a wolf playing to be the sheep only to show his fangs when the time is right. Cunning and powerful, a dangerous combination.' The Neo-Demon also marked the Shadow Frog as a serious threat.
Once he ended with his team, Zatiel analyzed the other side. He did not get surprises in them, and other than the Devil Marquess, the rest were between the 1st and 3rd Engraving Stage.
After analyzing all those already here, Zatiel followed the Devil Lords and attempted to peer into the dimension where the Blood Fortress resided.
The first thing was to find one of the invisible space cracks that led to the dimension. The Devil Lords were using their consciousness to locate them. As for the Neo-Demon, he once again thanked his bloodline for giving him his right eye.
The Rebirth Eye showed Zatiel the space cracks. He picked one that no one had detected yet and sent his consciousness inside.
The moment the Neo-Demon's consciousness passed through the crack, he felt a powerful repulse force fighting against him.
He was barely able to enter ten centimeters with his consciousness before being shut out.
Zatiel frowned when that happened. He was not able to see anything on the other side.
'My consciousness is stronger than the rest due to my racial heritage and the fact Elemental Chaos tempers it. Nonetheless, its origin, my True Soul, is still at Rank 4.' The Neo-Demon began to think about how to handle that problem, and an idea came to mind.
Once again, he sent his consciousness into the space crack, but this time injected his Mind Force in it.
It was hard to control, and he felt like his consciousness was carrying a heavy boulder but was able to defeat the force on the other side of the space crack, allowing him to see the dimension.
What appeared in Zatiel's mind was an enormous fortress. The buildings in it were thousands of meters tall, and it had a diameter that could equal a small continent.
The Neo-Demon's consciousness could not cross the fortress's walls due to the repelling force being too high.
However, he could see the fortress's outer layer from the sky, and there was no sign of life in it.
Zatiel also used the energy in his consciousness to release a fireball against the walls. The Neo-Demon did not think he could harm them with such a weak spell, but he was surprised when he saw how the blast of the attack was almost null.
An extremely powerful life form with high control over the laws reinforced space in the dimension. Normally, a spell carrying the full strength of a Rank 5 life form could create destructive shockwaves that would extend for hundreds of kilometers, but here, they would cover a few dozen meters.
Zatiel frowned when he detected the uniqueness of the Blood Fortress. The price the Blood Duke had to pay to make those alterations in space and reinforce the city should have been astronomical, even for a Peak Rank 6 life form.
'According to the information, when the Blood Duke failed his ascension to Archdevil, he used his last breath to seal his fortress in a hidden dimension so no one could steal his resources, but that story had several flaws. For starters, if he wanted that no one could get their hands on his belongings, why not just destroy the fortress? Second, this place must have had millions of devils living in it. They would not have chosen to stay here after their master died, and even if they could not escape, some of them must have remained alive, and yet I can see no trace of life anywhere.' Hundreds of different scenarios appeared in Zatiel's mind that could explain what he saw, but he had too little information to pick one.
The Neo-Demon continued exploring the Blood Fortress' border, but it was a barren wasteland with nothing to offer. Eventually, he pulled his consciousness out.
Zatiel saw how the rest of the Devil Lords were still trying to enter the dimension. The Devil Marquess and Hell Lion were the only ones with a relaxed expression on their faces, telling the rest they succeeded.
The Neo-Demon focused on the Shadow Frog. Severian's annoyed expression made people think he had not succeeded, but Zatiel was sure he managed to enter the dimension.
A nasty expression appeared on Zatiel's face as he approached the Shadow Frog.
"Severian, you should give up. I could not beat the repelling force in the dimension, and your consciousness is weaker than mine. Instead of wasting time, why don't we discuss a proposition I have for you." Zatiel did not hide his voice, and the rest of the Devil Lords could hear him, but no one bothered. They did not care if the blue Count wanted to ally with the weak Shadow Frog.
Severian's eyes narrowed when he heard those words, and an annoyed expression appeared on his face, but he hid it immediately.
"Kenner, my friend, what are you thinking about?" There was a smile on Severian's face, and his attitude was docile.
Zatiel was sure the Shadow Frog felt nothing but disdain for Kenner. Unfortunately for him, since he is hiding his strength, he could not just ignore a Devil Lord that was supposed to be stronger than him.
The Neo-Demon began to talk and made sure to maintain eye contact the whole time.
