Shock appeared all over Pilo's face as he heard those words. He was having a hard time understanding half of it, but one thing is clear, the monster in front of him had a pragmatic mind and immense wisdom.
'This type of analytic thinking and scheming nature should not be possible in our kind.' The Rank 4 Demon immediately erased that train of thought from his mind. He did not dare to continue with it since the terror Evil produced in him made impossible any form of treason.
Ezequiel focused on the Rank 4 Demon for a moment, and his eyes seem to be able to pierce into the creature's mind.
"The Great Messengers should return in a month. Is the army ready to be mobilized, and have they perfected the siege tactics that I gave them?."
"The Rank 4 Demons and the squads beneath them are ready to move out at any moment, my Lord. They still have some problems with the siege tactics, but everybody understands the price of failure, so they are training them nonstop." Pilo spoke with a respectful and fearful tone.
The truth is that in the incursions, Evil was the main fighting force. He battled the Demon Lord and Rank 4 Demons on the enemy side while also suppressing the lesser demons.
The one role the army had is to make sure no demon escaped. No matter their strength or abilities, no one is allowed to flee.
For every demon that managed to break the blockade, the squad responsible will have one hundred members sacrificed to appease Lord Evil.
Ezequiel nodded to the Fiendish Cyclop, and something came to his mind.
"Since you are here, we will go to the underground city before I restart my training. I want to see how The Great Hunt has been going."
"As you wish, my Lord. We have not failed you in the great mission you gave us."
..............
Beneath Evil City, there was an ancient ruin full of dilapidated buildings. Ezequiel did not build this place but took advantage of the cloaking powers in it.
Other than damaged buildings, there was only one more thing in this place, bodies.
Thousands and thousands of bodies filled the entire underground city, literally forming mountains. Most of them belonged to demons, but there were piles with devils, dragons, elemental giants, and even humans.
Although a number of the individuals in this place were dead, most of them were only unconscious.
In a pile that contained humans, hiding beneath the bodies of his kind, a young man was awake. Despite the horror of the scene around him, he managed to maintain his heart under control and did not lose his mind to fear.
His name was Caesar, and he was a member of the Oruku World, a High World dominated by the Human race.
The history of the Oruku World was one of bloodshed and heroes. Several Demon Lords had managed to get hold of the coordinates of this world and invaded it. The natives fought with courage and pride, but the difference in power was too high.
When everything appeared lost, a great hero emerged. His real name was forgotten, and everybody just referred to him as Darkness Devourer.
This great hero led his people against the Demon Lords and managed to kill the Demon Dukes, regaining control over his world. But his legend did not end there since Darkness Devourer was able to break the shackles of lifespan and became a Being of Laws.
The Oruku World may not be a Principal World of the universe but was powerful enough to defend itself against almost all external threats. Due to their past, the people of this world were eternal enemies of the demon race.
The great organizations of the Oruku World constantly made incursions in Abyss to hunt down demons.
Caesar was a supreme genius of the Darkness School, one of the great organizations of the Oruku World. He and his teammates came to the Blood Rift to participate in a trial by fire.
Although the mission was dangerous, they did their work and remained in an area that should only have lesser demons. Unfortunately, disaster struck them.
The only reason he was still conscious was the treasure he had fused with his soul, which enhanced his spiritual defenses and concealed his presence.
'I need to contact the Great Teacher. He is the only one that can save us. This place seems to be an underground facility, and it hinders any form of communication.' Caesar was contemplating ways to get out of this predicament when two figures appeared in the sky above the city.
He already knew the Fiendish Cyclop since he was the one who captured him and all of his friends. As for the one next to him, although he had never met him before, he knew his identity.
Caesar's eyes widened, and fear appeared in them as he saw this five-meter tall humanoid white demon with an aura that seemed to be the embodiment of Abyss.
'Of all the Demon Counts, why did I have to fall in the hands of this monster!'
The Oruku World constantly gathered intelligence of the Abyss layers to which they sent people. That information includes the Demon Lords, and Evil was a name very popular lately.
The price for Evil's head was a Peak Rank 5 Artifact, equal to that of a Demon Marquess. The higher-ups made that decision due to his potential and the danger he could represent in the future.
Caesar understood that Evil was strong, but that was not the thing that frightened him. He knew that this Demon Lord was cunning and wise. That would make his escape a lot harder.
He heightened his sense of hearing to listen to their conversation.
"We have fulfilled the quota you have imposed on us, Lord Evil. The Rank 4 Demons and I have managed to capture more than two million living lesser demons and life forms of that level in the past three months. We left no clues of our activities."
In any other place, the disappearance of such a high number of life forms would not go unnoticed, but in the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, no one cared.
"The soldiers that had failed to advance in the determined time are already here?"
"Yes, my Lord. Following your instructions, all the demons stuck for more than four months in Rank 0, more than a year in Rank 1, and more than three years at Rank 2 were quietly neutralized."
Pilo thought that his Demon Lord's requirements were extraordinarily harsh but did not dare express his opinion.
In any other place, it would be almost impossible for any demons to achieve that cultivation speed. However, the Abyss Aura's density in Evil City was many times greater than in any other part of the Blood Rift, and that allowed at least ten percent of the demons to succeed.
Demons may be stupid, but they understood what happened to those who did not improve their power fast. That is the reason why everybody in the city was so focused on their training.
Ezequiel's face was cold as he looked at the millions of lives beneath when all of a sudden, his eyes narrowed. He slowly focused his gaze on one of the many piles of bodies.
"Why is there a conscious human in there?"
Horror appeared in Caesar's face when he heard those words, and his body froze from fear. He could not believe the Demon Lord had found him.
The next thing he saw was Pilo's enraged face as the Fiendish Cyclop moved the rest of the bodies to grab him.
Even though Caesar was a genius and possessed some of his world's best techniques, he was still a Rank 3 life form and could not face the Rank 4 Demon.
Pilo did not give him a chance to act. The demon grabbed the young man, crushed his body, and almost killed him. This time, he truly left him unconscious.
The Rank 4 Demon heart was beating fast, and he could not control his breathing. It was not the short battle against the human that left him in this condition, but the fact he knew he had made a mistake. The demon turned to look at his master and saw his cold and unforgiving eyes.
Ezequiel raised his finger and made a seed of red lightning appear before sending it to Pilo's head.
The Rank 4 Demon could not resist and saw how the seed invaded his soul dimension and attached to his True Soul.
"For your carelessness, you will have to gather another ten million lesser demons in six months. If you fail, that seed will kill you slowly and painfully. Now leave."
Pilo gave a deep bow and left in a hurry. He had little time and needed to use every second of it.
Once he was alone, Ezequiel focused on the young human lying on the floor among a pile of bodies, and then a memory appeared in his mind that made him tremble.
A young man at death's door, surrounded by the bodies of his teammates.
It was like the first time he saw Zatiel, but this time he took the cruel captain's role.
Being cold to demons and other evil beings was easy, but Ezequiel could feel the righteous aura in the young man.
There was no reason to kill him, and he would not be ending his life due to collateral damage but due to a cold-hearted decision.
An internal struggle began in the Supreme Neo-Demon's heart, but as time passed, the emotion in his eyes began to vanish. The only left in them, in the end, was emptiness.
'It would be easy for me to save you, but I won't do it. The universe is a cold and ruthless place. To achieve my goal, I need to be even more ruthless!.'
