The Blood Duke's battle with the Runic Spirits drained a considerable amount of his energy, and his demented state diminished his battle power.
Despite all that, he could kill two Rank 5 life forms, who were deploying their full strength and life-saving cards, by firing a single palm print.
The difference in power was frightening, but all the Devil Lords were millenary existences. After the initial shock, they immediately regained control of their emotions.
The Devil Marquises sent their most powerful spells to the Blood Duke.
Due to his hastened attack, the Rank 6 Devil Lord could not dodge or perform a proper defense, so the spells consumed his figure instantly.
The Blood Duke was in the center of the explosion, and all around him, raging energies were trying to destroy his body.
"ROAR!" Along with that roar, the Blood Duke fired a blast of blood energy.
He freed himself from the Devil Marquises' spells and was about to chase after them immediately. However, to his surprise, instead of running away, like he always did after halting his movements, this time, Blood Child used the disturbance to approach him undetected.
The Rank 6 Devil Lord could not do anything as a kick descended from the sky and landed right in his face.
Blood Child's leg was short and thin, but it triggered an unbelievable shock wave full of power when it connected with the Blood Duke's head. In a different place, the vibrations would have produced an earthquake that could cover thousands of kilometers.
That kick had the strength to shatter a star. It fractured the Blood Duke's skull, broke one of his horns, and produced brain trauma before sending him to the ground.
Blood Child did not go unharmed after performing such a powerful attack. His leg exploded due to him delivering a kick that had more power than his body could endure, and the damage did not end there since to achieve that strength, he had burned a significant part of his soul.
The Runic Spirit did not remain still. After performing the attack, he immediately flew after the Devil Marquises, who ran away at their maximum speed.
The Rank 6 Devil was able to stand up in less than half a minute, and his fierce eyes focused on the flying Devil Marquises.
If he had been at his peak, the Blood Duke could have handled the Devil Lords and Blood Child without a problem. Unfortunately, his soul had not finished its restoration, and the voices in his head made it almost impossible to concentrate on anything, so he depended on his instincts.
Despite his monstrous physical defenses, the Blood Duke's injuries were becoming severe. After all, receiving spells sent by more than a dozen Law Engraving existences, many of whom had reached the peak of the Rank, was a lot for a Rank 6 life form.
There was a silver lining in his condition. As his injuries were growing worse and the threat of death becoming greater, his soul's ability to fight against the evil spirits was also improving.
The Blood Duke rushed to the Devil Marquises, flashing through the sky as the energy inside him erupted.
He had reached the one hundred meter mark away from the Devil Marquises when these sent a new barrage of spells against him. Things did not end there since, behind him, the Devil Counts emerged from the darkness, ready to attack him as well.
Zatiel had changed their battle strategy since he could not let the Devil Counts attack alone anymore.
As the Devil Lords' bombardment approached him from every direction, a flash of light appeared in the Blood Duke's eyes.
The Blood Duke extended his hands, and the blood world shot forward. Simultaneously, blood spears emerged from his back and fired against the Devil Counts.
The blood spears neutralized many of the Devil Counts attacks, and their momentum was so high that they managed to kill one while injuring another two severely.
The blood world collided with the Devil Marquises' spell. The explosion they created was so potent that it broke their battle formation.
The Devil Marquises understood the danger of being alone, so they all regrouped. One of them was too slow, and the Blood Duke appeared in front of him in a second.
The unfortunate Devil Marquess was the Silver Dragonworm, Sinto. He was frightened by the fist coming his way but was able to control his emotions.
By employing the full might of his energy pool and burning his life force, the Silver Dragonworm secreted a spider web covering his entire body.
The moment his punch touched the spiderweb, the Blood Duke felt like he was hitting the ocean. His fist was sinking into the cocoon, but it did no damage at all.
Sinto's spiderweb was not something that physical strength alone could harm.
The Devil Marquess felt safe inside the cocoon and was sure Blood Child would save him at any second. However, what happened next shocked him.
The Blood Duke opened his fist. His fingertip released immense sharp energy that he used to cut the spiderweb in half.
The Rank 6 Devil Lord flashed forward and buried his hand in Sinto's chest.
The Silver Dragonworm could only see with horror as his gargantuan body that weighed more than a hundred mountains put together, was utterly paralyzed. The grasp of ten-meter tall Blood Duke made him feel like a colossal monster was holding him in the palm of his hand.
Sinto's nightmare did not end there since he felt how the Blood Duke's hand swallowed his vitality, blood, and even soul.
"SAVE ME!" Sinto begged for help as he stared at Blood Child and the Devil Marquises.
Blood Child frowned as he analyzed the events that led to this situation. The Blood Duke's actions displayed a level of planning and battle awareness that an enraged and crazy monster could not perform.
'He is regaining his sanity while we battle, and his condition will improve significantly if he fully devours Sinto.' Zatiel knew very well that they would all die if the Blood Duke managed to appease his chaotic mind and use the full power of a Soul Law Domain existence.
The Neo-Demon did not hesitate and made Blood Child send a message to every Devil Lord except for the Silver Dragonworm.
The Devil Lords were surprised when they heard Blood Child's command, but none of them hesitated.
Although he had pleaded for their help, Sinto did not expect that the Devil Lords would come to save him. That is why what happened next surprised him.
All the Devil Lords, including the Devil Counts that emerged from the darkness, flashed to his location while burning their life force and overcharging their artifacts.
There was hope in Sinto's eyes as he saw the Devil Lord about to reach him, but it all vanished when he noticed how they stopped one thousand meters away from him.
The Devil Marquess saw with horror how the Devil Lords fired spells charged with life force and dozens of artifacts about to explode in his direction.
Blood Child and the rest of the Devil Lords immediately retreated after sending their attacks.
The Blood Duke had noticed the enemies' closing in. He could not forcefully interrupt the connection with Sinto's body due to the devouring force but was planning to use the Silver Dragonworm's gigantic body as a shield. However, now that was no longer feasible.
The duo found themselves in the center of an explosion that razed the Blood Fortress!.
The core of destruction was limited to a few hundred kilometers due to the space fortification, but the explosion consumed all the fortress's oxygen.
Storms filled the dimension with poisonous and lethal energy, making it impossible for anyone beneath Rank 4 to live in it anymore.
The attack disintegrated Sinto's body and soul, and it buried the Blood Duke in the ground.
The Devil Lords did not wait to see the condition of the Rank 6 Devil Lord. They flew with their maximum speed to the portals.
They knew the Blood Duke would not stop chasing after them. Now that they sacrificed so much to harm him severely, they were going to make the most of that opportunity.
They had just reached the Blood Fortress' border when they felt the ominous presence coming after them, but there was a smile on the Devil Lords' faces.
They were very close to the portals that led out of this dimension. Once they were near them, they would hide their presence with the help of Severian's Law of Darkness.
The enraged Rank 6 Devil Lord would search for another prey, and that would be the Devil Dukes that sent them here as sacrifices.
The Devil Marquises and Devil Counts were all smiling, thinking of obtaining revenge when it happened. The Blood Duke made the laws in the dimension change with his soul's strength and revealed the skill that made Soul Law Domain such terrifying existences.
