During the years Zatiel was away, significant events occurred in the Iron City of Dis. The trigger was the monstrous fight that threatened to destroy the Pilatus continent, and where three individuals unleashed energies higher than a sun.
The Blood Fight was the name devils gave it to the battle between the legendary Blood Duke, the Killing Flame Duke, and Darkness Poison Duke.
In the start, it was the Blood Duke against the other two Rank 6 Devil Lords, but doing honor to their vicious nature, the other Dukes attacked each other the moment they saw an opening.
Krior and the Pit Fiend knew they could not kill the Blood Duke, so they thought of severely hurting their comrade before running away. Unfortunately, their plan backfired, and in the end, the fight became a grand battle royale.
The fight continued for three hours, and in that time, ninety-five percent of the Pilatus continent's life form perished.
It became so bad that they ended up awakening one of the dormant Archdevils that guarded the second layer of the Nine Hells of Baator.
The Blood Duke, Krior, and the Rank 6 Pit Fiend were horrific monsters in the eyes of the other devils, but the moment the Archdevil arrived, they became lambs in front of an infernal wolf.
The Archdevil's darkness flooded the entire Pilatus continent. He came and went in less than ten seconds, and no one knew what he did, but the Blood Duke disappeared with him, and the other two Devil Dukes were severely injured.
Once light returned to the continent, the damage generated by the Blood Fight disappeared. Although hundreds of millions of devils perished, the continent's vitality and natural energies were stronger and purer.
Those who were wiser understood what the Arachdevil did after some thinking. The Rank 7 Devil Lord did not care about the rest of the devils, but any damage to the continents would harm the still weakened Iron City of Dis' origin.
The Archdevil must have stolen some of the Dukes' vitality and life force before fusing it with the Pilatus continent. As for what he did with the Blood Duke, that was still a mystery.
Duke Krior and the Rank 6 Pit Fiend hid in their castles after the Archdevil encounter. They were injured, and their enemies were waiting in the darkness to give the finishing blow.
Wars raged in the Pilatus continent due to the improved training environment and the Devil Lords trying to claim ownership. Millions of devils were dying every day, and their blood only nourished the continent even more.
The conflict did not limit itself to that place alone. In the Yuru Continent, the one dominated by Duke Krior and the Rank 6 Pit Fiend, battles were also escalating rapidly. It started due to the vacuum of power that the reclusion of these two Devil Dukes provoked.
In less important news, a new Devil Marquess emerged from Duke Krior's subordinates. It was the Shadow Frog, Severian. Although this new Marquess had not formed his Sacred Body of Laws, his impressive Law of Darkness granted him a right to have the title.
He was supposed to be the only Devil Count that survived the Bood Fortress Incursion. Of course, reality rarely matched common knowledge.
Zatiel learned all of this thanks to Faraci and the other Rank 4 Devils he controlled with Heart Seal. The Neo-Demon flew for a few minutes until the city he stole and then ruled appeared in front of him.
'A new Devil Lord took over the city during my absence. Luckily, she did not kill Faraci and the others and just forced them to sign a pretty strict contract. I guess it is time to regain my lovely devil city.' A cold smile appeared in Zatiel as the Law of Death hid his presence before transforming himself into streams of darkness and disappearing beneath the ground.
The city magic defenses were active, but Zatiel knew them like the back of his hand, so with his Darkness Constitution, it was easy for him to surpass them.
Sittin on the castle's throne room, there was a beautiful Devil Countess with a soul force corresponding to the 2nd Engraving Stage. She resembled a medusa, with her hair formed by hundreds of snakes, but the lower part of her body was humanoid.
The Devil Countess trained with her eyes closed when all of a sudden a hand grabbed her neck. She was shocked as a force entered her body, wrested away her vitality, and left death force.
Before she could even think of escaping with her True Soul, a portal appeared in her soul dimension and transported her consciousness into a nightmarish realm of eternal torture.
From the moment Zatiel appeared in the throne room until the Devil Countess lost complete control over her body and soul, less than a second passed.
As he read the Devil Lord's mind, a smile appeared on the Neo-Demon's face. The last time he faced a Devil Count in this room, he had to use schemes and all of his power, but now, he won without even using Shooting Star End or his Law Avatar.
'Other than the Mind Force I used for Rebirth Nightmare, I am at my peak.'
Once he learned everything about the Devil Countess, Zatiel left her into his space ring before focusing on the city.
The Rebirth Eye glowed, and a wave of dense, powerful, and yet undetectable Mind Force permeated the entire city.
The Devil Countess had brought five Rank 4 Devil with her when she took over the city. Without a single warning, all of them felt a force trying to invade their souls. They attempted to fight, but their struggle was futile, and soon they lost the ability to think for themselves.
Zatiel brought them to him, and after reading their minds, he ate them.
In a minute, the Neo-Demon took back the city and got rid of those not under his absolute control.
The Neo-Demon did not waste time and began to engrave hidden runes made with his unique Mind Force in the throne room. He only stopped working after the day ended.
'If I made more, the enemy could detect the energy waves, so seven is the limit.' After he finished with that, Zatiel sent a message and then began to digest the food in his belly.
Faraci had gone on with his life as usual for the past few years. No one would think he was just a puppet who constantly recollected information and would self-destruct if Zatiel gave the order.
The old Rank 4 Devil's eyes twitched for a moment as he received a command, and then he conveyed a message to all the devils in the city.
"Rejoice, my brethren. Lord Kenner has returned. He already killed the usurper and took his rightful place as our leader."
The news came as a shock for the people of the city, but since the Rank 4 Devils were already slaves, the commotion calmed down fast.
Half a day after Faraci spread the news of Kenner's return, a powerful life form appeared in the city. She was the first Devil Marquess Zatiel met in Dis, the one with two heads and a snake body.
The woman did not say a word before shattering the castle's ceiling and looking at Zatiel from the sky.
The Neo-Demon stared at the woman, but unlike the fearful expression most Devil Count would show her, he smiled coldly.
The Peak Rank 5 Devil Lord felt something wrong as she stared at the one she knew as Kenner.
'His soul aura is the same, but I feel like someone completely different is in front of me.' The Devil Marchioness's eyes shone with killing intent as she remembered her purpose for coming here.
"Count Kenner, you have been charged with helping our enemies and also wrongfully attacking Countess Moire, the Devil Lord designated to this city by me. I will put you under arrest in the name of Duke Krior. I will seal your soul now. If you resist, I have the right to kill you."
Zatiel did not stop smiling as he heard the Devil Lord's words full of might and power.
"Why do you need to fabricate so many excuses? Just say you want to know how I survived and if I got anything interesting from the Blood Fortress."
The Devil Marchioness' killing intent grew stronger when she heard that, and her aura suffocated the entire city.
"Don't worry. I will show you what you want to see." Zatiel's right eye shined as he activated the runes made with Mind Force.
