The core of the Darkness Poison Duke's soul reached The Eternal River of the Afterlife, but the artifact managed to capture a significant part of his Primordial Essence.
Eon Six manipulated the blue orb and created a white pearl that contained most of the Pit Fiend's Primordial Essence before handing it over to Zatiel.
The Neo-Demon took the pearl, but confusion appeared in his eyes when he saw Eon Six also hand him a blue tablet with the word "invitation" in it.
"Soon, my race will take the spotlight. After that, there will be a great party. You can attend if you so desire."
Zatiel stared at the tablet but did not take it right away. He focused on Eon Six, and his eyes shone with a peculiar light.
"How important is honor for your race?"
The Supernova Race man was confused by the question, but a serious expression appeared on his face.
"For my race, honor means everything!"
Zatiel's eyes narrowed after hearing that. He took the tablet before nodding.
"I will be there."
Eon Six smiled when he saw the Neo-Demon take the tablet. The next second, he covered himself and Zatiel with the Law of Space's power before teleporting to the nearest city.
Zatiel captured a Devil Count and the Rank 4 Devils in the city before devouring the lesser devils. After that, he and Eon Six used the World Gate and left Dys.
...
Once he was back in the Neo-Demon Realm, Zatiel's mind went through the events in Dys. The fight in the Jupi continent was harder than he expected, and the fact that the Darkness Poison Duke could use the Eldritch Forbidden Order Words took him by surprise.
A Pit Fiend using the force from the Eldritch Universe did not surprise the Ancestor of the Neo-Demon Race. After all, he knew the thing that inhabited Baator's core.
'The Darkness Poison Duke's baptism should not have been a normal one. His strength was too little to use that power. There must be something wrong happening in that place. I need to regain the strength to visit Nexus as soon as possible.' Zatiel sighed as he thought of all the things he needed to handle.
He shook his head the next moment and focused on the task at hand. Thanks to Eon Six's red pill, he would not need to spend several months healing and could advance immediately.
However, just as he was about to seal his fourth Apocalyptic Star, a message from the NRAI reached his mind.
Zatiel's eyes narrowed, and he commanded the NRAI to teleport him.
The next instant, the Neo-Demon found himself in the Garden of Creation's sky. He saw dozens of thousands of babies playing among each other.
These babies had characteristics of the Giant Race, Elven Race, Dragon Race, and many others.
Since all the Daybreak Clan's members were Neo-Demons, Zatiel decided to move the babies to the Garden of Creation, where their souls could enjoy the nurture of the Sacred Sun Tree's aura.
None of these children had developed the wisdom to cultivate yet, but their physical might surpassed that of Rank 1 lesser demons thanks to their bloodline and racial heritage.
Zatiel left no Neo-Demon guarding this place. He gave the order to the NRAI to watch after the babies.
Other than the Final Purgatory's first layer, this Garden of Creation was the safest and more secure place in the universe. Not even the Overgod or the Magi World's leader could harm these children.
Zatiel's eyes focused on the only two people without a Chaotic Core in their hearts inside the garden. One of them was a big dog, around two meters tall.
The dog was obviously Tao. After awakening from his hibernation, he became a Rank 4 life form, but his wisdom remained the same as before.
He still enjoyed playing with the children and behaving as a regular dog would do, despite being a creature capable of creating Rank 4 Drones.
Tao had not been transformed into a Neo-Demon since Zatiel lacked knowledge about his species and did not know if creating a Bloodline Heart could affect him.
Besides, the Chaotic Core would only enhance his battle power, and Tao was not fit for the battlefield due to his mentality.
The Neo-Demon's Ancestor did not care about the dog's presence in the Garden of Creation. The one who drew his attention was the little girl riding Tao.
A second after Zatiel arrived in the Garden of Creation, a flash of white light left the Soul Throne and appeared in front of the Neo-Demon.
"Master." Ezequiel performed a slight bow to Zatiel.
"You brought that child here?" Zatiel was surprised by the monstrous physical might Ezequiel released, but analyzing his right hand's battle power could wait.
"Yes, I found her in the Blood Rift. There is a connection between us I can not explain. I brought her to the garden to keep an eye on her as I waited for you."
Zatiel's eyes narrowed after hearing that, and he looked at Ezequiel before giving an approving nod.
Although bringing someone he didn't know where the race's babies lived sounded stupid, Ezequiel's choice was the wisest one.
The NRAI protected each of the babies. It could instantly deploy a protective mantle capable of resisting a Peak Rank 8 spell.
Yami couldn't harm them with her strength. As for the little girl being able to hide her power from the NRAI. To achieve that, she should be capable of tricking the Incarnation of Death and Destruction's Omega Law. There was no living being capable of that feat.
"Tell me everything about her."
Ezequiel nodded and began to relate the events that led to their meeting, the emotions that the little girl stirred in him, and the information in the Rank 4 Demon's minds.
Despite the closeness he felt with the little girl, the Supreme Neo-Demon would not let emotions cloud his judgment. The circumstances that led to their meeting were too weird.
Since he lacked the experience to detected a hidden plot, Ezequiel decided to ask the wisest person he knew for guidance on how to proceed.
As he analyzed all the information, an expression of shock and awe appeared on Zatiel's face.
"Could it be possible?"
Confusion appeared in Ezequiel's eyes when he heard Zatiel's words.
"Master?"
Ezequiel's voice drew Zatiel back to reality, and a small smile appeared on his face before speaking.
"If there were a hidden power acting on her such as fate, the NRAI would have detected it. Your meeting was the result of causality and your destinies. There is nothing to worry about."
The Supreme Neo-Demon obtained the answer he wanted and could finally relax. He was delighted there was nothing wrong with Yami.
As the duo spoke, Yami and Tao approached them.
"Little brother, this is the Master you spoke about?"
A strange expression appeared on Ezequiel's face when he heard how Yami referred to him, but he could only sigh.
The name Evil infused awe in every Demon Lord from the Blood Rift, and Invictus was famous all over the Magi World. However, the mighty entity who owns them could not stop a little girl from calling him "little brother".
Zatiel almost laughed when he noticed the expression on Ezequiel's face and saw how the dog and girl positioned in front of him.
The dog moved his tail in front of Zatiel, and there was a smile on his face. He then began to bark as if asking the Neo-Demon to pat him.
Yami's eyes narrowed as she focused on Zatiel. She began to sniff him just like she did with Ezequiel before.
Zatiel caressed Tao's head and let the girl do whatever she wanted.
After a moment, a peculiar light appeared in Yami's eyes and stopped sniffing Zatiel.
"Your essence is pleasant, but not like in little brother's case. You smell like home."
When he heard that, Zatiel was almost sure he figured out the place from where Yami came. He smiled at the girl before shaking his head.
"Home is the place where, when you have to go there; they have to take you in. The Prima Universe is my home, little girl."
Yami stared at Zatiel for a moment after he said that, and she nodded before leaving with Tao.
Ezequiel had many questions after hearing the exchange between Yami and Zatiel, but he understood he would find out in due time. However, there was one thing he could ask immediately.
"Master, can we transform her into a Neo-Demon?"
Zatiel shook his head when he heard Ezequiel's question.
"That would not be wise. There is a unique force in the little girl's existence. It is what protected her soul from Abyss's laws and what is currently purging the evil plane's essence from her body. I don't know how it would react to the Chaotic Core."
Ezequiel understood Zatiel's words and nodded. The Chaotic Core was highly beneficial to any race, but it could be considered a parasitic entity from a certain perspective.
"Since everything is in order here, I leave you," Zatiel said nothing else and left for the Neo-Demon Realm's void. It was time for him to advance.
