After that short laugh, Zatiel could not help but release a small sigh as he thought of the hundreds of chess pieces he needed to keep an eye on.
On one side, there were the Principal World and Planes, dozens of Rank 9 life forms and hundreds of Rank 8, and the hidden entities who are waiting for the right moment to show themselves. And in the other, the Eldritch Universe, Yami's original home, and most important of all, the eternal darkness which has already defeated more than once the full force of a super universe.
'One step at a time.' Those words became a motto for Zatiel as he found himself repeating them again and again.
The Neo-Demon took a deep breath before emptying his mind and beginning to work.
Eight pairs of hands made of Mind Force emerged from his body. Using the energy contained in the All-Devouring Domain, Zatiel began to create nine Animax Soul Runes.
If he worked on Rank 6 Animax Soul Runes, he could not divide his mind and multitask, but the unconscious Neo-Demons only needed Peak Rank 5.
None of them had sufficient power to activate a Rank 6 Animax Soul Rune long enough to be helpful in battle. It would defeat the purpose of the runes if they exhausted themselves before the fight was over.
The encounter against Ezequiel gave Zatiel all the information he needed to choose the Animax Soul Runes that fitted best to their battle style.
It only took the Neo-Demon nineteen days to finish them all. Like with the drops of blood, he commanded the NRAI to create small portals and sent the runes to Heinz and the others.
The nine Neo-Demons regained consciousness a few days after the battle. Still, they remained in the void in a hibernation state, feeding on the endless Elemental Chaos around them to enhance their recovery speed.
When they saw the runes, they immediately stored them in their space ring before returning to their slumber.
'Now that is over, I need to improve mine and Ezequiel's Animax Soul Rune to Rank 6, but for that, I require Soul Law Domain existences' True Souls.'
Zatiel could not fight in his current condition as his body still needed a few more months to acclimate to the fourth Apocalyptic Star's pressure.
The Neo-Demon continued creating All-Devouring Seals as he waited for the Rank 6 True Souls to arrive.
Before the fourth day of training ended, Ezequiel appeared in the sky of the Fornes continent. He carried a gargantuan demonic lizard in his right hand.
The Supreme Neo-Demon made the demon gently land on the ground before taking a fifteen thousand-meter-long bone centipede from his space ring and leaving it close to Zatiel.
Even without merging with Entropy, Ezequiel's power still reached the Hollow Sun Doman Stage, so capturing a Rank 6 Demon who lacked an Inner Law Dimension was not hard.
Zatiel's Rebirth Eye glowed the moment the Rank 6 Demons appeared, and he forcefully extracted their souls and left them in the Dream Dimension.
Then, flaming black tree branches emerged from his chest and pierced into the bodies of the demons, consuming their vitality, flesh, and blood.
Since he already reached Rank 5, Zatiel's soul could control the Tree of Massacre fused with his body even if this one became a Rank 6 life form.
"You can come back in a few months for the improved Vajra Terminus Body. By the way, do not push your cultivation beyond the Flesh Engraving Stage. I have a plan for my Sacred Body of Laws, and since you can use the Astral Chaos Omega Law's power, it may help you too, but I will implement it in a few years."
"Yes, Master." Ezequiel did not ask what the plan for the Sacred Body of Laws was and immediately acknowledged Zatiel's instructions. He had absolute faith in the man that put him on the path of power.
The Supreme Neo-Demon and Yami disappeared the next moment and left the Neo-Demon Realm once again. This time the duo traveled to a High World whose surface was covered entirely by water.
As the Tree of Masacre grew stronger by devouring the Demon Lords, Zatiel began to work in the Rank 6 Shooting Star End.
He did not need to make the entire Animax Soul Rune again, only the essential parts, and then fuse it with the rune already engraved in his True Soul.
While Zatiel worked, the nine Neo-Demons finished their recovery and left the Neo-Demon Realm. Although the fight had not produced a drastic improvement in their battle power, their wills rose to an entirely new level.
Zatiel spent forty days completing the Rank 6 Shooting Star End's essential parts, and he immediately fused them with the rune in the blue humanoid inside the Inner Law Dimension.
The process went without a problem. Zatiel's battle power did not obtain a fantastic improvement like when he first engraved the rune since he only raised Shooting Star End from Peak Rank 5 to Early Rank 6. However, it would still push his speed to the level that a Late Hollow Sun Domain Stage existence would find very hard to respond.
After that, he began to work in the Animax Soul Rune for Ezequiel. He finished in less than a month and left the rune floating in the sky. The Supreme Neo-Demon could come and get it whenever he wanted.
Zatiel received a pleasant surprise after he finished with the runes. The Tree of Massacre entered Rank 6 after thoroughly devouring the Demon Lords, and Hades completed his weapons.
Zatiel pulled back the Tree of Massacre's branches into his body and mixed his consciousness and Mind Force into the weapons, learning their abilities and marking them with his soul force.
The bone sword's appearance did not change, but the power in it grew immensely. The three marks in the weapons were still there, but now the first one released a torrent of blue flames with Battor's Law of Destruction at the Minor Completion level. The second pushed the Law of Destruction's power to the Half Completion level, and the last mark released so much fire that it could flood an entire continent or burn an ocean.
'I can maintain the first mark activated at all times and use the power of my Absolute Solar Yang True Doomsday Body to compress the flames into a blue edge around the sword. I could activate the second mark using the energy stored in the All-Devouring Domain along with my Elemental Chaos, Soul Origin, and Rebirth Force. I don't think I can activate the third mark yet.'
After analyzing the bone sword, he focused on the bone daggers. They fulfilled every requirement he gave to Hades. His Mind Force blended perfectly with them, and there was a silver nucleus in their handle that worked as an energy pool.
Zatiel stored the bone sword in his space ring and the next second teleported to the void along with the bone daggers.
He pushed the All-Devouring Domain's power to the maximum and filled the daggers' energy pools with Elemental Chaos.
After that, he took out dozens of materials for rune crafting from his space ring before making the Nether Crow and Undying Leviathan appear.
Both incarnations have accompanied him for a long time, but their strength could not keep up with his monstrous growth even after fusing with the body and souls of powerful creatures.
Luckily, the daggers made with a Rank 6 Pit Fiend's bones and Primordial Essence gave Zatiel the chance to create an ability where the incarnations could be helpful once again.