That purple light that started in Kriz's eyes soon expanded over his body, and azure runes appeared in it. The Magus, whose soul force put him at the Late Hollow Sun Domain Stage, unleashed an aura that made even the Gods Slayers feel threatened by it.
As the leaders of the Magi World's great organizations were trying to figure out what happened with the Magus, Heinz stood up from his chair and kneeled immediately along with the other two Sky Breakers.
"Brother!"
"Father!"
"Husband!"
Dean and Gabriel were a second late, but they also were able to identify the strange force the leader of the Daybreak Clan possessed. The duo immediately adopted a respectful stance and bowed toward Kriz.
"The Scientia Kingdom's Crown Prince humbly greets the Royal Teacher!"
"The Scientia Kingdom's Second Prince humbly greets the Royal Teacher!"
Kriz turned toward the brothers and nodded before staring at the Sky Breakers and signaling them to stand up.
Even the most foolish of those present could figure out who controlled Kriz after hearing that, but they were still shocked by what they felt.
Zatiel Daybreak was less than three hundred years old, yet he had already reached the level where he could threaten Peak Supernova Domain Stage existences without even needing to be present.
The purple force with azure runes was mighty, and its nature was also bizarre. Just focusing on it affected their minds and perception of reality.
Many Gods Slayers had battled Mind Rulers, so they were familiar with Mind Force, but Zatiel's had suffered many evolutions.
Zatiel's Mind Force originated from the Rebirth Eye's Dream Dimension, and a Tier 6 Apocalyptic Star fused with it, so it would not be wrong to call it a higher form of force.
Of the Gods Slayers, the only one who maintained complete calmness was Roku. Without warning, a blast of Astral Fiend's aura emerged from him, making the entire tower tremble.
"What have you done to my man?" Roku's voice was cold, and there was killing intent in his eyes. Even if he faced an ancient existence that once stood above the Prima Universe's laws, there was no fear in the Astral Fiend's heart.
As he felt the killing intent targeting him, Kriz began to smile, and there was a positive light in his eyes.
"Hahahaha. Good, very good!" Kriz laughed as he faced the Astral Fiend, and the next second, the Magus' soul force and life force inundated the room.
Surprise appeared in Roku and the rest of the Gods Slayers when they felt those forces.
Usually, during a possession, the victim's soul force and life force would burn themselves as the controller forced that person's centers of power to overexert themselves.
However, Kriz's soul force and life force grew more powerful, as a unique power purged all the impurities and healed the damage he received over his life.
"There is no need to worry about your man. I am pushing myself to the limit to make sure not to harm him. Actually, due to my spirit running through his body and soul, he is tempered each second."
Roku's eyes narrowed when he heard that, and after a few inspections, he was sure Zatiel was telling the truth.
Once he knew his man was fine, the Astral Fiend's raging aura calmed, and he stared at Kriz for a moment before performing a slight bow.
"I greet Lord Daybreak. I need to ask, even if it is beneficial for him, why did you possess my man and come to Gods' Tomb this way?" Roku's question made perfect sense, and it was something everybody else wondered.
"It is not safe for me to enter Gods' Tomb yet, as my presence could start a dangerous chain reaction. However, I needed to speak to you, and since this involved a crucial subject, I needed to handle it myself." Kriz made a slight pause before staring at Roku with a severe expression.
"The keys."
The Magus only spoke those words, but the Astral Fiend's eyes widened as he understood Zatiel's purpose for coming to see him.
'Now?' While the others may not know what key Zatiel required, the Astral Fiend knew very well he referred to the ones that allowed access into the Astral Chaos Pagoda.
He planned to use the Astral Chaos Pagoda when his cultivation reached the absolute limit of Rank 6 and take advantage of the pagoda's power to make a fantastic breakthrough.
If his guess was correct, the duo planned to use it while still in Rank 5. Such a heavily lucky chance not being used to break through a vital cultivation barrier seemed a waste for the Astral Fiend.
There was also a possibility Zatiel and Ezequiel planned to use an even mightier lucky chance for their rise into immortality. Still, he found it hard to believe such a thing could exist.
However, that did not matter to the Astral Fiend. He promised two slots for the Astral Chaos Pagoda, and it was up to them how they used it. Besides, he would only invite mockery if he attempted to guide the cultivation of someone like Zatiel.
Roku waved his hand, and then two orbs made of intricate magic matrices appeared. He handed it over to Kriz, and this one saved it in his space ring.
Once he fulfilled his goal, a white arc of lightning emerged from Kriz's chest and created a portal in front of him.
The Magus crossed the portal the next second, but just as the white lightning was about to vanish, they heard Kriz's voice one last time.
"Ezequiel and I will enter Gods' Tomb in a few years, and we will immediately march into the Divinity Faith Army's headquarters. You may want to delay your next full power incursion until then or not. It is up to you."
The tone in the voice made clear for everybody that the speaker did not care about their decision. Whether or not they follow them, Ezequiel and Zatiel would march into the enemy territory when they entered Gods' Tomb.
Everybody turned toward Roku after hearing that. The Astral Fiend was the de facto leader and guided the Magi Divine Slayer Force during every primary incursion, so the decision was up to him.
An analytic expression appeared in the Astral Fiend's face as his eyes glowed with a powerful blue light.
"With our current power and intelligence, the damage of a full power incursion done at this moment would be feeble, so we will wait until Lord Daybreak and Invictus arrive. That is the most logical path forward."
Even if they did not like him, no one could hide the respect they felt for the Astral Fiend.
Waiting for Zatiel and Ezequiel could affect his standing in the army and make him seem weak, but the Astral Fiend did not care about any of that. He chose the path that presented the greatest overall reward for the Magi Divine Slayer Force.
...
Back in the Magi World.
In a hidden place beneath Icarus' core, there was a massive ruin. Two men sat in meditation positions, and surrounding them were twelve golem-like creatures.
Near them, there was a massive stone portal full of cracks, and it was clear the passage of time affected it. Nevertheless, there was a strange and powerful aura around it.
These golem-like creatures all had the power of Late Supernova Domain Stage existences, and despite their appearances, the light in their eyes proved they were sentient beings.
The ones they surrounded were only at the Peak Rank 5. Still, despite the superiority in numbers and cultivation level, the golems showed apprehension in their eyes. They did not dare to do anything other than calmly wait and stand guard around the duo.
Both were men and had white robes with strange patterns on their backs that seemed to embody supernatural concepts. Just trying to look at those words made the golems feel like they were staring at the sun.
The aura of one of the men constantly changed, sometimes resembling a burning volcano, others a raging storm, and there were even times he seemed to embody the calmness of the ocean. It was as if he was in perfect synchrony with the elemental power of the world.
The other man's aura made the golems' souls enter a state of lethargy. If they focused too much on him, they ran the risk of their consciousness entering a dream state.
Luckily for the golems, they could relax when finally Kriz returned and handed the winged man two orbs.
Since they have the keys, it meant the Emperor allowed them to use the Astral Chaos Pagoda. The golems returned to their original positions around the old gate, and their energies vanished.
Zatiel took the keys, and his Rebirth Eye glowed as the power he used to control the Magus returned to him.
When that happened, Krinz's face showed confusion and disorientation as he failed to understand what was happening.
Unfortunately for the Magus, neither Zatiel nor Ezequiel bothered to explain, and once each had an orb in their hands, they crushed them.
The portal began to glow with a powerful red light before pulling Zatiel and Ezequiel into it and transporting them.
The next second, the Neo-Demon Ancestor and Supreme Neo-Demon found themselves in a different dimension, and immediately they were assaulted by a red hurricane.
Ezequiel understood the nature of what assaulted them as it was the same energy that ran through his veins.
"This is Astral Qi."
The dimension had the size of a Low World, yet Astral Qi's density was so high that a red storm covered every corner of it.
They would have suffered significant injuries if their bodies were beneath Rank 6 since Astral Qi could ignore magic defenses.
"It comes from that place."
Zatiel's Rebirth Eye glowed as the Neo-Demon focused on the center of the dimension and saw a majestic pagoda in it.
The Astral Qi that filled the entire dimension was nothing but residual energy the pagoda released, meaning that what was inside it was of a much higher quality.
Zatiel and Ezequiel stared at each other before nodding and flashing toward the Astral Chaos Pagoda. They were about to use one of the most primeval forces of the universe to temper their bodies and become Rank 6 life forms.
