299 Invictus I

Ezequiel focused on the man who yelled at him, and the only thing the Neo-Demon saw was a rabid dog who followed the command of his master. There was no fear in his eyes, only disdain for the man's pathetic display of strength.

"I guess it can't be helped." Ezequiel sighed before rising from the throne and approaching the group. The Neo-Demon advanced until he was less than two meters away from Sirius and the rest before closing his eyes.

The smile on Jenner and Sirius' faces grew wider, and a vicious light filled their eyes. They thought that Ezequiel was taking a moment to swallow his pride before kneeling. 

They had heard the tales of Zatiel and Ezequiel's talent. The story about the duo's amazing feat of entering an Origin Runic Set and fighting thousands of warriors of the Heavenly Race without any help was spread throughout the empire by the Magi who saw them fight in the Beta Heavenly World. In the beginning, most people did not believe it since a Rank 3 life form reaching the boundary of Rank 4 battle power was incredible, but after one of the Soul Forging existence that was present that day confirmed them as true the status as absolute geniuses of the duo, was accepted by everybody. 

They knew that a gifted individual like Ezequiel was destined to reach a level they could only dream of, but due to the people going after the Daybreak Clan, he was doomed. 

Zatiel Daybreak was known for achieving the impossible time after time, to the point that he managed to escape the claws of the Heavenly race after being captured, and even if they were stronger, neither Sirius nor Jenner would dare to mess with him.

However, for the duo, someone like Ezequiel, who was only known for his talent in battle, was an easy target, and they could take advantage of his lack of experience to push him around.

Unfortunately for Sirius and Jenner, things didn't go as they expected. Instead of kneeling, Ezequiel's body began to grow, and the power in him experienced a qualitative change. The Neo-Demon was not returning to his original four hundred and fifty-meter body, but instead using Primordial Condensation. 

To Rank 4 life forms, the size of their opponent did not matter too much since their attacks had a range of damage that covered thousands of meters and could directly attack the soul, but just like Ezequiel's body increased in size, the natural energy in the surroundings began to act chaotically.

The Rank 3 life forms in the group were forced to activate their magical defenses since the air felt like knives piercing their skin.

Due to Ezequiel's training and increase in power, Primordial Condensation had developed greatly, and in the end, his body became fifteen meters tall, almost touching the ceiling of the floor. 

The moment Primordial Condensation reached its final form, something that shocked the Rank 4 life forms in the room happened. Ezequiel's body began to harmonize not only with the natural energy of the world but also with Origin Power, drawing it inside him to increase his power. 

Only those who had awakened their True Soul could act on the Origin Power of the world, and even then, they needed to focus solely on it, not like Ezequiel's body that attracted Origin Power on its own.

Sirius felt poisonous envy filling his heart. Even though Ezequiel was only able to act on the Origin Power in the surroundings and the density of this one was very low, the fact he could perform such a feat meant he would need less than a century to saturate his cycles with Soul Origin, unlike him who wasted thousands of years to fill his fifth cycle despite consuming all kinds of precious resources. 

The Prince of the Dragonstone Kingdom focused on the Rank 4 Magus that followed him, and when he saw the shock on his face, he sneered and sent a command with his consciousness. 

"Kolo, what do you think you are doing!. Why are you not rebuking this brat's actions, or are you waiting for me to lower myself and speak with a Rank 3 life form?."

Kolo understood that his attitude had offended his master. He suppressed the shock that the monster gave him, and once again, fury filled his face. 

"Lowly Rank 3 life form! what do you think you are doing in front of..." Kolo was not able to finish his sentence because the moment Ezequiel opened his eyes and focused on him, a great terror that originated from his bloodline filled his heart. 

For a moment, the Daybreak Magic Tower disappeared, and he saw himself in the void. His body was that of a small lizard, and a giant whose eyes resembled red moons grabbed him.

From the Magus's True Soul, a wave of Soul Origin was released, taking him back to reality. Kolo'sface was pale, and his body was soaked in a cold sweat. 

The illusion was not generated by a difference in power but due to the immense disparity between their bloodlines and the fact Kolo's will was weakened due to the shock he had just received a few moments ago. 

"How funny that someone who forced the awakening of his True Soul with forbidden techniques and could only comprehend the weakest of laws dares to speak so proudly. Your consciousness is filled with cracks, your energy pool is contaminated, and your body has all sorts of flaws. Your life force is diminishing at an accelerated rate, and your potential is completely depleted, so increasing your power is impossible. I wonder how someone so broken like you dares to speak as if he was my superior." Ezequiel did not hide the disdain in his voice. 

Kolo could not believe what he had just heard. Ezequiel just revealed to everyone his greatest shame and weakness. His bloodline was that of a Sand Dragon, a bloodline that could barely reach the standard of a Rank 4 bloodline. To make things worse, the purity of the one inside Kolo was very low, that plus the fact he never dared to risk his life or put himself in a dangerous situation to stimulate his potential, made his advance to Rank 4 almost impossible.

To avoid dying of old age at Rank 3, he accepted becoming Sirius' servant in exchange for resources and the help to awaken his soul. The process made it impossible for him to advance past the initial stage of Rank 4 and left him with severe injuries. But despite all the side effects and the fact he was now essentially a slave, he preferred it to death.

Seeing his subordinate frightened by the words of a Rank 3 life form, Sirius felt an immense shame. He released a soul pressure that filled the entire room, and the power in it forced the two Rank 3 Magi that were accompanying them to lay on the floor.

The soul pressure of a Rank 4 life form was very effective against those who had not awoken their True Soul. Sirius thought that since Ezequiel's body was so impressive, his soul would be his weak point.

The Magus accompanying Jenner, an old man that appeared to be in the last years of his life, began to cough blood, but the woman did not care about him.

Ezequiel looked at Sirius as if he was looking at a clown. During Primordial Condensation, part of his consciousness fused with his body, which made his soul defense incredibly sturdy.

The moment the Prince of the Dragonstone saw the contempt Ezequiel displayed, the same one the other Rank 4 life forms in the kingdom he belonged to displayed behind his back, an uncontrollable rage filled his heart.

Sirius' Origin Power exploded, and the laws he controlled began to act.

When Ezequiel saw that the man who was so close to him was about to release his Law Avatar, he simply shook his head. There was not a shred of worry in the Neo-Demon's heart.

Before Sirius could even form his Law Avatar, a crushing pressure assaulted the three Rank 4 life forms and threw them to the ground.

Half of the energy in the eighty Sunshines Core was redirected to the Sunlight Core at the top of the Daybreak Magic Tower, and from this one, a wave of golden light was sent to the floor where Ezequiel was present. 

Hundreds of arrows were formed from that light, and they materialized above Sirius, Jenner, and Kolo.

"Were not Magi supposed to be smart and pragmatic individuals, who can put aside their emotions and analyze their surroundings with a cold mind? How stupid can you be to think I would allow all of you to enter the Daybreak Magic Tower if I could not neutralize you whenever I wanted?." Ezequiel was truly disappointed. The fact they behaved this way told him that they were nothing but disposable pawns, that no one with power would fully trust, and that their goal was just to incite mayhem.

"What kind of magic tower is this one!" Sirius screamed, and fear could be seen in his eyes as he focused on the projectiles aiming at him. Despite being a very weak one, he was still a Peak Rank 4 life form, and yet this magic tower overpowered him easily, and the arrows that were less than five meters away from his head had the power to destroy his body and break his soul. 

It took him a moment to realize that the Daybreak Magic Tower could express Rank 5 battle power and that the moment he entered it, he was at the mercy of Ezequiel.