"Activate the alarm! A prisoner is breaking out!"

The leader of the squadron angels, the same one who captured Zodiak, ordered his subordinate before vanishing. Along with dozens of armed angels, he flew towards the 4th underground level of the prison.

This place was a prison, the biggest and most fortified of its kind, in fact. It was situated right outside of Heaven, on a solitary and inhabitable planet called 'Lost Cause'. This prison had countless dangerous beings that tainted the history and caused irreparable damage to the world.

The deeper the level, the more powerful the criminals are. As they could not properly gauge Zodiak's power and only felt it from a distance, they threw him to the 4th level. The deepest level is, apparently, the 13th level, where, in the past, two of the Twelve were imprisoned.

"Circle around him! Don't let him breathe!"

The angel leader signaled for his subordinates to hurry up whilst grabbing the lance hanging on his back and readying himself. In just a few seconds, the motionless Zodiak was surrounded from all corners, his ominous Dark Magic suppressed by the ever-so-increasing aura of the angels. Whatever it was, it was able to resist the Dark Magic though they need a great quantity of it.

The first one to make a move was the angel with four pairs of wings, he rushed at the prisoner like a bullet and stabbed with his lance, releasing a blinding white light which pushed back all the Dark Magic. The moment the sharp tip of the lance struck Zodiak, he became dark cloud which easily circled behind the angel leader.

The eight-winged angel was about to reflexively dodge but he couldn't as he mistakenly stepped on invisible talismans which exploded, destabilizing his body and actually turning his leg bloody. Zodiak appeared from behind and stretched his hand, unleashing a black vortex which instantly pulled the angel.

Unfortunately, before it managed to completely corrupt him, several angels jumped in and helped their leader though, in the process, two were sucked inside the vortex, never to appear again.

Sadly, Zodiak couldn't keep it for long, nevertheless, this was but the beginning of his assaults. The dozens of angels became frightened as they saw countless black arrows fly at them with lightning speed, they swung down their weapon and raised their shields, successfully blocking the arrows but alas, they were but a distraction which bought Zodiak enough time to finish casting the next skill.

The whole abruptly turned jet black and, from out of nowhere, dark spikes sprung from the ground, stabbing all the angels, either turned them into bloody mist or consuming their whole.

Only a few resilient ones survived, along with the leader, of course.

"Tsk! We made a mistake. He's too dangerous to be in the 4th level."

They were currently at the 3rd Level and they definitely lacked the man-power to stop Zodiak. Nonetheless, the squadron angel leader didn't give up or retreat and instead, he made use of his eight wings, which started flapping and released golden particles. Everything the particles touched, it instantly reverted back to its healthy state, whether it's the environment or the half-dead angels. The user was no exception, his leg fully recovered and his body was rejuvenated as if he was never hit by the black vortex.

"Don't let him get to the second floor. Reinforcements are coming."

The eight-winged angel retreated to the back while ordering the remaining angels. He raised his lance and pointed it upwards before closing his eyes and mumbling incomprehensible gibberish.

Zodiak didn't remain idle and continued his bombardment. The angels became suicidal as they executed their ultimate attacks, uncaring about their bodies. However, they could not resist the Dark Magic lurking around Zodiak, consuming everything and stopped their attacks. Even if one managed to somehow bypass the Dark Barrier, it will be blocked by a thick wall made from black bones.

One angel was lucky enough to get close to Zodiak and attempted to cut him in pieces but he ended up being impaled by a bone spear. Zodiak grumbled and walked up to him, curious about the wings' function.

"It's funny… they seem artificial."

He crouched down and ripped the wings from the angel's body, causing a lot of blood to gush out, nevertheless, the feel of the wings was metallic and unlike his expectations. From what Aneirin said, Angels were creatures that belonged to the Heaven and Hell Universe and are considered God's children. They carry out his will and absolutely loathe anything related to the demons so it isn't surprising to see them lock Zodiak here, after all, his Dark Magic looks and feels evil.

"It seems like the perfect time to try it."

Zodiak discarded the bloody wings and looked at the last angel, who changed in appearance. The angel became like a giant, his eight wings now surrounded by some sort of golden metal armor. The lance was cut in two and became blade-like weapons.

Honestly, Zodiak didn't feel threatened, he dumbly looked at the spectacle before stabbing his chest and slowly pulling out a small black sphere. He threw it on the ground, which caused it to shatter then be replaced by something ominous and malevolent.

The angel, now done with its transformation, took large strides and slashed down with both the blades. Just as the enormous weapons were about to hit Zodiak, an equally large hand sprung from the ground and punched the angel's gut, pushing him back a few steps.

Zodiak grinned and jumped in the air but he didn't fall back and, instead, landed on the back of a humanoid black creature which rose from the ground. Whatever he summoned, it didn't have a face and was made from Dark Magic though it had some necromancy in it as there were bones spikes protruding out of its chest.

The now large angel and the massive monster summoned by Zodiak faced each other and exchanged several blows, each time they clashed, the whole 3rd level violently shook and the roof showed signs of breaking.

Zodiak assisted the monster by throwing talismans and turning the ground into dark spikes, limiting the angel's movement and finishing the battle rather quickly.

In less than five minutes, the fight was over and the angel, now back to his normal appearance, laid on the blackened ground, coughing blood while struggling to get up. The escapee coldly looked at the dying angel before ordering the monster to squash him.

A few minutes later, Zodiak appeared on the 2nd level and even more angels appeared, this time fully prepared to take him down. There were two four-winged angels and sixteen three-winged angels. However, before anything broke out, the whole prison fiercely shook and the deafening sounds of thunder could be heard coming from above.

Zodiak didn't know what's happening but the angels panicked. The weaker ones withdrew while the tough ones took defensive stances, afraid to be hit by the incoming tribulation.

"Halt! It's a Celestial Tribulation."

A female angel with eight wings, all shining with golden light, shouted loudly while conjuring a shield of light above all the remaining angels. She paid no more heed to Zodiak and considered him as a dead man. Angels had full faith in the Heavens, which is the source of all tribulation, so, when they heard the wild thunderclaps, they sheathed their weapon and retreated to a safe location.

As for Zodiak, he remained in the dark and, to make matters worse, he seemed to be in the tribulation's way. He wasn't the cause of it but that doesn't mean he won't be hit by it. He dismounted from the motionless monster and raised his head, looking at the breaking roof.

His body involuntarily shivered, which indicated the start of a disaster. He raised both of his hands and created a thick dark barrier, moreover, the dark monster used its body to block thick red thunderbolts that descended from above.

The loud and ear-piercing sounds of thunderclaps resounded across the whole prison, causing all the guards and prisoners to hide in a corner. In the meantime, Zodiak's barrier along with the dark monster were able to successfully block the incoming projectiles.