System's POV

Chapter 1180: Praelium Fati [Part 4]

The barrier cracked like glass under the combined assault of the Honey Badger and the Death Bat.

Each blow from Cranky’s claws split the air like thunder, while Camazotz’s fists blurred into a storm of shadows, pounding against the shimmering dome King Astrion had conjured.

But despite their ferocity, the barrier held.

“Annoying pests!” Astrion snarled, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. “Do you truly believe two mongrels like you can bring down the King of Artem?!”

Silver light flared across his armor as the runes etched into it and his gauntlets pulsed like beating hearts.

With a roar, he expanded the barrier outward in a sudden burst, repelling both Cranky and Camazotz with explosive force.

The Honey Badger flipped in midair, claws gouging the ground as it landed with sparks dancing across its fur.

Camazotz, however, skidded across the battlefield, coughing blood yet grinning with wild delight.

“Heh… you hit harder than I expected,” Camazotz wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. “But compared to the Majin King I fought, you’re nothing special.”

King Astrion sneered, knowing full well that his opponents were simply ignorant of his abilities.

He was simply buying time for the effect of his armor to finally activate, which was happening right now.

Four pairs of wings appeared behind his back, and his power surged to a level that made Camazotz choke on his saliva.

Cranky screeched fearlessly, not intimidated by King Astrion’s sudden burst of strength that tapped into the power of a Celestial!

“Begone!” King Astrion roared as he unleashed countless lightning bolts from his hands, targeting the Allied Armies.

He couldn’t bear the fact that his army was nearly wiped out by the Wanderers and the Jinns, so he wanted to even the odds by annihilating as many of them as he could.

Just as everyone thought that they were about to be obliterated, countless runes lit up on the ground, surrounding the entire battlefield.

A word was spoken within the booming sounds of thunder, too low for anyone to hear.

And yet, that word was enough to cause a change that prevented King Astrion from having his way.

“Skip!”

A powerful golden barrier rose up from the ground, protecting everyone from the lightning barrage strong enough to wipe out more than half of the Allied Armies.

King Astrion frowned as he gazed in the distance.

There, a black knight, holding a black flag that fluttered in the breeze, met his gaze.

Zion had finally returned from the Domain of the Apocalypse, and he had quickly come to assist Cranky and Camazotz in dealing with the enemy who had once again received a power up!

Tiona appeared beside Zion in her human form and accepted the black flag that Zion handed to her.

“Together,” Tiona said softly as if reciting a promise that had been made since the dawn of mankind.

“Together,” Thirteen nodded as four pairs of steel wings erupted behind his back.

The young man took flight, and Tiona followed behind him, trailing in the sky with a black mist flowing from her shoes.

The Parade of a Hundred Demons materialized behind her, ready to fight alongside their Queen, who was dead-set in protecting her King.

“Cranky, come!” Thirteen shouted.

Without even a hint of hesitation, Cranky appeared beside Zion.

“Open wide, Cranky,” Thirteen said.

Once again, Cranky obliged, and the teenage boy tossed a purple stone and a green tablet into the Honey Badger’s mouth.

A second later, the Deity of the Valbarra Archipelago shone in a radiant light, forcing Thirteen and Tiona to distance themselves from Cranky, who was about to turn the tide in their favor.

When Zion returned to the Domain of the Apocalypse, he bargained with Metatron and exchanged the freebies he received from unlocking the Seventh, Eight, and Ninth Layers of the Treasury into rare and precious ingredients.

He didn’t touch the Tenth Layer for now, for something was telling him that it was not yet time to browse whatever it had inside.

Time was also not in his favor, so he focused on the things he could do.

When Metatron agreed and procured the materials that Thirteen had asked of him, the teenage boy immediately headed to his laboratory to perform alchemy.

Using the power of the Skip God, Thirteen created two things.

The Philosopher’s Stone and the Emerald Tablet.

And he fed these two things to Cranky!

The Philosopher’s Stone was a Legendary-Grade Item with many uses.

Some said it had the power to turn stone into any base metal: like lead, copper, and iron, then transform them into pure gold, or silver.

In some stories, it was stated that if the Philosopher’s Stone was dissolved, it can be used to create a potion granting immortality.

Some even said that it was a source of limitless spiritual and magical power, a power source that wouldn’t run out until the end of time.

Not to mention, it wasn’t only the Philosopher’s Stone that Cranky had ingested.

He had also taken the Emerald Tablet, which was something many had sought out since time immemorial.

It was said that the text written on the emerald tablet held the secret of turning a base thing into something noble, and turning mortals into divine.

But as a System, Thirteen knew more about the secrets of the Emerald Tablet like no one else did.

Deus Ex Machina, who was watching this from the Celestial Realm, almost coughed out blood after seeing what his no-good son had done.

“Y-You’re toying with Fate!” The System God shouted. “What have you done?!”

Suddenly, a voice filled with contempt and ridicule reached his ears.

“Isn’t that what Zion had set out to do after you tossed him to Pangea?”

Sun Wukong sipped wine from his gourd and flashed the System God a grin.

The corner of the System God’s lips twitched, seeing the Monkey barge into his domain without permission.

But since he had received a backlash from his attempt to kidnap Thirteen from Pangea, he didn’t have enough divinity to fight the Monkey King, who was clearly there to anger him!

“Just watch,” Sun Wukong said with a smile. “Thirteen no longer wants to play by the rules—rules that Fate had set for all living things.”

The Monkey King’s gaze landed on the Honey Badger, whose brilliance made Metatron laugh out loud since the thirteenth member of his Order once again broke his expectations.