System's POV
chapter-308-2

"Your blood taste like sh*t," Camazotz said as he used his arms to wrap around Zazriel's wrinkled face. "But, thanks for the Apocalypse Points."

Without even giving his opponent to say his last words, Camazotz decisively twisted the High Archon's neck, breaking it.

After severe blood loss, Zazriel was already weakened to the point that he could no longer offer any resistance.

His lifeless body then collapsed on the ground, making the Death Bat raise his hands high up in the air in a victory pose before roaring with all of his might.

The Artemians then glanced in his direction, and were horrified when they saw that one of their High Archons had been killed.

Some of them began to retreat towards the Purple Gate in a desperate attempt to go home, but to their surprise, the Gate could no longer be seen, making them panic.

It had been there just a few seconds ago, but now, it was nowhere to be found.

Sensing that their opponents had lost their will to fight, the Order of Raziel focused their attention on enslaving as many Artemians as possible.

They knew that there might not be another opportunity to gain a monster that didn't belong to their world.

The business-minded individuals were already thinking of auctioning some of the captured Artemians, which they believed would get a high bid on the black market.

After roaring with all of his might, Camazotz remembered that he should loot Zazriel's body, especially the armor which had given him a hard time earlier.

However, when his gaze landed on the dead Artemian, the latter was already naked.

Camazotz's jaw almost dropped when he saw the ten-year-old boy, trying to take off one of the rings from Zazriel's finger.

"Thirteen, you bastard!" Camazotz grabbed the hateful boy, who had managed to store Zazriel's ring into his storage space before the Death Bat picked him up like a kitten. "Why did you take my spoils?!"

"Your spoils?" Thirteen asked with a confused expression. "What spoils? Did you forget? You got your ass handed to you earlier. If not for me, you would have been dead a long time ago, you know?"

Camazotz wasn't able to refute the boy's words because it was true. However, he was still the one that dealt the killing blow to his enemy, so he believed that he should at least get the armor for his troubles.

"Thirteen, my dear friend, my partner in crime, my buddy, don't do this to me, man," Camazotz decided to take a step back and negotiate with the boy. "Don't do me dirty, man. Don't do me dirty. We are best buds, right?"

The corner of Thirteen's lips twitched because of the shameless way that the Death Bat was using to butter him up.

But, this worked perfectly for him.

A Legendary Ranked Armor might be good, but he was unable to wield such an item at this point in time.

Of course, he could also give the armor to his family, or his grandparents to make them stronger.

But, he decided not to do that.

Camazotz proved to be a reliable ally, so he decided that he could loan the armor to him, under Metatron's special contract.

That way, he could borrow the armor if there was an emergency, and let his Grandfather, Arthur, equip it in battle.

With this setup, not only would it make Camazotz happy, it also opened up the possibility of future collaboration as well.

After telling the Death Bat that he would loan the armor to him later, the Majin Prince became happy because he believed that his negotiation skills managed to convince the boy to allow him to use the armor for himself.

"There are still Artemians left," Thirteen pointed at Kalaziel, who seemed to have already lost the will to fight. "Deal with him first."

"Okay!" Camazotz didn't hesitate and tag-teamed with Kamrusepa to bring the High Archon to his knees.

But, when the Death Bat was about to deal the killing blow, Kamrusepa stopped him, and offered Kalaziel a choice.

"Become my subordinate, and I will allow you to live," Kamrusepa declared. "Otherwise, I will give you a dog's death. So, what will you choose?"

Kalaziel, who didn't want to die, agreed to Kamrusepa's request, making Camazotz extremely jealous.

He thought that he already managed to close the gap of power between him and Kamrusepa after he acquired the Rank 9 Sovereigns, who were now being brainwashed by Metatron in the Treasury of the Apocalypse.

Now, the Majin Princess of Prophecy had acquired a High Archon, who was just as strong as her as a subordinate, which made the Death Bat's liver itch in envy.

Kamrusepa then created the Contract of the Apocalypse, which would bind Kalaziel to her service for eternity.

Of course, Camazotz and Thirteen asked the Majin Princess to add a few quotes in the contract, stating that Kalaziel was not allowed to attack Thirteen and Camazotz, even if Kamrusepa ordered him to.

The Majin Princess found this development quite amusing, but she decided to accept her allies' proposal, so that there wouldn't be any hard feelings between them.

The Artemians, who now numbered less than two hundred, surrendered after Kalaziel was subjugated.

Thirteen didn't bother to oversee how the other factions treated all of the Artemians who surrendered, because he had a more pressing issue to deal with.

After asking Rocky to take him to Uncle Boo and Albion, the ten-year-old saw an extremely heartbreaking scene. The Beholder, and the Unicorn, who had both taken their human forms, wept bitterly as they held the wrinkled body of the dying Moon Princess.

Callie was in Albion's embrace, while Uncle Boo held her hand, while bawling his eyes out.

Both could tell that their beloved only had a few minutes left to live, and yet, despite the pain she was feeling, she held onto the two monsters' hands, who loved her very much with a smile on her face.

"Thank you, Zion," Callie said softly. "Now, I do not have to hurt anyone any longer. I am finally free…"

Uncle Boo's wailing intensified, while Albion's tears fell like rain.

The two of them were willing to give up their lives just to save Callie, and yet, they still failed in the end.

Looking at this sad scene, Thirteen crouched down and very lightly patted Callie's head, as if telling her that she did well.

Callie, who thought that she was being praised, smiled sweetly, as a single tear slid down the side of her face.

She could tell that death was about to claim her, because her vision was starting to dim.

The Moon Princess could barely see the three beside her because her vision was failing her.

"Hold me, a little tighter, Boo, Albion," Callie said softly. "It's getting dark, and I'm feeling a bit scared."

The two Monsters did as she asked and hugged her gently, not wanting to crush her weak, and frail body.

While the victors were cheering because they had won the battle, there were two monsters who wept bitterly because the body of the girl they loved was starting to grow cold.

Thirteen bit his lips, and closed his eyes.

"I invoke Article 13 of the Contract," Thirteen declared.

Suddenly, time came to a complete stop, followed by a long and deep sigh that came from behind the ten-year-old.

"Thirteen, you shouldn't casually invoke the agreement, especially when there is nothing that needs to be discussed," Laplace Demon complained. "You already know the rules, right? We have an agreeme—."

especially when there is nothing that needs to be discussed," Laplace Demon complained. "You already know the rules, right? "Hey, Laplace Demon," Thirteen said to stop the Demi-human Rabbit from finishing whatever he was going to say. "Do you believe in happy endings?"

"I don't," Laplace Demon replied in a heartbeat.

"I don't believe in them either." Thirteen nodded in agreement. "But, right now, we can make a happy ending. So, can I ask you for a favor?"

The right-hand man of 'The One', pursed his lips.

"And why should I do that?" Laplace Demon asked with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Because, you and The One are not truly omnipotent," Thirteen looked at the sad scene in front of him that was frozen in time.

Uncle Boo and Albion were hugging Callie, whose face had already become extremely pale.

He was certain that the moment Laplace Demon returned time to normal, the Moon Princess would die in less than a minute.

"There are things that you cannot do because of certain restrictions placed upon the two of you," Thirteen added. "And, in order to handle the things that you cannot do, you will need someone to do it for you.

"So, how about it? Do me one favor, and I'll do you a favor as well. It doesn't matter what favor you ask of me, as long as it will not go past my bottom line."

"Even if it's not you, we can always choose other Wanderers to do the things that we want to do," Laplace Demon countered. "I'm sure that they will be more than happy to do something for us."

Thirteen crouched down to hold Callie's wrinkled hand.

A hand that had done her best to fight against her Fate, but still lost in the end.

"Well, that may be true, but I doubt that you'll find someone more competent than me to do the job," Thirteen stated. "In the future, you will look back on this day, and regret the fact that you didn't accept my offer when I asked it of you."

Laplace Demon didn't answer right away because he knew that he couldn't rule out the fact that Thirteen was right.

Just as he was pondering on what to do, a voice reached his ear.

"Agree to his condition," The One said. "But, warn him that this will be just a one time thing."

Laplace Demon nodded and passed his Employer's message to Thirteen.

"Tell us what you have in mind," Laplace Demon stated. "We will at least listen to your proposal."

Thirteen sighed internally because he now had a chance to save the pitiful girl, whose life was hanging in the balance.

Now that the two Omnipotent beings of Solterra were willing to listen to his request, he told them what he wanted to happen.

After listening to his words, the Laplace Demon, and The One, looked at the ten-year-old, as if he was mad.

"So, will you grant me this favor?" Thirteen asked after he finished his explanation.

The Laplace Demon sighed before waving his hand.

A moment later, Shasha and Alessia appeared beside Thirteen.

The Demi-Human Rabbit then snapped his fingers, unfreezing the two, and allowed them to move in a world where time had already stopped moving.

The two of them would play a role in creating the happy ending that Thirteen wished to have for the three pitiful creatures, who had suffered many decades due to the workings of Fate.