Loud thunderclaps boomed across the sky as Cranky and King Astrion clashed once more.
But this time, the outcome was already set in stone.
There was a reason why Celestials stood at the peak of Solterra and why no one under the heavens dared to challenge them, except for their fellow Celestials and Fiends.
With a slap of his hand, Cranky smashed King Astrion’s armor plate as if it were made from brittle crackers.
With a second, he obliterated the treasured War Axe of the King, which the latter had planned to use as his secret weapon.
Beam attacks were useless.
Tactics didn’t do anything, and all the plans that the King had made inside his mind crumbled like a house made of cards.
’T-This isn’t supposed to happen!’ King Astrion screamed internally as Cranky’s palm smacked his chest, sending him crashing toward the ground.
But before he could land, the Honey Badger appeared below him and grabbed his leg to throw him once more into the sky.
"Zion told me not to kill you," Cranky said as he raised his hand with the intention of flicking King Astrion’s head. "But that doesn’t mean that I won’t beat you half dead."
With a simple flick of his hand, King Astrion’s head snapped back as if struck by a baseball bat.
The pitiful King of Artem found himself repeatedly flicked toward the sky, getting mercilessly hit in every part of his body, suffering from pain, shame, and humiliation.
Cranky was clearly holding back, and yet, each flick was equivalent to a blow that could obliterate a small hill.
While this was happening, Shasha appeared beside Thirteen and supported his body.
"Drink this, Zion," Shasha said as she handed him a potion. "You look very pale."
Thirteen obediently drank the potion, which alleviated his discomfort a little.
But he also understood that no matter how many high-quality potions he drank, the exhaustion he felt wouldn’t disappear completely.
The backlash of using the Skip Skill was no joke. Every time he used it, his lifespan would decrease accordingly.
Having control over time and space carried an equivalent exchange that no mere mortal could shoulder on his own.
Truth be told, Thirteen wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep for a week.
But until this battle came to an end, he couldn’t rest. He still needed to ensure that the aftermath would be handled properly.
Erica, Sherry, Shana, Princess Aracelle, and Princess Xynalia also arrived beside Zion, intending to protect him from harm.
Tiona stood behind everyone, holding the flag firmly in her hand, ready to intercept anyone who would dare to harm her Master.
The demons had gathered around them, forming a protective encirclement, ensuring a layer of protection from any sudden circumstance that might arise.
Erasmus, Arthur, Hans, Mikhail, and Colbert were also nearby, serving as an entire line of defense to prevent Zion from suffering any more harm.
Shana and Princess Aracelle were both using their Holy and Divine powers to heal their beloved, but both realized that although they had managed to heal his injuries, the life force the teenage boy exuded had become faint.
It was like a candle that could go out at any moment, making both of them very anxious.
"I’m fine," Thirteen said to assure his two lovers and let them know there was nothing they should worry about. "I just pushed myself to the limit, so I’m very exhausted. I might sleep for a few days after this. When I wake up, I’ll be back to normal."
Shana and Princess Aracelle wanted to say that sleeping for that long wasn’t a good sign, but they held back on saying anything and just hugged him.
Sherry and Erica soon joined the group hug, leaving Princess Xynalia to look at them, feeling out of place.
While Thirteen was being hugged by his lovers, the heavens rumbled once more.
Cranky hurled King Astrion to the ground, creating a crater that stretched for hundreds of meters.
Dust and debris shot into the air like a volcanic eruption, but the young man simply descended, stomping on the King’s chest to pin him down.
"Stay still, bug," Cranky said coldly, his golden eyes gleaming with suppressed killing intent. "I don’t want to accidentally kill you."
King Astrion coughed blood, his body trembling uncontrollably.
His once-proud aura had shattered, reduced to a broken shell of its former glory.
He tried to speak, but the words refused to leave his mouth.
Shame burned deeper than his wounds. Before the eyes of his enemies, allies, and subjects, he was nothing but a ragdoll being toyed with by a Celestial.
"It should have been me!" King Astrion shouted, blood seeping from his lips. "I was the one who was supposed to be a Celestial! I was the one who was supposed to be standing where you are! I was the one who should be stomping on you and calling you a bug!"
Erasmus narrowed his eyes as he watched the King of Artem’s final attempt at defiance. "So this is the difference between a Celestial and a Pseudo-Celestial. It is truly like Heaven and Earth."
Frankly, he was also awed by Cranky’s overwhelming strength and wondered if Thirteen could feed him a Philosopher Stone and an Emerald Tablet, too, and make him achieve a breakthrough. The most update n0vels are published on NoveI★Fire.net
Erasmus wasn’t the only one thinking about this fact. Arthur eyed his no-good grandson, who was surrounded by his fiancees with a solemn gaze.
However, he pushed aside this thought for the time being.
He had just become a Monarch. Even if he were to suddenly jump to an Archon or a High-Archon, being a Celestial was still far from his reach.
Also, he believed that if he truly could reach that Rank, Thirteen would have already helped him do so.
The fact that his no-good grandson only allowed him to step to the Monarch Rank meant that Arthur was not yet ready to possess the power of something greater.
The remaining members of the Artemian Army had long lost their will to continue fighting and surrendered to their enemies.
Not wanting to cause needless bloodshed, the Wanderers and the Jinns also stopped and simply waited for everything to come to an end.
Cranky’s foot pressed harder, cracking the earth beneath the King’s body. "You’re lucky, worm. Zion wants you alive. Otherwise, you’d be nothing more than a smear on this battlefield."
The handsome young man then kicked the jaw of the Artemian King. The latter’s eyes rolled out of their socket, and he lost consciousness.
After making sure that King Astrion was completely unconscious, Cranky raised his fists high up in the air, declaring that the battle was finally over.
Cheers rang across the entire battlefield as the Wanderers and the Jinns celebrated their victory.
Some cried in both happiness and sadness.
Others felt relief that they somehow survived the war.
They gazed at their surroundings, which had been devastated by all that fighting.
The ground was the color of blood, proving just how intense the battle between the two armies was.
And a good distance away from all of this was King Astrion.
The King of Artem lay motionless at the center of a crater, pieces of his broken armor scattered around him and his eyes glazed with humiliation.
His pride had been stripped away more cruelly than his strength.
And just as everyone thought that it was finally over, Camazotz descended beside Cranky, rubbing his palms in excitement.
"Big Brother, can I have him?" Camazotz asked shamelessly.
Cranky gave his "little brother" a long and hard look before giving his reply.
"He is Zion’s prey," Cranky replied. "Take him someplace where he can’t cause trouble."
Although he was disappointed, the Death Bat smiled and opened a purple portal that led to the Domain of the Apocalypse.
Without any hesitation, Cranky kicked the unconscious King towards the portal, which disappeared immediately afterward.
He then glanced in Zion’s direction and reappeared instantly in front of him.
Shasha was only two meters away from where Cranky appeared, and when she saw the handsome, yet buck naked Celestial, the young lady’s face turned bright red.
"Cranky, wrap this around your waist," Thirteen summoned a bath towel and tossed it to Cranky, who frowned because he didn’t understand why Zion was asking him to cover himself.
But, he still obeyed and wrapped it around his lower body snugly, making the ladies sigh in relief.
"What now, Zion?" Cranky asked.
"For now, we rest," Thirteen replied. "After that, it will be our turn to attack."
A faint smile appeared on Cranky’s face because he still wanted to test his strength.
He and Thirteen had always played a passive role, allowing the enemy to attack them all the time.
This time, they were going to be the aggressors, and the Lightning Emperor was more than happy to become Zion’s sword, mawing down his enemies until all of them submitted to the teenage boy’s will.