The Artemians who surrendered were put under the joint management of the Jinns and Wanderers.
Meanwhile, Thirteen secured Metatron’s permission for Erasmus to temporarily enter the Domain of the Apocalypse.
Understanding that the teenage boy must have something in mind, Metatron agreed and allowed the Lord of Death to enter his domain.
The teenage boy didn’t waste any time, aware of his approaching limit.
He could collapse at any moment. But before then, he wanted to make sure that things were in order before he slept like a log.
King Astrion was chained in a room under Metatron’s direct control.
This prevented anyone from the order to talk to the Artemian King without his permission.
The moment King Astrion saw Zion, his face contorted in anger and his eyes grew sharp like a sword.
If looks could kill, Thirteen would have definitely died over a dozen times already. This text is hosted at novel✦fire.net
"Metatron, I have a favor to ask," Thirteen said. "Can you help his soul cross over to the afterlife?"
"No," Metatron replied without hesitation. "We Gods are not allowed to directly end the life of a mortal, especially when they are bound strongly by the threads of Fate."
King Astrion was a villain, and the only one who should have defeated him was a Hero.
But Cranky, who was once a Cannon Fodder, had transcended into a Paragon and was neither a Hero, a Villain, a Cannon Fodder, nor an Extra.
They were already outside Fate’s control, which prematurely ended King Astrion’s supposed-to-be reign of terror.
"I see." Thirteen nodded in understanding. "I only wished for him to pass safely, but since you can’t do that, it can’t be helped. Erasmus, extract his soul from his body."
"I see." Erasmus smiled evilly. "So this is why you asked me to come with you."
Upon hearing what was about to happen to him, King Astrion struggled to break free from his chains as he hurled curses at Zion and Erasmus, who were approaching him.
"You can’t kill me!" King Astrion shouted. "I am going to be the strongest Celestial in existence! All worlds, all races, all will bow before me!"
"If that is what makes you happy, keep on thinking that way," Erasmus replied in a teasing tone.
The Lord of Death then raised his hand, his blazing gaze fixed on the King of Artem in front of him.
"Your Soul is mine!" Erasmus declared as he activated his soul-extracting ability.
King Astrion shouted in pain as his soul was being forcefully extracted from his body, but he fought back with everything he had.
Since his soul was powerful, Erasmus was having a difficult time pulling it away from the King’s body.
Thirteen already expected the process not to go smoothly, so he helped Erasmus with the power he possessed.
"Fers Du Celestia," Thirteen ordered, and a single golden chain flew from his hand, piercing King Astrion’s chest.
The scream of the King of Artem became a notch higher as Thirteen’s Chain of Heaven wrapped itself around his spiritual core.
The Chains specialized in binding any forms of divinity, and since a soul was considered Divine, Thirteen could also capture it if he wanted.
Gripping that single golden chain with both hands, Thirteen started to pull.
His strength was no longer as it used to be, having reached his limit. However, with his help, the soul that had refused to budge had finally loosened a bit, making King Astrion feel as if his body was being split apart.
Camazotz, who had also accompanied Thirteen, decided to hold the chain and pull as well.
Half a minute later, King Astrion’s soul was already halfway detached from his body, and he screamed for mercy and forgiveness.
Metatron watched all of this with an evil smile on his face. He didn’t know what Thirteen planned to do with King Astrion’s soul, but he was more than happy to wait to see what the teenage boy had in store for him.
Finally, after nearly a five-minute tug of war, King Astrion’s soul was pulled out of his body.
Erasmus chuckled and unhesitatingly wrapped King Astrion’s soul with his magic, then forcefully stored him inside a spiritual dagger.
"What now, Thirteen?" Erasmus asked as he looked at the dagger in his hand. "Surely, you didn’t ask me to come here just for this, right?"
Thirteen nodded. "Erasmus, living in that body is very inconvenient for your goals, isn’t it? So, how about we ask for Metatron’s help and have your soul transferred into King Astrion’s body?"
The Lord of Death’s jaw opened wide in shock, initially assuming that Zion’s goal was to turn the King’s soul into a servant who would obey his command.
"Y-You want me to take over his body?" Erasmus asked in surprise.
"You don’t want to?" Thirteen asked back.
"Well, I’m not saying I don’t want to," Erasmus answered. "It’s just surprising, you know?"
Thirteen lightly tapped the Lord of Death’s waist and continued his explanation.
"We will attack Artem after our forces have rested and made adequate preparations," Thirteen explained. "And seeing their former King lead an army to conquer his own lands will definitely lower the morale of their troops.
"I am reaching my limit, Erasmus. I don’t know when I’ll wake up. But when I do, I hope you have already extracted all the information from King Astrion’s soul. After that, exorcise his spirit, so he can enter the cycle of reincarnation.
"You can use his body as your new vessel, but make sure to leave your old one as a backup just in case things don’t work out the way we want."
Thirteen then looked at Metatron and bowed his head. "Please, Metatron, can you help Erasmus safely take control of King Astrion’s body?"
The God of the Apocalypse rubbed his chin before giving an evil chuckle.
"Fine, but I have conditions," Metatron replied. "Using my power for non-members is something I refuse to do. So, I thought of a wonderful idea. I will make an exception and make Erasmus the Fourteenth Member of the Order of the Apocalypse.
"By the way, this offer is non-negotiable, non-transferrable, and I will not take no for an answer. The answer is only Yes, yes, and YES. Do I make myself clear, Erasmus?"
The Lord of Death flashed a wicked grin and gave Metatron a thumbs up.
"You know, the moment I saw you, I thought you were my long lost older brother," Erasmus said, which made Metatron laugh out loud.
"Hahaha! Welcome to the family, Erasmus," Metatron lightly patted the Lord of Death’s shoulder. "I’m sure you and I will do great things together."
The two evildoers both had devilish smiles on their faces, which made Camazotz shudder.
Thirteen, on the other hand, smiled faintly before letting his body finally collapse from exhaustion.
Erasmus knew that the teenage boy was already on his limit, so he caught him in time.
As he gazed at his unconscious, pale face, the Lord of Death couldn’t help but feel blessed that his System had appeared before him during the time that he needed him the most.
"Sleep well, Thirteen," Erasmus said. "When you wake up, the world will be a brighter place to live in."
As Thirteen’s consciousness sank into darkness, three ladies, who looked like Valkyries, held him gently.
They pulled his spirit to the lands where the World Tree, Yggdrasil, used to stand tall, watching over the ten realms that had once lived in harmony with each other.