"You’re making a big mistake," the blue-eyed lady said through gritted teeth. "Do you really wish to make our Cabal your enemy?"
"Why not?" Thirteen sneered. "You’re the one who started it. This is just a consequence of your actions. How dare you do that to Sherry?"
The blue-eyed lady groaned as her bent arms and legs made a popping sound, returning to their respective places.
"This is just a clone I sent to see whether you are worthy of becoming our ally," the blue-eyed lady said arrogantly. "But it seems that you are too arrogant for your own good."
Thirteen didn’t even bat an eye as the young lady fixed her dislocated limbs and stood up, glaring at him.
"Foolish child, do you really think having a Majin King by your side gives you the right to push your weight around here in Antares?" The lady’s blue eyes glowed with power. "You have no idea who you are dealing with."
"Is that so?" Thirteen replied. "Maybe it’s you who has no idea who you are dealing with? Since you can fix the broken bones of your clone, why don’t you fix your eyes as well?"
"Ignorant human child, you will pay for your insolence."
The teenage boy then snapped his fingers, and a portal appeared behind him.
And from the depths of that portal, a pair of eyes looked in the blue-eyed lady’s direction, making her shudder.
Staring straight at her was the God of the Apocalypse, Metatron, who was wondering if Thirteen was about to toss another pitiful soul inside his domain.
"I-It can’t be!" The blue-eyed lady subconsciously took a step back the moment she realized what she was staring at. "Y-You! Who are you?!"
She pointed her shaky finger at Thirteen, who was looking at her in disdain.
"Me?" Thirteen smirked. "Didn’t you just call me an ignorant human child who will pay because of my insolence? What’s wrong? Regretting your life choices?"
Indeed, that exact emotion surged within the blue-eyed lady’s heart after she saw the being lurking behind the portal.
She originally thought that the teenage boy’s arrogance stemmed from the presence of the handsome man by his side, whom they believed to be a Majin King, which was why they didn’t fear him. After all, the Venom Heart Cabal had a Majin Queen and two Majin Princesses, all of whom were hiding inside their domain.
They deliberately concealed their forces, waiting for the Blackfang Dominion to make the stupid mistake of personally setting foot into their domain to cause trouble.
Their ultimate goal was to gain control over the entirety of Antares before building their forces to invade the other continents of Pangea.
The Majin Queen was confident about attaining victory without too many casualties from her side, so she decided to send a delegation to Kamrusepa’s domain to peacefully negotiate with her.
She believed that since Kamrusepa was a woman, and their two factions got along very well, they could come to an understanding and form an alliance.
But the appearance of Thirteen and Cranky put their plan on hold.
They couldn’t possibly think of attacking the Blackfang Dominion when another invader had come to their turf uninvited.
This was why she had sent her clone, alongside Misha, to probe if they truly belonged to Cygni, where the war had just ended.
Now that she had seen a God lurking behind the teenage boy, she understood that fighting against him was not an option.
"Please restrain your wrath, God’s Apostle," the blue-eyed lady said as she straightened her stance with forced composure. "I beg forgiveness for our offense. We meant Sherry no lasting harm. Our only goal was to seek answers, nothing more. She will recover shortly without any side effects."
Thirteen clapped thrice, looking very amused by the blue-eyed lady’s sudden change in attitude.
A moment ago, she was acting domineering, but now, she looked like a harmless, humble sheep who didn’t want to have any conflicts with him.
"That’s it?" Thirteen asked. "You apologize and think I will let things slide just like that? What happened to the arrogance you had earlier? Why are you so meek right now?"
The blue-eyed lady gritted her teeth, knowing she must do her best to prevent this confrontation from escalating.
After she had gotten a good look at Metatron, she had shifted her gaze to Cranky and finally realized that he wasn’t a Majin King.
He was stronger than a Majin King, which only meant one thing.
Either he was a Fiend or a Celestial.
Only now did she truly understand that she had poked a hornet’s nest.
And right now, the human boy that she disdained was looking at her coldly with eyes that were telling her that if her answer didn’t satisfy him, her entire faction would be erased from the face of the world.
"What must I do for you to forgive me?" the blue-eyed lady replied, looking straight into Thirteen’s eyes.
"Become my subordinate," Thirteen replied. "Your only choice is submission or total annihilation. There is no third option."
Thirteen was still a bit unstable after waking up from his dream, so he wasn’t feeling too merciful at the moment.
"Is that your true reason for coming to Antares?" the blue-eyed lady asked. "Did you form an alliance with Kamrusepa, planning to force the Blackfang Dominion and our faction to become your subordinates from the very beginning?"
"Yes," Thirteen answered. "I came here to recruit all of you to take part in a war under my banner."
"So, from the start, we didn’t have a choice?" The blue-eyed lady felt anger rising up her chest.
Everything her clone’s body saw and heard around her, as well as the emotions she felt, were all transmitted directly to the main body. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ noᴠelfire.net
Her fury tempted her to crush the boy in front of her, but she knew that if she were to do such a thing, they would reach the point of no return.
"Don’t play the victim card." Thirteen sneered. "Do not think for a moment that I don’t know about your ambition. I know that you also planned to take over the Blackfang Dominion and Kamrusepa’s faction.
"It just so happened that I gatecrashed your plans, making you unable to do your thing. Am I wrong?"
The blue-eyed lady wasn’t able to refute the teenage boy’s words because it was true.
If Thirteen didn’t appear in the picture, she would have already made her moves to use diplomacy toward Kamrusepa and the Blackfang Dominion.
If they refused to surrender peacefully and resisted becoming her subordinates, she would then resort to using force.
She and Thirteen were the same.
The only difference was that the human boy had more aces under his sleeve than she did.
"I’ve waited enough, so I’ll give you exactly ten seconds to decide."
Thirteen’s words broke her out of her trance, forcing her to make a choice.
Subjugation or total annihilation.
She wasn’t given any other option. However, her pride as a Majin Queen demanded that she not yield to someone weaker than her.
Even if she were to yield, she would do so to Cranky or to Metatron.
But yielding to Thirteen? It was beneath her.
"Let’s make a deal," the blue-eyed lady said calmly. "Even if you make us your subordinates, that doesn’t mean that we will follow you willingly. I can say now that we are willing to follow your orders, but only if you prove yourself worthy."
"I believe I said that you won’t have a third option," Thirteen replied. "But I’ll accept that condition of yours."
Thirteen knew the law of the Jinns—they revered the strong.
Even if they bowed to him now, their loyalty would still be questionable at most.
Also, after hearing that Sherry would recover without any lasting side effects, Thirteen had calmed down a bit.
"Good." The blue-eyed lady felt as if her life had been pardoned, allowing her to sigh in relief. "If you can defeat the Blackfang Dominion without His Excellency’s help, the Venom Heart Cabal will be willing to follow you."
"Then you better keep your promise," Thirteen stated. "If you try to weasel yourself out of this, I’ll make you beg me to kill you."
"I will keep my promise," The blue-eyed lady replied. "However, if you can’t prove that you’re worthy to be recognized as our leader, I humbly ask you to please let us live in peace."
"I will allow it," Thirteen nodded. "I will make my move two days from now. You will accompany me as I personally deal with the Blackfang Dominion without Azrael’s help."
"Okay. I’ll do as you say."
Metatron blinked once, then twice, wondering if Thirteen forgot about him because he wasn’t included in their conversation.
In the end, the God of the Apocalypse shook his head helplessly before closing the portal, which made the blue-eyed lady feel as if she had lost a hundred years of her long lifespan.