System's POV

386  The 6th Layer Of The Treasury Of The Apocalypse [Part 1]

"Hey, Thirteen. Can I eat these guys?"

"They belong to Metatron. If you want to eat them, then go ahead. After all, it's not my head that's going to roll."

"Then how about this cocoon? Can I eat it?"

"Hands off, you fucking bat. That's mine."

Thirteen glared at Camazotz, who simply laughed out loud after being glared at by the teenage boy who had just arrived in the Treasury of the Apocalypse.

Evuvug was using its body to protect the egg from the Death Bat, who was at the very corner of the Fourth Layer of the Treasury.

"Hey~ When are you going to return that armor you borrowed?" Camazotz asked. "The month-long agreement is just a few days away."

"That's the reason why I came here," Thirteen stated. "You can take it back."

The teenage boy raised his hand, and an orb of light emerged from it.

"Finally!" Camazotz happily wore the armor that made him nearly invincible. "So, how is it? Did it serve its purpose?"

"No," Thirteen replied. "The one whom I lent that armor to thought that using it was too cowardly, so he took it off before going all out against his enemy."

"Haaa? What an idiot." Camazotz sneered. "He can practically fight unscathed with this armor, yet he still chose to risk his life without it? Whoever you lent the armor to must be a fool."

"Perhaps," Thirteen neither agreed to nor denied the Death Bat's words.

Arthur had chosen to remove his armor in his fight against the King Manticore, which had been a great gamble.

Fortunately, he won in the end, so everything was well.

But deep inside, Thirteen's impression of Arthur improved a bit because of what he did.

Those who pursued strength should not hide behind a cheat-like item. It would cause them to become rusty and too dependent on it.

Arthur always faced challenges head-on. He wasn't one to shy away from a battle to the death.

The teenage boy then looked at the Brain Beetle, who was very overprotective of its egg, and asked it to step aside.

Of course, Evuvug didn't obey and even glared at the boy.

Thirteen clicked his tongue, then used his Trump Card.

"Metatron, this bug is getting in my way," Thirteen said.

The Guardian of the Order of the Apocalypse appeared beside Thirteen and glanced at the Brain Beetle with an amused look on his face.

"Are you going to step aside or not?" Metatron asked.

The Brain Beetle's body shuddered before reluctantly stepping aside and watching the human boy approach its egg.

After spending several days in the Order of the Apocalypse, it had grown fearful of Metatron, whose very existence was enough to make it yield.

The Bird Man, Zed, looked at this scene calmly while leaning against the wall of the treasury.

Just like Thirteen had said, they were now possessions of Metatron, and the one who gets to decide whether they lived or died was him.

After having died nearly dozens of times in an attempt to escape his eternal prison, the Bird Man finally gave up.

His only hope was that Metatron would get bored of him and finally give him a quick, painless death.

Thirteen touched the cocoon with his right hand and closed his eyes.

He could feel the strong beating of the monster's heart inside it, as well as the fear it radiated.

Brain Beetles possessed powerful Psychic Powers.

Even though this one was still inside its egg, it was already aware of its current situation. In fact, it only needed two more weeks before it broke out of its cocoon.

However, it planned to stay inside for a longer time after deeming that the outside world was too scary for it.

"I know you can hear me," Thirteen said as he opened his eyes to look at the cocoon in front of him. "I also know that you can understand me. So, I will give you a choice. Serve me, and I will let you live. Refuse, and I'll roast you, then eat you. "However, since Metatron can revive you, I will repeat this process over and over again until you submit."

Evuvug screeched angrily, unable to endure the teenage boy threatening to bully its child.

However, that was the only thing it could do.

Metatron had paralyzed its body, so it couldn't move and do anything to protect its child. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

While the Zed and Evuvug belonged to Metatron, the egg belonged to Zion.

Whatever he wanted to do with it was under his jurisdiction.

"How about we strike a deal?" Thirteen asked the cocoon. "I'll let you see the sun once a month, then you serve me loyally. How does that sound?"

The cocoon shook, feeling helpless against the teenage boy who planned to use its powers for his own benefit.

Metatron, on the other hand, only chuckled from the side, finding Thirteen's way of taming the young Brain Beetle quite amusing.

"I know that you will hatch in two weeks," Thirteen said. "It's no use hiding this information from me. You can try to hide and stay inside your cocoon, but I can simply break it open. After that, I'll make sure you understand who your new master is."

The teenage boy then laughed like a third-rate villain, making the Brain Beetle inside the cocoon shudder.

Camazotz found this funny, so he laughed along with Thirteen. "You two are creepy when you're together."

The teenage boy and the Death Bat looked behind them and saw Kamrusepa enter the Fourth Layer of the Treasury.

"Thirteen, you asked me to come, so here I am," Kamrusepa said. "Do you perhaps want to ask me for a favor?"

"That's right." Thirteen nodded.

"It won't be cheap."

"I know. But you're the only one that I can count on, Kamrusepa."

"Hey! Hey! What are you two planning? Why am I not aware of this? We're the Trinity of the Apocalypse, Right? Whatever you are doing, I want to join as well!"

"It's not that big of a deal, Camazotz," Thirteen stated. "I'm just going to ask Kamrusepa to allow me to choose something from the Sixth Layer of her treasury. She still hadn't used up her quota for this year, so I want her to pick something good for me."

"W-What?! That's unfair!" Camazotz glared at the Majin Princess. "A few days ago, when I asked you for a favor—to let me pick something from your treasury, you rejected me! How come you're doing it for Thirteen?"

"Why else?" Kamrusepa looked at the Death Bat with contempt. "Compared to you, Thirteen is more useful to me. I don't mind giving him a favor. Besides, I already helped you get four Rank 9 Sovereigns as your subordinates. You even got that Artemian Armor when we divided our spoils. "I didn't try to fight you for it. After all, you're the weakest link in our Trinity. So can you stop being an extra baggage and start carrying your own weight?"

"Huh?!" Camazotz, who had been called the weakest link in their alliance, walked toward the Majin Princess and looked down on her. "Who are you calling the weakest link? Can't you see that this pipsqueak could die if I just flick him with my finger?"

Kamrusepa chuckled. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. Thirteen is just an ant in your eyes, but when it comes to value, his existence is greater than yours. If I had to choose only one ally between the two of you, I'd choose Thirteen anytime."

The Death Bat and the Majin Princess glared at each other for a few seconds until a light cough sounded beside them.

"Kamrusepa, can we just ignore this weakling and go to the 6th Layer already?" Thirteen asked. "I still need to handle a few things in Pangea. I can't stay here for long."

"Of course," Kamrusepa replied. "Metatron, please take us to the 6th Layer."

"Hey! I want to go there as well!" Camazotz declared.

"You still don't have the qualification to enter a higher layer," Metatron replied.

"Then why are you allowing Thirteen?" Camazotz asked back. "This is discrimination!"

"It is," Metatron nodded in agreement. "But what can you do about it?"

The Death Bat blinked once then twice because he didn't have a comeback for Metatron's question.

In the end, the God of the Apocalypse clapped his hands together, sending the teenage boy and the Majin Princess to the 6th Layer of the Treasury.

Thirteen was hoping that the Majin Princess, as well as the other members of the Apocalypse, had overlooked an artifact like the Creation Sphere, which he acquired when he unlocked the Fourth Layer of the Treasury.