System's POV

Thirteen stared coldly at the Goblin Emperor as he released the arrow in his hand.

If he were fighting Lord Zorca alone, his chance of surviving would be zero.

But with the power of his Divine Artifact, he could fight toe-to-toe with the Rank 8 Sovereign.

Earlier, when the Goblin Emperor tried to cut him in half, Thirteen had reacted just as the monster made his move.

His line of sight was enough to let him read the movement of his opponent's arm, allowing him to accurately predict where the hit would land.

However, even with that, the Goblin Emperor outspeeded him, so it was impossible for him to dodge with just his speed alone.

But he wasn't alone.

There were two hundred monsters fighting alongside him, and all of them had more than a hundred skills at their disposal.

One of these skills was Telekinesis.

With dozens of monsters using their ability to pull their Master's body away from danger, Thirteen was able to dodge the killing blow that would have sliced him in half.

It required great concentration and mental power to execute such a command to his subordinates, allowing him to dodge the attack that should have ended his life.

While the Goblin Emperor was in a state of shock because of what just happened, Thirteen summoned Tiona's clone in his hand and ordered it to turn its body into adamantine.

Using it as an arrow, Thirteen aimed at the Goblin Emperor's leg because the monster's chest area was heavily armored.

Since the Goblin Emperor's exposed skin could only be found on its face, neck, arms, and legs, Thirteen chose to target its legs.

He noticed that Lord Zorca prioritized protecting his upper body over his lower body.

Because of this, he didn't hesitate to target the other party's legs, allowing Tiona's clone to release its venom after managing to pierce the monster's skin.

In short, Thirteen was dancing between a very thin line between life and death, with all of his senses sharpened to its limit.

One mistake.

All it would take was a single mistake, and he would die without realizing his goal.

However, Thirteen wasn't thinking about these thoughts.

No, the only goal in his mind was to win.

After becoming human, he felt emotions that he never felt before.

Anger, sadness, happiness, and other complex emotions that made humans the way they were were alien to him.

However, of all the emotions that had manifested since he had been born in the world, the strongest was the desire to protect his people.

The Cannon Fodders, who was the reason why he defied the System God.

This was why when he saw Erica's and Sherry's injured states, there was only one emotion that overwhelmed every other emotion in his mind and heart.

Kill.

Perhaps, this was the first time that he truly wanted to kill someone else other than Aaron Ashford, who had killed his former host.

But after the initial outburst, Thirteen regained an eerie calmness as if he had reverted to being a cold killing machine.

Every step he took was measured.

Every move was intentional.

Every action he did was calculated.

He was moving according to the most efficient way to reach his goal.

666 Moves.

That was the number of actions he needed to take based on the results of the simulations his Soul Core had run inside his head.

His every action, including his steps, dodge, attack, and other movements were included in those 666 moves, and right now, he was executing his 50th step to perfection.

In Thirteen's world, there was no one else aside from him, Tiona, the Hundred Demons, as well as the Goblin Emperor.

Everything else was shut out, including sounds, preventing him from knowing what was happening in the battle between Giga and the Goblin Army.

All of his concentration was poured onto his goal to defeat the Goblin Emperor.

If any external force or variable were to suddenly intrude in his simulation, his life would be truly in danger, for he would not be able to react in time.

However, despite this risk, he carried out his vengeance against the Goblin Emperor with a single-mindedness that would put any living existence to shame.

"200," Thirteen muttered as he dodged the Goblin Emperor's kick, with Tiona, and her subordinates using telekinesis.

"216," Thirteen said as he ordered Kesari to jump behind the Goblin Emperor's back and bite the monster's exposed neck.

"Shut up!" Lord Zorca shouted in anger as he swatted the Ratman, turning him into a bloodmist. "Just die already!"

By now, the Goblin Emperor's body was covered from head to toe with purple blood, which was composed of a very potent poison made from Tiona's venom.

Lord Zorca was now starting to feel his body turning sluggish as the toxin inside and outside of his body started to affect his movements.

For him, every second that passed felt like hours.

Every minute felt like days.

Every ten minutes felt like an eternity.

As the Goblin Emperor stared at his opponent, whose green glowing eyes locked onto his body with a vengeance, he couldn't help but start to feel something that he had never felt in a long time…

Fear.

Ever since he reached his current rank, only a handful of beings within the Fractured Heaven could threaten his life.

This was also the reason why he boldly attacked the Ancestral Grounds of the Ratmen with his army and took their Shard of Origin in order to put their entire race under his control.

Because he was strong, he could do anything he wanted without worrying about the consequences of his actions.

When he teleported inside Rocky's Mobile Fortress, he used his power to subjugate Erica, Sherry, and Ratatoskr without effort.

Because he was strong, he could easily defeat his enemies, which made him arrogant.

But now, his arrogance had long disappeared, replaced by anxiety.

"300."

Thirteen's voice haunted him, making him feel fearful.

He didn't know why the boy was counting out loud.

But he had a feeling that the moment his opponent stopped counting, something bad would happen to him.

"450."

The Goblin Emperor didn't know how much time had passed since he started his fight against the human boy.

It could have only been ten minutes, it could have been half an hour, or maybe it had been several hours since their battle began.

However, there came a time when he could no longer lift the axe in his hand, so he used what strength he had left to throw it at the hateful boy, who casually took a step sideways, making his Great Axe fly harmlessly past his body.

'600," Thirteen muttered as he slapped the Goblin Emperor's face with the handle of his Flag, breaking several of the monster's teeth.

"No more!" Lord Zorca shouted. "Stop! I surrender!"

The Goblin Emperor tried to run away, but he could no longer move his legs.

The venom had already spread all over his body, making escape no longer possible.

The Venomous Parasites were spreading venom from inside his body, weakening his regeneration ability and lowering his resistance.

"660."

Thirteen's cold voice rang in Lord Zorca's ears as Zion's foot smashed on top of his head, forcing it to crash on the ground, forcing him to eat dirt.

"665," Thirteen pointed the bladed tip of his Divine Artifact on the Goblin Emperor's neck, readying for the final blow.

"666."

As if hearing the toll of a bell, Lord Zorca knew then and there that he was now about to die.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as the cold and unfeeling voice rang inside his head, heralding his death.

Through his fading vision, the Goblin Emperor saw a dark shadow appear behind his enemy and raised its hand.

As the bladed tip of Thirteen's banner was about to pierce the Goblin Emperor's neck, its movement came to a complete halt.

Thirteen, who had put every ounce of his strength into this final strike, was unable to land the killing blow—a hand held onto his wrist, preventing him from thrusting his spear forward.

"Let go, Metatron," Thirteen said coldly. "Mind your own business."

The God of the Order of the Apocalypse chuckled, but he didn't let go of Thirteen's hand.

"Calm down, Thirteen," Metatron said softly. "I have a proposal to make."

"I'm not interested," Thirteen replied. "I'm about to earn hundreds of Apocalypse Points. Don't get in my way."

"Don't worry, I will give you your Apocalypse Points, but hear me out first."

"No. I'll kill him first, then we'll talk."

Metatron sighed before opening a Dimensional Gate and kicking the Goblin Emperor inside of it, preventing Thirteen from landing the killing blow.

"Cool your head off for a while, Thirteen," Metatron said before releasing the boy's wrist. "Don't revert back to being an emotionless killing machine. That is not the way you should live your life."

After saying those words, Metatron entered the Dimensional Gate he created.

It was only then that Thirteen realized time had come to a complete stop after Metatron appeared.

When the dimensional gate closed, time returned to normal, and the sounds in the surroundings reached his ears.

However, before he could even do anything, his body swayed and collapsed to the ground.

As darkness slowly descended upon him, he felt a pair of hands hold onto his body, pulling him close into a gentle embrace.

Erica, who got out of Rocky's body, saw the teenage boy standing with blood flowing from his orifices.

The use of Telekinesis had also damaged him internally, but despite that, he continued to use it in order to fight.

Thirteen had used everything he had to defeat the Goblin Emperor, worsening his internal injuries. Truth be told, if Metatron didn't stop him, his injuries might have reached the point of no return.

Just before he was about to lose consciousness, his gaze met Erica's, and he saw the tears falling from her eyes.

"Stupid girl, I'm not dead yet," Thirteen said. "Stop crying. You look… ugly when you… cry."

Thirteen closed his eyes, losing consciousness in Erica's arms.

Seeing this, the girl started to panic. She hurriedly drank a potion and pressed her lips over the teenage boy's lips, forcing him to drink the medicine down to the last drop.