System's POV

Chapter 1430: Dancing On The Palm Of His Hands

"What’s next?" Dantanian asked.

A few hours had passed since the battle ended, and Wormwood was still using the nutrients from the lands to recover from his injuries.

He was no longer the towering tree from before and only stood ten-meters tall.

"Don’t add me to your ’We’," Mammon commented. "I’m just a passerby who happened to be in the right place at the right time. If Wormwood didn’t promise to give me something valuable, I wouldn’t have interfered in the battle."

Dantanian wanted to say that Mammon was too greedy and should have helped Wormwood free of charge since they were all Fiends.

But deep down, he knew that Mammon would only ally with someone who could pay the price of his service.

And having him on their side wouldn’t be cheap.

Forneus snorted. "You talk as if you didn’t enjoy punching Belial in the face."

Mammon adjusted his golden gauntlets and gave the Sea Serpent a lazy glance. "Enjoyment is a bonus. Payment is mandatory."

Wormwood’s wooden body creaked as faint green light pulsed within the cracks of his bark. The corrupted land around him slowly stabilized, though the soil remained dark and sickly.

"I will honor... our agreement," Wormwood said in a low rumble. "Once I have fully recovered."

Mammon’s golden eyes gleamed. "Good. I would hate to collect interest."

Dantanian rubbed his temples. "Can we focus? Zaphiel retreated, but he will return. And next time, he won’t underestimate us."

"He didn’t underestimate us," Forneus replied flatly. "He underestimated me."

There was killing intent in his voice.

For hundreds of years, he had been labeled the weakest among them. The one who always needed to recover after a fight. The one who would eventually lose if pressed long enough.

Today proved otherwise.

But Zaphiel had seen it too.

Which meant the Celestial would prepare.

He might ask the other Celestials for help, or worse, bribe Mammon to betray them.

A few minutes later, Wormwood presented a green crystal to the Fiend of Greed as payment for his help.

"Now that I’ve been paid, I’m out of here," Mammon stated. "Good luck to all of you."

"Wait!" Forneus stood and blocked Mammon’s path. "Promise us one thing."

"And that is?" Mammon arched an eyebrow.

"You will not betray us and help Zaphiel when he tries to negotiate with you," Forneus replied. "I want you to promise me this using your reputation as a Merchant."

Mammon narrowed his eyes, calculations flashing in his head. After all, his word was absolute. Once he promised something, he was duty-bound to keep it without fail.

"And why should I listen to you?" Mammon asked.

"If you help them, I’ll destroy all of your cities," Forneus threatened. "I’ll declare to the world that anyone who uses your coins for trade will become my enemy.

"I don’t care if I raze all the cities in the continent just to make everyone fear me. I swear this on my name as the Immortal Fiend."

Dantanian’s and Wormwood’s expressions became serious the moment Forneus made his vow.

Now that the Sea Serpent had proven that he was no longer the weakest among the Fiends, his threat had just grown much more dangerous.

Forneus was already destructive in nature hundreds of years ago. But now, his threats could no longer be brushed off like it was nothing.

"Fine," Mammon agreed to gritted teeth. "I, Mammon, will not interfere in the feud between you and Zaphiel. I will not give him information or actively fight in battles. But I will still sell weapons and resources to him. This is my bottom line."

"Very well, I can agree to that." Forneus nodded. "Just make sure to keep your word."

"My word is absolute." Mammon scoffed. "I hope he gives you a very painful death."

Mammon turned into a gold coin and shot toward the heavens, traveling at absurd speeds.

While he might not be as fast as Dantanian, he was still the second fastest among the Fiends and Celestials. This allowed him to travel to far away places where trade could be made in the span of a few days.

"What are we going to do now?" Dantanian repeated the question he asked a while ago.

"Carry me and Wormwood," Forneus ordered. "We are going back to Aurumvale."

"I can already see Mammon’s annoyed face when he realizes that we’ve come back to his territory." Dantanian’s lips twitched after hearing their next destination.

The Immortal Fiend frowned. He also didn’t want to see the face of the Greedy Fiend right now. That said, he decided to change the location of their meeting.

"Take Wormwood to the Valbarra Archipelago," Forneus stated. "After that, come back to pick me up and take me there too. Then go to Aurumvale and pick up Zion. Although I don’t want to admit it, that boy has brains. We need him to come up with a strategy to deal with Zaphiel and his allies."

"Good." Dantanian nodded. "Wormwood, please shrink yourself a bit more."

Wormwood nodded and shrank until he was only a foot-tall.

Dantanian could usually carry two to three people at the same time. However, he couldn’t do that now. Wormwood might be smaller now, but he weighed like a mountain. If he tried to carry Forneus at the same time, even walking would be out of question, let alone running.

Also, the Fiend of Many Faces thought that going to the Valbarra Archipelago was a good idea.

It was far out into the sea, and Cranky was also there.

Dantanian was certain that Wormwood and Forneus would be surprised to see a newly born Celestial they had never heard of before.

When Dantanian finally carried Wormwood away, the Sea Serpent heaved a deep sigh.

He felt very complicated right now. If he hadn’t been woken up by Zion during his slumber, his closest friend among the Fiends might have perished right now.

If he hadn’t been in the City of Aurumvale with Dantanian, he couldn’t have arrived to help his friend in time.

The positive outcome they had now could be attributed to Zion.

If not for the fact that he knew the kid was on his side, he would definitely think that this was a scheme that the teenager had planned beforehand.

"That brat, Zion." Forneus clicked his tongue in anger. "I feel like we’re just dancing on the palm of his hands."

Inside the Domain of the Apocalypse, Camazotz, Kamrusepa, Paimon, Zapar, Metatron, and the monster army all looked at the teenage boy who was currently munching on popcorn without a care in the world.

Deep inside, they were starting to empathize with the Immortal Fiend.

They knew for a fact how sly Thirteen was, and if they were to become his enemy, they wouldn’t even know that they had been dancing on the palm of his hand until it was too late.