System's POV

Chapter 1451: Stop Raising Death Flags Please

"You finally appeared!" Zaphiel looked at his artifact, which now showed one of the last two divine keys he needed.

Seeing it far out into the sea, he remembered his collaborator’s advice. The other party had been spot on with his conclusion.

Even so, there was no turning back for him. Now that the location of the sixth key was within sight, he had no choice but to go.

"Commander, come!" Zaphiel ordered.

Immediately, the Commander of his Army appeared and knelt in front of him.

"Prepare for departure," Zaphiel ordered. "We’re heading out into the sea!"

"Yes, My Lord!" the Commander replied before leaving in haste.

Two of the seven divine keys were located far out into the sea, so they had already prepared ships for sea travel.

Of course, they could also fly there. But that would sap the strength and stamina of Zaphiel’s army, leaving none left for battle. It was still most cost effective to prepare warships powered with Beast Cores.

It could travel at great speeds, bringing them to their destination in the span of a few days.

Since Forneus had already appeared before him, Zaphiel knew the Sea Serpent was behind this ruse of luring him into the sea.

But he was fine with that.

The Celestial who commanded the Army of Heaven moved out of his palace and looked for his allies.

Since they were temporarily residing as guests, it wasn’t that hard to find them.

"You’re here," Belial said. "Do you bring good news, or are you going to tell us to keep waiting?"

"The wait is over," Zaphiel replied. "We’re heading out to sea."

Rahab narrowed his eyes, for the sea was also his dominion. He and Forneus were both the rulers of the sea.

However, due to an agreement mediated by the other Fiends and Celestials, the two had compromised and drew a clear boundary for the territories they governed.

Despite the issue being resolved, the two still held a grudge against each other, even now.

A grudge only waiting for a trigger to come to life, pitting the Celestial and Fiend of the Sea at each other’s throats.

"Where is the key?" Rahab asked.

"The Fortunate Isles," Zaphiel answered. "I don’t know if Forneus played a hand on its disappearance, but since we can see it now, it means he’s prepared to fight us."

Pharzuph smirked, while Belial chuckled. They were itching to fight someone after the humiliation they suffered in the Temple of Courage.

Now that there was a chance to face off against Forneus, Dantanian, and Wormwood, they urged Zaphiel to hurry up with his preparations.

"My army is already preparing for departure at this very moment," Zaphiel stated. "They only need four hours at most to prepare everything we need to set sail."

The Celestial then turned to Rahab. One of the reasons he had asked for the other’s help was because Rahab could help his ships move faster in the water.

The Fortunate Isles was a good distance away from land. Without Rahab’s help, it might take them a week to reach their destination.

But with the Celestial’s dominion over the sea, that one week of travel would be greatly reduced to a few days.

"I’ll leave the rest to you, Rahab," Zaphiel said.

"I understand." Rahab nodded.

Belial and Pharzuph glanced at each other and smiled at the same time. They were starting to get bored of waiting. Now that the action would resume, they would also make their final preparations.

———

Somewhere in the Fortunate Isles...

Thirteen held the Divine Key of Pride in his right hand, activating its power. He didn’t know what kind of artifact Zaphiel was using to pinpoint the location of the divine keys.

To make sure the enemy could find them, he decided to activate the key. Surely, this was enough for Zaphiel to learn its location, wherever he may be.

Dantanian, and Forneus stood nearby, looking at the teenage boy that held the key to their victory.

"How confident are you in winning against Rahab, Forneus?" Dantanian asked.

"I won’t lose," Forneus replied without hesitation.

Dantanian smiled wryly because the Immortal Fiend didn’t give him the answer he wanted to hear.

Since Forneus was immortal, he wouldn’t really lose if he wished to keep on fighting. But, "I won’t lose" was very different from "I will win".

Since even the Sea Serpent wasn’t certain of his victory against Rahab, he chose to say "I won’t lose" instead of "I will win".

"Since I’m fighting Rahab, you should fight Zaphiel," Forneus stated. "His flames are dangerous to Wormwood, so I have to rely on you to keep him in check."

Dantanian nodded. "I’ll do my best."

"Your best is not enough." Forneus clicked his tongue. "Make it happen."

Dantanian wanted to tell him to not be unreasonable. He wasn’t really a fighter. But if he just needed to stall and block one of the Celestials, he should be able to do it well.

"Wormwood can deal with Pharzuph," Dantanian said. "Cranky will deal with Belial."

"Hmm... that Honey Badger?" Forneus narrowed his eyes. "How strong is that punk, anyway?"

"I don’t know," Dantanian admitted. "But I believe he has what it takes to deal with Belial."

"I just hope he doesn’t drag us down." Forneus snorted.

"He won’t," Thirteen commented. "Cranky is very strong. He’s been fighting against stronger opponents that were leagues from his own."

Dantanian’s eyes sparkled because he had heard the stories about Cranky’s battles.

The Honey Badger’s sneak attack against Arundel the Destroyer.

Its battle in the Arcadia Archipelago.

The fight against the Majin King, where he nearly died.

Last but not the least, the battle in the Cygni Continent when he faced off against the Artemian King.

Dantanian relished underdog stories. It was for this reason that Zion and Cranky became his idols. He succeeded in pestering the Honey Badger to make him his sworn brother.

He had also tried to do the same to Zion, but the latter firmly rejected his proposal. This made Dantanian very sad. After all, if Zion became his sworn brother, wouldn’t that mean that he was a sworn brother with a legendary figure?

If any of the Monarchs in Pangea were to know that Zion had turned down the offer of a Fiend to become his sworn brother, all of them would have puked blood then and there.

They wouldn’t even think twice and accept such an offer because it guaranteed protection that would make their enemies think twice before antagonizing them.

Even Thirteen’s grandfather, Arthur, would have spanked his no-good grandson to oblivion if he heard his refusal to Dantanian’s offer.

"How long do you think it will take them to arrive here, Forneus?" Thirteen asked.

The Immortal Fiend pondered for a bit. "If they’re coming from Zaphiel’s capital city... at least three to four days with Rahab’s help. If he won’t offer his assistance, it will take them at least nine to ten days to get here."

Thirteen nodded. "So we have three days."

"More or less." Forneus shrugged. "I’ll tell my subordinates to patrol the sea, so we can know right away if they are coming."

Thirteen glanced at Tiona in the distance, and the latter nodded her head.

Her Demons had already spread out far into the sea, serving us scouts to inform Tiona if the enemy were coming.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Dantanian sighed.

"Stop raising death flags, please." Thirteen frowned. "It’s not a good thing."

Dantanian apologized before sighing a second time.

They were now at the point of no return. The only way to settle this conflict was through battle.

A battle which Dantanian didn’t know if they could win or not.

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A/N: Sorry only one Chapter today. My stomach chose this moment to declare a royal rumble with me.

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