System's POV

Chapter 1466: He Has Never Been Wrong

The remaining Infernals were hunted down by the Celestials, Fiends, and the Order of the Apocalypse.

Their sheer numbers made it impossible for them to be annihilated so easily.

These hundreds of Infernals might not be Celestial-Ranked, but there were still Rank 9 and Archon levels among them.

They had special abilities that allowed them to escape quickly or teleport away, helping them escape the pursuit of the powerhouses of Solterra.

Cranky remained behind to protect Zion. Since the teenage boy was now too weak to defend himself, he wouldn’t allow any danger to get past him.

Meanwhile, Zaphiel had fallen under Barman’s and Mammon’s custody. The two of them had no intention of killing the traitor. Even if he had summoned the Infernals to their world, he was still one of the pillars of Solterra.

The moment the Celestial was killed, the balance of power between the Celestials and Fiends would shift.

And this was something they wished to avoid. At most, they would lock up Zaphiel to prevent him from escaping in the short-term.

"Are you happy, Zion Leventis?!" Zaphiel shouted. "Are you happy that we’re stuck in this small cage?!"

"Don’t worry, Zaphiel," Thirteen replied, while he continued to rest on Stella’s lap "This battle is too small to be a world-ending calamity. There will definitely be a part two, so just sit tight and get your popcorn ready."

Zaphiel had no idea what a popcorn was, but the teenage boy’s mocking tone was enough to make him grit his teeth in anger.

He watched the teenage boy hatefully. If not for him, his ambition would have already become a reality.

Tiona fanned the young man, while Stella wiped the sweat on Thirteen’s forehead with her handkerchief.

"It’s not over yet?" Stella asked softly, in a volume that only Tiona, and the teenage boy could hear.

"Not by a long shot," Thirteen replied. "That b*tch is still not here."

"Who are you talking about?" Stella frowned.

"Fate," Thirteen answered. "It doesn’t end until she makes her appearance."

"Fate..." Stella muttered as if trying to understand what he meant by Fate making an appearance.

"Sleep for now, Master," Tiona urged. "We’ll protect you."

Cranky moved closer to the three before crouching down. "Don’t sleep out here in the open. Return to the Mobile Fortress, and ask Rocky to hide. Tiona, leave one of your clones here. I’ll update you when we’re done with the cleanup."

He might be strong, but there was still a chance that something might go past his defenses. The safest place for Thirteen was Rocky’s Mobile Fortress, and as long as the Hell Lord Bal-Boa dug deep enough, no one would be able to find them.

Knowing that his friend was right, Thirteen asked Rocky to take them to safety.

Zaphiel watched as his most hated enemy slipped away. If looks could kill, he would have already killed Zion Leventis a thousand times over!

Five hours later, the Fiends and Celestials once again gathered in the Fortunate Isles.

They had already done everything in their power to kill as many Infernals as they could. As for the rest, they would just slowly hunt them down after they wrap up the incident, and discuss what was to be done with the divine keys.

Zaphiel joined the discussion even though his arms and legs were chained by shackles. He urged everyone to listen to reason.

And to his surprise, a few of the Celestials agreed with his idea.

"We have already become stagnant," Barman said. "Maybe it’s time to see a bigger world."

"That explains why it stinks here," Forneus sneered. "You Celestials are truly rotten to your cores."

"You little snake! Can’t you just contribute to the conversation rather than taunting others?!"

"Barman, how old are you? Are you already getting senile that you’ve forgotten how to take a bath?"

"You bastard!"

Cranky sighed and wanted to leave already, but this meeting was too important to pass. He also needed to report back to Zion after he woke up, so that he would know the minutes of the meeting.

In the end, Dantanian, Forneus, and Wormwood firmly voiced their opposition. Belial, and Pharzuph, who once joined hands with Zaphiel, changed their minds and also vetoed the idea of using their key to unlock Pandora’s Treasury.

Mammon remained Neutral, and Apollyon did the same.

In the end, the conclusion was that they would hide the keys once more and destroy Zaphiel’s artifact that could locate them.

"But where is the Key of Pride?" Barman asked. "That key must not fall in the hands of ordinary men."

"After all that, you’re still calling Zion Leventis ordinary?" Dantanian scoffed. "Someone who killed three Demigods and their minions with ease? Do you even hear yourself talking?"

"I once thought that you’re the smartest among the Celestials, Barman," Forneus commented in disdain. "But it looks like that old saying is true, ’Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt’."

"Just look at Dumah. We all know he is stupid, but since he doesn’t talk much, he looks very smart at first impression."

Cahethal, the Celestial of Agriculture and secretly the strongest among the Celestials, facepalmed upon hearing the Immortal Fiend pick fights left and right.

The Celestial of Silence bristled after being low-key called stupid, but he held his anger in check and simply glared at Forneus.

"Huh? What are you glaring at, you punk?" Forneus glared back. "Is this a glaring match now? Fine you’re on!"

"Enough!" Apollyon had finally reached the limit of his patience. "Forneus, shut up. The rest, ignore him and focus on what we should be doing by now."

Barman lightly coughed to get everyone’s attention once more.

"I’m not looking down on Zion Leventis," Barman said. "I’m just saying that since the keys need to be hidden once more, he needs to return the Key of Pride. That way, we can sleep better knowing that it’s away from greedy pigs."

"Hey, I take offense to your words," Mammon commented.

"Are you a pig?" Barman scoffed.

"No?"

"Then why are you offended?"

A nerve was already bulging on Apollyon’s temples because their discussion couldn’t move forward with someone trying to pick a fight with someone.

"Are you looking for this?" Cranky opened his hand, and showed everyone the Key of Pride that belonged to Thirteen "Zion asked me to return this to you guys for safekeeping. Since the problem with Zaphiel is already solved, he planned to leave the aftermath to you guys."

Dantanian accepted the key before handing it to Mammon.

"Here, take it," Dantanian said.

"Okay." Mammon took the key, and inspected it to make sure that it was the Key of Pride. After confirming that it was indeed the key they were looking for, he placed it on the pouch where the six other keys were stored.

"Okay, since I’m busy, I vote for Barman and Mammon to take the responsibility to hide the keys," Forneus proposed. "Is there anyone who disagrees? Speak now, so you won’t regret it later."

No one rejected Forneus’ proposal, so the meeting finally wrapped up.

Barman and Mammon flew away together, leaving everyone behind.

Cahethal volunteered to look after Zaphiel, and make sure that he no longer troubled anyone.

The Celestial Army under his command were also ordered to return back to their respective territories and protect Zaphiel’s domain while their master was gone.

In the end, only Cranky, Forneus, Dantanian, and Wormwood remained in the Fortunate Isles after everyone left.

"Are you sure that’s a good idea?" Forneus asked Cranky. "Leaving the Key of Pride instead of keeping it for safety?"

"I’m just following Zion’s orders," Cranky replied. "He’s never been wrong."

"I hope you’re right, Cranky." Dantanian sighed. "While I do think that we can trust Mammon, Barman is acting very suspicious."

Cranky didn’t say anything because Thirteen had asked him to just hand over the key and remain silent.

As to what would happen next, he would just believe his friend’s words.

After all, the teenage boy was someone he trusted with his life.

Also, all those who believe in Zion knew that he didn’t do things without a reason. Since he had decided to hand the Key of Pride to others for safekeeping, he must’ve already thought of every variable that might happen.

For the time being, they would rest to recover their strength.

After all, Thirteen had asked Cranky to tell Forneus, Dantanian, and Wormwood to recover their strength because he felt that this incident wasn’t over just yet.