System's POV

Twenty minutes before Camazotz stepped into the portal that led to Pangea…

"Hahaha! I wonder how Zion will react once he discovers I'm the one crossing over to his home world?" Camazotz laughed. "What do you think? Would he be surprised?"

"Surely, he'll be surprised," Paimon commented. "Just don't forget—Kamrusepa and I helped you make this happen. It's quite unfortunate that only one of us can pass through this gate. One more, and it will become unstable."

"Indeed." Camazotz sighed in regret. "But I'll still be taking some of your subordinates with me as promised, so you won't complain about me not helping you build a foundation in Pangea."

"As you should." Paimon scoffed. "I also paid a heavy price for this gate, you know?"

Kamrusepa, who was standing in front of the gate and was using her power of divination, suddenly giggled.

"What's wrong?" Camazotz asked. "What did you see on the other side?"

"I saw Thirteen," Kamrusepa said. "And he'll give you a very warm welcome once the two of you meet."

"Awww, shucks…" Camazotz scratched his head, but he still couldn't help but smile after hearing Kamrusepa's words.

They had been quite busy preparing for this day, so the three of them weren't always in the Domain of the Apocalypse like they used to.

"Well, then. I should go ahead and prepare to meet Zion," Camazotz said as he looked at the countless monsters behind his back.

Five Rank 9 Sovereigns, 20 Rank 8 Sovereigns, and dozens of other High-Ranking Jinns stood at the ready.

Paimon and Kamrusepa had sent one Rank 9 Sovereign and four Rank 8 Sovereigns each to accompany Camazotz in his journey to Pangea.

Of course, he had left some of his subordinates in his domain to manage it while he was gone.

With this force backing him up, Camazotz was confident that he could swallow the entirety of the Cygni Continent and make it his own territory.

The Death Bat was grinning ear to ear, excited to see Thirteen's expression after he saw the army that he would lead to Pangea.

"Camazotz, once the gate opens, you will go alone first," Kamrusepa said with a smile. "The rest of your army will follow half an hour after you cross over to Pangea."

"Why?" Camazotz asked in confusion. "Why can't they travel with me?"

"It's because Thirteen is waiting for you on the other side," Kamrusepa replied. "Wouldn't you like to have a chat with him first, then surprise him later with the army under your command?"

Camazotz blinked before snapping his fingers. "Why didn't I think of that? That way, he will be shocked twice."

"Right?" Kamrusepa giggled as her eyes turned into crescents. "It will be a 'shocking' experience."

When Kamrusepa looked at the other side of the gate using her powers, she saw Thirteen commanding the army of humanity, their weapons of war targeted at the gate.

Knowing Thirteen, she was confident that the teenage boy would give the Death Bat a warm welcome.

However, that warm welcome might wipe out the vanguard of their army, which was why Kamrusepa said that Camazots should cross over by himself first, followed by his army after half an hour.

She believed that things would have already died down by then, and none of their forces had to suffer from Thirteen's greeting.

———

Twenty minutes later…

"Sh*t," Camazotz cursed before taking a deep breath.

A few seconds later, he unleashed a supersonic screech that created a powerful shockwave in front of him.

This detonated the missiles and artillery shells that were about to rain down on him, making them explode mid-air.

The first volley of attacks ended, but the second barrage was already on its way.

Camazotz no longer took things lying down and spread his wings wide before taking off to the skies.

He didn't expect that the warm greeting that Kamrusepa was referring to earlier was a bombardment that could have wiped out the vanguard of his army.

"Now I understand why she said I should go alone for the first thirty minutes,' Camazotz thought as he used his powerful senses to locate his no-good friend, Thirteen, who was behind all of this.

Finding the teenage boy wasn't so hard because he was also wearing the Ring of the Apocalypse.

These rings resonated with each other within a fifty-mile radius, informing them if a member of their organization was nearby.

"Zion, you bastard!" Camazotz roared in anger before descending from the sky, breaking past the sound barrier.

The Monarchs and the Thrones weren't even able to see or do anything as the Death Bat appeared in front of Zion and grabbed his collar, raising him up in the air.

Arthur recognized Camazotz, and hastily raised his hand to prevent the others from attacking the Majin Prince.

Of course, even if they attacked the Death Bat, there was no way for them to defeat him, especially since Camazotz was now more powerful than he was in the past.

"This…" Lawrence glanced at Arthur because he didn't understand why he wasn't doing anything.

"It's okay," Arthur replied as he continued to stare at the Death Bat, who was holding his grandson in his hand. "He and Zion are friends."

Friends?

The Monarchs and the Thrones looked at this scene anxiously. This was the first time they heard that Zion was friends with a Majin Prince.

"That was a very warm greeting," Camazotz said with a devilish smile on his face. "I knew that b*tch Kamrusepa wouldn't ask me to go alone without a reason. I came here to surprise you, but the one that was surprised was me."

"No, I am very surprised that you're here," Thirteen replied, lightly tapping Camazotz's hand as if telling him to put him down. "So this is the reason why you're always away from that place."

Camazotz clicked his tongue but still slowly lowered the teenage boy until his feet touched the ground.

"How did you do it?" Thirteen asked. "You couldn't have done this yourself."

"Of course, I didn't do it alone," Camazotz snorted. "Kamrusepa and Paimon helped me."

"And what's your purpose for crossing over?"

"What else? From now on, this land is my territory!"

Thirteen blinked once, then twic,e before nodding in understanding.

"Okay, give me a minute," Thirteen said before tapping his communicator. "Everyone, hold your ground. The Jinns that will come out of this gate are all allies. All of you can now make your preparations to return to Casimir City."

After giving his orders, the Army obeyed without question.

One by one, the Commanders ordered their battalions to return to Casimir City to resupply for the next battle.

"So, where is your army?" Thirteen asked. "It's not too shabby, right?"

"Of course, it's not shabby," Camazotz replied. "And, even without my army, I alone am enough to conquer this land. Don't you agree?"

Thirteen smirked, but he didn't refute Camazotz's words.

If it were Camazotz of the past, he would have said that he couldn't conquer the Cygni Continent on his own.

But the current Camazotz was different.

He was no longer the Death Bat that bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Camazotz was now a true powerhouse in his own right, which could even give Majin Kings a hard time if he fought with his life on the line.

Thirteen wouldn't admit it, but having Camazotz around was very assuring.

Especially now that so many variables are appearing on the continent, where a new war was about to begin.