System's POV

Two hours after Thirteen ended the live broadcast featuring his torture of Prince Zorren…

"You're finally back, Zion," Shana said with a smile before hugging the teenage boy tightly.

She then leaned closer to his ear and whispered something.

The Saintess asked why Princess Aracelle was acting strangely, even locking herself up in the room Zion had provided for her stay in the headquarters of the Central Government.

"She looks so scared," Shana said softly. "She was trembling so badly while watching TV. We asked her why, but she didn't answer us and just kept watching. We have no idea what's wrong since all we can see and hear are static and white noise. Did you do something that scared her that much?"

"I did," Thirteen replied. "I didn't want to let you see it, so I asked Metatron to only let Jinns see it."

The young lady nodded in understanding. If Zion didn't want them to see something, then he must have a good reason for it.

Although she was curious, she decided to no longer ask about the matter.

The Saintess then left the room because she needed to finalize their return trip back to Livia City, where they'd regroup with the rest of the Hero party.

When she was certain that Shana was truly gone, Erica approached Zion and asked him what had happened.

This time, Thirteen didn't hide anything from the Sorceress. Unlike Shana, the teenage boy knew Erica was built differently.

He wanted to keep the Saintess ignorant of his cruel side because he didn't want her to get worried about him.

Thirteen was sure that Shana could accept his cruel side as well, but he deemed that now was not the time for her to see it.

The only thing Thirteen didn't mention to Erica was that the original Prince Zorren was already dead. He also said nothing about one of his demons now possessing the body of the Skavari Prince, making him Zion's spy at the highest level.

"I see. So that's why Aracelle is so terrified," Erica replied. "Good thing you didn't allow us to see that. You know I love you very much, but I don't want to see you play the role of the bad guy."

"But I really am a bad guy," Thirteen said.

"You might be one." Erica agreed. "But you are my bad guy. That is enough for me."

Sherry wasn't in the room at the moment as she had followed Princess Aracelle to keep her company. Erica was worried about the princess, so she asked Sherry to look after her for the time being.

"Maybe Aracelle remembered her own suffering under your hands after watching Prince Zorren getting tortured," Erica commented. "Now I can understand why she looked so pale."

"I'll talk to her later," Thirteen replied.

"No." Erica shook her head. "Give her some time. It will be best if you talk to her tomorrow when she's calmer. Seeing you right now might make her suffer from PTSD."

Thirteen decided to listen to Erica. After all, there were still some things he didn't understand about women.

Suddenly, the two teenagers heard the notification sound on their communicator.

Seeing that the number came from an unknown caller, Thirteen smirked and accepted the call.

The projection of a Demihuman Rat appeared in front of them, and it looked at Thirteen with a glare filled with killing intent.

"I am Vorren," Vorren said. "The second-in-command of the Skavari Race sent here to your world. What do you want in return for our Prince?"

Prince Zorren's Guardian wanted to hurl insults at Zion, but he knew this would only complicate things. With that in mind, he decided to hold back his anger and asked the human what he wished in exchange for the release of their prince.

"What can you offer me?" Thirteen asked back with a smile.

"Stop playing games, and just tell me what you want," Vorren stated. "You know all too well that we just arrived in this world, and we don't have anything of value aside from ourselves. So, what must we do for you to return our Prince?

"Do you want us to offer you Princess Laventia in exchange for our Prince? We can do that if you prefer equivalent exchange."

"There's no need for such nonsense," Thirteen replied. "I can easily capture her if I want to, so your help is worthless. You ask me what I want, but are you sure you can give it to me?"

Vorren narrowed his gaze. "Speak your demands. I'll know if we can give it to you once we know what you want."

"I heard that you and the Martens are mortal enemies," Thirteen replied. "My demand is simple. Attack their main headquarters here in the Cygni Continent. I don't care what method you use or whether you fail in this endeavor.

"You can even just attack them quickly and leave just as fast without killing anyone. Just make sure that you deal significant damage to their base."

Vorren sneered. "So, you've done your research, huh?"

The Skavari and the Martens were mortal enemies.

The Martens, who were composed of Weasel-kin, Ferrets, and Otters, had an irredeemable grudge against the Skavari.

They had even waged countless wars in Gomorra, partly because the Skavari had corrupted the Ancestral Land of the Martens during their expansion of territory.

Even now, skirmishes between the two factions were taking place in the Cygni Continent, albeit on a smaller scale and in places unseen by most.

"You said we can just come and go as we please, right?" Vorren asked.

"Yes," Thirteen replied. "You can even just dump your poop in their city before running away. If you do that, I'll release your Prince."

"I don't trust you." Vorren sneered. "Instead of making us pay a ransom, you just want us to fight our nemesis, which we will still do even if you don't tell us. Just what are you scheming?"

"Whether I am scheming or not doesn't matter." Thirteen smirked. "The only question here is whether you want your prince back or not."

"Fine." Vorren nodded. "We will do as you ask. We will hit them hard, then flee without suffering any casualties."

"Attack three days from now," Thirteen stated. "I want to send my people to see if you really did what you are told or if you're just messing with me."

Vorren snorted but didn't say anything else. If he didn't retrieve Prince Zorren soon, his head would fly off once the main force of the Skavari Race crossed over to Pangea

He had a few weeks until then, so he was desperate to have the Prince back regardless of the cost.

"Good." Thirteen nodded. "I look forward to some good news."

Thirteen ended the call before tapping a few buttons on his communicator.

This time, a projection of a Weaselkin appeared in front of him.

"Prince Orryn, I have asked the Skavari to attack your Headquarters three days from now.

"Good!" the Prince of the Marten smiled evilly. "Prince Xylen didn't lie when he said you are very easy to talk to. Also, I enjoyed the show very much. But I must admit—even if he's my enemy, I still pity him. I think you've overdone it. Is he still alive?"

"Of course he is still alive," Thirteen answered.

"Then why don't you send him to us? I promise that we will compensate you greatly."

"I'm sorry, but I'm still waiting for your compensation for our first agreement. You asked me to give you an opportunity to deal a decisive blow to the Skavari Race. Three days from now, you will get that opportunity. By then, I will ask you for the compensation we agreed on."

"Of course, Zion," Prince Orrn nodded. "Since you did your part, we will make sure you are satisfied with your compensation."

The two then talked for two more minutes before Prince Orryn ended the call.

The smile on his face disappeared, replaced with a sneer.

"Your Highness, you should be careful when making a deal with that human," Prince Orryn's subordinate commented. "He cannot be trusted."

"Of course, I know that," Prince Orryn replied. "Both of us are just using each other. But let's put that aside for now. You already know what is going to happen in three days. I want you to make sure that we will be able to kill as many of those vermin as possible. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" the subordinate pledged.

The prince then closed his eyes, remembering Prince Zorren's desperate expression as he was skinned alive.

'Zion Leventis,' Prince Orryn thought. 'It's too bad that we are bound to become enemies in the future.'

Truth be told, the one person that the Jinns wished to eliminate the most was Zion Leventis.

Back then, they had only heard rumors of him from the Wanderers that they had captured.

But now that they had seen him in action, they realized there might be some truth to those rumors, especially after he managed to capture both Princess Aracelle and Prince Zorren, who both belonged to two very powerful factions in the world of Gomorra.