System's POV

395  I Will Be Your Judge, Jury And Executioner

The sound of explosions reverberated in the surroundings as the 69th Battalion and the Valkyries raided Evuvug's territory while riding their flying mounts.

Although they had lost their King, the Insects were still very much active.

Their new leader was a Rank 7 Sovereign Orange-Spotted Blister Beetle that could unleash a spray that would instantly melt a Wanderer if it hit them.

Its attack range reached up to a mile, making it a very dangerous opponent for long-distance battles.

Although it could fly, flying wasn't its strongest skill. Because of this, it was almost always on the ground when it unleashed its Blister Spray on its enemies.

Thirteen had already briefed the 69th Battalion and the Valkyries on how to deal with the Orange-Spotted Blister Beetle.

No matter how strong the beetle was, it couldn't deal them any damage because its Blister Spray was unable to reach its enemies flying high up in the sky.

The 69th Battalion and the Valkyries sniped it from above with their Empyrium-Powered Rifles, forcing the Blister Beetle to take defensive actions.

"Don't get too confident!" Marion ordered. "Just because your enemies cannot hit you and cannot catch up to you doesn't mean you should lower your guard!"

Since she was Thirteen's Vice-Commander, everyone listened to her orders and remained vigilant as they peppered the Beetle Army from the sky.

Thirteen watched the battle from the ground with a satisfied look on his face. Having observed enough, he, Arthur, and Hans jumped into Rocky's mouth.

They would once again descend into Evuvug's Lair while all the beetles were aboveground, fighting against the intruders who had trespassed their domain. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Since Rocky already knew where to go, it didn't take long before they reached their destination.

"Remember, don't touch anything," Thirteen said. "Once the cursed Artifact latches on someone, it would try to subjugate that person and make them its slave. I know how to neutralize it, so I won't be in any danger. Just stick to the plan, and all of us will be safe."

Arthur and Hans nodded.

When the teenage boy told them that he would return to Evuvug's Lair to get a cursed weapon, both of them tried to persuade him not to go.

However, after Thirteen assured them that everything would be fine, they reluctantly agreed, on the condition that they would accompany him and serve as his bodyguards.

Arthur would not admit it personally, but Zion had an incredibly high strategic value to the Leventis Family.

There was no way he would let the teenage boy enter a dangerous situation without him.

When Rocky ejected the three humans from his Mobile Fortress, he stayed close so that he could save his Master just in case something unexpected happened.

Thirteen scanned Evuvug's Treasury, which was filled with gold coins and precious gems. For a moment, the teenage boy wondered if Evuvug was actually not a beetle but a Dragon in disguise.

After carefully looking around, he found a black metallic chest made from Adamantium at the corner of the cavern.

Thirteen didn't hesitate to run in its direction and check if its contents were intact.

After seeing that its seal was still active, the teenage boy finally breathed a sigh of relief before storing the chest inside his dimensional storage for safekeeping.

"Rocky, loot all the treasures here before we go," Thirteen ordered. The Magma Bal-Boa nodded and swallowed the piles of gold and precious gems, leaving nothing behind.

When that was done, Thirteen, Arthur, and Hans once again entered Rocky's Mobile Fortress and left the scene.

They didn't want to stay longer than needed because there was a possibility that the Centipede King might pop up again and, this time, would no longer let them escape unscathed.

After reaching the surface, Arthur immediately summoned his Winged Serpent to carry them back to the ship.

"That's enough training for now," Thirteen said through his communicator. "Everyone, retreat!"

The 69th Battalion and the Valkyries immediately circled back to the Warships in the sea and called it a day.

After getting the hang of flying in the sky, the 69th Battalion was feeling more confident in the upcoming expedition to liberate the Rigel Continent.

When everyone had safely boarded the ship, Thirteen once again went to the restricted section of the Aircraft Carrier.

He had been hoping that the chest was unscathed. Otherwise, they would have a major calamity on their hands if the Cursed Artifact managed to latch itself onto a monster.

But since the seal was still active, it meant that the adamantine chest hadn't been tampered with, and the Cursed Artifact was still inside.

In order to ensure that no one would become the victim of the artifact, he left Tiona inside his room, and asked her to behave and wait for his return.

Tiona knew that her Master only wanted to keep her safe, so she obeyed his command and didn't insist on coming with him.

The chest could be opened by someone who knew how to safely remove the seal on its body.

Of course, it could also be broken by brute strength—this was the reason why he was worried that the insects might have gone crazy due to the loss of their leader and vented by destroying everything around them.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

Thirteen carefully placed a few Cores around the Adamantine Chest, intending to use rune magic to unlock the chest safely.

As the cores lit one by one, Thirteen wrote several runes in the air, which fell upon the seal, creating cracks over its surface.

After a few minutes, the seal shattered, and the chest swung wide open.

"Your soul is mine!"

A black crystal orb jumped out of the chest and slammed directly on Thirteen's chest, making the teenage boy stagger.

"I have waited hundreds of years for this moment! Curse that human for trapping me! I will not forgive him! I will destroy everything he holds sacred!"

The cursed artifact laughed like a madman as it covered the teenage boy's body in a black metallic armor, intending to make him its vessel.

The name of the Cursed Artifact was Soul Eater. As its name suggested, it devoured the soul of its victim.

Once it latched onto a living creature, it would immediately trap its body in a black metallic armor to prevent it from escaping.

After that, it would immediately start to consume the soul, and absorb its memories, mannerisms, as well as any vital information it possessed.

This way, it could pretend to be that creature and integrate with its society, undetected.

It would then start a killing spree when the time is right, increasing its power by absorbing the souls of the slain.

When Thirteen's entire body was covered in a black metallic armor, the Soul Eater then entered the teenage boy's Sea of Consciousness and consumed him from within.

But something unexpected happened.

The Soul Eater found itself in a pitch-black space, with nothing to see except for a pair of glowing green eyes that were looking down on it from the heavens.

As a sentient artifact, it was capable of feeling human-like emotions, so the moment it saw those pair of glowing green eyes, it felt that something was terribly wrong.

"I-Impossible!" the Soul Eater shouted. "Why don't you have a soul?! What are you?!"

Just as the Soul Eater was panicking because this was its first time experiencing something like this, the owner of the glowing green eyes chuckled.

"Me?" Thirteen asked as something gigantic moved from the darkness, grabbing the Soul Eater firmly in its hands. "I'm your friendly neighborhood System of Cannon Fodders. Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no soul. Now that the introduction is over, it's time for you to serve your new Master."

From the real world, Thirteen slowly opened his eyes and summoned the Creation Sphere in his hand.

A moment later, he pressed the Creation Sphere over the chest of the black-metallic armor.

"N-No! What are you doing?!" the Soul Eater suddenly had a bad feeling after he felt the power of the Creation Sphere spread over its entire body. "Stop!"

"How many souls have you eaten?" Thirteen asked in a chilling tone. "How many lives have you ruined? It's time for you to pay for your sins, Soul Eater. I will be your judge, jury, and executioner.

"Be reborn, and serve me as your new Master. Don't worry, I'll make sure to put you to good use."

The Soul Eater screamed because, for the first time in its long existence, it felt as if every fiber of its being was breaking apart. And while it was writhing in agony with its soul reaching the breaking point, a laughter that seemed to laugh at the entire world and even the Gods themselves reached Soul Eater's ears.

That laughter, which sounded arrogant and sad at the same time, echoed in its senses just before its existence faded away.

The Soul Eater knew that it would cease to exist to give way to a new life that would be molded by its new Master, who would help him protect all that he held sacred in his hands.