System's POV

Chapter 810  The Hunter And The Hunted [Part 2]

"So, theoretically speaking, if I take Shana, the rest will have a higher chance to be looked over, right?"

"Right," Metatron replied. "In theory, that is. But since you already pissed off this monster, he might just vent his anger on your friends to make you suffer."

Thirteen closed his eyes but didn't activate his hyperfocus. Truth be told, he didn't need to ask the question of whether Erica and the others would be overlooked by the Monster if he just took Shana away.

However, the mental strain he received from using his Hyper Focus had taken a toll on him. Every time he thought too deeply, he'd have a headache that was too hard to bear.

Metatron knew this as well, so he didn't answer the teenage boy's question with, "you already know the answer to this question, so there's no point in asking me."

Half a minute later, Thirteen sighed internally. 'So this problematic situation revolves around the fact that the Monster wanted Shana to be its Queen,' Thirteen thought after receiving all the information that he could get from Metatron about the Alien-like Monster.

Just fighting one of them was already a very difficult task, especially since the majority of his Trump Cards were in Pangea, not in Solterra.

The Order of the Apocalypse also had its rules, so Zion couldn't just bring Camazotz, Paimon, and Kamrusepa to the scene to deal with his enemy.

His allies would need to travel to his location, using their own abilities, which would take them several weeks.

Also, even if they wanted to, they wouldn't dare do it because it was close to the Domain of the Celestial Zaphiel, who was one of the natural enemies of Jinns and Majins.

In short, Zion was on his own.

If he wanted to save Erica and the others, he needed to make hard choices.

And one of those choices was to take Shana away and go as far away as they could from their friends and acquaintances.

As long as he did that, there was a very high chance that the Alien-like Monster would ignore everyone else because they would not be useful to him in any way.

"If I may give you advice, Zion, I think you should just take the Saintess and bring her to the Temple of Zaphiel," Metatron proposed. "That way, you won't have to worry about her safety anymore."

Thirteen nodded in agreement, knowing that it was indeed the most viable option.

As long as he took Shana inside his Mobile Fortress and traveled deep underground, their enemy would have a hard time following them.

Metatron smiled and handed a handkerchief to the teenage boy, so the latter could wipe the blood from his nose. @@novelbin@@

"There's also one last thing I need to tell you about that monster," Metatron said while watching Thirteen wipe his nose.

"And that is?" Thirteen asked.

"It has now resurfaced, and it's very mad," Metatron replied before chuckling. "Good luck, Thirteen. I'm sure that since it's you, you will be able to think of something."

Thirteen frowned, but left with no other choice, he returned to Solterra and reappeared inside Rocky's Mobile Fortress.

"Rocky, move as fast as you can and swallow the Wagons that belong to Erica and the others."

The Magma Bal-Boa growled in reply and dug as fast as it could, leaving layers upon layers of sinkholes in its wake.

Thirteen believed that it would make the Alien-like Monster wary of charging forward after the torture that it had experienced earlier.

This would further delay its advance, buying them precious seconds or even minutes as they sped up to regroup with the others.

Half an hour later, the Magma Bal-Boa resurfaced and appeared beside the wagon carrying the members of the Hero Party.

Fortunately, they recognized Rocky, so they didn't launch any attacks at it.

"All of you, stop moving and don't resist," Thirteen's voice reached their ears. "A powerful monster is headed in this direction, and you will not be able to outrun it. "I will take you all inside this monster and make our escape, so don't do anything stupid and just stay still!"

The urgency in Zion's voice made Erica and Shana frown, but they always trusted his words. They heeded his order and allowed the Magma Bal-Boa to swallow them up.

Sherry descended from the sky and jumped off her Adamantine Falcon, allowing Rocky to swallow her as well.

Once everyone was safe inside his mobile fortress, the Magma Bal-Boa dug deep underground and covered its tracks to the best of its abilities.

The Alien-like Monster had a way to detect Shana, so he believed it would know where they were despite being hundreds of meters underground.

But Zion didn't care if the monster could detect them or not.

In the worst-case scenario, they would resist the monster's attack with all of their might while fighting in a sea of lava, where Rocky would be able to display his full might, allowing it to use hit-and-run tactics to escape their enemy's pursuit.

Meanwhile, Azothrall, whose senses were on full alert as it jumped over the sinkholes that blocked its path, couldn't shake off the feeling that it would be attacked from its blind spot.

This made it very cautious, reducing its travel speed by nearly fifty percent.

After the suffering it had experienced earlier, it was no longer arrogant and even felt somewhat fearful of the Magma Bal-Boa, who possessed cunning that far surpassed its own.

Of course, it didn't know that someone else was pulling the strings behind the scenes and attached all the credit to the Rank 7 Sovereign who fought it earlier.

Truth be told, Azothrall felt humiliated that a weaker monster was giving it such a hard time.

It had reviewed the battle inside its mind dozens of times already, and it couldn't help but feel awed and respectful of the first enemy he fought in Solterra.

When it finally managed to bypass all the sinkholes that Rocky had made, it realized that it had been once again played by its cunning opponent.

This made the Azothrall roar angrily toward the heavens as if to vent out its frustration.

A minute later, it extended its senses to a wide area that spanned for miles, looking for its target.

When it finally sensed Shana's location, it immediately sprinted in her direction.

This would become the start of a chase between the Hunter and the Hunted, which would change Shana's fate for better or for worse.