"What’s next?" Dantanian asked.
A few hours had passed since the battle ended, and Wormwood was still using the nutrients from the lands to recover from his injuries.
He was no longer the towering tree from before and only stood ten-ters tall.
"Don’t add to your ’We’," Mammon comnted. "I’m just a passerby who happened to be in the right place at the right ti. If Wormwood didn’t promise to give sothing valuable, I wouldn’t have interfered in the battle."
Dantanian wanted to say that Mammon was too greedy and should have helped Wormwood free of charge since they were all Fiends.
But deep down, he knew that Mammon would only ally with soone who could pay the price of his service.
And having him on their side wouldn’t be cheap.
Forneus snorted. "You talk as if you didn’t enjoy punching Belial in the face."
Mammon adjusted his golden gauntlets and gave the Sea Serpent a lazy glance. "Enjoynt is a bonus. Paynt is mandatory."
Wormwood’s wooden body creaked as faint green light pulsed within the cracks of his bark. The corrupted land around him slowly stabilized, though the soil remained dark and sickly.
"I will honor... our agreent," Wormwood said in a low rumble. "Once I have fully recovered."
Mammon’s golden eyes glead. "Good. I would hate to collect interest."
Dantanian rubbed his temples. "Can we focus? Zaphiel retreated, but he will return. And next ti, he won’t underestimate us."
"He didn’t underestimate us," Forneus replied flatly. "He underestimated ."
There was killing intent in his voice.
For hundreds of years, he had been labeled the weakest among them. The one who always needed to recover after a fight. The one who would eventually lose if pressed long enough.
Today proved otherwise.
But Zaphiel had seen it too.
Which ant the Celestial would prepare.
He might ask the other Celestials for help, or worse, bribe Mammon to betray them.
A few minutes later, Wormwood presented a green crystal to the Fiend of Greed as paynt for his help.
"Now that I’ve been paid, I’m out of here," Mammon stated. "Good luck to all of you."
"Wait!" Forneus stood and blocked Mammon’s path. "Promise us one thing."
"And that is?" Mammon arched an eyebrow.
"You will not betray us and help Zaphiel when he tries to negotiate with you," Forneus replied. "I want you to promise this using your reputation as a rchant."
Mammon narrowed his eyes, calculations flashing in his head. After all, his word was absolute. Once he promised sothing, he was duty-bound to keep it without fail.
"And why should I listen to you?" Mammon asked.
"If you help them, I’ll destroy all of your cities," Forneus threatened. "I’ll declare to the world that anyone who uses your coins for trade will beco my enemy.
"I don’t care if I raze all the cities in the continent just to make everyone fear . I swear this on my na as the Immortal Fiend."
Dantanian’s and Wormwood’s expressions beca serious the mont Forneus made his vow.
Now that the Sea Serpent had proven that he was no longer the weakest among the Fiends, his threat had just grown much more dangerous.
Forneus was already destructive in nature hundreds of years ago. But now, his threats could no longer be brushed off like it was nothing.
"Fine," Mammon agreed to gritted teeth. "I, Mammon, will not interfere in the feud between you and Zaphiel. I will not give him information or actively fight in battles. But I will still sell weapons and resources to him. This is my bottom line."
"Very well, I can agree to that." Forneus nodded. "Just make sure to keep your word."
"My word is absolute." Mammon scoffed. "I hope he gives you a very painful death."
Mammon turned into a gold coin and shot toward the heavens, traveling at absurd speeds.
While he might not be as fast as Dantanian, he was still the second fastest among the Fiends and Celestials. This allowed him to travel to far away places where trade could be made in the span of a few days.
"What are we going to do now?" Dantanian repeated the question he asked a while ago.
"Carry and Wormwood," Forneus ordered. "We are going back to Aurumvale."
"I can already see Mammon’s annoyed face when he realizes that we’ve co back to his territory." Dantanian’s lips twitched after hearing their next destination.
The Immortal Fiend frowned. He also didn’t want to see the face of the Greedy Fiend right now. That said, he decided to change the location of their eting.
"Take Wormwood to the Valbarra Archipelago," Forneus stated. "After that, co back to pick up and take there too. Then go to Aurumvale and pick up Zion. Although I don’t want to admit it, that boy has brains. We need him to co up with a strategy to deal with Zaphiel and his allies."
"Good." Dantanian nodded. "Wormwood, please shrink yourself a bit more."
Wormwood nodded and shrank until he was only a foot-tall.
Dantanian could usually carry two to three people at the sa ti. However, he couldn’t do that now. Wormwood might be smaller now, but he weighed like a mountain. If he tried to carry Forneus at the sa ti, even walking would be out of question, let alone running.
Also, the Fiend of Many Faces thought that going to the Valbarra Archipelago was a good idea.
It was far out into the sea, and Cranky was also there.
Dantanian was certain that Wormwood and Forneus would be surprised to see a newly born Celestial they had never heard of before.
When Dantanian finally carried Wormwood away, the Sea Serpent heaved a deep sigh.
He felt very complicated right now. If he hadn’t been woken up by Zion during his slumber, his closest friend among the Fiends might have perished right now.
If he hadn’t been in the City of Aurumvale with Dantanian, he couldn’t have arrived to help his friend in ti.
The positive outco they had now could be attributed to Zion.
If not for the fact that he knew the kid was on his side, he would definitely think that this was a sche that the teenager had planned beforehand.
"That brat, Zion." Forneus clicked his tongue in anger. "I feel like we’re just dancing on the palm of his hands."
Inside the Domain of the Apocalypse, Camazotz, Kamrusepa, Paimon, Zapar, tatron, and the monster army all looked at the teenage boy who was currently munching on popcorn without a care in the world.
Deep inside, they were starting to empathize with the Immortal Fiend.
They knew for a fact how sly Thirteen was, and if they were to beco his enemy, they wouldn’t even know that they had been dancing on the palm of his hand until it was too late.
User Comments
0 comments from readers