System's POV

A frown appeared on Aaron's face as he tried to expand his senses, intending to detect from which direction his feeling of anxiety was coming from.

'To the South,' Aaron thought after sensing where the hidden danger was coming from.

Somewhere in the Rigel Continent…

The Death Lord, Erasmus, slowly opened his eyes.

The power of death surged around his body.

He had just broken through the next realm and was only one step away from becoming a Rank 9 Sovereign.

The glowing embers on his eye sockets danced with delight as he gazed at the North, where the traitor who backstabbed him was currently at.

After organizing his thoughts, he lightly tapped the communicator on his right wrist and contacted the person he trusted the most in the world.

When the call went through, Zion's image appeared on the Communicator, which made Erasmus smile.

"Are you finished with your preparations?" Erasmus asked.

"Almost," Thirteen replied. "I'll be done in a month."

Erasmus nodded. "Alright. I'll wait for you here in the Rigel Continent."

"How about you? Are you done with your preparations?" Thirteen inquired.

"I've finished halfway," Erasmus answered.

Thirteen smiled. "Halfway is good. There's no need to rush. We still have plenty of time."

"Right." Erasmus smirked. "Just remember our agreement."

"Of course," Thirteen replied. "See you in a month."

The connection ended, and Erasmus once again closed his eyes.

He had already waited for a hundred years for his revenge, so waiting a few more years until Thirteen was ready wasn't a big deal for him.

Erasmus was a Death Lord, which meant that he was more or less a Pseudo-Immortal Creature.

As long as his body wasn't completely destroyed, he would be able to revive one way or another.

"Wash your neck, Aaron Ashford," Erasmus muttered with his eyes still closed. "Soon, I will take everything away from you, just like how you took everything away from me."

——

A month later, at the Leventis Residence that belonged to Thirteen's Family…

"All of you have made great progress in your training," Thirteen said with a smile. "Because of this, I decided to let all of you have a vacation to the beach."
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"Yes!" Derek did a fist pump. "Beach scene, here we come!"

"Wait, I thought that Roland and Joshua would be coming here," Mildred commented. "Are we not going to wait for them?"

"Actually, it's the other way around," Thirteen replied. "They are already waiting for us in the airport. My Squad Captains are also there with them.

"Don't worry. All the things that you will need are already packed in the traveling bags I prepared beforehand. So, let's all go. Follow me!"

The group followed the teenage boy to the hangar built on the mountainside.

Remi and Rhia couldn't follow them on this journey, but Thirteen had already bid them goodbye beforehand.

Mikhail and Shasha would be joining them on this trip and were already standing beside the Military Transport Helicopter, which they would be using to head to the Airport.

Thirteen's Transport Helicopter could easily fit fifty to sixty people, so there was more than enough space for all of them.

The one piloting the Helicopter was none other than Hans, who would then pilot the Helicopter back to the Leventis Residences after dropping them off.

When the Helicopter finally soared toward the sky, Derek was no longer able to hold back his curiosity.

"Master, where is this beach located?" Derek asked.

"Secret," Thirteen replied with a smirk. "You'll know when we get there."

"Why are you suddenly being mysterious?" Erica arched an eyebrow. "Will it hurt you to tell us where we are going?"

"No, but I want to surprise everyone, so I won't divulge where we're going," Thirteen stated.

Half an hour later, they finally arrived at the airport and reunited with their friends.

All of them were going to ride the Leventis Family's private jet, which Arthur usually used whenever he traveled in Pangea.

The Patriarch of the Leventis Family reluctantly agreed to let his no-good grandson borrow his Private Jet, helping Thirteen and his friends could go somewhere "very exciting."

Of course, Arthur already knew where his no-good grandson planned to go.

In fact, only Thirteen dared to go to such a place with the confidence that he would be able to return alive.

Six hours later, the Private Jet of the Leventis Family finally descended from the sky.

It landed perfectly at the newly built airstrip, which the engineers of the Leventis Family had built during the time when Zion was doing his mission in Solterra alongside the members of the Hero Party.

If earlier, Derek was feeling excited, now, he was feeling horrified.

Right outside of the Private Jet were three Earth Dragons, the mere sight of which made the teenage boy's legs turn jelly from fright.

It was not only him who was alarmed with this sudden turn of events.

But before they could panic, they heard someone clapping their hands, which caught their attention.

"Okay, all of you take your baggage and disembark in an orderly manner," Thirteen said. "I hope that all of you will enjoy this vacation that will last for three months."

"T-Three months?!" Derek almost choked on his saliva after hearing his Master's words.

"Master, you're joking, right? Please tell me you're joking! You said that we are going to have a beach vacation!"

"I didn't lie, you know?" Thirteen replied. "This area is near a beach. We can always go there later to swim."

The corner of Derek's lips twitched. The beach Thirteen was talking about was infested with Jinns.

If he really swam there, he didn't have the confidence that he would be able to return to the shore alive.

Alcapone, Alexis, Pietro, Paul, Piper, and the members of the E4 Mafia were also feeling very anxious because they had just landed in the most dangerous place in the Rigel Continent.

This was the territory of the three Rank 9 Earth Dragons, whom even the Monarchs didn't dare to face.

Only Cristopher and Colbert seemed relaxed, even looking at the Earth Dragons from their windows with great curiosity.

They've been with Thirteen the longest, so the two young men had already experienced many things.

They had complete and unwavering trust in Zion, and they believed that he wouldn't do anything to harm them.

"Alright, we still have to set our camp, so everyone, please follow me," Thirteen said as he opened the hatch of the Private Jet so that all of them could disembark.

The members of the Hero Party and Thirteen's Squad all followed behind the teenage boy with worried looks on their faces.

They should have known better that the teenage boy wasn't someone who would give them a vacation, especially when their training had just started.

Soon, they would realize that the opponents that they had faced in the Trial of Courage, would look cute compared to the monsters that were very eager to face them in battle.

Thirteen knew that he didn't have a lot of time to train his Squad Captain and the members of the Hero Party before the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament started.

Because of this, he decided to give them extremely hellish training, which would squeeze all the potential in their bodies, making them a stronger and better version of themselves.