System's POV

Two days after Thirteen entered the 12th Floor…

Thirteen sat cross-legged on the ground while meditating.

He had thought of various strategies on how to defeat the Grievefoot on its home turf, but nearly all of the methods he had thought of required him to make sacrifices.

Although he was confident that he could win, the cost of winning would be the deaths of his subordinates. Naturally, he didn't want that to happen.

What he wanted was a complete and overwhelming victory without the need to sacrifice anyone.

'Have I become weak?' Thirteen thought as he asked himself while deep in thought. 'The past me would have laughed at the current me for worrying too much about the deaths of the monsters under my command.'

The teenage boy couldn't help but compare himself to the System of Cannon Fodders who had defied the System God and fought for the things he believed in, not caring about the consequences of his actions.

Back then, Thirteen knew no fear.

Even facing his death at the hands of his Father, he didn't regret his decision to fight for what he believed in.

When he regained consciousness in the body of Zion Leventis, who was lying on the hospital bed, and hurting all over, he thought that, as he grew up, he would use anything and everything, including his current family, as tools to reach his goal.

But Thirteen gained something that he didn't have thousands of years ago.

The moment he became Zion Leventis, he also gained a heart.

A human heart.

A heart that made him feel things he had never felt before.

Slowly but surely, he had come to care about his family.

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His annoying father, Gerald

His loving mother, Alessia.

His shy yet competitive brother, Mikhail.

His beautiful and courageous sister, Shasha.

And Remi, who would melt his heart as she followed him around like a duckling following her mother duck.

Now, they also have one more family member, Rhia, who had suffered terribly in her past life.

Currently, she was the most spoiled member of their family, getting all the love from her parents and siblings, which she returned to them in full.

The current Zion was unable to sacrifice any of them to reach his goals.

The same could be said for his Monster Army, who had always been there to fight for him regardless of what kind of opponent they were facing.

They had already died once facing Arundel the Destroyer, and he was certain that they would not hesitate to throw their lives away for him if need be.

But Thirteen could no longer look at them as pawns in a game of chess between him and his father, the System God.

The Umbrafang and the Feral Monkeys had rejected his offer for an alliance because they believed that even if they joined hands with him, victory was unattainable.

Thirteen understood that they didn't want to take risks and completely enraged the Grievefoot into slaughtering their entire race.

This left him with no other alternative but to use drastic measures in order to secure a victory against his opponent.

'Do I have to use THAT method?' Thirteen pondered.

He didn't really want to use such a method, but the current situation left him with no other alternative but to do it.

"Rocky, head to the Monkey City," Thirteen ordered. "I'm going to give Harahon an invitation."

Rocky obeyed and headed toward the location where his Master wished to go.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the Monkey's abode, catching the attention of the Umbrafang, Harahon.

"You've returned," Harahon said in a teasing tone. "Have you decided to leave this place?"

"No," Thirteen replied. "I came here to send you an invitation."

"An invitation? Are you once again inviting me to form an alliance with you?"

"No. That was not my intention."

"Then, what is your intention?" Harahon inquired.

"I want you to watch my battle against the Grievefoot," Thirteen said. "It will be held tomorrow at noon. The location of the battle will be at Khan's Nest."

"You sound confident." Harahon rubbed his chin. "Where is your confidence coming from?"

"You'll see tomorrow," Thirteen smirked. "So, are you coming?"

Harahon pondered for a bit before nodding. "Very well. I'd like to see where your madness takes you."

"Good." Thirteen smirked. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

After passing his message, Rocky swallowed his Master and returned underground.

At this same time, within Khan's nest, Kesari walked toward the leader of the Apes while being escorted by one of its Steel Ape Protectors.

"You wanted to see me?" Khan asked in an amused tone. "You and your group have been sneaking in my turf for the past few days. Despite killing all of you many times, you guys kept on coming back like those Undead Monsters I've seen in the past. Are you an Undead?"

"I'm a Demon," Kesari replied with a smile. "The type of Demon that doesn't die even when killed."

"Well, you're not wrong," Khan narrowed his eyes. "Tell me, why are you here?"

"I came here to pass a message from my Master," Kesari answered. "Tomorrow at noon, he will come here to defeat you in battle."

"Defeat me?" Khan chuckled. "Me? Are you sure he will come to defeat me?"

Kesari nodded. "Yes."

"Interesting," Khan sneered. "It has been a while since someone dared to challenge me. That coward, Harahon, once thought he could try his luck, but after a few exchanges, he ran away in fear of his life. I sure hope that your Master isn't as timid as that cowardly monkey."

"You call Harahon a coward, which means you're very brave, right?" Kesari asked.

"Brave?" Khan laughed out loud. "I am the King of this place. If I wished for it, those monkeys would have died long ago. They are only able to live because I am allowing them to live. That's not what you call brave. That's what you call absolute power."

"Absolute power?" Kesari chuckled. "You call your current strength absolute power? Have you been fighting weaklings all this time?"

"Taunting me will not have any effect, Ratman," Khan said with a smile. "Tell your master that I will be waiting. I hope that he will entertain me before I snap his neck in front of you."

"I am looking forward to seeing how powerful you are tomorrow," Kesari sneered. "I just hope you don't piss and sh*t yourself when you face my master."

After saying those words, Kesari merged with the ground and vanished from sight.

Khan only snorted at the Ratman's pitiful attempt to taunt him.

This wasn't the first time that someone talked arrogantly in front of him. However, those who did were already dead.

The Grievefoot only let it go because he knew that, even if he killed the Ratman, the latter would just respawn again like a zombie who just wouldn't be killed.

Besides, the Ratman was only a minor concern to him.

Khan was the undisputed Overlord of the 12th Floor, and soon, he would defy the laws that trapped him in the 12th Floor of the Temple of Courage.

In order to do that, he needed to eliminate the current invader, who was lucky enough to reach the 12th Floor.

As long as he completed this mission, the Temple would allow him to challenge the 13th Floor, which would allow him to regain the freedom that he had lost since what felt like a lifetime ago.