With Vassago and Poca helping scout from the sky, their journey toward the Temple of Courage went smoother.
The two Pocopocos had already found the location of the temple, and after relaying the information they’ve seen along the way, the teenage boy couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
‘It seems that the Kingdom of Seneros isn’t the only place with survivors,’ Thirteen thought. ‘But unlike those Half Bloods, the people living in the city around the Temple are all Absolutes.’
Absolutes were considered as superhumans.
Although they weren’t as strong as Superm*n, who was born from the planet Krypt*n, they were still as strong as Captain Murica, who was stronger than ordinary humans.
Of course, Wanderers were also considered as superhumans since they, too, had gained powers that made them superhuman.
Even so, when matched with the same Rank, Absolutes would always be more powerful than Wanderers.
‘I hope they’re not hostile,’ Thirteen thought as their forces traveled to their destination. ‘With our current speed, we will reach the location of the temple within five days. We will probably meet the hunting parties of the locals very soon.’
According to Vassago, the City where the temple was located was under the protection of a White Dome of light.
They didn’t know if this dome prevented monsters from entering the city. However, Vassago and Poca were able to pass through it without any problems.
‘Maybe it only works against Jinns,’ Thirteen mused before shaking his head. “It’s still too early to make assumptions. I’ll find out when we get there.’
The only concern he had at the moment was whether the Absolutes would act hostile against them.
The Pocopocos also reported that there were at least around three to four thousand Absolutes living inside the city, seemingly protected by the white dome of light.
‘Why can’t things be easy?’ Thirteen sighed as he sat on the coachman’s seat of his wagon, guiding the Rank 2 Bisons to the shortest route to their destination.
Suddenly, a shadow covered Thirteen from above, prompting him to raise his head to investigate.
Sitting on the roof of his wagon was the Bird Man, Zed, who had helped him fight against the Majin King in exchange for his freedom.
“Why are you here?” Thirteen asked. “I thought you had already left.”
“I did leave,” Zed replied. “But after traveling for a few days, I realized that I have no place to go.”
“Well, I offered to return you to the Rigel Continent, but you refused,” Thirteen commented.
Zed frowned because he no longer had any intention in returning to the Rigel Continent.
“I don’t like being shackled,” Zed stated. “If I return, nothing will change. I will still have to serve the Master once he crosses over to Pangea.”
“Right.” Thirteen nodded. “Your Master is a peak Majin Prince.”
Since he had become closer to the three Earth Dragons, Thirteen managed to get some answers from them about their Master.
According to his estimate, the Majin Prince would be able to cross over to Pangea after five to eight years.
But Thirteen was confident that he would have the forces to defeat Zed’s and the Earth Dragons’ master when that time came.
Unless their Master succeeds in stepping into the Ranks of a Majin King, Thirteen believed that he would be able to find a way to deal with him.
“So, what are you planning?” Thirteen inquired. “Want to tag along with us for a while?”
Zed didn’t answer and just stared in the distance as if pondering about the meaning of life.
Seeing that Zed no longer wanted to talk, Thirteen no longer tried to pry any answers from him.
However, Zed’s presence alarmed the Wanderers because they could feel the aura emanating from his body.
If not for the fact that Erica had repeatedly told them that the Bird Man wasn’t hostile, they might have already scattered like wild ducks after hearing a gunshot.
The members of the Cygni Faction and David’s team were already acquainted with Zed.
They had seen him fight alongside Thirteen and his Monster Army, so at the very least, although they felt a little anxious, they weren’t as terrified as the other Wanderers, who were seeing the Bird Man for the first time.
Of course, there were others who recognized him like Shana, who was there when Thirteen threw something at Zed, making him disappear without a trace.
When the Saintess asked Thirteen why Zed was traveling with them, the teenage boy only said that he and the Bird Man had an agreement.
As to what that agreement was, the teenage boy refused to say because it was highly confidential.
Three days later, Thirteen’s scouts reported that the Absolutes had already detected the Wanderers’ presence and were also monitoring them.
The Wanderers, who were assigned to scout, were cautioned to not approach the Absolutes because they might think of it as a provocation.
A day later, a group of Absolutes, numbering a little over a hundred, blocked the path they were taking.
All of them were fully-armed, and although they weren’t releasing killing intent or any form of hostility, Thirteen knew that they shouldn’t give them a reason to attack them.
Since his Wagon was at the very front of their formation, he signaled for everyone to stop.
“Erica, call Roland and your other team members,” Thirteen ordered. “Ah, bring Sean and David as well.”
Erica nodded and went to look for her teammates.
A few minutes later, Thirteen and his entourage walked toward the Absolutes without holding any weapons in their hands.
Including Zion, there were only ten people representing their side, which was his attempt to make it seem that they wished no conflict between them and the Absolutes.
“I am the leader of the Wanderers, Zion Leventis,” Thirteen declared when his group stopped several meters away from the Absolutes. “Who is your leader?”
“Are you really the leader of your group?”
The Absolutes made way and allowed an old man to have a dialogue with the teenage boy, who claimed to be the leader of the humans who had entered their domain.
“I am,” Thirteen replied. “Who am I speaking to?”
“You may call me Aries,” Aries answered. “I am the First Guardian of the Sanctuary. Tell me, how did you manage to cross the boundary of the Wall of the Absolute?”
Thirteen didn’t answer right away because he was carefully observing the Old Man’s body language.
While he didn’t feel any hostility coming from him, he could distinctly feel that just like him, Aries was also observing his body language.
“The wall broke apart, allowing us to cross over to this side of Absolute Heaven,” Thirteen stated.
“I knew it,” Aries narrowed his eyes. “All of you came from the other side of the Wall. How did the wall break apart? It should’ve been strong enough to hold for at least another millennia.”
“The King of the Kingdom of Seneros summoned a monster that broke the wall by itself,” Thirteen explained. “It’s a Majin King—the Ancient Eight-Headed Serpent that goes by the name, Orochi.”
After hearing Thirteen’s answer, the warriors behind Aries became agitated. If what the teenage boy was saying was the truth, then their Sanctuary might be in danger of getting attacked by the Majin King.
But unlike his subordinates, Aries remained calm, and his gaze never left Thirteen’s face.
“Based on the route you are taking, you will soon be arriving at our Sanctuary,” Aries said. “What is your goal?”
“The Temple of Courage,” Thirteen answered without hesitation.
The faces of the Warriors hardened after hearing Thirteen’s reply.
‘It seems that they were more concerned that a group of teenagers are headed to their Sanctuary in search of the Temple of Courage than the Majin King, who could potentially wipe them out if left unchecked,’ Thirteen mused.
The teenage boy purposely hid the fact that the Majin King’s threat had already been dealt with.
Since he didn’t know how the Absolutes would react to their mission of going to the Temple of Courage, he decided to frame a situation where their attention to the Absolutes would be diverted to a threat that could wipe their existence from the face of Absolute Heaven.
“Since you’ve traveled from afar, you are welcome to enter our Sanctuary,” Aries said after a few minutes have passed. “Just make sure that you don’t break our rules so that we can avoid conflict with each other.”
“Thank you in advance for your hospitality, Lord Aries,” Thirteen said in a respectful tone.
The old man simply nodded before giving a signal to his men to return to their city.
“We will wait for you at the entrance of the Sanctuary,” Aries stated.
After saying his parting words, the Old Man suddenly started to run, making Erica’s mouth hang open.
Aries looked like a very frail old man, so she didn’t expect that he could run so fast, as if his backside was on fire.
The other warriors, who blocked their path, followed behind Aries, leaving Thirteen and his entourage behind.
“I guess they’re not hostile?” Erica asked after nearly a minute of silence.
“Don’t let your guard down,” Thirteen cautioned. “Tell everyone to be prepared for anything once we enter their Sanctuary. They might not be as friendly as they appear to be on the surface.”
Everyone nodded in understanding before returning to their wagons.
“Tiona, send your clone to infiltrate their city,” Thirteen said softly.
Tiona nodded in understanding and summoned her clone.
Soon, the Black Snake burrowed underground before heading toward the Sanctuary, where the Absolutes were waiting for their arrival.