Ten minutes later, white smoke rose from the ground as all the Wanderers suffered injuries from Thirteen’s bombardment.
The closest distance they could close from the teenage boy was ten meters.
After that, they would be blown away by the powerful attacks that he unleashed, and he was doing this while hugging Shana!
This was a slap in the face for them, especially for the Hero Party, who were the strongest fighters in the group.
“Y-You let go first,” Erica said as she looked at the painful sight in her surroundings.
“Y-Yes,” Shana, who needed to heal everyone gently pried Thirteen’s hands from her body.
There was reluctance in her action, but she knew that if she didn’t heal everyone, they would not be able to finish their trial.
Thirteen then turned around, and this time, he hugged Erica and buried his head on her chest.
What many didn’t know was that this wasn’t the first time that Thirteen had done something like this.
Whenever Erica slept beside the teenage boy, he would subconsciously reach out to her and do something similar.
It was as if he was seeking the warmth of a mother, which he never had in the past.
For her, Zion was a very strong person. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
The only time he showed a vulnerable side to him was whenever he slept.
There were even times when he would cry in his sleep, calling out the names of people whom she thought were his friends.
But soon, she realized that these people might not just be ordinary friends because of the sadness that she felt whenever Zion calls out their name.
After discovering this, she almost always slept beside him during the night because this was the only way that she could support him.
She wanted to make him feel safe in her arms and tell him that everything was going to be fine.
From the very start, Erica knew that the one they were fighting was Zion.
Their Guide, Alro, said that according to the ancient records, the Boss of the 13th Floor would only be an Avatar of a monster that would match the current strength of the challengers.
So when Zion appeared, she knew then and there that the one standing in front of them was the vulnerable teenage boy, whom she hugged in her sleep every night.
How could she have the heart to attack him when she knew that he might get hurt?
So, she never cast her strongest spells, which could blow away a third of the Coliseum if she wished for it.
While Erica was thinking of what to do next, a sigh escaped Thirteen’s lips.
“Thank you, Erica,” Thirteen said as he continued to hug the young lady in his arms. “I had a nice, long dream, and I only woke up just a minute ago.”
“Was it a good dream?” Erica asked as she lightly patted Thirteen’s head.
“It was a good dream,” Thirteen replied, his body trembling.
Suddenly, Erica felt something warm and wet falling on her chest.
This was a very familiar feeling to her, so she held Zion tighter, letting him cry out the sadness in his heart.
During his battle against the System God, he had overloaded his Soul Core, which resulted in it getting damaged.
Because of this, he entered a comatose state as his Soul Core started its emergency repair. Since he was unable to leave the Coliseum at that time, he was sent to the Core of the Temple of Courage, which assisted him in repairing his Soul Core.
But just as his Soul Core was being rebooted, the Challengers appeared, so the Core of the Temple, which was responsible for its operations, sent out Thirteen as their Final Opponent.
In order to even the odds, the Core of the Temple created a replica of the Ruyi Jingu Bang, giving Thirteen a fighting chance against his opponents.
From the beginning, Thirteen was only fighting through instinct.
His consciousness hadn’t returned yet to his body. But, despite all that, his body reacted to the people that he was close to.
Zion treated Sherry as a little sister, so although she was unconscious, his body remembered, and he didn’t make any move to harm her.
He also wanted her to pass the trial, so the Core of the Temple made an exception.
He also couldn’t bring himself to hurt Shana and Diana, whom he believed to be very good girls.
As for Erica?
There was just something in her that made Thirteen want to subconsciously give her a good spanking.
During the phase of the battle, Thirteen felt a coldness in his heart.
It was as if he had returned to being the unfeeling system that he was in the past.
His battle with the System God forced him to push himself to the limit, damaging his Soul Core in the process, forcing him to retreat to the deepest part of his consciousness.
But after Sherry hugged him, a bit of warmth seeped in, which slowly pulled Thirteen from the darkness that he was at.
When Sherry disappeared, Thirteen felt himself falling once more in the darkness.
However, a hand reached out to him and grabbed him tight.
Slowly but surely, he was pulled away from the Darkness and found himself surrounded by all
of his Hosts.
It was the most wonderful dream he ever had. Usually, whenever he slept, he relived the memories of his Host’s deaths.
This was also the reason why he subconsciously reached out to embrace others. Their warmth soothed his broken soul.
Like a baby in his mother’s arms, he felt safe in her embrace.
Finally, his Soul Core made a successful reboot, and he found himself being hugged by Erica.
After thanking the Sorceress, the Countdown Timer on top of his head disappeared
completely.
The Trial wasn’t about defeating Zion.
The Trial was whether the Wanderers could survive until he regained his consciousness.
Since Thirteen never wished to harm the Wanderers, he didn’t kill any of them, which
technically allowed them to survive until the end.
Suddenly, all the Wanderer’s inside the arena noticed that their bodies were glowing faintly.
The majority of them cheered because they were now finally going home.
However, there were others who felt frustrated because of this result.
Roland, Derek, Joshua, Mildred, Diana, and Siri were among those people.
They, who always wanted to become stronger, felt that they still had a long way to go.
Stella, on the other hand, stared at the teenage boy with a calm expression on her beautiful
face.
No one could tell what she was thinking, but the experience that she had been through taught her a lot of things.
Finally, Thirteen pulled back and smiled at Erica, whose body was now almost transparent.
“I’ll see you later,” Thirteen said.
“Okay.” Erica nodded as she and the three hundred Wanderers, who fought Thirteen, all shot
toward the sky like pillars of light.
[All Challengers passed the Final Trial of Courage!]
Thirteen chuckled before he gazed at the Wanderers on the Audience stands and made the
come over here gesture.
There were still Wanderers that needed to go home, and since he was chosen as the Final Boss
of this stage, he would make sure to beat them all up before sending them back home to their loved ones, who were waiting for them in Pangea.