System's POV

Chapter 749  A Living Nightmare [Part 3]

The Patriarch of the Ashford Clan shuddered at the thought of Zion manipulating things from behind.

Claude only managed to regain his composure after a few minutes.

"Am I just being paranoid?" Claude muttered. "Am I just overthinking things?"

Claude didn't know the answer to this question.

However, if what he was thinking was the truth, then he needed to reevaluate Zion Leventis, who was starting to become a living nightmare inside Claude's head.

***

Erica placed her hand over her wild beating heart and took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

Even Sherry was affected by the last few minutes of the Special Event, making her feel depressed.

She had trained alongside the members of the Hero Party and had become good friends with them.

Seeing the act of betrayal made her shudder, making her pity Roland because she knew that he thought of Joshua as his best friend.

Just as she was trying to calm herself, she heard Erica's voice, which made her eyes widen in shock.

"Is it you?" Erica asked Zion. "Did you plan all of that?"

"Yes," Thirteen replied. "I was the one who orchestrated everything that happened in Island Number 1."

Erica's eyes turned moist as she pressed her hands on Thirteen's shoulder, holding him in place.

"Why did you do such a cruel thing?" Erica asked, tears starting to stream down her face. "Why?"

"Because it's needed," Thirteen answered. "Roland is too naive. In his world, everyone fights fair. Everyone should have honor. They should be righteous and know what is right and wrong.

"But, reality is different. You cannot look at the world like there is only black and white. There are shades of gray as well, and they will always challenge your beliefs."

Thirteen then pressed his hands over Erica's hand, which was pressing over his shoulders.

"Hate me if you want," Thirteen replied. "Curse me if that will make you feel better. But sooner or later, Roland must understand these things. Right now, he was only betrayed inside GANDAM. A place where he will not die if he gets stabbed in the back.

"If this happened in Solterra or Pangea, he would die not only from a blade but also because of heartbreak."

"This wouldn't happen if it was in Pangea or Solterra!" Erica was doing her best to rein in her anger. Her entire body was already shaking because seeing her friends killing each other made her feel as if her heart had also been stabbed.

Her first crush was Roland. She did her best to get his attention and make him look her way. She also knew that Roland and Joshua had a crush on Shana. Still, she couldn't help but continue loving Roland despite clearly knowing he only treated her as a friend.

Then Zion came along. He was several Ranks weaker than them, and yet, he had become their mentor.

He had become Erica's confidante.

He listened to her worries and her problems. Sometimes, he would give her advice, and sometimes, he would lend his hand as a way to support her.

Because of this, a small seed had taken root in Erica's heart.

She still loved Roland, but the mysterious Zion made her feel refreshed and nice.

Once she realized that the Rookie was actually stronger than her and Roland, Erica felt that a brand new door had opened up for her.

She still couldn't understand how Zion could look mysterious and profound in her eyes.

She knew that he wouldn't do anything without a reason.

His schemes were always on point.

The strategies he created in battle were truly baffling.

To top it off, he was able to call help from powerful beings like the Rank 9 Earth Dragons, the Death Bat Majin Prince, as well as Laplace Demon.

Erica would never forget how Zion went crazy when he thought that Cranky died and how he single-handedly fought against a Majin King, who wasn't able to resist as he pounded him to death by the giant staff that went by the name Ruyi Jingu Bang. She had been there and traveled with Zion all the way from Fractured Heaven to Absolute Heaven.

She was also there when the Wanderers entered the Temple of Courage and dealt with the injured Boss Monsters that Zion had fought.

He weakened them to the point that they had a chance to defeat them, despite these monsters being stronger than them.

But, she also noticed one thing about the teenage boy, and that was he very rarely allowed others to see his true feelings.

Sure, he would smile, laugh, smirk, and frown every now and then.

But for some reason, she felt that his smiles never reached his eyes.

The only exception was when he was around his family and taking care of his little sisters, Remi and Rhia. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Erica thought that she would be the one to teach Zion the feelings that he was supposed to have.

The feeling of embarrassment, the feeling of true happiness, and the feeling of desire.

She wanted him to be a little more human-like, not the "nearly-perfect" person he was inside her mind.

Erica wanted to see Zion's many firsts, and she even one-sidedly thought that she was the right person to teach him about love.

But despite her efforts, he remained standoffish most of the time, not revealing his true self, even to her.

However, as she stared into his eyes at that moment, she knew that she was looking at the TRUE Zion.

A calculating person who would not hesitate to use any means to get what he wanted, even if it meant that her friends would be hurt in the process.

Deep down, Erica could understand why he did it.

However, it simply hit strong to see it happen. And his gaze, looking straight at her, made her entire body tremble.

She felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, making her unable to think of what to do.

In the end, the only thing she could do was cry.

Her tears fell like rain.

The one she loved and the one she was starting to love made her heart ache.

Roland was betrayed, and it pained her so.

Zion was ruthless and schemed against her friends, making the pain she felt even more painful.

When he said that she could hate him and curse him, Erica felt that the world around her was starting to collapse.

But at that moment, she felt a pair of hands wrap around her head, pulling her close to his body.

"Cry as much as you want," Thirteen said, patting her head as if he was trying to pacify a crying kid. "Just remember this. Sometimes, things fall apart, so better things can fall in place."

Thirteen's gaze flickered as he looked at the crying lady in his arms, who seemed to have lost something very important to her.

Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but think if he could have done anything differently. But, he knew that he had already done everything in his power to make the members of the Hero Party realize the bitter truth about human nature.

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