"Sherry, your fiancé sure has nerves of steel," Sherry’s mother, Jacqueline, said with a worried look on her face. "Even after the Central Government’s warning, he’s still calmly grilling meat for those two little girls," Sherry’s father, Luke, commented. "Maybe he’s doing this so we can calm down as well. As long as the Commander looks completely at ease, it would lessen the tension in the surroundings." Just as Luke stated, the tense atmosphere gradually relaxed as everyone observed their Commander, who was casually piling meat on the plates of the two girls, who ate them with the grace of nobility. Maple and Cinnamon had bibs wrapped around their neck, preventing their clothes from being stained as they ate their steak. Both of them were holding a knife and fork and were treating their dinner seriously. "Big Brother, as expected—you really are a genius!" Maple said as soon as she finished eating her first bite. "The taste, the flavor! Everything is simply perfect!" "Cinnamon gives this a twelve out of ten," Cinnamon stated. "The extra two points are because Big Brother is the only one who can cook food as delicious as this. No one else in the multiverse can even come close." Thirteen, who were praised by the two girls, happily placed a new serving of meat on both of their plates. "Tonight, we feast!" Thirteen declared. "I’ll make sure that both of you are satisfied!" Maple and Cinnamon gave their Big Brother a thumbs up before saying something that made Stella almost choke on the juice that she was drinking. "Big Brother, even though Maple and Cinnamon can’t marry you, our Big Sister can," Maple said. "Once you become part of our family, you can cook for us every day!" Cinnamon commented. "You get my beautiful sister, we get your delicious cooking. This is a win-win for everyone!" Thirteen chuckled, finding the antics of the two pink-haired girls very cute. Just for the sake of his cooking, they were willing to marry off their sister to him, which he found quite funny. As everyone watched the playful banter between the three, the heavy atmosphere in the count finally disappeared. ———— Meanwhile, at the eastern edges of the continent… Deep underground, inside a spacious cavern, a Dimensional Gate at least ten meters in height and width shone brightly. At its center was a countdown timer, signifying that there were only three minutes before the gate opened. Dimensional Gates could appear at any time and anywhere. They could even appear under the sea. Judging by the size and fluctuation coming from the Dimensional Gate, the military would grade this gate as a Tier-6 Gate. This meant that the strongest monster that could come out of it was a Rank 6 Sovereign. However, just as only two minutes were remaining on the countdown clock, the white dimensional gate suddenly changed colors. From white, its color changed to indigo. The Dimensional Gate had just undergone a mutation. In simpler terms, it was no longer a Tier-6 Gate but a mutated Tier 7 Gate. Whenever a gate mutated, it would undergo a change in color. Red meant that it had become a Tier-2 Mutated Gate. Orange would mean that it had become a Tier-3 Mutated Gate Yellow meant it had become a Tier-4 Mutated Gate, and so on, and so forth. After a gate mutation, stronger monsters were more likely to appear, and there would always be a Sovereign among them. What was happening to the mutated gate wasn’t an isolated case. Nearly all Tier-6 Gates that were about to open in the Cygni Continent had mutated. There was even a Tier-7 gate that had completely turned violet, which meant that it had now become a Tier-8 Mutated Gate. Zion might look relaxed while having fun with Maple and Cinnamon, but little did everyone know, he had already ordered Athena to monitor the entirety of the Cygni Continent. The Supercomputer had already alerted her Master about the powerful fluctuations that had taken over a dozen Dimensional Gates, which had caused mutations to happen. Metatron, Laplace Demon, and The One looked at what was happening with calm expressions on their faces. "The barrier has weakened to this extent," Laplace Demon said with a sigh. "It won’t be long before it breaks." "It will probably break after a week," The One commented. "Looks like we have underestimated the determination of the Jinns." "Is there really nothing we can do?" Laplace Demon asked. "There are things that we can do and things that we can’t do," the One replied. "Maybe we should give Zion an upgraded version of the Titan Pill as a backup plan." "You mean…" "Yes. Exactly what you’re thinking." Laplace Demon then glanced at Metatron, who was quietly watching the sky of Pangea a good distance away from him. A faint smile could be seen on the God of the Apocalypse’s lips, as if he had been waiting for this event to happen for a very long time. Sensing the gazes of Laplace Demon and The One, Metatron took out a box from his hand that contained the Titan Pill that he planned to give to Zion. "You want to upgrade this?" Metatron sneered. "Do you want to make Zion implode from biting off more than he can chew? It seems that both of you are really desperate." "Desperate is an understatement." The One admitted. "Once the barrier breaks, the balance and laws governing the world of Pangea will be destroyed." "Sounds fun," Metatron commented. "I’ll make sure to watch it from the front seats. I guess I should start stocking up on popcorn and potato chips." With a face that was enjoying the suffering of others, Metatron vanished from where he stood and returned to the Domain of the Apocalypse. As soon as he returned to his home turf, he immediately called for a meeting of the members of his Order, informing everyone that they had ten minutes to make themselves available. Thriteen, who also heard Metatron’s summons, placed the last pile of meat on the serving plate before patting the heads of the two gluttons, who were still eating happily. "I’ll be back," Thirteen said. "Cristopher, from this point onward, you will be in charge of this battalion. I have some very important matters to attend to and I can’t be disturbed." "Yes, Sir!" Cristopher replied. Thirteen then made his way toward his Humvee and ordered Sherry and Colbert to stand guard. "No one is to disturb me, no matter what," Thirteen ordered. "Once I’m done with my business, I will come out. Until then, no one is allowed to come and look for me. Anyone who disobeys will be punished according to military law. "Ah, by the way, if Sir Tristan were to contact any of you, tell him that I am constipated and taking a dump. It will be a while before I come out of you know where." After saying those words, the teenage boy locked the Humvee from the inside, making sure that no one could disturb him. "… All of that drama, and he is just going to take a dump?" Siri blinked once, then twice, due to how absurd the situation was. "Are all high-ranking officials of the military like this?" Sherry and Colbert wanted to refute Siri’s words, but decided it wasn’t worth it. They already had an idea as to where Zion was planning to go since both of them had already been into the Domain of the Apocalypse. Both of them believed he went there to get a better idea of why the sky above their heads had started to crack, which made them feel as if the sky was about to fall on them any second now.