The pursuit at the Great Swamp was fruitless. After days of continuous searching, Edward’s group had no choice but to retreat back the main camp where King Charles commanded his army. Unsurprisingly, it was as the young Deus mage Edward has expected. Even though he knew the safe way thanks to his Death Spectrum, they could not go fast enough to catch up to Morrigan who had an experienced guide to help her getting out of the swamp.

A few days later, scouts reported of a large army of different races was marching toward them. And just like Edward has predicted, Morrigan has managed to join with the Beast King Zen’s army and was on her way back for revenge. Yet, this news somehow did not make the generals of Dor falter a bit. Those dwarves were too proud of their own superior technology to think that Zen would pose a threat to them. So what if there were a few dozens thousands beastmen joining the battle? Surely, their primitive fighting styles would be no match for the zeppelins and land boats.

Indeed it was true. While Valhalla had many outstanding fighters, they still could not fight evenly against the zeppelins and its cowardly method of bombardment. Furthermore, the dragons who have been sent here by the dragon council to aid Ceadric, unaware of the situation in Oros, have also joined the battle, further adding to the already many disadvantages Morrigan had.

However, something was strange. Even though it seemed that Valhalla was on the losing side, somehow their losses have been kept to the bare minimum with even a few battles with no casualties at all. Somehow, Morrigan was always able to predict Ceadric’s next move and devised a strategy against it, allowing her to have a complete control of the war.

Unknown to many, this was thanks to the intelligence Mephisto, or Meto rather, has gathered from Goldbeard about all the movements of the armies of Ceadric. Every time Ceadric decided to change their tactic, Goldbeard would have to be informed first and that meant so did Meto. Once the info was obtained, all he needed to do was to inform Martel who has accompanied Morrigan and from there, a counter strategy could be made.

But what was even more suspicious was that Morrigan remained on the defensive despite all the advantages she had. With that kind of intelligence, she should have been able to find the weaknesses of her enemies and make some serious blows against Charles but instead of doing that, she stayed idle. It seemed almost like the Empress was trying to prolong the war while keeping the losses of not just her side but also Ceadric’s to the strict minimum. It was as if she was waiting for something. But what?

…..

In one of the keeps situated in the northern coast of Ceadric, two soldiers were standing on the high walls, keeping watch of any intruder that might try to take advantage of the absence of the main army in the northern part of the country. Mainly, their duty was to defend against the demons of Ragna who were currently in an alliance with Valhalla. However, that was supposed to be the case but there hadn’t any attack or even sighting of any demon ship wandering anywhere near Ceadric. They did not even know if the demons even had a ship to transport their troops since if there was, someone must have seen them already.

Day after day, these soldiers passed their boring life looking at the sea in front of them occupied by the imperial fleet of their country keeping the demons at bay. The fleet of Ceadric was famous for being the most powerful marine regiment in the world, having not just the mot number of ships but also the latest upgrades and gears of the highest quality available. No demon ships would be able to pass through them or even hope to land.

“Another peaceful day….this is getting boring!” said a soldier holding his spear weakly just to show that he had a weapon in his hand.

“What do you expect? We never saw the demons attacking us from the sea in the past and it’s not like anything is going to change now. Though for once, I do want to see them try crossing the sea just to have their asses kicked by our fleet. It would be funny as hell, don’t you think?” the other soldier spoke.

“I second that! But I doubt they would dare to attack us now. I mean, why not do it sooner? From what I heard, we are winning at the frontline against Valhalla so if they want to help, they would have already.”

“It just shows that demons are pussies.”

“Hehehe true that!”

*RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE (ground trembling lightly)*

“Oh damn it, it’s these earthquakes again! It just happens more and more frequently. ”

“It’s not like it’s as violent like the one a few months ago. That one was the reason why our capital ended up half destroyed. Compared to that, these small tremors are nothing.”

“Yeah I know but it’s a bit annoying. Just what in God’s name causes that?”

“No idea! But….”

*VERY LOUD CRACKING SOUND*

All of the sudden, without warning, a giant hole in the soil appeared out of nowhere and swallowed the entire keep to the underground.

Miraculously, these two soldiers managed to stay alive during the collapse. However, they have now ended up in a very dark place, unsure of their whereabouts. Getting out of the rubbles, the soldiers saw the devastation of their precious keep, now lying in ruins as debris were burying alive their comrades.

“Anyone there? Hello?” the soldier shouted loudly into the void, seeking those who survived the collapse. His voice echoed back further and further. “What the hell happened?”

“Hey look! Above!” the other soldiers pointed to the direction of the sky.

The dim sunlight was shining upon them. It was only now that the soldiers could see the scale of the destruction around them and the cause of it. They were in some kind of empty cavern at least a few dozens meters below the surface with a giant hole from where the light was coming in and where the kept fell off.

“So that was what caused the keep to collapse. There is a goddamn empty chamber right under us the whole time.” The soldier uttered in shock.

“But how come there is one here? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Suddenly, a strange noise echoed from further in the cavern. It was a creaking sound, or rather a constant buzzing, something like that of insects… not just one but thousands.

“What is that sound?” asked the soldier as he just noticed a large tunnel connecting to the empty chamber he was in. Filled with darkness, he had no way to see anything inside so after grabbing and lighting a torch, the two advanced toward the mysterious tunnel.

But as they came closer, red dots appeared from the obscurity and revealed themselves under the dim light of the torch: eight long slender limbs with a large body, the creatures jumped at the soldiers who did not even have time to scream. Wrapping them quickly with a white silky but sticky substance expunged from their mouths, the creatures dragged the soldiers back to the tunnel. They just gained a nice meal after the long journey they made in order to come here.

The same fate awaited those who survived the fall and the collapse of their keep. Without making a single sound, they disappeared into the darkness.

This strange phenomenon was happening to every single castle and station locating in the northern coast of Ceadric at incredible speed. When a keep fell silent and did not send a report back to their commander in charge of them all, it was assumed that they simple did not have anything to report. And that was where the mistakes began. One by one, they fell to the unknown forces that somehow managed to did all these damages without even showing themselves.

So what were they? Based on their appearance and their favourite method of moving around using the underground, there was only one species which could be responsible for this mystery: the arachnids of Ragna. It was common to stumble across one of their tunnels in the demon continent but how did they cross the sea without being noticed by anyone? The answer was simple. They did what they have always done: dig.

In ancient time, the continent we now knew as Ragna used to be a part of the main continent Mara. However, after a certain calamity that caused their separation, the sea of Levianux was formed. But what most people did not know was that the two continents were not actually separated at all, at least not in the underground. They still shared the same foundation, meaning that by digging very deep into the underground and passing the bedding of the sea of Levianux, it was possible to go from Ragna to Ceadric in an inconspicuous way.

…..

“Kill those spiders!” a soldier shouted.

Currently being cornered in a cavern locating right under where their castle once stood, a group of soldiers and mages was assembling and cooperating with each other in order to push back the waves of creatures coming toward them.

To be frank, they were doing a rather good job. Only ten against God knew how many of those spiders! The foot soldiers would use their shields and spears to keep the spiders away while the mages cast volleys of fireballs to annihilate the insects in mass.

“Keep going! We are doing very good!” the self-proclaimed captain of the survivors proclaimed. Like he said, if they could keep doing what they were doing, they might have a chance to escape this place. But that was only if their opponents were the weakest of the spiders.

Suddenly, the spiders stopped coming at them and decided to retreat back to the tunnel. Were they too afraid of a mere ten humans? No…but the things that were coming…those were much more frightening.

“Haha are you afraid now, you stupid insects?” shouted the captain excitedly together with his men. They just survived the onslaught of an army of spiders.

The annoying buzzing noises have stopped. Instead, from that silent darkness, the sounds of footsteps could be heard, resounding as figures of different shapes appeared from the shades.

“Hahaha! Finally! This is the last keep right?” a tall figure holding an even larger axe than himself spoke.

“Let us deal with them quickly and be done with it! I would like to finish this war as soon as possible and return to Lady Lilith’ side.” A monstrous figure looking like a giant spider with a humanoid top uttered. Her eyes shined even in the darkness eerily.

“Fine! I will take care of this.”

Seeing the large figure coming toward them with such a weapon, the humans trembled in fear, cowering under the faint light shining upon them.

“What….what are you?” shouted one of the men at the furry entity.

“Your worst nightmare! AAAA!”

With a single slash of his giant axe, the beastman cut down all the surviving humans. As one would expect from a demon royal guard, his skills were impeccable.

“Weaklings…This is not satisfying at all.” The beastman general mumbled.

“Then let us proceed to the surface! It’s about time we release our army.” The spider queen spoke.

“Agreed! No more sneaking around! TO WAR!”

All of the sudden, the entire northern part of Ceadric could feel a grand tremor taking place right under their feet. Without warning, giant worms emerged from the ground, opening their large mouths and released a horde of demons and monsters in the land of the humans. Flying creatures, hydras…all kinds of demons have gathered here for the final conflict of this war.

And that was how the first invasion of the demon force onto Mara ever recorded in history began.

* * *

“How did you do that? That was lady Elemyr’s special ability!” Maragon uttered in awe after witnessing the full moon even thought it was supposed to be in the middle of the day.

“Do you see now? Even the Gods are on my side!” provoked Alastor.

“No! I refuse to believe that. Demons are unholy spawns under the eyes of nature. There is no way they would agree with you.” Maragon shouted. Charging at Alastor like a mad bull, Maragon raised his hand and smashed down at the boy.

“Why won’t you listen?” Alastor jumped high and landed on the mace as he used it as a bridge to come close to Maragon’s face.

“Get off, vermin!” Swinging the mace like crazy, the dragon tried to shake off the boy who was barely able to hold onto it without being flung away.

As for Alastor, he quickly crawled onto the hand of the dragon holding the weapon. Taking out his soul weapon Excalibur, he plunged it deep into his flesh, making the dragon scream in pain as he finally let go of the mace. The heavy thing fell onto the ground, creating a loud sound and almost cracked the soil.

“Arggg...you brat! But this is not over yet. Not until I say so. ”

Jumping back a quite long distance, Maragon approached one of the smaller towers which was at least twenty meter in diameter. With a single fist, Maragon broke down its foundation as the tower fell down to the side. But just before it fell, the dragon has positioned himself to be right under it and supported the falling tower with his hands.

“Eat this! AAAAAAAAAA!” Using his abnormal strength, Maragon raised the tower and unbelievably and threw it toward Alastor. “DIE!”

“Oh shit! Excalibur, enlarge!” Taking on the form of a giant sword long for miles, Alastor raised it high and slashed down the incoming tower thrown at him. With a single strike, the tower was cut into two parts, each rolling into other towers behind Alastor and crushed the soldiers caught in it. “That was close.” Said Alastor.

So far, Alastor has exhausted quite a large portion of his power. In addition to the fact that he has not slept for three days, focusing on stabilizing the mana flow absorbed by the Devourers, the boy would soon reach his limit.

But the same could be said about Maragon. Or perhaps the dragon was in an even worse state than Alastor. His skill granted him an incredible boost in power, allowing him to do unthinkable things like lifting a whole building like he just did. However, that ability was not without cost. Maragon was old. He has lived for too long, aged too much to do anything like this. Indeed he was powerful, even among the most powerful in history. But that was when he was in his prime. Now, the ancient dragon, just like his title suggested, was a relic of the past. His stamina could no longer keep up with this level of intensity anymore.

Kneeling down with both his hands on the ground, the dragon breathed heavily. What he just did has used up all of his remaining strength. The pain and toll were starting to come back at him. His body felt numb, paralyzed. It was his lost.

With Maragon seemingly to have been defeated, everyone stopped their fight as they watched what would happen next. Would it be the victory for the rebels?

Approaching the crumbling dragon, Alastor remained silent as he watched the old being panting for breath.

“So?....*heavy breathing* What are you waiting for? *heavy breathing* I can’t even defend myself anymore. It’s your win. So kill me and be done with it!” Maragon tried to catch his breath.

“….”

“It’s your victory. Finish me and this war will be over! Just…promise me that you will spare the soldiers! They only do what they are told to do. None of this is their fault.” The dragon pled.

“No…blindly following orders does not make it okay to kill thousands, millions of lives. While the leaders are at fault, so are the soldiers for not listening to their conscience and stay idle.” Alastor spoke coldly.

“Hehe..So you finally reveal your true nature. You want to kill everyone who opposes you, is that it?”

“No…I want you to change, from the soldiers to the members of the dragon council. You saw how your so called rebels reacted even after they learnt of Kaiser’s true nature. You saw how people are coexisting in Valhalla. Does it seem that impossible to you?

To kill and to destroy is easy. It’s to rebuild, to maintain peace that is difficult. Maybe for now, it may seem hopeless to you but maybe…just maybe in the future, you might change. And me, I want to put my chance in that.” Alastor gave his speech.

“…..”

“What do you say, Maragon? Peace?” Alastor extended his tiny hand to the dragon.

“…What if I say no? What will you do then?” asked the black dragon.

“Then I guess we will be throwing the towers of Canaan at each other until you give in.”

“…Hehe…” the black dragon blurted out.

“Hehehehe” Alastor laughed.

“Hahahaahaha”

“Hahahahaahahahaha!”

“You…are really an idiot.” Grinned Maragon.

“Well, you are not the first one to tell me that.” Replied Alastor joyfully.

“But you have a big heart…Very well…I don’t know if this is the right decision but…I will gamble on this chance of peace you speak of. Maybe, one day, it could become reality.”

“It will. But not by itself. We are the ones who have to make it come true. Peace doesn’t come just like that. It has to be attained. Many challenges await us ahead but what is important is that we stand and face them together.” Alastor spoke.

“I will hold you onto your words. Show me this future you are speaking of, Alastor! But for now, it’s my turn to put an end to this war!”

Turning toward the battlefield with all of the soldiers looking at him in awe, Maragon proclaimed. “The war is over! We, the dragon council, have lost. From now on, the dragon council is disbanded.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” a figure floating on the sky shouted angrily.

“Taragon?” the ancient dragon uttered upon recognizing his son.

“How could you? We are the dragon council. We are absolute. We don’t lose.” Taragon spoke loudly.

“We have, son. There is no point in continuing this war anymore. I know you are disappointed but….”

“You don’t know anything about me!!! Are you even aware of how I felt all these years being your son? NO YOU DON’T!”

“Taragon, what are you…?”

“Your time is over, dad! I will rule now. And for that, the old must make way for the new.” From his sleeves, Taragon took out a ball radiating a dim green light: a mana bomb. However, this one was a bit different. Much more powerful than a normal mana bomb, this weapon would be capable of annihilating even the True Monarch himself. The only reason Taragon didn’t use it earlier against Kaiser was because he feared that he would also be caught in the blast. However at this distance, he would be safe.

“Good bye, dad!” Taragon let go of the bomb and it fell down straight to the dumbfounded ancient dragon who has just realized that he has been betrayed by his own son.

“Taragon you….”

BOOM

…..

“”

In an instant, a small dark crack in space opened in front of Maragon. As the bomb exploded and released a dense wave of destructive unstable mana flow, the explosion itself was absorbed into the crack as if the entire process was reverting. Within seconds, it was gone.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Alastor, the source of that spell that just saved Maragon from impending doom, shouted out loud at the floating black dragon who has just dropped his jaws. “Killing your own father for such a stupid reason? Just how much of an idiot are you?”

“How…..” that word seemed just too common for him to utter ever since Alastor showed up. All that planning for years and it went down in seconds. All because of a boy who came out of nowhere.

“There you are, you little shit!” Kaiser finally caught up to his target after an intense chasing on air. “This time to make sure that you won’t go anywhere or pull up some underhanded tricks, I will break every last limb of yours.”

“IEEEEE!” Taragon shrieked as he quickly landed down in front of his father begging for forgiveness. “Father, please forgive me! It was a moment of blunder…I…”

“Really? He just wanted to kill you and now he is begging you to save him?” Alastor chuckled at the miserable sight of the dragon.

“….Alastor, I have a favor to ask!” said Maragon.

“Want me to take care of him for you? I will make it quick.” Alastor asked the ancient dragon.

“No…Please let him live!”

“Ok….wait what? You seriously want to let him live after what he has done? He caused all this!!!” Alastor shouted.

“Exactly! He is also a member of Sanctus, trying to use you for their own goal.” Kaiser added.

“Sanctus? Well, all the more reasons to kill this bastard right away! Of course, it would be after we make him spill everything about them.” Alastor spoke.

“I understand that he has sinned but…I cannot consent to his death, no matter what my son has done. So please, I beg of you! He will be given a fair trial by our people. But until then…let him live please!” Maragon gave up all his dignity and bowed his long neck to the small demon lord.

“…Is that what it means to be a father? You would forgive him no matter what he does?” inquired Alastor.

“As unreasonable as it may seem, it is….at least to me.” Maragon replied in a solemn voice.

“…I am so gonna regret this” Alastor muttered to himself. “Fine! He may live but I expect you to respect the decisions of the people if he is found guilty, which I think many will agree when they are aware of his evil deeds.”

“I will…thank you, Alastor!”

…..

Suddenly, a portal opened out of nowhere near the location of the group. A small figure holding a crown walked out of it as she stared straight into the bewildered Alastor who was looking at her with big eyes.

Something was strange about the girl. She would never make that cold expression even when she was sad. Yet at the moment, her eyes seemed so distant, as if she was not really there. And even weirder was her blue eyes beaming like crystal, unlike their usual emerald color.

“Here you are! I finally found you, my dear Alastor!”

A voice echoed from the crown held by Syralth, which was heard by no one but itself. From a glance, it clearly belonged to a woman but who? And most importantly, why was she seeking the young demon lord?

As everyone was stunned by the sudden appearance of the little girl, Taragon immediately recognized her as the daughter of the great Celdora. It was his chance to get out of here and he decided to risk it all to seize it.

Rushing to behind the little girl, the scumbag dragon held her tight in one arm by her neck.

“Nobody moves or I will break this brat’s neck!!!” the dragon shouted.

“Taragon, you bastard!” Alastor insulted.

“Let her go, you scumbag!” Kaiser roared, drawing his swords.

“Stop it, Taragon! It’s over! Give up now before it’s too late!” the father tried to convince his idiotic son.

“Never! It’s not over until I say it does! I won’t submit to you lowlifes!” Tightening his grip, the dragon was strangling the little draconian with his elbow. Yet, she didn’t resist but instead just stood there obediently. Perhaps she was simple too afraid of what was happening? It would be understandable considering her age but if that was the case, why was her face still so expressionless? Alas, no one had time to pay attention to any of those details while they were still distracted with Taragon.

As for the dragon himself, it was only now that he noticed the peculiar object Syralth was holding onto. A crown with the insignia of a gear, the mark of the old Artificer. At that moment, a flash came back to his mind as he remembered the quest he sent to the adventurers of the Guild to purge Celdora. However, in addition to that goal as instructed by the mysterious Arshe, he was told to also retrieve back a certain crown. At the time, he did not understand why but now he knew. Based on that info alone, Taragon deduced that this crown was the last Tempus Machina that has eluded Sanctus for so long. Each of the Tempus Machina was extremely powerful if used correctly. Surely, it would bring immense power to someone as dignified and worthy like the Great Taragon? With that power, he would be able to destroy all those who opposed him, even the brat Alastor or his own father…At least, those were the thoughts of a madman who has been cornered with no way out. He deluded himself into thinking of his greatness but failed to understand the basic concept of life: he was an idiot.

Grabbing the crown and stealing it from the girl’s hands, Taragon raised the crown highly as he put it on his head. Just what kind of power would he be able to attain with this incredible object?

“From now on, I am your king!!!” Taragon madly proclaimed. “Bow to me, vermins!”

“This guy is crazy!” Alastor commented.

“Hahahaha! I can feel the power flowing in my veins. Have a taste of my magnificence!”

“….”

“….”

“….What? Nothing happened? How…? What did I do wrong? How do I use this?” Confused by the inaction of the item, Taragon tapped on the crown lightly in hope that it would work. Still it didn’t. Being at his rope’s end, Taragon was furious. Could it be that he was not someone capable of using it? Was he not worthy enough? ….No that was not possible. He must be. If it didn’t work then it was this thing’s fault for being unable to recognize his talent. Using his strength, the young black dragon tried to forcefully break this item out of anger. But to his horror, a terrible fate awaited him. “AARARGGGH!”

The crown began to melt into a silver-like substance on his hands. Moving like a slime, it soaked like water to a towel, only the towel in this case was Taragon himself. Taragon, terrified by it, tried to remove the liquid but it was too late: it has already entered his body. The thing, it was invading his body as the dragon shouted in pain to the horror of everyone who was watching.

“Puny worm who dared toy with power beyond your control, have a taste of what you have always desired yourself!”

Moving under his skin to every part of his body, devouring his insides, the silver then proceeded to converge to his chest before rushing out through the hole they made on his rib cage, killing the dragon instantly. What was one a proud dragon was now a bloody mess of flesh and bones.

With the deed done, the silver regrouped outside and retook the form it once was: a black crown soaked in blood, lying next to the dead body of its victim as it waited for its rightful master.

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Author's note: Hope that you remember this detail about Ragna and Mara being connected ^^