***

The Holy land of Amarantha, the very center and currently the strongest kingdom of all humanity. In front of the white towering castle was a massive army consisting of tens of thousands of warriors standing with such valiant in their stance. With their foreheads high up while facing the great castle in front of them. Preparing for an incoming glorious expedition.

Inside the throne room, 3 people were having a conversation, Commander Liam was kneeling in front of the throne where King Albern Amarantha was sitting.

King Albern leaned toward Commander Liam's direction and slowly nodded. "A meruem."

"Yes, it is hard to believe, but there are a considerable number of witnesses. Some of them also said that they saw it with their own eyes. Along with its distinguished crystallized horns, they said that it also had black wings and a pair of red glowing eyes... which only implied that it was an awakened one... all this time, the Shadow Fairy was hiding that monster from the awareness of everyone and now finally decided to reveal it to us."

A subtle smile emerged from King Albern's elegant face. "I will admit, the same failure who caused the end of the kingdom of Milana's glory didn't die in vain. That failed attack gave us a proper understanding of what kind of danger we are going to face to attain our goal." He laughed. "You have my praise, Commander Einar. Unfortunately, you can no longer hear my genuine recognition."

Commander Liam raised his head. "Your Majesty, should we send our army to exterminate the great threat that suddenly emerged from that town?"

King Albern's smile became wider. "Why should we?"

Commander Liam paused for a second while staring at King Albern with confusion in his eyes. "Your Majesty?"

King Albern raised his right hand. "Commander Liam, what do you know about the meruems?"

"That they are the most powerful and most dangerous race in the entire Ulterra. And eliminating them as soon as possible is the best course of action before they become so powerful for us to even stop. The race that embodies destruction and death."

The next thing that happened was a baritone laugh coming from King Albern while shaking his head. He stared at Commander Liam with great enthusiasm in his eyes. "That's what the stories and books said. Commander Liam, what if I told you that meruems were the most non-hostile demon tribe, would you believe me?"

"Yes? Were they?"

"Peaceful but unstable, that's what meruems are. Known as the most powerful and most dangerous race of Ulterra, the embodiment of catastrophe itself, all of it is completely true. Yet... how did the world manage to drive them to isolation several hundred years ago? Why didn't the meruems fight back and slaughter everyone who pushed them away? We all know that they could if they wanted to." He narrowed his eyes. "The answer is simple, the world didn't push them away... the world asked them to. The main reason why the world war against the meruem tribe didn't occur even though all of the races in this world agreed to band together to fight them was that if the world war took place at that time, it would end up in a bloodbath with meruems standing on top of the corpses of all nations in this world. Fortunately, the people of the world at that time were not foolish, all they did was to ask, and the meruem agreed to isolate themselves so they could never harm anyone." He stood up. "To make it simple, there is only one way to deal with a meruem. Especially knowing that even one can bring our entire race to its very extinction."

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

With a proud smile on his face, King Albern raised his hand. "Don't poke them if you are not certain that you could kill them faster than they could even react... don't harm anyone who the meruem consider as someone important to them... and if by any chance you somehow did. Prepare yourself for a destructive storm." He sat back on his throne and leaned his jaw on his hand. "Commander Einar fell because he did exactly what he shouldn't, which I am extremely grateful that he did. Furthermore, meruems are known for their ability to get even stronger every time they end a life, combined with their terrifying ability to easily adapt... that's what made them what they are known for. Sending an entire army consisting of ten of thousands or even a hundred thousand without a proper way to instantly kill a meruem is a foolish action. Rather than weaken or even destroy the meruem, we will just make it much stronger than it already is."

With his enlarged eyes, Commander Liam slowly nodded. "I see."

"Just let it be and I can assure you that it won't do anything unless provoked. Moreover, we can't afford to get the attention of a catastrophe itself while our plan is in motion. The existence of a meruem in that town will not change our plan, the only difference is, we already know what we are going to deal with in the future." King Albern nodded to his own statement with a smile on his face.

"I understand, Your Majesty." Commander Liam stood up and put his hand on his armored chest.

"For now, let's direct our priority to what seems a more feasible task." King Albern's eyes darted to the person standing beside the throne just silently listening to their conversation. A puzzling smile emerged on King Albern's face. "It's time to make your move... Hero, Karsus."

Upon hearing King Albern's order, the person who was wearing white full body armor moved. His face could not be seen due to the white helmet with metallic wings he was wearing. The sound of his metallic set of armor resonated throughout the silent room as he valiantly walked forward. His set of armor was shining due to the rays coming from sunlight passing through the windows of the throne room.

His glorious image stood right in front of Commander Liam, who instantly responded with a wide smile on his face.

"Let's go, Commander." He said with such a commanding but at the same time soothing voice.

Without a delay, Commander Liam bowed his head. "Right away, Hero."

The hero, Karsus walked past him and walked towards the entrance of the room. On his way to his expedition that was about to begin. Behind him was Commander Liam, following his every step.

King Albern followed them with his eyes. A gentle smile emerged on his elegant face. "The only difference between Einar and Karsus is, unlike his late father, Commander Einar was fighting for glory... nothing else. But Karsus was molded to achieve what the late Hero Ragnar wanted to achieve. Just like the greatest hero of humanity, Ragnar Aegle, Karsus's only reason to fight is to attain peace in this chaotic world. Not for glory and power or even greed... but for a peaceful future."