The atmosphere resembled the calm before a storm only to a naked eye. The mana particles that I can't see anymore, reverberated as they convulsed heavily. I can tell because of its increased density and pressure in the surroundings. It won't stop existing or stop affecting me just because I lost my ability to use it. It became more apparent.

An average mage would not be able to sustain this high density and may destroy his core. But those with ample control over mana may be able to even use this to their advantage. One can't imagine the scale of destruction this war would cause if even one of the asura went overboard.

Just what are Kezess and Agrona thinking, sending their strongest men onto the battlefield. I cursed as my blood pulsed erratically. It would've been a lot better if they went for each other's throats directly. That is one situation I am confident enough to face on my own.

The ethereal blaze off my armor burned ghastly giving off a vibrant presence. I lay in wait as the forces approached the destroyed center of the city. I could see familiar faces on either side, although I hate to admit it about the Vritra. Everyone looked alert and are ready to come for my neck in one command.

"Who are you? Identify yourself" Windsom leading the Epheotus troops on my right asked.

I let silence fill the air before giving my response, inspecting the huge waves of bloodlust. The pure-blooded Vritras leading the Alacrya's forces. The scythes and their retainers reinforced their weapons.

"I would prefer if you all leave this place quietly, what are you guys up to?" I said while revealing my face from the Armor form.

Those who knew me before were bewildered and some even gasped in shock. Scythe Cadell showed a discomforting smile as he got a clear look. Windsom maintained his composure as he looked keenly at the turn of events.

"Is that you Arthur Leywin?" Aldir addressed while probably verifying me with his third eye.

"Yes, but I want to know what is the reason for the top-notch warriors of both sides to come face to face?" I asked with a warning tone.

Unable to digest the obvious response I rolled my eyes even before they said anything. They are ready to engage any second now. It is just a matter of time before they avert their focus from my miraculous survival. I searched for traces of any life other than us war-craving freaks. If the battle ensues here I can't even imagine which place is anymore. It might even result in barren and dead lands throughout Dicathen.

"We have to eliminate the threat they pose to the world" A Vritra spoke in high pitch.

"Hah, irony coming from those who torture the lessers to rule a fake kingdom," Aldir spoke.

If they continue it would be a scuffle of continuously accusing each other. They might be at the end of their resistance. The forces from Epheotus are reserved, it may be because of my presence. They didn't see me as an enemy as they helped us in the previous war. But it was different with the Vritras who looked at us similarly.

"You should've valued your life back when lord Agrona has given you the chance, at least you should have rested in peace when the whole world presumed you to be dead." The Vritra from before spoke.

"Yet, here you are crawling back to the same battlefield where you almost died in the hands of mere Scythes. Perhaps you do not value your life, standing before the Asuras about to go wild." he continued.

"Runaway to the edges of this world if you wish to------" I cut his words with mine.

"Damn, you speak way too much. All I want you guys to do is to scram away to your land. If you refuse, please expect broken bones, torn muscles, and maybe lost lives as a goodbye gift." I interrupted him while rubbing my ears mockingly.

'That was Badass!!' my partner whistled.

"You dare speak back to me, lesser, I will kill you so that-------" He burst in anger while I turned to Windsom.

"I don't want to see my continent perish with a battle like this. What do you say Windsom? Will you guys leave here? I would like to meet lord Kezess after this." I said with a serious tone.

He fell into deep thought before giving his response.

"This is our chance, we can deal a huge blow to Agrona's forces," Aldir muttered to Windsom.

Honestly, Aldir is my biggest fear. If he decides to do the same as he did at Elenoir, then I would have no way other than to fight the Epheotus's forces. This is such a pain.

"Master Kezess ordered us to wipe Agrona's forces before they can take over the people in Dicathen and use them as weapons. We want to prevent that from happening. We have to do this if we want to ensure a future" Windsom replied.

"Future huh, All I can see is you guys protecting your home, your position, and power. There are people here in this city, evacuated to a place that might be destroyed if you start the battle. Do you want to proceed?" I said with dissatisfaction.

If Windsom doesn't back down even now, then I will have to force them all to leave here. Handling all the Vritra's is no joke too. In this situation, I only have a single solution.

"That is a sacrifice we are prepared to make, for dealing a massive blow to the enemy. They will be glad to be able to help in saving the world." Aldir said as a matter of fact.

Something snapped inside me, don't push your expectations and convenience onto people. No one focused on me anymore, except for Windsom who tried to stop Aldir before but gave up when the enemy rushed forward. I sighed as the ethereal blazes burned brightly from before. I covered my face and released torrents of aether towards both the forces, that knocked them aside. I reflected the projectiles with my armor using God step.

The problem now is the melee warriors. I can somehow manage the emitters or the projectile-based attacks. But fighting close-ranged with multiple enemies is a tough thing. I used aether projectiles to attack the melee ranged fighters from both sides.

No matter how hard I pushed, I couldn't stop them from engaging in a battle. The war has already started. I could see the heavy impacts everywhere around me. The air blew erratically as it carried a rotten smell of blood and flesh. Blasts of mana flowed around me, although none of it was able to scratch me.

The impact of the destruction was tearing away the city. Probably in 10 minutes, there may be no traces of the city left. Landscapes transformed into craters as the madness of the war went wild in this once peaceful city.

I felt a sweet temptation to lose myself in this madness and cause destruction until I cannot see any movement here. I was able to barely resist it in the middle of war where usually holding back would cause one to forfeit their life. As the saying goes, it is easy to destroy rather than to build something.

I continued to heavily diminish the aether in me. Many were surprised at the quality of the superior energy that flowed from me. Most specifically the Asuras from Epheotus. They must be shocked to see me keeping up against multiple Asuras without much trouble.

Windsom and Aldir, while commanding the warriors were observing my actions with a keen eye. I started moving and engaging with warriors with my aether-clad fist because I need to preserve my aether. I knocked away at random Asuras be it the Vritra or the ones from Epheotus.

Quakes formed on the ground swallowing up the troops. I was hoping for a sweet rendezvous between me and the Scythes. Especially Cadell looked excited before. Did he decide that he was better off not messing with me? Just as I was thinking that I spotted the scythes going toe to toe against the weak Asuras.

I felt a familiar bloodlust from behind. It was Kordri, who looked like he was challenging to a fight. uhh, man, you do know that I am not here to fight without care!? He closed the distance between us instantly and guided his fist into my gut. I responded with my fist into his chest. None of us guarded against the blows. It was a clean hit. Kordri was knocked away as he spit blood on the ground.

While I stood harmless in his vision, he laughed with a satisfied look on his face. I want to see how I fare off against him without my armor form.

"I will challenge you to a duel later when I travel to Epheotus. I gotta stop this farce and protect my continent now." I said in a serious tone as I focused on my surroundings.

He nodded and headed off to intercept any dangerous projectiles. Wow, did he just now heeded to my words? As I tried to restrain the fighting capabilities of the warriors I felt a huge spike in the mana behind me. It was Aldir.

Aldir began to expand, his third eye shone golden yellow and he was clad in the mana of golden yellow. The mana took the form of flames. This is the same ability that caused me terror and fear before. Which made me beg and pray for the safety of my sister and the elves present.

The Vritra released their hell flames as they quickly spread across the battlefield burning everything it contacted.

I extended my right hand forward. Specifically speaking, the storage rune that I had on my forearm. I passed aether into the rune to activate. Since I am close to emptying my aether pool, I had to rely on Regis. An invisible vacuum manifested around my arm, which pulled the air with immense pressure.

Everyone was dumbfounded when they witnessed the miracle before their eyes. All the projectiles and Aldir's massive figure engulfed in golden flames started to dissipate slowly. In the case of Aldir, he was reverting back to his original form as his third eye was forced shut.

This is one of my trump cards to stop this war from happening. Although I pulled it out after the war started, (the city was wiped clean, no one can describe it as a city anymore. It is just the aftermath of an apocalypse.) I had hoped to try to convince them by overwhelming them in battle. But as expected of the Asuras they won't back down that easy.

The storage rune sucked in the mana in the atmosphere at an immense rate. The Asuras now weakened suffered as the mana even in their cores is being sucked out. When I reached a certain mastery in the branch of Spatium, I had also gained the power of selectivity and range for the item storage and thus am now able to store the mana inside it.

'Such convenience right?' Regis snickered.

Of course not, the items already stored inside will be destroyed. And the Aether required to do this so immense that I may not be able to fight for probably an hour. This is a calculated risk.

The area from which the mana is being sucked increased exponentially. The Asuras both Vritra and the ones from Epheotus suffered as some fell to the ground and some to their knees. They looked at me, standing in the center of the battlefield, with absolute terror.

The void engulfed the area of the entire city before it was destroyed. Windsom was the only one on his feet while glaring at me with anger.

'I doubt if you would be invited to Epheotus now?' Regis questioned.

Well, let's just break in there if we are not welcomed. I am sure it will be a good raid as a payback to what they tried to do to my homeland.

I caught sight of several silhouettes outside the boundaries of the city. Among them was Virion. A chill ran down my spine at their unexpected arrival. My sight is exponentially improved from the enhancements from Armor Form. Windsom focused on my gaze and understood my hesitation.

He launched several projectiles in that direction. Something is weird, how is he able to conjure projectiles in the no-mana zone he is standing in? The answer was obvious, he was not using mana. The projectiles are made of aether. Of course, he can use aether, he is affiliated with the Indrath Clan. I cursed at my miscalculation and thrust forward before using god step to get myself directly before the launched projectile.

The storage rune stopped as the mana flowed into the former void, from the surroundings of the city. I successfully negated the attack with a punch. The aether from the attack dispersed into the atmosphere as the attack fell apart.

The Asuras are now relieved from their suffering as they gathered the strength to get on their feet while still terrified at my power.

I made sure to not kill them or injure them gravely by drawing out the mana. I am not here to get revenge. If I succumbed to my anger, all I would leave is a cycle of war and suffering throughout the future. I am able to claim these words, with the experience of my two lives.

If I am hellbent on losing my father in the war, then I must keep in mind about the Alacryan children that I separated from their fathers throughout the war. I have committed mistakes, in both of my lives. I made a sin. I might not know the perfect way to repent for it, but I know that I have to work hard so that no one else walks the way I had to. So, that no one commits that sin again.

'If only there was a true evil that we can eradicate for good.' Regis commented.

A searing pain passed through my head as I felt drowsy. It was nothing new, I had experienced this pain before. This is the activation of the Fate edict. A part of Fate Edict. The glimpse of the Abandoned Futures. It must be activated due to me sucking in the mana.

Unsorted flashes of the future flowed into my mind as it took my all to keep up. I tried to figure them out even though the flash of images didn't had any particular connection. Those mere flashes were enough to pose a threat to my mental health. In the future, the fall of Dicathen and Alacrya, genocides of the soldiers and refugees, death of the people I know Tessia, Virion, Caera, Seris, twin horns, Nico, Kezess, Agrona and many such. My father, Reynolds Leywin killing my family. I couldn't bear to focus on it anymore, but forced myself because I need every little detail I can get if I want to avoid that future.

As I redirected my focus, I saw my lifeless body hung in a public execution while being stabbed to death by a human with a mark of spinning wheel on his forehead. There were people with similar feature around him. Then I saw an empty throne in a majestic palace.

Throughout these flashes, there was only destruction and massacre.

These were the events of future hadn't I sucked out the mana dry before. I couldn't understand how it is related to the near extinction of entire life. Just because they are the events of an abandoned future doesn't mean they won't occur in the path I am on.

Sylvie, take the group with Virion away from here. I don't understand how they got here. I tried to communicate with Sylvie.

'I think they got there using the tunnels of the dwarves. Don't worry I will take them to safety. Be careful and don't hesitate to ask for my help. Don't try to put everything on your shoulders as you did.....' she spoke before her voice stopped.

I inspected my surroundings to find the scenery grayed out and motionless. This was similar to static void. But, to be able to stop the time of this many Asuras at once. Who could it be? Is it Kezess? Did he descend his throne finally to settle things with his own hands? As I shifted my gaze over and over, I felt a powerful pull on my back as my surroundings started to transform.

I tried to use God step to get away from its grasp but I failed as I collided into a massive pillar and was ejected out of my Armor Form. I convulsed in pain as I rolled on the ground. It was partly dark. I inspected around to see a high raised ceiling and gallant walls which suggested that this was a court hall of a palace.

There was a grand and empty throne that radiated the worth of the one looking at it. Several figures loomed around in the darkness. I got up and took a defensive stance as massive enmity from multiple silhouettes was directed at me. Sweat beads formed on my forehead and my nerves popped out in anxiety and confusion.

"Worry not King Grey, we do not seek to harm you. Because we were the ones who bought you here" a voice echoed through the court hall before my eyes fell onto a figure that gave off divine presence.

He put up a pleasant smile as he made his way to me. He had features of a human being, but something unusual stood out. He felt majestic and superior like the Asura. His forehead bored the figure of a wheel. It must be something like a rune that we use.

"We are called Devas. The sworn enemies of the Asura" he said while inspecting me with scorn.