Chapter 97: The Advance of the Council — The Mortal World Trembles

The fall of the Central Empire was not merely another military victory.

It was an event that shook the entire Mortal World.

The empire that had stood for thousands of years as one of the greatest powers in the world...

had submitted.

Not after a siege that lasted for years.

Nor after a prolonged war of attrition.

But after Azrael himself appeared.

And after revealing his full draconic form before the empire, it had taken Titania only moments to make her decision.

Submission to the Council.

The news spread with astonishing speed.

Reports of the surrender reached the neighboring kingdoms, then the great powers across the other continents.

In royal palaces, rulers gathered around maps.

One king stared at the report before him, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"The Central Empire... surrendered?"

One of his advisers answered:

"Yes."

"Are you certain?"

"The news has come from multiple sources."

The king slammed his fist onto the table.

"How?!"

The adviser replied:

"Azrael appeared personally."

Silence descended.

Then one of the generals spoke:

"The Black-Purple Dragon..."

The king raised his head.

"You mean that being who appeared during the Racial Tournament?"

"Yes."

The king swallowed hard.

"Then this is no longer merely a war between the Council's army and the Central Empire."

"No."

The adviser lowered his voice.

"Lord Azrael has begun moving personally."

Silence fell once more.

And everyone was thinking the same question:

Who will be next?

In the far east...

the war was still raging.

The Council's armies stretched across vast plains, while the forces of the Three Sea Tribes stood before them.

Behind the tribes, the sea churned violently, waves crashing against the shores with tremendous force.

In the distance...

pillars of smoke rose from the villages and fortresses that had been consumed by the fighting.

One of the Council's soldiers raised his sword.

"Prepare yourselves!"

Thousands of soldiers advanced.

On the opposite side stood the leaders of the three tribes.

One of them was a massive man wielding a black spear.

"The news has arrived," he said.

The leader of the second tribe turned toward him.

"About the Central Empire?"

He nodded.

"They surrendered."

The third leader frowned.

"That means the Council's army is now even closer to us."

Everyone fell silent.

Then the spear-wielding man said:

"Let them come."

The others stared at him in surprise.

"You know what happened to the Central Empire."

"I know."

"And you know that Azrael appeared personally."

"I know."

He tightened his grip around his spear.

"But we are not the Central Empire."

One of them asked:

"And what if Azrael appears here?"

The man paused for a moment.

Then he answered:

"Then we will find out whether the legend is truly worthy of fear."

He did not know that his words would soon reach the Council's commanders.

The sound of a war horn rang across the battlefield.

WOOOOOOOOOM!

The Council's forces surged forward.

The armies collided.

Energy erupted across the battlefield.

Water exploded from the shoreline beneath the force of their attacks.

The warriors of the Sea Tribes fought fiercely.

They knew that defeat meant losing their lands.

But the Council's army did not retreat.

Every time one of their soldiers fell...

another stepped forward.

One of the tribal commanders roared:

"Do not let them break through!"

"Kill everyone who crosses the line!"

The tribal forces surged forward.

Then the voice of one of the Council's generals thundered across the battlefield:

"Advance!"

The army charged once more.

And the battle began to transform into a vast slaughter.

In the north...

snow fell across another battlefield.

White mountains stretched toward the horizon.

The banners of the Barbarian Tribe fluttered above the peaks.

Beneath them stood thousands of warriors.

Massive bodies.

Heavy weapons.

Faces covered with the scars of countless battles.

On the opposite side...

stood the Council's army.

One of the Council's soldiers said:

"They aren't retreating."

His commander answered:

"Because they know no fear."

He looked toward the mountains.

"But neither do we know retreat."

The barbarians unleashed a thunderous war cry.

Then they charged down from the mountains.

BOOOOOOM!

The earth shook beneath their footsteps.

One of the Council's soldiers raised his sword.

"Prepare yourselves!"

The armies collided.

And the battle erupted amid the snow.

In the south...

the situation was different.

There was no mighty empire.

Nor were there fully organized tribes.

Instead, there was a massive stronghold belonging to a vast bandit force.

A colossal fortress had been built atop a mountain range.

Inside...

hundreds of thousands of warriors were preparing to resist.

One of the bandit commanders entered the meeting hall.

"I have new information."

Everyone turned toward him.

"The Central Empire has fallen."

Silence.

One of them asked:

"Fallen?"

"They surrendered."

Another man slammed his fist against the table.

"Impossible!"

The commander replied:

"Azrael appeared personally."

The man fell silent.

Then he said:

"Then it's over."

But another commander spoke:

"It's not over."

Everyone turned toward him.

He smiled coldly.

"As long as we haven't surrendered."

He raised his cup.

"We will fight to the very end."

Far away from all these battlefronts...

Azrael was moving across the skies.

His enormous draconic body tore through the heavens.

With every beat of his wings, the clouds were forced apart.

But this time, he was not heading toward the Central Empire.

It was already under the Council's banner.

His objective now was to oversee the remaining battlefronts.

As he flew...

the voices of his generals reached him through spiritual communication.

The Golden General spoke:

"Lord Azrael."

The dragon paused in the sky.

"Speak."

The general said:

"The eastern front is still resisting."

Then the voice of the Flame General followed:

"So is the northern front."

He added:

"As for the south, the bandit stronghold is still holding out."

Silence lingered for a moment.

Then Azrael asked:

"How long has it been since the beginning of the war?"

The Golden General answered:

"A long time, my lord."

Silence.

Then Azrael said:

"Longer than it should have been."

His voice became colder.

"I do not want these fronts to continue forever."

The Flame General asked:

"Do you want us to intensify the assault?"

"Yes."

Then Azrael added:

"But do not waste your forces unnecessarily."

"I want them subdued."

"I do not want to turn the world into a graveyard."

The two generals exchanged glances.

Then the Golden General replied:

"Understood, my lord."

Azrael said:

"I want the three fronts brought to an end."

"As quickly as possible."

Then the connection was severed.

Meanwhile...

Titania stood before one of the windows of her palace.

In the distance, the Council's banner fluttered above the capital's walls.

The banner of the Central Empire...

now hung behind her.

A soldier entered.

He bowed.

"Your Majesty."

She turned toward him.

"What is it?"

He said:

"The Council's forces have begun deploying throughout the capital."

She nodded.

"Let them."

The soldier hesitated.

"Do... do we now consider ourselves part of the Council?"

Titania looked toward the purple banner.

Then she answered:

"Yes."

He paused for a moment.

Then asked:

"Do you believe surrendering was the right decision?"

Titania remained silent.

Then she replied:

"If we had refused..."

She looked toward the sky.

"this capital would now be a graveyard."

The soldier lowered his head.

"Understood."

Then he left.

Titania remained alone.

She remembered Azrael.

She remembered his draconic form.

And she remembered the words he had spoken to her:

"This great one has come to offer you a choice between submission and annihilation."

She closed her eyes.

"I chose submission..."

Then she opened them again.

"And now I must live with that decision."

Elsewhere...

the Foyd family was still living with the aftermath of their final confrontation.

Leon had regained consciousness.

He sat with difficulty while Selena remained beside him.

As for Lilian...

she stood silently before the window.

She had barely spoken since Azrael's departure.

Valen sat on the other side of the room.

His face looked more exhausted than ever.

Selena spoke softly:

"Mother..."

Lilian did not answer.

Selena approached her.

"Are you all right?"

Lilian forced a faint smile.

"I'm fine."

But her voice betrayed the lie.

Selena said:

"You're not fine."

Lilian lowered her head.

Then she said:

"We saved Leon."

Everyone looked toward him.

He was alive.

And that alone should have been something to celebrate.

But Lilian said:

"And yet..."

She fell silent.

Then whispered:

"We lost Azrael."

Silence filled the room.

Valen said:

"We didn't lose him today."

Lilian raised her eyes toward him.

He continued:

"We lost him a long time ago."

Then he added in a broken voice:

"Today... we simply realized it."

Lilian could not stop her tears.

As for Lunaria, she remained silent for several moments.

Then she said:

"Perhaps..."

Everyone looked at her.

"Perhaps we shouldn't think about how to make him forgive us."

Selena asked:

"Then what should we think about?"

Lunaria answered:

"Becoming people who, one day, are worthy of his forgiveness."

No one replied.

But her words remained hanging in the room.

The scene returned to the sky.

Azrael flew above the clouds of the Mortal World.

From that height...

he could see vast lands stretching toward the horizon.

Continents.

Kingdoms.

Tribes.

Empires.

All of them still lay beyond the Council's banner.

The dragon stopped for a moment.

He looked down at the world beneath him.

Then he said quietly:

"Three battlefronts remain."

A purple gleam ignited within his eyes.

"Then this world will be finished."

He spread his wings.

Then struck the sky with them.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A tremendous storm erupted behind him.

The dragon shot toward the horizon at astonishing speed.

The Mortal World was approaching its turning point.

But beyond this world...

two other worlds awaited.

The Divine World.

And Hell.

And Azrael had not forgotten his promise.

For after subjugating the Mortal World...

a far greater war would begin.

The War of Worlds.