Valerian sat inside the dark mist, surrounded by dead friends. A fiend looked like a skeleton made up of black bones. If someone was to look at this thing without the black mist blurring the scene, they might lose their minds. As for the faint-hearted, death was the only thing that awaited them.

The young man had his eyes closed, but every time the death fiend neared him. It bit into his flesh. The impurities were sucked off from the depth of his body. The impurities had been living deep in his body for ages and were now a part of his body. When sucked out, it felt like someone was tearing him apart.

However, despite the pain and trauma, he had to suffer and tolerate all this. The reason was to defeat the Tyrant and avenge his parents. His resolve was not weak, and he would not stop until his goal had been achieved. Either that or his death was the only thing that would stop him.

Valerian faced all things with a heart of steel, but his body was not going to keep up with it. Every bit taken by the death fiends broke his body. His skin was fractured, and even his bones were broken. The impurities in the body of a mortal were so deep that even the marrow was contaminated by them.

...

While Valerian was suffering inside the ravine, the world outside was not calm. Fortuna was visiting various magical realms. She was gathering an army to face the Gladius army. Valerian was not invincible to face the generals in the army or Tyrant.

Although Valerian did not say anything to her, she was not clueless about his worries. He has been shouldering everything alone from the start till now. She did not know what plights he had suffered. However, she knew that if not for Bloomkin’s support, his body would have given in from all the wounds and stress it had been through.

Valerian was not weak, but his habit of constantly pushing his body to the limit was dangerous. The young man was unaware, but holding seven elements inside his body also had side effects. His appearance was older than his real age. It was because he held such power in his body.

The dragon god gifted him with immense power for a reason. However, as a god, he did not see what this mortal would do after serving the purpose. Gods cared for the balance of the world. Anything other than that was not their concern.

Fortuna stood before the holy maiden of the Clar-awks and said, "You also know what Valerian is going to face soon enough. The reason I am here is to ask for your support."

The holy maiden said, "Your Majesty, you did not have to travel this far, even if it was someone else. Facing this danger is the duty of the entire magical community. As for supporting Valerian, he is why my clan still exists peacefully."

Fortuna nodded and said, "You have my gratitude, Holy Maiden." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The two parties nodded, and Olivis spoke from the side, "Your Majesty, where is he? Ever since the past two weeks, you have been traveling on your own."

Fortuna gazed at the horizon and said, "He is looking for something. Do not worry."

Olivis wanted to ask what he was looking for when Fortuna said, "Have you been monitoring the situation in the Lumen Empire?"

The holy maiden nodded and said, "Yes, the Lumen empire has grown stronger. Thanks to Valerian, the young royals and nobles had been working hard. The empress even asked us if any Clar-awk experts would be willing to train them. That is not all. The humans on the western Continent have been increasingly harmonious to the magicals."

Fortuna nodded and said, "The world has ways to purify itself. However, time is short, and the prison we prepared to hold back that poison is about to reach its limits. I wonder if we would be able to fight back."

The holy maiden looked at the holy tree of Sripa and said, "Your Majesty, hope and love is something that man does not know of. He cannot win against us."

Fortuna smiled and asked, "Holy Maiden, I have been promised support by every magical that I have visited. Despite everything, it will be a war. I do not wish to see the innocents suffer. You are also aware that the power of a king, queen, or leader is a hundred times greater than the army combined.

If possible, I would ask you to step up and lend a hand in the war, not your army. If kings and queens suffer the worse, the next hair can close the magical realm. To deal with the troops gathered by that bastard, Western Monarchs have promised to mobilize their armies."

The holy maiden asked, "I do understand your reasoning, but may I ask, how will the human armies travel such great distances, Your Majesty?"

Fortuna smiled and said, "The kingdom of dragons is not limited to land or air, but the people often ignore the biggest force of our kingdom."

Olivis nodded and said, "The force you mention is the flood dragons roaming the vast ocean. Am I right?"

Fortuna nodded, "These serpents have been the oldest species of dragons, the true descendants of the Dragon Supreme. They do not fight because their strengths are too great for the world to handle. However, they can help with the transportation."

Holy Maiden smiled and said, "If that is the case, it is possible. What about the southern Continent?"

Fortuna replied, "Southern Continent does not have warriors, but they do have healers. In a war, the most needed thing is a healer. Saintess Misericordia has commanded the temple of mercy to mobilize the healers toward the battlefield."

The two magicals nodded, and Olivis said, "Now we have almost every Magical species ready for war."

Fortuna nodded and said, "I hope Immortuous will give us the time to regroup."

...

In a luxurious hall, the higher-ups of all the monarchs were sitting. On a throne sat Morgana, reading a scroll, when the attendants announced, "His Excellency Libra Verus, The Emperor of Lumen Empire, and Her Excellency Fragrantia Verus, The Empress of Lumen Empire, have arrived."

Then two figures walked inside the hall. Morgana and the rest of the people stood up. They all had surprised expressions. This meeting was held to discuss how to respond to the threat on the eastern continent because the magical patron species have all issued alerts for this.

They did not expect the Emperor and Empress to come forward personally. However, if they empathized with the two, they could not help but respect this decision. After all, the two of them had come for their son—the main character of this war.

By now, the story had been cleared to everyone. On the Western Continent, everyone knew that a guy with silver hair helped them overcome the Valkyrians and even defeated their god. However, soon after, the people were told not to discuss this as some foreign powers sought their savior.

It took some effort, but the masses all understood and kept mum. The story of the young man was an untold legend. Fragrantia and Morgana were aware, and they were the ones to convince Stellar Empire to issue the gag order.

The Stellar Empire did not want to hide the glory Valerian had won, so in the end, Fragrantia had to tell them about Valerian’s origin. The story shocked the people and made them idolize Valerian even more. His parents were known to everyone. Some people who had come in contact with the two immediately rushed to the Lumen Imperial Palace.

They wished to meet the son of their benefactors. However, they were disappointed as Fragrantia told them that Valerian was out on a journey.

...

While the world was bustling, a man dressed in black armor stood on the balcony of his palace and said, "The time has come for Gladius to rise again. We will reclaim our glory, and anyone who stands in the way shall be killed."

The soldiers all reacted, "Ha!"

Soon they all began to tap the bottoms of their spear shafts against the ground, and some hit their swords against their shields. The sound was akin to a thunder in the skies. Immortuous had gathered his army, and he would lead them outside the dragon barrier. He was going to find that person who killed his kin and destroyed his plans before he conquered the world.

The army was constantly letting out war cries; they had been caged for too long, and now they wanted to go out and hunt. This was not something everyone wanted but what could they do in the face of the Almighty Tyrant Immortuous?

The man in the black armor said, "Do not worry. I will be at the front. I will personally lead you all to conquer the world and those beasts who think they are superior to us. They shall all perish. Are you ready?"

His last question was anything but a question. The soldiers thundered again and Immortuous said, "Move out."