Odin looked toward the distant sky and furrowed his brows as he saw the colors covering the horizon changing in an unnatural way.
A blazing golden light was clashing against a dense violet-black darkness, making it seem as though the heavens themselves had been divided into two opposing worlds.
At that very moment...
The rulers of the other races did the same.
Each of them raised their head toward the distant sky above the territory protected by the Human Emperor and realized that an extraordinary battle had erupted there.
As for the Elven Saint...
She stood atop the walls of the fortress under her protection, watching the demons' relentless assault.
But suddenly, she stopped paying attention to the battle before her and turned her gaze toward the distant sky.
A slight frown appeared on her face as she sensed that the aura spreading there was not something that could be ignored.
She turned toward one of the elder elves and said firmly,
"You will take charge of protecting the fortress."
Then she added,
"There is something I must do."
The elder nodded respectfully.
Without hesitation, the Saint released her spiritual power and soared into the sky, heading toward the fierce battlefield whose clash had become powerful enough to alter the color of the heavens themselves.
And the Elven Saint was not the only one who moved.
The kings and leaders of the other races did the same after realizing that whatever was happening there could affect the course of the entire war.
While flying...
The Elven Saint encountered the Giant King.
The Giant King traveled in a different manner, using his immense aura to propel his massive body through the sky as though the very air obeyed his will.
The Saint glanced at him and nodded.
"It seems that the Human Emperor is facing a serious problem."
The Giant King nodded in return but kept his eyes fixed ahead as he said calmly,
"There is something you should understand, Saint."
Then he continued in a serious tone,
"Our priority is the war before us."
"As for anything else, any grudge or old conflict, it has no value right now."
The Elven Saint understood his meaning.
She realized that he did not want the conflicts between the races to interfere with their response to the true threat.
A few moments later...
She saw the Dwarf King approaching, accompanied by the King of the Demihumans.
A slight frown crossed her face when she looked at them, but she said nothing.
The Dwarf King did the same, merely looking at her in silence, as though everyone had silently agreed to set aside their differences until the crisis was over.
Thus...
Four leaders of different races gathered within the same sky.
Together, they gazed toward the horizon where terrifying auras continued to rage.
Suddenly...
The Giant King lowered his gaze toward the ocean beneath them and said with a slight frown,
"Are you not going to show yourself, Sea King?"
"Or do you intend to keep hiding like this?"
The moment he finished speaking...
A colossal pillar of water erupted from the depths of the ocean.
It rose dozens of meters into the air before dispersing into countless droplets.
From within it emerged the Sea King.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he smiled and said,
"I was merely observing the situation..."
"And I was worried our allies might make some unexpected move."
The King of the Demihumans looked at him before shaking his head.
"That is not important right now."
Then he raised his eyes toward the sky, whose colors continued to shift endlessly, and added,
"What matters is..."
"Why is a power this terrifying fighting so early in the war?"
Silence lingered for several moments.
Then the Dwarf King looked toward the distant sky, where fiery gold and violet-black darkness continued to collide, and said seriously,
"Let's go and see what's happening."
"If we remain here and fail to help the Human Emperor, that would be a grave mistake."
The Sea King nodded in agreement.
"You're right."
"And if we do nothing, we may find ourselves in his place a few days from now."
The rulers exchanged glances.
Then each of them nodded to the others.
In the next instant...
They all shot forward at tremendous speed toward the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the sky ahead of them grew increasingly unstable, as though it were announcing that an unprecedented confrontation was about to change the course of the entire war.
At the battlefield...
The colossal phoenix soared through the sky, spreading its blazing wings across a vast portion of the horizon. From its beak, it unleashed enormous fireballs the size of warships, sending them hurtling toward its opponent like destructive meteors.
Meanwhile...
The gigantic black raven, with its terrifying violet eyes, released thunderous cries that shook both heaven and earth.
With every screech, dense waves of black energy surged outward, erasing the incoming flames before they could reach it.
The battle between the two was frighteningly even.
The phoenix could not destroy the raven.
Nor could the raven extinguish the phoenix's flames.
It seemed as though two equal forces were locked in a struggle where neither side could overpower the other.
The Human Emperor frowned deeply after realizing that continuing the fight in this manner would gain him no advantage.
Suddenly...
He emerged from within the fiery phoenix and ordered it to continue attacking the raven on its own.
The mysterious figure was startled by the unexpected move, but reacted immediately.
He also emerged from within the raven.
However, he transformed the raven itself into an enormous black maw.
The horrifying shape opened its mouth wide before lunging toward the phoenix.
In a single instant...
It swallowed the phoenix whole.
For a brief moment, it seemed as though the phoenix had been defeated.
But...
The moment it settled inside that black maw, a tremendous explosion erupted, shaking the entire battlefield.
The sky trembled.
The air distorted.
Waves of energy spread in every direction.
The mysterious figure immediately shifted his gaze toward the Human Emperor.
There, in the Emperor's hand, was a glowing golden sword radiating terrifying power.
The figure instantly frowned.
Then he brought his hands together and condensed a tiny black sphere between them.
It was small...
But it contained an unbelievably frightening power.
It looked as though he was about to throw it directly at the Human Emperor.
However, he suddenly sensed several powerful individuals approaching the battlefield.
His brows tightened sharply.
A terrifying violet aura burst from his eyes.
Then he condensed several more black spheres, each small in size yet filled with the same overwhelming power.
Without hesitation, he launched all of them toward the Human Emperor.
The Emperor did not wait for the mysterious figure to complete his attack.
Instead, he suddenly found himself surrounded by horrifying black monsters that emerged from every direction.
He dealt with them at astonishing speed.
Only a few swings of his golden sword were needed to tear every one of them apart.
He was just about to charge directly toward the mysterious figure.
But his opponent was already one step ahead.
The plan had already been set in motion.
The black spheres shot toward him at tremendous speed.
The Human Emperor had no choice but to raise the arm holding his golden sword and strike the incoming spheres with precise blows.
However, he had underestimated their power.
Despite their small size...
Each sphere contained enough force to push him backward little by little.
The Emperor quickly tightened his grip.
He brought both arms into the defense.
Then he poured an enormous amount of flame energy into his sword.
Suddenly...
The blade flashed with a brilliant crimson light that tore through the surrounding air.
The black spheres exploded under the force of the strike.
The resulting scene was terrifying.
The Human Emperor stood at the center of a massive explosion, gripping his blazing sword as his golden flames collided violently against the erupting black energy released by the mysterious figure.
When the explosion finally subsided...
The Emperor immediately searched for his opponent.
But he could not find him.
The mysterious figure had already disappeared.
The Emperor frowned deeply.
At that moment...
He sensed several powerful individuals approaching the battlefield.
After focusing for a brief moment...
He recognized those auras.
A sigh of relief escaped him.
Calmly, he deactivated his power.
The golden aura surrounding his body faded away.
The flames burning along his sword also vanished.
But...
The very moment he did so...
A thunderous shout echoed from the distance.
It was the voice of the Giant King, roaring at the top of his lungs:
"Watch out...!"
"He's behind you!"
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]