Jim understood that he had not lived long enough in comparison to most people in the room. His suggestion earlier made him avoid eye contact with people present.

  If Zatrynx appeared, it meant bad news. He was a dragon that specialized in space manipulation, and he was also the son of the dragon who pioneered the Draconic War five hundred years ago. This was a revenge story, and no one doubted the Neather creature’s capability, especially if they were led by a Neather king.

  The countless chaos caused by these creatures in Loatim just north of Elador had spanned for hundreds of years, and the war still rages on to this day. Making them build a great wall to prevent the monsters from attacking every blue moon, which was on the fifth and sixth day of the night cycle.

  “We have to hurry back I have a bad feeling about this.

  Seil’s expression was dark; just thinking about Ephini being in danger made him shake in fear. They moved in groups, and they could blend with any form of shadow.

  “Calm down; we need a lot of help. Just you and I cannot stop the full army of Neather creatures.”

  Siel had finally calmed down hearing Zin's statement.

  “I guess I should report it to my master.”

  Bathemul served Abil, the demon queen of the southern land, who was currently visiting Tomaria’s thirteenth province. This was where Mizin, the war goddess, resided; she was one of the reasons the draconic war had ended, claiming the head of Vatrynx, the space dragon, during the first draconic war.

  “Hilary, Catherine”

  The mere sound of this voice made the trio behind Zin uneasy.

  “Spread the information to every province; the demons of the northern night sky are here.”

  Hilary and Catherine saluted Kalin, bowed to the grandmaster, and left the room.

  “So what are you going to do?”

  Vultor the dwarf asked Zin, and all attention in the room turned to him. Bathemul had gotten up and was stretching his body; he was fast and would travel by foot since Mizin’s estate had no teleportation pedestal, and all neighboring provinces were not in contact with her domain.

  “We will march at once.”

  Zin turned to the trio behind him and smiled.

  “Don’t worry; they will be fine.”

  He patted Zenora on the head since her eyes were almost tearing up. Gilly this whole time was silent, and her eye color flickered between deep blue and light blue. She had been deep in thought with foreign memories of battle filling her head. Of people battling dragons and strange beings that seemed like demons.

  “Young ones.”

  The grandmaster finally spoke up, his voice echoing in the room.

  "Make sure to keep yourself safe.”

  While scanning the trio, his eyes fell on Gilly. He noticed the color change in Gilly’s eyes but said nothing about it.

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  They all bowed and left the room with Bathemul in the lead. The room, which was full of ideas, was now completely silent. The day cycle was coming to an end, and the creatures of the night would soon be active.

  “Jim, put up a defense squad in every town and village.”

  He saluted and left the room.

  “Did you see her eye?”

  Kalin looked at the grandmaster in bewilderment.

  “You mean she is that woman’s child.”

  Kalin was a bit upset; the woman never said goodbye, so she was still hurt. She was close to her, but when she heard the news of her sudden disappearance, she felt empty.

  “I think a new age is about to come in; we lived for so long that we can no longer shine.”.

  Kalin smiled as his voice trailed off.

  “We’ve grown old, haven’t we?”

  They both stared out the window as a great shadow enveloped the entire city.

  …

  At the foot of a hill in Tomaria stood a man with goat legs and two pointed horns. Bathemul had been running continuously for two days. His face was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot, panting like a rabid dog that was starved for days.

  There was a long gate that towered above him. It gently opened, dust filling the air to reveal an array of stairs leading up; proceeding, he mustered the last of his strength to ascend.

  Two people sat at the top of the mountain, both wearing similar kimonos. A chessboard separated them, one, a kitsune with orange pupils and white hair, the other, having two horns sticking out of her forehead. She had black-toned skin and crimson eyes. Mizin and Abil went back and forth, angling for each other’s throats; Ai-Lyn and Ariel halted, watching Bathemul approach, their eyes gleaming in anticipation. His hair was tattered and his eyes like that of a zombie.

  Ariel, a Kitsune who had a small stature, standing behind Mizin the Kitsune playing chess, cried out. She approached him just in time; he was about to fall over. The two females turned, and their eyes both glowed as they inspected Bathemul.

  “What happened?”

  Mizin, the orange-eyed Kitsune, asked.

  “Neither creatures... dragon... Eln... or.”.

  This was all he could muster before he passed out.

  “Seems I need to train him more.”

  Abil, with the pointy horn, grinned at Mizin. They both understood the message: Elnor was in danger, and to get there by foot would take a lot of time, which was not in their hands. They had an option to travel to the nearest province of Asram, but it will also take time. At the end, Mizin turned to Abil.

  “Abil, will you help me just this once?”

  Abil was already smiling when she turned.

  “Aren’t we friends?”

  This word made Mizin sigh; her carefree attitude always had a way of calming her down. Abil’s aura rose as she released her indomitable dark field, which made the wind blow. The trees shook, the earth almost giving way as three figures emerged from the dark mist that had spawned from her aura.

  “You called, master.”

  A demoniod with a pointed nose and ears bowed. Beside him stood a large female ogre who had a large great sword in hand. The last was a small creature with wings. It was black and proceeded to land on Abil's shoulder.

  She raised her hand, and the two understood; they jumped back, forming a triangle with Abil. Large layers of magic circles formed, reaching the sky as they poured their mana into it. The sky turned crimson, and this could be seen for miles as a whirlpool formed at the center.

  “Watch the estate till I get back."

  She ordered Ariel and Ai-Lyn as she walked forward into the whirlpool with Abil and her subordinates following behind. The magic dimmed and the sky cleared as the blown-up leaves started to settle. Ariel and Ai-Lyn knew their master only made a move if it was at least a demigod or higher. This made them worry for Zin, who resided in Elnor.

  Ariel turned to Bathemul, who lay on the floor unconscious. Ai-lyn waved her staff, which appeared in her hand, making Bathemul float midair, proceeding to leave the courtyard with Ariel leading the way. In their minds they could feel the rage of their master but dared not to speak.

  .....

  Zin had been running for two days; they were much more agile than Bathemul, who was already old, although not as fast as him. Gilly closely followed behind, her eye color constantly flickering. They were close and could see smoke rising at a distance. Zenora clutched her staff tight as she wore a fearful expression. Siel was worried; all that went through his mind was Ephini, and he could barely control the feeling deep in his heart.

  “I will be going ahead at full speed. I’m not sure if I will take care of all the beasts on route”.

  Gilly, who was lost in thought, snapped back to reality by Zin’s words.

  “The way to kill a Neather creature is to infuse mana into your sword. Physical damage to them is useless”.

  “Don’t worry, just use mana bullets and you will be fine.”

  Zin turned, smiling at the small half-elf behind him, before dashing forward at an amazing speed, leaving the rest behind in the glow of the moon.