Adrien had completely taken over the world.
After swallowing the entire Dragon Empire, he proceeded to assault the other Continents, proclaiming war on every single existence with his incredible power. In order to avoid utter extinction, the survivors of each race found solace in the Fairy World.
"I had to increase the space of this world in order to occupy everyone, while your servant… Ater… he was able to coordinate the entire transfer, making sure we had a sustainable ecosystem by the time everyone settled in."
Rey smiled once he heard this.
'Ater keeps amazing me.' He thought. 'He gathered everyone together and managed to create a stable environment for them to thrive pending my return.'
"With all the pieces now ready, the time has come for a counterattack."
Rey agreed with the Fairy King.
Adrien was only going to get bolder in his strategy, and the longer they left him to his devices, the more he would wreak havoc on the world. If Ater had been present throughout his war, perhaps he would have halted it, but he was busy searching for Rey.
As a result, he could only create a framework for the migration to the Fairy World while he searched for his Master. Every single continent was now under the enemy's control, and the only reason the Fairy World was exempt was due to the fact that it was cut off from the rest of reality.
How was that possible.
'It's due to his SSS-Tier Skill…' Rey stared at the Fairy King. '[Architect].'
There were a total of 6 SSS-Tier Skills, also known as Primeval Skills. Rey possessed [Doppel], the Fairy King possessed [Architect], the Dragon Emperor possessed [Reset], while the Oracle had [Clairvoyance].
As for the last two Skills, they were [Skill Creation] and [Alter].
Ater already revealed that he had the [Alter] skill embedded in him, though he couldn't use it at will. As for the [Skill Creation] Skill, it had to be with none other than Adrien Chase.
'Now that we know the location of all the Primeval Skills, all I have to do is obtain all of them and save H'Trae from Adrien's plans.' Rey told himself. 'Once that's over, Ater should obtain his memories, and we should be able to stop the destruction of this world.'
The issue was where to start from.
'My entire System Window was reset upon my arrival here, and that includes my Skills.'
He had none of them left, which meant he would have to start from scratch. Ater already told him not to worry about any of it, though, so he was going to leave the details of preparation to Ater while prepared himself.
'I'm worried about Lucielle and Adonis… but now isn't the time to think about them.'
There were more important things at hand.
It was the same way he felt when he saw Esme while heading to the Fairy King's hall. His emotions weren't suppressed, so he did feel a mix of feelings upon catching a glimpse of her, but he numbed himself from all those distractions
'I'll have time to sort out everything else later.' He shrugged. 'For now, business comes first.'
"I'm relieved you have agreed to help us, Rey Skylar."
The Fairy King's voice cut through Rey's thoughts, drawing him back to the present as he looked at the man's face.
"All Fairies were created by me for the sole purpose of defending H'Trae as the last ditch-effort for survival, but I came to realize that it would all end in tragedy. Ultimately, we were destined to die and fail as our world crumbled in destruction."
"…."
"Some of my children are fine with that, as they consider their purpose to die in glorious battle… but I am of a different position."
Rey watched the Fairy King break into tears as he poured out his emotions.
"What kind of father would want his children to perish? Which parent desires to see their offspring die with no purpose? This world… it requires salvation to validate our existence and imminent sacrifice."
'I understand what he's trying to say.' Rey nodded slowly. 'A lot of the Fairies are ultimately going to die in the war to come, but he wants their deaths to have meaning. And most importantly…'
A smile formed on his face as he had the warm thought.
'… He wants to save as many of his children as possible, giving them a bright future.'
Even though they had not known each other for too long, Rey grew a certain respect for the Fairy King and was glad to have him as an ally.
"Don't worry, old man… you can count on me."
The Fairy King's tears slowly ceased as he looked at Rey with bright eyes filled with pleasant surprise. He could see Fae, his most prized offspring, in this boy, as they both spoke to him with fire in their hearts.
More than anything, he wished for their success.
"Thank you… Rey Skylar!"
*********
[Moments Later]
Rey entered the hall, causing everyone within to stare in his direction.
He took in their gazes, unfazed by the attention he received from both familiar and unfamiliar faces alike as he took his seat among the leaders present.
"Thank you for waiting… let's begin the meeting."
Everyone nodded, formally identifying Rey as the head of the table and they as his generals.
"Let's start with the basics: tell me the current states of the respective continents, including the severity of the situation and saturation of enemy forces in each location."
They all began to make their reports, starting from Esme, who—despite getting slightly flustered after seeing Rey and hearing him speak for the first time in so long—managed to maintain composure as she dispensed information.
She spoke on the situation in the Eastern Continent, specifically the Elf Village and its surroundings. There was surveillance Magic being used to monitor the place, and what they noticed was that Adrien's troops were digging for resources and mostly taking as many Mana Crystals and precious materials as they could.
They had completely taken over the refineries built outside the Elf Village and were occupying the village in case the Elves managed to return. The troops consisted mostly of Undead Monsters that seemed to be grotesque amalgamation of several creatures. They were coordinated by more human-like Undead, whom could be said to be Liches or somewhat similar.
The most frightening thing about the army, however, was the sheer size of it.
There seemed to be millions of them just within the Eastern Continent alone, and they continuously oozed Miasma. This utterly crippled the Elves, and several of them who were unable to escape had perished due to this very reason.
It was the first place that Adrien struck after gaining control, after all.
"Hmm… thanks for the details." Rey rubbed his chin, processing all the information in an instant as he turned to the next person without wasting any time.
By the time he did this a few more times, he had gotten a rough understanding of the situation.
It was finally time for him to make a verdict: his very first as leader of the United H'Trae Alliance.
"After careful consideration, I recommend we take over the Elf Village in the Eastern Continent first." He began. "First because it is the closest to us, therefore reducing the expenditure of resources while improving chances of escape in case of failure, second because it will deal a heavy blow to the plans of the enemy since they seem to be benefiting most from the resources of the Eastern Continent…"
Everyone maintained silent agreement.
"… And lastly, which is most important… it is where I can meet with The Oracle."