[A Month Later]
Nearly a year had passed in the Fairy World since Rey went into seclusion.
All the cogs were moving at lightning speed, as everyone trained daily and never slacked in their preparations for what was to come. During this period of seclusion, The Oracle, Ater, and even the Fairy King were stuck with Rey in seclusion.
In order to forcibly let him reach his full potential in the shortest time possible, the three made a collaborative effort to train him. They also desired that he reached a certain level of mastery over his Primeval Skills.
After all, he now possessed them.
While this was happening, however, a new problem was brewing on the surface.
"Urgent news, Interim Leader!"
A group of Dwarves scurried into a palace and knelt before the person who had been left in charge of everyone for the time being. She was the strongest among the remaining members of the Alliance.
—Fae, Herald of the End.
"What is it this time? Are we being invaded?" She asked lackadaisically, boredom clearly written all over her face.
Despite holding the most powerful role in the Alliance, she was bored out of her mind.
There was practically nothing to do.
'Everyone is performing their roles perfectly well. Both within the Fairy Kingdom and outside it, everything is going smoothly… so there really isn't much to do.'
Fae wished there would be some invasion, or some kind of battle that would let her flex some of her fighting muscles. She was born to fight, and it was her dream to fall in the most glorious battle ever.
Why would she be stuck in such an administrative role.
It seemed the heavens had heard her inner wishes and decided to provide her with exactly what she desired. After all—
"Yes! Invading forces are nearing the shore of the Eastern Continent!" One Dwarf said in worry.
The moment she heard this, Fae jumped in the air.
"F-for real?!"
She tried to suppress the excitement on her face to no avail.
'No… no, I shouldn't be too excited.' She chided herself. 'If the invading forces are lightweight, it wouldn't be worth celebrating.'
In order to be sure that this was the real deal, Fae required more information.
"How many? How many are there?"
The second Dwarf hurriedly spoke. "About a few hundred thousand… but that isn't the most frightening thing about them."
"Oh?" Fae was initially disappointed by the numbers, but the last words the Dwarves uttered piqued her interest.
"What's the most frightening thing?"
"They look like Dragons."
"Undead Dragons? What else is new…" Fae nearly dismissed their worries, waving her hand to casually say it wasn't that big a deal.
However—
"T-they… they're not Undead." The Dwarves responded in a mumble. "They're living creatures with no trace of Miasma on them."
"E-eh?"
This was a strange development that even she didn't know how to process.
"A few hundred thousand Dragons are coming to attack… that sounds pretty serious." Now that she thought it through, her body began to tremble in excitement.
However, once again, she was met with another bombshell.
"They're not Dragons… they just resemble them." The Dwarves sighed in correction.
Fae became confused at this point.
"If they're not Dragons, what are they?" She snapped impatiently. "Are there any other races that look like Dragons in H'Trae."
"N-no… which is exactly our worry."
From what they understood, most of the Dragons had already been wiped out during Rey's battle with the Emperor, with their corpses turned into Undead. Whatever few Dragons remained would never be able to survive a Miasma-filled continent, which was what the Northern Continent was at the present.
A lot of changes had descended on H'Trae after all of this happened, but never before had anyone seen the ones who were currently invading.
"I believe it is best if Interim Leader sees things for herself." The Dwarves finally agreed, urging her to proceed to the outpost in order to observe the situation personally.
"Fine." Fae sighed. "I have nothing better to do anyway."
Time in the Fairy Kingdom moved about ten times faster than in the Outside World at the moment, which meant a month outside was about ten within the Fairy Kingdom. As such, the few minutes that had been spent on conversation with Fae was only equivalent to a few seconds expended in the Eastern Continent.
The invading forces would not have gotten too close.
"Let's go."
Fae and the Dwarves then proceeded to leave the Kingdom, and once they exited its barriers, they teleported to the outpost.
Rather unfortunately, due to the time dilation process, teleportation directly from the Kingdom to the outside world was impossible. It couldn't be done, which was why they had to leave the Fairy Kingdom before such a move could be made.
~VWUUSH!~
Once the group arrived at the outpost, Fae was able to use her enhanced vision to see the swarm of enemies that were rapidly closing in on the Eastern Continent. Just making a rough estimate, they were about three hundred thousand—perhaps slightly more.
However, the most peculiar thing about this invading force was their peculiar appearance.
They had draconic scales on their bodies, with horns that were twisted all over their heads. They had very twisted-looking wings, with some having three or four wings rather than the usual two. Some also had multiple tails or more limbs than normal.
Apart from their incredibly unique features that resembled Dragons, they also had distinct appearances that seemed inspired by the various Races in H'Trae.
Some of these draconic entities were massive like Giants, while some were as stout as Dwarves.
Most appeared humanoid.
They moved in a completely organized unit, led by something that seemed like a higher kind of Dragon—a Draconic Dragon.
It had several wings on its back, three tails, and at least eight limbs. Its gnarled horns and disfigured face made it look like an abomination, but its multiple eyes shone with intelligence and immense cruelty.
Most importantly, it was very strong.
Fae detailedly observed this group in seconds, instantly realizing how dire the situation was.
"It seems Adrien has begun his full-blown invasion, huh?" She muttered, analyzing the fighting force of the enemy.
Tightly gripping her chest to control the excitement that squirmed within her, Fae gave her orders.
"Evacuate the village, engage all defenses, and prepare… for war!"