The war between Anbord and the Dragon Empire had shaken the world. Well, there wasn’t much left of the world, since there were only three habitable places, which were the three empires: Anbord, Alfheim, and the Dragon Empire.

So by the world, it was Alfheim, and some beings outside Debranlith. Some were gods, some were powerful Saints, some were aliens, and the like. They were all witnessing the current war, which, honestly, was too boring to be called a war. It was basically a beatdown for the Dragon Empire.

A war takes at least a month. Some went on for four months, even years, and centuries, but this war? It hadn’t even been a day, and the outcome was clear for all to see. The Dragon Empire was the losing side. Even if by some miracle, Fafnir manages to kill Ethan, it wouldn’t count much. As a matter of fact, he would die afterwards. The dragon emperor was more than just cornered as it stood.

His rulers had either died, surrendered, or moved out of the empire for a long time, like Barki and Amara. And all that had happened in less than a day, except the latter. The worst part was that despite the countless, powerful lesser dragons he sent towards Anbord, there had been no casualties from Anbord. The enemy hadn’t even made it across the barrier of Anbord. Not with Jerry, Reginald, Ethan’s spirit guardians, and the fighting force of Anbord around.

The elven emperor and his people were shocked by this. They were seeing it for themselves... Anbord was the most powerful empire in the whole of Debranlith. This was an empire consisting of three empires. Anbord itself was the main empire, then Helheim, the Demon Empire, and Old Gassendi, the Beast Plane.

Fafnir was basically fighting a losing battle from the very beginning. Even the hidden monsters of these places had yet to move, and the war was almost over... In a day. As much as it was a whole new record, it was a painful and embarrassing slap to the face of Fafnir.

...

"Anbord is not taking the war seriously..." The elf emperor said with a wry smile as he watched the video of the war, which looked more like a gladiator competition. The funny part was that it was being streamed by the imperial Crown Prince himself. The same person who had been at the borders of the elven empire just a day ago, killing evolved void creatures. The switch was so potent that he didn’t know whether he should feel bad for Fafnir or feel happy that someone was toppling over the arrogant dragons.

He and everyone gathered around knew that if it were them, Alfheim would fall. It would take some time since they weren’t exactly weak, but unlike Anbord, Alfheim didn’t have crazily powerful individuals.

He sighed for the hundredth time as he watched a lesser dragon get blasted out of existence by a silvery-white-haired young lady holding a sword of light. From his sources, that was Delphina, the first biological child and the first daughter of Ethan.

"Destruction..." one of his ministers commented out loud, causing everyone to turn towards him. If what he said was true, then the elven empire made the best call to get into an alliance with Anbord, because it was becoming dangerous by the second.

The silence in the elven war chamber stretched for several long seconds after the minister spoke.

"Destruction..."

The word alone carried weight.

The large crystalline display floating in the center of the chamber reflected the ongoing war in horrifying detail. Anbord’s soldiers laughed while fighting dragons. Some streamed themselves competing over kill counts. Others treated battlefield operations like hunting expeditions. It was madness. And the worst part?

They were winning too easily.

The Elf Emperor, Elandor Syltharion, slowly leaned back against his throne of living wood. His silver-green eyes remained fixed on the projection of Xander as the young incubus walked casually through the battlefield.

Wherever he passed, dragons betrayed each other. Some ripped out their own throats. Others turned upon allies with maddened devotion in their eyes. And some... simply knelt.

"His aura doesn’t merely manipulate desire," one elder whispered. "It rewrites priority."

Another elder shivered.

"That should not exist in a mortal vessel."

"He isn’t mortal anymore," a female commander muttered darkly.

The image shifted again.

Regnare descended from the sky like a falling calamity, four dragon wings spread wide behind him as cursed ice erupted across an entire mountain range, freezing hundreds of lesser dragons before detonating them into glittering shards.

The elf generals stared in silence.

"That one carries authority," an old elf said quietly. "The kind kings are born with."

"No," another corrected slowly.

"That is the kind conquerors are born with."

The projection changed once more. Harley... no... Gorgoneia, coiled around a dying dragon in her colossal serpent form, while another dragon remained frozen into a mountain-sized stone statue beneath her gaze. The younger elves visibly paled. The elder mages outright stopped breathing for a second.

The Elf Emperor rubbed his forehead slowly.

"I thought Ethan was the monster of that empire."

A dry laugh escaped one of the ministers.

"It appears he married one instead."

Another scene appeared.

Jerry stood amidst a destroyed wasteland, mismatched eyes glowing while storms warped around him unnaturally. Space itself distorted every time he moved. Then Delphina appeared in another battlefield, laughing while forming hundreds of radiant swords in the sky before raining them down like divine judgment. Then Trevor, then Xander, then Galeno. Every single member of the imperial family looked capable of becoming a catastrophe on their own.

The Elf Emperor suddenly realized something terrifying.

"These are just the active members." The chamber went quiet again, because everyone understood what that meant. There were still hidden forces, and the war was already ending.

One of the younger ministers swallowed hard.

"Your Majesty..."

"Yes?"

"What exactly is Ethan building?"

No one answered immediately, because no one knew.

...

Far beyond Debranlith... Beyond its broken skies and corrupted seas... Several gods observed the war through vast cosmic mirrors suspended in divine space. Some sat upon thrones. Others floated in endless oceans of concepts and law.

A horned god drummed his fingers against his armrest.

"This mortal empire is becoming problematic."

A goddess made of flowing stars laughed softly.

"You say that because they killed dragons."

"They erased dragons," another corrected coldly.

"That is far worse."

Several divine eyes turned toward the image of Ethan standing atop Anbord’s walls, his coat fluttering calmly while countless battles unfolded around him.

"He’s close," one ancient being murmured.

"Too close."

"To Origin?"

The ancient being nodded once. A silence spread. Even gods respected certain concepts.

And Origin...

Origin was dangerous.

A skeletal god suddenly chuckled.

"Fafnir picked the wrong enemy."

"He picked the worst possible enemy," another replied.

A luminous goddess narrowed her eyes at the battlefield below.

"No."

Her voice deepened.

"He created one."

That statement made several gods pause, because they understood what she meant. Fafnir’s arrogance, his constant aggression, the pressure, the dragons, the threats, all of it had accelerated Ethan’s growth. The Dragon Emperor had unknowingly forged the weapon that would destroy him.

...

Back in Anbord, the war raged harder than ever. The skies burned crimson and gold. Dragons crashed into barriers only to be blasted apart by artillery forged through both magic and technology. Anbord’s defense systems rotated across the massive walls of the empire, firing concentrated beams that pierced even draconic scales.

Below, a group of dragonkin soldiers fought side-by-side with demons from Helheim. A giant beast from Fenrir ripped a lesser dragon from the sky before crushing its skull beneath its jaws.

Further ahead, Rhask and Yamal moved together like synchronized death. Yamal flashed forward first, twin blades crossing as he severed a wyvern’s wings. Before the corpse even fell, Rhask appeared beneath it.

BOOM!

His fist crashed upward with monstrous force, obliterating the dragon’s torso entirely.

"Left side," Yamal said calmly.

"I know."

Three dragons descended. Rhask grinned savagely.

"Mine."

He leapt. The air exploded beneath him.

Meanwhile, Delphina floated high above a battlefield while hundreds of luminous swords rotated behind her like a heavenly arsenal.

Her grin widened.

"Ohhh, this one looks fun."

She snapped her fingers, and the swords moved. The sky disappeared beneath light, and dragons screamed.

Elsewhere, Xander walked through a sea of corpses while surviving dragons fled from him in terror. Their own desires betrayed them near him.

One dragon suddenly turned toward another and roared:

"SHE LOOKED AT YOU MORE THAN ME!"

"What?"

Then they began killing each other.

Xander blinked.

"I didn’t even do anything that time." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A nearby soldier coughed awkwardly.

"Sir... your existence alone is causing problems."

"Ah."

Xander looked mildly proud of himself.

...

Far above the battlefield, Ethan stood alone, watching everything unfold. His mismatched eyes reflected the burning war below. Behind him floated his six Spirit Guardians. They had just arrived after finishing their missions, which weren’t really missions. Not when their supposed targets fled the moment they saw them. Maverick and Stygian, especially, were feeling betrayed that they couldn’t have fun.

Galeno adjusted his glasses slightly. "The war is ending too quickly."

"It was never really a war," Ethan replied calmly.

Below them, another dragon exploded into fragments beneath combined attacks from Anbord’s forces. Ethan watched quietly and smiled faintly.

"The Dragon Empire attacked my home."

His aura deepened slightly.

"So now..."

His silver-gold eyes glowed brighter.

"...my people are responding."