Far from the Demonic Continent, and from the chaos that had begun to devour its edges…
On the continent of Mira, within the territory of the Dragon King…
The Dragon King sat upon his massive throne, surrounded by towering pillars carved with ancient engravings that told the history of the first wars.
His eyes were closed, his breathing slow, as if he were listening to something only he could hear.
But something…
was missing.
The king slowly opened his eyes, and a rare look of confusion appeared on his face.
The scent of war—
that subtle aura which once filled the world, which he had always felt flowing through his blood and breath—
was gone.
He could no longer sense it.
The Dragon King frowned deeply and rose from his throne with a single step, speaking in a low voice heavy with the weight of centuries:
"Strange…
The scent of war that once filled the world… has vanished."
He fell silent for a moment, thinking deeply.
Then, after a few moments, a cautious smile appeared on his face—the smile of a king who sees opportunity amid uncertainty.
This is an opportunity for us…
We must strengthen our power immediately.
As soon as this decision settled in his mind, he released his energy, sending a direct message to the leaders of the three dragon clans, ordering them to immediately devise a plan to increase the dragons' power within the continent of Mira, in preparation for any unforeseen event.
At the same time…
The Demon King and the Dragon King were both moving with unprecedented speed.
Both had sensed the disappearance of the scent of war,
yet each chose a different path.
And in a place far above—
far beyond what any human eye or ordinary magic could ever reach…
In the Upper Sky, amid the vast ocean…
There were several floating islands, surrounded by a strange aura of light—neither white nor golden, but something in between, as if it were a light that did not belong to this world.
If one did not already know of their existence,
they would never be seen.
That light was not defensive magic,
but an absolute power that rendered the islands invisible, erased any detection spells, and nullified all attempts at searching or tracking.
On one of the largest floating islands stood a strangely shaped palace—neither a king's castle nor a fortress of war.
Inside it…
Several figures stood, each bearing magnificent wings and surrounded by a golden aura—
an aura that made any being who saw them immediately know who they were…
Angels.
Extinct since long ago.
They stood in scattered rows, all gazing toward a single figure.
A figure who sat calmly upon a strange white chair—
a chair not like a throne,
but as if it were carved from light itself.
One of the figures spoke with concern:
"Archangel…
What shall we do now?
The aura of war has vanished from the world,
and all our summons were for nothing."
Another angel spoke with irritation:
"Indeed, my lord.
We put tremendous effort into creating that thing…
If we do not use it, it will be a great waste."
A third added hesitantly:
"Could there be something…
that caused the aura of war to disappear?"
The Archangel remained silent.
He did not answer.
He did not turn.
His expression did not change.
He waited until they finished speaking, then slowly raised his head and said in a calm—yet decisive—voice:
"Do not worry, angels.
Our sacrifices will not be in vain."
The angels' attention sharpened immediately as he continued:
"The disappearance of the aura of war from the world…
is not against us, but in our favor."
He paused briefly, then went on:
"Do not forget—we have not yet completed the creation of that thing.
This is an opportunity for us…
to finish forging it before the next war,
to surprise those filthy demons,
and reclaim our place in this world."
As soon as the Archangel finished speaking, one angel hesitated and said quietly:
"But…
Is this truly in our favor, my lord?
We do not know the reason behind the disappearance of the aura of war,
nor do we understand the nature of that dark energy we sensed in the continent of Mira…
How can we verify the truth while hiding here?"
Silence once again filled the hall…
Then the Archangel replied in a calm voice—one that carried a subtle sharpness:
"Do not concern yourselves with that matter…
The dragons will take care of it."
At that moment, the angels present sensed the restrained anger in their leader's tone and understood its cause.
The dragons were ungrateful—
the angels had defended the continent of Mira for hundreds of years against the demons, yet the dragons had never helped them even once.
Instead, they took advantage of the angels' weakness and seized the islands that fell during the war between angels and demons.
As these memories resurfaced, the angels were filled with rage, their voices rising:
— "We must reclaim those islands!"
— "And show those flying lizards who the true rulers of the sky are!"
The others quickly voiced their agreement.
But the Archangel raised his hand slightly, and silence fell upon the hall. Then he said firmly:
"Leave now, and do not allow any angel to leave the floating islands for the time being.
The war has not begun yet,
and we must conceal the extent of our power from our enemies—
so we may surprise them."
The angels obeyed his orders without delay and left the hall swiftly to relay his commands to the others.
The Archangel remained seated, watching them depart, a single question echoing in his mind:
What caused the aura of war to disappear from the world?
He was puzzled and astonished, yet not saddened—
rather, he felt relief and joy, for this disappearance had granted him and the angels precious time to complete the creation of that thing and use it to surprise the demons at the perfect moment.
And far from the floating islands and the angels…
Within a strangely shaped mountain on the continent of Mira, near the borders of the Human Empire, there was a deep cave carved into the mountain.
Inside it, several figures knelt on their knees, worshiping a strangely shaped corpse.
Those figures were vampires and werewolves,
and the corpse they worshiped was the very same one that had once lain in the giants' territory—
the corpse the werewolves had taken earlier.
As they knelt, murmuring incomprehensible words, one of them suddenly stood and said in a firm voice:
"The ruler has ordered us to investigate the cause behind the disappearance of the aura of war from the world."
At that moment, the murmuring abruptly ceased.
The others stood up inside the cave.
Most of them quickly left the area to carry out their ruler's orders—
to search for the true reason behind the disappearance of the aura of war from the world.