Every leader of the great races returned to their homeland after that brief meeting came to an end.
Although they had left without fighting...
None of them felt at ease.
For they all knew the same truth.
War was coming.
And perhaps much sooner than they expected.
Because of that, every leader began thinking about the preparations they would need to make in the coming years.
On the continent of Mira...
The Dragon King returned home accompanied by the leaders of the three great clans.
After bidding farewell to them one by one, he headed toward his gigantic cave.
The cave was as large as an entire city, filled with mountains of gold and rare treasures he had collected over thousands of years.
The moment he landed before the entrance of his cave...
He suddenly stopped.
His eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Because he saw two people he knew very well.
Two people he did not want to see at that particular moment.
His wife...
And his son.
The Dragon King let out a deep sigh.
Then he said in an irritated tone,
"Why are the two of you inside my cave at this time?"
As he approached, he continued,
"I don't want any disturbances right now, so leave."
The Dragon Prince quickly looked toward his mother, as if he had found an opportunity to defend himself.
Then he said in a low voice,
"She's the one who forced me to come."
He pointed toward his mother.
"I didn't want to come in the first place."
Then he added with a grumble,
"I was perfectly comfortable inside my own cave."
The moment he finished speaking...
His mother slowly turned toward him.
A dangerous smile appeared on her face.
Then she swung her tail.
BOOOOM!
The tail slammed into the prince's head with tremendous force.
The prince cried out in pain.
His mother shouted angrily,
"You fool!"
Then she continued,
"Don't try to throw the responsibility onto me."
She pointed a claw at him.
"And don't forget that I was the one who saved you from your father's wrath several times."
The prince immediately shut his mouth.
He knew continuing the argument would gain him nothing.
As for the Dragon King...
He watched the usual performance his wife and son always put on before him.
He looked as though he was struggling to resist the urge to throw both of them out immediately.
Then he spoke in a tired voice.
"What do you want?"
He continued,
"Speak quickly."
Then he added through clenched teeth,
"I don't want any pointless behavior today."
His wife remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she looked at him.
Suddenly, she began rubbing her claws together in an extremely suspicious manner.
A wide smile spread across her face.
A smile that made the Dragon King feel more danger than facing an entire army.
Then she spoke in an artificially sweet voice.
"You must have brought back a lot of treasures."
Silence filled the cave.
Her eyes began to sparkle.
She continued,
"Can I see them?"
At the same moment...
The prince's eyes lit up as well.
He even stepped forward excitedly.
After all, he was no less greedy than his mother.
In fact, he was probably worse.
Dragons were already famous for their overwhelming greed toward treasures, gold, and anything rare or valuable.
As for these two...
They were living examples of that trait.
The Dragon King looked at his wife.
Then at his son.
Then back at his wife again.
He could clearly see greed shining in both of their eyes.
For some reason...
That only increased his irritation.
Especially after everything that had happened that day.
But suddenly...
A strange smile appeared on his face.
He spoke calmly.
"Come here."
Then he motioned with a claw.
"Get closer."
The eyes of both the wife and the prince widened instantly.
For a moment, they genuinely thought he was about to reveal some legendary treasure.
So they rushed toward him without hesitation.
Their eyes shining with excitement.
But...
The instant they got close...
The gentle smile vanished from the Dragon King's face.
His eyes suddenly became ice-cold.
Then he raised one of his claws.
And swung it.
BOOOOM!
A first scream.
BOOOOM!
A second scream.
In the next moment...
Both the wife and the prince were launched out of the cave like cannonballs.
Their cries of pain and outrage echoed through the air.
The Dragon King remained seated as if nothing had happened.
Then he sighed quietly.
And gazed toward the distant sky.
While listening to the fading screams of his wife and son disappearing into the horizon.
Then he shook his head and muttered to himself,
"Those two idiots will never learn."
After silence returned to the cave...
The Dragon King sat atop his gigantic mountain of gold.
All traces of humor vanished from his face.
His thoughts returned to the treasure slowly forming within the heart of the world.
And the war that would erupt because of it.
He slowly closed his eyes.
And began seriously considering the preparations the dragons would need to make during the coming years.
Because he knew very well...
The coming war would be unlike any war the world had ever seen before.
Far from the continent of Mira...
The Titan Leader was returning to the homeland of his people alongside the Titan Elder and several of the mightiest titans.
Their enormous footsteps shook the earth beneath them as they continued their journey home after the meeting of the great powers regarding the future treasure.
Throughout the journey...
The discussion never stopped.
The Titan Elder constantly spoke about the coming war.
The Treasure War.
The war that everyone knew would eventually erupt.
She looked toward the Titan Leader and asked,
"Are we truly prepared?"
Silence lingered for a few seconds.
Then she continued seriously.
"If the war begins in a few years, do we truly have a chance of winning?"
The leader did not answer immediately.
Instead, he continued thinking.
The coming conflict would not be an ordinary war.
Every faction involved possessed terrifying power.
After some time, the conversation shifted toward the Demon King.
The news of his recovery was still the talk of the entire world.
One of the titans said,
"I still can't believe he recovered completely."
The elder nodded.
She was equally astonished.
Everyone remembered what had happened many years ago.
Back then, the Demon King had fallen into a deadly trap carefully prepared by the dragons.
Working together with the angels, they had inflicted grievous injuries upon him, wounds that had nearly claimed his life.
The dragons had even been preparing to finish him off completely.
But at the crucial moment...
The Demon Queen intervened.
She used her personal forces to protect the Demon King.
The demonic continent became covered by terrifying dark clouds.
Dense demonic clouds that made any invasion an extremely dangerous gamble.
Even the dragons were forced to retreat.
They had been unable to exploit the Demon King's weakness as they had planned.
Because of that...
Everyone knew the Demon King carried enormous resentment toward the dragons.
And toward the entire continent of Mira.
As for the angels...
They occupied second place on his list of enemies.
The Titan Leader sighed.
"If war begins soon, he will be the first to move."
The elder nodded in agreement.
The two then began discussing the possibility of forming an alliance with the demons.
But the idea did not last long.
After serious consideration...
They concluded it was nearly impossible.
The difference between the mentality of titans and demons was simply too great.
Moreover, most titans did not trust demons at all.
Thus, any alliance between the two sides seemed fragile and dangerous.
After some time...
The conversation shifted toward Asgard.
And toward Odin.
One of the titans looked toward the horizon.
"And what about Asgard?"
Silence followed.
Everyone considered the question.
They had been allies of Odin for quite some time.
And they had witnessed with their own eyes the rapid growth achieved by the people of Asgard.
As the years passed...
That people would become far stronger.
But the true question remained:
Would Asgard become strong enough to stand against the other great powers?
Would it become an ally capable of changing the outcome of the war?
Or would it sink alongside the rest of the world when the great battle began?
These thoughts continued to circulate in their minds.
But they found no clear answer.
Before they even realized it...
They had already arrived at the homeland of the titans near Asgard.
Thus, their discussion came to a temporary end.
But the questions remained unanswered.
Elsewhere...
Above the floating islands suspended among the clouds...
Within the Heavenly Kingdom...
The Archangel sat upon his white throne.
His six wings shone behind him as though they were made from light itself.
Before the throne stood the Twelve Guardians.
The strongest angels of the Heavenly Kingdom.
The greatest warriors of the angel race.
The Archangel looked at them calmly.
Then suddenly asked,
"Do you think the titans will ally with us?"
Silence filled the hall.
Everyone's eyes widened.
No one had expected such a question.
Not at all.
The angels were famous for their immense pride.
They viewed themselves as superior to the other races.
Alliances were not something they generally favored.
Therefore, hearing such words from their leader himself was shocking.
The angels exchanged glances.
Then the Captain of the Guard stepped forward.
She was the strongest among the Twelve Guardians.
And the one closest to the Archangel.
She looked at him seriously and asked,
"Are you worried, my lord?"
Then she added,
"Is this because of the Demon King's sudden recovery?"
The moment the question was asked...
The other guardians nodded.
They shared the same concern.
The news of the Demon King's complete recovery had shocked them all.
Some had not even believed the reports at first.
The Archangel looked at his powerful followers.
The pillars of angelic strength.
The only ones capable of standing against the Nine Demon Rulers.
Then he slowly sighed.
And spoke in a heavy tone.
"Yes."
Silence filled the hall.
Then he continued.
"The Demon King's recovery was not shocking only to us."
He lifted his gaze toward the distant heavens.
"It was shocking to every race."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
And he continued.
"After all those years of weakness..."
"The strongest demon in the world has returned."
The faces of everyone present stiffened.
The Archangel continued speaking.
"And when the Great War begins in the future..."
He paused briefly.
Then said coldly,
"He will undoubtedly be the first to lead it."
At that moment...
The atmosphere inside the hall became heavier than ever before.
Because everyone understood one thing.
The Demon King's recovery was not merely important news...
It was the beginning of an entirely new era.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]