Chapter 109 The Origins : The Age Of Extinction

-- POV General --

"Let's create a cohesion. You want to find the Princess and I want to exterminate these subraces. The reason I joined you here today is to propose that we march the Paladins and Knights together towards the Dark Forest !"

The King, the Princes, Janell, Myles and the nobles were all silent at this more than unexpected request. If the Supreme was taking the trouble to propose an alliance, it was because he was taking the situation seriously, but such an action had never been done before.

"Let's send our two armed forces to finish off this threat to us. Let's sweep this forest to find out what evil it harbors and thus protect Humanity from the abomination that is undoubtedly lurking there."

His Excellency had raised his voice, and for the first time since the meeting, he was showing a particular fervor to the idea. Although Theophylactus was taking this situation a little more seriously, the means that the head of the Church had proposed seemed to him a little extreme. So it was with far less enthusiasm than the Supreme that the King responded.

"I agree with going to find out what's going on in this Dark Forest, but moving the Kingdom's army seems to me to be too much. We are not going to War your Excellency, we simply have to save my daughter if she is really there."

For Theophylactus, the Supreme was too hasty and no doubt driven to act in this way because of his hatred for the half-humans. For him, it was indeed necessary to send Knights or Paladins rather than adventurers or mercenaries but both were an inconceivable idea. The priority was his daughter, and if half-humans died in the process the King didn't care, but shaking up the whole Kingdom in this way was not in his plans.

Theophylactus once again could not help but sigh at the extreme decision the leader of the Church had made. The latter had obviously noticed it and it is with a perfectly dissimulated annoyance that he straightened up to address the King.

"Your Majesty, do you even know why humans around the world are striving to fight these subraces ? Do you not know what happened thousands of years ago, when Humanity was just beginning to grow ? Have you never known about that dark time we called the 'Age of Extinction' ?"

"Of course I am not unaware of what you are talking about. Everyone in the royal family eventually knows this story, only isn't it a legend ? So far there is no record of that time."

The Supreme and his followers could not believe that the King himself was unaware of this time and even worse, denied it. The world's leaders knew about this era and although it was a long time ago, it had never been forgotten and certainly not by the Church.

"A female half-human...no...a demonic creature capable of taking human form has appeared in the world. She has single-handedly managed to threaten our race with extinction and without the help of a gigantic human army, we wouldn't be here to discuss it. If you were a little more interested in our branch, you wouldn't think we were so crazy. Besides, some of the remaining records from that time in the Kingdom are in the main church and represent our greatest treasure."

Theophylactus was the King though, but this was the first time he had heard this story in more detail. Since he had been in power, he had never been interested by the Supreme who was striving to convert his people. Even the Princes were aware of this, though not as paranoid as the leader of the Church of Zal. Everyone listened carefully as he continued.

"What I am about to tell you must never leave this room..."

The many people around the table were all nodding their heads waiting for the next part.

"The War against this monster lasted for days and days and was the cruelest in human history. The world's human army gave its heart and soul to give us a future against this creature from Hell at the cost of thousands of lives. After this bloody and dark War, the man nicknamed "the Liberator", the valiant human who led the army of humanity against this monster wrote a diary of the events and the power of the enemy, asking everyone to never forget. We have some pages of this diary, proving that this era really existed, the other parts being scattered in the neighboring countries around the world."

The Supreme had a deeper voice than usual and as he thought back to those dark moments, an aura of hatred came from his covered body. In the world, many organizations had emerged after this tragedy under different names but with the same objective : to advocate the human race and destroy the others. In the Kingdom of Zal, the Church of Humanity was founded, performing their duties in the name of the Gods with a Supreme at its head. In the other countries, the Church did not exist, but only the name was different, because their vision of the other races was exactly the same. Janell, who until now had remained silent, could not help but ask a question, far too curious to learn the answer.

"Your...Your Excellency. What...what happened to that creature ? Where did it come from ?"

So many questions were running through the mind of the royal advisor, who never thought she would be so engrossed in this story. Without a word, the Supreme beckoned Sage to answer for him, fearing that he would lose control when his answers came out of her mouth.

"This foul monster was sealed in the central mountains of the Vancesia Empire thousands of years ago. Today, this creature should be nothing but a pile of bones if not a disgusting pile of dust ! As for where it came from, no one ever knew and even today we still don't know but what is certain is that this being was the most powerful this world has ever known. She had unique powers that were beyond comprehension and if we don't act soon this tragedy will happen again !"

After so many years what humans had forgotten, what they wanted to forget, was that during this tragedy, humanity had not been the only one to suffer. All over the world they called themselves the martyrs of that time, but this powerful and mysterious woman had killed indiscriminately. Half-humans as well as other races had not been spared either, yet humanity had "forgotten" it. The nobles shuddered at Sage's last sentence as the King straightened, remembering a detail about where the beast had been sealed.

"The Vancesia Empire...isn't that where ten years ago the earth dragons were all exterminated ? If I remember correctly the battle had taken place near those famous mountains you mentioned."

"That's right. The Emperor of Vancesia, who is no longer of this world, led a raid ten years ago to exterminate the earth dragons. There is no Church of Humanity in this country, but the Order of Light, which owns other parts of the diary, was there. These winged beasts were capable of transforming into humans, so it was urgent to act before the worst happened. Today there are none left, so Humanity is rid of a dangerous race."

If the Supreme insisted so much on hunting half-humans, especially those capable of taking a humanoid form, it was because he feared the arrival of another monster capable of defying the whole world. He had not told the King and his subjects everything and so as he took a deep breath, the head of the Church spoke again to address Theophylactus directly.

"Your Majesty, I don't usually involve you in our beliefs but there happens to be something else. You are one of the few leaders who completely underestimate the inferior race and..."

"If you think they are so powerful, why do you call them that way your Excellency ? Isn't that a little bit of hypocrisy ? You keep telling the people that the half-humans and other races are inferior but in the end you fear them more than anything !"

The King had cut off the church leader and looked at him with accusing eyes. He had heard the details of the Age of Extinction and did not doubt the Supreme's words but his manner did not please him at all. Indeed, Theophylactus did not understand why the Church was acting this way and did not hide it. Sage gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at the King's rudeness but could not say anything while his leader answered.

"In this world, since the creation of the many organizations to protect humanity, no details have been revealed to the people. Although you are an exception your Majesty, only the leaders and organizations are aware of what the era of extinction really means. What do you think would happen if we were to tell the world the truth ? The result would be panic and anarchy. The knowledge we possess is a treasure but also a flame capable of burning us at any moment, which is why we choose to call these creatures that way."

This way of acting was not only unique to the Church but to all organizations and countries in the world. For the first time in his 50 years, the King of Zal was learning that all this time, all this talk about race was much more than the ravings of a madman. The most powerful humans in the world had been lying to humanity to protect it while justifying their hatred by calling other races inferior. This had been going on for thousands of years now and as time went on, humans naturally began to hate other races without even necessarily adhering to the ideas of the various organizations.

Theophylactus didn't know what to say and as he sank into his seat, he couldn't help but feel like an idiot. How was it that he was only learning about this now ? All the other leaders in the country seemed to be working in concert with their respective organizations and most importantly believed in them. Why, after more than 25 years of reign, was he discovering the real danger of other races ? Because the King had never taken the time to converse and listen to what the Church had to say. Besides, their relationship was so strained that it was always out of the question to discuss their respective beliefs.

"Now if you will allow me I would like to continue without being cut off. Before you stop me your Majesty, I was about to confide an important piece of information to you."

The King still silent looked at the Supreme while the Princes, Janell, Myles and the nobles strained their ears. Erzian and Iolas, unlike their father, already knew the story and saw the head of the Church for the first time being willing to cooperate with the royalty, which had never happened before. Janell, Myle and the nobles were like the King, stunned and terrified that they were only now learning this story they had never known. Everyone sensed that something was up and listened carefully.

"The last message that the Liberator left us in his diary is a kind of warning that we call a prophecy. In it, he asks humanity to prepare in case such a tragedy occurs again, and several days ago...my greatest fears were proven true..."

The Supreme had stopped unable to continue so much this story affected him so it was Sage's turn to resume.

"...His Excellency heard during a dream, a voice warning him that a new creature just as terrifying had arrived in this world. No doubt a Goddess watching over us and blessing us to win ! The message was: "When humanity is at its peak. A terrifying beast from another world as beautiful as it is ruthless, as cold as ice, will rise up against you and overturn the order of the entire world and plunge it into chaos."

Everyone had fallen silent as fear overtook the nobles and Janell who were not used to dealing with this kind of feeling not being warriors. Sage had a serious face as did the protectors and the leader of the paladins who still hadn't said a word. At that moment, the King, more serious than ever, frowned before asking a question in a deep voice.

"Your Excellency...do you think this monster is in the Dark Forest ? If that is truly the case, my daughter is probably already..."

"Your Majesty, I don't know anything at all at the moment so there's no need to jump to conclusions. The reason I asked you to mobilize the Paladins and Knights is precisely because we need to learn more without risking a single more life. The arrival of this dream and the mysterious events in this forest may or may not be related."

Under his black veil, the Supreme smiled that after so many years he had finally managed to win the King over to his cause. He had told him the whole truth and had managed to talk to him for the first time without receiving ridiculous remarks or a look of disdain. Theophylactus had finally listened to him and even understood the threat posed by all the races he hated so much. At that moment, the church leader was almost thanking the three executed protectors for giving him such an opportunity.

"What we can do is send part of our army to find out if the threat is real. The Fire Foxes' sacrifice is scheduled for less than a month, but with all these events it is no longer the priority at all. We definitely need to get this story straight before we can even think about notifying the other organizations !"

The King nodded his head at the Supreme's words before asking a question that had been burning in his mind for a while now.

"Your Excellency, what element was controlling this creature at the time ?"

In a deeper voice than usual, the Church leader answered as his words chilled the blood of the humans in the room.

"Not one element but two : ice and chaos..."

____

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age: 0 years / Mentally: 25 years

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Level : 36/70

Exp needed for next level: 16 600 / 37 000

HP : 120 000 / 120 000 MP : 60 000 / 60 000

Strength : 500

Defense : 500

Agility : 506

Endurance : 503

Speed : 502

Intelligence : 500

Charisma : 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 0

Married to: Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates : 389

Humans killed : 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 5)

Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 4)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Detection and control of mana (lvl 5)

Master of souls (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]