Two weeks had passed since then. Thanks to the fertilizer made by Evan and the harmony made by the blessings from the Great Mother Earth, the crops in the Necklace world produced a pleasant result. Moreover, the animals in the Necklace world ate some of it. They gained weight, which then ended up increasing their reproductivity. In the normal world, this would take at least several years, but in the Necklace world, it only took two weeks.
âGood, now you guys are ready.â
âArgghâŠ!â
The union of the different races felt nervous at Evanâs words. But real combat was a must if they wanted to become stronger. It was difficult to raise oneâs existence level by training alone!
âForm into the predetermined parties. And head to the dungeon by following the guides.â
âUnderstood!â
Forming a party with an adequate number of humans and dwarves plus an elf as a guardian. The little witches were grouped into one party, and the most talented humans and dwarves were added to them. They were called the elite group.
âThen letâs head out.â
âCome back safe!â
âWe will protect the Mother!â
With half of the elves left behind to protect the World Tree (despite being half, their archery skills increased to the point that they could fight off all of the elves two weeks ago), the allied force made up of humans, dwarves, and elves headed out into the Forest. It was a spectacle that could only be seen in the final stage of Yo-Ma Great War Zero.
âThey did become quite stronger than the first timeâŠbut can they get strong enough to fight against the Demons of this era?â
Maybell still sounded skeptical. Although she knew the most about the power which Evanâs training contained, at the same time, she was also very familiar with the abilities of the Demons.
âIf not for the elves, it would be too much for those humans to fight with the Demons. However, they might be able to hold off the monsters tamed by the Demons without dying.â
âIn the end, thatâs their limit.â
âItâs important not to die.â
The atmosphere of Yo-Ma Great War Zero was very intense among all the other series. The protagonist maintained a dark and stifling mood, and there were a lot of people dying, unlike in the other series. If other series were based on revolution, the Zero series was about war. As a result of winning against the Demons led by the Devil, all living beings in this land experienced a threat to their lineage. Evan remembered all those horrifying scenes, so he was actively teaching them skills and training them.
âWouldnât it be a problem if there are too many survivors?â
âThat wonât happen, I thinkâŠbut if so, they will reduce each otherâs numbers. They became strong, so after defeating the Demons, wonât they fight amongst themselves?â
ââŠAre you saying that they donât want to die by the hands of the Demons, but they are all right with fighting each other to death?â
âIâm telling you beforehand that they wonât be able to afford that much leisure.â
Maybell seemed to be alerted against the creaturesâ possibility in Godâs Era becoming too strong due to Evanâs power. Still, she realized that it was a useless worry. Godâs Era was too much for people to live in a while planning for the future. It was possible in this world that despite how strong the humans and the earth fairies were, they could go extinct with just one mistake.
Like right now.
âStop!â
âGrrrrgh!â
âKiya!â
Something suddenly fell from the sky and attacked the humans. Evan detected it first among the groups and activated Annihilation while reaching out his hand, which caught that object before it clashed with the groups. It was a giant spear made from lightning.
âIt finally showed itself.â
Evan lifted his head while thanking that he encountered it before entering the dungeon. A giant creature flying in the sky with large wings could be seen.
âD-dragon.â
Mirole was shocked and murmured. Based on her reaction, it seemed that a dragon flying around like that wasnât a common thing to see even in Godâs Era.
âZero, what should we do? Itâs a dragon! One of them can fight against the entire world!â
[DragonâŠas expected, a door connected to their world has been opened. Zero, they are monsters that possess the powers of the disciples of the gods who have exceeded the limits of magic with immortal bodies. You shouldnât lower your guard.]
Even Fayna, the disciple of the Great Mother Earth, was murmuring to herself. Evan knew that she was really scared of the dragons even in the game, so he allowed her to hide behind him. How would the others react when even the godâs disciple acted this way?
âRun!â
âFools, donât you know that the safest place is by godâs side!â
âBut nowâŠ!â
The union of different races realized that half of them would have been instantly obliterated if Evan didnât stop it, so they started to become chaotic. There was a limit to calming them down with just words in this situation. Evan sighed while clenching his fist; then he drew it closer to his chest. The thunder spear held and stuck in the air was pulled along with his movement, like an arrow in a bow.
âI should go for a one-shot.â
The dragon seemed to be in a panic. The reason why it didnât attack further but stood still was thatâŠit was trying its best to manipulate the attack earlier, the thunder spear. However, it was surprised not just with the fact that it got stopped midway but also moved beyond its control.
âI guess itâs trying to cast another spell, Master.â
âIt will be over by then.â
Replying shortly to Maybellâs whisper, Evan pushed away from the fist he pulled toward his chest. Following his tempo, the lightning spear in the air vanished as it was absorbed into a hole from the outer dimension that appeared out of nowhere. Then, an outer dimension opened up on top of the dragonâs head. The gigantic thunder spear pierced through the entire body of the dragon.
[Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!]
The dragonâs mighty groan was heard throughout the sky and the ground. The people who were panicking all stopped moving as they saw what happened.
âWhat did God just do?â
âHe enlarged the enemyâs attack and ricocheted it.â
âI clearly saw it! It looked as if the sky was filledâŠ!â
âWrite it down! As he sent back the thunder which a winged creature dropped, Heaven replied to him and sent down a giant thunderâŠâ
Those who were bewildered and amazed had to sit down at the brightness of the thunder that filled up the world. Some regained their senses and started writing the scripturesâŠEvan promised to keep an eye on the scripts, and he looked at the sky. Surprisingly, the dragon was still in the air after getting hit by Heavenâs Throw with amplified dragonâs magic.
[Krgggggggggggggggh!]
âItâs quite good. As expected from Godâs Era, even the dragons are strong.â
âHow humble of him, although he made it half-dead in one shot.â
âZe-Zero? How did you just doâŠamplifying enemiesâ magic and sending it back, what type of magic is it?â
âAh, ummâŠunique skill?â
This was how the Great Ancient Mage was born. Evan gave an excuse to Mirole, whose eyes were wide opened, and they started to think. He had never thought of catching a spell then casting Heavenâs Throw. Because Evan couldnât use magic.
âIt was just an impromptuâŠis it possible on magic or whatsoever as long as itâs a projectile? Or is it because it was the dragonâs magic? Or is it because my abilities were enhanced?â
Maybe all of those could be the reason. Evan decided to re-try it with Gnar once he got back to the present.
[I will killllllll yoooooooou!]
âOh, it also speaks.â
When Evan was wrapping his thoughts around Heavenâs Throw, the dragon decided to charge straight from the sky to the ground while aiming towards Evan. The dragon could just shoot out magic without having to descend, but it might have been shocked by Evan redirecting its magic.
âBut descending down as-is would cause us quite some trouble.â
Whew, after taking a deep breath, he stood firmly on the ground with his two legs. Then Evan activated his Annihilation while stretching out both of his arms. The dragon descended fiercely as if it were about to crush the ground, and it got stopped in the air as it collided with an invisible wall. Despite stopping at quite a high altitude, the force of collision spread and swept away the groups. The elves summoned the spirits to protect themselves, but some still were blown away.
[Krggh!]
âAh.â
The damage suffered by the groups was nothing compared to what the dragon received. Its neck was completely snapped when Evan suddenly grabbed it with Annihilation.
âI want to ask: is it dead?â
âIsnât it a miracle if it still lives?â
However, a miracle happened at that moment. The dragon, who didnât seem to be breathing, suddenly repositioned its neck into its original place and then opened both its eyes.
[YouâŠare youâŠhumanâŠ! The one who killed meâŠ!]
âAre you dead?â
[Itâs a temporary magicâŠthat holdsâŠthe spiritâŠ!]
Evan was amazed by it casting quite a high-level spell despite being killed before saying something properly after suddenly appearing. Such a spell wasnât seen even in the games.
[Dragon, why did you attack us?]
Fayna was dumbfounded by the miracle performed by Evan, but she calmed down and asked him a question. But the dead dragon sneered and replied.
[Do we need permission from godsâŠin killing mortalsâŠ?]
âMaster, can I kill this guy?â
âIt will disappear, anyway.â
[Iâm the advance guardâŠthe power of the world, the center of the Spirit RealmâŠwe will take everything in this ForestâŠ]
[Advance guard? Are there more dragons like you, perhaps? Wait, is it from another worldâŠ]
The godâs disciple became shocked at the news about the possibility of dragon hoards, where even just one dragon could break the worldâs balance. But she seemed to forget about Evan, who just easily crushed that dragon.
[I diedâŠbecause ofâŠnot knowingâŠabout your existenceâŠ!]
The dragon ignored Fayna, who tried to gather information at all costs and showed hostility towards Evan. It was an unreal sight where the dragon floated 50 meters above the ground while letting out a strange voice.
[To my brethren, all knowledge was sharedâŠ! They wonâtâŠlet their guards down nowâŠ!]
âAs expected, they seemed to have such skills.â
In Yo-Ma Great War Zero, the dragons from another world had a trait like Saint Seiya, where they didnât allow the same attack to damage them.
âThough Iâm not sure if you guys can block my attack after analyzing it.â
[âŠ]
The dragon didnât seem to be certain on that part, and it remained silent. But it regained its energy and made a declaration.
[DeathâŠwill come upon this land. The dragons will be rememberedâŠ!]
That was the end. It tried to activate explosive magic onto its body when it died. Still, since Evan was holding its entire body, he could also control its mana. At the last moment, it knew what was happening and died with its eyes wide open. It may have realized too late that it couldnât defeat Evan.
[Zero, that dragon spoke strange things.]
Fayna spoke quietly next to Evan as he lowered the dragon to retrieve its corpse.
[I thought the dragons scattered in this world were up to something but based on what that dragon saidâŠ]
âIt may be dragons from the other worlds.â
[As expectedâŠ!]
Chaos started in that way even in the original game. A sight where the dragon from the other world and from Middle Earth clashed could be often seen. But then, it didnât mean the dragons in Middle Earth were all good ones. They also wanted to conquer the World Tree. Yet, they didnât acknowledge the dragons from the other world.
âAs the dragons from the other world have made their appearances, the dragons from Middle Earth will start to make their move.â
âMotherâŠâ
Mirole sounded worried as she looked in the direction where the World Tree was. On the other hand, the allied force of the different races stood still while staring dumbfoundedly as they gave up on understanding a serious event that just took place in front of them.
âHere, did everyone hear that? The dragons are coming. Thereâs no time to space out!â
âDragons will be too much even if we grow stronger really fastâŠâ
âBut we will die at godâs hands if we donât.â
âYeah, you just saw how god killed the dragonâŠâ
âShush, everyone, silence!â
The morale of the allied force hit rock-bottom on the day of their first battle. Still, the dungeon conquest, which was initially planned, went smoothly without any problems.
âŠEvan felt a little bit scared by how well they behaved.