A year passed and Humanity just kept on prospering.
Fantasia experienced many changes during the past year. There has been an expansion in its territory, now it's covering the expansive jungle that had grown just outside of its bubble previously.
The metropolis looked as beautiful and progressive as it was under Ashton's rule. With Jerry being fully autonomous, many procedures were passed on schedule, making the entire civilization of humanity prosperous.
There were hardly any invader attacks last year. There was no Black Fog nor Golden Sandstorms either. There were some stray demons and angels who ventured a little too close to the Last Bastion but they were swiftly dealt with.
The security of Humanity was closely guarded by the ever so watchful Mystic Guild, which now has 1000 members actively going out on multiple hunting missions.
Mystic Guild has seen a rise in quality over this passing year. They raised the bar for their recruits since the overall state of Humanity was turning for the better.
The guild also raised the bar of the missions it has. Previously, most of the missions there had something to do with helping the society but due to how active the members were in partaking missions, the needed workload was met and the necessary changes were applied so these kinds of missions disappeared slowly.
They were now replaced with patrol missions or ones that required them to hunt angels and demons for materials.
Speaking of the Invaders...
Ashton made multiple trips to infiltrate their bases, just to see how they were faring so far, and from what he saw, they were certainly not faring well.
They weren't used to overcoming difficult situations like the one Ashton presented them with. They were used to being the dominant one, winners by a massive landslide that they've completely discarded the idea of them experiencing a setback, and thus, they don't know how to handle the concept of failure.
This caused a massive rift in their relations, and because their connection with their superiors was severed, their situation became even more chaotic.
Because there's no semblance of law and order in their ranks, many of them entertained the idea of doing whatever the hell they want.
Some demons and angels migrated from their homes in search of a place they can claim for themselves. Ashton would then discover that these creatures proclaimed themselves as Kings, Emperors, or Gods of their own accord.
This resulted in many lairs popping all over the map.
Believe it or not, this has never become a big deal for Ashton. If anything, this works perfectly for his plans.
Having more lairs of demons and angels all over the map allowed him to have more missions to give to his men. This mission allows them to hone themselves in real combat against invaders and nine times out of ten, Humans win the confrontation so it's all good.
As for Ashton's slaves, the Revenants, they're not in this world anymore.
They're not dead, they just returned to the main fleet of the invaders under their respective camps to provide intel for Ashton.
Back then when Labolas and St. Francis descended into this world, Ashton took advantage of that and send the Revenants away. They got out just before the Twisted Heavenly Tree evolved and now, they're constantly giving him updates about their discovery.
Apparently, the Celestial and Hypogean fleets were experiencing a conundrum. They have been trying, nonstop, to punch another hole into this world's barrier so that they could send another wave of soldiers to deal with the pesky locals.
Unfortunately for them, their attempts all ended up in failure so far. Even when took out their stash of Sacred Treasures, nothing ever came close to breaking the barrier.
This of course stumped them out so badly that they're starting to question their stay here.
According to his Demon Spies, one of the leading figures of Hypogeans, the Sin Demon Lust, was willing to escalate things to an extreme level just to have a chance of descending on this world.
Apparently, Labolas was a valued pet of the Sin Demon and its death angered its master so much to the point that they're foaming in the mouth, nearly turning rabid even.
This also goes for the master of St. Francis.
And judging from what his spies were telling him, there was a possibility that the fleet would make contact with their headquarters to ask for aid.
While Humanity had certainly grown stronger, they're not ready for the main course just yet.
That brings us to the next phase of Ashton's plans.
"Brace yourself, Jerry. We're hosting the 'Concert' protocol."
Amidst the vast and expansive blanket of outer space, the Grand Fleet of the Hypogeans was stationed on top of a backward planet.
In the past, no Hypogean would ever believe that this small and underdeveloped planet would ever become a problem for the fleet. And for the most part, that is indeed the case.
However, through unknown means, the locals of this world suddenly dished out several means to triumph despite their weakness. They managed to present a huge problem for them that it's not even funny anymore.
Somehow, this world was able to block their attempts of invasion. Not only that, but they also managed to kill the undefeated General Labolas through unknown means.
This certainly provoked their ire and now, they wanted nothing more than to eradicate these petulant locals and teach them a painful lesson.
Unfortunately, their attempts were constantly brushed aside by this pesky barrier of theirs. None of their sacred treasures worked so far and because of that, some people are starting to entertain some weird ideas.
Today though, they were bound to be surprised...
Weng!
An alarm blared throughout the entire fleet, catching the attention of the Hypogeans working there. Shortly after, a short yet clear message from the pilot echoed in their ears.
"A small hole was seen in the barrier of the world."
Those words were enough to send the entire fleet scrambling onto their feet. They accessed their terminals and saw a recording of the said breach.
Just like the voice said, it was a small hole indeed.
It wasn't big enough for anybody to use but as they spent time gradually observing, they became aware that the hole was slowly expanding.
Also, it wasn't just them who were made aware of this hole. The Celestials also discovered it.
This roused everyone into activity.
That hole gradually becoming bigger as time passed meant that they have a way of infiltrating the world again. And since they are holding to the grievances that happened not too long ago, this was their chance to avenge the death of their mighty general.
"Disciples of the Palace of Lust, this is your Lord speaking." A shrill voice echoed within the fleet. "Arm yourselves and make sufficient preparations, we will depart for the destruction of these pests."
The Sin Demon Lust announced his orders and the activity within the fleet just got even more intense.
How long has he waited for this? The death of Labolas still haunts Lust until this day. Not a day passed that he wasn't reminded of his pet's death. And every single time, he found himself losing his temper.
It didn't matter what he did, his anger never subsided. In fact, it was fueled even more when he discovered that this pesky planet dared to resist them.
Now that a chance finally presented itself, how can he hold back? Revenge for his fallen pet was right there! How could he ever stay still?
Lust already flew out of the fleet before he even recognized what he was doing. He was already standing above the gradually widening hole which will be their entrance later on.
He had to fight every ounce of impatience simmering within him to prevent himself from just barging his way in. Because his activity was driven out of his personal vendetta, doing it anyway was pushing the rules of the fleet.
Lust had to bring forth an army if he wants to do this so that he can justify his activities later. So, even though he was already raring to go, he waited for his disciples.
And to grant credit where credit is due, his disciples were aware of their Master's burning impatience, which is why they hauled their asses off and got ready within the shortest time possible.
It only took them 10 minutes to prepare and set off. Now, they're waiting for their master's orders to accompany him in his descent to let these pests who they're truly dealing with.
"Lust to the Fleet. Give me a clearance, now."
"Fleet to Lust, a message from Pride: 'You know that what you're doing is illegal right?', waiting for a response."
"Lust to Fleet, message to Pride: 'Shut up, Pride and give me a clear. I know what you want. I'll give it to you later when I return."
"Fleet to Lust, a message from Pride: 'I'm looking forward to it.' Palace of Lust private operation, clearance granted. May the Demon God guide your way."
Lust wore a feral smile as he addressed his disciples:
"Ready yourselves! Today, we slaughter!"
Roar!
