The Fate Clouds were only the final ointment that healed the camel's back.
It started with Elena's efforts and the Golden Dragon Royal Family's firm will to protect, grew with Hedrick's domineering speech, and finally reached the precipice when the golden sky emerged.
Irrationality gave in to forced acceptance of reality, and with acceptance, the irrational negative sentiments clouding the atmosphere also calmed down significantly.
Hope spread.
And Astoria could feel it all from her perch within the central Fate Cloud.
All people became orbs of light, colored differently depending on the trajectory of their fate and the fates they were connected with.
It was beautiful, it was intriguing, and it made Astoria feel like she'd finally found a missing piece of herself that she'd been desperately wishing to find for so long.
The golden star between her eyebrows finished its formation. Astoria's eyes and mouth suddenly became beam weapons, projecting large pillars of light that traveled far into the atmosphere and slightly penetrated the starry sky with their light.
Her body was reconstructed by the enormous amount of fate energy around her, an amount that was rapidly increasing as the situation in the world brightened.
Due to the workings of fate, every interaction was a two-way street, including the interaction between fate itself and the people it affected.
After all, no matter what anyone said, it was still possible for one to change their fate.
Therefore, as the world provided for the Fate Clouds, the Fate Clouds showered their blessings down on the world.
From the palace to the territories to the far edges of the world where Hedrick was, the strings of fate seemed to play a melody of victory and auspiciousness, and inexplicably…
This fate backed the people fighting for the world, aiding them in their endeavors.
From outside the Fate Clouds, Damien used the All-Seeing Eyes to gauge Astoria's situation.
'Mhm, this is a classic awakening scene. She should be powering up properly this time, so I don't have to worry about her for a bit. Since there's still another minute or two before the deadline the Emperor gave, I should go make myself useful instead of waiting here.'
Damien already planned to aid the Draconic War God in his assault, but he'd been held up by the Death Lord, who, in the end, simply wasn't hostile enough to be a proper opponent.
'There's nothing else to do here. Good luck, my cute disciple. This Master will go take care of some troubles for you, so grow and bloom into your potential without qualms or worries.'
Damien smiled, genuinely proud of his disciple's current achievements.
And in the next instant, he vanished.
Whoosh!
It was roughly 10 seconds later when a new face appeared in the vicinity.
'Hm? Isn't that…the little princess?'
Elena peered into the Fate Clouds with interest when she realized the situation.
'I guess that new master really did create a miracle.' She thought with a smile.
It seemed that with this discovery, the question she had about her easy win against the Kun Lord was answered.
However…
'Why does it feel like I missed something important?' Elena thought with furrowed brows.
'Never mind, let's focus on the current situation. The Territory Lords and their clans have all been slain, so this area is actually the safest place in the world right now…Hedrick is too far away, so I should provide my aid at the palace.'
Elena glanced up at Astoria's floating figure and sighed lightly.
Whoosh!
As she flew into the air and departed for the palace, several hundred white-clad Valhalla Souls remained in her place.
Even if this area was safe, as the little princess was currently doing something extremely important…
She couldn't be left without a guard detail, right?
***
BOOOOOM!
Another line of defense was blown to bits.
Screams of agony filled the air as countless soldiers were torn to shreds by a massive golden spear. Even the stronger beings were pushed back and forced to focus on defense.
Alone against the forces of the Black Dragon Clan, Hedrick used both his environment and his own connection with fate to stay alive and push forward no matter what difficulties arose.
His spear swung out again. Golden threads of fate entwined in the air and formed cords that wrapped around the strongest 6th and 7th revolution enemies and tore through them. Upon their deaths, their bodies disintegrated into golden particles that strengthened the cords as they flew from enemy to enemy to continue their slaughter.
However, even with his apparent advantage, it was still true that Hedrick was facing far too many opponents.
Shik!
"Kak…!"
Hedrick spat out a mouthful of blood as another sword joined the collection of those impaled in his body.
Combined with his gashes and open wounds, they were enough to dye him from head to toe in blood.
VOOM!
His mana raged as he thrusted his spear backwards and pierced the attacker's heart. As he did so, the mana cords in front of his body maintained a defense line around him, making sure the enemies couldn't get close despite their numbers.
'I cannot last much longer.' He thought to himself with a frown.
He'd already killed several tens of thousands of troops, and he was sure that the Black Dragon Clan's main army's numbers had been reduced significantly, yet…
Why weren't the Supreme and Executioners acting?
After all, even if they didn't care about the losses incurred in battle, they still needed to consider the future.
If they wanted to rule, they needed subjects!
For them to completely ignore the slaughter from their perch was nonsensical, and despite pondering it throughout the battle, he still hadn't been able to rationalize it.
'There's no time to think about that.'
Hedrick returned his attention to the battle, continuing to expertly maneuver his mana and weapon to drag the battle for as long as possible when—
Bang!
A hole was blown in the ceiling of the facility.
"Haha, so this is where the fun was at!"
An enthusiastic voice boomed through the air. A body crashed through the roof. A sword was raised into the air.
"Worldbreaker!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The base exploded into a mushroom cloud of smoke and debris. The only section that remained intact was the room where the Supreme and Executioners stayed.
'So they are watching the battle.' Hedrick noted.
"Need some help?"
A voice came from behind him at the same moment.
He glanced back, noticing a face that he'd only seen in projections thus far.
"You are…the youngest's master," he muttered.
"That would be me," Damien responded with a grin.
"You are much weaker than me. How do you plan to help?"
Damien's grin shifted into a smirk.
"With the way you look, wouldn't anything count as help?"
Wap!
Damien snapped his fingers, and almost like magic, the swords in Hedrick's body vanished and reappeared on the ground with a clatter.
"You…are you trying to kill me?!" Hedrick exclaimed.
[Heal]
Damien refrained from responding and promptly cast [Heal], recovering Hedrick's wounds and stamina at a monstrous rate.
Hedrick glanced back at Damien with widened eyes.
"You…"
"No need to say anything. Right now, let's focus on the environmental conservation efforts."
"Environmental conservation…?"
"Of course! As an affiliate of this world, isn't it common courtesy to help eliminate any invasive species that try to crawl where they don't belong?"
Hedrick's lips curled into a small smile.
"I like the way you think."
He stood up and faced the scattered enemies who were just recovering from Damien's explosive entrance.
With this kind of healing ability, as well as someone to help him deal with the numbers difference…
As Damien perfectly stated, it was time to completely exterminate this invasive species.
