"I'm going." Eva, the imperial princess, struggled out of her father's arms and jumped into the air.
Whoosh!
She turned into a beautiful white bird and flew to the disaster area.
Even though she looked powerless, to fully transform into beast form, a Morpher must be at least Level 7!
Haedon, the Abyss Emperor didn't stop his daughter.
Now, the entire city guard would be working in full swing. The post battle reconstruction would go on.
There were dedicated officers to supervise the process, and his presence wasn't necessary.
The citizens, the officers, and the soldiers all loved Eva.. There was no threat to her safety from his own people.
As for the others…
Zions were shameless, but they wouldn't stoop low to sneak attacking on his weak daughter.
Fairy Emperor was already injured and a random Fairy King or Queen would not dare to enter the capital.
'No.' Hadeon shook his head and glanced at the littered assassin corpses all around the lounge.
'Zions want to kill her, but through Fairies and drive me to impulsive decisions. But that bastard is going to need a few days before healing completely.' His tense shoulders slumped and he sighed in relief.
"How long are you going to keep me in this posture, Your Majesty?" Beatrice, the Abyss Empress, nudged him.
Haedon looked at her mischievous smile and wanted to smile back and tease her like he always did.
But…
"Bohoo!"
"My sister!"
"I was in the other district. Everyone in my family died. All gone!"
"My wife was still pregnant."
"My son always wanted to join his majesty's personal guard."
The heart breaking wails resounded throughout the capital. For better or for worse, he could hear every one of them.
Looking at his wife's smile, he forced himself to smile. "If possible, I'd like to hold you like this forever."
'Without having to hear these wails.' He added inside.
Beatrice closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, husband."
A green liquid appeared in her hand and she pressed it on his chest. It slowly dissolved into his body and his injuries began to heal.
"I'm use—" Beatrice was cut off as a finger was placed on her lips.
"You're protecting our daughter. Guarding the Palace. In every attack." Haedon looked into her eyes and said word by word.
He slowly removed his finger and held her shoulders. "Celestial Realm is hard. I will always support your efforts, but do not risk your life. I will take care of everything."
Beatrice squeezed a smile and walked away. Only her words remained in the air.
"I'll supervise the post battle reconstruction plan."
Haedon looked at her receding silhouette in the distance and clenched his fist. 'You're taking a lot of burden.'
Even though Beatrice initially seemed jovial with her sarcastic remark, the truth was that she was holding herself responsible for helping him.
Since the day she promised to be his wife, she was pushing herself. She became the second youngest Sovereign, second only to him.
But in the battle with Fairy Emperor, the decisive factor was Celestial Rank Awakeners.
Haedon walked through the hallway littered with corpses of maids and servants. He even spotted a few familiar ones, including Eva's wet nurse.
The old faces were gone and new faces of maids and servants 'cleared' and 'cleaned' up the palace.
As he walked past them, they all gazed at him with reverence and even devotion.
It was as if he was their messiah.
'I'm not. I failed to save a lot of lives today.' Haedon kept an aloof exterior and appeared unfazed by today's battle.
This only served to increase the confidence among the maids.
An Emperor must always appear confident. It was his mantra.
He could hear their weak whispers.
"Even though it was unfortunate that a lot of people lost their lives due to that bastard sneaking in, we also got to witness our majesty's true strength."
"Yes. He always held back in the previous fights. But with his true strength, that bastard was almost killed."
"But of course, that son of a bitch would show up and save his ass, anyway."
The Fairy Emperor who actually caused the destruction was only called a bastard, while the Zion envoy was titled the son of a bitch.
In fact, Abyssals never considered themselves to be equals of Fairies. Their enmity and rivalry had always been with Zions.
But the previous war changed everything.
The Celestial Ranked Abyssals all went to war to seek military exploits. But after discovering the enemy was too strong, they realized death was inevitable.
Deserting the war would penalize the entire race. So they traded their lives for the highest exploits.
Abyss Emperor passed by the murals that told the story of such heroes. He finally reached his work room.
It was protected by a red barrier and wasn't broken during the attacks.
Haedon passed through the barrier and entered the room.
In human terms, its size bordered around two football fields.
As he sat down in the precious chair, and was about to glance at the documents on his scared wood table, the wall in front caught his gaze.
It was written in dried green blood.
Providence Trial.
Abyss Emperor's aloof exterior melted, and he grimaced.
Every civilization of Jai Empire had to go through this trial that repeated itself every few centuries.
It was essentially a battle of equals. The civilizations would be tested based on their top combat power, their military power, and a long mission.
The winner would get the 'Jai protection'. They would be shielded from being exterminated from higher civilizations.
Last time, Abyssals participated in the war on behalf of the Jai Empire.
Of course, they were only a middle power, but coupled with their exploits and massive losses, they convinced the higher ups to bestow upon them the 'Jai protection' without actually participating in the Providence Trial.
The reason was sufficient, but the final decision still rested on the Tester.
To get him to nod, Abyssals literally emptied their treasury.
Haedon glanced at the letters as his blood boiled.
He was confident he could continue to grow stronger and defeat the Fairy Emperor in the upcoming Providence Trial.
But the next two tests—Army and Long Missions—were extremely unfavorable to Abyssals.
The Zions were pumping resources and soon, the Fairies' average power and military power would far surpass Abyssals.
With Zion sponsored technology, Long Missions would also be much easier for Fairies.
It was originally a hopeless situation.
But a message 400 years ago gave them hope.
Haedon glanced at the holograph that popped up.
Solar System.