There was a weird presence that was felt around the world. Only a handful of people would actually notice considering this presence was and at the same time, wasn't that important. This presence was the Tyrant of Larm, Goliath the Dragon.

Of the handful of a people, a man in pitch black armor grinned. His armor had a few nicks and scratches in it. One wouldn't believe that the black allure the armor possessed was actually the result of it going unpolished for so many years. His helmet had the face piece cracked, so one could see his golden inhuman right eye.

"The little brat's awake… Maybe I'll get to see him one last time."

He gripped his sword, strapped to his back, tightly as he drew it and readied it for his opponent, a ginormous minotaur with shaggy brown fur and red eyes. One of its horn had been cleaved off and the other was bent in an unruly manner. Several visible scars lacerated its body and blood spewed out like a pipe. It was in perilous situation at the moment.

A white flash caused the minotaur to lose its arm and battle axe at a go. Its nostrils flared as it mooed in a rage and another flash sent its head flying off its body.

"In the end, even the monsters of the Winter Zone were not enough to thrill me. Oi, you."

The black knight looked at the young man who was dying in the cold. His body was pale, almost deathly and he was shivering to the point one would assume he was not human. He kept huffing heavily, the cold causing his body to hurt like hell.

"You are too weak to have been protecting that woman's daughter."

The snow around them melted instantly. A red barrier formed around both parties, blocking out all the cold and rapidly healing the young man.

"I believe you said your name was Kai, right?"

Kai looked up at the man from the ground. He couldn't see the knight's face, but through the broken eye piece, he could see dull golden eyes. They reminded him of something, but he couldn't remember at that moment.

"Y-Yes."

His voice trembled and it was low, almost inaudible.

"When is it happening?"

Kai's eyes widened.

'D-Does he know?'

"The Elder Clan summit. Tell me when it is happening."

Kai's eyes relaxed after hearing that.

'Good. He doesn't know.'

"T-Two… weeks."

"Two weeks, huh? Where?"

Kai's body felt tremendously better. He even managed to sit up and stop stammering. Still, the energy being released from the man was unbelievable. He couldn't even look up at the man.

"I-Imperial… Castle."

He decided that it would be better for him to spill everything so as to avoid problems and spend less time around him.

"They don't want anyone hearing what they are going to discuss, hmm? Deliver this message to that brat. Suzuki Tatsumaki, was it?"

Who was this man who could call the vicious Dragon Priestess a brat? Not even the emperor would dare do such a thing. Just what was with this man?

"Tell her that I am going to participate in the meeting and she will be going with me as my escort."

Kai's eyes were wide open in shock and the man in black armor noticed this.

"Of course. I gave her my daughter for safe-keeping and next thing I hear, she got killed. She owes me a lot for not wiping out her clan. If she tries to refuse, tell her that the other six are now under my control so she better not do anything stupid."

"W-Who...?"

He managed to force out of his mouth.

"Who am I? HAHAHA!"

The man's laughter boomed through the snowy mountain and caused the ground to tremble.

"In the past, I was he who brought destruction upon the ignorant. I was he who held the sky and brought it to its knees. He who usurped the Greater gods and approached the seat of The Primordial. I was…" The mysterious man's tone calmed down. It carried a hint of sadness within it. "I am… but a husk of my formal self. A lost being traversing through the realms as a simple errand boy."

He paused. Without warning, his aura flared and his golden eyes shimmered violently. With a dangerous threatening tone, he continued.

"I am he, who shall bring doom to this world! Let it be known! The world shall crumble to its knees and its kings shall cry blood! I, the herald of destruction and pure anarchy, The Black Knight has arrived! Let it be known to the world! We have come to claim our property!"

The mountain's trembling caused the snow to flood down in what could be said to be the biggest avalanche in history. The two beings looked nothing but ants before the sheer amount.

"HAHAHAHA! This is the end! Now, begone mortal man. Tell that brat, that I shall seek my vengeance upon her and this world."

Fear overwhelmed the elite soldier's body and he could not even move. Fear of death from two seemingly overpowering forces made his mind freeze out. He was prepared for death, but the snow and the mountain from which it fell disappeared. Kai looked and the mountain had an unnatural hole in it, taking a large portion of the mountain away.

He looked at the knight in black armor. He was starting to doubt that the horns on his helmet were just from the helmet. The knight's golden eyes glowed brightly and Kai could only feel insatiable rage from him. Realizing that it was his only chance to leave, the man known as Kai disappeared into the knight's shadow.

"And when I am done… I guess… I shall be done."

Sheathing his claymore, the golden eyed figure then set off towards his next target location. A perilous journey it may seem to some, but nothing more than a trifle errand to him.

_______________________________________

New Kyoto Empire, Kita District

"Huh? Did you just sense that?"

A big man asked while taking a sip of his cup of alcohol. He was talking to his drunk friend who was waving back and forth with a blushed face.

"Se-Sense what?"

The drunk took another sip of his cup.

"In that case, never mind. You are too drunk for this kind of situation."

The big man wanted to push the topic for later, but that made the drunkard interested.

"Come on! Say it! Say it! Say it!"

The man looked away not wanting to speak at the moment.

"Hey! Do it or else I'll throw a tantrum!"

The big man gave up after that. The last tantrum this man threw ended up badly for a lot of people, including the other clan heads. They needed the Shogun to personally step into the fray to settle everything. That was simply how dangerous this man could get when he was angry.

"Goliath of Larm has awoken it would seem."

The room turned silent, but then the lights went out. The man's started to cackle and his gave a faint blue glow.

"Is that so? Guess it's time to go dragon hunting once again. It's been a while."

Almost as if he were sober, he made this statement that crept the big man out.

_______________________________________

The ogre tyrant hadn't seen it coming. The hand of the angry albino-hob-goblin grabbed his face and had sent him flying. His body fell trees and he felt the pain of being smashed through them. When he looked up, he could see Golden eyes glaring at him and he could feel something inside him leaving. He then averted his gaze.

He had heard about it. The Mad Witch's demon eyes. The [Demon Eye of Sleep] and the [Demon Eye of Intimidation]. They were said to be able to scare the soul out the soul of anyone they looked at. He didn't believe it until now. Her right eye glowed a dull purple and the left glowed a violent red – The [Demon Eye of Sleep] and [Demon Eye of Intimidation] respectively. Luckily it was impossible for her to acquire more than two demon eyes and for those specific demon eyes to take effect, their target needed to be making eye contact.

"You damned wench. So you were actually involved?"

Minerva jumped at him. The ogre tyrant, expecting this grabbed her outstretched arm and swung her some distance away destroying the trees and ground. Minerva got a hold of footing and charged at the ogre. He also charged at her, his fist raised to land a devastating punch.

"Sink."

Minerva whispered and Krull's legs sank into the ground as if it were water. Krull fell on all fours and Minerva wasted no time in delivering a powerful punch to his face, flying him out of the ground.

"You dare?! You dare touch my Tori-kun?!"

Minerva's [Murderous Aura] was sent full force to Krull. The War Monger would have flinched had this been the first time he had faced [Murderous Aura] this dense. He wouldn't be a vicious war monger.

He activated his Martial Arts.

In the world, there existed people who weren't capable of using mana or magic. These people however trained their bodies to the point of being able to harness another form of power called [Aura]. With [Aura], they use techniques called [Martial Arts] to create powerful and phenomenal effects that won't lose to the face of magic. Those who used this were commonly referred to as [Martial Artists].

"[Way of the Wind: Act Four – Air Walk]."

A technique the allowed for him to move so quickly the air was like a platform on which he could walk. He maneuvered his way through the air in order to avoid smashing into trees. He jumped down and prepared his next technique.

"[Battle God Martial Arts: Cleaver]!"

He punched and much like a sharp sword, a wave of white light was sent rushing at Minerva. The light stopped in front of Minerva, then reflected towards the ogre tyrant. This was so shocking, the tyrant didn't even have time to evade the attack. It hit him full force, cutting up his stomach.

He fell to the ground in a pathetic manner.

"You come to my territory, beat up the monsters and try to steal the land? I don't care. But never touch my pet. I will kill you."

Minerva's eye ended up clashing with Krull's and the [Demon Eye of Intimidation] started to take effect. At this moment, he knew he had to look away, but he was too scared to close his eyes. Too scared to keep them open. Too scared to continue thinking. Too scared to stop thinking. Too scared to continue living. Too scared to die.

His descent into madness had started slowly. Minerva's [Demon Eye of Intimidation] had another title given by others. The "Gaze of Absolute Madness". Any who looked would go insane or mad, much like the being who possesses said ability.

Minerva jumped onto the ogre's fat body and started pummeling him. She began to punch him, so he threw her off him, but she charged right back at him. He was screaming, shouting and begging for her to stop. He had never known such fear before. What was this? This person?

No! He didn't want to die here. He couldn't die here. He had to survive. But, but… Damn it, he didn't know what. His brain had shut itself out.

He barely managed to block the hit with his butcher's knife and even with that he was sent flying back. He managed to land on his feet, but then the ground moved like a wave and it caused him to fall on his back.

'W-what the hell!?' was all he could think as he fell to his back. He rolled over to side when he saw her descending upon him once again, and got up as quickly as he could. He tried to slash at her, but she just jumped on his weapon and ran towards his face. The ogre tyrant dropped his weapon, making the platform unstable, then threw a punch at her. The hob-goblin used her club to protect herself, spun backwards, landing on her feet then charging again.

A punch came flying in but she ducked to avoid it and grabbed his arm. She flipped him over and he landed on his back with a loud thud. She then spun him around, before throwing him some meters away.

Using her [Earth Manipulation] ability, the earth dragged back the ogre's body to her. She begun to continuously pound on his face. Her blows were getting stronger after every hit. It was all due to her skill [Berserker]. The angrier she got, the stronger she was. However, this skill also got weaker after some time. It all depended on the user. The down side was that the user wouldn't be able to keep a straight mind.

Krull, enraged, used his [Aura Burst], blowing everything around him away, including Minerva. His physical abilities were boosted for an approximate of fifty seconds. Now he should be on par with Minerva in terms of raw physical prowess. Now it was a matter of skills, experience and smartness.

First, he needed to keep Minerva busy. He fired an [Aura Bullet] at her, sending her flying some distance again. That would stun her body and prevent her movement for about three seconds. With that he should be able to make it to her in two seconds.

When he got above her, he brought his palm down in a karate chop form. This was the [Battle God Martial Arts: Skull Cracker]. It was a technique where one would cloak their body part in aura, making it at least as strong as steel and then landing a hit on the opponent's skull, breaking it or at least causing a small crack in which aura would be sent to their brain and short-circuit them, leading to instant death or permanent paralysis. It was a skill that required aura control so precise that the number of people who knew how to use it were not more than five.

Krull was not one of those five people.

Still, he could bash a skull in and that was all that mattered to him. Minerva however caught his arm in the act and she glared at him. Her frown turned into an insane smile and she posed a question to him.

"Did you really think you had a chance at winning me? You don't even possess the [Overlord] skill that Goliath and I do. You and the other three are nothing but babies in our eyes. You get that? Cannibal?"

"Eeek!"

He squealed.

"H-How do you know about that?"

Minerva was slowly getting up as Krull was crumpling into the ground.

"Know about what, Krull? That you ate your parents? That you killed all your siblings? That you ate your wife because you missed the taste of ogres? Or that you were never a disciple of the Battle Gods. What is it that you wish to know?"

She asked and snapped his arm. He roared in pain, but it just echoed through the forest. No one was going to hear his screams. No one was going to help him. At least, no one in here. Not inside his own nightmare.

***

Minerva's skill [Demon Eye of Intimidation] had slowly led Krull into madness, whereas her skill [Demon Eye of Sleep] had put him to sleep. Working hand-in-hand together, the two demon eyes could lead to nightmares in their targets that had the high possibility of killing them. This was where the misconception of Minerva's [Demon Eyes of Death] was derived from.

Krull was now in his own world, whereas his actual body was out doing the fighting on pure instinct and muscle memory. Minerva would have to admit that she was impressed after seeing his body still fight on its own. It proved that to the very end, he was a survivor that had been in many desperate straits – much like her. If for anything, she could give him his respect for that.

The war monger tightened his muscles, channeling aura through his veins then punching the ground. The [Battle God Martial Arts: Ground Break]. The earth shook mightily, but this wasn't enough to faze Minerva.

"Kneel."

She ordered and the war monger's body crumpled. She walked towards it. She wanted to punch it, but that wouldn't be worth it. And she was tired already. She would end this one time.

"Di-"

"Keep quiet Minerva."

A voice said.

The hob-goblin looked behind, and standing there were three people. Two she recognized as Ulva and Diane from maybe, possibly, definitely, spying on Hinotori. The other she had not seen in a while. A six foot tall man, covered from neck to toe in azure blue scales, with a 2 meter long tail sticking out of his ass, along with two folded bat-like wings on his back. He had curly blonde hair that swayed in the direction of the blowing wind, two sharp horns protruded his head. His stormy gaze caught hold of both of them. The Dragon Tyrant of Larm, Goliath the Sleeping Emperor.

His authority has a tyrant overruled hers, forcefully canceling her command. She growled at him.

"How was Goliath's sleep? Lazy bastard."

"It was quite the blissful one, I tell you, little sister. Until today that is. Of all the reasons for me to be awoken. It just had to be because two brats got noisy."

He walked past Minerva towards the crater the unconscious ogre knelt. He was not pleased looking at the War monger so he healed him with [Overlord], then lifted him up by wrapping his tail around the ogre's neck.

"I heard that thou hath been selling our valuable forest resources to the humans. How true is that?"

Krull snapped out of his nightmare. He looked around him and he couldn't see nearly as much chaos he assumed he had caused in his mind. Suddenly, the latter parts of his nightmare came rushing to him. He glanced at Minerva. She was glaring at him and he pissed himself right there.

Goliath's face contorted at the unsightly action and he sighed.

"Does thou have nothing to say in thine defense?"

He finally realized what was happening. All that was happening was a hallucination. His soul was slowly leaving his body, much like how many people described their encounters with her. He wasn't dying yet. He was lucky that Goliath had appeared just in time.

"M-me? S-sell the precious resources? I would never."

He tried lying his way.

"He said he did no such thing, Diane. Where is the proof thou promised the great me?"

Krull flinched at the mention of the word "Proof". The only possible ways to acquire proof were to either force Kori to speak or to have been taking it from his secretary. One of those two betrayed him. He wouldn't let this sit.

"Here it is. It just arrived."

A sprite appeared before the dryad, handing her a scroll then disappearing. The dryad gave the delivered scroll to Goliath. When he opened it and read its contents, he burnt the paper then glared at the ogre.

"Imbecile! My great self, went out of the way and, made thou a tyrant to protect the forest's resources from the humans, not to sell them!"

Krull had been found out. There was no making it out of this alive now.

"I-I am sorry… Please! Please, I will take any punishment. Even death! J-Just keep me away from that… that witch!"

Goliath looked at Minerva. She was sweating, a sight he had never beheld ever since she became a tyrant. He assumed it was due to her overusing her [Overlord] skill, but there must have been something else. He noticed something odd about her when he scanned her better and he internally smiled. That made him lose all his rage. Still, he needed to make an example of Krull to scare all the creatures that were viewing.

"Very well then. I shall take thine word for it. However, allow me to propose a question to thou."

"W-what is it?"

"How many years does mine self usually slumber?"

"What?"

"Incorrect. The correct answer is ten years. My great self will only wake up after every decade. On to the next question. Does thou know why mine great self was awoken four years prior to the deadline?"

"… Because I was selling resources."

"Because thou were selling Mother's resources to humans. Now then, for thine punishment. Thou shall be killed in accordance to the number of years of sleep mine great self, missed."

"W-what-"

The dragonoid pierced the ogre's heart with his extremely hard and sharp claws. The ogre was dead.

"Wake up."

The ogre suddenly breathed. He was panting heavily and his eyes were shaking madly. He let out a horrified squeal and he clawed at the dragonoid's tail, his own skin shredding off.

"Stop whining. That was just the first death. Thou shall get used to it."

"Ah!"

Those who witnessed the sight were shocked, but none of them complained. He repeated the events and the creatures only stared. When he was done, he dropped the shaky ogre and faced Diane.

"That should be all for here. Now, let us head over to thine tree. There should be a lot for mine great self to hear."

"Certainly, lord Goliath. What about the ones from the east?"

"Hmm? They should return, no?"

He glanced at all the creatures that were peeping on the event that just occurred. Those who met this gaze were instantly struck with the urge to run away. The want to hide and just keep away. This was the fear an Imperial Rank creature could cause.

They all scattered in an instant. He grinned and patted Minerva on the head. He crouched and looked her in the eye. Stormy grey against dull golden.

"How hath thou been?"

"Minerva is fine."

She looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"Hehe, good. Good job protecting the forest in mine place, little sister."

He stood up and moved to Diane's side.

"Is what thou wanted satisfactory? Shall we?"

"Indeed lord Goliath."

 

It was a silent and dull conclusion to the battle. The West won, easy as that. Goliath revived the dead members of both parties and restored the land while the Tyrants fought. One would never assume that there was even a battle that took place after seeing the ground.