Chapter 319: Maintained Equilibrium
So, in a way, when the purple moon first appeared on the day of the calamity. It was the beginning of humanity’s doom. But on another purple moon, the Dragon King had fallen by the cooperation of the human valkyrie and two of the strongest demons. Ever since the fall of the Dragon King, all the species had begun to celebrate the purple eclipse as the most special day. It was something that became ingrained in history.
The Dragon race could only swallow their shame and anger as the other races celebrated this day with great fervor, time after time. The demons had begun forcing back the dragons, taking control of the largest energy-dense area of the continent. The Dragons slowly learned from their weakness. They began to delve into the field of magic. They started to control their emotions, avoid relying on physical strength for everything, and refrained from letting their innate arrogance dictate their behavior.
They critically analyzed their own behavior since their emergence on the continent of Eldarion. They realized that their overly arrogant attitude had isolated them, and the continuous humiliation they inflicted on other races only became a bigger reason for their defeat. So, instead of seeking vengeance, the new generation of the Dragons focused on solidifying their powers and strengthening their foundations.
The demon race was eventually halted in their tracks, unable to exploit the dragons’ weakness further, as they had become too cautious and controlled in their arrogant nature. They started to conquer territories from the other races at this point. The demon race grew so much in number and power that they started a war against all the different races. The ghost race was forced to excavate itself to the island area of the continent. But the remaining races held on. Alliances formed between the remaining races.
Of course, humanity conveniently remained out of the storm. The valkyries of each generation solved any trouble that came their way without getting involved in a war between the ruling races. The demon race kept their word and ensured the other races could not interfere with the humans. But in truth, they also knew that, even if any race did attack the humans, they would be prepared. The demons wouldn’t care much. There was also no benefit to be gained even if the other races wiped out humanity, because humanity had nothing to offer.
While the special summoning magic was indeed interesting, they knew that humans would rather erase all traces of it than hand it over to another race. Thousands of years passed in this manner, and the demons became the new overlords of the continent, always causing small and big wars against the other races, by the 99,000th year mark.
The demons alone had taken control of a staggering 24% area of the continent. Almost 1/4th of the continent was under their rule, and it would only continue to increase from the constant wars the demons caused. At the same time, Dragons had also gotten stronger and brighter over the years and were still the 2nd most potent force, controlling 20%, or roughly 1/5th, of the continent.
By this time, the strongest powerhouses of each of the races were in the 6th phase. The Dragon Empire had six of such Elder Dragons, each a force of horrifying natural calamity. The Golden Dragon was slightly stronger, but since they were in the same stage of power, he was not honored with the title of the Dragon King.
To put it into perspective, Dragon King Xytherion, the two demons Bilvur and Jezos, as well as Kara Evercrest, were all initial 5th phase beings, and that was the highest caliber of power one could achieve in the continent at that time. But in these times, the threshold of power one could achieve had significantly increased.
While the Demon Empire was ruled by seven Demon Kings together, each was also a peak 6th-phase powerhouse. At this stage of power, the demon kings each commanded such sinister strength that it was almost enough to contend against a Dragon on their same level. They would still be at a disadvantage in a one-on-one fight. But there were seven demon kings and only six elder dragons. That single numerical advantage in high-level powerhouses was enough to keep the elder Dragons in check.
But that all changed when one of the seven Demon Kings had actually ascended to become the only 7th phase being in the history of this continent. The qualitative change in power was world-shattering, to say the least. His power was so great that it almost spread through half of the continent the moment he ascended. On that night of the purple eclipse, the newly ascended 7th-phase demon king declared himself to be the new "Demon Emperor".
Every single race went into absolute panic mode as another calamity struck on the historic day of the purple eclipse, the day when every single race was busy celebrating. The power of the Demon Emperor was so primal and soul-shuddering that a few of the peak 6th-phase powerhouses were almost thinking of willingly surrendering along with their whole race, because it was a power that could not be fought against.
But this time, the Dragons, which once terrorized the continent far in the distant past, came to the rescue. All of the Elder Dragons appeared in front of the mighty Demon Emperor before he could solidify his new powers as a 7th-phase being. They fought against the Emperor with all of their might. The Golden Dragon sacrificed himself, causing a grave injury to appear on the Emperor. The other five Elder Dragons also risked their own life to take down the enemy, no matter what.
Thus, the emperor fell before he could even sit on his throne. In the night skies, the victory of the Dragons and the fall of the Evil Demon were mirrored symbolically. The purple moon was, as always, devoured by the three bright white smaller moons. It was another terrifying historic event. But the only reason it was even possible was because of the sinful nature of the Demons.
If the remaining Six Demon Kings had helped the Emperor, they could have become the sole rulers of the continent on this very day. But they were all selfish; they did not want to serve under the command of another, after living so many years of their lives as the rulers of the Demon Empire.
The equilibrium between the Demon and Dragon races after the battle remained the same. There were now five Elder Dragons and six Demon Kings. While the Dragons were indeed injured after the fight. They were well-prepared for an eventual ambush by the six demon kings. If they engaged in battle now, it would genuinely be a life-and-death battle for both sides. The Demon Kings tactfully choose not to engage the battle-ready dragons at this moment and decide to back off. In fact, for them, it was already a blessing that the newly ascended Emperor was killed and their status was preserved.
So, from that day onward, even the Dragon Race began to celebrate whenever the purple eclipse happened again, which was previously nothing but a shame for them. The evil demon race also continued to celebrate the purple moon, the Demon Kings honoring the fall of the demon emperor, whom they did not wish to serve. However, for the lower-level demons, the celebration remained a tribute to the distant past achievement of the demon race in killing the Dragon King Xytherion.