With the descent of the dragons all around the world, human civilizations were scrambling to secure their standings in the new age of chaos as many people began to describe the advent of their descent.
Alongside the stern warning from someone attempting to kill one of the dragon's children, and the child of the dragon king at that, countries around the world began to investigate out of fear of who would be dumb enough to try and kill an absolute beings child.
Every human began to curse the ones who would cause a probable disastrous and irreconcilable relationship with the dragons, turning them to maybe indiscriminately slaughter the humans.
In the current age, humans were the dominant life form on Alterra, both in numbers and in strength. In the majority of the territories where the densest populations lived, there were no issues to be had with monsters, but that wasn't the case for the less populated outer villages and smaller towns and cities across the world.
The dragons, who were of the few intelligent species outside of humans, didn't hold much animosity towards the humans whom they returned to contact. There were few dragons that were curious about the advancements humans had made in the last few millennia of their exile.
The inquisitive dragons didn't try to reclaim their old territories as they understood that changes occur in all walks of life, despite them being rather ageless. Meanwhile, other dragons abhorred the humans taking over their lost territories after they disappeared and they began their conquests.
The dragons were later separated by their temperaments by the humans where some were easy to cooperate with, meanwhile, others were feared and left alone; these were soon known as War Dragons by the human adventurers, as they were the ones who retook their territories.
The dangers the War Dragons posed were known far and wide as they would kill humans and other beasts and monsters in their past territories without reserve. They would destroy anything and everything that contested their reign of territory, and they only left other dragons to pass through their lands as dragons viewed all other dragons amicably.
As such, much of the human territories on Alterra receded and were consumed by the War Dragons. The dragons were beings that could utterly decimate any and all life wherever they went, and the dragons who held animosity towards humans tried to snuff them out.
Luckily the vast majority of War Dragons reclaimed their territories in the forbidden lands of the Alterra, leaving most of the large human settlements and cities alone. But the villages close to the forbidden lands, that only survived from hunting and material gathering were wiped away.
In the smaller towns and rural areas where monsters were more common, they turned restless and began trying to find new territories in a desperate attempt to avoid the dragons descending from the portals, that were reclaiming their past territories with no wasted time after appearing back on Alterra.
As the demonic monsters began to encroach into the human territories, many places began to be besieged by various monsters as they began to flee from the portals that appeared throughout the landscapes as the overwhelming presence of dragons permeated through vast areas.
Monsters being corrupted beasts from the mana corruption, they were easily startled and retaliated to fear in blind fits of rage. This often wouldn't go away until its sense of fear has lessened, but as the corruption worsens on their mental capabilities they eventually deteriorate into mindless demons that attack any and all living beings that they come into contact with.
As the monsters started to rampage, the stability of their mana corruption would worsen, and as they deteriorate faster, demons began to resurge across the world in droves. The age of true chaos descended upon Alterra within a matter of minutes; as the influx of pure mana and dragons changed the very structure of the world.
The resurgence of demons was a horrid sign, causing the main chaos most countries faced, but the appearance of demons also meant a boon for most adventurers and craftsmen. The demons that began to wreak havoc throughout the months after the dragons returned meant countries could gain the rarer materials they needed.
The normal materials humans could gather from beasts that utilized mana was the mana stones that formed in those creatures' bodies and their hides that could be used for armors and clothing. The beast meat could also be consumed.
However, the meat was eaten with caution as the mana that resided in their bodies could influence mana corruption and accelerate it in children who can't control the flow of mana within their bodies yet.
So beast meat was often only consumed by people who have already had their soul awakening. As such, most countries developed their agricultural lands much more in-depth than in other livestock means, as it could have detrimental after-effects with their children.
Because of this, the meat industry was relatively restricted, and only beast meat that had been cleanly killed and then procesed by skilled butchers could sell the meat because less scrupulous sources could cause mana corruption to spread.
Though beast meat was less available, it was still essential for most higher cultivation-based people, as the mana within the meat could substitute the need to absorb mana directly from the air.
People are still creatures themselves that could only utilize the powers mana could influence, they still needed to eat, sleep, and drink to survive.
But with beast meat allowing for a more energetic life, many people wanted to eat it after they had their soul awakening. However, the true rarity of meat people could consume was from demonic monsters.
Monsters were still beasts that had gone crazy from mana corruption. In most cases, the monster meat was inedible, but most monsters had a few kilograms of safe-to-eat meat that still held clean uncorrupted mana within.
Monsters weren't really hunted for their meat, but their materials. As they no longer held mana stones in them, as they have been broken down and strengthened their bodies in every way. Sturdier armor and weapons could be made with their materials.
The mana stones were still needed from the uncorrupted beasts to be used with their demonic counterparts to take full effect. As such, adventurers who would hunt beasts could hunt demonic beasts under normal circumstances rarely as packs would usually contain no demonic beasts.
But after the dragons returned, and the influx of mana within Alterra surged, demonic hunts were becoming more common, and as the age of chaos began, so did the age of craftsman come about.
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*Above the ruins of the Dragon Kin*
"Disgusting, fickle creatures! HOW DARE YOU DESTROY OUR HOME!!!!" Tyros' brother, the Dark Ichor Dragon Demaratos, had exited through a portal above the ruined home of the Dragon Kins Clan. Enraged at the Salamandras that had destroyed the home they had left behind.
As Demaratos began to fuel his rage at the sight of his old home being burnt to nothing more than ash and coal. He immediately noticed the dead descendants of his brother that had been created eons ago, lifeless across the village they lived alongside with.
His pitch-black scales began to lift away from his body, pivoting at their bases, as a blood-red glow began to emit from underneath them. "YOU WILL ALL DIE!"
Just as he finished yelling out, the glow began to travel from his body to become an eerily darker glow as it moved up his neck and finally settled within his mouth, and just as he looked at the Salamandras trying to run from him, he opened his gaping maw.
A shadowy blood-red beam of condensed mana bellowed from his maw hitting the ground right under him with blazing speed, spreading out in a wide area around him. No features of anything and everything in the area were enveloped in a blackened blood-red hue and you couldn't make out any features of the surrounding area with but a silhouette.
As Demaratos' attack spread through the area, enveloping every single Salamandra in the area of 5 kilometers their bodies seemed to be grabbed from the shadowy red energy spreading across the ground, pulling them into the darkness permeating from him.
As the Salamandras struggled to run from Demaratos' attack, it was as if they were trying to run against death itself, only to be trapped in the blackened bloody energy, they were being consumed by the attack he released.
Even the dark Salamandra, which excelled at hiding its presence to near-perfect ability was consumed by the attack in an instant. Even though it could slightly struggle against the attack slightly, owing to sharing similar mana traits, it couldn't resist.
It was as if their powers over dark mana were comparable to the shadows made from flickering lamps that could play tricks on the mind with the moving shadows, and the deep abyss of the ocean where no light could penetrate or be released.
Just as every Salamandra was consumed by the attack, another voice resounded from near the portal as it began to close. "Must you be so quick to destroy things with violence, rather than assessing the situation Demaratos? Even after 3000 years, you're still so hot-tempered."
A shining white dragon looked down at Demaratos, teasing him a little, even though she herself could see and tell that the Salamandras, her brother Tyros' failed creations destroyed his human descendants dwelling.
"Don't you scold me Persephone! Even you can see the damage they did to our home and the descendants of our own brother. They reaped what they sowed. Where is our brother Tyros anyways?" Demaratos scoffed towards his sister, the Holy Ichor Dragon Persephone.
"Did he not return with us, though we know of his deal with Tiflos, he should still be here as a spirit." Persephone simply ignored his retort but was still curious as to why he didn't return through the portal with them. "We did hear his word just a few moments ago, but we know how loud he gets when he's angry." Persephone let out a small chuckle when she thought of her brother's temper.
"I felt his presence towards that direction," Demaratos indicated towards the Holy City of Light. "He should be over there, seems he found a remaining descendant he could bond with. Let go see what's going on there, depending on the situation, we may have to destroy a few more humans as we did in that old city, what did they call it? Atlantia?"
"That would be fun, wouldn't it? Let us go see our eldest brother." Persephone lifted her massive shining wings, spanning her full 400-meter wingspan launching herself towards where she felt Tyros' spirit.
"Fun indeed sister..."