The Spirit Beast Reserve employed only about twenty staff members, including the guard who are tasked with protecting the grounds.
The Spirit Beasts residing within the Spirit Beast Reserve numbered fewer than fifty, and the ones available for adoption were even fewer.
When Ash arrived at the Spirit Beast Reserve with Larvanine, it happened to be the staff's lunch break.
She waited by the entrance for a long time, but there was no sign of anyone opening the doors.
Deciding not to waste time, Ash headed to the historical museum next to the center, planning to wait there until the Spirit Beast Reserve reopened.
This historical museum adjacent to the Spirit Beast Reserve was mainly designed to showcase the intertwined history of Spirit Beasts and humans.
It also featured exhibits on the local culture and history.
For example, the display case in front of Ash now contained a replicated mural narrating the story of the Crimson Emperor, the founder of the Crimson Empire, the first unified empire in Montis.
Of course, a single mural couldn't encapsulate the entirety of the empire's history, so it focused on the Azuardi Yudin the Crimson Emperor.
This Crimson Emperor was the first human emperor of Montis, a ruler who single-handedly led humanity to reclaim the land of Montis from the powerful Spirit Beasts that dominated most of Gaia at the time.
Humanity's recorded history on Gaia was a tale of relentless survival under the shadow of powerful Spirit Beasts.
Before the Crimson Emperor defeated the Spirit Beast who ruled over the Montis's lands, humanity lived a nomadic existence, hiding and fleeing with no place to call their own.
After lingering a little longer before the mural, Ash continued exploring the museum.
Speaking of the Crimson Empire, one other figure stood out just as prominently as the Crimson Emperor and that person is the famous Azure Emperor, Cazuardi Yudin.
Azure Emperor was the seventeenth-generation descendant of the Crimson Emperor and Montis's first regent.
If the Crimson Emperor symbolized the empire's beginning, the Azure Emperor marked its end.
This wasn't due to any incompetence or tyranny on Azure Emperor's part.
Quite the opposite—Azure Emperor was a figure as dazzling and world-shaking as his ancestor Crimson Emperor.
In his time, the Crimson Empire, already set on an unavoidable path of decline, was brought back to a level of strength and prosperity surpassing even the era of its founder, Crimson Emperor.
During the Azure Emperor's reign, the Spirit Beasts on Montis's lands were rarely seen initiating attacks on humans, a testament to the stability and strength he achieved.
Whether it was the most powerful Spirit Beasts or the weakest ones, all of them lived cautiously under the reign of the Azure Emperor.
They metaphorically tucked their tails between their legs, terrified of making a mistake—like stepping out with their left foot first—and inadvertently offending the greatest Beast Master in Gaia's history.
A human whose spiritual power alone rivaled the most powerful Spirit Beast on Montis.
Unfortunately, the golden age created by the Azure Emperor did not last long.