Mab, leading the northern fairy army southward, received a report from her scouts along the way.
The armies of the Fang Clan and the Wind Clan had withdrawn from Gloucester, territory of the Wing Clan, retreating eastward and southward respectively. Only the Earth Clan remained in Gloucester.
This news caught Mab slightly off guard.
According to her original plan, she had been prepared for a decisive battle—to crush the combined forces of the four clans in one stroke and spare herself the trouble of any prolonged campaign.
"Could it be that our army's strength was too overwhelming, causing the southern fairy clans to turn on each other?" Mab mused, sitting thoughtfully in her war chariot.
"No," replied the man seated beside her—Mab's lover. "I think it's a deliberate retreat meant to lure us into splitting our forces for pursuit, then ambushing us along the retreat routes."
"So there are tacticians among the southern fairies after all?" Mab nodded in agreement, then turned to him. "What do you suggest we do next, Kenrack?"
"I doubt this plan came from the Southern Alliance itself…" Kenrack said after a moment of quiet thought. "The last recorded appearance of the Savior's group was in Manchester."
"Another one of Aesc's tricks?" Mab's tone turned sharp with irritation.
This campaign to lead the northern fairies in crushing every southern clan and rebuild her own Fairy Kingdom—she would not allow anyone to interfere.
"Why not divide our army into three?" Kenrack suggested. "The main force attacks Gloucester, while the other two pursue the retreating Wind and Fang forces—but avoid direct engagement if possible."
"Excellent. Let's do that." Mab clapped her hands.
A messenger immediately approached the chariot to receive her orders.
"You look tired," Mab noted, glancing at Kenrack's face. "Shouldn't you rest a bit?"
"I'm fine," he said, shaking his head. "Just overthinking after so many days of battle."
"Good. Don't push yourself too hard," Mab said, her voice turning serious. "We agreed to win this war together. You must live to see my coronation. That's an order."
"I'll do my best…"
As Mab had commanded, the northern fairy army split into three. Two smaller detachments feigned pursuit of the retreating Wind and Fang Clans, while she personally led the main force to attack Gloucester.
With the Earth Clan's support and as the core stronghold of the Wing Clan, Gloucester's defenses were far sturdier than those of Manchester.
The northern army began its siege at daybreak the following morning. After three straight days of attacks, they still failed to breach the walls.
Mab, who hadn't expected Gloucester to be this resilient, began to lose patience, but Kenrack repeatedly advised her to stay in the rear and maintain command.
After all, Gloucester's defenders were ordinary troops, roughly equal in strength to the northern fairies—there was no need for her to take the field herself.
Indeed, if Mab personally joined the battle, her overwhelming might could easily break the city. But Kenrack's concern was the rear.
If Mab left her post, no one could predict when or where Aesc the Savior—still unseen since the war began—might suddenly strike at their central command.
As summer deepened, the weather grew hotter. Three days of failed assaults left not only Mab but the entire northern army increasingly restless.
The two pursuit detachments brought back no new developments. The Wind and Fang Clans continued their retreat, avoiding conflict.
Then, one afternoon, as clouds dimmed the sky and the heat began to fade, Mab gave the order for another assault—only for chaos to suddenly erupt behind her, within her own army.
"What's happening?!" Mab demanded at once.
With Kenrack's guidance, her army was not only well-trained but also composed of mixed fairy-human units, giving it combat power far greater than that of the southern fairy forces. Yet now, chaos had erupted without warning. More than anger, Mab felt something deeply unnatural.
Before any soldier could report, she saw a lone figure cutting through her ranks—each swing of his spear sent trained troops scattering and falling. In an instant, the man broke through the northern army's formation, reaching her position and thrusting his spear straight toward her.
Her war chariot shattered with a deafening crash. Mab and Kenrack leapt aside, landing more than ten meters away.
"It's you!" Mab recognized the intruder.
The human known as the Sage—the one who had once traveled alongside the so-called Witch, the savior of the southern fairies. In Mab's memory, that man had always stood at Aesc's side, unchanged through the ages.
For a long time, she had believed that after Shiomi's death, Aesc had simply created an identical copy.
But a thousand years ago, when the Great Calamity once again swept across Britannia, Shiomi revealed power worthy of standing beside Aesc the Savior in the battle to suppress it. Only then had Mab realized that he was indeed the same man—a human who had lived far longer than most fairies.
"So I was right," Mab said coldly. "Gloucester's defenses were too strong. We've been fighting for three days and still can't break through. So the Savior and the Sage have both taken the side of the southern fairies?"
She drew her sword.
Shiomi stood tall, spear in hand, while the surrounding fairies and human soldiers hesitated to move.
"It took us seventeen centuries," Shiomi said, his voice steady as he leveled his spear toward Mab and Kenrack. "We finally unified the southern clans. Now, with only the Fang Clan remaining, we will not allow you to destroy everything we've built."
"Your plan?" Mab stepped forward. "After all that effort to unite the clans—what for? So they can crown you king?"
"Not impossible," Shiomi replied without hesitation. "If Britannia requires a king, I will take the throne. But first, I must complete Aesc's ideal—"
"Oh?" Mab raised her sword, pointing it at him. "And what ideal is that? Let's hear it."
This time, the answer came not from Shiomi, but from Aesc herself.
"To create a realm without conflict," Aesc said, descending gracefully from above, her feet touching the ground with calm certainty. "A land where all clans can live together in peace."
"No conflict? Don't speak such foolishness!" Mab's voice rang sharp and furious. "The northern fairies were buried by the southern fairies, the Rain Clan by the others—you think I don't know? The only way to bring lasting peace to Britannia is to erase every clan. From this day forward, there will be only one—the 'King's Clan.' My clan."
That was the purpose behind Mab's war.
"It seems there's nothing left to discuss," Aesc said quietly, gripping her staff with resolve.
"Good. Fairies should speak with strength."
Mab lifted her sword high and brought it down in a sweeping command. Her army roared forward, surging toward the two figures who stood before them.