"I... I had expected the Demons to be slaughtered... But this..." Cheofla said with a grim expression as she showed a magical recording of the battle to the leaders gathered together in the Imperial Capital. Sensing the great danger that the Demon Lord posed to their nations, they'd collectively reached out to the Gods to create a United Front. Hearing that Ariel was intent on fighitng Akagi alone, the other leaders anticipated the destruction of the Demon Army, but witnessing the nature of the slaughter caused all of them, even Hadrus, to become quite unsettled.

"That was no honorable battle." Teiera said as he shook his head in disgust. He was never one to condemn slaughter, but he couldn't countenance a battle so one sided. "And Elariel..."

{I thought our goal was to stop Gale's plan, not side with a monster far worse than he could ever be. What is the end goal here, Elariel? Allow the Demon Lord to run roughshod over this world? That will surely stop Gale, but is it worth it?} (Teiera)

"W-What did she do at the end?" Gildra asked with a bit of hesitation as she tried to understand what just happened. "That black fire... It burned them to ash..."

{The screams...} (Gildra)

"That... That is how a Demon Lord consumes souls." Cheofla answered, explaining the phenomena with a large amount of venom coating her words. "They burn one's mortal body away and then... Well, I think you understand the rest." She figured the rest was best left unsaid.

{It's a process that I never wanted to see again. The agony one goes through as your soul is consumed... It would only be for a moment, but the pain and terror must be far beyond anything imaginable. Vikes loved to gorge himself on mortal souls, and I see that this Demon Lord is no different.} (Cheofla)

"C-Can... How do we even stand against that?" Gildra said, the fear obvious in her voice as her face turned white as a sheet. "Her people slaughtered the army, and she consumed the rest in an instant... I..."

"Calm yourself, Gildra." Jacabey interjected to prevent her from going off the rails from her fear. "Let's not go assuming all is lost just yet. It's unbecoming of our Chancellor to give up hope before the battle has even begun."

"The Halfling is right." Hadrus said with a grimace. He wasn't exactly optimistic about their chances but wasn't about to let that show on his face, nor was he the kind of man to give into panic. "Panicking does nothing but play right into our foe's hands. No doubt she allowed your Angel's to record the battle to provoke just such a reaction." He noted that no attempt was made to isolate the massacre from the wider world, and thus he guesstimated that Akagi wanted them to know of what happened.

{Clearly, this Demon Lord wants her actions made public. She's done nothing but demonstrate her power in a way that ensures that we know exactly what she's capable of. But I still don't see the reasoning for all this. Why, with such power, would she not flatten this world and destroy or conquer it quickly? Delaying like this only gives us time to react and form a plan to defeat her. It's as if she wants to fight us all, but that makes no sense. No being as rational as she is would be conceited enough to believe it could fight the combined forces of Men and Gods, even a Demon Lord.} (Hadrus)

"Yeah... Sorry... Just..." Gildra took a deep breath as she side back into her seat. "I'd read the stories about Vikes, but it honestly never sunk in just how dangerous a Demon Lord can be..."

{After all, the stories said he wiped out armies while fighting Gods! How was anyone supposed to take that seriously? Like I always figured they just exaggerated a bit to make the Gods look better!} (Gildra)

"I suppose it's our fault for not stressing just how dangerous their kind are." Cheofla said as she returned to her seat, lamenting how poorly they'd kept the knowledge of Vike's danger in collective mortal conscious. "It should go without saying that Vikes did a number on us during the First Demon Lord War, and it was only thanks to a twist of fate that we even managed to defeat him back then."

{And even then, said twist of fate could now come back to bite us...}

(Cheofla)

"Seeing this, it's clear that substantial effort will be needed to defeat that monster." Hadrus interjected. "Marching mortal men against her is an effort in futility, so this may be a fight where we can do little but support the Gods."

“I'd say futility might be underestimating how bad this situation is.” Gildra shook her head. “There's nothing we can do against something like that.”

"Don't try and act like you don't have something more substantial to offer, Hadrus." Cheofla said, glaring at the Lion Emperor as she ignored Gildra. "We're fully aware you've been researching and reverse engineering Eridal weapons and artifacts." Such a thing was ordinarily prohibited by Divine Decree and Eridal technology was, generally, required to be destroyed or turned over to the Gods. Mortals attempting to use such items to benefit themselves were usually disposed of or worse.

"You bastard!" Gildra shouted in disgust. "You've been researching that stuff?!?" She growled, figuring he was plotting to use it as part of his scheme to conquer the entire continent. “What about the treaties?!? Did our nations not agree long in the past not to go playing with power that could destroy us?!?”

{As if we don't research that same technology secretly, Gildra. Though we handle it far more discreetly.} (Jacabey)

"I suppose hiding things from the Gods is also an effort in futility." Hadrus laughed, not even trying to play dumb or hide the fact that his nation was flaunting Divine Law. "But I take it from the fact that I'm still alive that you've found my research more useful than a threat, Lady Cheofla?"

"Don't take our inaction as sanctioning your research." Cheofla hit back with a scowl. "We simply didn't think it important enough to interrupt, and admittedly there was some interest in seeing what you discovered. The Empire has far more resources than most nations, so we decided to allow you to play with the Eridal technology in hopes that it might bear some useful fruit."

"So, in the Gods' opinion, has it?" Hadrus asked, already knowing the answer.

"Lord Gale is requesting further information on the Eridal power sources you've acquired." Teiera interjected. "He wants to know if there's anything in your research that might prove useful for using them as part of a weapon to destroy the Demon Lord."

{Oh? Eridal weapons are remarkable in their ability to easily surpass anything this world has created since that Golden Age. If they intend on using them against Demon Lord Akagi... Well, I may as well pass that bit of intel along during my next contact. Though if the Gods are this interested, I suppose that means they're confident in their value.} (Jacabey)

"If you require access to the Imperial Magi Workshop, then I'll provide you with whatever you need." Hadrus replied, not buckling for a second under the gaze of the two Gods. "If their work will aid in defeating the Demon Lord, I'll cooperate fully. Its in our best interest to work together to defeat this threat to our world."

"I never thought I'd see the day where you happily turned over Imperial secrets in the name of the greater good." Gildra laughed. “I'd always pegged you as the bastard who'd hold stuff in reserve to destroy your depleted allies after the main fight was over.”

“Keeping secrets and hoarding knowledge in this critical time is a swift way to ensure our defeat and destruction." Hadrus replied, internally noting that Gildra was actually right on the money with her assessment of him and his methods. "There is no hope for this world if the Demon Lord is not defeated and the Spirits vanquished. Besides, even giving away this research will not stop the tides of fate." He smirked slightly, Gildra knowing full well that his use of that phrase meant his eventual war for the continent.

{Already thinking of the next war, Hadrus? Why am I not surprised...} (Gildra)

"Good. Then while we're discussing cooperation, I'd like to invite the Dwarves as well as the Elves to join our budding coalition... both kinds of Elves." Cheofla's statement caused both Rebeckah and Jacabey's eyes to momentarily widen in shock. Her's because she didn't expect this and his because he'd not anticipated the Gods deciding to tread the same path he was going to push for. Inviting the Dwarves was the obvious next step due to their technical prowess and the extension of the offer to the Whistlewood Elves was similarly expected, as they were an influential power on the continent with extensive magical knowledge. However, including the Dark Elves, a race condemned to servitude by the Gods themselves, was far beyond expectations.

{Are the Gods really that desperate? And what could Dark Elves even offer at this point? Their people exist as little more than slaves in the Under to mine Heavenly Ore. I know they're just as magically inclined as their fair-skinned kin but...} (Rebeckah)

"Are you going to offer their people release from their condemnation if we succeed?" Hadrus asked, cutting right to the point. He Jacabey and Gildra had already discussed this issue previously and were planning on mentioning the Dark Elves as a potential ally. They figured the Gods would go for it, seeing as the fate of the world was at stake, but they couldn't pin down anything short of their freedom and a total pardon to get them to cooperate which was not something the mortal leaders could give without Divine approval.

"That is currently being debated, but most likely we will do exactly that." Cheofla nodded. “The Dark Elves will be freed of their shackles and welcomed back into the cosmopolitan that is our children.”

"Pardon my lack of knowledge, but what could the Dark Elves even offer?" Rebeckah apologized for speaking up but simply couldn't understand the merit of such an alliance. She figured that the Dark Elves had little to offer and granting them a pardon was a huge concession. "The Dark Elves are little more than slaves at this point. Sure a handful are capable fighters, but they shouldn't have anything to offer. At least, nothing important enough to warrant the abolition of the Divine Cordon Sanitaire that's been around them for a millennia."

{In fact it would seem to be a net loss for the Gods. The Dark Elves aren't going to suddenly see the Gods as great liberators. Its highly likely that such an action would cause further problems down the road. I suppose the need for short term aid is worth the long term risks, but still...} (Rebeckah)

"What they can offer is their numbers." Teiera answered. "Dark Elves are still Elves, and just like those on the surface, they're all highly magically adept. The number of surface Elves are relatively low, so it would be best to bolster our forces by adding them into the mix."

"So you intend to use them as fodder?" Rebeckah asked with a bit of shock in her eyes. "We've already seen that marching an army of mortal soldiers to war is pointless." She figured that the Gods intended to see most die in the coming battle which would resolve the future risks by virtue of their being no Dark Elves to cause problems.

"Rest assured that we do not intend to sacrifice them in a pointless battle." Cheofla said, understanding her concern and seemingly reading her mind. "We plan on using them as part of a large-scale magical operation. It's part of the overall plan Lord Gale has to defeat the Demon Lord. We'll need as many people with magical affinity as possible, and Dark Elves are no less such than those of the Whistlewoods."

{Though I do wish Gale would clue us into more of this plan of his. He keeps having that monster of his gathering Power Cores and other artifacts. I suppose we're now stuck though. Either we support this Demon Lord in destroying the world like Elariel has, or we side with Gale... Dammit... There's no good options here...} (Cheofla)

"The Dwarves are currently preoccupied with some kind of threat from the Under if I'm not mistaken." Hadrus commented as he changed the topic and focused it back on more important points. "Word is that several Holds have already fallen, and they're on the retreat across the board."

"Yes, we're aware." Cheofla nodded. "Reflia is handling that matter herself, so once these monsters are defeated the Dwarves should give us their full cooperation."

"Then I suppose the hardest thing will be convincing the Dark Elves to work with us." Gildra hummed. "It's possible they may just laugh in our faces and wish this world doom."

{Not like I'd blame them at this point.} (Rebeckah)

"Perhaps, but that's just the chance we'll have to take." Jacabey said with a shrug. "I have many contacts in both the Whistlewoods and the Under, which may facilitate a more amicable resolution to negotiations. Lady Cheofla, Lord Teiera, would you please entrust this task to me? I assure you I will obtain the cooperation of both for the salvation of this world."

"I have no objections." Teiera nodded, not sensing any danger to entrusting him with this important task.

"Neither do I. Please make whatever preparations you need to see this done as soon as possible. Lord Gale wants the Demon Lord handled quickly, and delays will only serve to strengthen her hand." Cheofla said, her approval causing a smile to form on the Halfling's lips as he sat back in his chair while his glasses shone brightly as light from a window hit them perfectly.