The rest of the council yelled so loudly I feared for my hearing, they tried arguing it was too far, too dangerous and that they needed me there to help.
"I can convince the demons to stand down, I have no doubt. The frontline nations will be indebted, King …" I paused upon realising I had no idea what the king's name was, but continued when I realised that I didn't care. "King Warmonger will either be vilified or suppressed and all that aside I haven't been subtle. My idea of peace includes the demons."
They eventually relented on the condition that I took a guard contingent as a sign of office, Sil as "backup" and Sinfree as much to act as a bridge between myself and the demons as it was because she would follow Sil regardless. Finally, after hours of debate, It ended up being Myself, Sil, Sinfree, Doran and a couple of guards I had trained, keeping the group small so we could move quickly.
The journey took just shy of two weeks, and went by smoothly, the last leg was the most difficult; however, we were refused entry into the capital, we were forced to circle around and push through to the front lines unannounced and unexpected. Something I would have preferred to avoid, but luckily it ended up working in favour of our ragtag band of peace-seekers.
When we finally arrived, we did so at what could only have been a medical camp and the men in said camp were in bad shape. Being who I am, I openly declared our origins before I offered to provide treatment, resulting in a case very similar to when I healed Rein. Rather than simply grabbing them by the throat and intimidating them into sense, I simply said "Fine, by all means stand, if you still have both legs, raise swords, if you still have hands. I'll remove them from you first, then heal you after anyway." Between my trademark sigh of exasperation and sloppy preparation for the possible round of fisticuffs, they quickly decided resistance was futile.
Having proved themselves smarter than I assumed, I set to work and after doing what we could for the injured, we distributed a few supplies before I explained what we were there to do. My relaxed tone prior made them rethink my ability, my relaxed tone accompanying that statement made them question my sanity. Not that I could particularly blame them since I had been doing that plenty myself.
"You're going to request an armistice? Treason or not, if you think you can give me time to see my comrades returned to their families, I won't stop you trying. Not that those demon savages will buy it." One man said, proving I was too hasty in my reevaluation of their average intellect. I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground, instantly catching everyone present by surprise, which included my very own companions.
"Remember this, a demon just saved men your king sent to die. Before you try to simplify things by race, think about how many humans died in your kingdom's dungeons for murder and worse over the years." My speech finished, I dropped the man and declared we were continuing our mission.
We turned to leave in unison and as we did the men we had helped blocked our path, making Sil, Doran and his men nervous, but Sinfree and I could sense no hostility so we merely waited for them to act. Eventually one man mustered his courage and stepped forward as he thanked us, then said they would like to see us out of camp, looking dejected when I shook my head and noted they would likely earn the ire of their comrades who saw them.
"We know, but we can't let those who helped us leave unaccompanied." I then smiled and stretched out a hand, saying that our kingdom welcomes all those who act graciously, and when they are tired of needless bloodshed they should take my hand.
With that we left them behind, marching through the camp in the direction of the battlefield, some moved to apprehend us, others threw projectiles at Sinfree, all ceased when I unfurled my wings to shield her, not that it was perfect. The wings were an appendage that proved difficult to control and as if to contrast the horrific atmosphere, they twitched often catching her face and eyes on several occasions as we walked. After one such twitch, the feathers brushing her nose and upper lip made her sneeze and bat them away as she quietly demanded me to allow the pelting to continue.
With the entirety of the human force then observing as we walked across the blood sodden ground, I had to restrain my anger at the sheer pointlessness of it all. As we passed the halfway between the two camps, we saw demons start to gather at their inner perimeter, then several launched a barrage of fireballs toward us.
Since I couldn't show my full power in front of Doran and the other guards, I had the girls prepared to layer barrier spells with me in advance. All a charade, we took the time to speak incantations, then limited the strength of them so they showed signs of strain, then when things looked desperate I asked the angel of mercy to offer protection. (I used my full power to create an incredibly intricate and practically unbreakable one.)
When the barrage ceased and the smoke cleared enough, I dropped it and reduced the mana in the elemental core to dim the glow of my wings. We then saw the commander of these forces as he ordered his men to stay back, approaching with only the same number we had. Common etiquette for battleground parley, which I had technically broken by not declaring my intent in advance.
When he finally reached us he introduced himself as "Third gate, Kriel" then asked who we were. I told them the original story, which was made believable with the holy magic residing in my body, and he knelt down apologising for the assault. Of course he could detect a hint of falsehood in my words, but after catching sight of my withered wing he assumed that was the cause. "Think nothing of it, we are quite literally in the middle of a battlefield, and I doubt exhausted imps can see that well in such brightness. I'm here to talk peace, not pick fights."
The commander assured me he had no quarrel with anyone in my party, and I smiled, telling him how glad I am he doesn't have any problems with humans. He immediately tried to say he thought I meant peace with me and mine so I responded with as much authority as I could muster. "That's not what I meant though, I mean peace between humans and demons, I of the timeless seraph line request audience with the demon king."
The demon looked concerned, but he bowed and turned to leave, before asking Sinfree if she was faring well. "My Mistress is young, and emotional even for a human, but I have grown fond of her. I am also certain that their vision of what the world could be is one I wish to see realised."
Turning his neck to look at her over his shoulder, he nodded, then continued on his way, promising to return with an answer shortly. As promised he returned within an hour, with word the king had agreed to meet with me, but only in a one on one meeting in demon territory. I nodded then stood to leave, telling the others to maintain peace until I returned.
I was sent to the meeting place by a teleport gate, and couldn't be more happy considering how much quicker it would be. "Greetings timeless, I am Demon King Tyrland and I understand you wish to speak about peace."
"That is Co…" My response cut off immediately, not that I was entirely surprised, something in the mutation that caused his species to branch off from primordial humans made them grow more aware and stronger with the faith their people had in them. A phenomenon I had long pondered and sought to study, but left wanting for lack of royals volunteering as test subjects, even if I had no intentions of crossing any ethical lines since overcoming the restrictions was half the fun.
"Sending a liar to negotiate peace is quite insulting no? Ancestral memory would not account for you speaking anything but the archaic demon tongue of the last empire." Tyrland said, certain his instincts were true, but immediately concerned by my sudden informal and overly casual persona I typically adopted when I wasn't playing the role I picked myself for this lifetime.
"Well damn, you caught me, are we alone? I would hate for anyone you know to be present, only to die when I clear the area in advance of certain topics, but if you promise to swear them to secrecy on everything thus far I'll let them live. You're clearly a good judge of honesty, so here is the truth, I could kill you all and not bat an eyelid. Well I would weep at the needless waste of life your foolish decision led to, but I meant the physical act would not… I'm rambling, It's been a long trip, apologies to your majesty."
With that he chuckled then swore those in the shadows to secrecy and bid them to leave, earning a compliment on his solid intuition. When we were alone, I explained everything to him as much as I had done for Sinfree, then asked what triggered the war.
Gesturing to a table we had been neglecting, I asked for permission to apply a truth glyph as we seated ourselves, though he allowed it he kept his guard up. After testing its integrity he made a comment about my power, then began recounting events.
His tale was informative, infuriating and so clichéd I began to wonder if the concept of "cliché" was in fact woven into every subatomic particle that made up that world. Explaining that until recently the demons had been living in peaceful isolation, as they had done for centuries, yet despite their insular lifestyle they were approached by a group of humans under orders from the nation they served. Those men informed the demons that the theocratic nation of Abelegia intended to declare them enemies and announce a crusade.
"I'm not normally a fan of theocracies but that makes no sense." I commented honestly, religion itself was far too often twisted and used as an easy justification to inflict suffering. The demon king nodded in agreement, which I got the sense was for both sentiments.
"I thought the same, the map has certainly changed since ours was made, but a nation to the far south east? The march alone would bankrupt them." I corrected him on the geography, telling him that they did now stretch quite far, and have deep enough coffers, but the real issue is their military.
"Don't get me wrong they aren't few in number, but they are trained to essentially act as support mercenaries, healing and supply running for a generous donation to the faith. I have no love for gods, but I would appreciate you leaving their subjects in this case. I fear they are victims of this plot as much as you and I'd hate to have to do something drastic because the victims were pitted against each other."
He nodded again then asked me to explain the urgency for an armistice, which I did before adding an additional advantage. "I now intend to invite the theocracy to a private meeting, request they pull out their men and make whoever wants this war desperate, if anyone breaks the armistice I pledge my full support in wiping them out. Consider that a personal favour for keeping my secret."
He nodded once more, making me realise I had left him entirely overwhelmed and asked if I would like a contract, but I simply waved it away and said I would demonstrate my power in a way that would ensure it. "When I leave, order all your men, across all battlefields back to fall back positions, I'll put a wall up to paralyze any who cross it, and have my familiar guard it."
He made an expression when I said I would make a wall across all battlefields, as if to say "You do know that would mean bisecting the continent" but agreed to the retreat. Business concluded. I stood and offered the most sincere apology I could for what had been done to them, then used the teleporter to return.
I waved to Kriel as I appeared where I had left a moment ago, warning him about the imminent retreat order then made way for where I left the others.
The first thing I saw was the full army amassed on the human side and I laughed at their wasted effort. Doran made a comment about how it must have gone to plan if I was laughing, Sil waved, the others waited patiently. As much as I wanted to, I had no time to answer him, I set to work on the wall in the most showy way I could think of. Pulling out my holy magic core and using it as a catalyst to summon a divine beast of earth.
A massive series of magical circles drew themselves into existence, then the air itself seemed to bulge as the beast I summoned began breaking through to answer my call. I didn't particularly like this type of magic since beasts changed from world to world so I couldn't predict what would appear. That said, divine beasts stand out, get people talking and make people think I'm vulnerable due to the almost impossible amount of mana it takes to use them.
Finally the air completely ripped, leaving a gaping wound in space through which a black six-legged tiger appeared. At around seventy feet tall it was far more massive than I expected, but I gave it its orders to guard the wall I was about to build. Then I had it roar to appear responsible for the structure, then run as fast as possible ahead to sell the ploy, then command it to patrol the wall for the duration of the armistice, and lastly ordered it to notify me if anyone tried to cross the wall.
With that done we headed for home, of course with an army in the camp before us, it was not yet safe to relax. That was just another aspect of my ploy though, I acted exhausted and asked Doran's men to steady me as we moved, and with an over each of them we slowly moved forward. Hoping beyond hope that the mastermind would seize on my apparent weakness to vent his frustrations.
The only response I received, unfortunately, was that the head of the army was shouting orders and as we got within fifty feet we were ordered to halt, which we obliged. I asked the man if he truly intended to impede a foreign representative, who just arranged an armistice, whilst he was weakened no less.
The man was about to confirm, but an unknown voice spoke up from nearby. "If he does, I will return all my men to the theocracy and vehemently oppose any demand for their return."
The enemy commander grunted and ranted under his breath, I then stood on my own and approached the Abelegian. Quietly telling him his kingdom has enemies, and asking him to recommend his people attend Newland's parley, to which he nodded. The men we had helped on our way through then opened up a path for us to pass, ignoring the commander's insults, and the Abelegian ordered two men to follow so they would know if we were assailed.
The commander tried to argue that his country couldn't be held responsible due to the chance of us being attacked by a third party, shouting "There are bandits, beasts and bloody monsters out there, we can't be responsible for bad luck".
"That man just performed a damn miracle, the young lady I sense is just as powerful, the demon woman is also likely skilled and they have three trained soldiers. Are you truly stupid enough to think some random beast could kill them, or just hoping I am?" Hands tied, the commander shut up, and the priestly man bowed to us as we passed.
Men like the commander though are not known for their wisdom, as he called us cowards relying on the pity of the pious.
"Remember this, you no name whelp of a warmonger. Peaceful men and harmless men are two different things. Find me when my strength has returned and I'll live up to the name "Teacher" as I show you the difference." The Priestly man asked me not to lower myself to his level and I nodded, declaring to the others that we were heading home.
The journey back was slow, having the added company made things much slower, however having the two holy magic users was handy considering I had to form a new core and couldn't be bothered to do it myself.
The journey however did go smoothly and before we knew it we stood before the council as I told everybody the most important thing I had to tell. "Told you I could do it." To which the Abelegian's chuckled awkwardly as Halsan gripped the arm of the chair with surprising strength and Leeson stifled a laugh.
I then introduced the two, and made my official report. "You displayed a seraph barrier, discovered a conspiracy to sabotage Abelegia, summoned a divine beast, built a wall to stop the war, and picked a fight with a commander of the nation we recently declared independence from."
"In my defence, I sacrificed my grace which will take a fair while to recover, and I didn't pick the fight just promised to end it." With that I advised that we should see our guest fed and rested, then asked if I would be responsible for escorting them home. A question that proved to be the straw to break the camel's back and I suspect knocked several years off Halsan's life expectancy.
"Absolutely not! No. For the sake of what little sanity I have left, you stay here, preferably with supervision from someone with a modicum of restraint." With that unexpected reward, I quickly agreed to spend a day or two in bed then left to do just that.
I wasn't joking either, after saying a quick hello to Fala and Rein, I returned to the guildhall and said hello to Valo, before continuing up to the dorm room and falling asleep. Knowing that having me unconscious in their small home at their dinner table would probably prove inconvenient to my preferred cohabitants.
After two days I finally awakened, yawning and startling Sil, I commented on the pleasant nap and declared I was going to get some food. Sil hugged me from behind as I was about to leave, saying she was beginning to worry, then pushed past me and ran out the door.
As I exited the room, Sinfree was waiting, she told me that her mistress had been worrying then continued to say I should get something to eat.
Shaking my head, I told her there was something else we needed to deal with, requesting she fetch Sil back when she was finished being weird.
With two days of hunger making itself known, I went to Byurik's office, collapsing into the soft embrace of his lounge chair as I asked him to get me some food. "Is that really all you want after everything you've done? Sure, sounds like a bargain." I was honestly surprised he honoured my request, I figured he would throw me out hard enough to save me walking downstairs.
I asked him to also grab the catalogue of guild sponsored housing, to which he said he would grab the listings close enough for me to be supervised. When he returned to find me unmoved, he made a comment about my lethargy, but I just claimed to be relishing the temporary peace.
He then said he had to go make a report to Halsan, and I had to leave, making his willingness to bring me so much stuff which I then had to move downstairs understandable. After throwing a tantrum, I finally moved and made myself at home at a table, resting my head on a table, lazily feeding myself, with one hand as I awkwardly read one of the listings.
A sight Byurik described as an abomination, before putting Valo on "buffoon-sitting duty", which earned a lazy hand gesture of approval from me. Valo wasted no time straightening me up, I remembered her saying something about being worried about us when I told her we were back, but she wasn't worried enough not to lecture me about it.