Chapter 59: Conclave

Inside the dark realm of the Abyss

An unusual event was taking place. All the demon lords who have shared their power with the current host of Soul Forger Magnus were now having a gathering and have formed a circle in the middle of this obscure world. Three suns, one red, one blue, one black, hanged above in the background, creating a strange aurora of different colours expanding across the horizon. Unlike the other shadows who just had a phantom appearance of a black shape, these particular nine individuals could still be seen in their usual attire and forms just like in their former life, all while gleaming a faint incandescent aura.

The aim of this conclave was to make a rundown of the recent events and to discuss their next course of actions. For long, the departed demon lords have been considered as nothing more than a means to power, a relic of the past. Once the mightiest at their time, now they were nothing but ember of their flame. But every one of them was getting tired of this dull life. They needed stimulation, something else. That was the case until recently, Xenes had come to them with a preposterous proposal.

".....And that's about the quintessence of it. What do you think?" after a long speech explaining his plan, Xenes turned toward his audience, the eight demon lords: Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor, Devas, Nyx, Beatrix, Sullivan and Lucifer. Needless to say, different reactions from each of them were expected. Some were confused. Some were excited while others remained quiet.

"I don't know what to say....Did you tell Alastor about it?" Beelzebub raised his opinion. This plan Xenes was proposing, it was something Belz has never once thought about before. This long distant dream, if it became reality, then that would change everything. The problem was this would imply a certain ....loss from the boy he was rather fond of.

"We haven't really done anything so far so I don't think that's necessary, yet. Though all the preparations are ready and all we need is a 'Yes'. Eventually I will tell him, but I believe now it's not the appropriate time." Xenes replied.

"Why not now?" asked Devas.

"He won't be happy about the fact that this has led to Odium's demise. Well it was her plan and I merely lent a hand but in the end, we didn't tell him much so he might not like that."

"You are playing a dangerous game, dragon! If Alastor found out that you used his daughter for this...." Said Belphegor.

"He will do what? Kill me? I am already dead! And even if I am alive, do you think he can beat me? Actually, let's compare Alastor to everyone around here, see who is stronger!" proposed Xenes.

"If we go with pure power without taking in account strategy and items, I would say that Alastor is the fourth strongest among us ten." Devas expressed.

"Fourth? To me, he would be third. Who is the third one then?" asked the dragon.

"Well...Beatrix." The slime turned to the hooded woman who sat in a corner. Discerning that she was being stared at, the chained woman glared back at him. Even though her face wasn't clearly shown because of the hood, she sent a certain chill to his inexistence spine.

"....Beatrix doesn't count. No offense to the lady of course!" Xenes quickly apologized to the witch before continuing speaking. "But that ability is just cheating. It just completely ignores strength, magic, defence and bam you die. Thankfully, Alastor didn't inherit that."

"Alastor didn't receive all of our power you know. He only has what Magnus gave to us after we became demon lord. What we obtained on our own are still here. Some are good; some can be pretty useless, at least for a certain person..." Lucifer muttered.

"Personally, I am not sure about the third position either. What determines the victor of a fight doesn't just rely on power and mana alone. Some of us here like Beatrix is very low in term of destructive potential but in return has unique abilities that surpass even the most powerful individual in history, if we don't take in account the Gods of course, since their power are pretty unknown, especially Fate." Analysed Nyx.

And the conversation started to turn animated, becoming a debate about how strong Alastor would be compared to them. Some claimed to be equal or stronger than Alastor. Others stayed humble, either to hide their cards or just weren't interested in the debate. But one thing was strange. Not a single one was claiming to be the strongest. Even the prideful Lucifer would at most claim to be second but not the first. The dragons, reputed for their arrogance and in particularly Xenes, didn't even attempt to say so. For that position already belonged to someone else and their authority was unquestionable.

"....We are straying from the main subject here...." Asmodeus spoke with her eyes closed as if she was contemplating about something. Knowing her, she was probably thinking about how to deal with the matter concerning Alastor. Should she follow the plan Xenes has proposed and stayed silent? Or should she tell him the truth? Either way, things weren't going to end well for everyone. But for a long time, she has seen herself as his sister, a part of his family even though the boy has never admitted it himself. And family didn't lie to each other nor should they hide anything.

Have you ever wondered why every time Alastor needed something from the demon lords, like when he needed to find powerful ones to make a pact with them, he would come to see Asmodeus? The answer to that question was quite straightforward. She seemed to know everyone and always got the job done. And the other shadows actually listened to her. This bunch of hundreds of the most powerful individuals of their time listened to the voice of this elf demon. It was like just now when she said that, everyone shut their mouth immediately. Even in this conclave, she appeared to be the one taking the decision instead of Xenes or anyone else. This posed some questions about her true nature.

Alas, back to Asmodeus, she has made her mind. "We will tell him the next time he comes here!"

"I am not so sure that's a good idea...." The dragon uttered.

"This decision is not up to you, Xenes!" Asmodeus retorted.

"Come on now! The aim of this conclave is for everyone to voice their opinion. Let's try to be civilized here!" Xenes pressed.

"Does it mean that there is someone who doesn't agree with me? Please raise your hands those who think I am wrong!"

.....

No one said a word.

"See? Problem solved! The conclave is now adjourned. Please go back to do .....whatever you have been doing for the last few centuries!"

With it, the meeting came to an end and the demon lords disbanded, each going their way. The only two left sitting at their places were the sage Nyx and the dragon Xenes. Although things didn't go the way he wanted for this gathering, Xenes didn't seem one bit disappointed. On the contrary, he still had his smug face. It was understandable: his toys have been prepared and a new show with new characters would be here to entertain him.

"But still, your plan was a reckless one, Xenes. To be honest, I still think Alastor is still too unfledged for his own good and I don't mean it as an insult to him, but more like an advice. It's perfectly understandable. At his age, we barely discovered our power while he is already in the peak of his power, and that peak just keeps growing.

The boy is the result of thousands of years of generations of demon lords, bearing the three primordial elements. Considering how life has been for him, I can confirm with certainty that his mind is very unstable, due to the magic flux inside him. His power simply grew too fast for the mind to keep up and these strains will keep stacking up one on another. All they need is one catalyst, the final straw and it will be out of control. What you are doing is igniting that catalyst." Nyx dictated.

"And that's the beauty of it. Power accompanies madness. To reach a higher level we all have to risk something of our own. Such is the path of knowledge! Surely you understand that at least, old man?"

"Even if it requires everything we once cherished?"

"We all have faced hardship in our lives, have sacrificed many things to be what we are now. Alastor is not the only one who suffers in this world, everyone does. What I am doing is merely opening a new path, one that he might have ignored."

"...Did you say the same thing when you slaughtered your entire family? Your entire clan?"

".....They are ignorant fools who could not grasp the concept of the universe. They saw me as a heretic, trying to converge me to their teaching. In return, I offered them a chance, to be part of the cosmos and to watch me unveil the secrets of this world. In the end, even after all those years of me trying to teach them, none could ever hope to understand the very basics.

Here, can you hear their voices? How these idiots beg to be released?"

A fissure opened on the fabled skin of Xenes, revealing a galaxy-like dimension. Looking into it felt like the hole was dragging you to it through an invisible force. The sound of moaning, lament and cries was leaking out from this crack. These intangible whispers could not convey their words but their tone was more than enough to show their despair, their desire to get out of there.

"This is....Just how many did you kill?" Nyx questioned.

"Kill? Not a single one. In fact, I have never killed anyone when I was alive. I only....threw them here so they could travel with me, witness me as I climbed my path of seeking knowledge. But things can be boring for these poor souls, getting stuck here for such a long time so every now and then, I want to spice things up a little bit for the 'audience'." Xenes laughed out loud. "Either way, we have a new actress and I am looking forward for her performance. Hehehehe!"

* * *

Western part of the Whispering Forest, Refugee Camp of the Beastmen

The next day after the onslaught, things returned to be quiet again. Under Alastor's command, the Millennium Regiment has located and killed all the beasts in the area around the camp, halting the invasion from Malatas completely. Even now, they were being sent to patrol the entire forest to make sure that all the monsters had and would be purged.

Ikarus, despite being heavily injured from the fight, didn't suffer any severe trauma or permanent damage and her wounds were quickly healed thanks to her own magic. She still needed some rest but aside from that, everything was fine for her. The important thing was that the boy was by her side all these time.

"How are you feeling, Ikarus?" asked Alastor as he used his Mana sense to detect any anomaly in the girl's mana flow. That way, he could be sure that she wouldn't suffer any long term damage.

"It still stings a little bit but I will be fine. Don't worry!" she smiled at him.

"How do you expect me to not worry? You were on the verge of death when I found you...I shouldn't have left like that....I am sorry, Ikarus! This is my fault!" He uttered.

"You could never have guessed he would too that strong. This whole thing was set up by the elf king. The monsters, the war....none of this has anything to do with you."

"Actually...it does."

Alastor decided it was time to tell Ikarus about Odium. The whole time, she stayed quiet, listened to him without uttering a word. To be frank, for long, Alastor has turned a blind eye to his children, thinking he had nothing to do with them because of the little interaction they had with each other. It was his selfish thinking that caused this. Even at Caelum, Alastor could have stopped the meaningless slaughter but he didn't. Instead, he joined Sinforma simply for no apparent reason.

Alastor didn't even understand why sometimes he had these impulses to kill without reason. He could even hear a voice inside his mind, urging him to do things he would never do in his right mind. Now that he mentioned it, it was the same voice that spoke to him right before his encounter with Eden in his dream. Was it just a part of him? Or something more? The thing was that voice was female so if it was his, it would be pretty weird.

"I am thinking to go to Galahad by myself. I have started this whole mess and I intend to deal with it. Even more, Elemyr has appeared and she is going after Odium. I can't let that happen, for her to die because of me." He said.

"I have said this before. If that's what your heart is telling you, then follow it! As long as you think it's the best. Don't worry about me! Look at me!" Ikarus tried to stand up and to look healthy but Alastor could see her legs trembling on the floor. As she slowly sat down and lied on the bed, she continued. "I just need a day of rest and I will join you as soon as I can. So go ahead!"

"You just focus on resting here. No need to rush things like that or your wounds will open again. I will let a few knights stationed right outside in case you need anything. I am fine as long as you are, my angel!" Alastor crouched down and kissed her on her forehead.

The moment he walked out of her tent, Viviana was already waiting for him outside. It seemed that the army from Zagon has come and their commander was currently talking with Zen to discuss their strategy. While the monster threat has been dealt with, there was still a large army of elves out there and the beastmen were in no shape to fight them at the moment. The arrival of reinforcement from Zagon would definitely be a great help.

The cat girl led Alastor to another camp, this one situated near the borders between the Forest and Malatas. Even if they were in a bad shape right now, Zen couldn't let this opportunity to go away. With the monsters gone, the elves had lost their main weapons and would be left defenceless. It was imperative that Zen launched a final assault and finished this war once and for all before any more of those monsters could be created.

Walking into a large tent, Alastor was met with the four clan leaders and a person wearing armour with a blue cape.

"Prince Alastor, I am commander Luvik sent by her Majesty to assist you in this war. Our force is ready to march toward Malatas and only waits for your order." The commanded bowed to Alastor.

"That's reassuring to hear. But I am afraid I have some personal business that needs my immediate attention so I will leave you to it." He said.

"Personal business? We are at war here. I am pretty sure that's more urgent than...." Zen spoke before he was interrupted by an alarming shout from outside the tent.

"Let me through! I bring pressing news from the borders." The soldier said to the two guards outside the tent.

"Let him in! What's going on?" asked Zen.

"Sir, our patrol has caught a small group of elves trying to cross the border. When we questioned them, they said they would like to speak to you." The soldier reported.

"Speak to me? About what?"

"They wouldn't tell me exactly but they did say that it's about how to stop the war."

"Stop the war? Who are they?"

"She only said that she is among the leaders of Malatas and would only speak to you only. At first we thought it was a trap so before coming here, we made sure that the perimeter is clear of enemies."

"This woman you spoke off, what does she look like? Is she wearing anything odd in particular?" chief Loo asked.

"She looks just like any elf to me but her headpiece did strike me as odd. It's a circlet with a crescent moon shape attached to it."

Everyone in the room didn't understand why Loo asked that question. Why did it matter what the woman was wearing? But as Loo listened to the description of the woman from the solder, he rubbed his beard in deep thoughts, suggesting that this info might not be so trivial after all.

"Lord Zen, from the description, I believe that this woman is Eris, the Priestess of the Sun faction of Malatas and you should speak to her. She might be just what we need." The rat beastman suggested.

"What do you mean, chief Loo? Do share with us." Said Zen.

"Based on what I have seen, how this war was so sudden and how the ones we captured have no idea that there are monsters hidden in their ranks, I would say that this whole thing was orchestrated by the elf king himself. For what purpose or what does he have against us, I don't know but perhaps this war wasn't decided from a consensus. The fact that the Solana priestess is here could mean that the court is divided with one faction wanting to go to war while the other not. If we play this carefully and right, we could avert further losses for both sides." Loo explained. "We need to speak with them immediately."

"Talk? After what they have done? Are you out of your mind?" shouted Gon.

"As I have said, it's possible that not all of them agree to this. What do you propose? Just kill all the elves? We also need to look after the future, not to be blind by our hatred." Loo retorted.

"Stop! No need for fighting over this." Zen calmed the two chiefs down. He then turned to Alastor. "The deal is that we will give Malatas to Zagon after the war so it's their call to do whatever they want with the elves. As a representative of Zagon, what do you think, Alastor?"

"I share master Loo's opinion in this. But we also need to take precaution in case this is some kind of elaborated trap. I say we go there and meet with this lady Eris." Alastor said.

"Alright, the man has spoken. Then let us hurry! Commander Luvik, please bring your entire army with us! We will finish this once and for all." Zen said.

.....

"Thank you for being on my side, earlier!" said Loo as he rode his horse along Alastor's.

"It's nothing! I merely speak out my thoughts. This war can't last any longer." Said Alastor.

"I hope that too. But the path to seek peace is an arduous one, which not many can take."

"I too agree with that. By the way, earlier something you said about Eris has caught my attention. You said that Eris is the priestess of the sun but she wears a moon circlet instead. Why is that?" asked the boy.

"I suppose you don't know about their history then. In the past, when the priestesses didn't have that much political like nowadays, they used to spend days confining themselves inside the prayer room with only the two together. And because they couldn't go outside in these times, the priestess of the sun would wear the headpiece in the image of the moon and the priestess of the moon would wear a sun headpiece so that when they look at each other, they could still venerate their respective teaching. What's even more interesting is that the two priestesses were often called the Twin Sisters as only chosen twins by the Goddess Elemyr would be allowed to be her priestesses. However, that practice was abolished a century ago when they couldn't find any twin and had to choose two girls of the same age instead." Loo explained the story behind the priestesses.

"That's interesting. So they used to be sisters, people of the same family but now it became two opposite factions fighting for power? That's quite a twist." Said Alastor.

"Ehem, now it's not the time for exchanging culture and history. Here we are at the borders."

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