Chapter 252 Ultimatum
'Is it really that difficult of a decision to make?' Nial wondered as he perceived the unstable mana fluctuations from Valvian and Crevian.
To create an Alliance with the human race, the Elves would have to accept the fact that there were ugly humans, humans with destructive powers, and all kinds of 'bad' humans. However, it was not as if the entire Elven race was filled with nice and good-looking beings. Bad eggs could be found everywhere.
But that was not the issue at hand. After all, the Elves would have to acknowledge that the human race on Jundra was on equal standing, that they were not below them, to be treated as cattle, or even garbage that could be disposed of wherever it was 'needed'.
While Nial understood the problems which the Elves were having with Nial's proposal due to Damian's memories, he found it ridiculous how narrow-minded Elves truly were.
'If not for Damian's memories, I wouldn't have noticed that Elves are narrow-minded too, and not just prideful existences....'
Damian's memories were of great use, and Nial knew that he should make use of them more often. However, he still feared the memories' influence, which was why he had been hesitant to accept the memories of the God of Darkness completely.
'Make a decision, fools.' He thought, before giving them space to think about what to do next.
"I wonder when the other Gods and Divine existences are able to descend their own plane, or portal as well. Who knows, maybe there are already a few races who've descended on Jundra?" Nial mumbled in a low voice when he passed by Valvian.
He approached Mathias and Miranda while looking at them confidently. Right now, they were at an advantage. Silvian had made this possible, even though he didn't plan this.
Nial's opinion about Silvian was quite simple. 'You don't bother me, and I won't care about you, at all!'
The God of Saints and Devils was quite a confusing existence but if one were to try to figure out who he was, it was probably best to label him a 'selfish bastard'.
He would sacrifice everything as long as he could attain the goals he had set in his mind.
The death of Dryx didn't matter to him at all. His human subordinates? Silvian couldn't care less about them. As for maintaining a good relationship with 'Damian'...If the relationship was of no use, he would throw his good 'friend' in the pits of hell without a second thought if he would gain something from it.
Nial had been too weak to do something against Silvian, and that was still the case. But despite that, it looked like Nial was finally able to make sense of Silvian's actions.
'Thanks, for your stupid reckless actions, you clown.' Nial just thought, his smile growing wide as he reunited with Mathias and Miranda.
"Nial?! How the hell did you grow so much stronger? You created your first Origin ring so much faster than expected...so I thought you lowered your standards...I actually thought you created an Advanced Origin ring...but what the hell was that?" Mathias exclaimed with suspicion in his eyes.
He felt as if Nial had betrayed him. This was utter nonsense, and Mathias should have known that Nial would never throw away an opportunity to become stronger if it willingly knocked on his door.
But this made the situation even more confusing for Mathias. He was not stupid, but it was not as if he was a great tactician. If possible, he would just fight when it was necessary, have a great relationship with the Elven race and allow everyone to benefit.
Mathias was a simple person at his core. Sometimes, he might seem like a difficult or confusing person but that was due to the secrets he tried to hide from everyone and his unique personality.
However, not only Mathias was confused at Nial's increase in strength.
"I've never read a report, where someone's strength increased as much as it was the case with you, not after the creation of their primary Origin ring, at least..." Miranda commented with a faraway look in her eyes as if she was trying hard to recall experiencing such a peculiar instance.
She had been able to follow Nial's movements when he approached the inactive portal but this didn't mean that she was confident to do the same when she had been at the same rank as Nial.
'Maybe, when I had two Advanced Origin rings?' She thought before correcting herself within her mind, 'Or was it three?'
Nial's increase in strength was definitely not simple. However, that was not everything that had changed. It looked like Nial's behavior and even the way he walked had changed a bit.
Furthermore, vigor and dark energy oozed out of his body at any time without a warning now.
'He has difficulties controlling his enhanced powers...The Symbol of Life should be activated as well, right now.' Miranda thought as she squinted her eyes while keeping her focus on Nial.
She was trying to find out more about her disciple's changes but that was more difficult than she had expected.
"By the way, what did you say to the Elves?" Miranda asked, trying to change the topic. Her head flicked to Valvian and the Old Elf Crevian, who was blankly staring at the empty spot Nial had been standing on a few seconds before.
"Nothing much, I merely gave them a tiny Ultimatum," Nial revealed in a nonchalant manner.
"You did what?!" Miranda screamed out, attracting the attention of many Elves, who looked over for a moment before their focus returned to their Midnight Elf and Master Crevian.
"Good job, with the Ultimatum, they should finally make a decision." Mathias applauded, feeling proud of his friend's intelligence.
However, Miranda's opinion was entirely different, and upon hearing Mathias, she felt like locking up both of her disciples before giving them some lectures about common sense, logic, and what one shouldn't do..
"So, without speaking to the government, the military, or...me, you directly gave the Elves an Ultimatum...great...that's just great..." Miranda raised her hands in exasperation before they limply fell to her sides. She seemed to be on the brink of losing her sanity, and Nial was just about to say something when Miranda lifted her hand that indicated 'shut the hell up, or I will whoop your ass as long as I am still able to!'.
"Before you say anything stupid, just tell me what the Ultimatum is..." Miranda said, before taking a deep breath, and trying to calm down.
'It's not like we were able to achieve a lot in the last few months, so an Ultimatum might not be that bad...' Miranda thought, only to shake her head once again. An Ultimatum might be great in specific situations, but if it ended up in the wrong way, all of their efforts would go to waste.
It was not even unlikely for the Elves to attack them and eradicate the entire human race. That was if Nial's Ultimatum was proposed with the wrong stakes, emotions, or words.
'Please, just let it not be that bad... and why...just WHY didn't he speak to me beforehand... At least, I could have helped him...this idiot of a disciple...' Once again, Miranda was fuming in anger.
Even slowly breathing in and out did little to calm her, and her eyes turned fiery as she looked at Nial while waiting for his answer. Somehow, she wanted to whoop Nial's ass, just to make him understand that he shouldn't always act without consulting anyone, not if his actions could lead to severe repercussions that could change mankind's future.
Nial could not shake off the responsibility for his actions, not with such high risk, and stakes at hand.
After all, a single mistake could lead to the human race's extinction.
"Don't overreact like this, Master, you will fall ill." Nial first said so as to appease his master. But Nial's words had the exact opposite effect and she felt as if her heart had been pierced.
'This bastard...' She wanted to curse at him, and it was only because Nial continued to speak that Miranda held back...for the time being, at least.
"I merely told them that they should make a decision to accept that humans are on an equal standing to Elves. They act aloof, narrow-minded, and as if everything belongs to them which is wrong. Well, that is not the important point.
The Ultimatum I gave them was that they should accept humans, and if possible create an Alliance with them. In return, we will help them against the Dryx.
As for what happens if they don't accept us, I said that we will just look at the Forest of Life being destroyed by the Dryx, and kill whatever is left of either side once they went into an all-out battle. It's not that troublesome, to be honest." Nial just waved his hand, acting as if the situation was actually quite simple.
However, Miranda's eyes grew wide as saucers and she felt the onset of a big headache when listening to Nial's words.
'Why are the Dryx suddenly so important? There is not a single clue about them habituating nearby...so why would the Elves be bothered about the Dryx? And even more importantly, why would Nial know something about the Dryx?' Miranda was confused, her mind felt as if it had been mashed, but there was nothing to help her recuperate from the shocking blows being rained upon her one after the other.
She stared at Nial in confusion, her head turned to Valvian and the Old Elf Crevian once again, just to see that they had begun to move toward Nial.
Miranda tensed up noticing this, but she quickly forced herself to relax to make it seem as if everything was perfectly fine.
"We thought about what you said, Nial." Valvian started to speak. He seemed a little bit uncomfortable with what he had to say. However, Master Crevian was not as reluctant to speak as it was the case for the Midnight Elf, as he gave Nial a straightforward answer.
"We cannot make any promises. That is our answer." He simply stated in a straightforward manner.
Nial nodded his head. He understood what they meant.
"So you guys will try, but you cannot promise that all Elves will accept humans on equal standing? That is acceptable. The government just wants to do business with you. If you only accept speaking to humans, who look beautiful in the Elves' standards, that is perfectly fine.
As long as both sides benefit from our relationship, everyone should be happy. It should even be possible to fight against other hostile races, not just the Dryx." Nial said, not hiding the true intention of the Ultimatum he had put forth.
Mankind was far from strong. However, with the benefits they would gain from the Elves, it would be possible to become much stronger in a short period. Simultaneously, by helping each other, humans would not need to actually fear new races.
It was just important that humans would be able to adapt to Jundra's changes fast enough.
And with the help of the Elven races, this wouldn't be as difficult as trying to survive on their own!
Nial held out his hand, flashing everyone a bright smile as he said,
"I'm happy to welcome the Elven race on Jundra. We wish for successful cooperation."
"To a successful cooperation..."