Chapter 405: Negotiations

Point-of-View: Belia Lasmodeus 

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"Hi, there!" I greeted in a friendly tone, as I walked through a portal...and entered the Abyss throne room. 

Today's the 28th of December, three days had passed since that discussion with the Rustlands' higher ups, and earlier today, they'd all agreed to a temporary alliance with Abyss and the targeted Elemental Sages. And I graciously volunteered to handle those negotiations, though I then opened up a portal and left the Rustlands before giving them a chance to respond. 

"I fucking knew you'd show up at some point," Came an exasperated sigh in response, as Kuro stared down at me disdainfully from his throne...he's the only one here, and he's not calling for reinforcements or anything. 

Well, I guess he doesn't really need to...with my Demigod Mode out of the equation, I'd be at quite a disadvantage against him. He's probably a good three or four times stronger than I am now. 

"Aw, but being predictable isn't chaotic," I replied with a pout. 

"Then leave."

"Now, don't be like that, I'm not here to cause any trouble...the reason I came by myself is because I'm the only one who'd be unaffected by your insta-kill barrier. I'll get straight to the point, wanna form a temporary alliance with the Rustlands till this whole thing with Samsara is over? "I proposed, cutting right to the chase. 

"Nah, I'm good," He responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. 

"Wait, what? Huh, I thought you were smarter than that, you do realize that we need to gather all our collective strength to even stand a chance against Samsara, don't you?" I pointed out. 

"Huh, and I thought you were a lot more selfish that this, but here you are, unironically trying to negotiate an alliance with me on behalf of the Rustlands. Seems like you've gone soft," He countered with a smirk. 

"Heh, you may well be right about that. Yeah, even I realize that I've changed a fair bit while I was living in the Rustlands, but then, I don't really think that's a bad thing," I shrugged in response. 

"You really think so, do you? Well, if nothing else, I'll say this much...you used to seem like much more of a threat than you do now," He remarked in reply. 

Not gonna lie, that kinda ticks me off a bit. But I'll act like it doesn't really bother me... 

"Is that so? Well, don't underestimate me, Kuro...I may be weaker than before, and as you've pointed out, I've changed significantly, but I still live for chaos, make no mistake. That said, Samsara's an obstacle to that, so I want him gone. But I'm quite sure than no one can defeat him single-handedly, although there are only two people with the technique to finish him off for good," I informed him. 

"Oh, so does he have unlimited Restoration Magic like Sant did?" He asked me. 

"Yeah, I think so. I managed to transfer most of my abilities and the core of my life force into this new body, though most of my strength was lost. Had I failed, not only would I have ceased to exist, but Samsara would probably have gained my abilities too. Well, not that he really needs them...Sant's and my bodies were made using an immense amount of Divine Magic, and now that Samsara has reclaimed them, he possesses a lot more Divine Magic than either Sant or I did after I created the monsters and he formed the floating island. And I do mean several times more, he'll have a wide range of Divine Magics at his fingertips," I warned him grimly. 

"You really have changed, you actually get serious now, makes you seem less dumb than before," Came the response, though from the look in his eyes, I could see that he was taking this seriously, "And besides, I bet not-God used a significant amount of the Divine Magic he obtained from your old body and Sant's in order to create that body he was inhabiting."

Oh, good point, I think I might have overlooked that. 

"Anyway, look, I know you've got your grudges against the Rustlands, and a big part of that is undeniably my fault, but still, set that aside, just until we take Samsara down. We both know that's the best move here," I tried to convince him. 

"Maybe so, but I think I'll take my chances. And besides, you're mistaken about one thing...," He stated with a slight glint in his eyes. 

"I am? About what, exactly?" I responded with a raised eyebrow. 

"Simple...you're mistaken about the fact that not-God gained Sant's abilities...because he didn't, I did."

Huh? 

"Wait, you mean you managed to sink your fangs into him?" I responded in surprise. 

"Ew, no...I used my claws," He corrected me with a frown. 

Fair enough, that's understandable. 

"Ohh, now I get it...so that's why Samsara reclaimed the Divine Magic that made up our bodies when he did! If Sant had ceased to exist, his body would have dissipated too, Samsara must have intervened right before that. Hold on, you've got all his abilities now, the Divine Magics that he could use at no cost?"

"Well, yeah, but technically I only really gained Restoration Magic, since his other two abilities are similar to my own Absolute Defense Cross and Obliteration Magic," He shrugged in response. 

I see what he's doing...normally, revealing such details to me would be a dumb move, but he's doing so to indirectly point out that he's now powerful enough that he doesn't need to ally himself with the Rustlands. 

"Heh, that Healing Factor of yours combined with unlimited Restoration Magic effectively makes you unstoppable. But still, Samsara has access to a wide, wide range of Divine Magic spells, and you need Divine Magic to fight Divine Magic," I continued to try and convince him. 

"I beg to differ, I held my own just fine against you despite not having any Divine Magic of my own at the time. Not to mention Az, he destroyed you," He countered. 

"Yeah, it's probably not impossible for you and your forces to kill Samsara without any external help, but why not increase your chances as much as possible? If Abyss stands against him alone, even if you win, you'll likely suffer a lot more casualties than if you'd teamed up with us," I pointed out objectively. 

"Can't deny that you have a point there, I suppose. But then, Abyss isn't handling this alone."

"Yes, I know that those three Elemental Sages and the members of the other races that defected alongside them have allied with you, but my argument still stands. Besides the Elemental Sages, the rest are way too weak to contribute anything against Samsara," I continued to press my case. 

"Maybe so, but you're a lot weaker now than before, right? Also, the way you've been speaking, it's like you have an idea of how powerful he is," He responded, narrowing his eyes. 

Oh? Looks like he's interested in that particular detail... 

"Yeah, I do. Well, not precisely, but based on the amount of Divine Magic he had remaining plus the amount he regained, I can give a fairly accurate estimate of what he's capable of now. And that aside, don't forget that no one knows more about Divine Magic than I do, except for maybe Samsara himself."

"That's...true. Alright, then...come back in an hour, along with a representative from the Rustlands, anyone besides that shitty king is fine. Don't come here though, come to the new settlement of the other races, where Silvland used to be. We'll talk it out with the Elemental Sages and decide on how to proceed. Because if you ask me to make the decision myself, I'll definitely let my personal feelings affect my answer," He stated bluntly. 

"Okay, that's fine...in that case, I'll be at the ex-Silvland area in an hour with the former Queen of Bronztan," I replied, after mulling it over. 

"Oh...well, she's a pain, but also competent, so fine, that works," He sighed apprehensively. 

Yeah, I have to agree with that sentiment...I'd prefer to bring Agatha Silvland instead, but once I go back and report this to them, Cusana Bronztan will likely want to be the one who comes with me. Plus she's probably gonna get all annoyed over the fact that I just volunteered to do this and left without waiting for their approval or whatever. 

"Alright, then, I guess I'll head back...you should probably inform your subordinates about this," I remarked, as I opened a portal. 

"Don't tell me how to rule. And wait, before you go...," He replied, as he put on a pair of blue-tinted glasses and stared at me.

"Uh...what are you doing?" I inquired curiously. 

"Just checking how strong you are now...oh, looks like you're at around 140,000. That's a bit over half of Sylvar's power level in Wind Sage Mode, guess you're still reasonably powerful," He responded, before taking the glasses off and setting them down, "Alright, you can go now."

Wait, so Abyss has created something that can measure how powerful someone is? That's...so cool! I want one! 

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