Chapter 287: Peace Conference

By the time the sun rose the next morning, Alex had mostly returned to normal after the slaughter that had taken place just hours prior. Though he didn't regret his actions or his decision to kill everyone in the slightest, the act of actually killing so many people at once would still impact anyone, except for a psychopath. After having a nice hot bath and cuddling with Gabriel, who was also recovering from the night before, and a couple others for a few hours, Alex felt good as new as he prepared to help get his daughters up before moving onto the next part of the peace conference. Hopefully after today the conflicts would be completely over and he could properly relax until it was time to move onto the next world.

After leaving Asora his first stop was to the medical ward where the women whose families were slaughtered were taken, and where Anne, Asia, Valerie, and Kaori were taking care of them. All four had been using Regeneration magic on the women to erase all physical signs of their abuse, as well as preventing the possibility of them carrying the child of their abusers. The problem however was their psychological trauma as, even though using Spirit magic could help, they could never fully erase what happened to them. Though it was theoretically possible to even erase their memories using the Spirit magic, doing so wouldn't have helped as it would only leave them confused, and if it somehow became undone it was possible that the women would suffer more damage than they were currently. Alex spent a bit of time assisting the four girls with caring for the women, before he eventually had to leave for the most important part of the conference, where the national leaders actually had to sit down and discuss peace. As he walked in Alex was greeted by the sight of everyone already gathered as they waited for him. Everyone was silently watching him as he took his seat, before he started the conference by saying,

"You all know why we're here, and what you need to do. Many of you are against the idea of cooperating with those you've been enemies with for millennia, and even carry personal grudges against some of those who are seated next to you. However, last night was the perfect example of why exactly this conference and peace are needed!" Silence permeated the room after Alex finished speaking, as as he said there was several people glaring at each other for past wrongs, however no one spoke or tried to point fingers. The main reason was that the events of the previous night was still freshly on all of their minds, and all of their people had a role in it. Though the majority of the aggressors was composed of humans, the fact was that there was still a large number of demon mages among them as well, and there had been several demihuman slaves who had been ordered to assist in carrying out such horrific acts, even if it was against their own will. This didn't change the fact that their hands were also dirtied by the actions of the fanatics, meaning that with the sole exception of the dragon race, all three major races were implemented in the pope's crimes. Seeing no one argue what he said, Alex nodded and declared,

"Ok then, now let's get started and get this out of the way." With a round of agreements from all of those attending, the peace conference finally started. As could be expected there were several grievances each group wanted to address, such as the demihumans former status as the lower slave race, or certain actions and results that a particular nation had done against the others in the past. Slavery itself was flat out outlawed, though criminals with the death sentence would have the option of a life of manual labor, and anyone caught abusing this system or trying to rig it in their favor would face the combined ire of the rest of the races and nations. As for the actions of each faction in the past, such as the poisoning of the desert city Ankaji, or the monster horde attack against Ul; Alex declared all of it null and void as each side had committed great acts of atrocity against another at some point, to the point that digging each one up and demanding repayment would only do more harm than good. With these two points being the biggest issues with pursuing peace, the other matters seemed to quickly fall into place after the air was cleared.

It was decided that while the ruling bodies of each nation wouldn't be effected, there was to be a council made that had three members of each race on it, composed of Prince Randall(Lilliana's younger brother), emperor Gahard, and duke Lanzwi of Ankaji to make up the three of the human side. The three for the demihumans were the elders Ulfric Heipyst, the chief elder of the elves, Mao of the harpies, and Zel of the tigerman tribe. At first the elders wanted to include Cam as the patriarch of the Haulia tribe, but they were rejected when they learned that Cam would be following Alex along with all of the rabbitmen that had joined the Haulia tribe. Of the demon race Rassem would obviously become a member of the council along with another demon Alex didn't know, and surprisingly Cattleya. She herself was surprised at her own nomination, but the demon king declared that if not for her intervention they might have been wiped out before realizing the faults in their ways. Of the dragon race Adul surprisingly declared he wouldn't become a member of the council, as he intended to take the chance to retire and follow Alex along with his granddaughter; instead Kartos and two other elders of the dragonmen reluctantly stepped up, though they were slightly upset since Adul never told them he intended to accept Alex's offer and retire.

With the twelve members of the council decided it was also quickly concluded that Horlad would also be the official place where they'd meet, and that it would also become the first place in Tortus where members of all races could gather without discrimination. The reason for this was the Orcus labyrinth beneath them, being one of the best places on the continent to level up your status and gather monster materials. It, along with the rest of the labyrinths, were all declared open to each and every race to prevent just one from developing a monopoly over their bounty. With these and several other minor issues concluded, as well as a signing of a magically binding document agreeing to each of the things they had discussed that day, everyone rose and Adul said,

"Now I believe we should go out and say something to all of our people, I expect they are growing anxious from waiting to hear from us." With several people nodding in agreement, they made their way to a large balcony where several people who weren't part of the meeting were already waiting for them. As they stepped up they were greeted by the view of thousands of people from each race waiting below them for the announcement from their leaders, before Liliana stepped towards the front and declared,

"People of every single race and nation, we are happy to see you here to support this decision for peace between our people! I am the princess Liliana, after the death of my father, King Eliheid, at the hands of the servants of the god Ehito, I have stepped forward to help my people. Now, we have the peace between all of our people that we have so desperately fought for, and as such I am stepping back for my brother, Prince Randell! May he rule well while I will follow my heart, and the champion of Gabriel who made this all possible!" As she finished speaking, Liliana stepped back and joined Alex and Grayfia so that her ten year old brother could be seen by the people, after which he himself said a few words before stepping back as well. Once they were done speaking Gahard stepped forward this time to address the citizens of the empire, starting by grabbing the chain of the necklace he wore and dramatically pulling it over his head. There was a slight audible gasp as he did so, primarily from those who were also wearing the exact same necklace, but when nothing happened he declared,

"People of the empire, for the last three hundred years we have lived under the philosophy that might equals right, and now we have come into contact with he who is the mightiest of all!" There was quite a cheer at the opening of Gahard's speech, as he gestured towards Alex grandly before continuing. He talked about the future of the empire and its new policies, as well as his hope to create a grand tournament that welcomed fighters from the entire world, regardless of race, to fight in their colosseum for glory and prestige. As he drew to a close however, he gestured to someone behind him, earning several exclamations of amazement as his daughter Tracy made her appearance. As she was known to be a bit of a battle nut, everyone was shocked to see her in a flowery dress that brought out even more of her feminine charms. Gahard then said,

"It was announced last night, but I decided to take this chance to also mention it. My daughter wishes to follow the champion of the goddess, and so I now wish her luck in her future as I officially give her to him. Be safe, and be sure to come back from wherever you end up quickly so that I can see my grandchilds face!" As he finished speaking Tracy also walked to Alex's side next to Liliana, before she whispered to him,

"I'm looking forward to tonight, my beloved~" Alex smiled wryly in response to her attempt to tease him, while Liliana looked thoughtful from between them. Meanwhile Ulfric stepped forward to speak as the chief elder of Verbergen, and said,

"My people, for years we have lived in constant fear of being taken away from those we love, of being abused and brutalized in every way imaginable simply because of who we are, but today I am happy to say that it is no more! No longer will we be the scorn of the world, no longer will we be considered inferior, and no longer will we wear the term 'demihuman' upon ourselves!" At his words the various people that were formally known as 'demihumans' cheered, as he continued to state that from that day on they would instead be known as their races themselves, and would be equal with the rest of the world. After continuing his own speech Ulfric concluded it in the same way as Gahard, by gesturing to someone behind him as Altina shyly stepped forward while wearing a beautiful green dress. He then said,

"It seems to be a trend, but my granddaughter also wishes to follow the champion of Gabriel, the one who made this possible for our people. May she find happiness, and may her future be filled with sights and experiences that none of us had ever hoped to see or experience before!" As he finished speaking Altina also walked over to Alex's side, her face down in embarrassment as made evident from the tips of her Crimson ears. Next up was the demon King, who also made a speech about the possibilities open to them because of the newfound peace, and even going so far as mentioning the possibilities in advances in magic in the future. What Alex didn't expect however, was the demon king ending his speech in the same way as Ulfric and Gahard.

"As and as a gesture of my sincerity towards the future of peace, I would like to offer my own daughter Francesca to the champion of the goddess, and wish that they may find peace together in the future!" Alex was dumbfounded as the Crimson haired and eyed princess walked up to him expectantly, dressed up similarly as the other two.

"I hope you are not disappointed by me, and I promise that I will do my best to please you." The princess said politely as she bowed her head to him slightly, which made Alex feel slightly bad for what he was about to do but, before he could reject their offer, Grayfia and Liliana both suddenly pinched him hard. He gave them a questioning glance, to which the silver haired maid was simply looking at him pointedly as if to say not to refuse. Though he wanted to retort that she knew how he felt about such things, deciding she had a reason Alex said,

"I am not disappointed at all princess, merely pleasantly surprised." As she smiled and made her way to stand by Altina, Alex hissed to Grayfia while Adul started his speech,

"And why exactly did you want me to accept her?" Grayfia sighed and explained,

"Last night after you left to deal with the army, the demon king and is daughter approached us about having her join us as one of your wives. He didn't know that you don't accept political marriages, and didn't think that each of the princesses around you were there because they wanted to be. When we tried to explain this he just thought it was an excuse and wanted to know if you just didn't like demon race women, which it didn't help that Cattleya was our prisoner for so long yet no one touched her like what would have happened if any other nation had imprisoned her. Eventually I just relented since you weren't there, and I wanted to make sure this wouldn't become a source of conflict between them and the other races. Besides, I think we both know this would probably have become the eventual outcome anyways if you two spent any more time around each other." Though slightly gobsmacked at her reasoning, Alex shook his head before retorting,

"You could have at least warned me..." This time Grayfia smiled wryly, as the very reason she hadn't warned him before hand was so that he'd be put on the spot slightly when he did find out. Their attention was pulled back towards Adul's speech, as he announced his retirement and that his position would be taken by Kartos. Though he didn't call her up, he did mention that he intended to spend his remaining years peacefully with his granddaughter Tio, and his eventual great grandchild. With everyone's speeches out of the way, Alex stepped up this time and said,

"As long as each of you works hard for it, this peace may last for the next several thousand years. Remember the suffering this senseless war has caused, and remember the underlying reason for it. From the beginning there has been no animosity between each of your people, until Ehito created it. Remember that even if you look different, you all share the same roots!" As he finished speaking there was a sudden flash of light as a beautiful golden haired figure appeared above them. She looked down on the shell shocked crowd, before smiling one of her devastatingly beautiful smiles and said,

"My children... My champion speaks the truth, please let this be the last of the hate. Let this be the last of the pointless bloodshed, and please let this be the last of a needless war." As they looked up towards the goddess, several people started looking around ashamedly as they didn't agree with peace, but hearing her desperate plea had made them rethink themselves. As she looked down on them, Gabriel suddenly said,

"Due to my wayward sons actions, I have decided that it is too dangerous for the divine to have so much contact with the mortal races. That is why, this is my last time speaking to you." As they heard this there was a visible panic on several people's faces, before Gabriel went on to state that the whole reason for the war was because of a god anyways, and that while she wanted the fighting to stop, it wasn't right for entire nations to just mindlessly listen to a god to make all of their choices. After she explained this, Gabriel said,

"Even if I don't speak to you, even if you don't see me, know that I am always watching over you my children. Know that my love for each and every one of you is endless." As she finished speaking Gabriel faded away, before vanishing entirely from view. This left everyone with a sense of loss, but as they tried and looked at the people at their sides, they felt as if there was a bond that didn't exist there before even as they looked at those of differing races. Seeing their reactions to Gabriel's departure, Alex smiled and declared,

"Don't let yourselves get down! Even if the goddess no longer involves herself with us, she is still watching! Do you think she would be happy seeing your looks of sadness and disappointment? Let's begin the feast and instead show her ourselves having fun!" As Alex said that, everyone suddenly became aware of the sudden appearance of more than enough food for the entire city's current occupants to stuff themselves, and with each of the nations leaders leading the way, they started a feast to end all feasts in honor of the peace treaty, and the goddess. As the feast got under way, no one bothered with titles or ranks as even the royalty made their way down to where the main population was, and started dining with the average citizens. This was also Alex's idea, and normally it would be unthinkable due to assassins and the like, but with the Haulia acting as the silent guards, there was nothing to worry about. Alex himself put together two plates, and suddenly disappeared as he teleported to a hidden room ,where he found the goddess herself waiting for him.

"How are you feeling, 'goddess Gabriel'?" Alex asked as he held out the second plate to her. Gabriel smiled as she said,

"I'm better now, after you left this morning Nyx and I went into the space-time orb so that she could teach me how to block out the prayers and suffering of my followers. I'm not too good at it yet, but if nothing major happens then I should be alright until I get it down." Alex nodded as he started eating his food, but he also kept an eye on Gabriel as he ate. Even though she never liked acting as goddess Gabriel, it seemed like her aversion marginally lessened after what happened the previous night, and she realized firsthand how much her newfound believers relied on her. Sadly this had the unexpected consequence of her directly feeling the loss of each of the women as their children were taken from them, something Alex was expecting still effected her but, with several days passing since then within the space-time orb, it seemed like she had mostly recovered since it was not she herself who experienced the loss. After they finished eating Gabriel bid him farewell for the night, and returned to Asora to spend time with her daughter.

With Gabriel's departure Alex quickly returned to the feast, where he quickly lost himself in the fun and festivities with the thousands of people present. From drinking competitions to even duels with Gahard and a few others such as Meld, everyone had a blast with the only problems being a few drunken brawls resulting from those who were still somewhat discontent with how things turned out, but it never escalated beyond a few punches. Eventually Alex decided it was time to call it a night, and retired to the space-time orb himself. He had something else he needed to address within it, but he decided to put it off for the moment and spend the rest of the night with the group waiting within his room. Making his way up, Alex opened the door to find Liliana, Tracy, Altina, and Francesca all waiting for him, and all wearing the exact same transparent nightgown in different colors. Figuring someone like Grayfia brought them here, Alex smiled wryly while Tracy suddenly said,

"I told you, I'm looking forward to tonight." He didn't say a single thing, and instead just closed the door before walking towards the gathered group.