Chapter 66 - Council of War

Eventually Luka steadied himself, having processed the revelations as much as he could for the time being. Their collective moment of silence had come to an end, marked by Tamamo's return. The blonde kitsune had nearly a dozen angels wrapped up in her glowing tails, their eyes glossed over and mouths hanging agape.

"Ilias is keen on learning what's transpired here. I've already hypnotized and fed false stories to twenty angels, but she keeps sending more," Tamamo announced with a hint of distaste. "She may act soon. She's clearly dissatisfied with the answers her spies have been giving her."

"Are we ready then?" Will tensely asked, tightening his grip on his kanabo as he side eyed the gaggle of angels.

"We will be, shortly. I've convened a war meeting in the castle. We must go, quickly," Tamamo replied as she stepped closer to the group and tossed the unconscious angels aside. Her tails reached out to wrap around everyone's wrist.

Luka glanced at the unconscious angels, gaze briefly lingering on them. "I'm ready," he firmly stated to myself.

-

An instant later the necropolis around them shifted as they found themselves in a grand hall of a castle, standing beside a round table covered with maps and others standing around it. The large stone walls arched high above them, decorated by banners depicting a vertical eye identical to the symbol on Alice's hair, illuminated by magical glowing orbs lining the wall.

Granberia immediately turned upon the group's arrival and bowed her head at Alice. "My Lord, I've done as instructed. I've gathered as many allies as were willing to join us." She stepped aside and gestured to the group assembled before them. Her fellow knight, and queen of the slimes, Erubetie, dipped her blue head in acknowledgement, while Alma merely smirked and looked on in vague amusement.

Will recognized quite a few faces. There were several monster queens gathered together, those still loyal to Alice, and only one human monarch. The elf and fairy queens did their best to not meet Sara's gaze, especially as the towering form of King David of Sabasa stood up and smiled broadly when he saw his daughter, immediately marching over and letting out a cheer as he wrapped her up in a bear hug.

She let out a chuckle and patted him on the arm. "I missed you too, father."

The ruffle of feathers got Will's attention as the Harpy Queen approached him. He felt a slight blush when he saw the apprising glint in her emerald green eyes as she subtly looked him over. She was as beautiful as he remembered her, her gentle yet striking colours having stuck in his mind. The feathers along her wings and legs were rose in colour, and long lengths of lavender hair tied back into a braid, flowing down from beneath a golden tiara atop her head.

The regal pose was given a deadly edge by the chain shirt she wore over her torso and recurved long bow slung across her back.

"Your majesty," he greeted her with a smile of his own. "It's been some time since we last met. How are things in your corner of the world?"

"They are well, in no small part thanks to you and Luka. The peace is holding steady, and shows no signs of breaking," the feathered monarch inclined her head over to the hero, who was busy talking with Sara's father. "I see you still haven't quite picked up on social etiquette. It's rude not to bow, but I'll let it slide once more," she chided him in a teasing tone.

Will let out a chuckle, and shrugged his shoulders. "Oh yeah, maybe next time I might remember."

She raised a wing and waved off his comment. "There's no need. I suspect next time we meet I will be bowing to you." Her gaze shifted to Alice and she dipped her head low. "My Lord, I hope you are well."

Alice hummed in acknowledgement, subtly moving closer to Will, arms pressed together. "I've recovered well enough from Black Alice's attack, if that's what you're referring to." She glanced at the bow on the harpy's back. "I see you are ready to lead your soldiers into battle."

"I am, my Lord," the harpy queen nodded, voice taking on a steely edge to it. "I've mobilized my village, thankfully many of them are veterans of the previous queen's wars. They've been invaluable in preparing my villages. If Ilias is truly waging a war of extermination, then we will fight and if we die, then we will die as eagles."

"Go for the liver," Alice remarked in approval, the corners of her mouth curling upwards in a faint smirk. "I know that you will fight bravely, Queen Lucretia, though do not be quick to throw your life away in battle. I've got few subordinates left. I'd hate to lose more. "

"I have no intention of following in my predecessor's footsteps," Lucretia firmly responded in determination.

"Good," Alice nodded, smirk growing larger.

"Lucretia?" Will echoed the name in confusion. He realized he had never learned it before when they'd met. "Huh, well, it's very nice to finally learn your name. I didn't know that I didn't know it," he sheepishly laughed and scratched the side of his scalie cheek.

"It's nothing to be concerned about," Lucretia assured him with a wave, before glancing to the side at the table and others. "We've got far more pressing matters at hand."

"Yes, we do." Will saw that people were beginning to take places, and so he followed Alice to the nominal 'front' of the table where Tamamo was standing, taking a seat beside Alice. The kitsune stood on a chair to better see everyone else and the dim chatter in the room grew quiet as people turned their attention to her.

She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when Alice rose to her feet. "You've all been summoned here because we are in a state of war, one which we weren't aware of until recently," the Monster Lord opened with up, voice firm and resolute. "Ilias has made her intentions clear with the Slaughter of Remina. What she unleashed upon my mother's capital will soon be unleashed upon the world, and will she not stop until she has exterminated every last human and monster. We all are that stands between her and the death of the world."

The Sabasan King wore a heavy frown on his face. "If I had not been shown the proof myself I'd almost call it unbelievable," he bitterly remarked, shaking his head. "How could we hope to challenge her though? Angels are ethereal. They're literally untouchable. You try to grab one and your arm will go right through it."

There were general noises of agreement from the other monarchs, only the knights remaining quiet and confident.

"Normally that'd be the case, however Tamamo has found a way around that," Alice assured them as she brought her gloved hand down onto a large map of the world. There were four tiles placed at the edges of it along the cardinal directions, one at each pole and two in opposite ends of the oceans. "Ilias has constructed four arcane towers at these points. Their purpose is to seal the Four Spirits and myself. Unbenounced to her, they were built with a secondary purpose. They can turn angels corporal against their will."

Tamamo and her agents had months to pour over the records of Promestein's abandoned lab. She had been strategizing and considering how to approach the war during that time.

"With this we may strike at her armies like any other," Tamamo added with a hint of sadistic glee, bringing her fan to her chin as she puffed her chest out in pride. "It evens the playing field."

The Sabasan King nodded in approval as he rubbed his bearded chin. "That's very impressive."

"What should we do then?" Queen Lucretia inquired.

"Defend your homes," Alice instructed, glancing from the harpy to the elf and fairy queen. "When we attack the towers Ilias will respond in force. We'll then move onto Heaven itself," she tapped the center of Sentora, "hopefully drawing the bulk of her armies to us." She raised her hand and motioned to her knights around her. "It'd be foolish to expect her to focus only on us."

"And the other kingdoms?" Sara spoke up. "Those that aren't here?"

"They refused my invitation to attend this 'diplomatic summit,' for various reasons," Tamao remarked in annoyance. "I have sent agents to contact monsters amongst their populations, and managed to organize some of them. They're prepared to fight Ilias when she attacks." The allies around the table had similar warnings days ahead of the meeting, giving them time to mobilize their forces.

"Plus once we turn angels corporeal, regular soldiers will be able to defend themselves," Will pointed out, raising his hand up slightly. "Religious doctrine falls to the wayside once angels begin stabbing people. Self-preservation will take over." He knew that the greatest thing they could do, besides taking out Ilias and Black Alice, was give the rest of the world a fighting chance. It meant they didn't have to be everywhere at once.

"The elves and fairies are prepared to help defend Sabasa, and San Ilias too," the elf queen tersely remarked, making an attempt to remain diplomatic and put aside her prejudice. "Our peoples once lived side by side, and it is only by doing so once more will we survive."

"I welcome you and your people with open arms," King David gregariously replied, smiling and spreading his arms wide. "Half of my royal guards are elvish anyway. It'd be hypocritical to turn away full-blooded elves."

"Sphinx also informed me that she will help as well," Tamamo interjected, pointing to her pyramid on the map with her fan. "She's already on her way to Safina."

"Excellent," King David nodded in approval. "I look forward to meeting my ancestor."

"So," Luka began, sitting up a bit straighter and waiting a moment for everyone's gaze to turn to him. "What's stopping them from turning these towers off or reversing what we do? It sounds like the entire plan hinges on these towers to work."

"That… is a well-reasoned point," Alice admitted, raising a hand palm up before crossing her arms. "We are depending on them. A few of us could manage against angels without their aid, but the rest of the world can't. Strictly speaking, they aren't absolutely necessary to win," she paused to let the information sink in. An unspoken admission that only a few of them could realistically contribute to victory. "They are necessary to limit casualties. It won't be much of a victory if entire kingdoms are murdered."

Luka grimaced at the thought, eyes briefly glancing down to the sword at his hip and back up. "Okay. How soon then?"

"Within ten minutes," Alice firmly replied, golden eyes sweeping across the room. "Myself, knights, and friends will split up into four groups, one for each tower. They must be activated at the same time in order to function. The rest of you should return and ready yourselves. By the end of the day there will be victory, or there will be extinction."

As everyone began to stand up, Will shot to his feet first and spoke up. "I'd also like to add that if the angels surrender…" he stopped and let out a sigh, realizing how ridiculous what he was going to say would sound. "Try to take them prisoner. They're slaves to Ilias, and she'll kill them all too once she's done with the rest of us. They deserve a place in this world when it's all said and done."

"That's an honourable request. I will not stay my wing in battle, but I am not merciless. They will be treated well," the harpy queen replied, dipping her head towards him.

King David nodded in agreement. "I will do the same. It's a fair thing to ask for."

The other monarchs gave similar answers of agreement before departing, teleported away by one by one the knights. After several seconds it was down to only nine of them. The nine who formed the vanguard of the world's protection: Alice, Will, Luka, Sara, Yao, Granberia, Tamamo, Alma, and Erubetie.

The teams were broken up along simple lines. It had to have one person capable of telepathy and one able to harm angels before the towers were switched, and they could preferably work together. Any one of the knights alone could have handled a single tower but they dared not risk it. Ilias had been preparing weapons of her own to counter the knights. It was safer for them to pair up and cover each other's backs.

Luka turned to Will, and gave him a weary smile. "Thank you for making that request. I was about to when you spoke up. I don't want massacres happening when we win."

"They're victims too, ultimately. Slave soldiers Ilias will dispose of if she wins." Will's gaze hardened as he raised a finger, pointing it at his friend. "However, don't treat them as any less of a threat in combat. They won't hesitate to kill you, or any of us."

"I know," Luka replied with determination.

As they gathered together, Sara went to Granberia. The sight of the blonde princess caused the dragon swordswoman to begin faintly blushing. "Granberia," Sara began, her own face turning redder by the second.

"Princess," Granberia politely inclined her head, eyes glancing elsewhere. "You've… changed, grown stronger I see. That's respectable, impressive even."

"Thank you, for uh, noticing," Sara replied, turning somewhat to show off her tail. "I… I've already confessed before. It feels redundant to do so again, so," she quickly leaned in and kissed Granberia on the cheek. "For luck."

The knight's face reddened as her composure faltered, surprise flashing across Granberia's face, and recoiled as if struck, taking a step back. She stuttered in response for several seconds before finally mumbling. "Thank you, princess." Her eyes glancing off to the side as her blush deepened. "I'll… cherish it, thank you."

The princess coyly smiled in response, face growing redder, as she returned to Luka and Yao. The three of them formed a single team, Yao fulfilling the role of telepathic coordinator.

Alice watched as Alma slid up alongside Granberia, a smirk upon Alma's face, and gave the succubus queen a stern look. An unspoken conversation passed between the two, and Alma's expression was tempered as she let out a huff and crossed her arms, with whatever teasing remark she was going to say dying on her lips. "I can be serious when the occasion calls for it," she grumbled in annoyance.

Granberia glanced at the succubus, doing her best to appear serious despite her blushing. "I'd expect nothing less."

The last team was Tamamo and Erubetie. The blue translucent slime queen silently glaring at Luka, irritated by his presence. It fell to the kitsune to act as the responsible adult and keep Erubetie focused on the task at hand once they reached the tower, and prevent her from accidentally damaging it in a tsunami of slime.

Will looked between them all, one by one until he reached Alice. She caught his gaze and shared a brief look of apprehension before giving him a confident smirk. "We're going to do more than break Ilias's nose."

He took a breath to steady his nerves. There was no more planning left. No more schemes to nip in the bud and plots to pre-emptively foil. It was finally upon them. The beginning of the end. The day he'd spent the better part of a year dreadding and preparing for, and he was ready to face it. They were ready to face it.

Will found himself mirroring Alice's expression. "Damn fucking right we are."