Chapter 117 - New Allies

—Cole POV, Special Region—

"Come on Eri and Lily, everyone is waiting on us!!", Kayo shouted as the children ran down the hallway, "We are going to play in the stream today remember?"

"Coming!!", the two proclaimed with a mouthful of food, "Wait for us!!"

Catching a glimpse of them running past the Conference Room door, the two of them looked like chipmunks with their cheeks full of food. Having awoken later than they wanted to, both of them had scarfed down their breakfast so they could go play. Realizing they had run past me, they came back and told me they were going to play in the stream with the other children. Telling them to have fun with a smile on my face, I told them that I loved them and sent them on their way.

"A lively bunch, are they not?", the Succubi Representative Deva stated with a grin, "Your capital city is simply amazing, a true paradise unlike any other I have seen. There are people from every race working and living alongside one another. It is a shame that our world did not have a place like this, we would have fled there the moment the war began. I am sure all of us would have…"

"Aye, that we would have.", the Dwarven Representative Stelo agreed, "It would have been a much more pleasant experience than the shite we went through. Our lands are a barren wasteland now, nothing grows and not fucking grain of ore is left. If we had come here, maybe more of us would have survived the bloody conflict."

Currently meeting in my Castle, in the Special Region, Yasaka had requested a meeting with me to go over some things. Having been approached by several other smaller Factions for aid, all of them had come asking to receive her aid and my blessing. Hearing rumors about the kindness I had shown the Youkai and my vengeful attack on the Devils, dozens of nearly extinct Factions came to her asking to be taken in. Accepting most of them, as they numbered in the hundreds, the Dwarves, Elves, and Succubi were far too large in number to be accommodated in the currently habitable space left.

"So what do you need from me?", I asked Yasaka.

"Can you please help Lord Cole, I want to accept them in as I know they are suffering like we were. The Pantheons they were supporting sucked them dry and left them to rot like us.", Yasaka told me, "We are running out of homes, and I do not want to force them to live in tents. Having seen your capital in Melromarc, I hoped you could spare some men to help us build out our territory."

"Of course, I can have homes constructed easily for them in your territory.", I replied looking at them, "Now then, what do you have to offer the Youkai in exchange for moving into their lands? They are offering you food, shelter, and my protection…what are you bringing to the table?"

Looking at one another for a few moments, clearly, they had not thought about it. Unlike the small factions that Yasaka brought in, each of their faction's populations numbered around thirty thousand each. Adding ninety thousand people into their territory was going to heavily strain their resources till production caught up.

"What would ye ask of us?", Stelo asked, "We have little left to give anymore."

"Given the situation in the Youkai Territory, here is what I would ask of you. The Dwarves will assist in blacksmithing and construction projects across the territory. When you are not doing either of these or have spare hands, you will assist them with brewing alcohol which is their main export now. Elves will be in charge of agricultural projects and help revitalize magical training among all the races living there. Lastly, since the Succubi will eventually go out into the world again your repayment will be helping protect the Youkai Territory in the future. Since you will likely latch onto prominent people, all of you will alert them if a threat is coming for them.", I spelled out for them.

"Is that all you would ask of us?", Leta the Elven Representative inquired with a shocked look, "I…I would have thought you would have demanded far more of us. A Divine's Protection is usually very costly, I had to marry my daughter and several others off to a rather hideous deity for our protection. She and the others were returned to us in less than a year along with a request for more women."

"I do not like strong-arming people like that, I will simply increase the Mystic Sake offering a few jugs to compensate.", I shrugged with a smile, "Of course, your people will need to help out with communal tasks like digging toilets, harvesting, and guarding your lands but everyone will share that responsibility equally. If something becomes too much for all of you, I will step in and offer my assistance as needed. My hope is that one day the Youkai Territory will become similar to my territories now, a place where all races can come together in peace. What do you think Yasaka?"

Nodding her head in agreement, she felt that the requests I had for them were reasonable and well-suited for their talents. Accepting my terms without any hesitation, I summoned Bolton to have him go over the designs with everyone present.

—3rd Person POV, Underworld, Two Weeks Later—

"How is she, Ajuka?", Zekram asked standing beside an unconscious Lilith, "The Pheonix Tears have done little to heal her, and we are starting to run out of options. If there is nothing we can do to save her, continuing her suffering would be too cruel a fate for her."

"I apologize, Lord Bael, whatever poison was used on her I have yet to find a cure for.", Ajuka admitted with a downcast expression, "Someone with detailed knowledge of our biology and anatomy created this poison. Given the location of the attack, the enemy likely found one of Rizevim's experiments and used it on Lady Lilith. As most of his notes were destroyed, I am working on a small sample and it is taking a long time to reengineer it so I can understand how to make a cure."

"Even in death he still is causing trouble.", Lord Phenex commented looking out the window, "As much as I would like to agree with you, we are not in a good position to end her suffering. Lady Lilith is very highly regarded among the populace as she bore our race into existence. Ending her life without exhausting all options would potentially cause unrest among the people. Is there anything we can do to help accelerate Ajuka's research?"

Looking down at his patient, Ajuka was at a loss for what to do. A cure would likely take several centuries to complete, and Lilith would have to suffer all that time. Having placed her in a coma to help her through the pain, he knew all too well that even though she was unconscious she was likely still in agonizing pain. Thinking about potential options to slow down the effects of the poison, Ajuka's mind started to wander when another nobleman spoke up.

"I am open to options Lord Phenex, do you have something in mind?", Lord Lucifuge asked desperate to save Lilith as he could not save Lucifer.

"There is one person we could try asking for help though I am not certain he will come.", Lord Phenex stated, "As Cole is from a completely different world, he might have the knowledge we are in need of to cure Lilith. He stated that he hoped to establish friendly relations with us in the future, well this would certainly help begin that process. Besides, Cole seemed to have taken an interest in Lilith from the moment he met her. If he learns her life is in danger, he may come just for that reason."

"Are you seriously considering inviting him here? It has barely been a month since killed three of the Devil Kings and smited tens of thousands of us.", Lord Sitri argued, "It would be ill-advised to invite him here after such a short time. Our people have yet to recover from the trauma, and bringing him here may serve to worsen our situation. Not to mention, how will it look on us if we have to call him here to aid us? Can we not use Lord Lucifuge's daughter to help instead? Her ice magic might buy Ajuka the time he needs to find a cure."

"When was the last time you visited a civilian town or city, Lord Sitri?", Sirzechs countered, "Ajuka, Serafall, and I have been to several in just the past week, the public does not view Cole the same way we do. Many view him as a savior who stopped their children from dying on a meaningless battlefield. As his wrath was only poured on the deserving, all of them respect him to a certain degree as he did not hold them accountable for our decisions."

The fact that Cole had gone out of his way to spare the civilian populace had touched many Devils. Even though most races would have taken their aggression out on the populace and nobles, he had poured his wrath out on only the deserving which they were all eternally grateful for. No longer having to send their precious children off to fight in a meaningless war, families were happy that Cole had given them this newfound peace.

"I agree, contact Cole is the best option we have right now. The one responsible for Lady Lilith's condition is still unknown to us, and will still be pursuing her. If we can get Cole to save her, she needs to leave the Underworld for her own safety.", Ajuka agreed, "As Yasaka knows that Sirzechs and I are reasonable people, I think it would be best if we go to ask her to contact him for us."

"Hey now, do not leave me out again!", Serafall pouted in a playful tone, "I am going crazy sitting here all day long watching someone sleep. It would be nice to get out and stretch a bit!"

"Haha, go on ahead with them then. We will be close by if anything happens so it should be fine.", Lord Phenex chuckled, "Just do not do anything that would incite his anger, please!"

—Hades Realm—

Summoning his Reapers to him, Hades knew they had to move fast to capture Lilith. Based on the Devils movements, he knew that her clock was running out and that if nothing was done he would lose her. Having a copy of Rizevim's notes, Hades had the cure ready to use on her but he could not simply offer it to the Devils without arousing suspicion. Since Pluto had confirmed that his Helm worked perfectly on the Devils, he needed his faithful servant to bring her to him immediately.

"Pluto, have you selected the reapers you want for your mission?", Hades asked his recently released servant, "I will not accept another failure from you, if Lilith dies so do you."

"I understand Lord Hades, I have selected nearly a dozen of the best of reapers we have here to aid me. We will not let you down, I swear it!", Pluto promised.

"Good, do not bother keeping this quiet if you cannot reach her. Do whatever it takes and leave no witnesses, this cannot come back to the Greek Pantheon. If my fool of a brother finds out, I will not hear the end of it and it may spark a new war.", Hades groaned.

"Understood my Lord, we will leave shortly to capture Lilith.", Pluto said before leaving the room.