Draconia Offline vol. 1

57.2. Task Force - Part 2

The lunch is over and we continue the meeting. While the delegates are arguing about almost everything, nobody believes that the attack was an isolated incident. The minimum in which all countries find the common ground is that we need to protect people. Not even Delgado argues with that however much he resists cooperating with us.

Deminas finally returns twenty minutes into the afternoon session. He didn't bother changing his clothes which are stained in several places with monster blood and stink from skinning the heligorr. The delegates have to exercise remarkable self-control not to wrinkle their noses when he sits down. Some of them even turn pale at the sight of blood.

"I've met a few local Draconians who showed up to help us," he says, his deep voice resonating. "It seems that regardless of one's level, we all felt when the rift opened approximately in the twenty-kilometre radius. High-levels hurried to the source on instinct, only they were too far so they arrived after the battle."

"So what you're saying is...?" Mrs Duke doesn't dare to push him.

"I'm saying that in case of another monster attack, Draconians in the vicinity will voluntarily come to help," Deminas claims.

"And what makes you think we'll allow you to become armed forces?" Delgado almost jumps from his seat and is clenching his fists.

A heated debate follows. I'd probably develop a splitting headache because of so many jarred emotions all around me but Gotrid and Erik are holding my hands under the table, putting my mind back to balance. Their mental states couldn't be more different. Gotrid is feeling thrill and excitement, he's still pumped up from the battle. Erik is shocked and worried about his friends and family.

I realise I need both of their points of view. I have to see how Draconians perceive this turns of events and how humans react. As for myself, I'm torn. My Celestial nature reacted exactly as it should and my Emperor's nature made me a perfect commander. There's no humanity in me left, yet, there's still something interfering with my pure Celestialness—being a telepath and an empath.

And it alters my perception more than I thought. I refused to see it before but I finally have to admit to myself that I never quite understood the world the same way everyone else does. It doesn't have to be a bad thing necessarily but if I want to become a good ruler, I need other perspectives. Fortunately, I have my partners who can provide that for me.

We're here for you, love, Erik gives me a faint smile, the best he can muster in a current situation.

"Now more than ever we need to progress with the investigation," Delgado says, his tone accusatory.

"You think we're not doing enough?" Ichikawa gets offended. "We ran all security checks, read all logs, interrogated everyone at Nebula, are always on the lookout for those missing developers... we tried everything!"

"We still have dead monsters to research that can shed some light. They are being transported to our scientific facilities as we speak," Ms Behera tries to calm her President.

"Only after they were scavenged by Draconians," Delgado hisses angrily.

"Our kill, our loot," Deminas loses his temper and hits the table in front of him, startling everyone in the room. For a Dragonkin to lose his cool, Delgado must really get on his nerves.

"Although it was our Emperor who killed the heligorr," Gotrid mumbles silently so that only our circle can hear it.

I poke him. Now's not the time to argue who did what exactly. The Dragonkin took care of filandras and helped rescuing humans. I wonder why Emi didn't return. Since Deminas is here, it must mean the situation is under control for now. I doubt Emi would stay longer than is necessary just for humans' sake. Did she ditch politics completely?