The Seven Wonders of the World

61. Allies United

For a moment, Odessa would stay quiet as she processed what Emrun had said. She still had plans, though, as she suddenly stood up, her mood changing once more but this time, with even more anger and determination.
“You dare reject me!” she said, and then she laughed. “Hah! Oh, that's funny. Do you mean to tell me that you are going to refuse to lead our empire's expansion?”
“Yes, I am,” said Emrun, as his face remained unchanging.
“You cannot be serious!” said Odessa.
“I'm completely serious,” said Emrun, “i refuse to rule an empire that is not willing to respect other cultures or let people choose what destiny they wish to take. I refuse to be a tyrant, Princess Odessa.”
Odessa would remain silent for a moment, as she was clearly not used to people rejecting her before. She was furious and determined, but now she was at a loss for words.
“You're going to refuse to be part of this empire that will unite the world, and instead decide to side with the small factions that are determined to spread lies and chaos? You're choosing to be a puppet to the Earthlandians, to a group that is destined to be destroyed?”
Emrun would shake his head. “I'm not siding with the small factions, I'm siding with the Earthlandian people. I'm refusing to support an empire that is using tyrannical means to achieve unity.”
“Well, then you’re an idiot,” said Odessa, “you're choosing a small country full of stubborn people over the empire that would lead them to better times.”
“Better times at the cost of people's freedoms and culture? I refuse to support that,” said Emrun.
“Do you think they will thank you for this?” asked Odessa.
“Even if they don’t, I would rather live knowing that I did the right thing than be a tyrant.”
“You selfish and stubborn brat!” shouted Odessa, “do you think that the Earthlandians will accept this? Once they see how we make their lives better, how we bring them prosperity and peace, they’d be begging us to rule over them!
“Maybe, maybe not,” said Emrun, “but I’d rather live in a world where people are given a choice than one where people are forced to comply without a second thought.”
“Stop talking!” shouted Odessa. “I am getting mad just looking at your stupid face!”
She created flames as she rushed at Emrun, hoping to burn him with them. Shijin came to the immediate rescue though as he extuingished her fire immediately, before numbing her arm by hitting her pressure points.
“Don't try it!” said Shijin.
Odessa chuckled, as she clicked her fingers, as the doors opened as troops of guards began running in. “Let's see you try to deal with this!”
Odessa would smile as her guards came swarming in to the room, as she created a wall of fire around them. Shijin had to hurry as he dealt with several of the guards at once, as Emrun and Odessa continued their discussion.
“How long can you keep this up?” asked Emrun.
“Longer than you can, obviously,” said Odessa, as she tried to attack Emrun again.
“I don't think that the length of time matters, what matters here is whether or not we can prevent this from happening altogether.”

Odessa would laugh as more guards came in, as she began to get more annoyed and furious. The guards were starting to overwhelm Shijin now, as he had to defend himself from several different angles at once.
“What do you mean? You know that this victory is inevitable for the empire! We are far powerful than the forces of Earthland, in terms of technology, numbers, and strength.”
Emrun would remain calm as more guards came in, as he continued to talk reason to her.
“Yeah, but you’re forgetting one thing.”
“What is that?” said Odessa.
“Our hearts,” said Emrun. “Sure, we may not have the most numbers, or our weapons be advanced, but we do have the willpower to resist.”
Odessa would scoff, as she clicked her fingers to send in another wave of guards.
“You think you can win?” said Odessa.
“With our hearts, and some luck, I think we can,” said Emrun.
“Luck?! You think that a country of weaklings can be lucky?” she asked.
“We have had some luck so far, haven’t we? Our army may be outnumbered, but we have been able to hold you off for this long.”
“Well, the siege is amongst you, and I will summon the demon king myself very soon!”
Shijin grabbed Emrun. “We got to get out of here,” said Shijin, “we are outnumbered!”
Emrun would nod at what Shijin said as he grabbed him, as both of them would begin to try and break through the wall of guards surrounding them.
“You don’t stand a chance,” said Odessa, “there are thousands of troops surrounding us, and more are coming by the second. We will overrun your troops for the final time!”
“We shall see,” said Emrun, as he and Shijin would try to carve out a path for themselves, pushing past guards and guards.
After a while, Emrun and Shijin would eventually make it past the line of guards, as they moved away from the throne room, however they were still in Lakishou. The guards would follow after them, but by this time they had been exhausted from the prolonged battle, and they were far too exhausted to chase after them for too long.
“I think we’re good for now,” said Emrun, “let’s go back to the barracks and report everything to our troops.”
“We should also get our wounds checked,” said Shijin.
“No way!” said a voice, as they both turned, as Emrun and Shijin saw it was Sora, Alucard, Zoela, Uyutsu, and the King of Earthland.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?!” said Emrun.