An hour later, inside a room in the new capital building of the human clan, Grace sat at the head of a large long table with eighteen others. "So this is the gist of it all."
"I see…. So you are saying that the current situation with the reglios is this, and you want us all to move to Destiny City in order to protect the lives of our people?" A young man asked with narrowed eyes. "Your Holiness, are you so naive that you would believe everything someone tells you? Can't you see that this is a ploy to take us over without needing to resort to war!?" The young man stood up and slammed his hands off the table as he continued: "I know since you have taken in a demi human as your wife that you have been softening your ways against the invaders, but what about all the human lives lost!?"
"David, calm down!" An older man yelled out, causing the young man, David, to click his tongue before sitting down. "Your Holiness, we all know out of all the humans here, you are the most powerful. Without you, we would have all long perished. You are the core of our society, and our people will follow your words, but David makes a good point. Destiny City could be using this as a ruse to take us over without expending any manpower. But let's say this isn't a ruse. What about all the lives lost during the invasion? Are we going to give up the ideals that we have been striving for this entire time? Are we going to throw them all away? There is nothing saying that we can not defe…."
"Jay, the dragonic clan has been wiped out and had to rely on Destiny City to save what was left. They were wiped out by the reglios." Grace's words made the entire room go quiet. "Plus, what benefit does Destiny City gain by taking us over? We have nothing they could need. Our scouts have long seen the city they have built up. It is much more advanced than anything the old world ever had. I am trying to save the lives of our people. I did not make my decision hastily. I took everything into account, and no matter how I see it, even if we were to hold out for some time, if the reglios do attack us, then what? We lose thousands of our people trying to fight an enemy that forced the dragonic clan to retreat in a day?"
Grace stood up and looked at every person at the table, her gaze cold. "Do you all want to risk the lives of the humans that are left in our city on a what if scenario? What if they are truly trying to take us over? What if it is all a ruse? These questions are pretty fucking stupid! Look at the facts in front of you! The reglios have been on the move for a while now. Our own spies have seen this. Our own spies have reported back about the massive line of refugees trying to take shelter in Destiny City!
"It is widely known that Destiny City is the top power on this continent at this time! Even the refugees who have been coming into our city have stated they got lost while trying to make it there. Have you all been blind to the fact that we also have had an influx of people entering our city!?
"All the evidence is right there in front of us! If we continue to turn a blind eye to this, then we are all fucking stupid. I, for one, do not want to risk the lives of every fucking citizen in this city. Yes, we might have to change our ways, and we lose power, but so what!? I would rather save thousands of humans then to watch them all die meaninglessly over a what if situation.
"If you all want to hold on to what power you have now, then so be it. We will leave it to the citizens. If they wish to leave with me, then they can. But listen to me here, and now, I am leaving. I am taking those who wish to follow me, and I will go to Destiny City. Because I go by what evidence is on the table. And all evidence points to what I have just learned." Grace's face was red with anger. She only wanted to save her people.
After dealing with Blake and his people, she came to an understanding. The world had truly changed. Even her current powers were not enough to fight back. They may be able to win a few battles here and there, but the enemy would never see them as a true threat. Or they might just send someone powerful enough to wipe them all out. Even her own current powers had reached an impasse. She noticed she was not growing any stronger no matter how much mana she shoved into a spell. Her current knowledge of this new Earth had become limited.
She had to admit that her way of thinking before was truly wrong. She had wanted to take back what belonged to the humans, but in truth, this world never belonged to them in the first place. They were just one of many species living here. They were just smarter than the rest. Now that there were many highly intelligent races, they had to stop thinking they were the alpha. They had to step down and learn the new ways of life and then grow stronger and surely but slowly etch out a path of their own. She also wished to grow stronger. But currently, at the rate they were going, her clan would end up losing everything before they ever reached that stage. She did not want this.
"Ahem…. Your Holiness, while what you say makes sense, we still can not agree." Jay replied after a long silence. "You are the leader of the human race. If you leave, then what of those who wish to stay? It would be in the best interest of humanity to do what we do best. Sacrifice until we find a way to defeat our enemy."
