The Round Table Meeting

There was a conference room in Lemdrias court. Different from the council room used for ordinary meetings, this was used for the sake of heated disputes and was a secret room defended by magic. In its center was a huge, round table.

So soon

Please excuse me. His Majesty, Casalias King Ryuke Neyas has arrived!

Together with Hollyns nod, the large door was opened as Neyas entered the room. Following behind him were civil officials and a half-elf knight that was known as the kings sword.

Hollyn stood up to receive him and greeted him with a light embrace.

Good grief.

Neyas sat down immediately next to Hollyn.

The next person to enter the room was Istrias youthful Prince Ryuke Kanon. He was followed by his attendant, Parro, following him both as a truce bearer and as the prime minister.

Kanon bowed to his seniors. Hollyn and Neyas stood to welcome him.

The person to arrive next was a male elf.

He was the High Elf of Oomori Woods, Corfus.

From then on, the humans leaders arrived lead by knights.

From the southern part of the continent, leader of the great house that protects Labra, Zah.

From the southeastern part of the continent, the leader of the Urban Coalition, Oslo.

And then a man who had a smile on his face.

Hearing Azels mutter, the humans expressions all firmed.

Ars raised his hand and greeted everyone. Leading a dark elf girl and a young human girl, he sat down in the seat furthest from Hollyn.

Received gazes mixed with both interest and fear, Ars looked somewhat uncomfortable, but that only lasted until his acquaintance arrived.

Ogress Archduke, Ryuke Riana-sama has arrived.

Yoo.

I dont think therell be any humans that want to sit next to me.

Smiling back at him wryly, Ria sat next to Ars. Behind her was a girl wearing orichalcum armor and the silver-haired Dragonslayer.

There are still seats left to be filled, but who?

The only person who knew who would be filling the remaining eight seats was Ars.

In that area that should have been thoroughly isolated through magic, four men and women appeared.

I see, so its a round table

He sat down in a seat.

The person to introduce the famous person with a simple name wasnt the person himself, but the Demon King.

His true identity is Saint Emperor Ryuke Shifaka-san though~

A great stir spread amongst the humans. Despite being stared at intently, Shifaka placed his elbows on the table, interwove his fingers, and placed his chin on them.

When the gigantic man introduced himself, the noise increased again.

The girl with scarlet hair gave the name she used when she was a comrade of the legendary Hero from one thousand years ago.

The young man with ordinary features bowed his head.

Those four and Azel are Black Cats leaders.

So who do the other four seats belong to?

Id told them the time, but those girls are pretty careless

Ars shrugged. But as soon as that movement was finished, a giant vibration shook the castle.

It was a girl who had fire-like red hair, golden eyes, and a casually wrapped red cloth dressing her.

She looked around the room. Her strangely colored eyes would intimidate the average human.

Really? Well, I was a bit hasty.

There are two people with the dragon bloodline here? How rare.

Saying that, she sat down next to Ars.

A God Dragon

The power of a God Dragon is essential to make it through a Great Collapse. I invited other ones as well.

A raven-haired, golden-eyed woman that looked remarkably like RiaValis.

A blue-haired, green-eyed woman with a graceful appearanceLanna.

These four pillars made up the God Dragons that were the worlds guardians.

Most of those attending the meeting had been so intimidated they couldnt speak.

You said that you would stop the Great Collapse.

To be precise, I said that I would prevent the world from being ruined by the Great Collapse.

Well then, Ill begin my explanation.

For everyone who does not yet understand the situation concerning humans, allow me to explain from the beginning. The world is like this tree here.

Although the world grows, pruning is necessary. What happens at this time is a Great Collapse. In exchange for ruining one of two worlds, the other will be able to extend its branches further.

However, we can forcibly change the direction the branch is growing in to prevent this impact. Many, many sacrifices are needed in order for this to happen and is what we know as the Millennium. The previous two Millenniums succeeded in this with two massive wars occuring even on the other continents, allowing this worlds branch to grow.

However, it is not as though we can repeat this Millennium over and over. By breaking a neighboring branch, we can become a world that does not need a Millennium for tens, no, hundreds of thousands of years. That is the purpose of this upcoming Great Collapse.

How many people could understand the meaning behind Ars words? A silence filled the room.

Youre saying for us to destroy a world, for that?

This is not war. It is a war for our very existence. Fortunately or not, there are practically no humans living on the other continents anymore. The defeated world will have somewhere between 600,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 survivors on the remaining world.

Its not a definite that we will come out the victor in the fight between our worlds. Perhaps I should have began with that

However, Ars smiled as though he was waiting for that to be said.

Still carrying on with his theatrics, Ars looked towards Valis.

Ars words are accurate. I know which world we will be fighting and have even finished analyzing their strengths. We will not be defeated.

Not overawed in the least, Ria inquired. It was a natural question given that they would be wagering their world in this war.

Valis answer to her was clear

The worlds name is Earth.

and cold.

Your old birthplace.