Her long silence made him a.s.sume that his queries would had been futile. He never expected the Nightmare Lord to immediately explain the origins of the floating island in such great detail, which resulted in him being slow to react.

"What's with your expression?" Valkries opened her eyes and said unhappily. "I am not betraying my race, but merely acknowledging Heathtalese's way of seeing things. The Battle of Divine Will cannot ensure the continuation of my race but ensure that we continue becoming chess pieces for G.o.d, so… stopping G.o.d is the correct thing to do."

Uh, that's clearly my own position, right? Roland subconsciously scratched the back of his head. Transformer from a thousand years ago was unable to stabilize the connection to the Realm of Mind, so how could she have obtained so much information? But even if he was slow to react, Roland was aware that he could only continue listening to her.

"That's right, you've finally understood this point." He immediately composed himself and spared no effort to a.s.sume a magnanimous appearance as he initiated a handshake. "Although G.o.d has already taken notice of us, I believe that it isn't too late—"

Valkries did not respond to his handshake.

"Before that, I would like to ask you a question."

"What?"

"If the end was what the Oracle had mentioned, what are your plans on handling the relations.h.i.+p between our races?"

Nightmare Lord's expression became solemn. Roland realized that the question would determine everything. Her raising of this pivotal question proved that she had begun considering the possibility of a collaboration, and genuinely thought of a way out for her race. Roland even faintly sensed that if she did not accept his answer, she might forcefully separate herself from the Dream World—even if it meant death.

"To be honest, I haven't thought through it." After a moment of silence, Roland spoke up.

Valkries frowned and replied coldly, "So everything you said before was on a whim, and you never believed that I might cooperate with you?"

"No, I did consider it before, but this matter is too complicated." He chuckled bitterly; his answer did not meet the mark, but he was unwilling to fabricate a sweet-sounding excuse. Valkries was not a fool and he was never one to be good at making excuses. Instead of outsmarting himself, he preferred speaking the truth. "The war between humans and demons has lasted for a thousand years. This animosity cannot be removed in a short time frame, and it is close to impossible to recreate the Dream World in reality. The only way I can think of temporarily is to separate both races, to have your kind to leave the human world forever."

"Where to?"

"That is the question we have to consider in detail. But the world out there is so huge, I'm guessing that there will be a place for the demons to call home."

The two stared at each other for a long time and Valkries only broke the silence after the high temperature of their coffee simmered to a cool. "If you had reacted instantly and a.s.sured me that you would be taking care of everything, the probability of this being a trap would have been extremely high. But now, I feel that that is what you truly mean to do."

"Uh… not having thought of something was the correct answer?"

"You can say that." Nightmare Lord exhaled. "I admit that this is a long, narrow log bridge. Which way we go is unpredictable. But even if hope is bleak, I have to make an attempt because only I am capable of doing this in my entire race."

Roland noticed her hands clenching tightly when she spoke those words.

Obviously, she was not as strong willed-as the words that came out from her mouth.

At the same time, he knew that it was definitely not an easy decision. To the majority of people, being lost in the abyss was the norm. When an outcome cannot be fathomed, giving up on advancing or retreating was a form of exoneration.

"Don't be too pleased." Valkries gave him a look. "The G.o.d that planned the Battle of Divine Will will not sit idly and ignore you. If the entire world was created by G.o.d, I don't think you have any chance of winning. There is a chance that the final outcome would have both races completely destroyed, without leaving any trace of us behind."

"I agree." Roland replied frankly. He extended his hand towards her once more. "That is why we are all on the log bridge together."

This time, the Nightmare Lord extended her right arm and held his.

"Then, on to the Deity of G.o.ds." Seeing that they had come to an agreement, Roland picked up the phone, ordered a brand new cup of coffee to go for Valkries and turned to her. "Do you have any way to contact Hackzord? Let's try to get him to move the floating island back, or we might as well allow the First Army to enter and garrison in it. It would be good too as it does together with my party's heading for the Bottomless Land."

"It's too late." Valkries shook her head.

"What?"

"My previous idea of having Hackzord enter the Dream World was a hope to obtain information about the real world and to convince him of this probability. I never expected the situation to deteriorate so badly. He believes in Ursrook's suggestion and likely was the one to plead with the King to have the Deity of G.o.ds requested. As it is, the situation has developed to a point of no return."

"You mean…"

"Are you thinking that the Sky Lord alone is capable of controlling our race's trump card? Once the Deity of G.o.ds reaches the Western Front, it is impossible to recall it back, much less Hackzord, I think even I will not be able to convince the King and the other senior lords." Valkries shrugged her shoulders. "Furthermore, the mobilization of the Deity of G.o.ds will definitely bring a large amount of pressure. If you want Hackzord to recall it, I'm guessing the probability of success to be zero. In other words, I am the only one to be able and willing to cooperate with you—at the moment."

"At the moment?" Roland acutely grasped the subtle meaning behind her words. "You have other ways to influence Hackzord?"

Valkries did not deny anything. "I understand him. It is impossible to get him to disobey the King under an unclear circ.u.mstance while bearing all the risks, but it is not difficult to remind him to avoid danger. Typically, Hackzord is most concerned with keeping himself safe…"

The corner of Roland's lips twitched. Those words when put nicely was that Hackzord was a cautious demon, and in a bad way, a coward.

"I will write a letter and get him to leave the Deity of G.o.ds. That's the only thing I can do. As long as you can deliver the letter, there is a 80 to 90% chance of him listening to me. But if the flames of war has already erupted, you have no other way other than to defeat the Deity of G.o.ds." Valkries enunciated her words carefully. "Only by shooting it down will Hackzord realize that the Battle of Divine Will will not end well, and the probability of me convincing him will definitely increase."

"So he has to live, until the Deity of G.o.ds is… destroyed, that is also the basis of our collaboration." She s.h.i.+fted her gaze, preventing Roland from seeing her expression. "If you can't do that, then treat it as though I've said nothing."