Free Web NovelChapter 106: Chapter 105 - Representative
Point-of-View: Neo Cronje
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"Uh, hi there," I remarked awkwardly, as I entered the conference hall through my portal.
The arguing and yelling ceased almost immediately, as every pair of eyes in the room shifted towards me. This is kinda uncomfortable, they’re all scrutinizing me a bit too much...
"Are you from the organization known as Harmony?"
"Yes, that’s right. My name is Neo Cronje, I’m here representing Harmony," I replied politely, while I quietly activated an Anti-Teleportation Field around the area, spreading it out as wide as possible.
"Ah, I see. Welcome, Mr Cronje, we’re grateful for your time."
"Enough pleasantries, let’s get down to business. Tell me, what are the intentions of you Meta-Humans?" Inquired one of the other world leaders suspiciously.
Well, I guess it’s only natural that they won’t all be accepting right away...I need to keep my cool and stay calm no matter what they say...
"To answer your question is somewhat tricky...I cannot speak for all Meta-Humans, not even all of those in Harmony. After all, regardless of which faction we’re a part of, each and every one of us are, primarily, individuals. That said, I can assure you that Harmony has no intention of or interest in having any conflicts with any of your countries. Our objective has always been peaceful co-existence and dealing with the supernatural threats such as Monsters," I answered in a clear voice.
"Tell us, why have you chosen to stay hidden for who knows how long?" Inquired another apprehensive-looking world leader.
"Well, looking at history, as well as the immediate present, the answer should be obvious. People fear what they don’t understand. Think back to the distant past, eras where witch hunts and the like were common occurrences. And look at what’s been happening around the world ever since your last conference, innocent people being cut down by religious fanatics for no good reason. Religion has always been a significant driving force for people throughout history...even in the modern era, where atheism grows more and more prevalent, religious extremism is still alive and well. And all the victims...I sincerely doubt that even one of them was an actual Meta-Human," I surmised grimly.
"You said that Harmony deals with supernatural threats, didn’t you? I’m sure you’ve seen the commotion in Romania in recent days. Why have you Meta-Humans not dealt with it?" One of the others inquired with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, you mean the Vampire claiming to be Dracula? First off, I wouldn’t consider Vampires to be any more supernatural than I am. And they aren’t considered to be Meta-Humans either. We’ve classified them as Demi-Humans, Vampires are one of four races that fall under that category," I explained in response, before adding, "Now, in the past, we have dealt with Vampires and other Demi-Humans who cause mayhem in human society, but...this is something of a special case."
"And how so?"
"Simple...if this Vampire really is Dracula, we’d prefer not to pick a fight with him. Hm, let’s see...it’d be like Hawkeye and Black Widow trying to fight Thanos by themselves," I explained...yeah, maybe could’ve used a better metaphor than that...
"In other words, you’re afraid of him?"
"Yeah, definitely. Even the weakest Vampires are as strong as the most powerful Meta-Humans-...or rather, as strong as the most powerful natural Meta-Humans. And Dracula is several times more powerful than that. He’s been missing for centuries, but despite that, the records pertaining to him are among our most detailed, that’s how much he terrified our predecessors. I mean, the guy even fought God and survived-...," I quickly trailed off as I realized what I just said.
Oops.
"Did he say God?"
"So then, God is real?"
"Are you just making that up!?"
Crap...I really shouldn’t have brought up that old story. Back when Heaven and Hell got directly involved in the living world due to a number of circumstances, Dracula ended up fighting God. He lost, but managed to survive and escape.
If I dodge this issue, they’ll just start making assumptions on their own, and that could be dangerous. Guess I have no choice...
"Yeah...a few centuries ago, Satan and his subordinates, known as Demons, Devils and Fallen Angels, got involved in the living world, causing mayhem for their own amusement. As a result, God, Archangels and Angels, descended to the living world to drive the denizens of Hell back where they belong," I reluctantly informed them.
After that, a Meta-Human with the Dark Skill, said to be the greatest master of that particular Skill, brainwashed the entire world and erased their memories pertaining to that war, at the cost of most of his remaining lifespan.
Of course, there had been records written down regarding the battles that were witnessed, but apparently, he changed the memories of those who did the recording and made them think that they’d been writing down visions they’d received from God or something along those lines.
I should probably keep all that to myself though.
"And is there proof of this?"
"How do we know that you aren’t just making it all up?"
"Well, the records that have been passed down through Harmony match the recollections from long-lived Demi-Humans that were alive at the time. There are also Meta-Human techniques to summon Demons, though those are all taboo. As we understand it, the being known as God resides in an alternate dimension, Heaven, and is in charge of recycling or reincarnating the souls of the dead, or creating new souls when necessary. Certain souls may get reincarnated as Angels, as well. And as far as we know, God doesn’t care about any religion," I remarked in response.
"How dare you!? You cannot just disrespect the beliefs and faith of so many people like that!" Snapped another world leader...he looks middle-eastern.
"That wasn’t my intention. I’m simply stating what I’ve been taught and believe in. Of course, I can’t provide anything resembling hard evidence that religions are just made up...but, then, can you prove otherwise?" I countered objectively.
"Why, you...!" frёewebηovel.cѳm
"Ahem, let’s keep this civil, please. Could you explain why there are so many different religions, with various different Gods?"
Okay, we’re starting to get way off topic. I’ll try to get things back on track after answering this question...
"Sure. Setting aside the being that lives in Heaven, there are several immensely powerful creatures that live in this world. We can them Divine Tier or Pseudo-Divine Tier Monsters...but unlike that name might suggest, they’re very different to the invisible Monsters that have been popping up lately, those ones are mindless creatures that come from a place we call the Mirror Dimension.
Unlike those Monsters, the Divine Tier or Pseudo-Divine Tier Monsters, also known as Deities, are visible to humans. There are several of them in existence, but they’re all either in hiding or dormant," I informed them, before clearing my throat and adding, "Anyway, I didn’t come here to discuss that...I believe the reason why Harmony was asked to send a representative here was for a different reason, correct?"
"Ah, yes, our apologies...but we would still like to discuss this matter further afterwards. For now, we’ll address why we asked you here...tell us, is Harmony amenable to the idea of allying with the United Nations?"
"Not quite, no...however, we are open to the idea of a peace treaty instead. We intend to keep exterminating Monsters as they show up, and with your help, we can make that process more efficient. For instance, we can’t sense when and where Monsters will appear, we have to rely on news reports of strange incidents and the like.
There’s also the matter of collateral damage and casualties...if we can have an area evacuated before we begin exterminating the Monsters, we can avoid casualties. However...we refuse to get involved in conflicts between nations, we’ll play no part in wars or the like," I stated firmly, before concluding, "Therefore, we cannot accept a full-on alliance. That said, we’re more than happy to establish friendly relations with the UN."
"And you speak for all of Harmony when you say that?"
"Well, these were the terms that our leaders laid out. I have to admit, though...there are some Meta-Humans, even in Harmony, who can be arrogant towards normal humans and even look down upon them. That prejudice can only be dealt with with time. That said, all members of Harmony are strictly forbidden from ever harming a normal human...breaking that rule can result in execution," I clarified, deciding to lay it all out on the table.
"You really expect us to ally ourselves with people who look down upon us?" Frowned one of the leaders disdainfully.
"Well, I mean...its not like any of your nations are innocent when it comes to prejudice. Slavery, class systems, racism, bigotry, homophobia...none of those went away overnight, in fact, some of those are still prevalent to this day. I’m certainly not saying that the attitudes of some Meta-Humans towards normal humans is right or justified, quite the opposite, actually...however, without taking the steps to rectify it, those negative emotions won’t go anywhere. They’ll only persist and continue. Change is a slow process, for sure...but a slow change for the better is preferable to such things staying the same forever, wouldn’t you agree?" I pointed out objectively.
"Hm...I suppose that’s a fair statement."
"I think we’ve heard enough. I propose offering a peace treaty to the Meta-Human organization known as Harmony, along with cooperation in regards to Monster outbreaks. We’ll need a majority vote in order to go ahead with this...all those in favor?"
I let out an internal sigh of relief as most of them raised their hands, only a handful of the world leaders staying opposed to the peace treaty.
Alright, that went pretty well! Not to brag or anything, but I think I handled that really well. Yeah, I said everything that I needed to say, and now it’s set. Now, to wrap this up and go home-...
"While we wait for the treaty to be printed out, we would like to ask you more questions about Meta-Humans and the other beings who possess such powers. Is that alright?"
Ugh...seriously?
"Sure, go ahead...ask away," I replied with a reluctant smile...
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