Chapter 125 – Meeting End

The meeting continued on for the rest of its allotted time.

For the most part, Dream had remained quiet throughout, only clarifying some information where it needed to be. Since he wasn't the ruler of an Empire, he couldn't dictate everything and had to let them come to their own compromise. If he pushed too hard in fact, it would lead to the opposite result.

So the meeting went on for a while more before people began finishing up their discussions. Shane eventually spoke up when it came time.

"Alright. We are approaching the end of this part. Would anyone like to make any last statements?"

After he asked, a few people spoke up and made final remarks. As they did, several people looked to Dream, as if expecting something.

Noticing their gazes, he figured that he could say one last thing.

"Can I say something?"

"Of course."

Everyone listened in on perhaps the most controversial person in the meeting.

"...A wise man once said: 'The only thing necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.' The purpose of this meeting is to bring together our forces in a united front against our enemies. And despite our differences and opinions, all of you, good men and women, are here at this meeting. Everyone here is taking a step forward in the right direction. 

The most important thing in all of this is to not lose sight of our common enemy. You all have the power to bring people together in order to protect the society that had built itself up over millennia. We cannot let everything we've worked for, everything we are, fall at the hands of these monsters. They don't deserve our downfall. So let's not give it to them."

"...Well said. With that, I shall dismiss this meeting. We will reconvene in 3 hours."

When he said that, many of the thousands of people in the stands began to get up and leave. The hall became noisy as people discussed the many things that happened.

Many of those from the tables began to get up and talk to each other as well, forming different groups. Just because the meeting was over doesn't mean the discussions stopped. 

After a while, many of the groups left and made their way into meeting rooms around the castle. The hall gradually emptied out.

Dream also left with Idona, Ciroc, and Riddick. They found their own empty room and settled down.

"Ahh! Could you create any more enemies?! I thought you were nervous about this whole thing?!"

When they were finally behind closed doors, Idona cried out in shock and exasperation.

"I mean, I was nervous."

"That was the farthest thing from a nervous man that I've ever seen! What's with you and challenging that class 4? And dividing everyone like that, why did you decide to be the one?"

"Because if I didn't, nobody else would've."

"We would've! Ciroc, Riddick, and I!"

"But would you have pissed them off like I did?"

"Obviously not."

"And that's the problem. Look, we need people to take stances on this. I made it very clear what needs to be done and what people were doing by opposing that. Sure this divided people and created opposition, but it also brought people to our side. We can't have people drifting around in the middle. It causes hesitation, and right now, hesitation is our worst enemy."

"...*sigh* Look, I get it, but insulting the people you did is dangerous. To be their enemy is bad news no matter who it is."

"Which is why nobody would have been as assertive as I was. Look, I'm taking the heat so that people aren't afraid to stand up. They know now that if something goes wrong then it's my fault and they won't have to take the blame. They can use me as the scapegoat."

"And why are you trying to be used?"

"So people will do something! I've always hated the bureaucracy and how slow it is to move, and what I saw in there was exactly that. We can't afford to move slow. We need action! And besides, I don't have anything to lose. It's not like I'm a politician with a reputation or a businessman. I'm a lone wolf, baby. So what if they use me? As long as class 4's aren't coming to assassinate me, I'm perfectly fine."

Dream sat back in a chair, relaxing as if all was right in the world. Idona looked at him for a second before facepalming.

"...I guess I did tell you to get out there. But this is a bit more than I was expecting."

Riddick spoke up, hand under chin. He looked back to when he had convinced Dream to start showing himself to the world. But how could he have known things would come this far?

"I actually agree with Dream."

Ciroc spoke up, earning the confused gaze of Idona.

"He has more than a few supporters now. Whether it was because he humiliated that one class 4 or because of his arguments, we may actually have a majority on our side. This'll make our active approach much stronger than it would've been without his strong stance."

"...Ugh, fine. Just don't go insulting people anymore, okay? You still aren't a class 4 and a certain level of respect is required from those above you. You may have gotten away with that this time, but don't expect another."

"Don't worry, I know when to take my wins. That was also the purpose of my final words."

"Yes, and thank you for that. It made you seem a little less like an arrogant teenager."

"I'm 21 you know. It's been 3 years since I was a teenager."

Dream puffed out his chest a little. Though the three only snorted at him. Did he forget how old they were?

"Anyway, there's going to be a lot going on during these three hours. Everyone's gone behind closed doors and this is when the real discussions begin. When we go back into the meeting, you should let others do the talking. You've already made yourself clear."

"That's fine. And is the meeting really going to last two days?"

"Yup."

"Ugh. I'm definitely going to get bored. Do we have to go to all of them?"

"Well you definitely have to or you'll lose credibility. It's not like you need to participate the whole time. Just being there shows your seriousness."

"Fine. I guess I can suck it up."

"Good."

The others nodded. Given his little performance, if he didn't do things a certain way now, all of this was for naught. So they were glad he was mature enough to know what was important.

But while they thought he was going to be a passive listener, Dream was making other plans in his head.

'So what I'm hearing, is two days of fun up in the cabin. We've been in recovery all this time. I think a little relaxation is in order.'

[Hehe, I enthusiastically concur. Spa day?]

'And a nice deep tissue massage.'

[Ooh! I love those! And I've become much more sensitive after the evolution. I'm excited!]

Dream smiled as Sophia jumped with excitement. After doing all kinds of things, massages came to be Sophia's second favorite activity. The first...well let's just say they both agreed on their #1 favorite pastime.

..........

......

And so, over the next two days, the meetings continued twice a day.

Though there was much lesser attendance for the other meetings than the first, thousands of people still showed up and watched. 

Many details were fleshed out like how they would combat the demons, how much each Empire would contribute, and the trading of different resources.

The most important detail, their method of attack, was discussed first and foremost. In the end, everyone had come to a conclusion, and that was to fortify while running operations against the demons.

Although it would divide their forces, armies were at least getting put on alert and preparing for war. The Empires and kingdoms would continue their wartime protocols and resources would start moving. Extra defense measures would be put into place, strongholds would be built, and generals would come out of hiding and start strategizing.

While they fortified, everyone agreed that they also needed to do something against the demons. And so, each Empire agreed to allocate troops, including their class 4's, and send them over to the Mercenary Empire. Since they were at the front of this war, they would be the ones to take all the hits first, but that also meant they got the most compensation and defenses.

The majority of all fortifications were going to go to the Mercenary Empire and they would be receiving a massive influx of resources and manpower. And while handling the influx of people and resources would be difficult, they have more than enough experience with personnel handling. They're the Mercenary Empire after all. It's in the name.

After those details were figured out, they then moved on to the problems with the kingdoms. They couldn't just abandon those kingdoms around them, so besides scouting ahead, small armies would be sent there as defense measures. There would also be a select few kingdoms that received a class 4, greatly bolstering their combat ability.

But despite the armies being stationed, everyone knew that once this news got out, there would be mass migrations of people out of those kingdoms. Even after the most recent attack, people had been getting scared and bean moving themselves to the Empires. Huge population surges had been seen in the past weeks, and they knew this would only get worse.

So another initiative they put out was building plans. Especially the Mercenary Empire. They had already begun building an extension off the capital city where all the asylum seekers were put. And this extension was only the first of many. 

Lastly, there was one proclamation sent out. Under the name of humanity and the alliance, the Empires sent out requests for any neutral or in-hiding persons to begin making their way out to support the cause. They all knew that the class 4's humanity had were not only in the Empires, but also scattered throughout the continent living quiet lives. This notice would encourage the neutrals to make themselves known and band together.

With this and many other details, the meeting was concluded on the third day. Officials from the Empires sent out news on all the details and verdicts of the meeting to the public. While there had already been plenty of news put out, this was the piece that made their stances formal.

And as a result of being so controversial, Dream's name was put out for the world to see. The way he challenged the class 4's, the warnings, the extreme measures, all of it was spread in detail. And it was actually met with a surprising amount of praise.

The ordinary people of the kingdoms and Empires knew that they were the ones most at risk and they had no way to directly affect anything going on up top. They were at the mercy of the most powerful. But to hear that someone argued so vehemently for strong measures that only benefitted them and even risked themselves by challenging those up top greatly boosted the morale of everyone who heard it.

Nobody wanted to suffer the same fate as that destroyed kingdom, and he seemed to be the only one who wanted to make sure that would never happen.

On the 4th day, anybody who wasn't assigned as an envoy to go to other Empires headed back to their own Empire. Dream, Idona, Riddick, and Ciroc left in his plane back to the Spire. The reason Ciroc was with them was so he could be flown back to his Empire after they arrived at the Spire. He got to enjoy the convenience of fast and luxurious travel.

The three mages disembarked from the plane and waved Ciroc goodbye. The plane then flew off to take him home.

"*sigh* That was a long 3 days. Good to be back."

Idona sighed as they entered her chambers. They all took a seat and seemed out of energy, besides Dream of course.

They didn't know why, but he was able to easily make it through the meetings, seemingly relaxed the whole time. Maybe he just had the mental stamina for it.

Riddick broke the silence after a few minutes.

"So...What now?"

"Now, we just have to wait for the gears to turn. It'll probably be a few weeks before anything major happens. This isn't a short-term thing." (Idona)

"Se we have nothing to do for that time?"

"Pretty much. At least until they call us out to run operations. They'll also want Dream to gather more intelligence, most likely. We're about to get pretty busy."

"Hmm...Boy, what do you think?"

Riddick rubbed his chin and looked to Dream, who had guessed what he was thinking about.

"I guess now would indeed be the best time. Do it before the war and it'll be the perfect way to keep them. Nobody will be crossing the continent due to the demons, and even if they did, they don't have the power to take them again."

"So is this it? Is it time?"

Riddick got agitated. He had gone through hell for this, and now he would be able to take back what was his.

"I think it is. We definitely need to prepare, but if we have a few weeks, I think we can get it done. Believe me when I say that I've been planning this for a long time."

"Good. Very good."

He smiled in excitement. If he were by himself, he still wasn't sure if it was enough. But with Dream and his crafts, he was much more confident.

"Uh, what are you guys talking about?"

Idona spoke up in confusion. Dream looked at her.

"Nothing much. Just an operation of our own. And since we're on the topic, we're going to be going away soon."

"Already? But we just had the meetings. And you two only just advanced!"

"That's why we're going now. It's a window of opportunity, so we're taking it. I apologize in advance."

"...*sigh* Whatever. So when are you leaving?"

"Sooner rather than later. When can you be packed?"

Dream turned to Riddick.

"Tomorrow."

"Then we leave tomorrow. Until then, I'm going to be preparing for our leave."

When he said that, Dream stood. 

"Wait, is it anything I can help with?"

Idona stopped and asked him before he began walking out. Though Riddick was the one to answer.

"I think this is something we need to handle ourselves. You've done a lot for us, Magus Idona. Allow us to take care of this."

"...Alright."

Seeing that, Dream nodded and walked out. He quickly left the Spire and made his way to the space station, leaving Riddick to prepare.

When he arrived, he made his way into the storage. Lights flickered to life as if greeting their long lost master. And when he laid eyes on the massive amount of accumulated resources, Dream broke into a wide grin.

"Oh yea."