Great Demon Gate
"Hey, do you think that these guys are for real?"
"… I don't know, man. Everything about this is too weird."
"Well, I'm happy if no war happens, but I still don't want to bring my family back from Vandoria."
"Same. My wife keeps nagging me, saying the Goddess is giving me a chance to run from the demons, and I'm an idiot for staying."
"Cut the chatter. They'll be here soon." Luxius snaps, silencing his two soldiers.
It has been two weeks since the bizarre encounter with the Demon Army. Even though one of the Demon Dukes claimed they came in peace, the Army of Humanity remains stationed before the Great Demon Gate. The Demon Army has pulled back behind the gate—but they're still visible, watching.
Between the two forces stands a square modern building, guarded on both sides. It was constructed in a single day by goblins, orcs, and various demonfolk using strange equipment and loud metal vehicles. The efficiency alone is enough to make Luxius and his officers dumbfounded. Different demon species working together? Building a smooth, clean structure? In a day?
Unsettling.
"They are coming."
The sound hits first—like air being beaten into submission. Something flies toward them. It's one of the Hell Dragonflies, but this one is bigger and noisier.
Bata-bata-bata-bata-bata
The Blackhawk descends, kicking up wind and dust. Luxius shields his face as the machine lands.
From inside stepped Leviathan and a female demonfolk, escorted by a squad of demon soldiers.
"Greetings, Crown Prince Luxius," Leviathan says with perfect politeness. "We thank you for agreeing to this peace conference. Shall we continue inside?"
"Greetings, Demon Duke Leviathan. Yes, we shall, but before that…" Luxius gestures at the machine. "Do you mind telling me what the name of this… flying thing is?"
"Ah, it's a transportation vehicle called a helicopter. But this specific model is called a "Blackhawk."
"Blackhawk… the name is as ominous as it looks."
---
Inside, the humans can't stop to wonder how everything is similar yet so different than the things they have back home. The lighting comes not from crystals or fire but from strange glowing orbs and tubes—bright but somehow gentle on the eyes. The air inside is comfortable because of the weird-looking box on the wall blowing cold air, despite the blazing wasteland outside.
The tables are wide and yet so thin. Never before have they seen this kind of skillful woodwork, and the chair—it had wheels! Why on Talvaris did they put wheels on a chair? Although they had to admit that it makes things easier when they try to sit and fix their sitting position.
"Now before we start this conference, let me introduce myself again. My name is Leviathan. You may know me as one of the Demon Dukes, but my current formal title is the Minister of Foreign Affairs that represents the United Kingdom of Murica."
"And my name is Hannya. I am a diplomat from the Foreign Affairs office of Murica," the female demonfolk adds with a courteous bow.
Luxius clears his throat.
"I am Luxius, crown prince of the Ravendawn Kingdom. Representing my father, King Luxtor. And this is my delegation."
He gestures:
Gregor, Archmage of RavendawnAntonio, Archbishop of the Church of CelesDuke Pierre, Dawn Province Governor of Vandoria
Leviathan and Hannya glance at Archbishop Antonio with hungry looks, sending chills to him, but they immediately behave themselves.
"Once again, thank you for your presence here," Leviathan continues. "As stated previously, the United Kingdom of Murica seeks peace. We understand that this proposal might be a little hard to believe considering the nature of our past relationship."
"You call eating our people a relationship?" said Archbishop Antonio angrily.
"Is it not? No?" asks Leviathan, full of honesty.
Hannya steps forward. "We believe it might be helpful if you learn what had changed for us by visual explanation. We prepared a video—a tool that displays live-recorded moving images."
She presses a remote.
The room darkens. The humans tense immediately. A black panel on the wall lights up.
"Oh my…" Gregor whispers. "What a weird-looking crystal."
The video opens with a view of a hellscape of thunderous clouds, erupting volcanoes, and barren land. The voice of a David Attenborough sound-alike starts the narration.
"Once upon a time, in a land far, far away. There is the Demon Kingdom. Where nature is unforgiving, one can say it's the harshest place to live on the planet."
The footage shows carnivorous plants, monstrous demonic beasts, and volcanic eruptions.
"Within this harsh land exist more than six hundred races, thirteen hundred tribes, and hundreds of local languages. A thousand years of tribal warfare plagued the land. It is a terrible time to live…"
Leviathan tearing up watching the video, Hannya quickly handing him a handkerchief
"The only time fighting ceased was during the Great Escape—what humans call the Demon Invasion. Driven by instinct, many of the demon populations start heading north, which naturally results in conflicts with their non-demon neighbors."
The humans stiffen.
"But 130 years ago… the Great Escape did not occur."
The narrator continues:
"In this confusion, the Demon King Lucifer met an orc named Solomon. A simple orc… with an idea no demon had dared imagine: a unified, peaceful nation."
Luxius's group collectively gasps.
"Lucifer embraced the vision. A common language was created. Tribal conflicts fell. Commerce, science, and technology spread. Cities rose. Education and welfare became national goals. Today, literacy stands at 98.2%."
Gregor nearly chokes. "You mean… every demon, even goblins and orcs, can read and write?"
"Naturally, since in Murica pursuing a scholar title is encouraged for every citizen. Orc people and goblin people included," said Hannya.
Duke Pierre leaps up.
"S-scholar? Are you saying that your goblins are smarter than my son!?"
"Well, we don't know about your son," Hannya says politely. "But in Murica it's common to see goblins having the professions of doctor, judge, or any other intellectual profession." Hanyya continued calmly.
"Duke Pierre, please sit back." Archbishop Antonio snaps. "I wish to hear the rest."
The video continues, depicting Murica's evolution from medieval tribes to a 1990s-level industrial society. Skyscrapers. Highways. Airplanes.
"And seventy years ago, the Demon Kingdom transformed into a democratic nation: the United Demon Kingdom of Murica. With a new purpose and a new face for the democratic demon nation, we now seek peaceful coexistence with the rest of the Talvarians."
The screen fades to black.
Then suddenly blasts Star Wars music.
Credits begin rolling:
"Written and Directed by Belphegor"
Leviathan panics and shuts it off.
"What the hell was that!?" He whispers angrily, "This is a diplomatic video!"
"Sir Belphegor said that this is the first time his works have been viewed by a non-demon audience," Hannya says, fixing her glasses. "So he won't let it go unnoticed."
"Damn sloth."
---
Lights return. The humans sit in stunned silence.
"Now, as the video said. We wish to form peaceful and friendly relationships with all of the Talvarians," Leviathan speaks gently. "And of course, this time without the man-eating relationship," continues Leviathan jokingly.
Gregor is the first to recover. "What is… this governance you call democracy?"
Hannya answers, "Basically, it's a form of governance where every citizen has the right to vote for their representatives in the government using a process called elections. No matter how wealthy or poor that individual is, their vote carries the same weight in an election."
"And these elections happen when?"
"Initially, we tried to do elections every 4 years, but since our law enforcement agency complained about assassination cases skyrocketing every election time, now we changed it to once every 40 years."
"So you mean even your king can be replaced?" Antonio asks.
"No, our king is more of a ceremonial and symbolic figure. He doesn't get involved much in the government. Our current governmental leader is Prime Minister Solomon."
Everyone but Gregor struggles to process this.
Luxius continues, "And what kind of peaceful and friendly relationships does your nation have in mind?"
Leviathan smiles. "Ah, excellent question. For starters, how do a non-aggression pact and trade agreements sound to you?" He gestures to the papers in front of them. "If you open the papers in front of you, we prepare the proposal for non-aggression pacts and list the things we want to purchase from the Ravendawn Kingdom."
The humans start to examine the paper and study its contents for a while.
"This non-aggression pact seems ordinary. While this trade agreement… Farm animals, fruit, and vegetables… it's… very ordinary."
"Yes, we believe it's better to start things slow and carefully. Given the time, we believe one day we can earn the trust of the people of Talvarians for coexistence."
Archbishop Antonio scoffs, but Leviathan ignores it.
"I cannot give an immediate answer about this proposal. I need to discuss this with my father, King Luxtor."
"Ehm, also with the Vandoria kingdom, may I remind you," said Duke Pierre, cutting the prince
"…indeed"
"Yes, of course, we are expecting some good news from you."
Goddess Realm
"Wha... wha… WHAT IN MY NAME IS HAPPENING!?
Celes hurls her wine glass at the magic mirror showing the peace conference.
"WHERE ARE MY MAN-EATING DEMONS?! WHERE ARE MY KILLING PRAYERS!? AND WHAT THE FUCK IS DEMOCRACY!?"
The female angel nervously tries to explain.
"D=Democracy is a system of government from Earth where…"
"Oh, shut it! Why does Earth's garbage exist in my world? WHY ARE THERE EARTH WAR MACHINES?!"
"I guess because of… Alex Solomon?"
"That pig is supposed to suffer for 130 years! How come he can be the demon leader or whatever that is? He's supposed to be WEAK!"
"I… have no answers."
"AAAGH!"
Little does the goddess know:
When the system told Solo he could access the Earth network…
It meant ALL networks.
Even restricted, classified ones.
Pentagon, CIA, weapon industries…
He even browsed North Korea's intranet for fun.
Murica Capital, Washington, DC
3,000 miles from the Great Demon Gate stands a city that looks like a copy of Washington DC, with some minor demonic touches. The building that's supposed to be the White House is being replaced by a black ziggurat-shaped building, hence the name the Black House.
Alex Solomon is having a meeting with some of his cabinet members.
Leviathan-Foreign AffairsAsmodeus—Director of the Bureau of Information and Counter Humanoid IntelligenceSatan-DefenseMammon-Finance and TradeBeelzebub-Science & Technology
"And that's all for my report from the conference," said Leviathan, closing his papers.
"Thank you, Levi," said Solo.
Asmodeus asks, "Do you think they will agree with the non-aggression treaty?"
"Oh, they will, Mo, they will… at least until they find a way to make profits by conquering us."
"Such is the human nature… how lovely." Asmodeus smiled.
Satan crosses his arms. "I hope they won't be taking too long. After the last rebellion, my boys practically have nothing to do. Only training and training."
Mammon glares. "Oh, shut up, Stan! I just spent a ridiculous budget for launching our satellite last week that my head still hurts. And now you want me to spend more for war!?"
"Well, Monny..."
"Don't Monny me!"
Solo raises his hand. "Relax. We need Stan's troops ready. We're in uncertain times. Bub, what's the status of our satellites? When will they be operational?" Solo continues.
Beelzebub is very excited to explain.
"At this moment, they are still in the commissioning phase. After finishing the outgassing and cleaning sequence, they will start calibrating and do the orbital maneuvering. So my guess is, within 3 months."
Solo smiled. "Then Levi, try not giving any country a reason to attack us, at least for the next 3 months."
"Yes, sir."
Mammon groans, "I hope these things called GPS and Internet are worth the budget."
"Monny! Of course it's worth it!" Beelzebub beams. "We're the first people on Talvaris who are able to make the space within our reach! It's worth all the riches in the world! And better yet, this technology will unlock another amazing new technology and science!"
"Well, excuse me if I don't share your gluttony for science! nor war!" Said Mammon while glaring at Beelzebub and Satan
Solo tries to calm his minister of finance. "Believe me, it's totally worth it… in the long run. The private sector will explode once we introduce the internet."
He decides not to tell Mammon about all of the future military upgrades needed to use GPS.
"So let me remind you guys again, we need to be careful," Solo concludes. "We still don't know how advanced they are, especially in magic warfare. We need to gather more information before anything. That's all."
Everyone is leaving Solo alone in his office. Allowing him to contemplate at the window while staring toward the heavens.
"How do you like my work, bitch?" A slow, evil grin spreads across his face. "It's game on!"