The group that arrived at Rhodes island were being guided by Ace and Amiya.
Though Sonus wasn't quite happy with the elite defender. If looks could kill, he would've died ten times over.
"Sonus, don't glare too much at the guy. Ace, how about you fetch a little someone?" Ash gave him the slip and Ace nodded, immediately retreating to get Logos.
"Hmph, annoying brat that one. Young people nowadays have no respect." Sonus grumbled and she also remembered Liz being rude, the blonde Sarkaz has no discretion at all.
"It's because you look so youthful Sonus!" Closure commented with a nervous smile.
"Don't butter me up vampire brat, you're awfully chummy. You're just like your ancestor, that sanguinarch bastard. Trying to entice people with your sweet words." She hissed and Ash gave Closure a wry smile.
"Ignore that Closure, Sonus just thinks that the sanguinarch; who is the leader of the vampires in Kazdel is a prick." Ash shrugged and Sonus huffed.
"That decrepit, sadistic, slimy bastard deserves nothing. You should definitely pit Alastor with him later. Make him see how true blood arts are supposed to be used." Sonus growled.
"I sense some history here..." Ash raised a brow and Sonus nodded. "Yes, we used to fight with them when I was still at the royal court." Sonus snorted.
They left it alone because it wasn't that important. And after walking around the landship, they were being observed by the majority of the people in Rhodes island.
"Wow, are we famous?" Maria whispered to Ash, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the attention.
"Yes actually, you see. The majority of operators here have oripathy. And we receive shipments of treatment from Paradiso. Rhodes island is really thankful for that." Amiya bowed and she bit her lip when they couldn't see her face.
"Eh, we can't reach them all. So it would be better if Rhodes island could hand out our latest treatments too." Ash waved his hand lazily.
"Even so, it's a huge step for humanity. Oripathy isn't as scary anymore. Paradiso has created something that would be jotted down in history." Amiya looked at him with hero worship.
It is her goal to unite the infected and give them the rights they deserve. And he was doing the best job on that. With Paradiso having the most populated mobile cities of infected.
Ash was about to put a curtain on the topic, but a young man who looks like a more masculine Sonus appeared with Ace.
"M-mother?" Logos' calm face twitched and Sonus put a hand on her hip.
"Ungrateful brat of mine, you have the nerve to not even message me? You are the scion of the Banshee clan." Sonus squinted her eyes at him and Logos paled.
"Mother, it's not like that. I am an elite operator here in Rhodes island you see? I have tons of work to do, I was just busy." Logos gulped, but the lump in his throat didn't go away.
"Stop lying brat. I ought to teach you a lesson on why I am the leader of our race." Sonus breathed in and Ash put a finger inside her mouth.
"Ash! Bastard! You might be our leader, but y-you can't violate a lady like that!" Sonus glared at him weakly. Embarrassed by the physical contact.
"You were about to use oral arts on them Sonus... The collateral damage of it is known to everyone, you'd make everyone's ears bleed." Ash deadpanned at her.
"Tch, I suppose." She grumbled and crossed her arms, upset.
"Why not use your mouth for other things eh? Banshees have supreme oral arts right?" He grinned at her and Sonus had a proud look on her face.
Meanwhile, Amiya, Ace, and Logos almost choked on their saliva. Not expecting the emperor of Leithanien to bust out such an innuendo.
"Hmm, that's right. I knew you respected our clan, that's why you scouted us personally in the past." Sonus nodded in satisfaction, the innuendo flying past her head.
"Um, mother... I don't think that's what he meant..." Logos went green at the thought of her mother having sex with someone.
Ace noticed and he understood what went inside his mind. He immediately patted him on the back.
"Huh? What do you mean? Pray tell." Sonus raised a brow and Ace looked at Amiya. The Cautus went wide eyed. She was betrayed by Ace and Amiya looked at Maria who was just as confused.
'Curse you Ace... I will make you clean the toilets later.' Amiya glared daggers at him.
"Uhhh, how can I put this." Sonus was staring holes through her. She always has a sharp look on her eyes that makes people nervous.
"Ash implied that you use your skill with your oral arts... To..." Amiya cringed and Sonus gestured for her to get on with it.
"To pleasure him orally." Amiya did an orz and Logos prayed for her soul. No teen should be explaining that to a centuries old lady.
Sonus sputtered and she looked at Ash with wide eyes. "Y-you!? You want me to what!? But that's unhygienic! And sex is only for making children!" Sonus shouted.
"That's back in the past Sonus. I'll teach you how the times have changed." Ash kissed her neck and she bit her lip at the electric pleasure she felt that made her spine tingle.
Logos also did an orz alongside Amiya. Seeing his mother flirt with a man that's younger than him. They had info that he was as young as Amiya. Younger than her even. And he was seducing his mother like a clueless maiden.
"S-stop that! Affection should only be done in private!" Sonus protested, but she didn't push him away. She has never felt like that before in her life.
"Whatever you say Sonus, come on. Let's get what we need here in Rhodes island. And Logos, call me father." Ash messed with the male Banshee.
He paled and thought that was possible. Ace guffawed at Logos' expression. He couldn't even try to beat him up, because Ash would make quick work of him.
Like a kid that was going to receive the belt from his father. Logos is sure that he'll get disciplined for antagonizing him. So he couldn't do anything, but just shut up and don't give him the satisfaction of being called his father.
"Ash... Please don't make fun of one of my elite operators." Kal'tsit arrived and she was ruining his fun.
"Ahhh, here's the spoilsport everybody. Closure, Maria. Go with them, I need to have a word with Kal'tsit." Ash separated their group and he walked up to the feline.
"Walk with me Kal'tsit." Ash ordered and she was getting anxious. Overthinking the purpose of their visit.
"Don't get too scared now, your nerves are getting the better of you?" He smirked at her and Kal'tsit frowned heavily.
"You tricked Laterano..." She said accusingly, sure about what they did back at the summit.
"Hmmm, whatever do you mean? We just allied with Laterano. And we'll be peacekeepers for Terra." Ash shrugged and she wasn't convinced at all.
They were pretty much sure that they would abuse the treaty. But there's no evidence at all.
"Calm down Kal'tsit, you're too mistrusting. Shouldn't you have a list of our achievements? Doesn't your goal align with ours?" He smiled and Kal'tsit furrowed her brows.
"If you mean waging war against Ursus and Yan, then no." She replied with an edge in her voice.
"Ahhh, tch. I thought you were smarter than that, Kal'tsit. The only reason Rhodes island isn't fighting against nations like Reunion. Is because you lack the resources and manpower for it." Ash began to spool his webs.
"No, we are a pharmaceutical company. It's our job to help those with oripathy." Kal'tsit sneered and Ash shook his head again.
"Really? Then why collect elite operators like Logos? Ace? And the whole division? Rhodes island can hire mercenaries to protect them. And aren't we forgetting about Babel?" Kal'tsit didn't know how to counter that.
"They're Rhodes island's squad that can do operations in the dark. And you also have an assassin, what was her name? Ascalon?" Ash squinted his eyes playfully.
Kal'tsit was surprised. And she couldn't help but get paranoid. That there were spies around Rhodes island.
"How do you know about S.W.E.E.P." Kal'tsit's eyes hardened.
"I know a lot of things, just like I know that you're not giving me the translation of a little historical artifact that I got." Ash went close to her face and he frowned.
"T-that, I just didn't have the time to give it to you. That's all." She winced and he shrugged.
"Aren't we all busy? But now that I'm here, how about you give it to me, hmm?" He crossed his arms and Kal'tsit sighed.
They went to her office and gave it to him. He quickly read it and it was a legend of his race.
"Everywhere they walk, the earth trembles. Ash and flames are the only things left upon their wake. Rivers of blood paint the landscapes red with their slaughter. Enemies of the gods; the Devas of evil." He read it thoughtfully.
"They are thought to be beings that act upon their emotions. There are records of them loving things or people like no other. But their heightened emotions also leads to hatred and rage that burns heaven and earth."
"An unfortunate race, due to the arrogance of the gods. It led to an all out war due to their solidarity. And they were consumed by their undying rage. The Devas turned to mindless slaughterers, and they fell to debauchery. Painting them as the enemy of the world."
Ash frowned after reading it. At least he knew why he was having such a hard time controlling his emotions.
"Hmm, I know why you didn't show me this. Good job, but do you really think I'll get revenge for my ancestors or something?" Ash snorted.
Kal'tsit nodded with embarrassment. She saw it happen after all. Due to their strength, the Feranmuts took a child from them and it was killed due to the crossfire.
Then, they all went insane and started killing everything that tried to stop their vengeance. It was a warpath that reduced the population of Terra by 90%.
"Can you blame me?" Kal'tsit sighed and Ash rolled his eyes. "I don't even know these guys. I'm not an idiot Kal'tsit." He deadpanned at her.
"So, you weren't going crazy?" She asked sheepishly.
"No? If I was, then Yan and Ursus would be a smoldering crater right now." He snorted and Kal'tsit thought that was true.
"Do you want me to?" He grinned at her and Kal'tsit immediately waved her hands around in protest.
"Okay, then how about a little deal between us? Tell Amiya and the Dokutah later. Rhodes island will be agents for us. You're a pharmaceutical company, we can ask for your service." Ash crossed his legs and was about to make a business proposition.
"I don't like where this is going. It feels like it would be extremely important." Kal'tsit frowned.
"You are right, we are currently preparing for the raid of the seaborne Kal'tsit. You know how dangerous this is." Ash massaged his temples.
"What are the signs?" She immediately believed him. The behemoths were made with a different purpose. But they slowly got corrupted due to thousands of years of not having directives.
"We have Ishar-mla in our city." Kal'tsit blinked at that. "Or the next iteration of the beast. You know about the abyssal hunters?" He asked and she nodded slowly.
"They actually managed to defeat Ishar-mla. Crazy bastards are strong as hell. But the blood of the behemoth corrupted one of them. And the seaborne are most likely trying to awaken her. I already fought her off one time in her serpent form." Ash's face scrunched up.
Nobody would be able to beat her except the Sui siblings or Kjera. And it was a stretch too. Because if they drag it for too long, she would be invincible against them.
The Feranmuts at their employ aren't versatile enough. Skadi would run them over if she could stall for time.
"What are we going to do then? We don't really have anything against that kind of threat." Kal'tsit hated to admit.
"We do, but we are being spread thin. I want to appoint Rhodes island as diplomats for the allied nations. The other nations in the alliance isn't like Paradiso where I have full control. So they can't leave it alone for too long." Ash sighed.
Enciades can leave it to Enya because the residents believe in Kjera. And she has shown her influence personally. But Kazimierz and Leithanien aren't like that.
"Diplomacy takes a ton of time. Something I do not have. I would rather take care of Victoria and other crazy bastards around the world." He growled.
Victoria would be an addition to the alliance that is mandatory. They are an empire that only fell due to an idiot noble letting in Theresis and Kazdel.
If not, they won't be able to breach its walls and their artillery cannons. Even though it is a bit worse than Paradiso's.
"T-that's fair. I believe this would be a great job for Amiya as well. She needs experience in having diplomatic meetings. It will push her to be better." Kal'tsit nodded sagely.
"Good, I have contacts in Iberia. Inquisitors named Irene and Dario, the latter's a high inquisitor. You can locate them in Sal Viento. I think preparing Iberia for fortifications is the best course of action." Ash started making plans with her.
"I see... Try and barricade where they'll be coming from." Kal'tsit agreed.
"We need to have permission from them so we can start building. You know Nian, we can make thick barriers of steel quickly. Just need the Iberian government to fuck off and leave it alone." He snorted and Kal'tsit chuckled.
"This is going to be quite hard isn't it?" Kal'tsit could already imagine the headache Amiya would have to go through in order to convince Iberia.
"Yeah, it will be. Amiya would definitely have a lot of sleepless nights." Ash shrugged, it won't be his problem now.
"Why though?" Kal'tsit wondered why he was doing so much.
"You gotta be more specific." Ash raised a brow and Kal'tsit stared at him. "You can just fortify your own defenses more. Leave the others to the seaborne. You have Feranmuts in your employ. Paradiso can be a safe haven where the seaborne can't reach."
"Ahhh, you talking about why I'm doing this for free? Nothing really, just a promise. Adele would hate me if I didn't go through with it. Terra is our home. And if all else fails? I've got another plan at the back burner." Ash shrugged.
"Achoo! Someone's talking about me... Hngh, rocket science is difficult." Kirsten sighed.
"Is that so? One hell of a plan then, if it can save humanity from being overrun by seaborne." Kal'tsit knew they were endless.
"Yep, but I don't want to go that route honestly." Ash shrugged. Going to space to start on another planet is too hard. Doable, especially with their powers. But difficult as hell.
"Come on, how about you talk with Closure? I'm guessing that she's close to you and Amiya. She's a member of Babel after all." Ash stood up and Kal'tsit followed.
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Thank you for reading everyone, ciao.