Chapter 9 - The Human Problem

*The God Realm - Throne room*

The throne room was a large open room, with large stone pillars decorated with gold trim. There was flora growing from all edges of the room and a long rectangular reflection pool sat in the center. There was an odd species of what appeared to be fish swimming through it - they all had faint glows to them and looked almost angelic in nature. Across the walls were murals depicting the history of time itself - not just that of humans, but the entire universe in itself. It was a story that wrapped itself around every inch of the throne room's wall.

The most impressive feature of the room was the extravagant throne that sat at the precipice of a flight of stairs. The chair was adorned with precious jewels and had a decorative pair of wings jutting out from either side of the back of the chair. It overlooked the entire room and made sure that whomever sat upon was recognized as the most revered powerful individual that could exist.

The King of the Heavens. The one God who stood above all other Gods.

Suddenly, the fish that were swimming around in the pool started to frantically swim back and forth. Then one by one they lined up against part of the wall of the pool and opened their mouths towards the ceiling. Their eyes glowed pure white as a light escaped from their mouths.

The light materialized into a figure with no discernible features with the exception of their hair and body type. There were 8 fish in total, so there were 8 figures of light hovering above either end of the pool.

"Well, if we've been summoned like this then there's only one thing we could be discussing." One of them spoke.

"Are we still dealing with that place? Since we've judged that world my soldiers have already ended several unworthy races. What exactly is going on at that little rock?."

"They should've assigned it to me like I originally asked." Another God spoke.

"Not every planet falls under your jurisdiction, War."

"If we wanted it done right it would be. Conquest, my brother, you have toyed with them far too long." The one called War spoke.

"Oh fuck off already you fatuous fool." The one most likely called Conquest snarled.

"You will abstain from such language. It is unbecoming of an angel, much less a God." A voice boomed.

All the figures turned towards the same direction - the throne.

A golden light washed over the throne and lit up the rest of the room. The light took shape similar to the others. Except it was gold. So, it was cooler.

"Now, let this meeting of the Gods convene. I know it is short notice but we can no longer turn our attention away from a problem that has gone on for too long. Earth."

"Your lordship!" Conquest spoke out. "The others do not understand the arduous task with which I have been doing nothing short of my best to complete. These humans…"

"Are weak." War interrupted. "As a species they have lived only a fraction of the time of other species that have proved themselves much more worthy in even less of that time. But what kind of possible defense consisting of their primitive technology could be giving you so much trouble? Brother, you give them too much credit."

"Isn't it obvious? It's the slayers." One of the others stated.

"Slayers? What is a slayer?" The King asked them.

"..." Conquest didn't respond.

"Zadall, you will answer me."

"A-apologies, my King. But it's true. The slayers are becoming more of an interference than originally thought as they hunt down more of my forces with each passing day. They wield cursed weapons capable of eradicating our angels. Worst yet, they have the ability to absorb our powers to increase their own. Just recently I sent Malakah, my archangel, down to try to put a rush job on this cleansing. But…he didn't come back. I soon discovered he was eradicated with a cursed weapon as I felt his connection to the One Core vanish."

"What?! There's no way the humans could have discovered cursed weapons without help-" The King stopped speaking. No one else in the room said anything else.

"This is her doing isn't it." The King muttered.

"Yes, my King. She has been sending damned souls to Earth - they inhabit the body of someone else and then take up arms against our forces. Malakah was sent to a part of the Northern Hemisphere, but the issue is world-wide. These sanctimonious demon spawn are fighting back on all sides. " said Conquest.

"....and why didn't you inform me of this? Why didn't ANY of you?"

"I…I thought I could handle this on my own, sir."

The King was silent for a moment as he mulled over all that was said. "Conquest. While I admire your bravery and ingenuity, if that witch is involved then you should have told me immediately. This changes things. War."

"Sir?" War spoke.

"You will work with your brother on this one."

"Understood, my King. I paid a visit sometime back, as I'm sure you unfortunately recall, so I'm familiar with their tactics. I'll begin dispatching soldiers immediately."

"Wait, please sir, no!" Conquest pleaded. "I don't need War to help me. I can handle this. Please, just…give me another chance to end this."

"Hmm." The King thought for a moment. "Very well. But if you fail again, you won't just lose an archangel. Your very title as the God of Conquest is at risk if you're unable to solve this human problem. I expect more from you than this - you are one of the brightest Gods to sit upon this precipice of divine power, but do not let all of your knowledge blind you to the obvious truths."

"Thank you, sir. I already have my other archangel on it."

"Just send your Seraph. End this already." One of the Gods said.

"No. There is no need. Malakah could have finished it if he wasn't so careless. A Seraph would be an honor those heretics don't deserve." Conquest answered.

"Agreed." Spoke the King. "War was right, we should not give these humans too much credit. They are beneath us, but even stepping into a mound of insignificant ants can sting if you're not aware."