Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 156 - Pixie Negoiations

Lumi had asked a question instead of answering her question.

The pixie leader stared at him. She wasn’t offended, nor defensive. Even as the dozens of pixies behind her waited, her answer came as naturally as she breathed.

"No."

Lumi nodded slowly. "Would you want to be?"

The pixie’s brows furrowed in a mix of confusion and disbelief. Her reply was quick and curt. "Obviously."

To her, it was a self-evident fact. Of course she wanted to be queen. What kind of stupid question was that?

Lumi didn’t smile, but he subtly shifted his posture to be more approachable. "Then for a cost, we’ll act as mercenaries and assist you."

The pixie didn’t even pause to think. "Deal."

One of the lieutenants beside her blinked, caught off guard by how quickly the exchange had moved. The other simply watched in silence, having expected such a reply.

"My name is Seyen," the leader added, crossing her arms. "What do you want?"

At first glance, the conversation made no sense. A rebellion discussed in seconds, agreed to on the spot, and in full, open view of dozens of pixies. By any reasonable standard, it was absurd.

But that was the issue. Pixies didn’t operate by reasonable standards.

Lumi considered his answer carefully. What he wanted was simple. He wanted to kill pixies. They were a natural enemy of humanity and all civilized races. They gave insane amounts of experience. Frankly, he didn’t need terms at all, because he would fulfill his desire simply by fighting for her.

That said, terms would still help. One, to make the pixie not suspicious. Two, to benefit himself. The right answer was honesty. Or at least, close to it.

"To answer that," Lumi said evenly, "I’ll need a private conversation."

Seyen didn’t hesitate. She waved her hand dismissively at the crowd behind her. "Leave."

The smaller pixies scattered immediately, teleporting away in flashes of light. Within seconds, only Seyen and her two lieutenants remained.

Lumi met Seyen’s gaze. "I want to kill pixies."

Seyen tilted her head slightly, waiting for more.

Lumi continued. "To that end, I want all pixies you take prisoner during fights. I’ll kill them."

Seyen’s expression didn’t change. She didn’t look offended, or shocked, or even particularly interested. She just stared at him, processing.

That was the thing. Some pixies would care deeply about that request. They’d see it as dishonorable, as losing face, as betraying their own kind. Others didn’t care in the slightest.

Seyen was one of the latter.

There was only one problem in her mind. Pixies often took each other prisoner. It was a regular part of their conflicts. You captured someone, held them for a bit, then released them for a ransom. They almost never died during these transactions. What would be the point? You’d lose the leverage.

If she agreed to Lumi’s terms, at least temporarily, her reputation would take a hit. Other pixies would see her as someone who sold out her own.

She considered that for a few short moments, too short for the weight of the proposal. She then shrugged. "Why should I pay you if you just want to kill pixies? You’ll do it anyway."

Lumi’s reply was immediate. "If you’re not willing to pay, I could fight for the queen instead. I’ll tell her about your betrayal."

Seyen stared at him then let out a short, sharp laugh. "Fine. Deal. Whatever." She considered the situation. At most, it would destroy her reputation for a bit. So what? It was a small price to pay to be queen.

It was that simple with pixies. Many, like Seyen, were selfish enough that they could sell off their own people without a second thought. Likewise, most pixies considered threats a regular part of life. It wasn’t anything to hold a grudge over.

Seyen raised a finger. "But I have a requirement."

"To ensure no betrayal," she continued, "you must go to the pixie queen and publicly provoke her. State your intention to work with me and overthrow her."

Lumi considered that for a moment. Then he offered something else entirely. "How about we go attack her now?"

Seyen’s expression shifted. She was idle for a few moments, clearly in thought. She then asked with newfound suspicion.

"What if you already teamed with the pixie queen?" she spoke, accusatory. "Then when we go to ambush her, the ambush is reversed on me. You and the queen kill me together."

Lumi said nothing. It was a fair concern.

Seyen tapped her chin, thinking. Then she nodded to herself. "New terms. You must go and kill one of the queen’s most trusted subordinates first. The target is a pixie named Kise. As soon as you kill her, we launch a raid on the queen immediately."

Lumi nodded. "Agreed."

With the agreement made, they didn’t waste any time. To think that there would be delays or complexity was a joke. Pixie civilization had no laws, no buildings, no roads, no structure. It was more akin to a barbaric battle royal where the bigger fist ruled. All they had to do was take action.

Seyen gestured vaguely to the east. "Kise typically lives in the sap-filled hollow in that direction.. Three large branches converging into a split trunk, full of green ooze. You’ll know it when you see it."

Lumi nodded. "Understood." With that, he glanced at Lena. "Let’s go." He turned and began to make their way back to the ship.

Lena kept glancing at him, wanting to say something, but she held it in until they were airborne.

Seyen turned and teleported away without another word. Her two lieutenants followed.

...

As Lumi and Lena departed...

Seyen reappeared in a dense cluster of branches, her two lieutenants materializing beside her. The smaller of the two, spoke up immediately.

"Do you really plan on letting him kill the prisoners?"

Seyen’s expression darkened. She snapped her head toward the lieutenant, eyes flashing. "Of course we will."

The lieutenant blinked. He knew Seyen was decisive but he didn’t expect that reaction.

Seyen’s voice grew colder. "What the hell do I care for any pixie that’s not on my side?"

She crossed her arms, her gaze distant. "I’ll care for allies. Random pixies?" She scoffed. "Please. They’re just resources."

Her eyes flickered dangerously. "Lumi clearly would like to kill me too if he could."

The other lieutenant, silent until now, tilted his head. "You think he’ll try?"

Seyen shook her head. "Probably not. He’s weaker than me. I don’t think he can win. Still, the desire is there. I need to minimize it because it’s strictly detrimental for me to fight him. The difference between us is that I would benefit from killing the pixie queen." She paused. "I wouldn’t benefit from killing Lumi."

She turned her gaze back toward where Lumi and Lena had left. "So taking a risk makes no sense."

Such a thought process revealed the profound difference between pixies. There were pixies whose thoughts were as simple as "Let’s see if I can kill this, if I can’t, I’ll just die." At the same time, there were pixies with greater ambition, like Seyen.

The lieutenant nodded slowly. "Understood."

Seyen said nothing more. She simply stared into the distance, already planning her next move.

...

Lena sat in Lumi’s lap, her head resting lightly against his shoulder as the airship glided smoothly through the upper canopy. Her eyes were half-closed, but her mind was clearly active.

She was contemplating the morality of pixies.

A rogue pixie suddenly appeared ahead, grinning wildly as it raised its wand.

"Lance of Light." Lumi’s spell launched before the pixie could finish casting. The lance punched through it cleanly.

[EXP +189]

Lena barely reacted. Another pixie appeared from the side. She raised her wand lazily. "Holy Arrows."

The arrows struck true, and the pixie dropped.

[EXP +176]

Lena let her wand rest in her lap again. She went back to thinking.

She was utilizing her framework. What could she compare pixies to?

She couldn’t compare them to a foreign nation. Nations operated on systems, on agreements, on structures. Pixies didn’t. They were fundamentally different. They were a species that acted different.

Then, could she compare them to animals? That wasn’t right either. There were no animals on Earth smart enough to talk to. Pixies had language, strategy, ambition. They weren’t just beasts.

Thus, there was no accurate existing comparison. Therefore, she couldn’t base a moral judgment on the situation by using an existing situation. She had to reason it from the ground up, piece by piece.

She frowned slightly, turning the problem over in her mind.

Lumi glanced at her. "It’s not that complicated."

Lena blinked and looked up at him. "Hm?"

"Pixies, by their very nature, are incompatible with human life," Lumi said evenly. "They’re largely aggressive toward humans. There’s no reason to hesitate to kill what already wants to kill you."

Lena stared at him for a moment.

Then she nodded slowly. "Yeah. That makes sense."

She leaned back into him, her expression easing. After all, thus far, they hadn’t attacked first once, yet they’d killed over four dozen pixies.

If the pixies wanted them dead, and kept trying to make it happen, then there was no moral dilemma at all.

It was just self-defense.