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The Gamer Chapter 1499 – Divided Gates Meeting 5 – A Wound or a Scar
🕑 Added 2023-08-18 01:58:36 +0000 UTCDangun traced every one of John’s movements, as he reached over the table. There were a few Korean specialties on the table, prepared by chefs that had been flown in ahead of time by each of the Divided Gates that had a notable culinary history. “I do wonder if the Purest Front has their individual set of cooking specialities,” the Gamer expressed in casual wonder.
“They have a love for meat as close to raw as possible,” Dangun responded in an equally carefree tone. “Human supremacy extends to eating animals with as little preparation as possible – apparently.”
John blew air out of his nose. “When ideology advances so much it loops right back around to barbarism,” he stated. “If that logic extends to eating the flesh of non-human sapients… one shudders to imagine.” He took a bite out of a treat made of rice dough. “Hmm, delicious.”
“How is Fusion’s own culinary journey going?” Dangun asked.
“Currently, it’s not much to talk about,” the Gamer confessed. “Too many people, too far apart for too long to unify swiftly in such important matters as having a food tradition. Although some of the mundane traditions are logically carrying over.”
“Burgers and fries,” Dangun remarked, a jovial chortle between the words.
“Burgers and fries,” the Gamer responded with a grin.
“You know, I always found it fascinating that so many people have such a hard stance on American food – yet they all eat it,” Dangun continued in the casual chatter.
“Well, one can love food and simultaneously accept that a lot of it is greasy and terrible for you. Matter of fact, I would say that’s a majority of food.”
“In the mundanity,” Dangun stated.
“…I suppose so,” John agreed with a nod. Since getting into the Abyss, he had noted a tremendous uptick in healthy and delicious foods. Just another aspect of the benefits of magic. “I would also claim that the modern pizza is very-“
“Get – to – the – point,” Eui reminded them of her scornful presence with four hissed words. “What do you want?”
“Good relations,” the Gamer responded immediately, his tone serious. “A world at peace, competition through trade, not arms, prosperity, justice, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“Pleasant phrases,” Dangun weighed in, his eyes heavy, his voice laden.
“Pleasant phrases,” John agreed. “Why would I not strive for pleasant things? Is it not a ruler’s task to present their people with wonders, for them to find themselves part of a greater purpose than being a tiny cog in a self-perpetuating machine?”
“A ruler is a warden,” the Lady of Joseon responded immediately.
“The terrors of the world are vast,” King Dangun agreed.
“Indeed, quite vast,” Claire suddenly spoke up, causing attention to shift to her. Smiling, the vampire sliced through the soft meat of a fish with her knife. The marbling of fat between the strings of marine muscle was her guidance, turning the thick slice into a multitude of strips. “There is a saying in this world that I learned. ‘The human is the human’s wolf.’ It’s not a very popular saying.” Claire chuckled and devoured one of the strips whole. “And still there is no greater evil than a tyrant.”
“There are no tyrants at this table,” Dangun assured with a gentle smile. “None of us oppress our lands.”
“Tyrants do not have lands.” Claire’s pupils narrowed to near invisible slits, leaving her glare as a sea of red. “Tyrants do not have subjects. Tyrants do not have anything. All tyrants lay claim to, they control by force. There is no good-natured agreement on what tyrants own, they simply exploit lands and people that cannot oppose them.”
John stayed quiet through the vampire’s declaration, keeping his body language neutral. His agreement was still implicit, just because of past statements. A heavy air descended on the table, the message under these words clear: Dangun and Eui were tyrants. Not of their own people, but of Japan.
Claire’s pupils slowly relaxed, turning round as the surrounding iris shifted from red to green. Directing her gaze at her food, she went back to passive silence. John hadn’t asked nor planned for her to have that little outburst. From his perspective, it was entirely fine, though.
The heavy silence remained around the table for a long while, everyone sorting their next move in the argument. A child’s laughter pulled John’s attention aside for a split second. The group that had played ball had swelled slightly, grabbing some children from other guilds, and was running around in circles now. Younglings from many parts of Europe and Asia, laughing and playing a game of tag, entirely innocent regarding the world moving conversations happening around them.
The Gamer turned back to the table, finding all but the Lady of Joseon to have returned to their plates as well. For the first time, John spotted the hint of a smile on Eui’s face. It made her look five years younger, attractive even, and still it did not quite reach her eyes. There was a bitterness in those pools of dark brown that appeared impossible to overcome.
The moment she noticed John looking at her, Eui’s expression collapsed back to a scornful scowl. “Is it tyranny to put down aggressive boars?” she finally responded. “Is it unjust to drain the barrel filled with the nymphs of parasites? We have suffered too – much!” The force in her voice was louder than any scream could have been.
John closed his eyes and took a deep inhale. ‘She was there,’ he thought and, when he opened his eyes again, saw the expression of Dangun had hardened as well. “I apologize,” the Gamer said, to everyone else’s surprise. “I had thought – hoped – that the past had turned into a scar. For many of your soldiers, the events that still haunt you are their parents' generation removed. As they are for me. I have suffered in ways as you may have suffered, but only as an individual. I cannot quite fathom how vast the wound is on your nation’s heart.”
The expressions of the two leaders of Korea gradually softened, even if Eui never started to look friendly. John stood up and grabbed a napkin, to wipe off his already spotless hands. His three companions mimicked the motions.
“I can only caution you that such a wound untreated becomes gangrenous. I sympathize with your plight. I truly do. But…” The faces had turned hard again. “…I cannot steer away from my course.”
“A shame,” Dangun spoke up, and raised a hand before Eui could add anything. “I appreciate your honesty, John Newman. That, if nothing else, will give our relations a good base for honourable conduct.”
John gave him a curt nod, then walked away entirely. This had not been the conversation he had hoped to have, but it was still productive. ‘War with the Dangun Clan is inevitable,’ he thought, soberly. ‘They will stop at nothing to continue to ensure that Korea’s safety remains guaranteed.’ Quietly, John shook his head. ‘Cruelty begets cruelty, and when you stare into the Abyss, the Abyss also stares into you.’
“Ya look like ya saw a ghost,” Rave noted, when he joined her in the crowd of the Rex Germaniae. “And not the fun kind.”
“Tens of thousands,” the Gamer responded dryly, kissing her just to feel a bit of the warmth in the world. A quick peck was all it took for him to feel re-energized. “I’ll tell you all about it later,” he promised her.
“And I go ignored,” the person next to Rave complained.
“You always go ignored,” the Gamer shot back.
Maximillian rolled his eyes. The gravity mage had his arm around his fiancée, who chuckled. Both the short succubus and Maximillian were dressed in a combination of modern outfits and noble clothes from the Enlightenment era. It was a mix particular to Rex Germaniae, and the Iberians, although few of the latter were present and only as guests from the Sons of Rome.
John scanned the environment. “Suel is not around,” Maximillian assured him.
“Was not looking for him – although that is good to know,” the Gamer responded. “Where is my Lydia?”
“Your Lydia,” Maximillian chuckled and shook his head. “At an international meeting.”
“Still mine,” the Gamer insisted possessively. “You can have her head, but I want her heart. No, actually, her lips are too pretty, so I will have her head too. And the rest of her. I’ll give her to you on lease.”
Maximillian continued to shake his head, before taking a sip of his drink. “You should moderate yourself,” Irielz softly nagged her spouse. “That’s your second glass.”
“I can take a lot more than that.”
“And the day is still young.” The horned, light-grey skinned woman poked Maximillian in the ribs. He let out an overplayed ‘Ooof’, before turning the avoiding curve of his midriff into a bow that planted his lips on her face. “It does taste nice, though,” the succubus whispered between kisses.
“Well, I still have things to do.” John’s tone was joking, but he was actually serious. There were many more conversations to be had. Maximillian just waved, and John took his own fiancée along.
“Ya need me for anything?” she asked.
“Moral support,” the Gamer said, putting a hand around her and Aclysia. He was no longer in any hurry to get somewhere. His mind was still lingering on the conversation with Eui and Dangun.
The difference between them and the soldiers that he had seen footage of was stark. The latter were raiding Japan because it was an order – a profitable one at that. The former were, clearly and entirely, convinced that it needed to be done. Just what had they lost during that time? Dangun, to John’s knowledge, had already been king of the Dangun clan at the time. Eui was more difficult to get definitive data on. Appearance wise, little pulled them apart, but who knew in the Abyss? Even superhumans aged faster when stressed, and Eui seemed incapable of truly relaxing. For all John knew, she was stuck in a permanent PTSD episode from something terrible that had happened during the war.
A peaceful solution with them was impossible under these circumstances.
They did not seem to be bad people at heart either, just… broken by the horrors of war. Broken and reassembled into a competent, incredibly powerful mess.
‘Let’s hope my conversation with Lu Zhi will shed some light on that situation,’ the Gamer thought. ‘I’d say I am connecting with her quite well, and even if the clash is inevitable, Dangun seems to see me in a favourable light. So far, the diplomacy is going well… let’s see if I can continue that streak of luck.’
John was heading towards the Great Sultanate leadership. An immediately outstanding factor was that the entirety of the present people of import were men – military men at that.
In no uncertain terms, John could say the following: the Great Sultanate was the backwater of Abyssal superpowers. Much like the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, they were past their golden age and just hobbling along due to sheer size. They were absurdly patriarchal, militaristic, low on research expertise, utilized a slave economy, and surrounded by modernized states that could punch far harder than their size would indicate.
Atrahasis embodied all of this in a single person. He covered his age with expensive illusions and many layers of stiff cloth. Refusing to raise his own hands, he let himself be fed by two servant women in silk dresses. There was power in those eyes, great power, but it was undirected and unfocused.
John could fundamentally agree with sitting in a chair and getting fed grapes by gorgeous women (a variant of this described his common breakfast – ignoring the blowjobs) but having it be done by two women that were paid for it was just… ‘What is it?’ the Gamer thought. ‘Disgusting is too strong a word… it’s… weak? Inappropriate? Feeble? It just feels so… yeah, weak and empty.’
“There’s nothing I would discuss with you,” Atrahasis greeted John with a dismissive wave of his ring-covered fingers. “Begone, Newman.”
John’s forehead was put into wrinkles. He tried to make eye contact with the sultan, but he simply refused, instead paying an empty compliment to the servant woman that was feeding him. “Right, then.” He shrugged. “Nothing gained, nothing lost, I suppose.” He turned right, deliberately, to walk as closely by Prince Osman as he could. The heir of the Great Sultanate sent John a single, empty glance. That, alone, was so much more than he was given by everyone else.
The Great Sultanate wasn’t weak, it was just held back by outdated doctrines.
‘It could be a splendid ally in the future… maybe,’ the Gamer thought cautiously. There was always a tug of war between the government and the people on where the country went. John liked to think the people were always right, but that would have been to ignore such absurdly barbaric customs as female genital mutilations. Things were never easy.
John walked over to the Sons of Odin next, but that conversation was similarly fruitless. A lot friendlier, filled with personal opinions on the mistreatment of Nightingale, but ultimately fruitless. The four would not share what vote they had been sent with. It was safe to assume they were going to vote no.
‘Well, that means I spoke to all the toss-ups,’ John thought. ‘Might as well talk to my partners in crime, then. Alternatively…’ His eyes drifted, inevitably, to one of his haremettes. Gnome, specifically, who was shyly turning a cup in her hands. There was a notable twitch in his pants at the sight of the slender profile of one of his women. Memories of her naked form surfaced instinctively. The confines grew tighter. ‘…why not have a little risky fun?’
Rave: I’ll cover for ya
The message popped up in front of John, and he turned his head to find the feline Lightbearer by his side wink at him. ‘God, how do I deserve you?’ he thought.
‘Ya just do, tiger,’ she mouthed, before turning to the maids. “Can y’all come with me for a sec?” she asked. They, of course, knew what their Master was thinking, and so all went with the feline Lightbearer to do some additional diplomacy. The kind where their charms focused all the attention on them and during which it was very easy to mess with cuddle rocks and slip away to backrooms.
Just the kind of set-up John wanted.
