Ryuk's words knocked the leaders from their seats. The realization of what they had known all their lives to be true was seemingly ripped away.
It was almost like someone who had worked with a mask on his face all his life, accepting the darkness as the way the world was—until one day, that mask was ripped off.
The leaders felt the exact same sensation as they looked dumbly at each other.
Even MadWhite seemed to have been knocked off his feet, judging by how serious his expression was.
"All these years, we have been fighting the enemy without even understanding its true objectives..." the Dwarven leader whispered in realization, as the leaders all exchanged silent glances.
To fight an enemy whose goal had been unknown for years—that was a terrible mistake.
All of their hypotheses had been wrong, and now the threat of the Knulls, which they hadn't taken seriously, had become an almost insurmountable mountain.
If even higher worlds had succumbed to such a power, how could Endearth hope to stand against a conqueror race that treated entire worlds as nothing more than cultivation pits for its kind?
Ryuk looked at the silence in the room, his eyes flashing as he realized his words were sinking in. Before the tension could settle, he continued.
"But," he called, bringing their attention back to him.
"We're not completely hopeless either."
"If we hope to ever survive the Knulls, we need someone who understands more about them than we do."
"Perhaps someone who can decipher the languages of the book that the Titan leader possesses..." Ryuk said, turning to the Titan leader, who had the book appear in his hands, his eyebrows furrowed.
Now, he knew well—perhaps the answer to this war was in this little book. Perhaps the loss that the Tian family suffered might end up being a blessing in disguise.
"I believe I can convince the Eternity-grade expert under my command to tell us all she knows in a meeting where we will all be present. But this comes under an important condition," he said, pausing to let the weight of his words sink in.
"If we do nothing but divide ourselves, look down on ourselves, or hate ourselves, then I think Endearth should just get destroyed."
"I mean, look at it, MadWhite..." Ryuk asked, calling out to him.
MadWhite narrowed his eyes at Ryuk.
"Your hatred for the Ten Families' leaders seems to have arisen from some bad things they did in the past—the era referred to as the Dark Era, right?" he asked.
"If I may ask you, what use will your hate be if the whole of Endearth ends up turning into a wasteland? Elves, Vampires, Werewolves, Dwarves, Nagas—all of those races turned to nothing but food for the Knulls' young?"
"Then where does all the hatred go? Would it even matter anymore?" Ryuk whispered, as MadWhite's eyebrows furrowed.
It was a question that didn't even need thinking—there would be no one left to hate in the end.
"And you all plan to let the humans get destroyed first by the Knulls, and then use that moment as a proper way to introduce to the world that the Knulls have invaded?" Ryuk asked as he turned back to the leaders.
"Do you know what that will breed?"
"Firstly, hate. Secondly, fear."
"Humanity just got wiped out—what do you think every lesser race will be thinking? If they see no hope of avoiding destruction, can you really control their actions?"
"To control the actions of a hopeless mass... Do you know what people are capable of when they have no hope? Entire races can collapse under that pressure."
"And what about your own soldiers?"
"Their first revelation of the Knulls would be the scene of an entire city being taken down."
"If we ever hope to survive against the Knulls, we need confidence in our soldiers and, most importantly, a great boost in their morale."
"We need to make them believe that the Knulls are defeatable."
"Is the sight of an entire city being reduced to nothing, with half of humanity dead, really the best way to boost confidence or improve morale?"
"Imagine your armies marching into battle against the Third Knull Descendant, and all they have in their memories is how horrific the Knulls are—how they have always known them to be, and how Porion City was reduced to nothing with half of humanity gone."
"Do you think they will be able to fight with precision, using 100% of their minds, when these memories are flashing in their heads as they march toward an army of berserk Knulls?"
Every single one of Ryuk's questions hit the leaders like a bomb, making them question their choices.
"Sure, fear and death might be the best way to earn some cash, and who knows—maybe some power too..." Ryuk said, eyeing the Titan leader, who had furrowed eyebrows.
"But all of that is just like humanity's hatred toward the Ten Families' leaders—entirely irrelevant in the face of absolute extinction."
"I hope I have been able to show you that leaving humanity to its doom is an unwise move," Ryuk concluded, as a brief silence descended over the room.
The leaders thought about it, including the representatives, and they came to understand that they might truly have to reconsider their choices.
Sure, MadWhite had caused them too much headache, and they wanted revenge. They hated humanity and wanted to get rid of it.
But what sense would it all make if Endearth as a planet was wiped out?
"For this reason, I wish to propose a path we can embark on. One that leads to an end where Endearth might just be able to save itself from its sure ruin," Ryuk called out, turning to the Titan leader, who furrowed his brows at him.
His face flashed with reluctance to hear Ryuk's words, but in the end, he could only give in.
"Say what you have to say. If it sounds reasonable, we will hear you out. If it doesn't, then our plans remain unchanged."