Chapter 436: We are even.

The Grand Elder’s face shifted, dropping its previous casual look to become deadly serious. He flattened both hands on the round table, staring straight into Almeida’s eyes. "The ship," the Grand Elder said, his voice deep, "is not the most important matter we are here to discuss but it is definitely on the list."

He paused for dramatic effect, letting the silence heavy up the room, then added, "It is good that you brought up the fact that humans in the New Earth are living in constant fear. Because let’s be honest... that fear is entirely because of your kind. That recent attack on us by those vicious king beasts for example. We know it was your doing."

"Wait, hold on," a voice piped up from the side of the table. "Why on earth do you think the ship isn’t an important matter? That is the only reason why some of us agreed to this ridiculous round table meeting!" Nearby, Erik’s fingers drummed lightly on the wooden table as he spoke.

Every single pair of eyes on the human side flicked over to Erik, noting his agitated expression, before shifting back to Almeida when the man suddenly hissed through his teeth.

Almeida tilted his head slightly, glaring sideways at Erik. "Erik," he whispered sharply, "you are here to sit down, look respectable, and keep your mouth shut while I navigate a way for all aliens living on earth to have normal lives." Without waiting for a response, Almeida quickly turned his attention back to the humans, smoothing down his clothes.

He placed his hands together in front of his chest like he was about to start a solemn prayer. "I deeply apologize for whatever happened at the Eros Stadium," Almeida said, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. "I won’t deny it_ it was completely our fault. I have to make it clear that it was not a sanctioned operation but one of a rogue individual. I am ready to compensate those who were affected."

Zyra winced, leaning forward with an irritated scowl. "Compensate us? Do you even know what kind of horrific damage that Orakuns actually caused?"

The moment the word Orakuns left her mouth, a collective gasp echoed across the Somnivore side of the room. Their jaws literally dropped. They had zero idea that the humans knew who they truly were! The Somnivores all stared at Zyra like she had suddenly grown a second head right in front of them.

Uncomfortable, sweaty glances were exchanged across their side of the table. Then, a few of them blinked, finally recognizing her face from the viral videos that had been circulating everywhere_ the scaly girl who could somehow control terrifying King and Emperor Beasts.

Almeida swallowed hard, his throat dry. His eyes drifted over to Hunter, a sudden wave of panic hitting him. Did Hunter tell them?! Almeida wondered, his mind racing. Did he reveal everything after he got his memories back? I told him a bit about Planet Orakk!

Trying to regain his cool, Almeida lifted his eyebrows, forcing a polite smile. "Ah...you must be the famous great Divine Maiden."

"Don’t call me that," Zyra snapped instantly, shutting down the title with zero hesitation. She let out a heavy sigh and leaned back into her chair, her fearless eyes slowly scanning every single Somnivore at the table.

Almeida cleared his throat. "Well... the young lady is right. What Leif did was beyond disgusting. He acted completely on his own! His actions do not represent who we are as a species." He held up his hands defensively. "In fact, we had already decided to hunt him down and hand him over to you so you could punish him however you saw fit. But... well, Leif was found dead."

Erik leaned back, crossing his arms with a smug little grin. "And he died on your side of the world. The humans killed him. So, if you think about it, we’re totally even now!"

Human voices rose in anger and disagreement. The Grand Elder loudly scoffed, rolling his eyes so far back he almost looked at his own brain.

Seeing the reaction on the human side, Almeida shot Erik a terrifying glare before turning back to the humans, speaking as fast as he could. "What my colleague means to say is that we are more than ready to compensate you for the terrible damage caused on that unfortunate day. We simply want the victims to rest easy, knowing that the culprit behind the great devastation is dead."

Almeida took a breath, trying to sound reasonable. "Now I am not making accusations but to be frank, perhaps if you humans had accepted my invitation for a truce earlier, some of the tragedies that have happened could have been avoided. The animosity kept going because your side was eager to fan the flames. Humans have been attacking our towns and stealing from us too. While I condemn Leif, I also understand that he was out for revenge."

"Ah, but those were the old leaders," the Grand Elder interrupted smoothly, raising a finger. "They weren’t interested in peace. But the new leaders? We are. And I assure you, the people who led those shameful theft missions against your territories have all been punished. Even the ones who simply got free stuff from the raids and kept it a secret were dragged out and dealt with."

Almeida’s lips curled into a soft, satisfied smile. "Good. That is very good to hear."

"However," the Grand Elder continued, raising an eyebrow, "for any real peace to happen, we humans have a list of demands that must be fulfilled."

Almeida nodded sagely. He was totally expecting this. "Of course. And we have a few demands of our own, naturally. But please, we would love to hear the human side first." He smiled warmly at the room. "Hopefully, when these negotiations are over, the protective veil can finally be lowered, and we can all live together as one big happy family."

The Grand Elder chuckled softly. "Let’s take baby steps first, Almeida. We need to build some actual trust between our two camps before we start merging neighborhoods."

"Fair enough!" Almeida cheered, leaning in with enthusiasm. "I would actually be honored if you visit our cities sometime soon, just to see how well humans are thriving over there. I promise that we’ll share our cool tech with you."

The Grand Elder nodded, a sly smile touching his lips. "As soon as our demands are met, I would absolutely love to sit down and talk about organizing that visit."

"It’s a deal then," Almeida agreed, finally breathing a giant sigh of relief.