Cerci took in a breath and let it out calmly, and Jason was surprised when he actually saw a small smile appear on Cerci’s face. Cerci would never actually show it here, but Cerci felt a sense of happiness fill his heart at that moment. All his life, Cerci’s mission as the head of Gaia was to protect Earth from the other worlds out there because Cerci truly believed that the people of Earth were not ready to handle the dangers that they would face if they were introduced to the Primordial Expanse! But right now, Cerci realised that his worries were no longer necessary. The fact that Jason was now the leader of this Primordial Domain would expose Earth in a way that Gaia could not control, and this meant that the rest of the world would definitely learn about the existence of aliens, but at the same time, Jason gathering them all here meant that Jason was already working on a way to make sure that their world didn’t fall behind against those other worlds. Cerci felt a weight lifting off his shoulders as he relaxed for the first time in nearly twenty years!
Cerci looked towards Jason with his smile still in place, and he gave Jason a respectful bow while speaking.
"Then, on behalf of my organisation and everyone within it, let me be the first to congratulate you on your ascension, Overlord Jason. I assure you that Gaia will be available to provide support for anything you need."
"Hey, are you serious? You’re really siding with him?"
One of the leaders who had been watching the entire situation silently spoke up from behind, and Cerci turned to regard the crowd of gathered leaders calmly.
"I know many of you might not know this, but this is exactly the end goal Gaia had been striving for throughout our existence. We never intended to hide Earth from the remaining worlds forever. That was simply a precaution we put in place because we knew we didn’t have any way to protect ourselves. But now that we have the protection of the Overlord himself, we no longer need to hide. Gaia will be halting all ongoing operations and putting our full support behind the new Overlord of our domain. That is my stance."
"You planned this from the start, didn’t you?"
Cerci turned towards the Prime Minister of Japan as he heard her speak, and he saw her looking at him with narrowed eyes as she continued.
"Right from the start, you’ve been looking forward to something like this. That’s why you never bothered to put a leash on Jason Marc, even though you’ve put a leash on everyone else who seemed dangerous. You wanted Jason to become the overlord."
Cerci let out a calm breath as he turned to glance at Jason on the stage, and Cerci’s lips split into a small smile once again as he answered.
"I will not stand here and say that I orchestrated all the events leading up to this moment. But what I can say is that this possibility was not outside of my calculations. Jason is a good man who possesses strength, and we are all aware of how difficult it is to find those two qualities in any one individual. I believe wholeheartedly that if it is Jason leading us, then Earth could become the most powerful world in this Primordial Domain. We will no longer have to hide like children running from adults. And that is why I am giving Jason my full support."
Cerci’s speech threw everyone in the room into slight confusion, and many of the leaders found themselves wondering if this was actually happening! There was no denying that Gaia was one of the – if not the – most powerful organisation in the world! Gaia had technology, magic, and sheer manpower that could overthrow any single country within days! This meant that by throwing his hat in with Jason, Cerci was basically saying that anyone who didn’t give Jason their support was going to be his enemy. People are always more likely to be terrified of the devil they know than the devil they don’t know, so the fact that people actually knew how dangerous Cerci was gave new gravity to the threat that Jason posed to all of them!
Up on the stage, Jason hummed curiously as he watched Cerci’s actions, and Jason scoffed in amusement. This was definitely an unexpected development, but Jason couldn’t say that he hated it. Jason had already thought that Cerci would be the most difficult person to deal with, but the current development meant that Jason’s largest obstacle had now been toppled. Jason spoke up calmly, and everyone in the room turned to listen to his words.
"So that was your plan all along, Cerci. I still can’t say that I’m a fan of your twisted personality, but as long as we’re both working towards the same goal, then I’ll gladly accept your support. Thank you, Cerci."
Cerci nodded to Jason’s words, and he finally took his seat, and Jason then continued.
"Now, as I said before, I was sworn in as the Overlord of the Sixth Domain, but that position was given to me only because of my power. Not because of the world I came from. As a matter of fact, the weakness of Earth played a large part in my near disqualification from that position. The other members of the council simply couldn’t accept that such a weak world would hold such a high position. And honestly, I feel the same way too. Earth is weak. Pathetically weak. And our weakness is as a result of our own foolishness. You, the leaders of this world, have known about the existence of other worlds for far longer than anyone else. You’ve met the other worlders, and you’ve heard about the great things happening out there. And yet, rather than thinking of ways to make Earth come together towards a singular goal, you continued in your foolish battles and pointless segregation."
"Spoken like a true child."
Jason turned to the side as he heard someone speak, and he saw that it was the current president of Germany, a stern-looking woman with long white hair and green eyes. The woman was somewhere in her early forties, but she had a beautiful appearance that didn’t match her age at all, and she was wearing a military uniform that showed that she was one of the highest-ranking members of the military. This woman was named Agnes Müller, and she was the strongest superhuman in Germany as well as its current ruler! Agnes gave Jason a pointed look as the attention of all the leaders turned to her, and she spoke.
"You say our wars are pointless and we should have just come together to fight for a common goal? Do you truly believe such childish fantasies are possible? Our people are too different. Earth is too vast and diverse. We cannot come together to fight as one people. The hatred, wars, and bloodshed have seeped too deeply into this world. Only a fool would think that thousands of years of history can be erased so easily."
The other leaders in the room began to murmur calmly as they saw the sense in what Agnes had said. It was true that their countries were at war because of the differences that they suffered. You couldn’t expect North and South Korea to forget years of war and work together, just like you couldn’t expect Russia and America to ignore each other’s differences! Even if the leaders agreed that they would work towards one goal, there was still a lot of resentment amongst the people, and it was impossible for them to let go of that!