The ice rapidly expanded and covered Toz's legs, firmly freezing him in place before it stopped. Toz felt the ice's chill creep into his legs and spread to the rest of his body, forcing his mana to slow down to a crawl.
Toz couldn't move, and he could hardly use magic. But the ice was only locking him and his mana in place. It wasn't actually injuring or harming him in any way.
Toz looked at Yill.
"What do you want?"
Yill chuckled before answering.
"A lot of things, but if you're wondering what I'm going to do to you, you'll just have to wait and see. Now shut up and stay still."
With a wave of her hand, Yill sealed Toz's mouth shut with a gag of ice. She then turned toward Dyra.
"Excuse me, miss. But now that things have come to this, I think it would be best to get it over and done with."
Dyra sighed as she answered.
"Alright. I'll tell father and the others that your intervention is necessary and that you have my permission."
After getting Dyra's official acknowledgment, Yill turned to face the other delegates and the pirates, who were supposed to reach a peaceful agreement together. The attitudes of Toz and the others had, however, prevented that and eventually resulted in the current situation.
But now that things and the meeting had taken this turn, there was nothing they could do about it.
Although, it wasn't like the delegates wanted to do anything about it. With a transcendent on their side taking control of things, the meeting was bound to be in their favor. Hama, especially, was grinning with glee at Toz's misfortune.
The pirates, on the other hand, were filled with worry. Their strongest combatant, Toz, was defeated before he could do anything against Yill. And Yill was now going to be deciding the results and conditions of the cease-fire.
Everyone naturally expected Yill to make the pirates hand over all the hostages before agreeing not to attack the kingdoms while the war was still ongoing. Hama even hoped Yill would destroy Pirate Haven outright.
However, Yill's words turned Hama's grin into a slack jaw and Wulf's angry frown into a slightly less angry frown.
"Since I am originally not supposed to interfere in the affairs of the Mortal Realm, I will remain as neutral and impartial as possible."
Yill deciding to be neutral sounded like it was good for both parties, but Pirate Haven was the side that would gain more since they were in a naturally disadvantageous state compared to the four kingdoms.
If Pirate Haven acted out during the war, the humans might lose against the demons, which would also lead to the death of Pirate Haven. But if the humans won, they would naturally seek retribution against Pirate Haven for their interference.
Even if Pirate Haven didn't do anything, the Starsling Kingdom would still come for them as soon as the war ended. At least Yill's words made it sound like they wouldn't be able to send their transcendent First Admiral all willy-nilly.
The four kingdoms, on the other hand, only wanted their scouts back and for the pirates not to attack them, at least while the war was still ongoing.
No matter what happened, Pirate Haven would still suffer. But the four kingdoms would probably survive the war, even if they're defeated. Defeating the human realm would be a lot easier than actually eradicating or conquering it.
Yill continued talking.
"In order to make the process as smooth as possible, I ask for everyone's cooperation."
Yill started listing the terms of the agreement, which, although they sounded neutral, naturally favored Pirate Haven slightly, especially the last one.
"In exchange for taking those two, who seem quite important to Pirate Haven, I'll even throw in a grace period of three years after the war ends. As long as Pirate Haven doesn't attack any of the kingdoms directly, none of the kingdoms are allowed to attack Pirate Haven. If one of the kingdoms is targeted, the others are not allowed to interfere."
After Yill stopped talking, the pirates and delegates naturally began to fulfill the conditions.
The hostages were exchanged for suitable ransom. Everyone present signed an agreement drafted by an eighth level notary that the Obsidian Inheritance Kingdom brought. Signing the agreement bound their mana to the agreement, and if they neglected it, their mana or martial energy would suffer.
There are several ways to get out of the agreement without suffering backlash, but most of those methods, such as asking a transcendent for help, will alert the notary responsible for the agreement. And the notary will, in turn, alert the Obsidian Inheritance Kingdom, who will, in turn, take matters into their own hands.
Due to the Obsidian Inheritance's Kingdom position in the human realm and Dyra's status, they were less likely to break the agreement. And even if they did, there wasn't anyone who could hold them responsible. The agreement only taking effect for everyone but the Obsidian Inheritance Kingdom might seem unfair, but no one made any protests with Yill there.
Wulf and Hayar reluctantly signed the agreement. Even if it was beneficial for Pirate Haven, it was still at the cost of Yill taking Toz and Brunswick with them. While she had said she wouldn't harm them, there was no way to confirm the truth of her words.
But since even Toz was powerless in front of Yill, Wulf and Hayar couldn't really question her or demand her to leave Toz and Brunswick alone. They couldn't even ask her what she was going to do to Toz and Brunswick.
Wulf wanted to immediately take out his axe and hack away at the ice binding Toz before grabbing him and the still recovering Brunswick and fleeing. But Yill kept a constant watchful eye on everyone on the platform. And there was no opportunity for anyone to do anything other than follow her instructions.
Red Hook also signed the agreement with mixed feelings. She didn't quite like Toz and his attitude as he made himself Pirate King, but he had brought many good things to Pirate Haven, whether he knew it or not.
The Representative almost signed the agreement with some hope. Toz leaving would open up for a new king to take his place. He was almost thankful for making all the pirates accept the idea of having a king. It was a shame he had to give away a grimoire to someone, not of the cult, but it was well worth it if he could take control over the entirety of Pirate Haven.
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