Valyha's eye grew. Now she was interested. So this was the really reason he was here.
"I have been trying to create a farm for almost a decade." Najeer started.
"Farm, you mean a human farm?"
"Yes, all I require is ten million females and five million males, I can set it up in as little as five years." Najeer proposed.
Valyha's jaw dropped. " Doesn't that mean human children will be born and grown only to be harvested as food?"
"They will live a comfortable life from birth. They don't even have to know that they are reared."
Valyha's eyes widened. That's a whole other level of evil. "You are aware you and humans are not that different? Would you allow for a farm of demons-or-Qira to exist?"
Najeer caught the change. So she does learn. "We are a cannibal species. It has already been done. The only reason it stopped is because your kind was discovered, a greater nutritional life form." Najeer answered.
"If it was so convinient to create a farm, why haven't your kind done so since, rather than picking us from the ground like wild hares?" Valyha crossed her legs with genuine curiosity.
"That's because It isn't convinient. I have tried in the past. Humans can't reproduce outside their Realm. Faes were the most difficult to even fertilize, average-men were rather simpler but their offspring would not last beyond a few months in the womb. Those are useless to us," Najeer answered. Many experiments had met the same or worse results.
"What do you mean you have tried in the past? Had you actually —"
"Yes, I forced humans to reproduce in a lab. Tried crossbreeding, however, nothing worked, well enough." Najeer answered coldly. Like he wasn't admitting to experimenting with human lives. "I even tried growing fertilized eggs outside its host in pods. Those ones survived but they tasted horrible and were rather ... different." He recalled the skinless creatures that crawled out of his pods. Certain species weren't meant to procreate outside the realms that had birthed them. The atmosphere of the realms had messed with their genes. Defying the laws of nature often came with its own consequences. Months of resources and time wasted. Najeer learnt the hard way that defying biology was unnecessarily expensive and time consuming. Even if he would perfect forced reproduction eventually, it would take centuries and an unlimited test subject.
Valyha saw this man sat before her in a darker light. He wasn't just the Emperor of her kind's predators. He was a sadistic being that toyed with people.
"What did you do with the offspring that survived?" Valyha was almost scared to ask.
"I raised them and gave them a home to live," Najeer's cold voice answered in a serious tone.
"Really?"
"Of course not. They were freaks of nature disabled and in pain. I killed them." Najeer stated bluntly, saying the killed them very casually.
"Your type of evil is one that's hard to come by," Valyha said. "Simply, fascinating."
Evil was not what Najeer would describe himself but he would not deny it. "We can break the cycle of pain and sacrifice between our realms."
"You want me to open the portal and give some of my subjects to you so you can breed them?" Valyha realized what he was painting. "But you already said that doesn't work."
"Yes, this time on a small country on Earth, undisturbed. My workers will not interfere with the rest of your people. It will be like we are not even there," Najeer proposed. "You remain queen, and we do not disturb your reign."
Valyha caught that he planned on letting her go back to her realm. "That sounds like the deal you've made with the kings and queens before me. You know I fought to end that, sneaky child?"
"In the past, contracts were made to allow for hunting. Now it will be different, we've mastered the lifecycle of most of your kind, I've made serums that'll accelerate growth into adulthood much faster and-"
"Except why would I do that? I blocked earth's portals to keep your army out, remember. I have no reason to act on your own interest."
"The curse will be broken, its only a matter of time." He said truthfully. "You know that."
Valyha knew he was right. She could already tell he was powerful enough to do it in seconds, if he knew what curse she placed.
Her only bargaining chip here.
"So, it will take at least a hundred years." Valyha answered confidently.
"Where will you be to protect them, then?" Najeer threatened. "Your realm barely stood against the least of my warships, how well do you think it will hold against my Titans?"
"So this contract is actually in humanities favor, except you want the portal opened sooner, that's why you're making this deal," Valyah said.
"If you're cooperative, we both gain. No hunting, no war, ever again."
Logically the farm would be the best middle ground. In a hundred year when he gets the portal opened, there would be no grounds for negotiation anymore. All humans would automatically become his livestock. It would take only a year for the Qira to destroy everything and create a farm with or without her permission.
They were only lucky enough to survive the first attack.
Valyha placed a finger on her chin thinking. She had never seen how powerful Qiras were. Now however, it was more than obvious she may not be able to outsmart them a second round.
The only reason her people were able to protect themselves from the invasion of the Qiras was because they had her. If she was still imprisoned by the time the portals opened there was no hope for them.
It was more than a great deal he was offering. Only fifteen million people for the lives of a little over thirty billion if you put together the total population of shape shifters, faes and true-men.
This was a very serious decision to make as the leader of the people of earth.
She looked directly at those cold red eyes staring back at her darkly.
"I, reject the offer."
He tilted his head to the side, disappointed. "Are you really concerned about the morality of a farm of intelligent beings?"
"I am not sure about the moral thing. But, a peace contract would simply be too boring. I want war. Especially if it's against you. I've got to know who would win." Valyha said confidently. She loved the violence and sweet scent of chaos. And the intoxicating feeling of victory. "In a hundred years I'll be ready. That's if I haven't killed you and all your people already by then."
He gazed with disappointment in his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I never doubt myself. Absolutely!." She nodded.
"Even if it means more people dying than should?" Najeer asked as if he was testing her.
"Yes. What I want is what I what i don't care about who will have to perish because of it. I want no human farm" She chuckled.
"Even if by some miracle, Earth manages to withstand our attacks. I will keep trying over and over again, until I get what I want. Earth will know no peace."
"If that is what it takes to maintain peace then keep it."
A darkness flashed in his eyes as she spoke which Valyha couldn't see due to her poor eyes sight.
"Another war will inevitably have more than a hundred million dead irrespective of whether you defeat us or not. Believe me when I say the chances of that happening is slim," he tried to reason once again. "But if that happened, we have thousands of years on our hands, we would try countless times again killing more with each generation."
"Good it is!"
"You have seen my angels what it can do?"
Valyha's blood turned cold as she recalled the metal bird in the sky that released the worst cursed poisons to ever exist. The streets were filled with boiling bodies of dead corpses. The demons were the cruelest at massacres. He said angels. If only one of those things had led to such massive destruction she couldn't even possibly believe what could happen if there was more.
"Even then?"
"Didn't bother me the first time. Wouldn't bother the next time. No farm." She said standing firm on her words.
"That is an illogical decision." he was genuinely perplexed how a leader could make such a decision.
"I don't want it so nothing, no deal, no contract, no bribe will make me agree otherwise," Valyha said strong willed
That darkness in Najeer's eyes only grew. That stubborness. "Very well, do not blame me for my actions,"
A gentle grunt vibrated from within him.
"Like I am scared," Valyha scoffed.
Najeer was oddly silent as she felt a dark aura growing.
She knew what was coming next, if he wanted the portal opened sooner without her agreement there was usually only one way to get that information out of someone. Physical pain. Coercion usually worked best and fast.
It was not something she didn't expect.
But to her surprised, he only rested his forehead on his palm like he was having a headache.
"Fine. If you ever do change your mind, tell me."
Valyha was surprised, what is the trick here. "That easy?"
"Is there something else you expect?"
"Torture, perhaps,"
"Is that something you want?"
"Yes-well no. obviously. But you have to understand eventually mind games won't get you anywhere,"
"Do you think, this, is mind games?" he gave her a strange look. "Valyha, there are simply better ways to break a mind." He said. Before his sentence finished, he had vanished completely.
Her eyes relaxed as his body disappeared into the darkness.