The Red Hand

"And, the domino falls." Akagi smirked as she watched Alice purge Camilla's soul, her shadowy form little more than an echo that writhed in the darkness of the cave's uppermost portions. "All according to plan."

The Demon had sent a small part of herself to shadow Alice during her battle with the Dwarves to observe her Daughter's progress, and she was very pleased with the fact that her intervention wasn't necessary as Alice'd handled things all on her own. She hadn't expected the Orochi to appear, though in the end she found it quite an amusing turn of events.

"Now just a little push and..." Akagi said as her grin turned into a razor-sharp smile. "Everything will fall into place. I hope everyone is ready for the big show." She said as her form disappeared, the piece of her observing Alice returned to her main form, which was currently at the Demon Capital discussing the impending battle with the rebellious Demon Nobles.

"The Confederation's forces have crossed the Dien River here, here, and here." Lockheed said as he pointed at the map they were poring over. With the flames of civil war officially burning there was plenty of planning for the coming battle, though the former Demon King knew that, in the end, all was moving as Akagi willed it. "From what you said, Fort Dolgith offered no resistance upon their crossing at the bridge." He sighed as he turned to Silfana who nodded. "So even Duke Hellspire has sided with Kelira. I'd hoped to hear that he at least put up a stiff resistance to their incursion." The Duke in question was exceptionally loyal to the Kingdom. He hatedthe Confederation with a passion, which was exactly why he'd been put in charge of the fortress that protected the largest bridge between the Confederation and the Demon Kingdom; thus his defection came as a shock.

"Kelira has doubtlessly convinced him that swallowing his pride and joining forces with the Confederation is the only way to save our people." Ariel shook her head. She held the Duke in high esteem and understood why he'd betrayed them, but even still she considered him a fool for siding with the Gods. "The Duke I know would otherwise run his blade through his own chest before he sided with them.."

{But that's just where we are right now. A Demon Lord, a Vampire usurper... Everything has gone to the Hells.} (Ariel)

"The Ninja counted twenty to thirty thousand Confederation troops, mostly a mix of infantry and light mounted units." Silfana explained as she threw a tablet with said report onto the map. "There are more in reserve, though it seems they don't intend to mobilize more forces for a large scale invasion, at least yet." She said as she pointed to several Forts on the Confederate side of the river.

"They're not stupid. They understand that normal soldiers are only good for patrols and occupation in a conflict of this nature." Akagi interjected as she traced her finger over the map, directing their eyes to her expected route of transit. "After the annihilation of an army of four times that size, it should be painfully obvious that mortal forces have no place in the battles of this war." She continued. "Though I'm a bit surprised to see no additional motion on other fronts. I would've expected the Empire to make an incursion from the North. I know the Elves up there are isolationist, but considering this is an end of the world scenario, I'd've figured they'd drop their bullshit for five minutes and work together."

{From what Rebeckah told me the Emperor is playing cards very close to his chest and being extremely evasive when it comes to committing forces. Whatever they've got cooking in that workshop must be quite the trump card if he's as confident as she made him out to be. Those mechs are annoying but well within our ability to destroy. I'll have to get Chloe to infiltrate the Capital more deeply to see what he's hiding. If I'm betting Hadrus is probably keeping his forces only lightly committed so that he can be better prepared to pick up the shattered pieces if the Gods were to win. Jacabey's little ploy also seemed to work. That whole mess in the Elven Capital seems to have pushed them deep into neutrality. I'll admit that I originally wanted them to join the coalition but this may prove more useful when I engage Operation: Live stream.} (Akagi)

"The Elven Primarch is old and stuck in his ways. There is absolutely no way he'd permit the Imperial Army to march through the forest, full stop." Lockheed said. He'd dealt with the Elves for years and while they didn't have the best relationship he knew damn well that they'd never side with the Imperials. "You'd have better luck trying to skin a Bolvan Nekmoth alive without waking it up!" He laughed at a joke that only Ariel understood.

"That means you'll have a bit more of a challenge in storming his palace, you up for it?" Akagi laughed as she nudged Silfana. "If I know how this is going to go down, and I do, the Emperor is undoubtedly waiting for you."

"It does not matter how many soldiers he puts between us. I will slice them to ribbons before ultimately taking his head and his throne." Silfana replied. “A single man, be he an Emperor or otherwise will not be enough to defeat me.”

"I can't imagine even Hadrus will be able to stand against you." Ariel commented. "You were strong enough to fight an Archdevil to a standstill. Even if she was in a diminished form, that is still no mean feat. Hadrus may be powerful, but he is still just a Human."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Lockheed said as he turned to his daughter. “That man is far more dangerous than you're giving him credit for.”

"Oh? It seems like you know something we don't, so how about you share with the rest of the class?" Akagi motioned for him to speak.

"Despite what you might think Hadrus is not a normal Human." Lockheed explained. "I am saying this based on the single time we exchanged blows during the exhibition match between our people all those years ago. During that fight, he kept up with me without issue, and each strike he landed was more than enough to deal significant damage."

"In this world, Demons tend to be more powerful than Humans, correct?" Akagi figured it was the same as just about any typical fantasy setting.

"Indeed. We possess blood of True Demons, and while we are nowhere near as powerful as our ancestors in raw power, the average Demon is stronger than the average Human." Lockheed nodded. “There are exceptions, but...”

"Since you are no average Demon, the fact that he went blow for blow with you means that something is off with him." Akagi surmised what he was going to say.

"Exactly." Lockheed nodded, glad she caught his meaning. "Rarely has he ever been seen in action. Even during the conquests against the Beast Kingdoms of the North, he never entered battle himself."

"He fired a big blast of power at me in the Capital, and I could tell he was quite strong for a mortal." Akagi hummed in thought. "He's not a Demi-God, I know that. Halifax knew his immediate family, and none of them were touched by the Divine in any meaningful way either."

{And it didn't seem like he was using a tool to make himself more powerful either. How interesting. Perhaps he's been biologically altered? But does such technology exist in this world?} (Akagi)

"I do not doubt that he is more powerful than when I faced him either. Naturally, neither of us went full out due to the nature of that match, but my gut is telling me that he is far more dangerous than any of us understands. The man is intelligent and makes no moves without a thorough plan. His alliance with the Gods is to be expected given the close ties that family had with them and his geopolitical ambitions, but there is no way a man like him would do so without an angle. I would not be surprised if he was expecting you to come for him, hence why he has taken no offensive action." He said as he glanced at Silfana. “He liklely wants to dual you and defeat you to prove his superiority. The man has an ego only surpassed by Gale's and this one's.” He said, pointing to Akagi which made her laugh.

"If that is the case, then I will simply have to exceed whatever expectations he has of me." Silfana laughed. "But he is a side show, and the main act is about to begin." She said before tapping on the map.

{It would've been preferable if my blessing could return for the occasion, but that is unrealistic and ultimately it won't be needed for such a simple fight anyway.} (Silfana)

"The Gods will make their move soon enough, though I must confess that exactly what said move will be is not completely clear." Akagi said. "I doubt it's just sending more of those disposable mechs at us. That would be a waste of everyone's time."

{I'd like to get them down here to fight me in person, but something like that... Despite my hopes nothing in Jacabey's communications indicates that they intend to do move the way I want, and with the risk to Enoris' stability, they're probably hesitant to chance it. How annoying. I do not enjoy missing information, which leads to openings for them to exploit. Perhaps my ploy to drag them down here won't be necessary anyway. I've already got Imp and Imperial working on adapting the tunneling technology to open a stable pathway to the Heavens, though without something akin to that crystal that I stole from the Heroes it may prove a bit difficult even for those two.} (Akagi)

"Well, if it comes down to it I may have to have Elariel-" Akagi paused as her radio crackled and beeped. "Talk to me."

"Lady Akagi, there are two... I suppose we can call them visitors at base." Nima explained.

"I'm not expecting guests. If they're here for solicitation, please send them packing." Akagi replied. “I don't need any stupid overpriced vacuums or subscriptions to the local newsletter.”

{Maybe they're just looking for donations to the local church! Kana told me people like that came to your house a few times over the years.} (Yumi)

{I know that you're just kidding, but there's gotta be people actually crazy enough to knock on the Devil's door to try and extract tithes. You know, there is a religious group in the United States that goes door to door knocking all the time, so maybe...} (Akagi)

"Understood. Elariel is currently speaking with them, and I have the Twins keeping an eye on things. They are apparently Demi-Gods, and they wish to speak with you about something urgent. I would've turned them away without hearing them out but I believed it was best to at least speak to them briefly given the circumstances." Nima said, her words causing Lockheed and Ariel's eyes to go wide in surprise.

{Those idiots... Why have they not restrained them at the very least?Letting Demi-Gods into the base is bad enough, but why let them roam free?} (Yumi)

{Too dangerous. The Ninja are not stronger than Demi-Gods if they are actually trained to fight. Calling me and having Elariel and the Twins deal with them was the best call given the situation. Zephiria and Chloe are there anyway, so its fine.} (Akagi)

"Well, I suppose I should give them an audience then." Akagi sighed. She figured that whatever was going on was trouble but the Demon could tell that turning them away would be a poor decision. "I will be there momentarily. Just keep an eye on things until then." She said as she ended the call.

"Either this is going to be a boon or a massive pain." Silfana figured that anything related to the Divine was bad news.

"Those two must be acting on orders from their parents." Ariel said. "Demi-Gods will not act without being ordered. So if they're here to speak, then it's certain that they are acting on a God's behalf."

"Perhaps one of the Gods wishes to beg for their life? It's not an unreasonable conclusion to think that some may fear that things may not go in their favor." Lockheed knew that some of the Gods were cowards and would be more than happy to sell out their kin to save their own skin. "Those who betray first are often the ones who live after all."

"I have no interest in Gods begging for their lives." Akagi shook her head. She tolerated Elariel and her collaborators as they'd hadn't been hostile to her from the start but extended no such courtesy to Gods who declared their intention to kill her only to backpedal once things didn't go their way. "Not to mention that I find it cowardly for them to send a third party to do said begging. If you're going to grovel at my feet and ask for mercy, at least have the decency to do it yourself." She clicked her tongue in disgust. "But, I still need to see what's going on. Give me a bit, and I'll be back so we can finish things up." She said as her form twisted into a shadow before vanishing.

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