The Red Hand

"This should be interesting." Akagi said quietly as she awaited her 'guests' in the audience room, resting her arm on the throne as Yumi stood at her side. Two Demi-Gods had apparently come to bargain with her, and though the Demon had little interest in parleying with members of the Pantheon, she was not arrogant or thoughtless enough to dismiss such a thing out of hand without at least hearing them out. "Bring them in." She said to one of the Ninja, who quickly opened the main door, revealing Elariel and Halifax alongside two individuals that Akagi instantly recognized as Demi-Gods due to their aura.

The two new faces were quite an interesting sight. Both appeared rather young, though Akagi knew full well that appearances and age did not go hand in hand for those with the blood of the Divine running through their veins. The young woman was visibly nervous; her purple cat ears, which matched her eyes and hair, were pressed flat against her head as she tried to avoid Akagi's gaze. The spiky black-haired young man beside her kept his black eyes, which were partially hidden by over sized bangs bags, firmly on her. Their outfits were similar in that they were both wearing black uniforms, though the woman's was more like an overcoat than the full-on trench coat her partner was wearing. Akagi could tell at a glance that they were the progeny of different Gods based on the energy within them being similar yet different, though which specific Gods sired them she did not know.

"To whom am I speaking?" Akagi motioned for them to speak with a lazily wave of her arm. "I do not have much time nor patience for the Divine, so make haste with your explanations lest I devour you for wasting it."

"Eeek..." The purple-haired woman squeaked as she hid behind her partner, clinging to the back of his coat.

"Get off me, Marion." The black haired man sighed, his voice sounding as tired as his eyes made him look. "I don't need you crying all over me again. It took days to get my coat clean after last time."

"I'm sorry, Kelson." Marion said quietly as she let him go while still hiding behind him.

"As you probably know, these two are Demi-Gods." Elariel decided to step in. "Kelson is the Son of Cheofla, while Marion is the Daughter of Teirea."

"Ah, so they're children of your collaborators." Akagi nodded, figuring that made more sense than other members sending messengers to her camp. "That makes things less annoying, I suppose."

{Though that girl is a child of the war God, and yet she's so timid? Ain't that pretty cliche?} (Akagi)

"Technically, they were sent to speak with me, but I think you should be involved based what they've told me." Elariel explained that the other two Gods became concerned as they could no longer reach her. "Especially with recent events taken into account."

"Out with it." Akagi waved them on.

"Hold on, I think this will prove easier." Kelson said as he pulled a small metallic sphere from his pocket and channeled magic into it. "I figured there was a reason she gave me this..." He sighed as the sphere filled with magic power before glowing bright white and projecting the image of both Cheofla and Teirea into the room, an interaction that Akagi likened to holograms.

"Too afraid to come in person?" Akagi chuckled. "Understandable. Considering every other God I've met has either had an unfortunate accident at my hands or found itself shackled to my will."

{Too bad Korex got away before I could try out the other outfits I had for him.} (Akagi)

"Pardon us for taking precautions when it comes to dealing with a Demon Lord." Cheofla replied with a bit of snark, the 'hologram' flickering as she spoke. "The last time I was face-to-face with a Demon Lord, he was trying his best to kill me, and your actions haven't exactly shown you to be much different what with your reckless assault on this world."

"She's only different from Vikes in that she has at least some measure of self-control." Elariel rolled her eyes. “Other than that, she's not much better.”

{No comment about kitty?} (Yumi)

{Is that all I am to you? A jokester who interjects herself into a serious conversation to meme?} (Akagi)

{Yes.} (Yumi)

{...} (Akagi)

"I'm glad to see that you're alright, Elariel. It's been far too long since we last heard from you, and we were starting to get nervous." Cheofla said, seemingly releaved that her fellow Goddess was still in one piece.

"After Tahena and Keldore were destroyed, we were beginning to suspect that you'd be disposed of next." Teirea laughed.

"Oh, don't worry, Elariel isn't getting out of this whole mess unscathed." Akagi noted that Elariel was currently sealed and at her mercy. "Her punishment is merely being postponed until I've dealt with Gale and the rest of the Pantheon." She said as she locked eyes with Cheofla, who felt a twinge of fear even behind the safety of the projection. "But what do you want to discuss? Given that you are collaborators in Elariel's plan to stop Gale, I will not treat you as a foe to be crushed like the rest of your kin. If you've come here with important information, I'd like to hear it."

"Then let me cut straight to the point. You are walking into a trap." Cheofla said, her words causing the room to grow deadly silent. "Your actions in the Demon Kingdom have facilitated the forming of an alliance between the Gods and the nations of this continent to stop you. I'm sure you're aware that many of the Demon Kingdom's Nobility are challenging your puppet's right rule?"

"I am fully aware of all of this. Are you saying that the forces of mortal men are of some concern to me?" Akagi smirked.

"No." Teirea shook his head. "Just as we can easily eliminate mortal forces, so can you. And to be honest, the automatons that Gale has cooked up with Hilare aren't much more of a threat either. They're really just more bluster than anything else."

"Gale intends to use those forces as a distraction anyway. That millions will die is of no concern since he intends to consume them all anyway." Cheofla continued. "His real aim is to send a group of us to fight you at full power and keep you distracted."

"What?" Elariel interjected. "Does Gale really intend to risk the stability of this world with incarnations?!?"

{Even one of us ripping open the barrier between dimensions will cause catastrophic damage to Enoris' structural stability! But more than that could destroy the entire world, including us!} (Elariel)

"No." Cheofla shook her head before continuing. "Gale commissioned Hilare to create a device that allows us to incarnate without overly taxing the world. That way six of us could meet the Demon Lord in battle to buy time for the culmination of his real plan."

"Without... That's not possible!" Elariel exclaimed. "We've tested Incarnation several times since the destabilization began. Reflia explicitly told us that any of us going down at full power would risk not only our own destruction but that of Enoris! Hilare couldn't possibly create something to avoid that when the literal Goddess that governs Space couldn't do such a thing!"

{Reflia was crystal clear with her warnings! And I'm inclined to trust the being literally BIRTHED to govern that aspect of creation over a glorified blacksmith!} (Elariel)

"Well, Hilare and Gale seem confident that they've solved the issue. At least temporarily anyway." Teirea shrugged. He didn't understand or care to understand how it worked, only that it did. "That kind of thing is beyond me, but they seemed quite sure of themselves."

"While I understand your skepticism, I believe that Hilare has found a solution, albeit a temporary one. I do not understand fully how it works, but from Hilare's explanation and my own minor testing, it seems to work like a magical sink." Cheofla explained. "When we incarnate, it absorbs the excess power released by the transfer and stores it. Each device can only be used once due to the sheer amount of power and the risk of detonation. From what I understand it still doesn't completely negate the destabilization effects rather it merely mitigates them into something more manageable."

"How many Gods intend to come down?" Akagi said, leaning forward as he folded her arms in thought. She'd been hoping for just such an occurrence and her mind was currently focused on trying to find a way to use such a device and reverse engineer it to go the other direction.

"Six." Teirea answered. "Gale wants the two of us, as well Esquire, Korex, Hilare and Marret, to fight you."

"Wait, what?!? Marret?" Halifax's eyes went wide in shock at the Goddess' name. "She's awake?!?"

{That is NOT GOOD.} (Halifax)

"Yes, unfortunately she is." Cheofla sighed. "Gale pulled her out of her slumber not that long ago, and that pain of a Goddess seems to be quite excited for the coming battle."

"I similarly share Halifax's surprise. Are you certain she's active? It's been centuries since she last moved and we all know that Marret isn't one to so easily stirr from a depressive episode." Elariel said.

"We've spoken to her, so yes, she is." Teirea nodded. “Unless Gale's got the most life-like replica of a God that I've ever seen.”

"Akagi... You're gonna need to watch out for that one." Halifax said as she turned to the Demon. "Marret is no joke, and if she's actually amped up, you will have to take her seriously. Demon Lord or not, she is a genuine threat that not even you can ignore."

"If I recall correctly, Marret is the Goddess of Emotions." Akagi replied as she went through the information in her mind. "Halifax mentioned that she'd been depressed and thus uninvolved in pretty much anything for centuries."

"She rotates through cycles, and extended time asleep is normal for her during one of these periods." Cheofla explained. "Though as Elariel said rousing her from said sleep is almost impossible. She will either not respond at all or attack violently before going back to sleep." She sighed, recalling the most recent time the latter occurred.

"When her mood waxes, she is easily one of, if not the most powerful, of the Gods." Teirea clicked his tongue in irritation at such an admission. "Though such a thing is quite rare, which leaves her strength middling under normal circumstances."

"How powerful are we talking?" Akagi asked, genuinely interested and curious.

"Power enough to wound one of us with a single blow." Elariel answered, the look in her eyes telling the Demon that she'd been on the receiving end of one such attack previously. "I have no idea what her strikes could do to you, but if any of us can severely wound you, I'd bet on it being either her or Gale."

"I would agree with that assessment." Cheofla nodded. "Gale knows that you'll involve yourself in the coming battle between your puppet and the rebellious Demon Nobles. It's at that moment that the five of us are to descend. Not to defeat you, but to keep you pinned down long enough-"

"To have a secondary force attack Earth." Akagi finished for her, her lips curled into a nasty smile that revealed her razor sharp teeth.

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