"It's time." Gale said to the gathering of the Enorian Pantheon, speaking to them from atop a large rock in the middle of a grassy field within his domain.
All remaining members, sans Elariel and Reflia, were gathered in his realm, each with a stern look on their faces as they knew what was about to unfold.
"All our hard work has been for this single moment, this singular goal. Today, we shall cast off the prison that is Enoris and free ourselves from its destruction so that we might continue onward in our path of righteousness." Gale said. In most normal situations, the audience would be expected to clap or cheer for such a speech, but none could be so crass given the circumstances; especially since they knew his words were insincere. "I know how hard this has been on many of you, and rest assured that I share in your pain. Sacrificing the mortals of this world is a... regrettable cost." He said, feigning a pained look that the other Gods knew was for show. "But it is a necessary one. Mortal beings are transient in nature, and thus, when one weighs their existence against ours and the work we have left to do, what we are about to do is our responsibility. Understand that I take full responsibility a the one who chose this path, so rest assured..." He said, continuing his rambling for some time.
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<Akagi POV>
*CLANG*
In the heart of the Dwarven Kingdom, a meeting that would determine the fate of millions had finally concluded after a somber yet vigorous closed door discussion. As the Demon closed the large council doors behind her, a wicked smile formed on her lips. The Dwarves had given her what she wanted, an 'alliance' as it was dubbed, between the Kingdom of Dumetor and the Dwarves under the mountain. It was clear on the council members faces that none of them trusted Akagi, rightly so, nor were they enthusiastic about the situation. However, when they weighed the loss of their people and culture to an unending horde of monsters that grew ever stronger, there was little else they could do besides accept Akagi's 'generous' offer. Thus a pact was sealed, and the Demon was never one to betray her 'allies.' At least, that's what they hoped.
"And now, we just need to handle those troublesome Gods and then..." Akagi paused she vanished in a flash before reappearing in the courtyard of the Demon Capital's Palace, the tension in the air due to the fear of the impending conflict with the rebellious Nobles. "Yumi, radio Alice and Black Company. Let them know to start their 'extermination.' I want it wrapped up quickly, and have Nima begin making preparations for an orderly transfer of those under our protection. We'll wait until the Gods have been handled to actually do it, but I want plans in place. And have her get with Silfana to coordinate things."
{Sure, but out of curiosity, have you run that whole part of the plan by Mizumi and the Spirits yet? I doubt they will be thrilled to have the people of this world coming to their's.} (Yumi)
"I mentioned it once, but I'll let Nima take the brunt of the heat when she brings them the proposal." Akagi shrugged, her response exactly as Yumi expected it to be which mean that the Priestess was going to also have her hands full given her role in the Clan.
{Poor Nima. In other news we've already alerted Hishya and the others to prepare for an attack in or around Kyoto, so most of them are already at the estate. On top of that the 'back up' that you sent for has arrived; an action which irritated a great many people} (Yumi)
"And Kana?" Akagi asked as she walked through the garden, ignoring part of Yumi's comment as she headed to the rear entrance of the Palace. “How's the pup doing?”
{She's exactly where you want her. I've also tasked the Estate's staff as you instructed. The large supply of crystals you had Imp synthesize are going to come in handy given the projected casualty rates. They will be in position to aid as requested.} (Yumi)
"Good, then with all preparations complete the only thing we have to do now is wait." Akagi laughed.
{You're a terrible Sister, you know that?} (Yumi)
"Yep." Akagi continued laughing as she entered the Palace.
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"Are you ready to depart?" Silfana asked Lockheed and Ariel as she examined a large map of the Imperial Capital, the war room filled with the sounds of footsteps as countless officers and advisors swarmed around like angry bees in a hive.
"As ready as a man with one foot in the grave can be." Lockheed replied with a small laugh. He'd recovered somewhat from his coma, though still needed a constant stream of physical enhancement magic to ambulate himself. "But to think that the next, and possibly final, time I'd take to the battlefield would be against my own people." He shook his head. “I truly have failed as a leader...”
"Father, there is no need for you to go. I can handle this on my own." Ariel had tried to get him to stay behind before, but to no avail. The former Demon King was stubborn and there was no way he'd stay in bed at such a pivotal moment, especially given that Silfana had offered him a concession. "There is no reason you need to stand against-"
"Ariel, I appreciate your concern, but this is my fault, my responsibility." Lockheed said with a stern look that forced Ariel to stop. "My actions over the last twenty years led to our people being used as pawns in the Gods' horrific schemes, and even long before that I failed to take decisive action to curb the scheming of the Nobility. My passivity is the reason things got this bad, and it's my duty to see this through." He coughed. “I must do everything in my power to set things right, no matter the cost.”
"Nobles are always going to scheme." Bathrumd snorted as Ariel offered her father a small cloth to cough into. "I've always preferred the direct approach. All that slimy back-stabbing nonsense just drives me crazy."
{It's that exact mentality that made me want to ensure you stayed far away from the throne! We don't need muscle headed idiots like you in charge!} (Ariel)
"Having the former Demon King on the battlefield will make things a bit smoother." Akagi said as she entered the room in her usual dramatic fashion. "He's a well-known target and his very presence will likely be a severe moral shock to the ragtag force they've assembled."
{At the very least I'm curious to see if he can get the Demonkin part of the 'army' to surrender.} (Akagi)
"Since you're here, I take it things went well with the Dwarves?" Silfana asked as she continued to trace her finger around the map, as she mentally planned her attack on the City, noting key locations for the Ninja to secure.
"They will no longer be something we need to worry about. We came to a 'deal' and now we're best buddies!" Akagi winked. "And I've also had your forces pre-transported to the assault point as requested. Imp wants a full write-up on their performance once the battle is over. That idiot begged me to let her go with you, but a battlefield is far too dangerous for her given that she's got like zero defenses and would go squish in five seconds to any serious attack." She rolled her eyes.
{She'd probably be out there trying to examine things up close and personal.} (Yumi)
{Oh I don't doubt it. She's also probably got some toys up her sleeve that she hasn't told me about yet. On second though, no. Its not probably, its CERTIANLY.} (Akagi)
"I'd rather not deal with her, please." Silfana sighed, not wanting to deal with the devilwoman given her last interaction nearly resulted in a four hour lecture on magi-physics and biology. "Out of all of you, that one is probably my least favorite, only behind a certain Dragon."
{I'd ship them if Hishya wasn't already Kana's property.} (Akagi)
"Are these autonomous puppets even going to be an effective fighting force?" Ariel asked, still having doubts about the usefulness of the mechanical soldiers that had been provided by the Dumetorian scientists.
"Define useful?" Akagi replied. "If you mean get the job done and kill some enemies, then yes they are. If you mean make intelligent decisions and act autonomously, then no." She continued. "Besides, the purpose of these things is to act as filler rather than some tactical fighting force. They're just bodies. The real troops will be the Ondai Clan and my other forces when talking about the Demon Kingdom's font. Marshal and his Knights will compose an elite shock corps to handle anything that causes an issue for you, hence why we didn't need to raise a levy from your people. Silfana herself can overrun the Imperial Capital. That's why she's only getting about three hundred of the things while I'm giving the other three thousand to you." She'd had Imperial and Imp working on improving Alice's puppets since the fall of Libra, and while they were indeed much better than they'd been back then, they were still nowhere near as effective as real soldiers. They could handle tasks well enough but were still iffy when it came to independent actions. "If all goes well, there will likely not be any fighting on your front anyway and they can be used as boots on the ground to patrol the streets." She said as she nodded to Lockheed.
"If my people will listen to me, then perhaps we can avoid bloodshed entirely." Lockheed said. He'd convinced Akagi and Silfana to allow him to speak directly to the rebellious army in an attempt to get them to back down, and was hoping that he could get them to surrender without a fight. Neither really cared what became of the army, and the Demon figured this was a good opportunity to score free brownie points with the Demons given that the situation would be a win-win either way.
"Even if they do, Father, we still have the Confederation's army to deal with." Ariel noted that tens of thousands of foreign troops would be in the mix and they'd never surrender to the Former Demon King. "Their forces may not be large, but there's no way they will surrender to us without a fight."
"Then they shall be destroyed." Akagi said curtly. "That's honestly what I want you to do anyway. Crush those forces into dust. I need them gone for the next part of my plan to work."
{Always more plans, does it ever stop?} (Ariel)
"As far as we are aware, the Divine will not be interfering in my strike on the Imperial Capital?" Silfana asked as she looked up from the map.
"The six that are coming down of will be confronting me and my sources mention nothing about others intervening." Akagi shook her head, the mention of Gods getting directly involved causing a look of concern and shock to form on the Demon King and his Daughter's faces. “Though you should be on guard since its always possible. If a God incarnates then your orders are to run. You'd stand no chance against a true Deity in its full form.”
{But the chances of a seventh God incarnating are extremely low. Its still a risk, but I see no reason to mistrust Cheofla and Teirea here. The only possibility I see is that another was created in secrecy and they intend to out play me here, but that would require them to both know I intend on attacking the Imperial Capital and also presume that said seventh God wouldn't be better served fighting me. Given that such a move would require the Gods actually giving a fuck about mortal life, I'm going to be fucking stunned if something like that happens and I'll eat that crow if its served to me.} (Akagi)
"Wait! Did you say that the Gods themselves are going to be at this battle?!?" Ariel exclaimed, her words causing the other officers and soldiers in the room to halt and grow silent. "Why am I not hearing about this until now?!?"
"Because it changes nothing if you know." Akagi replied with a shrug. "Their target is me, not you, and also I only just found out about this not that long ago anyway."
"But still!" Ariel growled, hating being left in the lurch regarding such crucial information. "We're marching into battle where Gods will walk! That's-"
"The Gods do not concern you. I will deal with them." Akagi cut her off harshly. "All you need to do is follow the script that I've written and play your part. Actors should not question the director, they only need do as they are told.”
"Well, I hope you're up to the task of fighting Gods at their full power." Ariel scoffed. "Need I remind you that should you fail, everyone on our world will perish?"
"The Gods will be handled, of that you can be assured." Akagi said with a level of certainty in her voice that left Ariel speechless. "I've even wrangled up a bit of help." She snapped her fingers, summoning the Twins, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere as they were want to do.
"Yo! You called, Boss?" Zo said as she glared at Ariel. "Want me to smash this one to bits for running her mouth?"
"Nah, we need her around. She's useful." Akagi chuckled. "Meet Ro and Zo, these two are Primordials and will be lending me a bit of aid during the battle with the Gods." The use of the term Primordial to describe the Twins made the Demonkins' collective jaws drop. They'd heard of the Primordials but never imagined that they'd meet one, much less two, both of which seemingly subordinate to the Demon Lord. "Now then, everything is in place. So let's not disappoint our guests." She smirked. "I think it's time I started to get just a little bit serious about this war."
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<Sol POV>
“Ha... Ha... Ha...” Sol panted heavily as she lay on her back, the burned and partially destroyed corpse of the God-Primordial hybrid splayed just behind her, legs twitching. “What... The FUCK?!?”
“Good. Good.” Alm chuckled as she walked into her field of view, enjoying the sight of her being out of breath. “You managed to defeat the vessel and break it. Now I can reform it and put our counter measures into place thanks to the well tenderized energy you provided.”
“That thing... Nearly... Killed me...” Sol said while breathing heavily. “What... The... FUCK?!?”
“Nearly doesn't count. You're still alive, and that's all that matters, right?” Alm laughed. “Which means you are the successful experiment. Congratulations on passing the final test.”
“Why in the Hells did I need to fight that thing... Anyway...” Sol asked as she slowly sat up. “Was that just for your sick fucking kicks?!?”
“Its to time consuming to explain in detail, but basically I needed the vessel shattered so that it could be reformed into something better.” Alm said as she walked over and tapped the corpse with her staff, causing it to burst into red light balls that flowed back into the cage and congealed into a large swirling mass of red power. “With this, the only missing pieces... Are the Heroes.”
{If the descendants of the Fae kept their word, the Empire's Hero should be here soon, and then... All we'll need... Is Shiroe...} (Alm)
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