The Red Hand

"Are you telling me what I can and can't do?" Kana huffed, turning away from Hishya. If there were a dog house at the Dumetor Estate, the Dragon would most certainly be sleeping in it. After the rousing speech to the gathered Retunees, the group had broken apart to prepare for the coming invasion as best they could. Hishya figured that Kana and the girls needed a heads-up, mostly to keep them out of trouble, and knew that keeping Kana from jumping into battle would be an uphill battle given her personality.

"I'm not..." Hishya sighed, trying to pick her words carefully so as to not anger her further. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm asking you not to do something."

{I am so not good at this kind of interpersonal conflict thing...} (Hishya)

"So you want me to just sit here and watch helplessly as you and everyone else fight an army of monsters to protect us?" Kana turned back to her. She wasn't truly angry with Hishya, understanding why the Dragon was being protective, but that didn't sit right with her regardless "I've trained to fight, Hishya. I don't want to just sit on the sidelines while you risk your life! Do you even know how that feels?!?"

"Listen, babe, I really appreciate the sentiment, I honestly do. But you and I both know that this is neither the time nor place for a greenhorn like you to engage in heroics." Hishya shot back, firm in her position. "We're going to fight an army of hundreds of thousands or potentially more, and if that weren't bad enough, three Demi-Gods are joining the fight. As strong as you've gotten, you lack both the skill and power to actually fight in such a large-scale engagement."

"You think I'd be a liability?" Kana glared at her.

"Yes." Hishya replied bluntly which caught Kana off guard due to her frankness. "I don't have time to be watching after you or keeping an eye on you during such a frantic battle. If you get into danger, you will die. And not a quick and painless death either. It will be slow and terrifying as you're ripped to shreds" She said, locking eyes with her girlfriend. "Kana, listen. This is going to be a real battle. One in which countless lives will be at stake. Some of us may even die. I've been prepared for that possibility since the beginning of FWO, practicing every day to hone my skills so that I might survive another day. You, on the other hand, have not fought in a real battle. You've never fought an enemy in a life-or-death engagement, and you've certainly never clashed with a being with power on my level in a battle to the death. And no, the worm doesn't count." She continued. "I know that you understand these things. You're not stupid. On the contrary, you are probably the smartest person I know if you don't count your cheat of a Sister. But just because you understand these things on an intellectuallevel doesn't mean you really get just what's about to go down.” Hishya paused.

“This will be Hell, full stop. I've seen this kind of battle before, Kana. I lost good people during those battles, good people who knew what the fuck they were doing. I assure you that the coming battle is nothing like you're imagining. This is not an anime episode where the good guys destroy a bunch of brain-dead creatures with a few flashy attacks and everyone goes home with nary a scratch." Hishya laughed quietly, recalling the words of a few dead Assault Team members who failed to take things seriously. "If your Sister were here, then sure you could join in, but she's got to fight some Gods and that means it's up to me... To us to win, and while we're strong..." She shook her head. "Even the strongest of us were brought down by creatures that one would think are below them. Monsters are never to be underestimated, especially when they come in numbers of this size."

Hishya had been on the front lines of the FWO Assault Team since its very inception, and where Akagi had the most experience in fighting other players, Hishya was the most experienced in dealing with monsters and large-scale engagements. She knew well just how horribly sideways a battle like this could go, and that even with nearly every available Returnee fighting side by side, their victory was anything but guaranteed. Akagi had given the Dragon a full rundown on the three Demi-Gods that were expected to appear during the invasion, and Hishya knew full well that Rehael, the Angel of Death, would be the single most dangerous part of this entire battle given that she was estimated to be on Halifax's level. How Hishya actually stacked up against the Angel was not exactly known, but Akagi warned her that even if they were evenly matched in terms of raw battle power, Hishya would be far eclipsed by the Angel's battle experience given that she'd been alive for several thousand years. The Dragon understood very well that such a gap could make all the difference especially given that she'd fought the Demon on equal footing a few times and was brutally trounced simply because Akagi knew how to fight Human opponents.

"I... I know..." Kana let out a deep sigh. "I'm just... Frustrated..." She shook her head. "I hate the idea of just sitting around and being protected while you're out there fighting with your life on the line. It really..."

"Yeah, that's never going to be fun." Hishya said as she put her arm around Kana and pulled her in close. "I know all too well what it feels like to be completely helpless. I spent a good chunk of my life completely at the mercy of others, so trust me when I say I understand the feeling."

"I need to get stronger, and sooner. That way, when the next crisis happens, I can be right there alongside you." Kana said as she leaned against her girlfriend.

"I like how we're assuming that there's going to be another crisis." Hishya sighed as she ran her hands through Kana's hair, undoing her ponytail and letting her long hair flow. "Isn't a war with Gods kinda the end-all, be-all?"

"You wish." Kana chuckled. "Knowing how these things go, this will probably be far from the last time danger comes knocking. Onee-chan is both a danger magnet and seeker."

"Aint that the fucking truth." Hishya rolled her eyes. "In all the years I've known that idiot, all she's ever done is get involved in messes. Whether it was arguing with people online and causing in-game feuds or literally fighting divinity, Akagi is not one to just live an idle life. I swear she craves this kind of stuff."

"Oh, she absolutely does." Kana agreed. "Onee-chan enjoys herself so much more when something is happening. This whole isekai adventure is probably a dream come true for her."

"Hard to believe where things started, huh?" Hishya said, her eyes showing a hint of nostalgia. "Just a year ago, we were awakening into a changed world."

"It most certainly changed." Kana smiled as she closed her eyes, while Hishya continued to run her hands through her hair. "And I don't just mean in the grander sense either. Even on the smallest levels, there's hardly anything that remained the same. I learned a lot about Onee-chan, my family, myself... And I met you."

"Ah..." Hishya flushed in embarrassment.

"Troublemaker that you are, I think I'll keep you." Kana giggled, enjoying the Dragon's reaction. "It's more fun this way."

"The feeling is mutual on that front." Hishya smiled. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be dating anyone, let alone the Sister of my best friend... I really got myself wrapped up in a lot of nonsense by meeting you." She smiled. "It's funny... I used to curse FWO. Those years in the game were definitely filled with a lot of fun, but I kept wishing that it'd never happened. We lost a lot of good people, many I could've saved if I'd just gotten over my ego sooner." She continued as she closed her eyes, allowing Kana to fully lean into her as the two relaxed on the couch, Kana practically using the Dragon as a heated bed. "But... Well, the curing of my illness aside... If I hadn't gone through all that... I wouldn't have met you. So I guess it all worked out in the end, as twisted as that is to say."

"There's no shame in finding a silver lining in tragedy." Kana replied. “Its fine for you to be happy even if others aren't.”

"You're right." Hishya said. "But it's my experience with that tragedy that has me worried. This battle... It's far from the first one I've fought where I didn't know I could win... But this one... It's a lot more real, you know? Even more than fighting Serval when he was brought to Earth. The weight of this one is just... So much heavier, and that's why I want you to promise me. Promise me that you'll stay here and be safe. I can't bear the thought of something happening to you, Kana. I've finally got happiness in my life, so please don't make me go through the pain of losing it." She said as she wrapped both of her arms around her. "I'm afraid to lose you. To lose the life I have now."

"I promise that I won't do anything to make you cry." Kana said as she put her hand to Hishya's cheek. "And don't worry, everything will turn out all right in the end. I can just tell that things will be okay. After all, Onee-chan put you in charge of this battle. She wouldn't ask you to do something that she didn't think you could handle."

"I suppose you're right." Hishya sighed as she grasped Kana's hand and kissed it. "Even still, we can't assume anything. Akagi won't be here to bail us out if things go wrong, so I'll have to put my everything into this fight. I won't hold back, and I'll do everything in my power to get us all out of this thing alive."

"I'm sure that you will." Kana smiled as the two laid together in silence.

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<Silfana POV>

“Mother... The time... The time to seize the future is finally here...” Silfana said quietly to herself as she observed the final preparations for her attack on the Imperial Capital from her office in the Demon Palace. “I will ascend to my rightful place... But...” The vampire sighed. “I suppose it was a foolish hope... That the power of our bloodline would return to me...” She said as she flexed her hand.

{I am the rightful heir to the throne by blood, but the blessing bestowed upon our family faded with my decision to join the midnight aristocracy...} (Silfana)

“No, it was not decision to accept the gift of Vampirism that caused the blessing to fade...” Silfana shook her head. “It was the atrocities I committed in the pursuit of the throne that caused the power to forsake me. I was no longer worthy of it as the true heir... The blade, the power... It turned its back on me because I lost sight of my duty... Its fine... The eternal punishment for my actions will be in knowing that while I may take the throne that I am doing so without it. Tis only natural given everything that's transpired over the last thousand years, and with the destruction of my original world even if the blessing wanted to return to forgive me, it can't... For it no longer exists...” She said as she placed her hand against the glass. “But even still, I will persevere... Its the only path I have.”

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