The Red Hand

With their short-term goal set, Akagi decided that her next course of action would be to return to the Dumetor outpost in the Simoea plains. While the Demon could head straight to the Holy City and find the twin Primordials immediately, that would run counter to her overarching plans for Enoris. For Akagi, it was not enough to simply destroy the Gods. No, the Demon wanted the beings who declared war on her to realize the foolishness of their decision. A multi-stage operation would soon commence, one that would draw the entire world into all-out war and strip the Gods of their falsely earned status as the peoples' saviors.

"There we go!" Akagi smiled as she and the others touched down after their long flight. "The second time wasn't as bad as the first, right, pet?" She turned around to see Amakusa lying on the ground, shaking.

"Sky... Scary..." Amakusa's eyes were spinning as she lay on her back, still in wolfkin form. "No more... Fly..."

{She reminds me of a dog that hates water getting splashed.} (Akagi)

"Oh, it wasn't that bad, you big baby." Halifax chuckled as she helped the girl get to her feet. " And you'd better get used to it soon, Shiroe, since I get the feeling that this will be far from the last time we take Air Akagi." She snickered.

{Noooooooooooo...} (Amakusa)

"We'd move around even faster if your squishy bodies wouldn't implode from the frictional coefficient." Akagi shrugged. "If you'd just enter my shadow then things would be-"

"NO WAY IN HELL!" (Amakusa x Halifax x Elariel)

{Also, you probably can make a barrier to protect us! You're just doing this to torment me!} (Amakusa)

"Look at that, we've got three-way stereo now." Akagi rolled her eyes. She knew that people didn't like to enter her body, but was surprised to see how vigorously they protested.

{But if you go in there it would all be over in a few seconds! Plus the in flight peanuts are the best!} (Akagi)

"You three are missing out. It feels nice in there!" Yumi smiled. “Its like being a nice happy hug!”

{ONLY BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONE PERSON THAT'S ACTUALLY COMFORTED BY THAT NIGHTMARE WORLD!} (Amakusa)

"Well, in fairness, taking Elariel in probably won't work anyway since I'd imagine that an Avatar entering would probably cause all sorts of problems." Akagi replied as they started walking toward the vastly more constructed base.

{It might even end up like dividing by zero or something.} (Akagi)

After entering the base, Akagi was greeted by Nima and Silfana before being taken into the central command room for a debriefing.

"Oh man, this is some Sci-Fi stuff that you've got here." Amakusa looked around the room, noting the dozens of monitors that all seemed to have different data on them.

{It kind of feels like we're on the bridge of a spaceship.} (Amakusa)

"You were only gone five years Earth time, but even that short amount of time allowed for rapid advancement in tech." Akagi explained as she was handed a small tablet by Nima. "To be entirely honest, it looks more high-tech than it really is, since most of this stuff is little more than fancy computers."

{We didn't even bring any holoprojectors, which reminds me that we might need at least one.} (Akagi)

"My Lord, it's good to see you." Nima bowed slightly. "I hope you are pleased with the work on our outpost? I do apologize for the state of things, due to the rush to get it ready for operations."

"Don't worry about it. It's great." Akagi said as she pat her on the head, eliciting a slight blush from the catgirl. "Tell everyone that I'm happy with what they've made in such a short time, and that I'm grateful."

{HEAD PATS FROM MY LORD!} (Nima)

"Aww, look, the stoic little kitty melts the second that she gets praise from her master." Silfana chuckled as she watched Nima enjoy getting her ears scratched. “How adorable.”

*HISS*

Nima hissed at the Vampire Lord.

"Bad kitty." Silfana snickered.

"Do you have to harass her?" Yumi sighed. She'd been told about these two's back and forth on the radio and wasn't looking forward to seeing it in person.

"Yes!" Silfana nodded. "It's only fair that I get to tease her a bit when she's been nothing but a stick in the mud since she got here."

"Now, Now." Akagi finished her head pats, much to Nima's disappointment. "Don't go making fun of my family. Nima here is just happy to see me, is all."

{Yeah, like when a dog freaks out when their owner comes home...} (Amakusa)

"Well, I think it's cute." Halifax laughed. "It shows just how much you mean to them."

{Per my previous thought...} (Amakusa)

"But I'm imagining that you didn't return just to play with your little kitty?" Silfana laughed as her eyes moved to Elariel. "And I see you've grabbed a new toy, interesting." She could feel Divine power flowing from the Goddess, though the Vampire Lord was not yet aware of who she was.

{Not a bad looking one either, but I've seen better.} (Silfana)

"Toy isn't actually a bad term for her." Akagi chuckled. "Silfana meet Elairel, Elariel, Silfana." She pointed between the two of them. “Please try and get along nicely.”

"Elariel?!?" Silfana's eyes went wide. "Wait, you mean the Goddess?!?"

{WHAT?!?} (Silfana)

"The one and only." Halifax said. “Thankfully.”

"Well, that was quicker than I expected." Silfana tossed Nima a gold coin.

"Hah! I told you it would be within seventy-two hours." Nima snickered as she caught the coin and slipped it into her pocket. “Betting against My Lord is a truly foolishness prospect.”

"Yeah... Stupid cat..." Silfana grumbled at losing her bet. She figured that it would take far longer to hunt down and deal with even one of the Gods. "But damn, you already went and leashed one..."

{I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised, but still, seeing a Goddess in the flesh... I don't know whether to be fascinated by such a thing or disgusted.} (Silfana)

"Why do I have the feeling that this Vampire is quite an unpleasant individual?" Elariel sighed. She could sense quite a bit of dark energy from Silfana and her Divine insight let her know that the Vampire was anything but good.

{She reminds me of many of the beings we've had the displeasure of dealing with in the past. This one specifically reminds of that troublesome Duck.} (Elariel)

"Because its Silfana." Yumi answered, which caused Akagi to laugh. "I mean, what else would you call someone who doesn't bathe or wash her hands? Sounds pretty evil to me."

"I DO BOTH OF THOSE THINGS!" Silfana exclaimed, holding herself back from hitting Yumi on the head.

{WHY ARE YOU STILL SPREADING THOSE STUPID RUMORS?!? I MAY NOT SWEAT BUT I STILL BATH PROPERLY!} (Silfana)

"Eww..." Amakusa stepped away another few inches from the Vampire. "You really should bathe every once and a while." Her lips curved into a wicked smile. “You truly are evil.”

"Yeah, even I wash my hands despite being able to just reform them." Halifax played along. "Foreshame, Silfana, Foreshame." She laughed. “Even the evil kitty herself wouldn't do something so heinous.”

{Don't cats hate water?} (Amakusa)

"If you had blood then I swear to God I'd drain you dry, sword!" Silfana growled.

"Halifax, if you hold her down, then I'll get the garlic, and we can cleanse her." Amakusa snickered.

"One more word out of you, and I'll drink YOU pet." Silfana's eyes snapped to Amakusa, who stuck her tongue out playfully.

{WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP DOING THIS TO ME?!? I'M THE LORD OF VAMPIRES, NOT SOME FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT!} (Silfana)

"Yumi, you are absolutely awful, you know that?" Akagi smiled as she pulled her into a hug.

"What can I say? A little kitty that I met corrupted me." Yumi giggled. "I am no longer pure because of her evil paws running all over me and contaminating me with her evil."

"Don't worry about it. I like corrupted Yumi better anyway." Akagi laughed as she turned to Nima. "So what've you got for me? Yumi mentioned something this morning about some progress on infiltration into the Demon Kingdom?" She was planning on going after them first due to their proximity.

"Ah yes, please excuse me, my Lord." Nima fixed her suit and coughed before returning to her more serious demeanor. "Our agents led by Nemino have begun their intelligence gathering in Targul, and although we are at an early stage, I believe that I have some information that would be of interest to you." She fixed her glasses as she held a tablet up in front of her. "There appears to be an internal power struggle amongst the Nobility of the Kingdom due to the incapacity of the reigning Demon King, and we've even identified a target who would be suitable to use the new creature on."

"Incapacitated?" Akagi said as she scrolled through the data.

"Yes, Lockheed was cursed about a decade ago by Vikes' Cult." Elariel interjected to explain what happened. "It's a powerful piece of magic that slowly saps the life of its victim."

{Though its technically more Demon Lord power than magic if your spilling hairs.} (Elariel)

“I'd heard that nobody has been able to break it.” Amakusa commented. She'd heard about it a few times during the war and had even asked the Gods about breaking it since a revived Demon King would've been a huge asset.

“If it was put on him by a member of the Cult, then I suspect that it would probably require a God or another Demon Lord to break it.” Halifax agreed as she eyed up both the Demon Lord and Goddess before her.

{Messing with the power of another Demon Lord... I have a feeling it won't be so easy to break. I may be able to do it, but I have doubts that the Gods could do it safely or without some kind of negative effect. There's also another concern that I have if it works like I'm thinking it does.} (Akagi)

"Interesting." Nima scribbled that information onto her tablet. "We couldn't discern the exact cause of his illness, and that will be of great help going forward."

"If the Cult is the one behind that, then why haven't you dispelled it anyway?" Halifax asked Elariel. “I doubt its beyond your power to free him from that kind of curse. Hell, we have an entire God dedicated to curses. Surely Telm could break it with ease.”

"Its less can't and more chose not to. And the answer to your next question is 'because we don't want to involve ourselves in mortal affairs to such an extent'... At least that was the line Gale told us to give..." Elariel sighed. "But the real reason was because Lockheed's demise would suit our needs..." She looked off the to the side, embarrassed.

"Nice..." Halifax rolled her eyes.

"Eh, it's understandable." Akagi shrugged. "Getting rid of a problem and having the perfect excuse not to help was probably a pun, definitely intended, godsend!"

{Problems that solve themselves are the best kind of problems after all.} (Akagi)

"Booo." Amakusa gave a thumbs down, decrying the Demon's attempt at humor.

{NOBODY ASKED YOU, PET!} (Akagi)

"What was he even doing that was such a problem for you anyway?" Akagi asked. “I don't imagine that a single mortal would be able to cause you that much of a headache.”

"Well... The issue was that Lockheed was never in favor of a war with the Spirits." Elariel continued. "He only half-heartedly involved himself in the war, and when the Spirits stalled things out, he was covertly trying to get together a coalition of leaders who wanted to push for peace."

{Ah.} (Akagi)

"And so when the main force for peace on the attacking side faltered, you were more than happy to let him fall." Halifax growled in understanding and disappointment. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, fucking Gods."

"So let me guess, with the King in a coma, the Regent is having a not-so-fun time keeping things together?" Akagi asked as she read over the reports, including Nima's proposal for a planted agent.

"It's holding together for now, but with the King's health deteriorating, a succession crisis will likely unfold once he dies." Nima explained. "We're predicting things to begin unfurling sooner rather than later, hence why I recommend using the creature on the family I've included in my report. It would give us an easy way to carry out your long term plans."

"I see..." Akagi's lips curved into a nasty smile. "Then, shall we poke our noses into the Demon Kingdom's politics?"