The Red Hand

"What is it with Gods and gaudy statues?" Akagi sighed as she looked up at the massive carved marble statue of Gale. Gaining entry into the Cathedral's main hall was relatively easy, mostly, because the guards mysteriously found themselves unconscious the moment they started asking unnecessary questions. "Like, do you see me making massive beautified statues of myself at the estate? And I'd be willing to bet thing this heavily beautified. I mean look at his perfect fucking jawline! Not even I'm so gaudy that I'd give myself that!"

"Isn't there a large statute of Catkagi in the Demon Cult Church area?" Halifax retorted, noting that there was indeed a very cute statute of her.

"That was a private construction and is not sanctioned by me or the State." Akagi grumbled. “And also, its accurate to my floof, and is not at all embellished.”

"We worked very hard to make that one." Yumi giggled. “Though getting that much gold was a bit hard.”

{Please don't tell me they raided Fort Knox again...} (Akagi)

"But yeah... This thing is wayyyy more handsome than the actual Gale." Halifax sighed. "His chin sure as hell isn't that pronounced, and he definitely doesn't have that sharp of a bone structure."

"He always did think highly of himself..." Elariel chuckled.

"Don't your statues do the same?" Amakusa asked. "If I recall correctly, the one in Amdamell's main Church looked far better than the real you."

{And also, why are we even having this kind of contest? You can change your form at will!} (Amakusa)

"I think you're exaggerating a bit." Elariel huffed.

"Guys... Can we please focus on the task at hand..." Kanato decided to change the topic from stupid to less stupid.

"Yeah, yeah. Lets not forget that we've gotta stop the 'evil ritual' before the spooky gets loose." Akagi reached into her inventory and pulled out a bucket of black paint and a brush. "But first..." She flew up to the statue's face and proceeded to paint a bunch of funny marks on it as well as a monocle and a mustache.

"What are you, four?" Amakusa rolled her eyes at such a childish display.

"No, I'm just petty as hell and also find this hysterical." Akagi snickered as she put the paint away and floated back down.

"Pffff." Elariel and Halifax started laughing, much to Amakusa's displeasure.

"Great, even those two seem to have the sense of humor of a five-year-old." Amakusa rubbed her forehead in frustration.

“Its not my fault that its peak humor to do something like this.” Akagi said before turning to the Goddess. "Alright, so the entrance is beneath this ugly thing?" She asked.

"Yes, but it has a lot of protective spells placed on it, so before you go-" Elariel paused mid-sentence as Akagi lifted up the entire statue and moved it out of the way, revealing a large staircase underneath it. "Moving it..."

{Yeah... Demon Lord...} (Elariel)

"Weak barriers. I just looked at them funny, and they broke." Akagi laughed. “I suppose that's because they knew better.”

"Those should've vaporized any unfortunate soul that set them off..." Elariel groaned as her hard work was so easily bypassed.

"And you put that on a statue in a Church?!?" Amakusa exclaimed.

"In my defense, they would only go off if you tried moving it, and who's gonna lift a fifty-ton statue of Gale?!?" Elariel retorted.

"Akagi apparently!" Halifax laughed. “I suppose you didn't count on someone like her showing up!”

"Ah, my mistake. I should've put anti-Demon Lord barriers on it." Elariel said sarcastically.

{Just put things in space that you don't want her messing with.} (Yumi)

"Interesting, I can feel a lot of powerful energy down here." Akagi commented as she started down the stairs, followed by Yumi. "Kinda pleasant actually, like a happy summer day."

"I suppose blood sacrifices would feel nice to the Demon Lord..." Amakusa sighed. “You are a fucking evil being after all.”

{Though Evil Kitty may just be best Kitty!} (Halifax)

"We just need the screams of the dammed, the sounds of torture, a few lava moats and the ambiance would be perfect!" Akagi laughed as she continued downward, followed by everyone else.

The white-gray staircase slowly curved in on itself and descended into a spiral that went all the way to the bottom. The walls alongside the stairs lit up with glowing blue orbs as the group went down, and after a few minutes, they reached a long hallway with thick stony walls, at the end of which was a massive door sealed with powerful magic and divine energy.

"I wonder what's behind door number 1?" Akagi chuckled as they walked up to the door. “Maybe its a new car, or perhaps a washing machine?”

“The washing machine would be useful, we actually need more to deal with the amount of laundry everyday. I keep getting complaints about the number of muddy clothing the ninja make.” Yumi commented.

"That door, I saw the back of it while I was in that room." Kanato commented as they approached it. "I don't see a lock on it, so how does it open?" He figured it required magic or a password.

"Well, technically, the only way to open it would be to insert divine power in a specific manner, like a key code." Elariel answered as Akagi walked up to the door. "Any other attempt at opening will see the intruder seriously wounded or killed by the power within."

"Hmmmm. The temptation to make the pet try and open it is quite high." Akagi said as she looked at the door. "Maybe it would be like a bug zapper!" She snickered.

{Why am I always getting abused? Oh wait, I know why. Because fuck me in particular, right?} (Amakusa)

"Elariel should open it!" Halifax nudged her forward. “I know you can do it!”

"You... You just to see me get fried, don't you?" Elariel grumbled as Halifax shrugged.

{If I didn't know better I'd think that Halifax WANTS me to die...} (Elariel)

"Can we just please open the door..." Kanato didn't really know or care to know about this party's dynamic and just wanted to stop the impending madness.

*AH-CHOO!* *CREAK* *BOOM*

"Oops, I broke it." Akagi did a tee-hee-pero after sneezing, the force of which blew the door down. "Silly me. I should've used a tissue."

"Well, that's one way to open a divine seal, I suppose..." Elariel had given up on trying to make sense of things and set her sights on what lay beyond the door.

{The seal... Its nearly broken...} (Elariel)

"HITOMI!" Amakusa screamed as she ran into the room at full speed, Akagi removing the beastkin disguise from her.

{Well, the pet has enthusiasm at least.} (Akagi)

"EH?!? Shiroe?!?" Hitomi squeaked in surprise as she was charged at full speed by an angry Amakusa. "You're okay?!? And wait, why do you look so angry?!?"

"OH I DON'T KNOW! MAYBE BECAUSE YOU'RE A TRAITOROUS BITCH!" Amakusa swung down, genuinely wanting to kill the Priestess, but was blocked by a barrier that she put up.

"Hold on! Why are you attacking me?!?" Hitomi was still confused. “What's going on here?!?”

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHY I WANT YOUR HEAD ON A PIKE!" Amakusa put more power into her strikes but kept bouncing off the divine barrier put up by Hitomi. "WHERE IS SHE?!? WHERE IS ALM, YOU SICK BITCH! BRING HER TO ME NOW AND I'LL MAKE SURE YOUR DEATH IS QUICK!"

"!!!" Hitomi flinched at the mention of Alm.

"Should we stop her?" Halifax looked over to Akagi as they walked into the massive cavern. “At this rate she's going to get past that barrier and turn the Priestess into mincemeat.”

"What, and ruin my fun?" Akagi laughed. "I got robbed of my drama in Amdamell, and I'd like to get some here! KILL HER! DO IT!"

{I will not encourage such actions, but I will also not stop them either.} (Halifax)

"Hitomi!" Kanato took off past the two of them. "Hitomi! Stop this madness! You've been deceived! And Shiroe, stop!" He knew that Amakusa was serious and that without his intervention Hitomi's days were numbered.

"Kanato's here too?!?" Hitomi was now even more confused since he'd only just been here a bit ago and seemed to have no idea where Shiroe is. "Seriously, what's going on?!?"

"Hitomi, listen to me. You've been tricked! Rafferty is lying to you! That power behind you isn't some divine plan to save the world! It's sealed Primordals that she wants to free to wreak havoc on the world!" Kanato got closer and put himself between Amakus and Hitomi in an attempt to stop things from escalating.

"What?!? No, you're wrong!" Hitomi shook her head and yelled." Rafferty is working in secret with the Gods to enact their special plan to save Enoris!" She'd been led to believe that this was actually a secret plan that was being developed as a backup. The reason why it was secret was simply to ensure that the Spirits wouldn't become aware of it until it was too late. Hitomi had never questioned this part, largely because Rafferty used some of her power to make the Heroine susceptible to suggestion.

"I can assure you that no such 'plan' exists." Elariel cut into the conversation, revealing herself. Akagi had reverted her appearance back to normal, and Hitomi's eyes went wide as she heard the Goddess' words. "Behind you are the Primordials Ro and Zo that I sealed six hundred years ago. I can assure you that no plan to save Enoris exists that involves them, and there is definitely no secret plant to save the world."

{I wish there was, but there is not...} (Elariel)

"Lady Elariel..." Hitomi faltered for a moment. "No, you must just not've known about it! Rafferty would never lie to me! Never!" Her heart began to pound as doubt set in. Rafferty had been her everything and Hitomi wasn't going to so easily believe that she'd been tricked by the woman she loved.

"Well, she did!" Amakusa yelled as she flipped her blade and pierced it into Hitomi's protective barrier, causing it to crack slightly. "And now, you're going to tell me where Alm is before I skin you alive and make you into a carpet that I put in front of my fireplace!" She yelled as tore into the barrier, causing it to shatter.

"Shiroe, I." Hitomi stammered as Amakusa approached, ready to kill her. However, before Amakusa could get on top of the Priestess, a blast of blue flame came at her, requiring Amakusa to jump out of the way.

"So, the mastermind finally reveals herself." Amakusa landed a short distance away before turning and glaring at Rafferty, who was holding an unconscious Alm in her other arm. "You are so fucking dead, you bitch!" She readied herself to charge the fox but stopped when Rafferty pointed her burning blue hand toward Alm's head.

"Uh, Uh, Uh." Rafferty wagged a finger. "Take one more step closer to me, and the girl you want to protect so much dies." She giggled.

"You bitch!" Amakusa growled but didn't get closer. "Get your filthy hands off her!"

"No, I don't think I will." Rafferty giggled as she clung to Alm harder. "You see, this girl is an important part of my plans, and I can't very well give her up, now, can I?"

"That girl... How did I miss it?!?" Elariel's eyes became locked on Alm as she had a sudden realization.

{She's!} (Elariel)

"Hm?" Halifax didn't see what the Goddess was talking about. "Is there something special about her?"

{She looks like a slightly more powerful Oni kid to me.} (Halifax)

"She's... She's the descendant of a Primordial..." Elariel's words took everyone by surprise. "How did I not see this?!? I met her before, so why did I..."

"Because you were so focused on the Spirit War that you couldn't see past your own nose." Rafferty laughed. "You see, this girl has the blood of Lord Kaleago running through her veins and is the perfect catalyst to break this seal." She smirked.

{That's impossible! Kaleago was killed by Vikes! He never had any children and even if he did, there's no way one with such a large amount of his power could exist this many years later!} (Elariel)

"Oh, that look on your face tells me that you're confused." Rafferty snickered. "Well, I can't tell you the exact details, but apparently Lord Kaleago made sure that even after his death by that Demon Lord his power would never fully vanish from this world."

"That's' not good." Elariel gulped as she theorized about what this meant. "Kaleago was the most troublesome of the Primordials to handle, and his scheming made him dangerous. Even though he came out of hiding to help us.. Having someone with his blood running around..."

{Him dying was seen as a blessing since we were always wary of him, and while I appreciated his help defeating Vikes I wasn't sad to see him get cut in two.} (Elariel)

"Hey, Rafferty..." Hitomi slowly walked over to the fox. "Please tell me this is all a joke. It is, right?" She started to nervously laugh. "It's a prank, right? You're not working for a Primordial, are you? Your... Your..."

"Oh, you silly girl." Rafferty smiled warmly. "Of course I am!"

"Eh?" Hitomi squeaked, expecting some kind of denial at the very least.

"And you my happy little girl were the perfect helper!" Rafferty laughed in Hitomi's face. "All I had to do was whisper sweet nothing into your ear, give you a bit of skinship, and you were like putty in my hands! Talk about being easy to manipulate!"

"N-No... Rafferty... You don't mean that..." Hitomi fell to her knees in despair.

{F} (Akagi)

"I won't deny that I enjoyed your company, but our relationship was never anything more than a means to the end for my masters." Rafferty looked over at the others. "Now you all stand right there and keep quiet while I use this girl to free my masters from their prison, unless you'd like to see me kill her right now?" She put the blue flame closer to the unconscious girl.

“You bitch!” Amakusa said through clenched teeth.

"Um, isn't the point of a hostage so that people don't attack you in exchange for the hostage's life?" Akagi raised her hand and asked a question. "So, if you're just going to kill her either way, why wouldn't we just jump you right now?"

{Seriously, this is like villain 101 stuff. You don't see making threats I can't back up or nonsensical demands. Well, I do that second thing but only when its funny...} (Akagi)

"Ah, but she may survive the ritual." Rafferty retorted. "Thus, if you want to save her life, you'd best hope that she does." This was naturally a lie, and everyone knew it.

{Man this girl sucks at this...} (Akagi)

"Okay, but also, doesn't a hostage situation require a hostage?" Akagi asked a retorical question.

"What do you mean? I have one right-" Rafferty's eyes went wide as she looked down at where Alm was supposed to be, noting that she was now gone. "WHAT?!?" Her eyes snapped back to Akagi, who handed the unconscious girl to Halifax. "When did you grab her?!? HOW?!?"

"About the same time that you were making me cringe at how bad of a villain you are." Akagi shrugged.

"Did you really have to do that to her?" Halifax chuckled.”You basically just embarrassed her in the worst way.”

"I mean, I couldn't help myself. She was just so smug that I had to." Akagi laughed.

“Fair.” Halfiax nodded in approval. “Its always nice to turn things around on someone who thinks that have the absolute advantage.”

"You! Who the hell are you!" Rafferty took a fighting stance as she glared at Akagi.

"Me?" Akagi smiled. "I'm a Demon Lord. Just your friendly neighborhood killing machine out to bring the world together under my rule to ensure that I get maximum snuggles and pets!"

"Don't you try and bluff your way out of this!" Rafferty retorted. "There is no Demon Lord!"

{As much as a certain lizard may wish it, pretending I'm not a problem will not, in fact, make me go away.} (Akagi)

"Rafferty..." Hitomi was slowly breaking down as she looked at her lover. "We... You... This can't be real..."

{Not again... Please not again... I can't... I can't lose everything again...} (Hitomi)

At first, Rafferty ignored the Heroine, but after a moment the desperation in Hitomi's voice gave Rafferty an idea.

"Of course it's not!" Rafferty giggled as she walked over and crouched in front of the nearly broken Hero. "It's all just a dream. A cruel cruel dream."

"A Dream?" Hitomi repeated back to her, weakly.

"Yup!" Rafferty smiled. “A dream!”

"Yeah, I thought so." Hitomi began to smile.

"So allow me wake you from it." Rafferty's face went dark as she did the unthinkable.

*STAB*

"Eh?" Hitomi looked down at the knife in her chest. "Raf-fer-ty?"

"Now, sleep, Hitomi. And may your pathetic life be the catalyst for my master's revenge." Rafferty giggled uncontrollably while the others watched on in either horror or, in the case of Akagi, delight.