The Red Hand

"Well, well, well." Ro smirked as he glared at Elariel. "Look what we have here. The bitch that ruined our fun." His lips were curled into a smile but it was quite obvious that he was anything but happy to see her.

"Well how about that! She was nice enough to come right to us." Zo laughed as she summoned a metal baseball bat and swung it around while making whooshing noises. "Saves us the trouble of tracking you down, whore."

{Hmmm....} (Akagi)

"And it's nice to see that you two are the same bunch of idiots as always." Elariel scoffed. "I see that even after six hundred years of imprisonment, you're still just a couple of bad mouth problem children that need to be disciplined. Too bad, I'd hoped you'd gotten a bit more mature in your prison." She'd hoped that their confinement would temper their attitude, but it seemed to have no such effect.

{These two, they've gotten stronger than they were before. I guess even while sealed their power increased as they aged. That's going to make things tricky.} (Elariel)

"Hah!" Zo laughed as she waved the bat around. "You only think of us that way because you and your kind are nothing but arrogant pricks that demand structure and order!"

"Exactly! The world needs to be a wild place! One free of all your restrictions and categories." Ro agreed as he summoned his own bat and began swinging it. "That's the problem with you Gods. You can't stand the thought of the world moving without your explicit approval!"

{On the one hand, they're basically acting like delinquent hippies. On the other, they're spitting truth... Hmmmm... Who to side with?} (Akagi)

"Listen, I'm not interested in having a philosophical debate with you two." Elariel rolled her eyes. "Perhaps if it was your father I would take the time to explain just why Primordials are wrong, but you two just seek destruction and carnage. Your words have and always be just a lame excuse for you to rebel and act out like the children that you are!" She growled.

{The others I can understand and tolerate but YOU TWO are nothing but trouble!} (Elariel)

"Oooooo watch out! The scary old lady is wagging her finger at us young people for acting out!" Zo snickered. "We'd better watch our backs, bro! Otherwise, she might get the wooden spoon and crack our knuckles like some kind lame ass teacher!"

"Pfff." Halifax barely restrained a laugh, which triggered a glare from Elariel.

{Okay, hear me out. They are not wrong. I mean, you ARE the Heavens' resident old biddy.} (Halifax)

"Masters!" Rafferty smiled happily as she bowed in front of the twins. "I am so happy to see you freed! Today is a most auspicious day!" She wagged her tail. “I have worked hard to see you released from your prison and I could not be more honored to be in your presence!”

{Is that how fucking crazy my people look to outsiders? Because we may have to institute reforms...} (Akagi)

"You did well, Rafferty." Ro pat his on the head and gave the fox ear scratches. "To think that you were just once a mindless little fox familiar. You truly came into your own over these centuries, and you have our thanks for freeing us." He smiled.

"EEE!" Rafferty squeaked as she was pat.

{I knew it. That girl IS a familiar. How could I have missed that?!?} (Elariel)

"What kind of reward should we give our little fox, bro?" Zo asked her twin. "She worked really hard for us, so the least we could do is give her something nice in return. Maybe a new and more powerful body is in order?"

"The only reward I need is to serve you!" Rafferty said. "I need nothing else!"

{Yumi...} (Akagi)

{Listen, my and the clans' worship of you is 100% different! We're not crazies like that fox!} (Yumi)

{Sure, you can think that if you want. Whatever lets you sleep at night.} (Akagi)

"Nah, that won't do." Ro shook his head. "Unlike those lameo Gods, we actually care about our subordinates. You shall be rewarded for your efforts, Rafferty. But we shall figure that out right after we deal with the whore." He turned his attention back to Elariel, ready to tear the Time Goddess apart.

"You... You bastards!" Kanato growled as he stood up. The blast that struck him had done a great deal of damage, and blood was dripping from his ears and mouth. He was barely able to stand up but that didn't stop him from trying. "Give us back Hitomi! NOW!"

{I WON'T LET YOU KEEP HER!} (Kanato)

"Hitomi?" Zo looked at her brother for an answer. "Oh! You mean that last girl! Well, sorry to burst your bubble dude, but your little girlfriend was all used up to finish breaking our seal." She gave a thumbs down.

"Wah-Wah-Wah." Ro replicated the sad trombone noise. “Too bad so sad, dude. That girl is gonzo.”

"What?" Kanato's body froze and his heart nearly stopped. "You... What did you do to her? What did you do to Hitomi?!?"

"They ate her." Akagi answered as she stepped forward, placing Yumi into her shadow before approaching the two Primordials. The Demon had no doubt that she could handle them, but taking risks with Yumi wasn't about to happen.

"A-Ate?" Kanato fell to the floor, his body numb. “What do you...”

“H-Hitomi... No...” Amakusa fell backwards in despair. “I...”

"I watched as her soul was ripped from her flesh and consumed." Akagi continued as she approached the two of them. "Not quite in the same manner that I do it, but close enough." She shrugged.

{Though in the end, its the same result.} (Akagi)

"Oh? And who do we have here?" Zo cocked an eyebrow as she gave an irritated look. "You look like a Demon, and the stench of such disgusting energy is making me want to vomit."

“And this one's quite a bit more pungent than your average Demon.” Ro agreed.

"Aw, thanks guys! It's a special new kind of perfume that I bought and I was hoping that people would notice!" Akagi chuckled. "Good to know it's enjoyed by all!"

{ITS FUCKING NOT!} (Amakusa)

"Oh, what do we have here? A Demon with a sense of humor?" Ro was surprised, but delighted by Akagi's retort. "Well, I'll be dammed! I always thought your kind wouldn't know a good joke if it crawled up your leg and bit you in the ass!" He said as he spun the baseball bat rapidly in a circle. “This might make things fun.”

"Yeah! Usually, Demons are the most drab and boring idiots this side of the mortal plane!" Zo agreed as she started spinning her bat. “Most of them are as monotone and boring as boring gets!”

"What can I say? I simply enjoy a good joke is all." Akagi gave an overly dramatic shrug. "Doubly so when I'm dealing with two walking ones!" She smirked. "I don't tend to agree with the idiot Goddess too much but she was dead on about you two. You two really are nothing but children."

"Aww, you're with that bitch?" Zo pouted.

"We're acquainted." Akagi replied.

"Well, that's too bad..." Ro said before Zo snapped their fingers at the same time, causing a massive iron coffin with a face to form around the Demon, trapping her. “Because that means that you're going to have to die along with that stupid teacher.” The twins said at the same time with smirks on their faces.

"That's not good!" Halifax called out to the, now 'trapped', Demon.

{I-I didn't even detect any power activation! The speed with which they conjured up that energy was so fast that I couldn't even detect anything before it was already over! And that coffin... I don't... I don't even think that I could cut it! Akagi!} (Halifax)

"Too bad for you that we're quite good at killing Demons." Ro quipped as he stopped spinning his bat.

"Yeah, and we've got a nasty way of handling your kind." Zo said as she followed suit. "But don't worry, you won't feel a thing!" They both snapped their fingers again, causing two large balls of energy to form in front of them, one made of thunder and one of lightning, signifying their status as Primordials of both respectively.

"Now then." Ro and Zo spoke at the same time as they got into a hitting position. "YOU'RE OUTTA HERE!" They smacked their bats into their respective balls of energy, which took off toward the coffin that trapped Akagi at high speed until moments before impact, they combined together, creating a loud boom and flash of light as the fused attacks flew straight in to the open mouth of the face on the coffin, traveling inside before exploding.

*BOOM!*

The explosion caused a huge shock wave to erupt from the coffin, and a massive flame shot out from the open mouth on top. However, despite the massive shock wave created and the huge plume of smoke kicked up, the coffin itself stood firm in the face of such an attack while the nearby onlookers were knocked to the ground.

{This is ridiculous! Those two are way to strong! I can't fight that kind of power, let alone hope to stop it!} (Halifax)

"And that's that!" Ro laughed as he high-fived his sister. “Down goes the Demon.”

"Yeah! We killed that idiot good!” Zo snickered. “Hey, if Elariel acts all like a bitchy teacher, then that Demon girl was kinda like an annoying teacher's pet!"

"Oh yeah! Now that you mention it, she kinda reminded me of that one girl we saw in that Hero's memories! Though I think that was technically some kind of discipline committee person and not a teachers pet, but whatever, the Demon has been vaporized. No mortal being can withstand our combined power, and even a Demon withstand such overwhelming power" Ro smirked. "And with the, probably not teacher's pet but we're going to call her that because its funny, out of the way." He pointed his bat at a still-dazed Elariel. "It's now time to deal with the teacher herself."

"Yeah, and there's no use begging for your life." Zo grinned as she licked her lips as she looked at the others. "Every last one of you little teacher's pets are going straight to hell along with the bitch teacher herself!"She cackled.

"Teacher, teacher, teacher. Give it a goddamn rest." Akagi's bored/irritated voice sounded from the inside of the coffin, slightly distorted by the metal.

“What?!?” Zo and Ro exclaimed in surprise as the coffin burst into metal shards that scattered all around, revealing an unharmed and very irritated Akagi. "You know what, fuck it. As of right now, I'm the teacher, and I'm going to do my job and put you two problem children in time out." She gave an evil laugh as her voice distorted.

"Akagi... She's okay!" Halifax breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Akagi was unharmed, but the mention of the Demon's name caused the twins to pause for a moment.

"Did you expect anything else?" Akagi chuckled. “Why would you think something as lame as that would harm me?”

“I... I was just worried...” Halifax said with a small smile on her lips.

{But... I'm glad to see you're okay...} (Halifax)

"Akagi?" Zo and Ro looked at each other.

"Isn't that the name of..." Zo gulped as she recalled something that she saw in Hitomi's memories.

"No way, that... That was all just a massive joke..." Ro gave a nervous laugh. "This idiot is just trying to spook us, is all." The two had learned about a so-called Demon Lord named Akagi, who had entered Enoris via their discussions with Rafferty and the memories of those they devoured. Neither believed that such a being actually existed, but seeing someone with that name standing before them and surviving their combination attack gave both pause.

"Oh?" Akagi laughed at their sudden hesitation. "What's wrong? Where did all that smarm and whit that you had just a moment ago." She gave a Demonic laugh. "Don't tell me, has it been replaced with fear?"

"Fear?!? Don't make me laugh!" Ro growled as he charged an extraordinary amount of energy into his bat. "We fear nothing and no one!”

"Your damn right! We'd never fear a fucking Demon!" Zo followed suit before charging toward Akagi alongside her brother.

"Well, you should." Akagi said as her mouth curved into a nasty smile that showed razor sharp teeth.