The Red Hand

Chapter 222 – The Hero Breakdown.

After a several hours-long discussion in the main conference room, Halifax managed to convey everything she wanted to regarding the situation in the other world. Akagi and Mizumi listened attentively, and the Water Spirit grew more and more worried with each detail. Enoris was slowly falling apart at the seams, and it was likely that in a few hundred years the entire world would collapse. Akagi wasn't entirely surprised by this revelation, as her Demon Lord knowledge gave her a bit of insight into universal structural stability and how it would eventually turn out if there was a critical flaw.

"Well, my bingo card did have invasion from another world. But openly genocidal gods was sadly not one of my picks." Akagi chuckled.

{And I suppose its another win for my paranoia! Then again, is it really paranoia if I'm always right to be prepared for these disasters?} (Akagi)

"I thought such transit between the worlds would be impossible, but I guess if the Gods could bring heroes to Enoris, they could send them to different worlds as well." Mizumi pinched her nose in frustration.

{Why do people always want to kill us? And why is Akagi seemingly always right about these things? I argued with her that there was no way the gods or anyone could come from Enoris, and here I am being forced to eat crow.} (Mizumi)

"Well that's everything I've got." Halifax sipped on her drink. She'd come to enjoy coffee quite a bit and had drunk an exorbitant amount during the meeting. Apparently nothing like it existed on Enoris, and she was similarly floored by the quality of the meal they'd eaten partway through the meeting. "Now the only question is what comes next?" She glanced at Akagi. "I assume since you've claimed this world, you're going to try and keep the gods out?"

{I'm still not entirely sure how good it is for a world to be owned by a Demon Lord, but I'm not really in any position or mood to challenge it.} (Halifax)

"Naturally. As I said before this is my world and the Spirits are now my people. I won't let anyone harm them." Akagi nodded.

{Just as they swore themselves to me, I swore myself to them. To ignore that oath and allow them to be killed would destroy any trust in me or my word, and my word is my most valuable resource.} (Akagi)

"Based on your power, I suppose you might be able to negotiate as an equal with the gods." Halifax put forth an idea. She figured that Akagi could force them to the negotiating table after driving the Heroes away. "They can't manifest their full power in this world, so if you kick out their heroes, I think we can force them into a discussion." Though she wasn't entirely sure how easy that would be, since most of the gods were pig headed.

"Pffff!" Akagi began laughing hysterically at her idea., which caught Halifax off guard.

"Did I say something funny?" Halifax asked Mizumi, who simply shook her head and sighed.

{I'll let her deal with this...} (Mizumi)

"Yeah, you did!" Akagi was still laughing. "Do you really believe that I would ever negotiate with some petty gods? HA! That's a good one, Hally! A real knee slapper!"

"I mean, you're obviously powerful enough to pose a threat to them, so yeah. I think you could easily do it." Halifax wasn't understanding why Akagi was laughing.

{Is she saying she's not strong enough?} (Halifax)

"Sure, I could sit down and negotiate with them..." Akagi's laughter stopped, and her eyes turned sharp. "But why would I negotiate with someone weaker than me?" She allowed her voice to distort for a moment as her lips curved into a nasty smirk.

{This one has much to learn.} (Akagi)

"Weaker?" Halifax was taken aback by her use of that word. "You might be a Demon Lord, and even more power than Vikes, but these are gods we're talking about! There's no way you can defeat all of them!" She figured Akagi was vastly overestimating herself and her power.

{Are you as insane as you are evil?!? Oh wait, you're a Demon Lord, so you probably are...} (Halifax)

"Wanna bet?" Akagi laughed. "Because that's exactly what my plan was." She gave a chilling laugh before slamming her fist onto the table. "They dared to claim my world, and they dared to mark my people for death. This is a declaration of WAR, Halifax, and I have no intention of responding in such an impotent manner so as to invite questions about my status and authority!” Akagi rose her voice, which caused Mizumi to flinch. The Demon was angry, and it showed. “I am a Demon Lord, dammit! Gods are nothing more than playthings to my kind, and I'll show you firsthand that there is no one above me!"

{I was content to leave things alone, and I was even going to ignore the possibility that some Spirits were left behind in slavery on Enoris. But if those gods think they can come into MY world and harm MY people, then I see no reason to restrain myself.} (Akagi)

{Oh boy... She's really mad about this... I don't know whether to feel happy that she would get so angry for my people, or afraid of what she might do as a result of her anger.} (Mizumi)

"I don't care that they had no idea I was here, and I don't care that they are unaware of the Spirit's status as my subjects." Akagi clicked her tongue in disgust. "If they wish to go through with their plan, then I'll make sure they don't live long enough to regret it!" Her eyes burned with anger. Akagi was generally not one easily angered, but the idea that someone would dare harm that which belonged to her was a surefire way to piss her off. The Spirits might be recently acquired subjects, but the timeline mattered little to the Demon, and as far as she was concerned, they were under her protection.

{S-She's serious! She actually thinks she can fight a pantheon of gods and come out on top! I don't know whether that's confidence or foolishness, but something tells me she's not just blustering like a fool.} (Halifax)

"S-So then, what's the plan? I already told you that I've got no way home. Just bringing me here was hard enough, and I haven't the foggiest clue how interdimensional transport works." Halifax said.

"First, we wait." Akagi tapped on the table. "I wish to see if these 'Heroes' actually show up. If they do, then I'd like to speak with them. From what you've told me, they seem to have been misled by the gods, and if possible I'd like to get them to stand down." She was simply interested in studying them and if possible recruiting them. If they didn't want to fight, then she had no quarrel with them. Though she imagined that Mizumi would want their heads for their part in the massacre of her people, and while she might find them foolish for blindly listening to the gods, she understood why the average mortal would take a Divine being's words at face value.

{If a god comes before the average person and tells them that the sky is purple, then that's generally going to be the end of it. You're going to find very few people willing to challenge a real god, since most would be too fearful or provoking their wrath.} (Akagi)

"I still say we should kill them." Mizumi scoffed at the notion of letting them get away. "Those bastards killed so many of our people, and Muichiro in particular was a sadistic monster."

{I saw what he did, who he killed, and how he did it. I've hated precious few people in my life, but that man... He needs to die, and die horribly for what he did.} (Mizumi)

"I heard about him." Halifax shivered as she recalled that ' Hero'. "The stories about him gave me the willies."

"Yeah well, unfortunately they're all true." Mizumi bit her lip. "He saw no value in our people's lives, and since we were marked for death by the gods, he enjoyed torturing and tormenting those he captured."

{I heard he even captured several women and used them as his playthings...} (Mizumi)

"Oh great, he's one of those kinds..." Akagi groaned. She really hated that kind of person, and generally killed them as a matter of principle.

"He is by far the worst among the heroes, and I'd strongly recommend a KILL ON SIGHT policy for him." Mizumi gave a smile that the other two how much she wanted to rip the man apart.

"What about the others?" Akagi asked. “What are they like?” She needed all the information on the Heroes as she could get, and Halifax was her only source.

"Kanato Hiyuki is... well I don't think he's a bad person at least..." Halifax sighed. "But he's a womanizer through and through, and from what I was told, the man has at least ten wives and three children. Despite that, he is apparently a decent man and tries to live up to his ideals of justice and righteousness. You probably know the type if this world has any tales of knights and chivalry."

{I really don't like that type of person. Sure, it's nice that they wish to make the world better, but they're usually blind to reality, and that causes them and everyone around them trouble.} (Halifax)

"Ah, so he's our resident harem protagonist!" Akagi laughed. "I can't exactly blame the guy for going that route!" She thought it was funny that something like that had happened for real. "Though the whole hero of justice schtick might be the problem because well... I'm the fucking Demon Lord." She figured that he wouldn't be willing to just ignore her, and her hold over this world.

{Poor guy got Isekai'd, made a harem, 'saved' the world, only to die by my hands. A sad story, but one that may just come to pass.} (Akagi)

"Who knows, he might try to add you to his harem!" Mizumi's comment made Halifax's eyes go wide. She couldn't believe that the Water Spirit just said that.

"First of all, eww. Second of all, I like women so that's not happening, and third of all, I've got Yumi, and that's all I need." Akagi flipped her off. "Also, he looks at Yumi the wrong way, and it's into the fucking happy farm for him. I don't tolerate even attempted poaching. He can have most other women, but there are some, like her, that are off limits."

{No one but me may think lewd thoughts about her, nor may anyone else gaze upon her with lewd eyes! That's my privilege and mine alone!} (Akagi)

"After our Pervert of Justice is Hitomi Masayuki, and from what I've been told, the girl has taken to her status as a Hero quite well, and has begun using it to live a pampered life as your stereotypical rich princess." Halifax sighed. "She's got quite the following within the Church, and she lives as basically a Saint within the Holy City. Some even think she's going to take over as the Head Priest and run the entire organization."

{Which from what I've been told, is very possible.} (Halifax)

"Let me guess, she's not pious at all and is actually more than happy to abuse that power and authority to do all kinds of normally forbidden things?" Akagi deadpanned.

"Hey, how'd ya know?" Halifax responded in sarcastically. "Besides somethings about her power being related to divine light, the only other thing that I know about her, is that she has one single lover, a beast girl she took in, and let me tell you the things I've heard about that relationship are enough to make your face burn up. Not to mention she runs lots of illegal gambling and drug organizations under the church's nose."

{I still can't believe the details Rebeckah told me of that girl's depravity. She and her lover are seriously fucked in the head, and I don't even want to repeat some of the things I've been told...} (Halifax)

"Yeah, that's kinda expected." Akagi shrugged. "You give the average person all that power and fame, and it's likely to corrupt them."

{Yeah, look at you.} Mizumi wanted to retort out loud, but feared being bonked on the head.

"Those Heroes were all just teens or young adults when they arrived and in no time at all, they grew into such strange people." Mizumi sighed. Though she also figured they may have been messed up to begin with.

"What about the last one?" Akagi wanted to finish this up since she had other things to do, and it was getting late.

"Shiroe Amakusa is probably the one we'd have the easiest time dealing with." Halifax explained more about her. "She was apparently a student at a sword school on her home world, and has taken well to combat and fighting with a blade." She continued. "Details about her show that she values honor in combat, fairness in a duel, and is obsessed with being the most powerful swordsman in the world." That last part was the biggest part of Amakusa's personality, and it was well known that the woman loved a good fight.

"I assume she's a battle junkie?" Akagi laughed, figuring out just what kind of woman this Hero was.

"Basically." Halifax rolled her eyes. "The girl was more than happy to fight several powerful Spirits on her own, and she enjoyed showing people how weak they really were."

{She may have the power, but her personality is rotten. I get wanting to get stronger and prove yourself, but one shouldn't allow themselves to become conceited. As they always say, pride cometh before the fall.} (Halifax)

"She defeated Shinlua, which was shocking to say the least, and it proved that we couldn't defeat the Heroes with the power we had." Mizumi clicked her tongue as she recalled that day.

{It wasn't a totally one sided romp, but Shinlua wasn't able to do more than just slow that girl down.} (Mizumi)

"I didn't know she used a sword." Akagi had no idea that the Elf was also a swordsmen.

"She is very skilled at combat with a blade, but she only uses it if truly needed." Mizumi shrugged. “Ask her for more information about her Order.”

"Additionally, Amakusa has had a conflict with both the church and the other Heroes during the war." Halifax continued her explanation. "Apparently, she did not approve of some of the more barbaric acts perpetrated on the Spirits, and she clashed with Muichiro on more than one occasion. This whole thing was exasperated by a very public dispute over the treatment of Spirit slaves and Rebeckah also mentioned something about her and the Nobles of the Amdamell Kingdom fighting over some personal issue, but I don't know much about it.”

{She was pretty vague and said that it was mostly rumor and speculation anyway.} (Halifax)