The Red Hand

Chapter 178 – The Power of Prediction, and the Gap.

"Alrighty! Before we begin our main event, let's start off with some bets!" Akagi clapped her hands and got everyone's attention. "I've got 3:1 on the Lizard and 5:1 on Ms. Angry, so lets see some money people!" They were currently grouped up in a field south of the estate, where Akagi had created a small arena with her power with both Hishya and Eris standing at opposite sides.

"Really?" Hishya groaned. "Why are you taking bets?"

{You're a real pain sometimes, Akagi.} (Hishya)

"I'll put a million Yen on Hishya!" Superbia slapped down the money on a small table that Akagi created in front of her.

"Really, Superbia?" Minazawa shook her head. "At least bet something substantial." She slapped down ten million yen. "Put it on Hishya too. I love easy money."

“Easy?!? I'll fucking kick your ass too, Mina!” Eris barked at her.

"Thank you both for you kind donations." Akagi placed the money in her inventory. "Payouts will be after the match, so just wait a bit."

"I'll do a million on Eris." Mixu gave her money as well, not wanting to be left out of the fun..

"Oh?" Akagi smiled as she took the money. “Vampy feels that Hishya can't win. A bold prediction, let see how it pans out.” She snickered

“I have faith that Eris's righteous fury will lead her to victory.” Mixu said smugly. “That and I want to see Hishya face down in the dirt.”

“I heard that you fucking leech!” Hishya hissed at her.

“Kick her ass, Eris!” Mixu cheered her on.

"I'll also do a million on Eris." Zephiria smirked. "Don't you dare lose!"

"The Demon is tempting everyone to sin." Excelsior rolled his eyes. "Ten million on Hishya."It seemed this man of faith had no problem performing the sin of gambling.

"There we go! Finally someone's putting their money where their mouth is!" Minazawa laughed.

"Put me down for ten million on Hishya as well." Ayame slapped down the money.

"You fuck!" Eris yelled at her. "Shouldn't you be betting on me?!?"

{You bitch!} (Eris)

"Listen cupcake. It's not that I don't believe in you, but I gotta be realistic. Hishya is crazy powerful." Ayame winked.

"I'll remember this, you bitch!" Eris growled.

“Aww, love you too babe.” Ayame blew a kiss.

{You'll be getting sore tonight! I won't be holding back!} (Eris)

"Contestants may bet upon themselves as well!" Akagi chimed in.

"One hundred million on me!" (Hishya x Eris)

"They do realize that is just doing this for kicks, right?" Daikael pointed out that this whole thing was basically a farce.

{Also, Akagi probably already knows who wins this.} (Daikael)

"Don't spoil their fun." Shiru giggled as she shushed the fox.

Once everyone who wanted to made their bets, Akagi collected all the money. "Good, looks like we've got one heck of a pot tonight!" Akagi laughed. "Then let's make some seating for our lovely audience." She clapped her hands and formed a set of bleachers for everyone to sit on to watch the fight.

"So what are the rules?" Eris asked.

"How about a limited battle?" Hishya put out an idea. "No magic, just our enate abilities, and raw skill. Otherwise, we might nuke the entire arena."

"Fine, but you can't transform into a dragon." Eris didn't want to deal with that since she knew it would probably be impossible to win against Hishya's dragon form.

"Alright, that works for me." Hishya nodded. "As for victory conditions, how about we say victory is obtained in one of three ways." She held up her fingers. "First, one of us gives up. Second, Akagi steps in to call the match if something that would be lethal, or third, we get knocked out of the arena and onto the ground."

"I'm good with that." Akagi said from Yumi's lap as the Priestess played with her ears.

"Sounds fine to me!" Eris smirked. "I'll just knock you down and make you squeal like the pig you are!"

"You can try, but unlike Ayame, it takes a bit more effort to make me squeal!" Hishya was getting excited at the prospect of this duel. She had no clue how powerful Eris was now, but that only excited her more.

{Oh fuck you Hishya! And to think I bet on you!} (Ayame)

"To start the battle." Akagi put out her hand and created a shadow rabbit that leaped into the middle of the arena. "We shall use this."

"A rabbit?" Hishya rolled her eyes.

"When it explodes, the battle begins." Akagi chuckled.

{Why am I not surprised...} (Hishya)

"Poor bunny..." Yumi said sadly as she pet Akagi on the head.

"It's just part of me, so it's fine if it goes boom." Akagi giggled.

Yumi took a second to think before speaking again. "Poor bunny..." She continued petting Akagi on the head as she flipped the Demon cat's ears inside out.

{Not poor me?} (Akagi)

"Alright, on the count of exploding rabbit, we shall begin." Eris summoned her glaive, and Hishya took out Sunstrike.

*BEEP* The rabbit made a noise as it turned green.

*BEEP* The rabbit made a noise as it turned yellow.

*BEEP* The rabbit made a noise as it turned red.

*BANG* The rabbit exploded, signaling the start of the duel. A split second after it detonated, Eris and Hishya rocketed forwards, their weapons clashing, causing a loud clang as they collided.

"And that's a wrap." Akagi's statement everyone to turn their heads in confusion.

"What?" Ayame asked. "What are you talking about? They literally just started."

{How could it be over already?!?} (Ayame)

"Yes, but it's already decided." Akagi laughed. "In fact, Hishya will win in this many moves.” Akagi drew a small pattern in the air to show the number.

"How the hell could you possibly know that?" Minazawa didn't buy it. "There are so many variables here, and you're telling me you have this shit down to a science? So what? Does your Demon Lord powers give you the ability to see the future or something?"

{I wouldn't be surprised if she said yes.} (Minazawa.)

"No, no future sight here. However, one does not need to see the future to be able to make predictions." Akagi smirked. " And I just so happen to be very good at processing data and giving results."

"How the hell is it possible for you to already predict a victor?" Excelsior asked. "You can't tell me that you've somehow calculated every single possible outcome and move in this duel and boiled that down to an answer."

"That's exactly what I've just done. Watch." Akagi pointed at the battling women. "Hishya will make a strike at a 45-degree angle which will miss, allowing Eris to smack her in the face with the back end of her glaive." Everyone turned looked at the match, eager to see her proved wrong.

"I've got you now!" Hishya cried out as she swung her blade down at the exact angel Akagi predicted. Eris moved back slightly and deflected Sun Strike with the body of her glaive, making Hishya momentarily lose her balance and leaving her open to a quick strike with the butt of her weapon.

"See." Akagi smirked.

"You've gotta be..." Excel looked between Akagi and the battle several times. "How did you just?"

"Hahahahahha." Akagi began to cackle as Yumi happily snuggled her. "It's simple my boy! I just take every single bit of available data on these two and calculate the probability that they may take a particular action. I do this countless numbers of times over and over again until I have a proper data set, then correct for outliers, give margin of error, and then BOOM! I've got myself a nice set of reliable predictions about a course of events. I then dissect each of those until I find that most likely one of the bunch. In the end, while it's not 100% bulletproof, I'm usually correct in predicting which future will come to pass."

"That's crazy!" Mixu dropped her cigarette. "So that's why you always seem to know what the fuck is going to happen?!?"

{I knew she was good at predicting things, but this is fucking crazy.} (Mixu)

"I see. That explains things." Birdy mused. "No wonder most things went exactly as you expected, down to the letter even."

{I always just though her intel was good, but you're telling me she's basically a fucking supercomputer?!?} (Birdy)

"But how is that even possible? That kind of computing power is beyond even the highest spec of supercomputers! Is it because you're a Demon Lord?" Superbia was in disbelief over Akagi's claim.

"That's too fast for nyeven mewn meow~!"

[That's too fast for even me!] Ara was surprised, though, in fairness, her speed was physical, not mental.

"Being given access to all my power did help considerably." Akagi chuckled. "However, this ability did not originate from my status as the Demon Lord. In fact, I've had this ability since I was born, and it worked, albeit less efficiently when I had a human body." She grinned. "Since FWO, I've been able to command far more processing power, largely due to my body no longer having the limitations of a biological brain." She tapped her head. "The brain is an amazing bit of evolution. However, its power has a rather low cap in comparison to what I could do, and thus my prediction abilities were always rather limited. Once you added in the Demon Lord power, my in-born talent was ratcheted up to eleven."

"How far can you see?" Ayame asked with trepidation.

Akagi turned to her and smiled. "That will remain a secret. My prediction ability is my most powerful weapon and one that I kept close to my chest. Not even Yumi here knows more than what I've just explained. However, I will say this..." Akagi hopped out of Yumi's lap and took on her normal form before turning to all the attendees. "As long as I have all the relevant information on a subject, it is unlikely that I will not know the outcome." She turned to watch the fight. "The moment those two clashed, the last unknown variable was removed, and thus, I was able to make a prediction." The two women clashed in the arena, and it seemed like an even fight. "Eris has gotten much more powerful since our return from FWO, and the gear and training I've provided her have been a great boon. However, it's not enough." Akagi shook her head. "Theoretically, a dual without magic and where Hishya may not transform should be in Eris's favor, however, that is incorrect in practice." Akagi slipped into analysis mode, and everyone was on the edge of their seats as she explained. "Hishya wins out in sheer power, that much cannot be denied, as a dragon is hard to defeat in terms of test of strength. However, Eris's barbarian abilities provide a massive advantage by nullifying a good chunk of damage, and she's much more resilient than Hishya. Additionally, her weapon is superior in this type of combat, as its reach is a great boon. Furthermore, if you break things down by skill levels, Hishya, while better, is not so much so that Eris is doomed just by that."

"Then why can't she win?" Ayame asked as a massive bang came from the arena. "What's holding her back?"

"That, my friend, is for you and her to figure out. However, allow me to give you this small hint." Akagi chuckled. "Our little dragon here went against Silfana 1v1 and won. While it was a close battle, she was ultimately victorious, an outcome that could not be said for Eris if she were to fight her. She even took Silfana's most powerful attack head-on and survived, albeit with some damage."

{Then... what's the difference between them?} Ayame thought as the two women continued to clash. {Is it really just because she's a dragon? Or is there another reason? Something I'm not seeing?}

{Figuring out what separates Eris from Hishya will be an important step in ascending to the next level of power, and perhaps that realization will finally give Hishya the rival she needs to increase her power. For all my talk of us being rivals, she's not worthy of such a title as she is now. Not with the great difference in power between us. I just hope that Eris can aid our little dragon in soaring to new heights, as I'd like for a worthy rival who can provide me with the fight I so crave} (Akagi)