The Red Hand

Chapter 186 – Rekindling.

"So... it's over?" Eris side-eyed the dead Serval. "He's not gonna get back up for round three, right?"

{Please stay dead. I don't need a repeat Sengal...} (Eris)

"No." Hishya gave a dry laugh. "He's gone, and it's over. The Emerald Dragon Emperor has been defeated for the last time."

{Why do I feel so... sad? I hated Serval for what he did... for all the lives he took, but for some reason my heart is in knots... Its as if I just lost someone important to me.} (Hishya)

At her words, around half the team fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Thank god..." Minazawa said. Her face was covered in burns and blood. "I don't think we could've gone on much longer."

"Yeah, just using Princess of Blood for that brief time has my entire body feeling like hell." Superbia was flat on her back, unable to move.

*Poke*

Zephiria poked the injured Oni in the cheek. "Did that hurt?" She asked with a devious smile.

"No, but you're going to if you keep that up." Superbia glared at her.

"And no one died, and they lived happily ever after." Akagi appeared out of nowhere and started slow clapping. "Congratulations, everyone! I knew you could do it!" She smiled.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Ayame rolled her eyes. "Did you enjoy watching our little struggle from your comfy seat on high?"

"I did! Though I'd have to give your battle a 7/10 at best." Akagi thought for a moment. "There was the epic comeback moment during what seemed like a sure defeat, but the lack of an epic beam struggle really let me down." She shrugged. “Not to mention, Hishya's power up didn't come from the loss of someone important, so it was far less impactful.”

"Well, sorry to disappoint you." Eris sighed. "We tried our best, and we weren't exactly aiming to make it entertaining for our audience."

"Maybe I should res him and make you do it again?" Akagi smirked. “This time we could have someone die to make it more interesting! Let me get some straws and we can-” She was cut off

"PLEASE DON'T!" (Everyone)

"I'm just kidding." Akagi laughed. "I wouldn't do that."

{She totally would...} (Everyone)

"Speaking of the dead, can you allow Serval's soul to pass on rather than eat him?" Hishya asked.

"But I was looking forward to eating such a juicy treat!" Akagi cried out in protest. "Rivenshaft's was amazing, but Serval's looks... if I could drool, that's what I'd be doing right now." The greed was visible in her eyes.

{I WISH TO CONSUME THE DRAGON!} (Akagi)

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't care if you ate his soul. However, in this instance please allow him that one bit of mercy." Hishya wasn't going to back down.

"And why's that?" Eris asked, and Hishya explained what she discussed with the Dragon Emperor in their mental conversation.

"So that's why you looked so spaced out." Ayame nodded.

"It seems there really was so much about FWO that we didn't know." Superbia sighed. "Are those gods he referred to the Devs?"

"I have no idea." Hishya shook her head. "But either way, while it doesn't exactly make me forgive him for all the lives he took..." She thought back to their battles against him in FWO. "He was a victim in his own way, so please let him rest." She once again asked Akagi for clemency.

"Fine." Akagi shrugged. "I'm not exactly starved, so I'll allow him to pass on."

{MY TREAT! NOOOO!} (Akagi)

"Thank you." Hishya gave a polite bow, which surprised everyone.

"Can I have body-corpse?" Imp interrupted their nice moment by requesting the Dragon's body over the radio.

{You couldn't wait like five minutes?} (Minazawa)

"I'd like some parts too!" Dai agreed.

"Do what you want with his remains." Hishya sighed. "I have no use for it, and I see no problem with putting it to use."

{Better him than me...} (Hishya)

"I'm sure Imp, Dai, and Imperial will get good use out of such awesome loot." Zephiria laughed. "Though I'll request some dragon skin boots!"

"We should give some dragon-scaled gear to Hishya so I can joke about her wearing her own people as clothing." Akagi chuckled.

"I'm going to ignore you both." Hishya shook her head. “I'm far too exhausted to want to play stupid games right now.”

"So what now?" Minazawa asked. "I suppose that wraps things up since you handled Rivenshaft."

"Your roles in this operation have finished. However, the deaths of Rivenshaft and Serval are not the end of things." Akagi still had to deal with the Council.

"Right, that Spirit Council or whatever that summoned those bastards." Eris sighed. "I presume you're going to deal with them?"

"Yes." Akagi nodded. "I've come to an agreement with Mizumi and a Council Member that defected to take control of their city. The Spirits will fall under my Suzerainty once we oust those three idiots in Omara."

"So you're going to just enslave them?" Excelsior scowled.

"Not enslave, Excel. Rule." Akagi shook her head. "Mizumi will be taking the position as my Governor-General of Omara, and will lead her people in conjunction with a separate body that acts as a cabinet."

"I guess that makes sense. You're already getting you're own country, so acquiring more people isn't exactly strange." Superbia said.

"And to be honest, I want more." Akagi replied. "It's why I'm going to be formally inviting all FWO survivors once things get moving."

{I've got lots of work to do if I want to fulfill my goals. We've got lots of fun projects ahead of us.} (Akagi)

"We've already gotten a few who've either arrived early or who contacted me to get put on a list." Birdy interjected. "Even people without powers have been getting some serious heat from the general population."

"And I wonder whose fault that is?" Excelsior muttered to himself.

"The offer is open to all of you." Akagi turned to head back to her home. "Take it or leave it. I don't care either way."

"Wait!" Hishya called out to her as she left. "Let me come with you to deal with Omara." Her words caused Akagi to stop in her tracks.

"Why? You have no stake in this." Akagi asked without looking at her. “Your deal with me was to kill Serval, so you don't need to get involved with this.”

"You're wrong about that." Hishya shook her head. "They attacked my home, and I think that's a good enough reason to get involved."

"Your home?" Akagi turned around, surprised.

"Yes." The Dragon smiled. "Unless your offer didn't include me?"

Akagi thought for a moment before bursting out laughing. "I honestly didn't expect this!" She started wheezing from laughing hard. "All my prediction power told me that you wanting to live here wasn't going to happen for a long time. But here you go completely defying my expectations!" She shook her head." Yeah, Hish. That offer was to you too, and I'd love to have you aboard. If nothing else, we could use a family pet at home." She smiled.

"I don't know about pet." Hishya walked forward, and the two shook hands. "But I don't think I'd mind sticking around for a while. Besides, I'm pretty sure Kana will be staying here in the future, and it makes sense to move to the country where my girlfriend lives." She smiled.

{In spite of everything... Akagi's always been my friend. Even at my lowest point, she never lost faith in me. And even when I cast her aside, denounced her, and spat on the friendship we once shared, she never turned her back on me, even when she would have had every right to.} Hishya thought to herself. {Akagi, you might be a pain in the ass world-destroying monster, but... you really are my best friend, aren't you? I'm sorry I threw that away all those years ago...}

The Demon and the Dragon had known each other for many years, fought many battles, and shared many laughs together. Somewhere along the way, Hishya forgot just how much fun being around Akagi was. Whether it was the stress of the game, her moral disagreements, or Hishya's own rotten attitude is hard to say. But at some point, she stopped seeing Akagi as a friend, and more as an enemy to be defeated. However, after returning to the real world, and spending much more time with the Demon over this past year, Hishya's opinion changed. No longer was Akagi simply a monster that she was afraid of. Now she was a friend and close ally, and the Dragon was happy that while she gave up on Akagi, Akagi never gave up on her.

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Onmiyame POV>

"D-Defeated?!?" Onmiyame was left nearly lost for words at Sizix's report. He was sitting in his office reading over some documents as the green-haired woman explained to him what had happened to their new servants.

"Y-Yes. Both Serval and Rivenshaft have been destroyed, this... this was an unexpected development." Sizix started sweating. "At this point... I..."

"How could this have happened?!?" Daruma slammed his fist on the table. "Did you mess up their revival?!?" He was quick to pin blame on her since she was in charge of the ritual.

"I did everything exactly as required! Those two had every bit as much power as before! So don't go blaming me for this failure!" Sizix exclaimed.

{I made extra sure that those two were in perfect condition. I figured it wouldn't be an easy victory, but for them both to be defeated so quickly...} (Sizix)

Onmiyame sat quietly as his face paled. "Is... is it possible that the Demon Mizumi brought to us really is a Demon Lord?" His question caused the other two to go silent.

"Wasn't it a team of those fools that defeated Serval?" Daruma asked. "You said that the Demon was not involved in that battle. So I don't think that means-" Sizix cut him off.

"T-The Demon transported Rivenshaft to some unknown location where she seems to have fought him one on one and killed him with ease." Sizix paled a bit. "A-At this point, I suspect she will come for us next..."

{I've read the stories, I know what Vikes did to people... I don't want that to happen to me... I-I need to run...} (Sizix)

"W-We can defeat her!" Daruma began to laugh nervously. "We just need to rally our people!" He looked at the other two Council members, who said nothing. "What are you just sitting around for?!?"

"Daruma..." Onmiyame finally spoke. "I'm sorry. It seems that we will not get revenge for your family."

"W-What?" Daruma's eyes went wide. "You can't be serious!" He swiped a glass off the table, causing it to shatter on the floor. "You're just giving up?!? When we can still fight!"

{Unbelievable!} (Daruma)

"If both Serval and Rivenshaft were defeated, even if Akagi isn't a Demon Lord, I'm afraid we have no chance if they come here." Sizix shook her head. "We cannot hope to win, even if only a portion of those who fought in that battle come for us."

"That's just defeatist thinking!" Daruma fumed.

"It's the truth!" Sizix had finally had enough of him. "We cannot bring out anything more powerful than those two, and the database is unstable as is. It's over..." She sat back down. "I suggest we open negotiations with her. Perhaps that way, we might get out of this alive..."

{Of course, if she is a Demon Lord, I doubt we're going to get that lucky. But it's worth a shot...} (Sizix)

"I will not surrender! I would rather die on my feet like a man than serve on my knees!" Daruma shouted as he stormed out of the room.

"His youthful vigor can be a great asset, but at times it leaves him unable to rationalize a situation." Onimiyame's face went dark. "I fear that this might be the end of not just us, but our entire people..."

{There is nothing stopping her from consuming the entire city. It would seem that my habit of gambling has finally come back to haunt me.} (Onmiyame)