The Red Hand

Chapter 205 – What Akagi Wants.

Akagi was sitting in her office reading over a few documents and drinking coffee when an unexpected knock came at the door.

"Come in." Akagi said without looking up from the paper she was reading. It was a report from the heads of the clan providing feedback and recommendations for her planned construction of a town outside the estate, and she was busy reading it and providing suggestions of her own. Things had settled down somewhat since the 'defeat' of the Council, and Akagi's planning of her own city was in full swing.

"I swear pinning you down is quite a pain." Silfana said as she walked into the office, shaking her head. "I've been trying to get a meeting with you for almost two weeks!" Akagi hadn't been avoiding her, though that didn't mean she was easily available. Despite what Kana might think, the Demon was actually quite busy, so she didn't have all the time in the world to play, just most of the time.

"What, no onesie? I thought you'd come to enjoy that outfit." Akagi laughed as she turned over the next page in her hand.

"I'm going to ignore that comment." Silfana sighed as she walked in front of Akagi's desk and huffed.

"Well, now that you're here and found me, what do you need?" Akagi put the paper down and looked up at her.

"I wanted to talk to you about a few things." Silfana took a seat. "First, the irrigation system has been completed as requested, despite your restrictions..." She was forced to dig it entirely by hand, which annoyed her.

{Forcing me to do manual, menial labor... I'd say who does she think she is, but then I remember that she's the ruler of this world and evil incarnate...} (Silfana)

"Glad to hear it." Akagi smiled. "I hope you had fun! I know Kana and the girls enjoyed seeing you do all that hard work in that cute little outfit. I thought that it suited you quite well!" Hishya in particular enjoyed seeing Silfana made a fool of and requested numerous pictures for her viewing pleasure.

"I don't get why you were so mad at me when it wasn't even my fault that stupid thrall went out on his own!" Silfana groaned.

"You of all people should understand that we as superiors are responsible for our subordinates' actions." Akagi said as she sipped her coffee. "Besides, you wanted to kill me. That's something that tends to get people eliminated, so a bit of humiliation is quite the light punishment to be honest." Silfana knew well what kind of hell could've awaited her if Akagi so chose, and thus did not retort.

"Well whatever, that's not really what I wanted to discuss anyway." Silfana's gaze grew sharp. "Tell me, Demon Lord, what are your plans? What do you hope to accomplish in this world?" This had been a question on her mind since she arrived at the estate, and one that she had found no answer to.

{I've watched your actions over these past weeks, and I can't get a sense of your goals. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have none.} (Silfana)

"What do I hope to accomplish?" Akagi thought about those words for a bit.

"You've given me no indication of your grand plans, and from what I can see, you have no intention of conquering this planet even though you easily could." Silfana had no idea what to make of Akagi, a being with all the power in the world but seemingly no will to use it. "So what are you planning? What is the future supposed to hold? If I don't know that, then I'm afraid that I can't do anything more."

{Not like you've even given me any tasks besides that stupid ditch-digging job!} (Silfana)

"Well, you're right in that I don't want to conquer and rule the Earth." Akagi smiled. "Such a thing would be truly annoying, and running a planet would be such a chore." She cringed on the inside as she imagined the stack of paperwork she'd need to do for such a job.

{I'd sooner nuke reality than run it. At a bare minimum, I'd just do what I did with Mizumi and have somebody else handle that part.} (Akagi)

"So you have no drive? No ambition?" Silfana asked, not out of irritation but simply curiosity.

"I wouldn't say that I lack either of those." Akagi laughed. "It's just..." The Demons eyes pierced through Silfana, causing the Vampire to tense. "What fun is there to be had in playing a contest that I've already won?" She smirked. "This world is already mine, Silfana. Not in name, but in fact. I could walk into the government buildings of every nation in the world and kill their leadership right now if I wished. I could murder a man in cold blood on the street, and there isn't a thing anyone could do about it." She gave a cold laugh. "So what reason do I have to consolidate power in a more formal manner?"

{Mortals require things like titles, crowns and formal positions. But I am above such things. As a Demon Lord, this world belongs to me by birthright. Those who live within it merely exist and run its constituent parts at my whim and pleasure. Even Rosewood knows that if I told her to step down as President, she'd have no choice.} (Akagi)

"But then, what do you hope to accomplish? Unless you mean to tell me you're no different than the aloof gods of my world who saw mortals as nothing but playthings?" Silfana had a bad history with religion and gods in the past, and she was hoping her new 'employer' wouldn't go down that path.

"Hmmmm." Akagi thought for a moment. "I suppose that I cannot fully deny such a comparison." She chuckled. "The people of this world are little more than toys for me to amuse myself with, tis just the nature of the beast, vampy. I have so much more power than anything else in this world that it's just... hard not to see myself in such a role. Not to mention I've no real emotional attachment to most of those who live within this world." She didn't believe that humans had no value, its just that she had no real attachment to them.

"So then you are just like the gods then." Silfana scowled. "You see us all as worthless pawns in your games."

"Not quite." Akagi shook her head. "I said I lack attachment to most of those who live within this world. I think it's obvious that I care greatly for my family."

"They 'cared' for their followers as well, so I don't see the difference." Silfana scoffed.

"Well, there is one." Akagi leaned forward slightly. "I genuinely wish to see those under my protection live happy lives." She continued. "I have no idea why, but the thought of building a happy little society here... it just makes me feel warm inside." She smiled. "So while I care very little for this world at large, there are parts of it that I do care for. I will not deny that my viewpoint is alien, and is probably not too dissimilar to how most gods view the peoples of their worlds, but I would like you to believe that I am a bit different in my outlook than such foolish creatures."

"So then we're back to my original question, what is your goal?" Silfana still wasn't exactly sold on Akagi being different.

"Peace and happiness." Akagi's answer confused the Vampire. "I want to live in a place where those two things are a constant, despite how hard it might be to maintain." The fact that there was not a hint of deception in her words confused Silfana.

"B-But what does that even mean?" Silfana stumbled over her words, as this was not what she expected. "What does that look like?"

"A quiet place, separate from the chaos that surrounds it." Akagi leaned back in her chair. "I want to create a small island of calm among the storm that is reality. A place where I and the ones I care about can ride out eternity apart from the chaos that such a thing entails." She let out a small laugh. "In spite of my title, my instincts, and my past actions, what I really desire... what I really want is to just be left alone. I've had enough hardship and pain in my short existence, and I'm content with nothing more than to be allowed peace. Between you and I, if I could take Yumi and run off to some far corner of creation and just be with her.... that would be my ideal future." She laughed. "But she wouldn't want that, and I've got plenty of people who I can't leave alone, so making this place into something close enough to that ideal will have to suffice."

"Y-You sound like some kind of monk who's found enlightenment..." Silfana hadn't expected this answer.

{What the hell is a being like you doing talking about happiness and contentment?!? Shouldn't you lust for power? Desire destruction? Or want people to worship you?!?} (Silfana)

"I wouldn't go that far." Akagi giggled. "I just find myself naturally detached from the world around me. Though I'm not entirely detached like a monk would be, as I find myself enjoying the creations of those outside my purview." She might not care much about the rest of the world's people, but she enjoyed what they did and created.

{Without humans, who would make my video games and anime?!?} (Akagi)

"But why not bring everything under your control then? Surely that would keep things peaceful?" Silfana asked. "If everything was under the control of one person, I think that would reduce the risk of conflict." That was her goal during her time in FWO, after all.

"I suppose that I could do something like that." Akagi smiled. "Raising a vast army and unleashing it on this entire Universe as I slowly conquered it would be possible, but... I just don't want to..." She let out a small laugh. "The amount of time that would take... it would be... well, even for me, we're talking in the millions of years, Silfana. And... and that's time I'd rather spend in a much smaller portion of the world, spending each of those moments with those who matter to me."

"But you live forever, so does it really matter how long it takes?" Silfana still didn't see the problem. As beings without lifespans, wasn't taking as long as you wanted to do something the luxury they were afforded?

"You are correct in that it doesn't matter to me." Akagi pointed to herself. "But in a million years..." She turned to look out the window behind her. "In a million years, this world will look vastly different... so many people will have been born, lived, and died, and so many wonderful and unique events will have occurred, all while I was away..." Akagi stood up and looked out the window, watching a bird sit on a fence. "Why would I want to waste all that time just to create an ordered world, one that will likely not stay ordered, mind you, when it means giving up so much time... Time that might not matter to me... but which matters to those around me." The thought of Kana, and the girls dying one day terrified her. Akagi had no idea how she would handle a member of her family or one of her friends disappearing, and she'd already set plans in motion to prevent such things.

"T-That's an interesting perspective. I never thought about it like that." Silfana was still unsure what to say.

"Long-lived beings, ones that do not need to worry about lifespans, tend to forget that the world around them lives and dies. That the other races only exist within the world for such short spans and then move on to the next." Akagi explained. "It's only natural that you'd forgotten that."

"S-So wait, what I'm getting from this... is that you want to share as much time with those short-lived creatures as possible? Is that right? Y-You want to make those short lives as enjoyable and peaceful as you can?" Silfana had a sudden realization.

{What the hell...} (Silfana)

Akagi turned around and smiled. "That's right. Perhaps it's a bit egotistical of me, and perhaps it's a bit utopian... but it's what I want."

"So... then what is it that you want from me?" Silfana asked. "What use can I be in a project like that? I'm nothing more than a warmonger who can do little more than destroy."

"I'd say your a bit more than that." Akagi laughed before walking around her desk standing in front of Silfana, and placing a hand on the Vampire's shoulder. "It might have been a nation of monsters, but you were still their leader, and I could use that valuable experience." She continued. "Not to mention, having a warmonger or two in my group of advisors is quite useful! It's not good to surround oneself with nothing but peaceniks, and I suspect the voice of someone who knows the reality of war will be essential in the future."

"You really think that I'll be that helpful?" Silfana's eyes widened at Akagi's words. She'd never been told such things by anyone and had resigned herself to be nothing more than a leader of monsters.

{I'd been so hell bent on my vengeance and reclaiming my birthright, that I'd never imagined that my skill or talents could be used for anything but that purpose...} (Silfana)

"I do." Akagi smiled. "So if you're up to it, let's work together to make my dream a reality. Perhaps along the way... you might come to understand things as I have."

After a moment of silence, Silfana burst out laughing. "I can't believe any of this!" She laughed hysterically. "The being of darkness and evil is asking me to make a happy world of peace and prosperity! What kind of crazy situation is this?!?" She was nearly doubled over in her chair.

{Trust me, the irony isn't lost on me either...} (Akagi)

"You know what, sure." Silfana was still laughing. "I've spent my entire life at war with others, and I've never even given thought to a life of peace." She stuck out her hand, and Akagi shook it. "So let's see if we can't make that ideal your a reality."

"Then, let's say we get to work." Akagi smiled. "I've already got a few things you can get started on. Ones that don't involve embarrassing outfits."