The Red Hand

Chapter 223 – More than a Tool.

Once their discussion was finished and things wrapped up for the night, Halifax decided to relax in the garden with some coffee and a snack. It was already late into the night and, while she wasn't tired, the day's events exhausted her mentally.

{So, this is another world?} Halifax thought to herself as she looked at the moon. She'd found herself enjoying the chocolate-covered snack she was provided and thought it went great with her coffee.

"Kinda strange, only seeing one moon." Halifax thought out loud. “And for it to be white rather than green and blue...”

{It's strange. Looking up at Enoris's twin moons did little to comfort me knowing who they represented, but this one... it brings me a bit of peace.} (Halifax)

Halifax sat in the garden for a while, sipping her drink as she stared at the moon. She'd done this countless times during her travels, but something in the air brought her calm and removed just a bit of the stress from her body.

"It's a beautiful night." Akagi said as she walked up beside her, Kiseru in hand. “Not to hot, even for this late into Summer, and its quite dry.” She'd just gotten finished one of her meetings with the heads of the clan, and figured she'd see what her guest was doing.

"Indeed. Its a perfect night to spend your time outside and looking up at the stars." Halifax didn't look at her. "I'm used to sleeping outdoors, and over the years, I've seen the moons of Enoris countless times, so it's strange to think I'll sleep without them in my sight tonight." It wasn't everyday that one got to travel to an entirely different world, and Halifax didn't know if she'd ever return to Enoris.

Akagi lit her Kiseru and took a puff. "Would you like some?" She asked, offering her another pipe.

"No thanks." Halifax shook her head. "I never really enjoyed smoking, nor what it did to those who partook." She didn't really like the smell either, and thought people were crazy for smoking indoors.

"Well, I wouldn't recommend it for humans." Akagi laughed. "This stuff has some nasty effects on the body, but you and I don't need to worry about that." She smiled.

"Why am I not surprised that you knew..." Halifax sighed. She didn't really like when people found out her secret, though she figured a Demon Lord could tell that she wasn't what she appeared to be.

"There is little that can get past me. Not to mention, I've already met two others like you before." Akagi let out a puff.

"You mean those two Spirits within your sister and her friend?" Halifax asked about Hikari and Momo. "I thought they seemed similar to me, but I wasn't entirely sure what they were." She figured they might have been some kind of spiritual entity from this world, rather than living weapons like her.

"Compared to you, those two might as well be kitchenware!" Akagi laughed. "Heck, you might honestly be the most powerful being I've ever met, and that's saying something considering one of my best friends is the Dragon Empress." She chuckled. The level of power that Akagi could detect within Halifax was substantial, and enough that she figured a battle between her and Hishya would be close.

{I would really like to see what Halifax is capable of. If what Mizumi told me about her is accurate, then I'd love to see what she can do in a real fight.} (Akagi)

"Please keep this information to yourself." Halifax looked into her eyes. "Mizumi is aware of my true identity, but I'd like to limit who knows the truth... It's... its something that I don't wish to speak of." She looked down at the ground.

{Being forged by that bitch, used as a tool, and then discarded... I do not hate what I am, but I'd rather others see me as little more than a powerful adventurer. I'm tired of people seeing me as little more than a tool forged by the gods...} (Halifax)

"If you wish for this to be kept secret, then I shall not say anything." Akagi nodded. "And I will inform Momo and Himari to keep quiet about this too, since I imagine they also know what you are." She glanced down at the Azure blade resting beside Halifax. "But if you would, please allow me to say one thing." There was something important that the Demon wanted to comment on.

"Go ahead." Halifax replied lazily.

"You're beautiful." Akagi's comment caused Halifax to become momentarily stunned. "As one who follows the path of the blade and takes pride in her weapons, you are truly a work of art and a masterpiece of craftsmanship."

{The only blade that comes close to her is World Breaker, and even after its upgrades, it still might not measure up.} (Akagi)

"Is that a confession of your love?" Halifax shook her head as she laughed.

"No." Akagi giggled. "Just merely an observation. My heart belongs to Yumi and no one else, but I couldn't help but admire your form. I apologize if that came across strangely." She knew it would be awkward, but said it anyway.

"I take no offense, and its not a problem." Halifax chuckled. "To be honest, I've rarely had anyone comment on my appearance like that." She rubbed the blade next to her in a gentle and loving manner. "Most people only care about my power, few even notice the rest..."

{Hell, most of my past wielders wouldn't even speak to me...} (Halifax)

"Then that is a complete and utter shame.” Akagi sighed. “A blade is much more than a tool used to kill. It is a work of art, and ought to be treated with the utmost respect." She smiled. "My own partner is being reforged and upgraded as we speak, and I cannot wait to see him again." She took a hit of her pipe.

"You speak of your blade like it's a person." Halifax commented.

"While he may not speak or have a human form like you, World Breaker is very much alive in his own way." Akagi smiled. "He's been at my side for nearly four years, and he's become my indispensable partner. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he was as excited to be upgraded as I was to upgrade him." She could feel something akin to excitement emanating from the blade when she picked up Rivenshaft's blade after their fight, and something told her that World Breaker wanted to be made even stronger.

"That is an... interesting mindset." Halifax smiled. She was happy to hear that Akagi saw her blade as more than just a mindless tool. "I've only met a few people in my life that treated their weapon with such respect, and it's strange to hear a Demon Lord speak that way."

{If anything, a Demon Lord should be the one being that has no respect for its weapon.} (Halifax)

Akagi laughed. "I might be a Demon Lord, but at the end of the day, I am much more than a destructive existence." She continued, snapping her finger and transforming into Rishia, wearing a school uniform.

"I take it that was your human form before you became the Demon Lord?" Halifax had gotten most of the story earlier during their discussions.

{You do look pretty normal like that. Though your eyes... They seem far to sharp, and filled with anger for a human.} (Halifax)

"Indeed." Akagi nodded. "I detest this form, but I wanted to make a point." She continued as she took another hit from her pipe. "Contrary to what most people believe, Demon Lords do not exist within a vacuum. We are born into a world as one of its people, and it is only after succumbing to the darkness implanted within us that we become the monster you've encountered." Demon Lords were external beings of a sort, but they always sprung up from a world's inhabitants, and never appeared from the outside.

"So Vikes was also some carefree kid before he went mad?" Halifax asked. Wondering if that held true for the Demon Lord she'd killed.

{When I met him, he seemed to be little more than a blood-crazed monster. I doubt there was any of his humanity left at that point} (Halifax)

"I cannot say for certain, but based on my experience and what I know about my own kind, that is probably correct." Akagi nodded. "He was likely born to human parents, grew up with human siblings and friends, and lived as any other human from your world would. That is, until the day came that he could no longer resist what was in his heart, and he broke free of the restraints placed upon him." She'd had to confront that very day herself, and she knew just how irresistible that darkness was.

"So tell me." Halifax's eyes went sharp. "You said that you've put those dark feelings to rest, and that you are no longer compelled to destroy this world. But just how deep down under that facade is the real Demon Lord?" She wanted to know how close to the surface the Demon within was.

{I can tell that no matter how amicable and human you look and act on the outside, a truly horrific evil lurks within you... just beneath the surface.} (Halifax)

Akagi let out a Demonic laugh before answering. "Closer to the surface than most would expect, but deep enough not to be an issue.} She snapped her fingers and returned to her usual appearance.

"As long as people leave me in peace, I have little reason to allow my true nature to surface." Akagi winked. "I just want to be left alone with my family, and enjoy peace and happiness with those I've come to care for. If I'm granted that, then most have nothing to fear.” The Demon would pick snuggling with Yumi and being pet, over destruction any day of the week.

Halifax shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe a Demon Lord wants nothing more than an idyllic life. I sure as hell can't imagine Vikes happily farming eternity away." She let out a small laugh.

Akagi thought for a moment before speaking. "The call to destruction, and our inbuilt nature for catastrophe... It is an alluring, almost seductive call that exists within the back of our minds." She continued. "It nips at each thought, sneaks its way into every action we take, and eventually it begins to leak into how we interact with the world around us, long before we're released." She understood now why she had so many behavioral and mental issues growing up. They were largely brought upon by her true nature leaking out, and influencing her human mind. "This inevitably causes friction and alienation amongst our peers, and without counterbalancing forces to push back those dark thoughts, they slowly take over our mind until well... you saw how Vikes was."

{I imagine that he was nothing more than a homicidal maniac. A being of darkness pushed forward by anger, rage, and sadism. Its truly a pity that he was forced to go down that route, but such is the fate of our kind. We exist to destroy, so that is what we must do.} (Akagi)

"He could speak, but his thought process was so alien... It was as if he hated the very world around him..." Halifax thought back to her encounters with the Demon Lord. "I don't know what his life was like before he started attacking, so I can't really verify your claims. But perhaps you're right."

"Speaking from my personal experience, it is likely that by the time he went, berserk Vikes was alone in the world, with nothing more than the darkness to keep him company." Akagi gave a bitter smile. "I know how it feels to have that little voice in your head telling you to just kill them all and be done with it. I'll tell you right now that it's not easy to ignore it, and I nearly succamb to it a few times."

{That same darkness nearly made me kill my sister, likely as a method of forcing me out of my seal. If Kana had died that night, I would have had nothing keeping me human, and the last bit of light in my life would have been snuffed out.} (Akagi)

"The only reason I did not go down the same path as Vikes was because, unlike him, I had enough reasons not to give in and let my nature take control." Akagi smiled. "I have a younger sister who loves me, and an entire family that I've made here. Not to mention I've bonded with someone who makes me happier than I ever imagined possible.” She continued. “It was the bonds I forged in FWO that made it possible to banish those dark thoughts from my mind once and for all, freeing me to accept who and what I am." She figured that while FWO was a traumatic experience for most, it was probably the best possible thing that could have happened to her, and by extension this world.

"So, was it possible for Vikes to become like you?" Halifax asked. “Could he have just lived a normal life if given the chance?”

"Perhaps." Akagi shrugged. "But the knowledge I was given tells me that no other Demon Lord has ever managed to pull this off, so while possible I say it was improbable."

{What happened with me was basically a series of coincidences all coming together to make the perfect ending. If anything had changed along the way, its likely this world would be nothing more than a dead and barren world by now.} (Akagi)

"But that still means that it was possible!" Halifax bit her lip in anger. "If... if people had done more to help him... if only they'd tried harder to work with him and help calm the darkness in his mind... then all those innocent people wouldn't have died." She put her head in her hands as she despaired.

"While you are correct, I'd say you're asking for a lot, Halifax." Akagi chuckled. "People are not always the best at handling a crisis, and knowing a bad-tempered child from a Demon Lord is asking for the impossible."

{How could anyone possibly know that their child is a Demon Lord? I guess Shima and Taichi knew that something was wrong with me, but they didn't exactly expect THIS, now did they?} (Akagi)

"But that he was driven to believe that the world had forsaken him to the point that he would succumb to that inner darkness... it just... it just makes me wonder if people are even worth the effort of saving..." Halifax sighed.

{I've dedicated the better part of four thousand years to helping people, and trying to make the world a better place. But has it really done any good? Has it been worth all that effort? Just to save people who end up damming themselves?} (Halifax)

"Far be it from me to defend humanity, but I'd say you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater on this one." Akagi took another hit of her pipe. "Sure, mortals make mistakes, and they even cause misery and suffering to each other. But that does not mean that we should exterminate them, nor should you forsake them simply because of their flaws." The irony of a Demon Lord saying this was not lost on either of them, but they ignored that for the moment.

"But they keep making the same mistakes..." Halifax looked up at her. “That's my biggest issue...”

"That is simply a part of life my friend." Akagi let out a puff. "And I think you are looking at things a bit too cynically anyway." She pulled out a blanket and sat down on it. "Because mortals live and die, it's only natural that subsequent generations will make the same mistakes as their forebearers." She continued. "However, just as mistakes can be repeated, they can also be learned from." The Demon smirked. "Take this world, for example. In the last century, mankind engaged in the two most brutal conflicts in its history, and between the two World Wars, nearly a hundred million people died.”

"Not really making a good case there..." Halifax squinted in doubt.

Akagi put up a finger. "BUT. It was because of those two wars that this planet has had an unprecedentedly long period of peace, which was something unthinkable just a few hundred years ago." Akagi smiled. "It took such massive bloodshed and death to finally get the message across to humanity that it needed to start working on itself and finding better ways to handle things. Sure it hasn't been perfect, and conflict can break out, but overall the world and people's lives have improved dramatically since the end of the Second World War."

"But it still took so much death and destruction to get to this point." Halifax commented. “Is that really a good trade?”

"True." Akagi nodded. "But here's the thing, in the end, humanity DID learn, Halifax." She said seriously. "This has happened over and over again throughout this world's history. Humanity spends centuries or millennia doing horrible things to one another, and you think that things will never change, then BANG, something clicks within people, and they start to change course." She continued. "A good example of this is slavery. For basically all of human history, every culture had or engaged in slavery of some form. However, over time, humanity came to understand the barbarity of such a practice, and by the end of the 1800s, it was outlawed in most of the world. OUTLAWED! Akagi exclaimed, which startled Halifax a bit. "A practice that was literally as old as humanity itself and something that was always seen as normal was banned pretty much worldwide, and seen as something disgusting!" She continued her explanation further, and it seemed that Halifax was actually quite interested. "Things weren't exactly roses for those newly freed slaves, but imagine this. In around a century from 1865 to 1965, you went from enslaving an entire race of people, to giving them equal legal rights. Humanity, in such a short span of time, changed its attitude to the point that it not only banned enslaving a people it once saw as inferior, but then acknowledged them as legal equals and worked to ensure their fair treatment under the law!” Akagi smiled.

“Humanity, as a short-lived species, tends to be slow when it comes to social changes, so for that kind of rapid change is unprecedented and shows that not only can humanity learn from its mistakes, it can become better because of that learning experience." She thought that showed the best part of humanity, since it could and did learn from the past.

"I guess... I guess I never thought of it like that..." Halifax thought for a moment. "I suppose it's similar to the idea that you need to suffer in order to understand happiness. In this case, you need to make mistakes, sometimes over and over again before you finally move forward and succeed."

{Though its still not pleasant.} (Halifax)

"Indeed. This is merely one example of humanity learning from the past, and I'm sure that some people might disagree with me. But I see such events as proof that humanity is not a lost cause and that, while it might stumble, it will eventually find the right path and improve." Akagi smiled.

"I can't believe that I'm being talked into having faith in humanity by a Demon Lord..." Halifax laughed, and so did Akagi.

After moving onto another topic, the two women sat in the garden until dawn broke, discussing their pasts and getting to know each other a bit better. Perhaps it was a bit early to tell, but Akagi believed she could become good friends with Halifax. She might have been a Divine blade forged to kill the Demon Lord, but right now Akagi saw her as nothing more than a lonely girl in need of someone to talk to.