The Red Hand

Chapter 229 – Small Dreams.

"You're really going all out with this whole tournament thing, aren't you?" Halifax and Akagi were sitting on a comfy blanket as they watched the ongoing construction of the arena. Most of the foundation and the walls had been completed, primarily with magic, so the remainder of the work being done was on the interior and surrounding buildings.

"You say that like you aren't excited to take part in said tournament." Akagi was sitting in Halifax's lap in cat mode, enjoying ear scratches as she was fed snacks.

In spite of her initial encounter with the Demon, Halifax had taken to her new friend quite well. So much so that when she saw a small Catkagi being played with, she was insistent that she get a turn.

Naturally, this brought eye-rolling and chuckling from the girls, but Akagi just chalked it up to her being too adorable to ignore, and it wasn't like the Demon was ever going to turn down more attention.

"Yeah, I never imagined that I'd be participating in a Demon Lord's fucking tournament." Halifax rolled her eyes. "But I couldn't help myself. These returnees are crazy strong, and I want to fight that Hishya girl." She'd gotten a small glimpse at the Dragon's power during some sparring between her and Akagi, and Halifax had been itching to fight her since then.

{Its always fun to test myself against someone strong, and from what I can see that Dragon girl is the perfect opponent.} (Halifax)

"I can't wait to see the two of you go at it too!" Akagi smiled as she was given head pats. "Hishya's gotten a bit full of herself after beating Serval, and it'll be nice to see you smack her down." She cackled.

{That dumb lizard has always been arrogant, but her Dragon blood and newfound power have only made that worse. It will be good to remind her that she's not top dog around here. Not to mention that seeing her get thrown around will just be plain funny.} (Akagi)

"I've fought Dragons before, but that girl is definitely stronger than the ones from Enoris." Halifax said while she sipped some tea from a thermos. "Elder Dragons are powerful forces of nature, but even they wouldn't be able to deal with her. It's crazy how magic was able to artificially create such powerful beings." She'd been clued in on the whole FWO situation, and thought it was crazy.

{They were basically playing pretend and then woke up with all that ridiculous power. I wonder if it could be replicated, though it really shouldn't be... Power like that shouldn't be given out freely or easily, and this world has already seen the consequences of giving immature fools such immense power.} (Halifax)

"The good news is that any and all methods of replicating that ritual, at least via the Spirit's methods have been... dealt with." Akagi coughed.

"You destroyed the records, didn't you?" Halifax said as she began flipping the kitty's ears inside out. “Kitty wanted to destroy, didn't she?” She laughed.

"MEW!” Akagi meowed in agreement. “I dove through everything they had, took any information on the ritual from their archives, and then told Mizumi that she'd best forget everything that she knew about it herself, or I could do it for her." The Demon's threat was very real, as she could easily mind wipe Mizumi, or anyone else for that matter. Her soul experiments taught her much about the fundamental building blocks of life, and Black Company was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Are you worried someone might make an Anti-Demon Lord hero of justice?" Halifax laughed as she continued to give ear scratches.

"Yes." Akagi nodded. "I won't permit it! Anyone who tries to position themselves above me will be eliminated." She wouldn't tolerate anyone telling her what to do, and people who could rise to such a status wouldn't be given the chance to do so.

"Ruthless little kitty, aren't you?" Halifax laughed as she continued playing with Akagi's ears. “Why must such a cuddly little creature be so evil?” She have a quick squeeze.

"MEW! Nyall I wamt is ta be da supweme oberwoard of all weeawity." Akagi looked up at Halifax with the cutest look that she could muster while using a cat accent. "Nyuu woodent deny mees such a smol dweams wooods nyuu? MEW!"

{Laying it on reeeeal thick there, aren't we?} (Halifax)

"Ah yes, such small dreams." Halifax rolled her eyes. "What's next? Will you make all mortals worship you? Should I expect demands for blood sacrifices to give you power?" She'd seen Demons do exactly that kind of thing before.

{Though since this is YOU, I suspect that you'd probably force us all to feed you treats and snuggle with you rather than eat our souls.} Halifax laughed at her absurd joke.

"Nah, that kinda stuff is for those lameo gods." Akagi only tolerated the clan's religion because she felt too bad to shut it down, and she herself didn't actually want to or like being worshiped. "Being feared and respected is much better than being worshiped. Having the mortals quake in fear is such a fun feeling! MEW!"

{Adding MEW to the end of that sentence doesn't suddenly make the PREVIOUS statement cute and happy...} (Halifax)

"Well, regardless of your intentions, I can tell you that whether you call it worship or not, the Gods of Enoris are not going to like competing with you for influence." Halifax sighed. She'd dealt with them enough times to know how they could act towards a perceived threat to their power. They hated competition and wouldn't hesitate to crack down on anything that threatened their monopoly on faith, and had ruthlessly disposed of others in the past

"Don't worry your pretty little head." Akagi giggled. "They won't be competing with me, as that would imply they have a chance."

"So what? You're just going to kill them?" Halifax asked for clarification. "Can you even do something like that?" She figured that killing Gods wasn't an easy feat, even for a Demon Lord, since Vikes didn't seem to be able to do it without great effort and a bit of luck.

"Not only can I kill them, but it would be easy." Akagi smiled as she was pet. "But that's not what I plan on doing anyway." She hopped off Halifax's lap and turned to face her, much to the Divine Blade's dismay. "I'm going to something a bit more fun in store for them. " Her smile gave Halifax chills.

"A-And that would be?" Halifax gulped. She had no idea what manner of hell Akagi would inflict upon the Gods, but she braced for the worst.

"I'm going to take away what they've built." Akagi explained her plan, her eyes glinting with excitement. "I'm going to make it so that they've no choice but to watch in horror as their entire world turns against them. They've spent the better part of forever secure in their own position, feeding off the worship of others like pigs at a trough." She cackled. "Imagine how much fun it would be to watch them despair as it all dwindled away! As the worshipers who once looked upon them with reverence instead scorned them and their very existence!"  She'd been thinking about the perfect revenge plan for a while, and this was the one she settled on.

"T-That's an interesting plan..." Halifax didn't really know what to say in response to Akagi's declaration. She knew some people who wanted to become Gods, but she'd never met someone who wanted to do something like this. "Are you planning on moving that worship to yourself?"

{You're a godlike existence, so it wouldn't be strange for you to desire worship. Heck Demons tend to form cults and create their own quasi-religions, so it wouldn't be weird for a Demon Lord to do the same. Lord knows some crazy people worship Vikes even to this day...} (Halifax)

"Hah!" Akagi laughed loudly. "No. I have no interest in being compared to something as petty as a God. I suspect some people might worship me in that way, and I'm not exactly going to play whack-a-mole with such people, but my primary goal is to undermine those foolish God's position; not to take their place in people's hearts and minds." She was more interested in relaxing in her own little world, and had no interest or intention of lording over vast populations if she could help it.

{Though my plan DOES involve me being a savior of sorts. So, I'm not going to be surprised if placing myself in something like a godlike role becomes necessary. Though I think I'll play up the whole angry and bloodthirsty Demon thing a bit more, just for funzies. Maybe I'll even have a bit of fun with it?!? I've got eternity to mess about, so perhaps I should go full tyrant on them for a few centuries before fading away in the background. Then, they'll think stories of me are little more than just that as the years go by, then BAM! I return from the shadows to reap their souls and remind them just how real I am! Just kidding!} (Akagi)

"Just know that I'm not going to be much help against the Gods." Halifax cautioned her. "I was created by one, and thus they have a level of control over me. In the past..." She stopped for a moment, as she recalled what Akagi assumed was a painful memory. "I was forced to let that bitch use me against my will... I... I can't fight against them..." That incident was the straw that broke the camel's back, and it was the reason why she lost all trust in Elariel. She only agreed to help in this case was because the price of ignoring the God's request would've been too great.

"Hmmm." Akagi examined Halifax. "I wonder if I can do anything about that?"

{Perhaps I can severe that control? At the very least I should be able to disrupt it a bit.} (Akagi)

"Short of reforging me, you'd need to eliminate all of Enoris's Gods." Halifax shook her head, knowing that the others would probably have a way to bind her even if Elariel was destroyed. "I've no interest in being changed into a Demonic sword, so that option is out too. Besides, my distaste for the Gods does not mean that I dislike who or what I am, and I'd say that I'm... proud of my status if that makes sense." She gave a wry smile.

"I get it." Akagi nodded. "It's a pride thing, so you don't need to explain it. Not to mention there would be side effects from using my power to override the divinity within you." She figured that it might cause unintended side effects, like with Misha.

"If you were to do something that extreme, then I suspect that I wouldn't even be the same person anymore, and I really don't want that." Halifax flopped backward onto the blanket. "I like being the Divine Blade Halifax. It's just that I just don't want to deal with all the bullshit from my creator." She sighed.

"Do you want her dead?" Akagi asked as she moved over and sat next to her. "Killing Elariel would be easy enough. I don't mind doing it if you want." Akagi didn't exactly understand why she felt this level of kinship with Halifax, but the Demon didn't care.

"I don't... I don't want her dead..." Halifax looked over at her. "After everything that happened between us, I know that she felt bad about what happened. We haven't spoken in nearly a thousand years, but I know that she does regret using me like she did. It's just that I can't..." She paused.

"Trust her." Akagi finished for her. "That makes sense. She has the power to control you, and she used it to make you do something that you didn't want to do. That kind of violation of trust may not be fixable." She shook her head. This situation reminded her a bit too much of her own issues with Shima and Taichi.

{I wonder if part of the problem is that she saw Elariel as a kind of mother figure. She did create her, and I suspect that Halifax put a lot of trust in her as a result. So when she was forced to do something that she didn't want to by the one person who she thought would never betray her, it was probably a traumatic experience. That kind of situation... it hits a bit too close to home for me. I... I did trust Shima and Taichi when I was younger, and it wasn't until that day... The day they told me they never loved me... that I finally understood the truth. That I was foolish to harbor any emotional attachment to those people.} (Akagi)

"I... I don't know. All I know is that I felt... violated." Halifax bit her lip. "It was scary, and after that... I broke for a while." She seemed to recall a sad memory but Akagi didnt pry.  "Once I regained my sanity I never went back to see her again, even though we'd always spent so much time together in the past."

{Part of me misses those days, but I just can't go back. Not after...} Halifax shook off those depressing thoughts as Akagi spoke.

"That's why I don't do things like that to my friends or family. If I can't get them to do it freely, I'd never force them. I care too much about them to risk hurting them like that. I might have all the power in the world, but it means nothing if I have to be alone again." That was Akagi's biggest fear, and part of why she used a lighter touch around the girls. They knew just how bad Akagi's actions could be, but she always made sure to keep them out of sight if she needed to be a bit excessive.

{I might joke around and mess with them, but using my power to override their free will is NOT something that I'm ok with. They'd never look at me the same way, and I don't want 'friends' who think they have to do what I want out of fear of reprisal or something.} (Akagi)

"Its strange that a Demon Lord has a more understanding of right and wrong than a God." Halifax giggled. "But then again, you're breaking all kinds of norms. So I guess that's not the strangest thing in the world."

"Perhaps not right and wrong, since I'd do some awful stuff to my enemies." Akagi laughed. "I'm not above trampling over those who've wronged me and those I care about." She'd never had any mercy for those who made themselves her enemy.

"I'm not much different in that regard." Halifax gave a sad smile. "I don't really like to take lives, but if someone is going to threaten me or those I care about, I won't hesitate."

{Though its still not something that sits well with me.} (Halifax)

"This world is far too cruel to allow weak-hearted people peace." Akagi commented. "I've seen far too many people try to bring idealistic views into the real world, only to have them crushed beneath the weight of reality."

"It doesn't help that the road to hell is oft paved with the best intentions." Halifax knew that all too well, and she'd seen it firsthand during her long lifetime. So many people started as heroes, only to eventually turn into the thing they swore to defeat. "Those stupid 'Heroes' that the Gods summoned are just another example of such foolishess." She flipped on her side and started to pet Akagi's ears causing the Demon to coo.

"You know." Halifax yawned. "It's criminal how fluffy you are. I've met plenty of beastkin in my day, but none... come... close..." She slowly fell asleep as Akagi put her hand back on the blanket.

"I do take pride in being fun to play with. It's not right if only I get enjoyment from the fluffing." Akagi giggled as she curled up on the blanket next to Halifax for a nap of her own. For whatever reason, she'd grown close to the Sword Girl over these past weeks. They hadn't known each other for long, but they both felt as if they'd been friends for a long time. Perhaps it was the fact that they were both so similar, as each had developed a mistrust for others and spent so much time in isolation. Or perhaps, it was that each needed someone to talk to. Someone who could understand their struggles and could relate to what they'd been through.