The Red Hand

Chapter 244 – The Dumetor Interworld Tournament.

"H-Holy hell..." Kirika marveled at the enormous arena before her. She'd only just arrived at Akagi's estate, but she was already lost for words by the sheer size and scale of the stage that the Demon had made for her show.

{T-This thing is huge! How the hell did she build it all in like a month?!?} (Kirika)

Due to the windey mountain roads, you couldn't really see the arena on the approach, and it was only after cresting one last hill that she managed to get a good look at it. The massive tan structure looked like some kind of ancient Roman Hippodrome combined with an Olympic stadium.

"I guess the Demon Lord ain't no joke when it comes to construction either..." She gave a defeated laugh as she sat behind the wheel of her car. Kirika wasn't expecting to even attend this event, but when offered there was no way she was going to turn down such an opportunity.

The official opening of the Dumetor Interworld Tournament would be tomorrow, but the contestants as well as members of the media were arriving today. Akagi wasn't too keen on having that many outsiders actually on the ground within her nation, so the number of outlets was limited, and she made sure to pull them from across the world to give more reach.

{Focus Kirikia! This is a big-time event! One that makes the Olympics look like a joke, and it's right here in my backyard! You were invited by the fucking Demon Lord to cover this Tournament for Japan, and you damn well better do a great job!} (Kirika)

She had no idea why Akagi chose her, though she thought that it had something to do with her being (A) from Kyoto and (B) because Akagi remembered her from the Tokyo press meeting. Though whatever the Demon's reasoning was didn't really matter to the reporter since she was being given exclusive access to what was turning into the hottest topic of discussion on the planet.

{This could easily be the highlight of my entire career! So get it together and make sure you don't fuck this up, Kirika!} (Kirika)

"We've seen these kids fight before, but getting this many together for an all-out event to dedicate the formation of a new country..." Kirika shook her head as she imagined just how chaotic things were about to get. "This last year with these returnees has been crazy, and this might honestly take the cake." She gave a dead laugh as she slumped over her wheel.

{At least the upside is that I've had quite a lot of fun covering them and their antics, though I do wish they'd stop doing such crazy things, at least for a little while. Fighting a giant Dragon right next to Kyoto was a bit excessive...} (Kirika)

After taking a moment to psych herself up, Kirka got out of her car. From the parking lot, she could see a dozen or so other news organizations had sent reporters, with most clearly being from overseas. Akagi had invited to a few news outlets from around the world, and offered to put them up during the event. She didn't really want reporters on the ground but figured it best to just let a few in to placate the flood of requests she was getting. The only catch was that they would have to send people who spoke fluent Japanese since she wasn't about to have her people play translator.

"Jeez, she got people from the States, the UAE, China, how many dozens of European countries, I think that man is a Brazilian reporter that I've seen before, and there are some that I don't recognize." Kirka said as she pulled her pack out of the car. Lucikily she was used to working alone and with her own small bag she could easily deliver footage live to all of Japan.

{Now, what am I supposed to do from here? She said that somebody would come and greet us all when we arrived, but that won't be until 8 am.} Kirika had arrived a bit later than most of the other reporters, as those who flew in had arrived in the previous days. Right now, it seemed that the other news agencies had taken up positions around their respective vehicles and were broadcasting.

"I guess I can try to go inside and-" Kirika's external thoughts were interrupted by a voice off to her side.

"Oh hey, you actually came." Hishya said as she walked over. She wasn't in any armor and was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants because it was a bit chilly in the early morning. "Good to see you again." She smiled.

"Hishya?" Kirika hadn't expected to meet the Dragon girl just yet and was a bit stunned by her sudden appearance. "I mean, it's good to see you too. But what are you doing out here? It's still rather early, isn't it?" She figured the second most well-known returnee wouldn't be just walking around the parking lot.

{I saw the pictures, but she really does look so much different now!} (Kirika)

"I just got up a bit ago and decided to head down." Hishya said as she yawned. "Not to mention a few news outlets wanted brief interviews before the lottery, and I need to bang those out." She said while stretching. Hishya was not a morning person, and becoming a Dragon had only made her desire to sleep even stronger.

{Kana is still nice and warm in the hoard. Lucky bastard gets to sleep in!} (Hishya)

"I guess that makes sense. Besides Akagi herself, you're kind of the star of this little show." Kirka giggled.

"Yeah, but unlike me, Akagi has no interest in being interviewed." Hishya laughed. "I bet she told you to take a hike when you asked, right?" She'd heard Akagi diplomatically tell some of the other reporters that she wouldn't interview in the prior days.

{That poor guy from Iran just wouldn't take no for an answer, and it didn't help that his assistant made a very big mistake by assuming that none of Akagi's clan spoke Farsi. That idiot was lucky she didn't end his life for those stupid comments of his.} (Hishya)

"You really do take well to the spotlight, you know that?" Kirika commented. "But I guess leading so many people for all those years gave you a bit of experience talking to so many people."

"Eh. I just roll with it." Hishya shrugged as she looked at the heavy bag that Kirika had on her back. "Let me take you to where Akagi's clan is doing check-in for those staying in the arena. I think you're a bit early, but I think Tsuchimi is there already."

"Thank you." Kirika nodded, and the two started toward one of the large main entrances. "I got told to be here for no later than eight, but nothing more than that. I was honestly starting to get worried."

"Yeah, most of the others were too." Hishya laughed. "But somebody would've come and gotten you eventually since they're watching everyone." She pointed into a tree off in the distance, where Sakura's ears could be barely seen poking through the leaves.

"I guess it makes sense that ninjas are hiding around!" Kirika burst out laughing.

"It's not like they even need to anyway." Hishya shrugged. "None of you can actually harm anyone, and it's not like this place isn't currently the most defended point on the fucking planet." She gave a wry smile. There were over two dozen players in and around Akagi's estate at the moment. If anyone tried anything, they were going to run head-first into the most powerful force one could imagine.

"True, and I doubt anyone would try anything anyway. We're all painfully aware that fighting any of you is not only a bad idea but one that would incur the wrath of a certain Demon Lord." Kirika gave a nervous smile.

"Hey, people have been trying to mess with Akagi even after I warned them. At this point, I don't put anything past people." Hishya sighed. "But hopefully with a full third of the former players in irons and the vast majority of the rest either on Akagi's side or at least neutral, things should be fine. There are a few players that are unaccounted for, but from what I recall, none of them are all that powerful."

{Wing is probably the most dangerous of that bunch, but even he couldn't do much damage before somebody stepped in to stop him if he tried anything.} (Hishya)

The two talked a bit more before Hishya showed Kirika to the front desk area where Sagara and Tsuchimi were waiting. Both had started working for Akagi in Omara but had been brought here to act as administrative staff, and while Tsuchimi's plain look meant she flew under the radar, Sagara was anything but ordinary.

"I've brought your newest victim, Saga." Hishya snickered as they walked up to the counter. "Make sure you don't crush Kirika here into a paste-like you did that last guy."

{PASTE?!? And why is this woman HUGE?!? She's like a eight-foot-tall amazon! I feel like she could fold me like laundry with her bare hands!} (Kirika)

Sagara was, despite her large and imposing stature, a monk like Elna. Though, unlike the Elf, she was a type of monk that focused solely on channeling Ki through her body to augment her unarmed attacks rather than mixing in elemental damage types. Though the fact that she was a massive dark-skinned beauty with long black hair and green eyes usually overshadowed anything else.

"Please ignore the lizard." Sagara sighed. "Her owner is currently asleep, so the pet is running wild." She smirked.

{Pet?!?} (Kirika)

Hishya rolled her eyes. "Don't be jealous that I've got a girlfriend, and you ain't got anybody."

"Listen, it's gonna take one hell of a man to want to date this." Sagara pointed to herself. "So I'm not expecting anything anytime soon." She'd tried dating since she got back, and found that very few men had the stomach to even talk to her, let alone go on a date.

"Though there is that one guy in the Admin Office that keeps looking at you." Tsuchimi poked her in the side. "Maybe you should give him a chance!"

"No way in hell." Sagara sighed. "I hate snakes, and that's not gonna work. He's too lizard-like for me, so that's a hard pass."

"Ah, so that's why you always sass me." Hishya giggled.

"No, I sass you because you're an idiot, and it's fun." Sagara had done this in the past and was always one to harass Hishya. "But before we get too far off track, who is this?"

"My name is Kirika Okonori, and I'm a reporter at Channel 5." Kirika gave over her badge and a copy of the letter Akagi had sent her as proof of invitation.

"Ah! I know you!" Tsuchimi exclaimed. "If I recall correctly, weren't you the reporter who broke that whole corruption scandal open in the Kyoto Mayor's office years back?" She recalled the massive amount of drama around that whole event.

"Y-Yeah." Kirika was a bit taken aback by Tsuchimi's warm smile. "That was a lot of work, but I'm still proud of it." She'd broken open a massive corruption ring that was central to the laundering of millions of dollars into politicians' pockets.

"Alright then." Sagara gave her back her I.D., not caring about who Kirika was. "Tsuchi here can take you to your room so that you know where it is. We'll be having a meeting in around half an hour to go over everything regarding the tournament. In the meantime, there's coffee and light snacks on the other side of the room.” She pointed to a table that the hungry Hishya was eyeballing.

{SCONES!} (Hishya)

“And also, just try to stay out of trouble, and please for the love of all that is holy don't harass anyone. I don't want to have to throw a second idiot out of this place in twenty-four hours." Sagara sighed.

{IS THAT THE PASTE THING?!?} (Kirika)

“D-Don't worry about that. I won't cause any trouble.” Kirika gave a nervous laugh.

“Good.” Sagara nodded as she started looking at a tablet screen.

"You can follow me. Rooms for guests are upstairs, so lets get you settled in." Tsuchimi got up and led Kirika up a small flight of steps. Akagi had constructed this place with a relatively large amount of rooms to accommodate participants and other guests, and each was quite luxurious. She'd even taken some inspiration from the Great Imperial Colosseum from FWO, and some of its interior design.

"All information for networking and such was forwarded to your email, and if you have any questions shoot a quick message to either myself or Sagara." Tsuchimi said as they approached one of the rooms. "You'll be in here, Room 45, and here is the key." She handed over a small key card that would be swiped on a reader next to the door. “Enjoy your time, and make sure you don't miss the meeting at eight." She smiled before bowing and heading back downstairs.

"Well, I guess I should check out the room a bit. I can't imagine it will be that interesting in here." Kirika swiped the card and slowly opened the door, only to be floored by the room's interior. "Wha-"

The inside of the room was large, easily the size of a luxury hotel room at a five-star hotel in Tokyo, and was immaculately decorated. The floor was made of real hardwood, and the interior walls were filled with decorative carvings and other motifs that made the room pop. On top of that, the furniture looked like something right out of a medieval castle, and Kirika could tell that everything in here was of the highest of quality.

As she walked into the room and put her hand on the bed, she was blown away by how soft the sheets were, and it didn't take her long to realize that real silk had been used to craft the bedding and drapes.

"What the fuck..." Kirika was completely stunned by this room. In all her years, she'd never seen something this luxurious and fine, and that it was just a simple room created for guests at a tournament left her head spinning.