The Red Hand

Chapter 306 – The Emperor of Mankind.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH! SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!" The crowd screamed as Akagi held the bleeding head of the Goddess by its hair. The dead God's eyes were frozen in place, showing shock at her own demise. Witnessing such a violent display, especially the death of a Goddess, wasn't something that anyone expected, and it shook the nearby worshipers to their core. Such a brazen, daylight attack against a Divine was completely unprecedented, especially in the Imperial Capital, and the absolute horror Akagi’s actions caused quickly set in.

"Muahahahaahahahha!" Akagi laughed, enjoying their fear. The object here was to create chaos and turmoil, though perhaps the Demon was having a bit more fun than was strictly necessary for that goal.

"Lady Tahena!" One of the Priests called out to the dead Goddess who's body bled out on the ornate floor below.

"Oh, do you want her?" Akagi laughed as she winded back for a pitch. "THEN HERE YOU GO!" She cackled as she chucked the head at the Priest, who caught it and let out a very high-pitched and feminine screech.

{THIS IS FUCKING GREAT!} (Akagi)

"Alright, everyone, it's been real, but I've got places to be and Gods to slay! So, au revoir!" With a laugh and smirk Akagi leaped over the panicking crowd and burst out of the main entrance of the Church just in time for a group of guards to get in her way at the gate.

"Halt!" The heavily armed guards formed up to block the main gate, getting into a defensive position with their spears at the ready. "Stop right there, in the name of the Church and the Emperor!"

"Well, when you put it that way... How about no!" Akagi said as she charged straight toward the guards, ignoring their demands and getting in and below one before delivering an uppercut straight to the jaw that sent the poor man flying so far into the sky that you couldn't see him anymore. "Too bad this world doesn't technically have space. Otherwise, I'd start putting people into parking orbit for fun!" The Demon laughed as she proceeded to send the rest of the men high into the atmosphere before laughing and spinning dramatically as she exited the Cathedral's premises. "Bye-bye, everyone! I hope you enjoyed today's special edition of Demon Lord killing Gods, and don't forget that you're all completely fucked!" She gave a two-finger salute as she took off down the street at high speed.

{MEEP! MEEP!} (Akagi)

"Well, that went about as crazy as I expected." Halifax said as she bit off the last part of her apple and threw the core in a nearby trashbin. "But did she really need to do that dramatic exit?"

{Who am I kidding, this is Akagi we're talking about...} (Halifax)

"Find that woman! Stop her!" As Halifax sat on the bench the guards started filing down the street in a desperate attempt to chase Akagi. "And send for healers! Lady Tahena is gravely injured!"

{Gravely injured... That's gotta be the understatement of the millenia.} (Halifax)

"Oh well..." Halifax stretched before standing up. "Rest in Pieces, Tahena."

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Akagi POV>

With the attack on the Goddess complete, Akagi began the second phase of her plan. She could easily vanish into thin air and there was no way she could be caught and restrained by mere guards, but she wanted to cause as much chaos as possible and so chose to have a 'chase' throughout the Capital. The Demon decided to let her flare for the dramatic take hold and ran down alleyways, knocked over cabbage carts and generally caused a mess as she zipped away from the Church, much to Halifax's amusement.

"Ah, come on! It's boring when you idiots can't even get close to me! Hurry the hell up before I get bored!" Akagi laughed as she leaped between buildings, spinning dramatically to dodge the myriad of magical attacks that the pursuing guards were flinging at her in a desperate attempt to bring her down.

*WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH*

{I haven't had a nice chase across the rooftops in so long! Ah, this reminds me of the mad dash out of the Capital when I bumped off old Blonde and conceited himself!} (Akagi)

"Man, this takes me back! Killing the Imperial Crown Prince and dodging so many guards and even getting to dunk on Hishya and her goons was so much fun! I need to play with the Dragon a bit more when I go back home!" Akagi laughed as she continued her 'daring escape' across the city before leaping into a large, and almost empty, parade ground. "Alright, perhaps this was enough horsing around. I should really get moving, I have tons of things to-" She paused mid-sentence as a huge blast of radiant energy was fired at her, which she easily deflected upward with the back of her hand.

*KABOOM!*

After being smacked into the air, the blast exploded, causing the entire Capital to rock and shake. It was so powerful that it blew out windows and knocked people and carts overall throughout the Imperial Capital, only adding to the confusion. There weren't many people who could perform such a feat, and the only person in the Capital even remotely capable of this level of destruction was somebody that the Demon had researched quite a bit before coming to Enoris.

"Emperor Hadrus." Akagi turned to face the golden-haired man as he was stepping out of his overly bejeweled carriage. "I was wondering if I'd run into you. Though I'm sorry to say that I'm not really in the mood to exchange pleasantries at the moment. Perhaps we can talk about your resignation later?" She smirked.

"Ho? You deflected my blast?" The Emperor stepped out of his carriage. He was wearing what Akagi assumed was some kind of formal attire that consisted of a blue and black heavy coat, likely because he was heading to an important meeting. "How interesting." He hummed as he eyed her up.

"I mean, it wasn't hard at all." Akagi shrugged. "I've dealt with far stronger attacks on the regular, and in fact my best friend's sneeze the other day probably had more force to it than your blast." She snickered as she recalled Hishya's face as a hill exploded.

"Hold it right there!" The group of guards that were chasing Akagi finally caught up, albeit clearly exhausted and out of breath. "Your Majesty! Stay back, we'll handle this assassin!" They placed themselves between the Emperor and Akagi, which was funny when one considered that Hadrus was so strong that they were never going to be more than minor speed bumps to any would be attacker.

"Assassin? I see, has she come to kill me?" The Emperor asked, stroking his fine beared.

"Nah." Akagi waved him off. "I wouldn't waste my time with all this drama for just a measly Emperor." She chuckled. "No, you see, my target was Tahena."

"You'd dare raise your blade to a Goddess?" The Emperor laughed, mostly because he thought it absurd that somebody would dare to attack a Divine being.

{Foolishness seems to have no ceiling, I suppose.} (Hadrus)

"Well, considering she's now dead, I'd say I did a bit more than 'raise my blade to her." Akagi retorted.

"What?!?" The Emperor's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the guards for answers.

"The Priests reported that she... removed Lady Tahena's head from her body..." The guard's words trailed off.

"I see..." The Emperor pushed the guards out of the way, his massive frame making such a feat easy. "Then I shall deal with this blasphemer personally." He allowed his cloak to fall to the floor and ripped off his shirt, revealing his chiseled body.

{Holy fuck! Keep Naomi away from this guy! Otherwise, she might fan girl!} (Akagi)

"Assassin." The Emperor spoke, his thunderous voice causing the ground to shake. "Before I kill you, tell me your name..." He flicked his right hand, causing a buckler to transform into what reminded Akagi of an arm blade that she'd seen from a Cyber Punk game. "So that I may ensure that it's forgotten." He growled, Akagi, noting that he had an incredible aura about him, almost as if he were on fire.

{No wonder they call this man the Lion Emperor. It's almost like radiant energy flows through his veins.} (Akagi)

"My name isn't really important." Akagi replied. "But you should know that I took the life of that Goddess in the name of the Demon Lord, Akagi Dumetor!" She laughed demonically.

"A Demon Lord, huh?" The Emperor laughed at the use of such a title. "I don't know whether you're just blustering or not, but it doesn't matter..." He flashed forward in an instant, faster than most could've handled. "I'll be ending your miserable existence right here!"

*CLANG*

"Wha?!?" The Emperor gasped as Akagi blocked his blade with her index finger, seeming to do so without any effort.

"Man, I've heard that far too many times over the years." Akagi sighed, tired of the cliche lines but also loving them at the same time because she was a massive nerd. "But I suppose that just means that I've been busy." She put a small amount of power into her other hand, slamming the Emperor center mass and sending him flying into his carriage, which exploded in a mess of jewels and wood.

"Your Majesty!" The guards moved to check on the Emperor, who erupted from within the debris, his face showing no emotion as he dusted himself off.

"Do not worry about me." The Emperor charged up another energy blast and hurled it at Akagi, who kicked it back at him like a soccer ball.

*BOOM*

The explosion was far smaller than before, but while the Emperor was unharmed, the blast had killed all the guards that were nearby.

"Oops." Akagi laughed. "I thought they'd survive, but oh well. I guess that's why the JV team shouldn't try to compete with Varsity!"

"You... Just who the hell are you?" The Emperor growled. He'd fought many tough opponents in his time, but the woman in front of him was something different. Akagi's aura was simultaneously as calm as a still lake while also being as violent as a tropical storm, and these contradictory feelings only made the Emperor more cautious.

{The destruction of a Divine Avatar means that she's extraordinarily powerful, if that's truly what she did. I only know of three who can perform such a feat, which means that I don't have the leeway to hold back.} (Emperor Hadrus)

"If nothing else I'm an assassin." Akagi chuckled. "A normal old assassin that you can find in any shady bar, though perhaps I have a bit more kick to me than most." She winked, which nobody could actually as her face was still concealed by shadow.

"Yeah, right." The Emperor sighed, not believing that for a second. "If that's all you were, then I'm certain that the myriad of people who want my head would already be celebrating my demise."

"Hey, you asked and i answered." Akagi shrugged. "But while I'd love to continue playing around, I've got things to do, places to be and waffles to eat." She turned to walk away, something that caused the Emperor's blood to boil.

{This woman! How dare she!} (Emperor Hadrus)

"Do you really think that I'm just going to allow you to leave?" The Emperor charged up an incredible amount of power into his armblade, far and away eclipsing what he'd used in his two prior attacks.

"Allow?" Akagi stopped and looked over her shoulder, her orange eye showing through the darkness provided by her hood. "Nobody 'allows' me to do anything. I just do." In that moment, Emperor Hadrus was hit with a feeling that he'd only experienced once before in life, a feeling of absolute dread and terror.

{Am... Am I afraid?} Emperor Hadrus had only felt fear when he'd accidentally angered a certain Divine Sword during the one and only time they'd met, and it was not a feeling that he ever expected to feel again.

"Hah! Hahahahhaha!" The Emperor laughed as he continued to charge up his most powerful attack. "To think that I'd find another person who can get me so excited!" He'd never had difficulty fighting others, and as a born prodigy Hadrus had only experienced the bitter taste of defeat a handful of times when he was younger. "Fine! If you're going to leave, then at least allow me to give you a going-away present!" He finished pouring his power into his blade and shifted his arm, pointing his blade straight at Akagi. "By the power of the Divine Sun, I banish the evil in my sight! SUN LANCE!" A massive explosion of energy erupted from the tip of his blade, taking on the form of a stream of blinding light. Hadrus knew that there would be significant collateral damage from using this technique within the Capital, but calculated that it was his best hope at taking Akagi down.

*WOOSH*

"You know, this is like the third or fourth time I've been hit by the power of the Sun." Akagi laughed as she was engulfed by the blast, which streaked up and out over the city walls before vanishing into the distance with a flash of light.

"Hah... Hah... Hah..." The Emperor heaved due to the exhaustion from his attack, and once the dust cleared all that remained was a massive burning streak in the ground that showed the path of his attack as well as a few burning buildings. "Did... Did... I destroy her?"

{No... No... There's no way... Something in the pit of my stomach is telling me that she walked away without a scratch...} The Emperor started laughing as other guards rushed to his position and began to put out fires.

"Demon Lord, Akagi, huh?" The Emperor fell to one knee as his legs finally gave out. "Next time we meet. Next time we fight... I'd like to see what it's like when you're serious. Even if it's just for a moment."