The Red Hand

Chapter 354 – Onis Are Not As Squishy As Cats.

"Oh? How interesting, she can tell." Akagi hummed in thought as she rubbed her chin.

{And the plot thickens.} (Akagi)

"I mean, can't everyone?" Halifax raised an eyebrow. “You basically exude evil.”

"Only to those who know what to look for..." Elariel sighed as Amakusa began shaking Alm.

"How do you know about Demon Lords?!? And how do you know that this idiot is one?!?" Amakusa yelled as Alm went back and forth at high speed.

{I'm right here you know...} (Akagi)

{WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?!? DO I NEED TO FUCKING END SOMEBODY?!?} (Amakusa)

"I-I-I d-d-don't k-know! I can just tell." Alm said as she was shaken, her eyes turning to swirls from the violent back and forth. “World go spin... bwah...”

"Please don't kill the girl we just managed to save..." Akagi bonked Amakusa on the head and pulled her away by the back of her collar. “And I don't think Kaori wants to clean puke off another floor.”

“Please no...” Kaori sighed as she packed everything back up.

{I gave Mika such a pinch for the most recent incident... Cleaning up magical rainbows didn't make it any less gross...} (Kaori)

“Let me go!” Amakusa said as she flailed.

{NO! DO NOT SEPARATE ME FROM HER!} (Amakusa)

"That Rafferty said something about Alm having some kind of Primordial power, and didn't you say that she was some kind of descendant of Kaleago?" Halifax recalled that part of the conversation. "I can sense a bit of power in her now that I've gotten closer, so maybe it has something to do with that?"

{Is she basically a Demi-Primordial or something?} (Halifax)

"Maybe, but recall that Kaleago was killed by Vikes." Elariel emphasized that point again, noting that he'd been destroyed millennia ago. "He never had children, and that whack job was never one to make any. Nor were most Primordials, for that matter." She said as she walked over to inspect the Oni girl. "Now, I can sense some of his power within her, but is of a different sort than what resides in our children. Normally, it's always a bit different due to the intermixing of mortal blood, but what I'm sensing here is almost identical to his."

{It comes across as a copy with some distortions. Almost as if this girl...} (Elariel)

"Does anything feel wrong, Alm?!? Does it hurt anywhere?!? Tell Big Sis, and I'll make it all better!" Amakusa sputtered and wiggled, trying to escape Akagi's grasp, but was unsuccessful in that endeavor.

"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" Akagi rolled her eyes as she held onto the frothing Amakusa. “Talk about overly attached.”

"Are you one to talk? Need I remind everyone about that one-time Alice got a scraped knee while playing tag, and you threatened to blow up the planet if it didn't apologize." Yumi snickered as she recalled how angry she was.

"Please... Please don't tell me she actually got an apology?" Halifax asked, at this point expecting it to have actually happened.

{Part of me actually hopes she did though...} (Halifax)

"Shiru delivered the apology soon after. The plants around the estate have been much less rowdy since then from what she said." Akagi flashed a wicked smile, not indicating whether she was telling the truth or lying.

{Neat, you cowed mother nature...} (Halifax)

"I feel... fine..." Alm returned a wry smile. "My head just feels funny... That's all..."

"Then let me have a look." Mimi said as she placed her hand on Alm's head and channeled some kind of blue magic that covered the Oni for a moment. "Just relax and allow my magic to flow into your mind. I promise that I won't do anything to hurt you, okay?"

"Un..." Alm consented, nervously, and after a few moments, Mimi closed her eyes as more power channeled into the Oni's head.

{IF YOU HURT HER I SWEAR TO GOD I'll!} (Amakusa)

"Hmmm... That's interesting..." Mimi hummed as she continued to probe the girl's mind with her power. “Such intricate yet scattered weaves.”

"Whatcha got?" Akagi asked as she walked over, throwing Amakusa to Halifax for proper restraint.

"Her mind... It's not damaged, but I'm getting a lot of scattered bits of memory." Mimi answered as she pulled her hand away, patting the Oni girl on the head. "It's similar to when an amnesiac patient is regaining lost memories, but these are far more distorted and broken than what I'm used to." She'd dealt with amnesiac patients before but had never seen anything like this.

{Are they memories of a prior life? I suppose that would make sense, but those should be scrubbed upon death and reincarnation. It is possible for parts to remain when the system makes an error, but that's exceedingly rare and would not necessarily account for that power making it through..} (Akagi)

"Any chance we could clean it up?" Akagi asked. “Maybe accelerate the recovery.”

"I would advise against using any such magic on her mind." Mimi shook her head. "Thank you for being a good girl." She smiled as she pat the Oni on the head one more time before turning to Akagi. "I'm sure you're aware that memories are stored in the soul, not the brain."

"Of course, otherwise, it would be impossible to retain a personality if one swapped bodies." Akagi nodded. "The brain is just a temporary storage spot and is used as a convenient vector for consciousness."

"Indeed, and as you know manipulating the soul is neither easy nor safe." Mimi glanced at Amakusa, who was pinned beneath Halifax's boot. And while I know that you're adept at tampering with it now, I'd recommend we don't go trying to mess with memories, especially on those who you actually want to survive the process." She coughed as she glanced at Amakusa again.

"Wait! Does that mean you did something to me that could've killed me?!?" Amakusa hissed as Halifax's boot dug into her back.

"Weeeeeellll... Less killed and more make you an invalid." Akagi replied with a wry smile. "During the early days, I used death row criminals as test subjects, and a few had their entire personality wiped, while others just broke entirely." She said as she gave a tee-hee-pero.

"DON'T..." Amakusa paused. "I'm not gonna say it. I'm not gonna..."

{DONT REACT!} (Amakusa)

"Ah, don't worry." Akagi waved her hand lazily. "When I did it on you I had prior experience, so it was all good." She flashed a toothy smile. “Besides, you came out all new and improved!”

“Bitch.” Amakusa hissed at her again.

"Out of curiosity, could you actually undo what you did to her?" Halifax asked as she continued to pin the wiggling Amakusa down.

"Probably, but there is always a risk of things going wrong when I touch a soul, so that would need to be a risk one is willing to take." Akagi shrugged. “And I kind of like my new pet so I won't be letting her off that leash just yet.”

“Understandable.” Halifax laughed as Amakusa yelled at her.

"Regardless, I'd rather you allow things to play out for now." Mimi interjected as she put everything back in her bag. "Alm can come with me back to the estate, and I can keep her monitored for now. It may be that she just needs time to acclimate to whatever power has awoken in her, and I'd rather be on the safe side here."

{FINALLY A SANE PERSON HERE!} (Amakusa)

"Is she otherwise stable?" Akagi asked as she told Halifax to let the pinned Amakusa off the floor.

"From what I can see, yes. She just needs food, drink, and rest. That curse put a lot of strain on her body." Mimi noted the girl's slightly sunken face, indicating malnutrition and dehydration. "But she should be fine."

"Did you hear that, Alm? You're going to be okay!" Amakusa said as she rushed over and hugged the Oni girl again, causing her to gasp for air.

{Good thing Miji squeezing me like that is more fun than deadly.} (Akagi)

"I have a bad feeling that she is going to be on that girl like Miji when you go cat." Halifax sighed.

{Maybe worse? Nah that's not possible. Miji loves the kitty almost as much as life itself.} (Halifax)

"Oh well." Akagi shrugged. "Better to be loved, I suppose." She said as she pulled Yumi into a hug. "After all, I've got my own squishy right here, and I can attest that it's quite nice."

{I... I don't think squishy should be taken LITERALLY.} (Halifax)

"You're pretty nice to squishy, at least in kitty mode." Yumi snickered before Akagi pinched her shoulder. "YOW!"

"I'm good in both kitty and non-kitty mode, thank you very much." Akagi rolled her eyes as Yumi pouted over the pinch. "But kitty skawoosh aside, I think it's actually time to head on home for a bit. What do you think? Want to go see the girls?" She said to the Priestess, who was rubbing her arm.

"Really? I figured we weren't heading back until things were done here?" Yumi was shocked, assuming that Akagi didn't want to go back yet.

{Not to mention that Miji and Mika will steal you from me!} (Yumi)

"There's nothing for us to do right now, and I'd like to relax a bit and see the girls." Akagi replied. "Besides, it won't be for very long anyway. The Demon Army will be marching south here any day, and we'll need to come back to handle that problem."

{Also, it will make a good time to gather some data for my analysis.} (Akagi)

"Are they really that stupid that they think they can just fight you with a conventional army?" Halifax sighed as she pictured the Demon Army doing just that.

"I guess so. I mean, they are sending one here after all, aren't they?" Akagi smirked.

"Well, they're all fucking dead." Halifax threw up her hands, not caring anymore. "How can people be that stupid? Even during the war with Vikes, we kept the mortal armies out of the battle because it was pointless."

{They will LITERALLY be nothing more than cannon fodder here.} (Halifax)

"In fairness, I did offer peace." Akagi said. "All they had to do was give me the Spirits, and I was going to leave them alone until the Gods were handled. So this is squarely on them."

"Don't try and act like some peace bringer." Elariel interjected, glaring at Akagi. "You gave them that demand fully aware that they couldn't comply, just like you did with Amdamell." She growled. "You just want to cause death and destruction, so at least have the decency to own up to it!"

{And don't go dragging Halifax down with you!} (Elariel)

"If you think wiping out an army is causing 'death and destruction." Akagi's lips curved into a nasty grin, revealing razor-sharp teeth. "Then you're going to love what I've got planned next." She cackled. "Killing the Demon Army is merely a step toward my ultimate plan, one that will cause far more death than this."

{I knew it. For all that cute acting that she puts on, she's still just a Demon Lord.} (Elariel)

"I hope you're not planning to do anything too overboard." Halifax asked with a stern voice. "I know that I've said that I'm fine with you giving this world a bit of payback, but wanton destruction and indiscriminate slaughter is my red line. It may be pointless for me to resist you, but I've got my principles, and I won't bend on this."

{And how has the sacking of Riftwood and her other actions not qualified as either of those things?!? Halifax, I'm beginning to think more and more that you...} (Elariel)

"Even if I promise extra kitty snuggles?" Akagi asked with puppy eyes.

"Tempting as that may be...No." Halifax sighed.

"Too bad, I've even got some cute new outfits that I'd've let you dress me in." Akagi winked as Yumi elbowed her.

{NO FLIRTING WITH THE THIEF! And also, WHERE ARE THESE OUTFITS AND WHY ARE YOU NOT ALREADY WEARING THEM FOR ME?!?} (Yumi)

"So then, what exactly are your plans? If the destruction of the Demon's Army is a step, then what's the end goal?" Elariel pressed for a clearer answer.

{I presume more death, destruction, and enslavement?} (Elariel)

"Simple, I'm going to draw all the nations around here into open battle with me and crush them in one fell swoop." Akagi explained that she wanted to use the Demon's destruction and subjugation as a way to draw the other people of Enoris together. Doing that would enable her to smash all mortal resistance in one swift stroke. "That way, there can be no more pointless resistance. Doing this will force the Gods into a confrontation with me, and hopefully by then I'll be able to meet them in their home and bring this whole thing to an end."