The Red Hand

Chapter 350 – The Gods Respond.

"Well, there they go..." Kanato said as he watched Akagi fly away with a screaming Amakusa in toe. "The Demon Lord takes off on a journey to save the world..." He sighed as he pondered how absolutely stupid those words sounded.

{And meanwhile, the Heroes have been reduced to little more than pawns in either her or the Gods' plans. Though, is it a reduction when we were never anything else? The Gods never saw any real value in us and had no interest in seeing us become true Heroes...} (Kanato)

"Don't look so down, Hero. You might think that your current situation sucks but it's leagues better than the alternative." Zo shrugged as she put her hands behind her head. "Besides, if it's Boss, then things will be fine."

"Indeed." Ro nodded. "Compared to those idiotic and arrogant Gods, she's far and away much more amicable, and from what I've seen from her, she is likely far more trustworthy."

"I'm not sure I'd completely agree with that sentiment." Kanato replied. "Her 'trustworthiness' aside she fully intends to drag this world under her boot, and as we've seen she's more than happy to make people suffer to do it."

{I heard about what happened in Amdamell. Akagi... She went too far. There was no reason to launch an attack like that, though I suppose the brutality itself was the real purpose.} (Kanato)

“Hey, at least with Boss, you know where she stands." Ro commented. "A being like her just wants to be left alone, and I have no doubt that her idea of 'ruling' will boil down to little more than ensuring that people respect her." He figured that Akagi wasn't one to micromanage and was more interested in her own private life and personal enjoyment than anything else.

"Unlike mortals, or even Gods or Primordials actually, Boss seems to lack the single worst trait that one can have." Zo said as she turned to Kanato.

"And what's that?" Kanato asked.

"Greed." Zo answered.

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Gale POV>

"What a fascinating display of power!" A well built man with short gray and black hair laughed as he watched a small 'recording' of Akagi's fight with the Twins. He, as well as Gale, a purple-haired woman, and a skull-faced man wearing flaming armor, were sitting around a table in Gale's domain as they watched a playback of the fight between the Demon and the twins. The woman had a deep scowl on her face, while the flaming man's expression showed neither interest nor apathy, though that was likely more because of his face lacking the ability to have expressions than anything else.

"Those two children put up a great fight against this Demon Lord, and I'm itching to test my mettle against her." The tanned man laughed loudly. As the God of War, Teiera was always looking for a good fight, and despite his misgivings about Demon Lords, seeing Akagi so easily handle both Ro and Zo got his nonexistent blood pumping.

{I hope she pushes me to my limits just like Vikes did! I've gotten even more powerful over these last four thousand years, and I'd love to see what she's capable of!} (Teiera)

"Don't go looking so excited, Tei. Need I remind you that this woman is out to not only kill us but to conquer our world." The Goddess of Magic Cheofla sighed. “You saw exactly what kind of being she is when she toppled the Amdamell government and sacked their Capital.

{His reaction is not surprising. This battle maniac would probably head down there right now to fight her one-on-one if Gale would approve it...} (Cheofla)

"Bah! It's in my nature to get excited when faced with a powerful foe!" Teiera laughed loudly. "I mean, would you tell ol' ugly over there to stop being so ugly? I mean, that's part of his identity!" He pointed to the flaming man seated across from him.

"Don't pick on poor Korri. He can't help but look that way." Cheofla snickered.

"And people wonder why I don't come out of my domain more often..." Korex sighed, his skeletal mouth not moving as he spoke in a raspy voice. As the God of Murder, he was typically worshiped by people who were either insane or lived in the dark side of society. He was generally regarded as the least Divine member of the Gods, and most people mistook him for a Demon based on his appearance.

"Oh, don't take it so hard, Korex." Teiera laughed. "Let me assure you that you've got a face that only a mother could love!" He smiled.

"Gale, can I please kill these two?" Korex sighed again. He was always treated like this, though he never let it truly bother him since it was just sibling banter and he knew they didn't really mean anything by it.

"Maybe Teiera, but I'm afraid that we need Cheofla." Gale laughed as he snapped his finger and ended the replay of Akagi's battle with the twins. "But getting back on track." He continued over Teiera's protest. "It would seem that circumstances have changed, and it's looking like our plan may be in jeopardy."

{I had not anticipated a proper Demon Lord to have appeared like this. The death of Tahena did leave me with some concerns, but we can no longer pass this off as a fake any longer. Especially not with Keldore snooping around against my orders.} (Gale)

"Yeah." Teiera said, snapping back to being serious. "That woman is dangerous, and it looks like we're not going to be able to ignore her anymore." He'd heard a bit about Akagi during these past few weeks, but until now wrote her and her people off as minimally important, despite Tahena's death.

"I told you all that something capable of killing us through our Avatar was dangerous, but nobody listens to me." Cheofla rolled her eyes. "Even the most powerful mortal mages can't hope to match us, so to do something as outrageous as kill a God already puts them in a whole different category."

{I've been keeping in contact with Reflia, and it seems like she's having Penelope investigate the situation closer. I just hope that girl doesn't do anything reckless.} (Cheofla)

"The death of a God typically heralds trouble. You all should've notified me sooner." Korex interjected. “Had I known I could've tried to grab one of these intruders and get information.”

"Okay, do you blame us for not wanting to set foot in that literally hell you call home?" Cheofla said. "You've got literally rivers of blood, lava pits, and a fucking skull throne."

"And that stopped you from sending a letter?" Korex retorted.

{NOBODY WANTS TO GO IN THERE, AND I FEEL BAD SENDING ANY OF MY SERVANTS TO SUCH A PLACE!} (Cheofla)

"Korex, what do you think of her?" Gale asked the Murder Lord, ignoring the other banter. "Can we handle her as we are now?" Korex was the God with the best ability to gauge someone's abilities and Gale would almost always defer to his judgment on such matters.

"Hmmmm...." Korex furrowed his nonexistent brows in thought. "At this moment, I can't say. Though based on what we just saw I can almost guarantee that she's stronger than Vikes." As the God of Murder, Korex had the unique ability to gauge people's strength and determine the most effective way to kill them. Such an ability was a key part of how they managed to defeat Vikes in the past and it was expected to be pivotal against Akagi.. "The best way to find out would be to have me approach her directly, but..."

"That's not a good idea." Cheofla finished for him. "She'd probably try and kill you if you got anywhere near her."

"Rather than sit here and debate about her strength why do we not just head down there directly and handle her?" Teiera figured that group incarnation would handle the problem. "If you take me, Korex, Cheofla, and you Gale down there together, we should be able to handle this quicly. We're far more powerful than during our fight with Vikes, so we should be able to handle things this time." All of the Gods had grown since their battle with Vikes, with most doing so out of fear of his return.

"Need I remind you that Enoris' structural stability isn't the best at the moment?" Gale said as he rested his cheek on his knuckles. "One of us incarnating is going to speed up degradation, but four, all at the same time? I can only imagine the damage such a thing would cause."

{I suspect that same thing is what's keeping her out of the Heavens, though. A being like her must understand that forcing her way in here uninvited would destroy this world. Vikes used brute force that first time and I'd bet she knows better than to copy his mistake.} (Gale)

"Our stabilization efforts have produced marginal results, but it would be best for us to be ready to leave before we go risking such a move. I cannot garuntee this world will survive much longer after any significant disturbances." Cheofla was directly involved with the mass ritual to transport the Gods to Earth, though she was taking steps to delay things as per her secret agreement with Elariel.

"How long would we have if a group of us went down in force?" Teiera asked. “Could you buy us enough time to make it workable?”

"I can't answer that, but I would imagine that we'd shrink this world's time down to years." Cheofla answered. “It would probably be enough time to get things done, but that's going to be risk we need to be willing to take.”

"Not to mention that there's no guarantee that four of us would be enough to win." Gale murmured.

{Ideally, we'd fight her together as one group, but that would also open us up to defeat since that would probably require her to come up here. I suppose it may be necessary to break out my back up plan if things move in that direction, though I have no doubt that the others will oppose my efforts} (Gale)

“Oh well, its not like they're necessary.” Gale said under his breath before continuing. "Though... Now that I think about it..." Gale paused. "Perhaps we can plot an alternative course here." He looked between the three of them.

"What do you mean?" Teiera was puzzled, not seeing what kind of alternative path could exist when a Demon Lord was involved.. "The only path forward is to fight and destroy her, that's it."

"Perhaps, but I'd at least like to speak with her before we decide things." Gale's words took the other three Gods by surprise.

"You'd negotiate with a Demon Lord?!?" Cheofla nearly leaped out of her chair. "Gale! You know better than to think such a beast can be reasoned with!"

{What is this idiot thinking? Vikes might've been able to speak, but that crazy bastard had no interest in discussion! Demon Lords are born to destroy and that's all they are ever going to do!} (Cheofla)

"Such a move would be fraught with risks, and not just for you, Gale." Korex spoke up while folding his hands together. "I would advise against making any 'deals' with her. The look in her eyes tells me that she's dangerous, and I've got a feeling that she's no stranger to backstabbing."

{Not to mention that she comes across as someone who is unwilling to agree to demands made by those she finds inferior, a trait that we share.} (Korex)

"I understand your concerns, but I've devised a method that I think will protect me, and naturally I'm very wary about trusting her." Gale stood up and looked between the three of them. "Cheofla, Teiera. I'd like the two of you to begin preparations with the others for direct conflict with her. Use whatever methods are at your disposal to enable a group of us to descend without destabilizing the world too much. Meanwhile, Korex, I'd like you to take command of the situation on the ground and work toward guiding the different races together to aid in confronting her." He continued. "We cannot stand by and allow her to displace us, and I've already heard rumblings that people are believing us to be helpless in the face of her power." The last thing he or any of the Gods needed was for the people of Enoris to abandon them, either by choice or force. While they didn't need their faith to survive, a good deal of the Gods' power came from their ability to influence world events. Without mortals to bend to their whims, it would make enforcing their will more difficult, not to mention it could potentially sink their evacuation plan.

{Let's parley, Demon Lord. I've only ever met one of your kind before, and I hope that you are a bit more interesting than he was.} (Gale)

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