The Red Hand

Chapter 456 – Closer than Expected.

"Please forgive me for not acting sooner." Hikari said while kneeling behind Akagi, sweat pooling on the Ninja's face and dripping to the floor due to fear. "It was my failings that resulted in Imp being attacked. Had I been in a better position-"

"Stop." Akagi said, not turning to look at her as she continued to stare out the window. "Remind me again, what were the directions I gave you?"

"T-To guard Imp from the shadows while she remained in the city. A-And to avoid letting her know I was keeping watch." Hikari stammered, fearful of the punishment that awaited her.

"And you did exactly as I asked." Akagi said as Yumi continued to apply healing magic to the newly woken Imp. Akagi had healed her as best she could with her power and let the Priestess finish the process with her magic. "I didn't want Imp knowing she was being tailed since she'd yell at me, hence why you were kept at a distance."

{Well, that's the story I told her at least. I do always love when a plan comes together. Sorry Impy. I'll give you some extra funding as compensation for being my unwitting bait! But still, I didn't quite expect to reel in a catch this big.} (Akagi)

"Only slightly annoyed-mad!" Imp grumbled before wincing in pain. “All good-okay!”

"Stop moving, please..." Yumi sighed as she chopped Imp on the head. "That was a nasty wound, so stay still so I can finish stitching you back together."

"Mean-evil..." Imp pouted but complied.

Akagi hadn't informed Imp that a Ninja was assigned to shadow her in the city. In fact, she hadn't told anyone other than Yumias she wanted to keep it a secret. The Demon figured the madwoman would object to being tailed, and Akagididn't want to get yelled at, so Hikari stuck to the shadows and reflections to keep an eye on her. Though while that reasoning was indeed a part of it, it was not the whole story. The Demon had ulterior motives in hoping to draw out an enemy, hoping that someone would take the juicy bait, though she was not expecting a member of the Cult to take bite and was instead expecting a Demi-God to fall into her trap.

"Imp is good at detecting hidden opponents due to her sensitivity to mana, so you had to keep a bit of distance from her. It's only natural that following my orders would leave her vulnerable to an altercation that took less than a minute." Akagi said as she continued to observe the flickering lights of the city, her reflection seeming to smile despite the expression on her face not changing at all.

"Even still, I should've been faster!" Hikari protested Akagi's refusal to chastise her. "Not to mention that I didn't notice that man following her! I cannot excuse such a failure!"

"Demon man was very good at stealth-hiding. Only reason I noticed-detected is because of ability-skill to detect small fluctuations in magic power-flow. Not your fault-responsibility." Imp said, trying to make her feel better. "Ninja lack such advanced-high level skills. Only available-unlockable to players."

"Not to mention that Imp has spent almost every waking moment since the end of FWO researching magic and refining her ability to use and manipulate it." Akagi agreed. "If I expected the Ondai to have such an ability, I'd be asking the impossible. And you know I don't do that."

"Are.. Am I.... defective

?" Hikari began to tear up, assuming that Akagi found her inadequate. Naturally, Akagi did not think that but knew that denying it vigorously at that moment would do nothing but make the Ninja believe she was being patronized."Hikari, if you wish to avoid something like this happening again then you need to train yourself appropriately." Yumi interceded since she figured that her words would be taken better than Akagi's. "While there will always be a gap between us and those who came from Earth, that doesn't mean you can't improve yourself." She sighed, understanding the frustration in the Ninja's heart at being incapable of doing something for Akagi. "Use this as a learning experience, okay?"

"I will!" Hikari said as she wiped her tears away. "I swear that I will get strong enough to never disappoint Lady Akagi! I swear it!"

{You have not so far, so don't be too hard on yourself.} (Akagi)

"Good." Yumi sighed as she finished healing Imp before looking to Akagi. "What do you want us to do now? Should we pursue that man? I can have everyone brought here within ten minutes if you want" She figured this would be the best opportunity to catch and interrogate a member of the Demon Cult to find Labrys.

"I'd like to say in a dramatic voice bring him to me. But I don't think that's going to happen, at least not quickly." Akagi chuckled. "But I'd still like you to search the City. Gather up whatever Ninja are at the base and scour the Capital for him. Leave no stone unturned. If possible, I want him found and brought before me tonight."

"We will not fail! I swear on my life that I will find him!" Hikari said before radioing back to base and requesting emergency reinforcements brought in via teleportation before leaping out the shattered window to begin the hunt for Valuru.

"Do you think they're going to find him?" Yumi asked as she internally laughed at Hikari's dedication.

"If he's still in the Capital. Then yes, they will." Akagi said, her words filled with absolute certainty. "The problem is that he has likely fled already."

{Though, if he hasn't...} (Akagi)

*SNAP*

{I'm not a mage, but something like this is quite simple over an area of this size. An anti-teleportation barrier should prevent any quick escapes, but if he's already gone, it's nothing more than a waste of power.} (Akagi)

"Preventing teleportation is good and all, but why not expand your Shadow to encompass the City? That way you can find him in an instant since you'll have full control over everything." Yumi asked, figuring that such a trick would be simple for the Demon and wouldn't be that much more effort than sending out a layer of energy to block teleportation like Akagi had just done.

"As much as I'd like to do just that, I feel it best to hold that card as close to my chest as possible." Akagi replied, turning to face her. "My Shadow is, in effect, my ultimate trump card. The less the Gods know about it the better. One never knows who is watching from a distance, and I'd wager the Gods have eyes and ears everywhere. Dragging the Capital inside would be the quickest way to catch him if he's still here, but it's going to attract a lot of unwanted attention."

{Within my body, I am law. Nothing happens inside without my permission. So far, that's held true, but against Gods, I'm not completely sure what will happen. It's best to save something like that for when I need it most, especially since I've got other ways of finding these Cultists and well, the Ninja need things to do.}

(Akagi)"Akagi... Thank you..." Imp said, bowing her head. "You saved my life..."

"You're my friend. You don't need to go getting all humble." Akagi replied with a hand wave. "And I can't let getting such a key part of my plans go biting the big one just yet." She smirked.

"Dwarves have many interesting-fascinating inventions!" Imp said with a toothy smile. "Only scratched surface-top layer!"

"Think it's going to help our plans for future development?" Akagi asked as she leaned against the windowsill.

"IMMENSELY!" Imp said, nearly screaming. "I believe-feel that it won't be long until I can do everything!" She cackled.

{Why do I have a bad feeling about that laugh?} (Yumi)

"Good, I was hoping you'd find this place helpful." Akagi said as she looked over her shoulder at the City below before turning her gaze back to Imp and Yumi. "The Dwarves of Enoris are an interesting bunch, even more so than I dared hope. I find myself quite liking them."

"Let me guess, you want them on our side even more now." Yumi said, reading the Demon like the open book she was.

"They will be a necessity if my dreams for the future are to become reality. Demon Lord or not, there are things I can't do myself, and developing new technology isn't my specialty." Akagi said. "That goes double for areas I know nothing about and triple when I don't know what I don't know. All the processing power in the world won't mean anything if your equation has a variable you don't know the correct value for."

{Technically, I could brute force things, but that comes with a lot of risks, and it's not like I need that stuff done quickly, so let's do things the slower and safer way. Plus, Imp would hate me if I cheated her out of the discovery process.} (Akagi)

"Yes-Yes!" Imp cackled as she kicked her feet on the bed, happy to see Akagi taking the situation as seriously as she was. "Magic will fill in-complete many inventions-devices! Only a matter of time until breakthrough-advancement!"

{KNIGHTS!} (Imp)

"Speaking of breakthrough..." Akagi said as she pulled a red radio out of her inventory. "I think I'll kick things up a notch or two. It's not going to be much fun if I sit here and do nothing while everyone else is out there living their best lives." She said as she clicked the button on the side and held it up to her head. "Erika, you hear me?"

"Mama!" Alice's voice sounded through the radio a moment later. Akagi could tell from her voice that she'd woken the girl up from a nap, which she found adorable.

"Sorry for waking you, kid." Akagi said with a smile. "How's everything going? That bunny still giving you trouble?"

"I promise it won't be long until I've got her beat good!" Alice said, the frustration in her voice making Akagi laugh. "I've got a few surprises for her still yet! Don't you worry! I'll bring her down soon!"

"Glad to hear it. Just be careful, okay? Mama is always worried about you. Is Black Company treating you well? Does Mama need to chuck Elna back into the void?" Akagi asked, her happy smile conflicting with the horrifying implications of her words.

"Elna is a grumpy puss, but she's not mean to me." Alice replied, seeming not to care about such a violent threat.

"Good! Remember, if she gives you any trouble, you've got my permission to tear her apart limb from limb." Akagi said. "Feel free to make up your own punishments too! It can be a really neat game!"

{I want to make a comment, but anything I say is coming right back at me for my overprotectiveness of Miji.} (Yumi)

"Okay!" Alice giggled. "But did you need something, Mama? You never call this late."

"Can't I just call in to check on my adorable little one?" Akagi laughed. "But you're correct in that I called for a reason." She said before leaning out the window and inspecting the cavern ceiling above. "Have you managed to mutate a few of your summons to match the appearance of those Valukar creature's that Halifax described?"

"Hmmm... So far, I've only managed to get two looking like that. It's hard to change their shape since most don't look anything like a flaming Demon monster with wings." Alice replied. “Oh! And I also increased their power a whole bunch! You said they're a big scary boss monster, so I made them extra strong too!”

"Good, that is more than enough for what I've got in mind." Akagi smirked. "So Alice, what do you say to them going a on a little field trip?"

_____________________________________________________________________________

"Gaaaaaaaaaah!" Valuru screamed in pain as he collapsed in a darkened alley, face burning with pain due to the damage he'd taken from Hikari and Imp's attacks. The loss of his left eye had made it hard to focus, and the severe blood loss he'd suffered made it hard to think about escape. "Damn, that woman! Damn her!"

{You need to get out of the Capital! Let me teleport you out so I can-} (Tanya)

"What's wrong?!? Get me out of here already!" Valuru yelled as he pulled out a blue potion and poured it on his face in an attempt to close the wound, screaming in pain as it bubbled and boiled. “Hurry up and activate the emergency circle!”

(I-I can't...} (Tanya)

"What do you mean you can't?!?" Valuru screamed, both at her and from the pain of the wound as it continued to burn. "Lord Labrys' teleportation magic is infallible! The wards around the Capital can't block it!"

{I... I don't know. I don't know what's going on! When I attempt to activate the circle, it fizzles out! It's like something is interfering with the connection!} (Tanya)

"What the hell could possibly-" Valuru paused as he recalled something now that his mind had cleared up a bit. "That Demon Lord! She returned to the City just moments ago! It must be her!"

{You need to stay hidden! She's probably searching for you! I'll send a team to get you out, so in the mean time, you need to lay low! There's a safe house in the City our agents use during missions, so head there!} (Tanya)

"Dammit!" Valuru said as he slowly stood up, stumbling into the darkness of the alley as a group of Ninja leaped overhead.