The Red Hand

Chapter 459 – A Diplomat, a Commander, and an Ancient Foe.

"Come ooooooooooooooon! Just a little fluffing!" Halifax begged Chloe to authorize a few ear scratches, the Cat's adorable ears reminding her of Akagi's. "Akagi always lets me pet her! Be a pal!" She said as she got closer to Chloe. They'd just exited Northwind's Capital to begin Operation Bait and Switch, and the Divine Blade decided to tease her new fluffy teammate. Though calling it teasing may have belied the fact that she really wanted to pet Chloe's ears.

"Shaaaaaaa!" Chloe hissed as she jumped away to avoid unwanted fluffing from the Divine Blade. "Myaster is the only one allowed to touch my ears! Keep away!"

{HISS! NO UNAUTHORIZED PETS!} (Chloe)

"But I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeed something fluffy to pet! Otherwise, I'll die from lack of kitty!" Halifax chuckled as she wiggled her fingers at Chloe, primed and ready to floof.

{I promise it will be as good for you as it's good for me!} (Halifax)

"Then die!" Chloe hissed again. "My ears belong to Myaster! Only she may fluff them, nya!"

{And Miji too, but that's only because Myaster asked nicely!} (Chloe)

"I promise that she'll approve. Just let me fluff you!" Halifax laughed as she and Chloe played a proverbial game of Cat and Divine Sword.

"Are we going to have to deal with this the entire time she's here?" Zo sighed as she asked her brother while watching the two idiots battle it out for the right to fluff.

"I hope not..." Ro groaned as Chloe tried to shank Halifax with a dagger. "Gods I hope not..."

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"Thank you for meeting with me so quickly, Lady Akagi, and please give Ms. Imp our warmest regards." Minister Hezmal shook the Demon's hand in front of the inn before returning to his 'car' and departing. He'd just spent the last hour going over the Demon Cult's attack on Imp and the subsequent fallout.

The Dwarven diplomat had been awoken during the night by one of his staffers who informed him that Akagi's companion had been attacked, and he'd raced to meet her first thing in the morning. Naturally, he'd gone into the meeting afraid, as he feared that Akagi would presume this assailant had something to do with the Dwarven Nation and retaliate. Thankfully, such an outcome did not come to pass, though his relief was short-lived when Akagi informed him that the attacker was a member of Demon Lord Vikes' Cult, a group that he knew of all too well and was none too pleased that they'd brazenly attacked someone in the Capital.

"We couldn't have picked the worst possible moment to have a security failure." Commander Bogram grumbled as he let out a puff from his cigar. He and Hezmal had grouped up in the diplomat's private office in the palace and discussed what they'd learned about the attack. The War Minister was brainstorming ways to prevent such an attack from happening again while the diplomat was just happy to still be alive after his meeting with the Demon. "We're lucky the Demon Lord is restraining herself. I nearly had a heart attack when I learned what happened."

"I won't lie, I was expecting a declaration of war or some kind of excessive demand that would lead to war after that." Hezmal said as he lit up a cigar of his own. "My mind kept telling me that this was all a setup for the Demon Lord to make demands of us via a cleverly schemed false flag operation. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that she just wants us to stay out of the investigation and allow her to hunt down the perpetrator herself." He said as he let out a deep sigh. The two men were both wary of Akagi and did not entirely trust her. Both were hoping that Camilla could wrap up the monster invasion soon, which would remove a piece of leverage the Demon could use against them However, while they didn't trust Akagi, they also did not trust Camilla or the Dawn Order, believing them to be no more altruistic than the Demon Lord at their doorstep.

"The sooner that woman leaves the Capital, the better." Bogram said as he let out a puff. “Just having her here is enough to give me an ulcer.”

"Indeed, and on that front are we making progress on driving the monsters out?" Hezmal asked about the military's progress. "I need to say with confidence that the Demon Lord's help isn't necessary." He said, leaning in. "The Guild leaders are already making not-so-subtle comments about accepting the Demon Lord's help. A few have even discussed approaching her privately to discuss terms."

{Those bastards only care about profits, even if it means accepting the help of a Demon Lord. I can't exactly blame them, but at the same time...} (Hezmal)

"We've got a solid plan to crush whatever is creating these monsters. I've located what I believe to be their origin point and have a plan end this matter once its captured." Bogram nodded. "Our 'friend' from the Dawn Order is leading the charge so that we can clean the path toward the Fortress, and I've got my best men conducting recon. If the Ancestors are smiling upon us, we'll bring this thing to a final battle in the coming weeks. These creatures are powerful, but now that I've managed to rally our forces and wake up our war machine, it's only a matter of time until we grind them down." He said as he snuffed out the cigar in an ashtray.

"I just hope the Lich can be trusted to follow through with this plan of yours." Hezmal said as his brow furrowed. "She hasn't given me the most favorable impression, and I'm honestly debating who I trust less at this point."

"Hah! I'd say trusting either of them is a poor idea." Bogram laughed. "If I had it my way, we'd handle this without

relying on outsiders like them." He sighed. "But beggars can't be choosers. If it wasn't for the intervention of the Dawn Order, I have no idea what would've happened.""We sure as hell wouldn't be having a relaxing chat over a few cigars, that's for sure." Hezmal chuckled. "Hopefully this won't be the last time either."

"Though if what the Demon Lord said is true..." Bogram trailed off as he recalled Akagi's initial discussion with them at the Palace.

"All my sources back up her claims about the Gods and this world, it's safe to assume she is telling the truth on that one." Hezmal said as he took a hit from his cigar. "Even if we manage to drive back these beasts, I believe we'd need to seriously consider her offer. At least, in so far as it means saving our people from the collapse of this world."

"Abandoning Enoris, huh?" Bogram said as he leaned back in his chair. "I'll admit the idea sounds insane, but then again so does the idea of Gods massacring their own faithful followers to do just that."

{I never liked those arrogant bastards, but there was always an assumption that they cared at least a bit about their worshipers. The matter with the Spirits was already a mess, but putting it fully into context only makes it worse.} (Bogram)

"What do you think of offering the Spirits in hiding the choice to leave with the Demon Lord?" Hezmal asked his question causing the Commander to sigh deeply.

"Movement like that is going to be hard to hide, Hezmal." Bogram shook his head. "We have to tread this fine line really carefully. Keeping the Demon Lord's meeting with us on the hush-hush is already going to be hard enough, but if it's discovered that we're harboring a people that were declared persona-non-grate, our entire race is going to face the same treatment."

"That fact is not lost on me." Hezmal agreed. "But I think it's best we take a proactive approach to our relationship with the Demon Lord." He said as he pulled a small dagger out of his pocket. "Take a look at this." He said as he slid it over to the Commander.

"Damn, that's fine craftsmanship." Bogram whistled in awe of just how well crafted it was. The blade was sharp enough to split hairs and seemed sturdy enough to parry a much larger blade without so much as a scratch. "The boys at Weatherson's never disappoint."

"That was crafted by the Demon Lord's friend who was recently attacked." Hezmal's words caused Bogram to narrow his eyes as he inspected the blade closer.

"I take it she's the one who crafted the blade the others have been drooling over?" Bogram said as he slashed the knife through the table edge, cutting it off in a single clean cut as if it were made of cake. “Sharp.”

"That is what the Demon Lord told me. She said this Imp woman is her greatest craftsman and can create wonders far beyond what you're seeing there." Hezmal explained. "And since she just freely gave that type of item away freely, I'm inclined to believe that isn't an exaggeration."

{It was undoubtedly a ploy to get our attention, but also to show the difference in our crafting capabilities.} (Hezmal)

"Runesmithing always eluded me, but even a man with as little finesse as I can tell this blade is a masterpiece." Bogram sat up as he set the knife on the table. "If she can really churn out items of this high quality with little effort, I'm certain our craftsmen are going to practically bang her door down to learn those skills."

"Hence why the Guilds are pressuring me. They got a look at the blade from the meeting and that was that." Hezmal groaned. "I wish those idiots in crafting would think about more than just inventing and building. I understand where they're coming from but-" He paused as a massive blast echoed from outside followed by screaming.

"What was that?!?" Bogram yelled as he and Hezmal rushed to the window, just in time to see a massive flaming monster fall from the cavern above and crash into the city.

"We must rally the City's defenses!" Hezmal barked at him. “What is that thing?!?”

"By the Ancestors..." Bogram said quietly as he took in the flaming creature below. It looked like a Demon straight from hell, a creature whose body was a mixture of charred black flesh and living flame. It was so large that its frame dwarfed most buildings in the City and its massive jet-black wings had a span so large that they could more easily be described as sails on a ship. It was a creature that few alive today would know of, but the look on Bogram's face indicated that he was aware of its true nature. "A Vaulkar..."