The Red Hand

Chapter 461 – The Forgemaster.

"Have we made progress on the special project I've tasked you with?" Gale asked as he entered the burning hot forge at the heart of Hilare's domain. The Forge God's realm was extraordinarily hot and filled with noxious fumes as the fires that heated his numerous furnaces and workshops raged eternally. It was not a place that one would call pleasant, though Hilare and his Angel's believed it to be mild and pleasant. "I hope I don't need to remind you that time is not on our side." He said as the Forge God clanged on a massive anvil with his hammer as machines whirred in the background.

"You don't need to remind me of the obvious, Gale. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't march into my domain and breath down my neck like you owned the place." Hilare grumbled as he continued to hammer a piece of metal into shape. "It's already taking my golems everything they have to create those control amulets. Be grateful that I've got time to work on the other project you gave me."

{Rushing things can only result in disaster. I understand the time constraints we are under but we cannot afford to make careless mistakes.} (Hilare)

"Your creations have done wonderful work retrofitting and augmenting those Eridal constructs." Gale said as he watched a large mold get filled with molten metal into the shape of one of the automatons that attacked the Dumetor base. "Though I will say that actually creating a full-on production line of those things wasn't in my plans. You really do work miracles, don't you?" He laughed.

"If these were any other circumstances, I'd curse you for making me forge those abominations." Hilare sighed. "But given the circumstances..." He said, pausing his hammering.

"I am not a fan of the pseudo-life the Eridal created either." Gale said. The mechanical 'Angels' developed by the Eridal Empire were a large part of the reason the Gods moved to crush them, as they feared that eventually they'd have enough strength to challenge the Pantheon's control over Enoris. "Such a thing impunes on our authority as Gods, but we cannot overlook their usefulness. After all, if the Eridal were good for anything it was creating weapons that could harm higher beings." He said, recalling times during the war where Gods had been wounded by their weapons.

"I used the information gathered when that first batch of old models was annihilated to make some improvements. I don't know if these new ones will have the durability to withstand such a concentrated magical attack, but they should handle lesser damage without much of a problem." Hilare said as he took the block of metal he'd been hammering into his hands and began molding it like putty. "They won't be hurting that Demon Lord, but I suspect they will make adequate opponents for its minions."

"Hence why I've stated over and over again that the Demon Lord must be dealt with by us, personally." Gale said as he watched Hilare work, always fascinated by the ease with which the Forge God bent creation to his will. "And its why I'm in such a rush to complete what you've got in your hands right now." He said as Hilare molded the metal into a circular shape, creating something that looked like a silverish-gray collar.

"Creating something that suppresses a God's power long enough to enable it to transit the barrier between worlds isn't easy, Gale." Hilare replied as he continued to refine the shape in his hand. "I have no idea if this is even going to work. For all we know this could do nothing to reduce the side effects." He continued. "And I'm sure you've read Cheofla's reports. If even a handful of us incarnate into the lower world, there is an extremely high chance that Enoris collapses."

"And we'd go along with it. Yes, yes, I'm aware of the risk but what would you have me do? Sit here and cower in our domain until the Demon Lord either finds a way to assault our home or grows broad enough to blow away the entire dimension?" Gale wasn't confident that Akagi could actually do that, but was not keen on finding out. "If we're guaranteed to die from waiting too long I'd rather take the chance and fight back. At least that way we can go out saying we tried." He laughed.

{Yeah, funny.} (Hilare)

"How do you intend to kill the Demon Lord?" Hilare asked as he continued to mold the metal. "Yes, we're stronger than we were back when Vikes attacked, but it's patently obvious that this one is also more powerful. Shattering their Soul is the only way Demon Lord can be permanently put down, and we know all to well that such a thing is anything but easy."

"I've got a few strategies in mind." Gale answered vaguely as he brushed off the question.

"Is one of them using Halifax?" Hilare asked without looking at him.

"Maybe." Gale shrugged. “The Blade certainly had the potential to do such a thing.”

"It was a mistake to allow her to venture out on her own. We should've restrained her here." Hilare said. "Keeping her sealed in my vault would've ensured we had her at our disposal when the time came. There was no good reason to let her run loose."

"I will not deny your words." Gale nodded. "Allowing her to roam about the lower world has resulted in her falling into enemy hands. The fault lies with me. I allowed Elariel to guilt me into accepting her deal. A tool shouldn't be negotiated with. I allowed myself to forget that fact."

"Lucky for us, the Demon Lord shouldn't be able to use her full power." Hilare said as he sat the molded metal collar on the anvil. "When we forged her I purged most of the impurities from her being. I highly doubt much if anything exists of her former nature, though..."

{That does not mean that all of it is gone. Vike's energy permeated ever fabric of Halifax's existence. She was made from him, and thus removing it all was never going to happen.} (Hilare)

"Yes, but the fact still remains that if this Demon Lord decides to wield her, we have no idea what would happen." Gale retorted as Hilare continued to work on the collar. "It's entirely probably that we missed something during the process. We barely understand Demon Lords as it is so she could have something hidden up her sleeve that reverts Halifax back to her original form. In that scenario, we'd be looking at a Demon Lord powered by the blade of another one of her kind. Not a situation that I think works out to be in our favor."

{She was a blade so powerful that had Vikes kept control over it we'd probably have lost. It was only due to chance that we managed to aquire it.} (Gale)

"Are we still unable to seize her?" Hilare asked where Halifax was. “It would be best to simply send our forces in and grab her when we have the chance.”

"Unfortunately we lack a suitable agent." Gale shook his head. "The only one I could send that would have a chance of defeating and capturing Halifax would be Rehael, but she is currently busy with another mission. Not to mention that there is a very good chance she'd lose in a direct confrontation and I cannot afford to lose her at this critical stage of the operation." He continued. “I'd wanted to recruit the Archdukes for this task, but for whatever reason my messengers are being denied access to them. I cannot fathom why they would want to stand idally by while a Demon Lord runs rampent across the material world.”

“Perhaps they've sided with the Demon Lord?” Hilare asked.

“That is something I've considered, and as of now I have no proof either way.” Gale replied. “Though that means that we need to be careful. The Demons are just as likely to stab us in the back as they are to aid us.”

"If they won't help and Rehael is tied up then we really don't have a good way of getting a hold of Halifax, and it would be pointless to send waves of worthless fodder against a blade that can slay armies." Hilare nodded. "We've really been put in a bad situation here, Gale. I hope whatever you've got planned works. Otherwise, the Gods may well fall."

"If you can successfully create what I've asked that will make things easier. If one of us can go down directly we can easily seize Halifax if the chance arises." Gale said as he watched Hilare work on the collar. "Blade of a Demon Lord or not, Halifax is no match for a God and once we've taken possession of her that makes the next part of my plan much, much easier."

{Once the Blade and its creator are reunited, there will be nothing stopping me. I shall finally have all the pieces together to ensure that Order is maintained, forever.} (Gale)

"Well, whatever your plan is I hope it's worth gathering those Power Reactors and waking up a Titan." Hilare turned to Gale, glaring at the Order God. He knew that Gale was up to something, though exactly what that something was he had no clue. "Gale, I have no idea what in the Hells you are planning on doing with those cursed things, but you'd best be careful. One wrong move and-"

"And we'll die, I know." Gale said with a fake smile. "Trust me, I'm fully aware of how volatile they are. But, they're exactly what we need if we're going to both defeat the Demon Lord and escape this dying world. There's no alternative for them and I've taken precautions to ensure they don't cause a problem."

"Considering one exploding has the potential to destabilize this world about as much as one of us incarnating, for all our sakes I hope you have." Hilare said as he slowly stood up from his stool. "And I hope that you've taken similar

precautions when it comes to that little 'Angel' of yours too.""Don't worry, Rehael will not be a problem." Gale chuckled. "She will perform her duty diligently and will then be disposed of after everything is said and done. That's been her fate from the beginning."

"I was against creating that thing from the start." Hilare growled. "Using a Demon Lord's power to create weapons and energy sources was bad enough, but using a shard of his being to create life... I'm just grateful it hasn't blown up in our face yet, Gale."

"You don't need to tell me, I've been aware of the risk since I created her. But Rehael has been nothing less than a perfect pawn since her inception." Gale said as he turned away. "A pawn whose usefulness will soon run out. So when the time comes her sacrifice will ensure our survival, so rest assured that she won't be around much longer." He said as he started walking away. “And Esquire is sending two of her own to speed things up. I figure that will satisfy some of your worries?”

"Gale!" Hilare called out to him. "I've known you for eons, and while you've rarely been wrong... Do not get ahead of yourself. Schemes can often become so convoluted that their threads become entangled and risk bringing the whole house of cards crashing down if one is not careful." He said as Gale simply waved at him over his shoulder before vanishing. "That man..." Hilare sighed as he turned back to the collar. "I don't trust him. His plans are always for his own benefit, no one else."

{Power Reactors, Rehael, Halifax... Something about this whole thing just isn't sitting right with me.} (Hilare)

"Gale, just what are you planning? You've locked down your own domain and refuse to allow anyone to get too involved with the magic to transport us to that other world." Hilare said as he picked up the collar. "God of Order... A grand title, but just what Order are you protecting?"

_____________________________________________________________________________

"Are we alone?" Teiera asked the Goddess of Magic as she walked up the stairs behind him. The two had met in the Magic Goddess' domain, specifically within her great Tower of Magic. Cheofla's domain was little more than a constantly writhing sea of blue magic and lightning storms, with her 'home' little more than a massive mage tower floating on an island that charted the seemingly never-ending magic tides around it.

"There should be none that can spy on me in my own domain." Cheofla nodded. The two stood alone at the top of her tower, able to see the vast swirling magic sea around them. There was no sign of life anywhere nearby and she'd even sent her Angels away to give them privacy. "What did you need to talk about that was so urgent? I don't like sudden messages like that."

"Two things." Teiera said as he continued to look around in an attempt to spot any spies or observers. "One, I think it's time we reached out to Elariel. We've been rudderless since she went down to the material world and we need to discuss our next steps. Gale is getting closer to completing the Ritual and we need to do something to stop him."

"Elariel is currently under the supervision of that Demon Lord. It will not be easy to communicate with her." Cheofla shook her head. "Sending one of our subordinates may well just get them killed and it's entirely possible that she's no longer interested in cooperating with us."

"We still need to try." Teiera replied firmly. "Our goal is to prevent Gale and the others getting out of this world. If it takes working with a Demon Lord to make that happen, then I think we have no choice but to try."

"Yes... We really have no other choice, do we?” Cheofla paused. “I'll see what I can do about getting someone down there to make contact." She nodded. "And the second thing?"

"The second thing..." Teiera paused before continuing, making extra sure that nobody could hear what he was bout to say. "One of my subordinates on the Eastern Continent reported movement."

"Movement?" Cheofla asked with a raised eyebrow. "What kind of movement?"

"The missing God kind." Teiera said causing the writhing world around them to instantly fall silent.