The Red Hand

Chapter 480 – The Countdown to Destruction Begins.

"Y-Your... What..." Halifax stammered as her eyes went wide, unable to comprehend the Goddess' words as the group followed Elariel into the command center. "What are you talking about?!? What do you mean?!?"

{The fuck is going on?!?} (Halifax)

"It means exactly what I said." Elariel replied before turning to Akagi and using the holoprojector to show a series of different images, all of which seemed to depict Enoris and its different layers. "Do you recall what I said when we first met? That I cannot bring others between worlds?"

"Yes, you stated that Divine Incarnation doesn't allow transit of other beings during the process." Akagi nodded as she looked at the various images on display, comparing them to an onion as they had so many layers. "Not to mention that an incarnation of a God into the material world would heavily destabilize it and cause a massive explosion that would run the real risk of making the soap bubble that is this reality go pop."

{And everyone dies, the end.} (Akagi)

"Since when can the old Lady use that fancy Earth tech?" Zo whispered to her brother, finding it strange that Elariel could use computers so easily. "I figured she was too old to understand that stuff."

"I mean, she's a Goddess so..." Ro shrugged.

"While both those things are correct, there is a small exception." Elariel continued as she changed the projector to show a tunnel that connected the Heavens with the material plane. "Incarnation of our actual form does create a path between the Heavens and the lower world. Now, ordinarily, this path is temporary and unstable. It exists just long enough to allow one of us to transmute our existence into energy and reform on the other side. Naturally, such a connection is not conducive to physical travel. Anything caught directly in it would quickly find itself vaporized and potentially removed from existence as Creation Energy is highly volatile.

"It's probably for the same reason that most beings disintegrate if they find themselves outside of a bubble of reality." Akagi nodded. "You can't really have any stable structure in a place without any rules."

"Exactly." Elariel agreed. "I'd originally considered having you attempt such a transit, but I believe such a thing would be impossible even for you. The connection would be far too weak and temporary for you to pass through, not to mention the fact that Incarnation would run the risk of collapsing Enoris and thus taking you with it during that moment."

"I highly doubt I could stabilize such a passageway either." Akagi shook her head. "My technical knowledge of these things is based solely on the information afforded to me by virtue of my existence as a Demon Lord. I know that worlds can have layers, what it requires to pass between them, and some general information about how it all works, but to do something like that is probably outside of the realm of possibility for me, at least for now.”

{I'd probably need a few centuries of testing this theory before I'm confident enough to try it. And even then, there's a great deal of risk. I'd probably be fine if it went wrong, but the world itself likely would not.} (Akagi)

"Which brings me to my current idea." Elariel paused before taking a deep breath. "When I Incarnate, a connection is opened between the Heavens and the material realm. Due to the instability of Enoris, this unleashes an extraordinary amount of energy as the literal fabric of reality is torn asunder." She continued. "Normally, this results in a blast the size of a continent which vaporizes pretty much anything caught in the explosion. However, if I were to direct the blast inward rather than outward, I should be able to blow open a connection large enough for you to enter in that brief moment since the feedback caused by the blast would artificially inflate the opening."

"What?!?" Halifax exclaimed. "That's madness! The last blast had the power to destroy a large island and reduce it to nothing. Gods might be powerful and your true bodies are indeed resilient, but a blast like that would-"

"Kill me, yes." Elariel said with a level of certainty in her voice that shocked Halifax. "If this were a normal explosion of kinetic force, I'd be fine. After all, during the war with the Primordials, I fought battles where far more powerful attacks were used all the time, but..."

"But since you'd be directing the energy released from the tearing of reality into yourself, that's not something even a God's form could withstand." Akagi hummed in thought as she ran the calculations in her mind, agreeing that the odds of Elariel's survival were slim at best. "Such a release of energy could easily do damage to even a stable world, let alone one like this that's held together with duct tape and dreams. Bubbles of reality are woven together and bound with so much Creation Energy that even such a small amount getting discharged would be catastrophic. Even I wouldn't want to take a blast like that head-on without some preparation."

{Creation Energy is on an entirely different level than everything else. It's literally the power used to make entire worlds and give them shape, and it's what powers the endless cycle of world creation and destruction. Demon Lords are technically made of it since we're crafted directly by the greater force that governs reality, but while my power is undoubtedly dangerous, the untainted raw energy of creation itself is something else entirely. It can literally make and unmake anything.} (Akagi)

"Understandably, I'm a bit reluctant to end my own life in such a manner." Elariel continued. "Despite knowing my fate is tied to this world, the thought of essentially committing suicide... It is not a pleasant prospect, but without Reflia's or Labrys' cooperation, I see no other way to both stop Gale and preserve this world. Hence why I've brought this up now."

"Enoris probably takes the blast and suffers a mortal wound, but it should still last a few more decades." Akagi hummed in thought. "That gives me more than enough time to conduct an evacuation of a good chunk of the population, especially if the other Gods are all dead. Not a bad plan if I'm being honest."

{Though I would've liked it if she told me about this option sooner. I lack knowledge about the Gods and their abilities so I had no idea she could do something like that, though even if I did I don't know if I'd've done anything different so far.} (Akagi)

"Y-You'd really do that?" Halifax said, still shocked. She would've never imagined that Elariel would willingly end her own existence to stop Enoris' destruction. True she was doomed to die with the world if Akagi stopped Gale, but this and that were totally different things.

"It's the least I can do after everything I've done." Elariel said with a bitter smile. "I sacrificed you to preserve my own life, so I figure it's time to return what I stole. If by sacrificing myself, more people of this world can be saved, then so be it. It would also mean that you become truly free, since with my death no one can control you."

"You..." Halifax froze, unable to believe what she was hearing. Elariel had always been rather selfish, so to hear the Goddess declare her intent to sacrifice her life for the greater good left the Divine Blade speechless.

"I've been making preparations with my servants in the Heavens." Elariel continued, ignoring the stunned Halifax. "I should be ready to put this plan into action soon."

"Lady Elariel... Are the Angels... Are they okay with this? If you die..." Arcus interjected, worried that she was forcing this decision on the Angels born from the Goddess.

"They told me to do what I need to do." Elariel shook her head, understanding what he was getting at. "My death will take a great many lives with me, and I'm grateful for their loyalty to the end."

{I see...} (Arcus)

"Well, you've definitely given me an unexpected option." Akagi nodded. "With the failure to capture Labrys, I'm left with few options if I want to avoid outright destroying this world. I've discovered the Cult's headquarters, but there's no guarantee he'll be there." The Demon closed her eyes as she considered her next step. "Alright, I think we can try it." She nodded. "But before we do, I'll need to conduct an evacuation of the planet. If this fails and destroys Enoris, I can't risk my people or those I've extended offers of salvation being deleted."

"I'll be ready to go within a matter of hours." Elariel replied. "I can't imagine it will take you much time to move people around, so I'll be able to proceed when ready."

"Y-You're really going to do this?" Halifax asked as she looked between Akagi and Elariel. "You'll let her blow herself up to try and take down Gale?"

"Maybe." Akagi shrugged. "I'm more than happy to give it a try, but we're not going to try it just yet." She shook her head.

"What?!? Why would we delay?!?" Elariel's eyes went wide in suprise. "There is no benefit to waiting! Every moment that passes is one closer to Gale breaching into your world and slaughtering millions!"

"I am aware of that, but before I go setting off a worldwide WMD, I need to explore all my options." Akagi sighed. "Your idea will be the last resort if I can't get into the Heavens and handle things my way. Remember this world and its population have use to me. If I accept your offer and have you explode right now, I'd be choosing the most extreme offer when it's not clear I need it."

{Millions would die in that situation. I know you only plan on saving a portion of them, but it would still result in the deaths of countless people you would've saved. I'll leave the decision up to you, but I'd rather we save as many as possible if I'm being honest... After all, I know what it's like to be one of the few survivors of a doomed world.} (Yumi)

{Not to mention the fact that her method may simply not work, and if it doesn't I'm down my only Goddess. Elariel has many uses, chief among them is her direct connection to the Heavens and the other Gods. Losing her would be a major blow and I'm not keen on tossing away a valuable piece with such risks, at least not while we've got a chance to win this game without such rash maneuvers.} (Akagi)

{Do you think her plan will work?} (Yumi)

{I give it a roughly sixty percent chance of success, but its also almost guaranteed that this world won't last long afterward. An internalized explosion like she intends to do would actually do more damage to this world's structural foundation than she's letting on and there's a very good chance that it outright collapses under the strain anyway. Creation Energy is no joke and in a world this unstable that much being pumped inward like that may very well be too much for it to handle. There's a reason the other Gods haven't Incarnated and come down to fight me since they know that each one that comes down risks killing them all, with each subsequent Incarnation increasing the odds of disaster exponentially.} (Akagi)

"I implore you not to wait." Elariel stressed the importance of acting before Gale's plans were complete. "If Gale succeeds in whatever he's got planned, more people might die. People of Earth."

"Unlikely." Akagi shook her head. "And if that asshole really becomes a nuisance, I'll just destroy this world outright anyway. It's not like I can't, I just don't want to." She noted that due to Enoris' structural instability it was actually quite easy for her to bring the entire dimension crashing down.

{And besides, that would mean throwing away all my preparations. Can't have that, not when I'm so close to getting what I want.} (Akagi)

"How long do you want to wait?" Elariel asked, exasperated. "Wait too long and Gale may kill me if he gets wind of what I'm up to."

"A month." Akagi said after a bit of pondering, her words seeming to chill the very air in the command center. "If I can't find a way into the Heavens within one Earth month, we'll try your way; and if that doesn't work, I'll destroy this world without a moment of hesitation."