The Red Hand

Chapter 485 – A Word of Power.

After coming to an 'understanding', the alliance between the Vikes' Demon Lord Cult and Akagi was sealed. Naturally, the arrangement was heavily one-sided and, in reality, was little more than the Cult becoming subservient to the Demon Lord. Though, funny enough, there were more than a few Cultists who actually accepted this relationship since Akagi was an actual Demon Lord. However, even though the two parties had come to an agreement, the Cult could not give what it did not have. Tanya gave Akagi all the information she knew about Labrys' disappearance, explaining that, after the Dawnmaster of the Dawn Order attacked Labrys, her telepathic connection was cut. Neither she nor the rest of the Cult had any idea of his whereabouts, and they were doing everything they could to find him with their available resources. Thus, with no solid leads on the Demon Axe's location, Akagi figured it best to swap general intel with the Cult since she figured it would have access to information not otherwise obtainable on Enoris.

"Such a small group." Akagi said as she read through a list of names associated with the Cult. "I suppose that makes sense though. With an entire pantheon of Gods out to kill you, one can't be too careful about who knows about this place." The Demon said as Tanya glared at her for putting her feet on Labrys' desk as she leaned back in the chair. The Demon had taken his office for her own use, which was not appreciated by the beastwoman. "But still. To have less than a hundred members and be this big of a boogeyman. I'm not sure whether the Gods are stupid for being so worried or entirely on point for how they treated you."

{The records I've got about the Cult depict it as little more than a terror organization. It doesn't seem to take part in open assassinations or killings too often, likely because it presents far too much risk. I'd wager their real concern was the potential to kill a God. Halifax did mention that just such a thing occurred a few centuries back during her prior confrontation with the group. Can't exactly maintain your position if Gods are getting picked off by mortals.} (Akagi)

"I'll give you all credit." Akagi said as she looked up at Tanya. "Keeping an organization like this going for four thousand years, despite how out of reach the end goal was, is no mean feat. You even managed to take out a God and a few Demi-Gods over the centuries. Quite good work for such a rag tag group."

"If you are referring to the events of the Scouring, that was a plan nearly a millennium in the making." Tanya replied, a proud smile forming on her lips. "It would have gone better had a certain Divine Blade not interfered." She said, side-eyeing Halifax.

"Hey, in my defense, the only reason I got involved was to save Sherry." Halifax shrugged. She'd never been upset that a God died and was more angry that her friend was put on the literal chopping block. "Cynthala's death was entirely on the Gods for underestimating you, and I had zero interest in joining that slugging match."

"On that, from what Halifax told me, the Cult managed to capture her." Akagi said. "Though apparently their attempted corruption did not work."

"And now we know why." Halifax sighed.

"Can't corrupt that which was already corrupt and then juiced up with Divine power into a shining beacon of justice!" Akagi snickered which drew a glare from the Divine Blade in question.

"I'm just surprised that Labrys didn't take a more active role at the time." Halifax said, not bothering to retort to Akagi's comment. "From what I remember, he was with the Cult back then. I remember someone mentioning how it was he who helped make the whole corruption of Divine weapons and Demi-Gods possible."

{I suppose it makes sense though. You can take a Demon Lord's weapon and make it Divine, so the reverse must be possible, heck its probably easier.} (Halifax)

"I was not alive during that time, obviously, but from what I do know, Lord Labrys was barely able to communicate with us, and it was only because of the Reactor that corrupting the Divine Weapons was possible." Tanya's comment immediately got the attention of both Akagi and Halifax.

"Y-You're not referring to an Eridal Power Reactor, are you?" Halifax asked. Such things always caused trouble when then came up and the Cult having one at its disposal was a major headache.

"What else could generate the kind of power necessary for such a thing?" Tanya replied with a duh face.

"Nima's team did not report finding such a thing." Akagi hummed. “And I'm not detecting it here either.”

"That's because it's sealed with Lord Labrys' power at the very heart of our base." Tanya shook her head as she explained. "It's protected with powerful wards that keep intruders away and disorient their senses if they get too close. Only a select few of us even know of its existence, let alone its location."

"Of course you'd have a Reactor..." Halifax sighed.

{Everyone gets a fucking Reactor...} (Halifax)

"Though that does explain why they have the power to corrupt Divine artifacts while powering planet-sized teleportation arrays." Akagi shrugged. "But I wonder if you know what actually powers said Reactor?" She figured that the Cult wasn't aware that a shard of their beloved Lord Vikes was its power source.

"It's some kind of Eridal technology. We don't know how it works, and Lord Labrys always told us not to mess with it since it could melt down and make a massive explosion." Tanya shrugged. She'd never questioned it, nor did most people.

"While the Eridal's did construct the device itself, at its core lies a shard of a certain other Demon Lord." Akagi said, Tanya's eyes going wide in shock.

"W-What?!?" Tanya yelped. “That's-”

"I don't know how it happened, but the Reactors the Eridals used to fuel their Empire were built upon the shattered pieces of Vikes' Soul." Akagi explained. She understood at least some of how they work but the inner workings were something she planned on leaving to Imp once all was said and done. "Even a tiny fragment of a Demon Lord can provide tremendous amounts of usable energy. More than enough to corrupt a Divine Weapon or two, and certainly enough to power magical artifacts that would make even Gods nervous."

{But still, how did so many fragments of Vikes find their way into mortal hands? Should the Gods not have gathered the scattered remnants of his soul to destroy them? The only thing that makes sense is that, after Halifax struck him down, Vikes' soul shattered into several pieces, and the Gods were either unaware of the shards' existence or simply couldn't find them until the Eridals did their thing. Either way, it would explain why the Gods eradicated that Empire with extreme prejudice.} (Akagi)

"Lord Vikes' power has been..." Tanya paled as she thought about how casually they'd been using a Demon Lord's power for 'mundane' things like teleportation.

"Halifax, do you have any idea how many Reactors exist?" Akagi asked, leaving the beastwoman to deal with her crisis.

"At least two dozen." Halifax thought for a moment before answering. "But remind you the last time I had any reliable count was before the Eridal's destruction." She continued. "I didn't really take part in that war, for what are now obvious reasons, so I can't say how many remain. The Gods didn't really like talking to me about the Reactors, again for what is now an obvious reason."

"They worried that you'd collect the scattered ashes of dear old Dad and glue him back together like a certain unfortunate egg." Akagi laughed, though nobody sans Yumi got her joke.

"The Eridals controlled much of the surface for somewhere around a millennium." Halifax continued her explanation, ignoring the Demon Lord. "During that time, they had many great cities that housed magical technology that rivaled the things I saw on Earth. If we assume that each one had a Reactor, then there were at least fifty, probably more."

{Shouldn't a soul dissipate if it's shattered? How can it linger and create so much energy four thousand years later?} (Yumi)

"Ordinary souls would vanish quite quickly, but Vikes was a Demon Lord." Akagi answered. "Even if he was young and undeveloped, his soul was on another level, so to speak. It's only natural that it remains potent even after shattering, though the question remains, why did his soul shattering not result in its destruction?" She hummed in thought before turning to Tanya. As far as she knew a Demon Lord's soul shouldn't survive in any state upon shattering. Like a mortal's soul a Demon Lord's shouldn't be able to survive in such a state. "Take us to the Reactor, I want to inspect it."

"Do you think it contains more of Vikes' memories?" Halifax guessed what Akagi was after.

"I'm almost certain it does." Akagi nodded as she stood up and snapped her fingers to get Tanya out of her stupor. "Chop, chop! There's no time to stand around dazed like an idiot."

"Um... Yeah... I..." Tanya stammered as Akagi pushed her out of the room, wearing down the soles of her shoes as the beastwoman was pushed down the hallway.

The sealed chamber where the Power Reactor was kept sat at the very bottom of the mountain that the Cult used as their base. After descending an elevator for miles, the three entered the large workshop used by the Cult for its various magical experiments and to maintain its equipment. There were dozens of magic circles strewn across various rooms, each of which linked to separate hideouts and bases across the world, as well as other items and the tools to maintain them. Some areas were rather gruesome, as there were clear signs of torture and experimentation that Halifax struggled to refrain from asking questions about.

"Here." Tanya paused as they reached the very back of the workshop, stopping in front of a blank stone wall that looked entirely unassuming. It was no different than any other wall and appeared as just another part of the base's interior.

"That's a very powerful illusion." Akagi nodded as she ran her hand along the wall, immediately understanding what was at play.

"Is there something off here?" Halifax tilted her head in confusion. "It's just a wall? I can't sense anything off here."

{Interesting, it looks like even she can't sense the power sealing this door. Halifax isn't weak by any means, so this has been heavily obscured to prevent just about anyone from sensing it.} (Akagi)

"That's the point." Tanya said as she turned to Halifax. "The seal on this chamber was created using Lord Labrys' power. Only those granted his blessing can so much as see through the illusion let alone dispel it." She said as she waved her hand, revealing a large metal door with an engraving at its center that caused Halifax to heave violently upon seeing it.

{How does a sword even get sick in the stomach?} (Yumi)

{Why are you still questioning things after everything we've been through?} (Akagi)

{Good point....} (Yumi)

"An odd reaction." Tanya was a bit surprised to see Halifax's response to the symbol. "I've never heard of anyone getting ill from getting close. The worst I've seen was a migraine if they tried to enter without his permission."

"T-That symbol..." Halifax said while trying to calm herself down, her mind twisting as she turned to keep it out of her vision. "I... I feel like I know... Like I know what it... But I've never..." She stammered, shaking in place uncontrollably.

"Do you know what it means?" Akagi asked Tanya as she rubbed Halifax on the back.

"None of us do." Tanya shook her head. "Lord Labrys said it was a word in the language of Demon Lords, and that mortals would be driven mad trying to comprehend it." She continued. "Lord Labrys was the only one who could open this door, as it was sealed and required a verbal password. Though I suspect that you might be able to open it."

"[Enūma.]" Akagi spoke the word inscribed on the door, causing Tanya to tense upon hearing the language of Demon Lords, and for Halifax to fall to the floor, shaking even more as the door slowly opened. "A name that seems to hold a great deal of power even after all this time." She said as she knelt down to comfort Halifax.