The Red Hand

Chapter 271 – The Demon Lord’s Terrifying Visage.

"Well, well, well." Hishya pointed Sun Strike at the four intruders, her words sounded cheery but her eyes were practically on fire. "I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that you four are the so-called Heroes I was told about."

{We were expected?!? That's not good...} (Kanato)

"Yeah, that's right!" Muichiro laughed as he allowed his massive blade to slam into the arena floor, causing a minor quake. "We're the fucking Heroes, and we're here to kick ass and take names!"

{Cute girl, but a bit to small for my taste.} (Muichiro)

"More like commit genocide!" Halifax screamed at the four of them, her eyes seeming to burn even brighter than Hishya's with hatred. "You're here to kill innocent people, you idiots!” She pointed her blade at them. "And I won't let you get away with your disgusting acts of slaughter anymore!" She'd been wanting to kick these four around for some time, and her inability to act only further inflamed her disgust with both the Hero group and the Gods.

{I suppose this lends credence to our concerns.} Kanato side-eyed Amakusa, who glanced back at him, nodding subtly.

"Listen, we were told that-" Kanato wanted to start a dialogue but was cut off as his long dormant AR device dinged with a ton of backed up messages, as did the other Heroes'.

"I knew it! This is Earth!" Amakusa yelled as she flicked through a metric ton of messages from her family. "We're home!"

{WE FUCKING MADE IT HOME!} (Amakusa)

"Wait, really?!?" Muichiro looked shocked. "Well fuck my life. I guess we are."

“This is... Unexpected...” Hitomi didn't seem all to happy with returning to Earth.

{But if this is Earth, then why are there so many powerful people here? This doesn't make any sense. Earth has no magic, but these two are clearly more than just humans. What the hell happened while we were gone?!?} (Kanato)

However, before any of the four Heroes could ask any questions, Akagi's voice echoed throughout the arena, startling the four of them and causing Hishya to sigh.

"I see, so my conclusion that the four of you were from this world was correct." Akagi laughed, her voice seemingly coming from the very air itself. “I suppose that means I should update my bingo card.”

{Oh great... She's gonna take the chance to ham this the fuck up, isn't she?} (Hishya)

"What was that?!?" Kanato looked around, sword at the ready. "That voice... It felt... It felt wrong." He'd never felt such a terrible feeling in his gut before, and something in the back of his mind told him to run.

"My divine senses are detecting a powerful Demon nearby." Hitomi commented, her face sweating slightly.

{It... Its power is...} (Hitomi)

"A Demon? Why would one of them be on Earth?" Muichiro asked as he looked around for the mysterious voice.

"It doesn't matter why its here, all we need to do is kill it!" Amakusa yelled. The thought of some kind of Demonic threat attacking Earth had raised her anxiety as her mind was currently flooded with worry about her Father. "It probably snuck through with the Spirits! Who knows what kind of chaos it could cause to the world!"

"Kill me? Don't make me laugh." Akagi chuckled, amused by their cluelessness. "Far better warriors than you have tried and failed to do that very thing." A Demonic laugh echoed around them.

"Show yourself, monster!" Amakusa barked. "I'll send you back to whatever hell you crawled out of!"

{I won't let my homeworld be destroyed by something like you! So just come out and face the music!} (Amakusa)

"Oh my fucking god..." Hishya sighed under her breath.

{Dammit, Akagi..} (Hishya)

"Should we do something?" Halifax asked, not really sure what to do in this situation.

"If we try to interrupt her, she'll kick our asses, so just stand back and let her have her fun." Hishya shook her head as she sheathed her blade, figuring that sitting back and enjoying the show was the best option.

"Oh? You wish to lay thine eyes upon me, mortals? You wish to gaze into the dark abyss that is my unholy form?" Akagi gave an even more Demonic and insane laugh. "Fine. Thou shalt have what thou desire, but know that I am no ordinary Demon..." With that a massive black swirling vortex appeared high in the sky as the wind began to pick up and red lightning flashed overhead.

{Really, Akagi? Using those archaic words? What are you, fucking Shakespeare?} (Hishya)

"Everyone, get ready!" Kanato and the other Heroes got in formation, ready to fight the terrible foe that was coming for them.

{I've got a bad feeling about this...} (Kanato)

"Quake in fear mortal fools! For the one you shall face is a being of unparalleled power..." The ground itself began to quake as a black vortex stretched from the sky to the arena floor. " And of a Darkness so deep that no light can ever hope to destroy it."

Kanato gulped but found his mouth dry from stress and fear.

"Know this, you so-called Heroes. My name is Akagi Dumetor, and I am a Demon Lord! Bow before my almighty power and quake at the sight of my most terrible form!" Akagi slowly dissipated the vortex revealing herself to the Heroes.

"REALLY?!?" Hishya did a spit-take when she saw the Demon's terrible form.

"Why am I not surprised?" Halifax sighed, figuring that this was the only natural outcome.

"What?" Kanato was shocked and confused by what he was witnessing, as were the rest of the Heroes.

"A... What?" Amakusa stood with her jaw slacked.

{I... What the hell...} (Amakusa)

"This has to be a joke, right?" Muichiro looked at his fellow Heroes in confusion. “Right?”

"I... I'm not sure..." Hitomi gave a wry smile. “I'm not sure at all..”

"What's wrong, mortals? Have you never seen such a terrifying visage before? Am I simply that unimaginably horrifying that you are lost for words?" Akagi laughed evilly as her kitty ears and tail twitched. She'd chosen to appear before the Heroes as Catkagi and was presently sitting on the arena floor, looking far too cute to be the evil the Heroes were expecting.

"All hail the Demon Lord! All Hail Lady Akagi!" Merkyul and Black Company had appeared alongside her and took a knee as Ara played some kind of dramatic theme music with a kazoo from afar.

{That girl has gotten far too invested in her role, but I approve!} (Akagi)

"May her fluff be eternal!" Sabia said while holding her hands in prayer.

"May her cuteness triumph over all that is good!" Hitamaguchi prayed as well.

"Woe be to all who oppose her." Roxlex joined in.

"M-May her reign be eternal and her darkness complete!" Elna reluctantly said her scripted line.

"What in the absolute fuck am I looking at?!?" Muichiro finally decided that enough was enough. "I was pumped for some badass fight against a fucking Demon, and instead I get some 5/10 catgirl?!?"

{Talk about a letdown...} (Muichiro)

"H-Hitomi, is that the same being that was talking to us?" Kanato asked, still unsure of what was going on with the kitty.

"I... I think so?" Hitomi couldn't be sure, but figured that something was wrong about this situation. "I can tell she's some kind of Demon, but that's all."

{But... Something is telling me... That this is bad...} (Hitomi)

"All that stress... for nothing..." Amakusa sighed, thankful that the feared Demon was harmless.

"MEW!" Akagi gave a distorted meow. "Discount me at your own risk, mortals." She smiled.

"Yeah, whatever." Muichiro started slowly walking toward Akagi, waving off any concern and deciding not to take the kitty seriously. "Listen here. I'll do you a favor and let you join my harem if you tell us where the Spirits are, little kitty." He gave a nasty smirk as he eyed up Akagi. "I'd say that's pretty generous for an ugly little thing like you, so what do you say? You'd have the honor of being bed by m-" Muichiro didn't even have a chance to finish his sentence as went flying across the arena, crashing into the stands which collapsed on him.

{Welp, guess I should kick back, get some popcorn, and watch these four get the same treatment as Herlex and Co.} (Hishya)

"Muichiro!" Kanato screamed as he watched him get launched. "What the hell was that?!?"

{Did she do that?!?} (Kanato)

"Such a disgusting little man." Akagi's words sent a chill down the Heroes' spine, and Hishya could tell that she was not in a good mood. "Had it not been for the fact that I promised to keep him alive for Mizumi to have fun with, I'd have killed him on the spot for his words. Oh well." His disgusting attitude and clearly lecherous eyes had only incensed her, and it was taking everything she had not to destroy him with a snap of her fingers.

"Lady Akagi, shall we handle these fools who would dare insult you?" Merkyul asked, ready to unleash hell upon those who would dare insult his Lord.

"No." Akagi shook her head. "These four are my prey." She smirked.

"Just what the hell are you?!?" Amakusa asked.

{How could she just fling Muichiro away like that?!? He's an idiot, but it shouldn't be possible to do fling him away so easily! I didn't even see what she did to him either!} (Amakusa)

"I told you already." Akagi answered. "I'm a Demon Lord." Her words seemed to chill the very air around her, and the weight of her claim pressed down upon the three of them with the weight of a mountain.

"Demon Lord..." Kanato repeated those words. "No... That can't be possible!" He shook his head in disbelief. “There's no way a Demon Lord could exist on Earth!”

{There's no way that's true!} (Kanato)

"Oh, but it is." Akagi smirked. "You see, I am the Demon Lord of THIS world and I am the same type of being as the one that plagued Enoris four millennia ago. If you want to be technical, then you could say that Vikes and I are essentially distant relatives."

"There's no way..." Kanato replied in complete shock, his voice trembling with despair as he knew what this meant. "Then... Then that means..."

"That this world, is mine to destroy." Akagi finished for him, her lips curved into a happy smile.

"NO! I won't let you destroy the Earth, you monster!" Amakusa zipped forward, pushing past Black Company in a flash. "DIE!" She swung her blade down but found it lazily blocked by Akagi's pointer finger.

{What?!?} (Amakusa)

"How disappointing. I was told that you were powerful, but that blow was weak." Akagi flicked her hand forward, flinging Amakusa into Kanato, who caught her.

"Dammit!" Amakusa fumed.

{How could she have blocked that?!? Nobody blocks my Swift Strike! NOBODY!} (Amakusa)

"Calm down, Shiroe!" Kanato yelled at her as he set her down. "We need to focus and work together if we want to win this thing, but first..." He glared at Akagi, an important question on his mind. "Is it safe to assume that you are the one backing the Spirits?" He wanted to fulfill one of his goals, and he figured that a Demon Lord might be his best bet for answers.

"They are my subjects, yes." Akagi nodded. "They've come under my protection, and since you lot are here to kill them, I've no choice but to stop you."

"Then maybe we could talk this out." Kanato stepped in front of Amakusa, who was still livid.

"What do you mean TALK IT OUT?!?" Amakusa screamed at the top of her lungs. "She's a fucking Demon Lord who wants to destroy the world! We should just end her right now!"

"Be quiet!" Kanato snapped at her before turning back to Akagi.

"You look like you have an interesting question, boy. I can see it in your eyes. You doubt Enoris' Gods' don't you?" Akagi's words were practically seductive, and Kanato found himself unable to resist answering. "You fear that what they've told you were nothing but lies and falsehoods."

After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Kanato asked a question that had been on his mind for the better part of two years. "Are the Spirits truly trying to destroy Enoris?" His words seemed to flow out, and his heart nearly leaped into his throat as he awaited a response.

Akagi chuckled. "No my little Hero. They are not." The Demon's words made Kanato's blood run cold, and even Hitomi and Amakusa were momentarily taken aback. "In fact, they never were. Your little Gods lied to you, manipulated you, and fed you sweet, sweet lies." The Demon's lips curved into a smile that made even Hishya uneasy. "All those stories about the Spirits trying to destroy Enoris were little more than fabrications to get you four to do the Gods' dirty work. And you bought their bullshit, hook, line, and sinker."

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