The Red Hand

Chapter 327 – Which One?

With her plans to have an intense duel between friends dashed, Akagi unenthusiastically tied up both Feline and Albert before dragging them into Amdamell's throne room. The Capital was in total chaos, and both could only imagine how many had been killed.

"Ahhh, victory!" Akagi said as she gazed upon the burning city through a hole in the throne room's wall.

"You... You just wanted to say that, didn't you?" Amakusa grumbled about Akagi's reference.

{Why am I suddenly getting the impression that a good portion of the reason why she's doing all this is to fucking MEME?!?} (Amakusa)

"Tis always nice to look over one's handwork and admire it." Akagi smiled as more explosions rocked the city. "Aren't fireworks nice, Yumi?" She glanced at the Priestess who stood at her side.

"I tend to like them a bit bigger." Yumi giggled. “And with a bit more oompf!”

“Yeah, the kaboom was kinda lacking here, not gonna lie.” Akagi snickered.

{You are both psychopaths...} (Amakusa)

"Please stop this!" A restrained Feline yelled as she was held down by Sabia. "We've already been defeated! There's no reason to continue this destruction!" She didn't understand why Akagi would continue the destruction, even after she'd already won.

“Know your place!” Sabia growled at her. “Speaking in such a-” She paused as Akagi raised a hand, indicating that her words were unneeded.

"It stops the moment that you agree to my demands, Feline." Akagi said without looking at the Princess, explosions continuing outside. "Until you give me what I want, the destruction will continue, and should you continue to decline, I may drag the general population into our little disagreement." So far she'd kept their casualties to a minimum, though she couldn't guarantee how much longer that grace would be granted.

"No... That's... If it's the Spirits that you want, fine!" Feline exclaimed, causing the gagged Albert to try and yell. "As Amdamell's Sovereign, I release them all to you! Take them back! Just please stop this madness!"

"I'm sorry, but that will no longer satisfy me." Akagi said as she slowly turned around, her glare freezing the Princess in place. "I require... more." She gave a slightly demonic laugh.

"What?!?" Feline squeaked in fear as she gazed into Akagi's black eyes. "Wasn't your whole goal here to rescue the Spirits?!? Didn't you do this to show others what happens if we refuse?!?" She figured that this was all just one massive excuse to show off her power to the other nations.

"Saving the Spirits is part of my overarching goal." Akagi explained. "But at the very top of my list of objectives is the utter destruction of the Gods. The Spirits are a tertiary goal."

"So... So you do mean to go to war with them..." Feline turned to Amakusa, who shrugged. She'd heard from Black Company about Akagi's goals, but never fully believed that anyone would want to directly challenge an entire pantheon of Gods.

{DON'T JUST SHRUG, YOU IDIOT! I NEED YOU TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!} (Feline)

"Don't look at me. I have no control over this crazy train." Amakusa sighed. “Nothing I say or do is going to sway her, so I'm not even going to waste my time or breath.”

{YOU!} (Feline)

"If by war you mean extermination, then yes. That's what I intend to do." Akagi nodded. "I will not be satisfied until each and every one of the Gods that dared to covet my world is brought to their knees and humbled." She laughed. “A worthy goal, if I do say so myself.”

"Then take your grievances up with them!" Feline exclaimed. "We have no control over them or their actions! The Gods, not the people of Enoris, were the ones who attacked you, so why are you dragging us into your battle with them?!?" She knew that it wasn't exactly true they the weren't involved but she was trying anything to stop the destruction.

"I'm sorry, Feline, but we both know that's not how this works." Amakusa interjected.

"Shiroe..." Feline hadn't expected Amakusa to support Akagi, and the lack of orange eyes showed that it was her true feelings.

"We're both fully aware that the people of this world cheered on as the Spirits were destroyed, and they materially supported the war effort." Amakusa continued. “To call them or us bystanders or uninvolved parties is laughable at best.”

{I lead a war, they provided the men and material and Feline... She's part of the Elite who guided the war. We're all equally guilty for what happened.} (Amakusa)

"That may be true, but we had no influence on the decision to send you to that other world! The Gods were the ones who made that decision!" Feline argued that the Gods' actions from that point on were not the responsibility of the mortals of this world and that Akagi shouldn't hold them responsible for what happened after the Spirits were driven out.

"I see no reason to give you the benefit of the doubt." Akagi laughed to her face. "Nor do I see any compelling argument for mercy. You and your people gleefully supported the Gods the entire way. That you beg for mercy or try and distance yourself from those same beings now that a knife is pointed as your throat merely exposes you for the snakes that you really are."

{Just like rats fleeing a sinking ship you idiots will try and scurry away when things start going south. You're no better than the Gods in that respect, though at least your actions are not attributable to blatant malice, though ignorance isn't an excuse.} (Akagi)

"No... I... I can accept responsibility for the deaths of the Spirits." Feline's words again caused Albert to try and break his bindings, only for Merkyul to knock him out. "We allowed ourselves to be led astray by the Gods who we believed would protect us, and as a result of our blind faith... So many innocent lives were lost..."

{But how is it fair to hold us responsible for the invasion of your world?!? We could do nothing to stop the Gods' plan at that point!} (Feline)

"Feline, at the end of the day, the people of this world were fully in favor of what the Gods planned." Amakusa stepped in again. "And remember, who was it that asked me to take part in this second plan?"

"I... I'm the one that asked you to help..." Feline's face went dark as the ruined throne room grew quiet. “And it was the same of the other Heroes... You were all asked to help by your respective...”

"Regardless, at the end of the day, the reason your Capital is in flames has little to do with your support of the Gods' and their attack on my world." Akagi said.

"Wait, but, what?!?" Feline was now thoroughly confused.

"At the end of the day this whole thing could've easily been avoided had you simply complied with my demands." Akagi shrugged. "I have no interest in causing mass destruction like this across Enoris." She said as another explosion went off in the distance. "However, I do not tolerate defiance particularly well." She said. "Had you turned over the Spirits in your custody to me, I would've been inclined to leave Amdamell alone, at least as long as it did not raise its sword to me."

{Though I'm also not sad that things went this way. Then again, the odds of Amdamell complying were so low that one may as well not even count it as a possibility.} (Akagi)

"But there was..." Feline paused, recalling her earlier discussion with Merkyul. "No, this is what you wanted..."

{The whole point of this was never to actually get us to hand them over, and I'd bet that she would've been frustrated if she did... This Demon... We were never anything more than an example, something to show the world her power and what happens if you don't give in... Its the same as those warlords that once came from the South and how they'd burn cities to the ground to convince others to surrender without a fight.} (Feline)

"Bingo!" Akagi's lips curved into a nasty smile. "I knew that you'd never be able to convince your Father to hand the Spirits over, and so I planned this operation to take advantage of that fact."

"Then why even give that demand?!? Why even go through all this in the first place?!?" Feline exclaimed again. "I highly doubt somebody like you needed a casus belli to take what you want, so why bother with such a formality?!?" She didn't understand why Akagi was even bothering to play by some kind of rules when it was clear that she existed outside of them.

"My own personal reasons." Akagi shrugged, not wanting to delve into her own personal code. "As I said, I have no desire to lay waste to this world, and my self-imposed rules forbid me from doing such, at least not without reason." She gave an unsettling laugh.

{Violating that code is a quick way for me to go down a very, very, very, dark path, so I find it best to keep it. However, that doesn't mean that exploiting loopholes or CREATING the circumstances that would permit me to act is forbidden.} (Akagi)

"You..." Feline was again struck by a sense of bewilderment. Akagi's words and explinations convinced her that she was dealing with someone insane. "What even are you?"

"A slightly insane Demon Lord assassin." Akagi deadpanned.

{Only slightly?!?} (Amakusa)

"And a fluffy kitty." Yumi snickered. "Don't forget that part!"

"Ah, how could I forget? Yeah, that too." Akagi nodded before continuing. "I don't expect that you'll understand my logic, and frankly, I don't care. Just know that my actions are always taken with a greater plan in mind. For instance, now I have an example to point to when people ask me what the consequences of defiance are." She smiled.

{Though, my current plans expect that we're going to need a much, much larger show of force to convince the continent to bow before me, oh well.} (Akagi)

"Do you truly think that any of these nations are going to submit to your demands?" Feline asked. "Even if you lay waste to all of Amdamell and turn it into a sea of flame I see no reason to believe that the Empire or the Demons would ever bend the knee to you, it's simply not in their nature to surrender."

{Especially to someone like you.} (Feline)

"If they do they do, and if they don't they don't." Akagi shrugged, not caring either way. "I honestly hope both do try something, since then I get to have fun." She snickered.

"You... You truly are insane..." Feline said as her body went numb, and almost unconsciously her next words spilled out like a dam that finally burst. "Is... Is this all just a game to you? Do you see us as little more than pieces on some kind of chessboard?"

"Yes." Akagi's curt response took the Princess off guard. "Back in my world, somebody asked me that very same question once." She slowly walked over to the restrained Princess. "They asked me what I thought of the world and why I was the way that I was. They wanted to know why I did what I did and why I was more than happy to play around with people's lives." She laughed as she recalled her discussion with Nariyuki. "And do you know what I told them?"

"I don't know, maybe that you're actually some kind and benevolent being that's just misunderstood?" Amakusa rolled her eyes as she spoke under her breath.

"I told her that I was simply finding entertaining ways to pass the time." Akagi knelt down in front of the Princess, locking eyes with her.

"You truly are a monster then..." Feline replied. “Only a truly horrible being could say such a thing. To play with people's lives for mere entertainment is...”

"Yes, a monster I am... A monster I am indeed." Akagi laughed for a bit before grabbing Feline by the hair and yanking her head to an awkward angle.

"OW!" Feline yelped in pain as Akagi continued to lock eyes with her.

"But, tell me, what would you rather, Feline?" Akagi's gaze bore straight into Feline's soul, and she began to tremble as the Demon's orange eyes met her own. "A monster like me? One that has rules that it abides by? One that merely wishes to be entertained? One that is happy to let the world go on as normal as long as the occasion demand is met? One who's biggest priority is being left ALONE?" Her body slowly dissolved away until all that remained was a vaguely human-shaped black shadow with orange eyes and razor-sharp teeth. "Or would you rather that I be the kind of monster who kills everyone without a second thought? Who burns this world to the ground just because I can? Because I can BE that kind of monster if you want me to, Feline. So tell me, which would you rather?" Her attitude change chilled Feline to the very bone and even caused the usually stoic Amakusa to back away and tremble.

"I... I..." Feline's heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest as Akagi's eyes inflicted terror into her very soul. She knew in her heart that the being before her was something that she could never hope to understand, and frankly she didn't want to. "I... I surrender... You win..."

"Good." Akagi threw the Princess aside as she stood back up. "Tell Black Company to halt operations." She said to Yumi, who passed the message along over wireless. "Merkyul, Sabia." Akagi called out to the two members of Black Company.

"Yes!" (Merkyul x Sabia)

"I'll be leaving the cleanup in your hands." Akagi turned to leave. "And Princess."

"Yes..." Feline said as she was slowly unbound.

"For now, keep our little arrangement with the Spirits a secret." Akagi continued. "Oh, and let's have a bit of fun and exaggerate the casualties a bit. I'm going to need a high enough body count to give the Demons a bit of food for thought at whatever meeting they're going to have." She chuckled.

"I... As you wish..." Feline nodded.

"As you wish?" Akagi asked as he looked over her shoulder.

"As you wish... My Lord." Feline said, reluctantly as curtseying. 

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