The Red Hand

Chapter 363 – Checkmate.

After chasing Akagi around for what felt like forever, Hishya was eventually able to recover her sock, just in time for Miji to wake up from her nap and do exactly what was expected of her. On several occasions, the kitty was squeezed so tight that she was tempted to explode into a show of kitty confetti, but glares from Yumi put a stop to such fun antics, for now. After running around, flopping about, and having fun as a family nighttime quickly fell on the estate, and with Naomi and Mika sent home for school the next morning, Yumi, Miji, and Akagi settled into bed. Naturally, Yumi was hugged up on Miji, who was in turn hugging one Catkagi, who was squeezed so tightly by the young girl that she was bent in the shape of an L.

"Hmmm... Kitty..." Miji cooed as she slept with Akagi happily squeezed in her arms. “Squishy... Kitty...Hmm...”

{You know, it's a good thing that don't feel pain, or have bones, or need to breathe... Otherwise, I'd be one dead kitty... Though a happy one.} (Akagi)

As she lay in the happy and tight embrace, Akagi felt something calling to her, it almost as if a phone was ringing in her mind. It wouldn't have been a problem to ignore it, but the Demon was all too curious to see who was calling her this late at night.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"Interesting." Akagi said as her eyes snapped open, revealing that she stood in a completely white space, seemingly alone. "I dealt with internal issues calling out to me, but to have the phone call come from outside the proverbial cabin is unexpected." She laughed as she looked around, noticing nothing but a pavilion in the distance with a blue-haired man waving to her as waived his hand and created a small table and chairs. "Though I suppose this will be interesting if nothing else. Though I can't be away too long, otherwise Miji might get sad." She laughed as she slowly walked over to the obviously Divine man.

"Welcome! I'll be honest, I didn't think you'd actually accept my little invitation." Gale smiled as he sat down. "Based on everything I've heard about you, I assume you'd ignore me. So this is a most welcome surprise."

"Meh, I was curious to see who was calling out to me, and I must admit that I wasn't expecting it to be Enoris' Chief God." Akagi said as she took a seat across from him. "That you could connect our thoughts together like this was unexpected, and I'll give you credit for surprising me."

{Though this couldn't have been easy to pull of either. Interdimensional communication outside of a direct link is draining at the best of times, and even for something like me its not really that workable. I'm going to bet money he had to either kill a fuck load of people to do this or has some alternative power source since, ordinarily, Gods would struggle to do this kind of thing.} (Akagi)

"Regardless of your reasons, I'm glad to finally meet you... Well, I'd say in person, but I'm afraid that you'd probably kill me if we did." Gale folded his hands together as he chuckled.

"Oh, you bet your divine ass I would." Akagi laughed as she mentioned already feeling him out with her power, only to be disappointed that he was beyond her reach. "You've taken enough precautions here to prevent me from pulling my little tricks, so rest assured that I can't do to you what I did to that little Goddess."

{Avatar's have a connection to the God's main body, but this is just a projection. Sadly destroying that will do little more than derail this conversation, too bad. I was hoping that he'd made a massive mistake, but then again he's too old and intelligent to do something like that.} (Akagi)

"Ah yes, Tahena's death was unexpected and unfortunate." Gale said with a fake somber look that Akagi saw through in an instant. "We will all mourn her for some time. She was truly the best among us and will be missed."

{If she was the best of you, then ain't a high bar man.} (Akagi)

"So what did you contact me for?" Akagi asked as she snapped her fingers and made coffee and some cookies appear between them, something which caused Gale's eyes to momentarily widen. "If you wish to surrender I'd prefer that be done in person." She smirked as she took a sip. “Though I'll settle for this if needed.”

"You truly are a fascinating creature." Gale said with a wry smile as he tried to keep his composure. "To think that you could so quickly adapt to this environment. You really are nothing like your kin." He was surprised to see Akagi manipulate the mental environment so easily, especially when it was something that he had created.

"I'm a bit of a unique case, not to mention that the one called Vikes was an incomplete Demon Lord." Akagi replied with a bit of a shrug. "Our kind are weak in infancy, but once we grow into our power, there's nothing stopping us from completing our goal."

{Well, nothing save for that one in infinity situation that spawned me.} (Akagi)

"Yes, the energy I sensed from you is nothing short of extraordinary." Gale clapped his hands, causing a chessboard to form on the table between them. "Shall we? I always enjoy a game during friendly discussions. I presume you know how to play"

"Sure. I'll admit that playing against a God does tickle my fancy." Akagi answered as Gale motioned for her to take the first move, moving a pawn into position.

*CLACK*

"Now, with formalities and bluster out of the way, lets get down to the reason I wanted to talk with you." Gale said as he moved a piece to counter her move.

*CLACK*

"I've been watching you for some time, and a thought occurred to me." Gale said as Akagi moved another piece. "I asked myself, for what reason are we at odds? Surely there is no real reason for beings like us to come to blows?"

*CLACK*

"Really? No reason? If you're asking me I'd say that invading my world, declaring your intent to massacre my subjects, and then impune on my authority are pretty significant sins." Akagi said as she cut off one of Gale's attempts to gain advantage. “Sins great enough for me to see you as an enemy.”

*CLACK*

"Ah yes, that is an unfortunate and lamentable situation, I assure you. One that I, and the other Gods, truly regret." Gale said with an insincere smile that Akagi didn't buy for a moment.

*CLACK*

"We had no idea that you'd already lay claim to that world, nor were we aware that the Spirits were under your purview and protection." Gale said as Akagi responded to his move. "I would ask for your forgiveness in that matter, and perhaps we could get past such trivial things? I believe there's much we can accomplish by working together."

"Trivial?" Akagi scoffed at the use of that word

*CLACK*

"I'd say so and I'm more than happy to chalk this up to a misunderstanding between us and let this be water under the bridge." Gale said with another insincere smile. "I believe that we could have a good relationship with you, there's much you could gain from allying with us and little from making us your enemy."

*CLACK*

"So what is it that you want?" Akagi asked as Gale took one of her pawns with his rook. "I understand your type well enough to know that you're not the kind to sing kumbaya and hold hands peacefully while walking into the sunset. You want more than just a truce between us."

*CLACK*

"While I'm flattered with your assessment of me, rest assured that I merely wish to ensure that nothing gets in the way of my and the other Gods' evacuation from Enoris." Gale replied with a slight chuckle. "I'm sure Elariel filled you in on the current situation." His words seemed intended to cause Akagi to flinch in surprise, but she didn't.

"How long have you known?" Akagi asked, not bothering to try and deny that Elariel had fallen under her control.

*CLACK*

"I've known that Elariel was displeased with me since the matter with that Sword 'Child' of hers a thousand years ago. That she has decided to sink the entirety of our world rather than allow us to flee was no had to figure out when I started thinking about it." Gale said with a satisfied smirk as he knocked away one of Akagi's knights. "She was always much too soft-hearted. It was a mistake to tie that thing to her."

*CLACK*

"I'm surprised that you've left her alive." Akagi said with a blank expression, brushing off his use of thing to describe Halifax. “If it were me, I would've axed her the moment it became clear she'd been captured.”

*CLACK*

"I won't deny that the thought crossed my mind, but I realize that she has a part to play, and for now I see no reason in doing anything since there's little she can do to actually stop my plans from going forward." Gale said. "And from what I can tell you have no intention of letting her act independently, so I think it worked out in the end.”

*CLACK*

"Oh? Not worried that I'll eventually carve my way into your home and drag you out?" Akagi asked. “Maybe leaving her with me will lead to your downfall?”

*CLACK*

"I won't deny that I am worried about that, but I've taken all appropriate measures to prevent your intrusion into my domain." Gale replied. "To get up here you'll need information that you simply have no way of getting, and I think I've covered my bases well enough."

*CLACK*

{Reflia will return to the Heavens soon, which means that no more vulnerability exists within our defenses, and at this point, it probably doesn't matter anyway if that Axe still exists. I've started down a bath that will enable me to end and subsume you, Demon Lord.} (Gale)

"You do realize that if I can't get in the easy way, I'll just destroy Enoris?" Akagi asked with a bored voice as she knocked away a rook, slightly annoying Gale that his strategy had been seen though.

"While I question your ability to actually go through with such a threat, you don't strike me as the kind to do that though." Gale retorted. "Let me ask, if that was something that you were content with, then why haven't you done it yet?"

*CLACK*

"I have my reasons." Akagi said, dodging the question intentionally so as to misdirect him/

*CLACK*

"Do those 'reasons' have anything to do with Halifax?" Gale asked, his words echoing throughout the void. "It really seems to have taken to you. I'm glad to see that she made a friend."

*CLACK*

"As I said, I have my reasons." Akagi replied, not letting him get to her. "I'll admit that I'd rather keep her around. She's most certainly been an interesting one, that's for sure."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

{Her pets are definitely high tier. Though Yumi and Miji still stand far ahead of the rest.} (Akagi)

*CLACK*

"Ah yes, you do seem to have an eclectic group of followers. Those beastkin in particular are fascinating little creature." Gale said as he knocked away another pawn. "You really should keep an eye on them, Enoris can be a dangerous world." He smirked.

"Oh, I'm well aware of how dangerous the world can be." Akagi understood the thinly veiled threat and did not take kindly to it. "But I'll warn you that I've taken precautions. Attempting to harm them will only result in more destruction. I've learned from my previous mistake and I won't take kindly to harm coming to them."

{It was a hard system to implement, but now I can always help them if they need it. I won't let anyone hurt my people. Nobody gets away with touching my new family, and I'll burn this world to the ground before I let even a single one die on me.} (Akagi)

*CLACK*

"I have no interest in quarreling with you, so how about we drop this back and forth for a moment and discuss my proposal in earnest?" Gale asked. "In exchange for allowing me and my comrades to complete our ritual and transport ourselves to your world, I'll grant you access to all our collective knowledge. We've been alive far longer than you can imagine, and I can assure you that we've got quite a bit of useful information."

*CLACK*

"And what's stopping me from just beating that info out of you?" Akagi asked with a sigh as another one of her pawns was overtaken. “Forcing your knowledge from you seems like it would work just as well and get rid of you as a problem.”

*CLACK*

"The fact that any clash between us is only going to damage both worlds." Gale answered. "Do not think for a moment that we are unprepared to fight you, and I can assure you that if it came to blows between us, it would not necessarily be in your favor."

*CLACK*

"And I wish to avoid such a disastrous, and more importantly unnecessary conflict, so let's let bygones be bygones and work together for our respective futures. I don't mind even letting Elariel go as part of this deal." Gale's comment intrigued Akagi, who motioned for him to continue.

*CLACK*

"You would be free to do with her as you wish. Killing her would free Halifax from its curse, and it would finally be free." Gale said as he moved his Queen forward, intending on pushing for victory. "I is of little value to me, so feel free to do as you wish with her. You could think of it as a peace offering of sorts."

*CLACK*

"So, what do you think?" Gale asked as he prepared to defeat Akagi in the chess match. "You get access to unparalleled knowledge, the ability to free your friend from an eternity of servitude, and we both avoid a disastrous war that isn't guaranteed to result in either of our victories. I'd say it's a good deal."

"I'd say that we're done here." Akagi said as she moved one more piece on the chessboard.

*CLACK*

"I was wondering what you called me here for, and it turns out that it was just to waste my time." Akagi stood up, locking eyes with him. "Do not reach out to me again unless it is to surrender unconditionally. I have no interest in speaking to you about anything else." She turned and started to walk away, leaving Gale flabbergasted.

"So that's it? You're just going to walk away without considering it?!?" Gale called out to her but was ignored. "You truly want to do this? To fight a destructive war against a Pantheon of Gods knowing that victory is anything but assured?" He was surprised by her abrupt cutoff of the discussion, and expected her to haggle a bit before taking some kind of deal. "If so, then you are far more foolish than I ever imagined!"

{And more impudent too! How dare you turn your back to me?!?} (Gale)

Rather than respond to his ramblings, Akagi simply held up her right and hand a flashed a V sign over her shoulder while walking away, disappearing a bit later and leaving Gale alone to think about what just happened.

"Fine, if that's how you want to be then so be it. I tried to play nice, but it looks like I will have no choice but to teach you your place, Demon Lord." Gale clicked his tongue in frustration before standing up to leave but paused as he looked down at the chessboard, noticing that Akagi's last move had placed him in Checkmate before finally disappearing himself.