The Red Hand

Chapter 364 – Bending Rules.

*PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET* *PET*

"And that is my full report, my Lord." Kira knelt before Akagi as she delivered a report on the Demon Army's movement, all while the Catkagi in question was pet and snuggled firmly by Miji and Alice. “The Demi-God is leading the forces as per the testimony of the two collaborators and Halifax and Elariel have corroborated the information per the description provided by Black Company.

{This is the life.} (Akagi)

“Very good. Thank you for the report, Kira. I notice that you didn't mention the Dwarves. Is everything going to plan there as well?” Akagi asked as she was pet.

“As it stands, yes.” Kira nodded. “We needed a bit more time to confirm a few things, so I was holding off giving you an update on that situation until then. If you'd like some information now I can provide an update. Please forgive me for being unprepared.”

“That's fine. I know its been hard getting intel on them what with their insular society and living under mountains.” Akagi said as she turned to Alice. “Do you need any additional help?”

“Nope!” Alice smiled. “Everyone's been doing a good job so far! I even got to create some new friends just for this!”

“I'm sure Imp will be happy to know her ideas panned out then.” Akagi said as she pat Alice on the head. “I'll leave the rest of it to you then, little one.”

{Note to self, I need to go beat Imp over the head with a frying pan for creating that dammed thing and scaring me to death!} (Akagi)

“What do you wish us to do going forward, my Lord?” Kira asked about the next step in their moves against the Dwarves.

“Leave things as it is. Alice has it under control from here, so let's allow my little Angel the time she needs to soften them up nice and good. Follow her instructions as if they were my own.” She continued. “But make sure to keep me updated on how things are progressing. If things go as I want I'll be making them the next stop once the Demon Army is dealt with.”

“As you wish.” Kira said.

"Is kitty going to beat up the bad people?" Miji asked as she played with Akagi's tail, twirling it and allowing it to wrap around her hand. They'd moved into the audience room, largely because there wasn't enough room on the couch for both girls to get their fluff on while Akagi was speaking to the Half-Dragon.

"Mama's gonna do better than that! Mama's gonna give them the one-two punch straight to hell!" Alice said smugly she threw out some air punches.

"No swearing in front of Miji." Akagi said as she bopped her child on the head. “Its not good for her to hear such language.”

"But Mama does it all the time though..." Alice pouted, protesting the unfair treatment.

"True, but that's Mama's privilege. Us grown-ups can be hypocrites all we like." Akagi snickered as she was pet.

"Such wonderful lessons that you're imparting on my niece..." Kana sighed as she and Hishya watched from the corner of the room. "You really should work on your Mom skills, Onee-chan. Teaching your child to say one thing and do the other isn't really what I'd call good parenting."

{And petting her kitty mother is? Wait, no, at this point it probably IS good parenting with how stupid those two are...} (Hishya)

"Meh, I've got kitty, so that's good enough." Akagi said with a playful smile.

{I hate that you probably aren't wrong...} (Kana x Hishya)

“Mama is the best Mama.” Alice said as she was hugged by Akagi.

“MEW!” Akagi meowed as Miji pouted from lack of huggies.

"Where exactly is the Demon Army?" Yumi asked, deciding to move the conversation along seeing that Akagi was busy. She'd originally been next to Akagi at the start of the meeting, but Mji's pleading for kitty time caused her to move over a bit, much to the Priestess' jealousy. “Do we have an update on their movements?”

"Black Company reported them around fifty miles north of our forward base, and we expect them to be upon us the morning after next." Kira answered. “Contact with the army has been kept to a minimum after the last encounter nearly led to Elna's untimely death."

{I'm just shocked she didn't run in there screaming like an idiot and charge in like a certain Barbarian would.} (Akagi)

"Quick little buggers, aren't they?" Akagi commented in surprise at their quick pace. "I presume that they're going overdrive with magic to force march that far in a few days? Though Demons are also likely more physically adept than Humans so I suppose its entirely possible its just determination fueling them."

{Either that or a fuck ton of drugs and stimulants.} (Hishya)

“We can neither confirm nor deny the use of enhancement magic by the Demon Army as getting close enough to detect such things without risking the Ninja is not possible at present.” Kira said, regretting her 'weakness'.

“Its not a big deal anyway.” Akagi waived off her sullenness. “Whether they're on magical drugs or just singing on their march from Tipperary isn't really important since it changes nothing in our overarching plans.”

{Tipper what now?} (Hishya)

"Does this mean you'll be heading back already?" Kana asked, sad that her sister would be departing back to Enoris.

"Not quite yet. I'll leave in time for the army's arrival, but not much sooner than that. I see no point in hanging around the base with nothing to do." Akagi shook her head. "Besides, I'm not going to allow them to interrupt this." She smiled as she mewed while being pet and scratched.

{And don't worry Kana, I'll give you some kitty hug pillow time before I go back.} (Akagi)

"God have mercy on anyone who interrupts her petting time." Hishya rolled her eyes. “May they be forgiven for the greatest of all sins.”

"Onee-chan would probably blow that world up in its entirety if they threatened her snuggles..." Kana nodded in agreement.

"Naturally!" Akagi laughed. "My goal is to be left alone in bliss, and anyone who gets in the way of said goal will be redacted." She smiled.

{Redacted from existence?} (Hishya)

"Anyone who tries to take the kitty away should be punished." Miji said with scary eyes before clinging to Akagi. “Kitty just needs to stay here and be hugged!”

“MEW!” Akagi meowed happily.

"Ah, I see the corruption has been completed." Alice giggled as she hugged Akagi too. "Welcome my Sister to the cult of the kitty! We have cookies!"

"Yeah, kitty cult!" Miji squeaked in joy. "Do I get some of those kitty-shaped cookies with the pink frosting?"

"As many as Ema can bake!" Alice snickered, knowing that the girl couldn't resist backing treats for them.

"Hurray!" Miji cheered. “Kitty and cookies!”

"Shouldn't you be stopping this?" Hishya said to Yumi. “Your sister is being brainwashed to love the kitty and tempted by sweets.”

{I think we're beyond the point of no return already, Hishya.} (Kana)

"Probably, but I can't bring myself to tear them apart." Yumi said with a satisfied smile as she watched Miji pet the Catkagi. “They're just too cute together. Though maybe I should cut her kitty time a bit. She's eating into other people's time slots.”

{NAMELY MINE!} (Yumi)

{This family is fucked and it dragged down a poor, vulnerable child that couldn't know any better.} (Hishya)

"Has there been any movement from nearby nations?" Yumi asked, continuing the serious conversation. "There is worry that a few of our unwitting accomplices may jump the gun on our final plan." She was worried that certain individuals would move things quicker than Akagi wanted.

"Not from what we can see, no. Northwind and the Empire appear to be waiting things out, though our agents in both are also reporting success in planting the seeds of the Coalition for when the Demons fail." Kira explained that Jacabey had made contact with both Northwind and the Empire's political Eilte, both of which seemed receptive to a large scale alliance to stop the Demon.

"Good, it would seem that Halfling was worth the bribe." Akagi said as Miji started playing with her ears, flipping them around and turning them inside out.

"Well you gave him the choice of as much coin as he could stomach or death, so I'd think any sane person would choose the coin." Yumi sighed. "I personally dislike people like him, as he is extremely untrustworthy, but I can't discount his usefulness."

{That man cares about nothing but coin. I've seen many who dedicate their life to the pursuit of wealth, but I've never met someone as consumed by greed as he is.} (Yumi)

"I actually see him as the perfect kind of collaborator though." Akagi disagreed with part of Yumi's assessment. "He's the kind of man who joins the winning side, and so as long as we are said side, he would never willingly betray us. He's the same as Antenobrech in that matter, though the Dwarf was actually a good person under his ruthless exterior."

{Greedy people are quite easily to manipulate. As long as you have the best way for them to get theirs, you've got a 'loyal' ally.} (Akagi)

"You know, I still don't see the point of all this." Hishya said, raising her hand in jest. "Why go through the effort of placing agents, creating schemes, and doing intrigue to get the people of Enoris to band together against you? Would it not be better to just crush them individually? It seems to me like what you're doing is just a massive waste of time."

{You could start blowing cities up to wrap this up in a weekend. Not that I want her to do that but it would still be more effective and quicker than this farce.} (Hishya)

"From your perspective, sure, it may look like that." Akagi said as her eyes turned to the Dragon. "But it's not. In reality, what I'm doing here is the best way of bringing things to a close in the quickest way possible."

{Well, technically, nuking that world and giving zero fucks about its people is the fastest way, but that doesn't count since its both no fun and a last resort.} (Akagi)

“How?” Hishya asked.

"Simple, by crushing the Demons in the coming battle and forcing the other nations of the Northern Continent to band together I can then use the opportunity to crush all of these nations in one shot.” Akagi explained. “Such a massive display of force will dispel all notions of defeating me and force the Gods into a direct confrontation that they'd rather avoid. Picking off the nations one by one could work, but I'd rather use this opportunity to stomp out all resistance in one swift stroke. If I don't show that even with everyone joining forces I'm more powerful then I'll have to deal with die-hard resistance, not to mention that it will be harder to crack the Gods' control over the population. As one might expect, a prolonged conflict may have the opposite effect that I want and could drive the people to become more entrenched in their faith due to the Gods presenting things as a war of survival."

{And as we see from Human history, such a thing is nearly impossible to root out at that point.} (Akagi)

"That makes sense." Kana nodded along, agreeing and surprising Hishya. "People tend to turn to faith during harsh times and the Gods leading a 'desperate defense' would result in exactly what you said. People would believe that faith in them was the only way to survive, which would make things harder and drive up casualties. Though aren't there more places around the world than just that Northern Continent? How are you handling them if they're so far away?"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Good question. The Southern and Western Continents are much less populated and once they learn that the North has fallen that should wrap things up. Failing that I'll just need to lead a subjugation campaign against them, which will be made all the easier since by that point I'll have eliminated the Gods." Akagi explained.

"The only thing is... Your plan will result in the Spirits are liable to be caught in the cross hairs." Kana noted that they'd probably be executed once word spread that Akagi was attempting to save them.

"Oh don't worry, I'm counting on that." Akagi smirked. "You see I want a few towns to make that mistake, then I'll use them as examples. That should stop the rest from being put to the sword once they realize such an act will result in indiscriminate death."

{Escalate to deescalate is truly the peak of foreign policy!} (Akagi)

"So... You're just okay with letting some die?!?" Hishya exclaimed, nearly choking on her own spit. "Aren't they your people or something?!?"

{Didn't you promise to save them?!?} (Hishya)

"That is a sacrifice that I'm willing to make. If a few need to die for my greater plan, then so be it." Akagi shrugged, not really caring

"Mizumi is not going to like that." Kana sighed.

"Well, Mizumi is going to have to get the fuck over it." Akagi retorted with a snort. “She knows the rules and the fact is that our relationship is Master and Servant, so it kind of goes without saying that I can toss them aside for advantage.”

"Hold on!" Hishya interjected. "I just thought of something that got me really concerned! You... Are you purposefully doing stuff like that just so that you can stay within the bounds of your rules?!?" She knew that Akagi didn't like indiscriminate killing and that her own personal code wouldn't allow large-scale massacres for no reason. However, the plan spelled out by the Demon seemed to allow such actions within the bounds of Akagi's self created rules.

{What you're doing is harassing someone into punching you so that you're justified in beating them into a coma! That's bullshit! You can't just do that!} (Hishya)

"I mean, nothing in my rules says that I can't allow circumstances to arise that permit me to take action." Akagi grinned, more or less admitting that Hishya's hunch was spot on.

"Isn't that violating the spirit of those rules?!?" Hishya exclaimed. "If you can set up excuses, then why even have the rules at all?!?"

{That's some really weasel tier shit Akagi!} (Hishya)

"Would you prefer a world where I have no restrictions?" Akagi's grin went away and her face and voice went flat. "Because I can assure you that Kana has caught a glimpse of such a world, and let me tell you it wasn't pretty." She was referring to the nightmare she'd had almost a year prior. "Kana got to see what happens when I have no rules, so while you might think my actions make these rules toothless, I can assure you that without them, things would be far worse for everyone." She took a breath and continued. "Look, a being with my power needs something internal to keep it in check, lest I eventually start going off the rails. At least this way I have clear dividing lines between what I will and won't do, and fudging like this falls within acceptable parameters. After all, I'm still giving people choices here, its just that they end up making the wrong one and inuring my wrath. That's not my fault that their stupid."

{Is it absolutely cheesy, yes. Do I care? No.} (Akagi)

"How generous.” Hishya rolled her eyes. “Good to know that we live in a world where you can just do anything you want as long as you can justify it. What ever happened to that whole with great power comes great responsibility thing?”

"It applies, though in my case I'd say the correct saying when talking about me would be good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many." Akagi said with a cheeky grin.