The Red Hand

"Well I'd say Silfana is having a good time." Hikari said as she spun around a group of soldiers, slicing their throats with her dagger.

*SLICE* *SPLATTER*

"She's a Royal Vampire. Sending her into a situation like this is bound to unleash hell." Nemino commented as he turned one of the soldiers in front of him into a puddle of gore with his two short swords, terrifying the others around them and causing them to flee. "Vampires can keep fighting with a steady flow of blood, and Silfana is the Vampirist Vampire of them all. I wouldn't be shocked if she slaughtered this entire army on her own without us around." He said as he pulled out a magi-tech pistol and unleashed a quick burst of fire that downed a dozen men in an instant.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

"I'd appreciate it if she saved us a bit of the fun, though." Sakura said as she tossed small paper charms into the air above the three of them, each raining pink fire onto the nearby troops, incinerating countless men to ash. "Oh man! Imperial and Imp really pulled out all the stops with this new gear!" She smirked as a soldier charged her, only to be bifurcated from head to toe by one of her katana. “This stuff just keeps getting better and better! How does that crazy woman keep coming up with all this stuff!”

{It has so many cool features that work perfectly with our skills!} (Sakura)

"Imp'll want combat data when we get back." Hikari said as she flashed behind a group of soldiers, severing their heads from their necks with a single swift stroke. “So make sure you're keeping a mental log of everything.”

"I'm honestly excited to see what crazy gear she makes." Nemino laughed as the three grouped up, back to back. Akagi had wanted them to stay in groups of five, but it was clear that the three of them were so much better than most of the other ninja that two more would only slow them down, so they sent them to other groups for better strength in numbers. "The better equipment we get the better we can serve Lady Akagi after all.”

"And have a little fun while we're at it." Hikari said with a nasty smirk.

"Naturally." Nemino chuckled as the three pushed forward, slaughtering hundreds of soldiers and beasts. Even aerial foes were no match and shooting down armored wyverns proved no problem for their magi-tech rifles. The Demon Army may have been one of the mightiest forces on the continent but against beastkin ninja supercharged by a Demon Lord's power and given gear that seemed to defy logic, they were little more than target practice. Wave after wave was sent at the ninja, and wave after wave was cut down. It mattered not whether it consisted of large fighting beats, aerial foes or simple footsoldiers, Nemino, Sakura and Hikari took the down with ease.

"Phew!" Nemino took a quick swig of water from a canteen as he sat on top of a dead wyvern. They'd taken down enough soldiers that those still surrodning them had become hesitant to push, and a brief window to rest opened up as the Demon Army regrouped. "Man, this is a workout!" He said as he scanned the soldiers around them, most of which were too terrified to try and get closer.

"I'll definitely need to eat an extra helping or two during dinner tonight." Hikari said as she juggled a bomb before throwing it into a group of soldiers. “Good thing we carb loaded before this.”

"Are we even making a dent in army?" Sakura asked as she hopped next to Nemino. There was a seemingly endless ocean of soldiers around them, though from reports coming over the comms other squads were doing about as well as they were and overall numbers were decreasing.

"The current casualty estimate is twenty-five thousand killed, forty thousand wounded." Hikari said as she looked at a digital display on her watch. "Most of that kill count is from Silfana."

"Yeah..." Sakura and Nemino sighed.

"She's engaged with the Princess and the other leaders, so I think her kills will stall for a while." Hikari said as she stretched. "Maybe that will give us some time to catch up? I'd really like to place well in the rankings."

"Oh yeah, especially since the one with the most kills does

"When she said that, I knew it would up enthusiasm, but it really energized everyone." Nemino laughed. "What would you two ask for if you came out on top?"

"Cuddles, snuggles, and pets! Are you not?!?" (Hikari x Sakura)

"I'm good on that front..." Nemino sighed as he finished off his water. "I'd probably ask her for some time off to take Shimari somewhere nice."

{Why do I imagine that 90% of us would demand something similar to these two idiots? And also, why can't I tell if they're joking?!?} (Nemino)

"I suppose that's not a bad request, but tather than ask her for a vacation, why don't you just ask her to make the perfect vacation location." Sakura figured that Akagi could give them a far better experience than just about anything that already existed.

"Huh... I guess... Yeah, that's probably a better idea." Nemino laughed as he leaped off the Wyvern. “I suppose I'll ask for that then.”

"Such are the perks of having a leader who can do anything she wants." Hikari laughed as she noticed the sea of soldiers parting as a silver-haired man with red horns, and wearing thin-plate armor walked toward them.

“About time someone important showed up.” Sakura said as she readied a handful of talismans.

"And from the looks of things, we attracted some attention." Nemino said as he readied himself for battle.

"That's..." Hikari flicked through her digital watch to figure out who this combatant was. "Ah! He's Elector-King Jerome of Demdall. I'm shocked he's here instead of fighting Silfana." She thought it was strange that he'd split off from the Princess-Regent.

"Do not worry about them. Lady Ariel and the others are handling that Vampire of yours." Jerome said as he drew his massive great sword from his back. "I've come to deal with the rest of you." He looked around at the carnage and bit his lip in frustration as the scale of death set in. "You're all monsters. How could you slaughter our men like this? Have you no honor! No shame?!?"

"Shame, yes. Honor no." (Nemino x Sakura x Hikari)

Their instant affirmation caught Jerome off guard, which made the three ninja chuckle internally

"I mean, we're ninja dude. Honorable battles and duels, that kind of stuff is best saved for children's stories and legends." Hikari shrugged. "All we care about is getting results." She said, throwing a dagger toward Jerome, who smashed it to pieces with his blade.

"And that is what makes those like you truly despicable." Jerome growled. "You care nothing for the lives you ruin, the lives you take. Look around you! Each of these men had families to return to, and now... Now countless mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, wives... They'll never see them again."

"Um... You all declared war on us." Sakura tried to point out his hypocrisy but was ignored.

"We came here to cleanse the world of your evil." Jerome said as he lifted his blade with one hand and pointed it toward Sakura. "To destroy a force that seeks to destroy this world. Do not try and turn this around on us!"

{I am 99% sure that Lady Akagi could've killed you all already if she wanted to...} (Sakura x Nemino x Hikari)

"Does anyone wanna tell him?" Nemino asked his two allies, who shrugged and shook their heads. "Yeah, neither do I..." He sighed, deciding not to try and explain that the Gods were the cause of all this since he'd probably not be believed anyway. "Let's just take him down and-" He paused as Jerome flashed forward, appearing in front of him and bringing his blade down in an attempt to end his life in an instant.

*CLANG*

“Woah...” Nemino's heart skipped a beat as Sakura's blade barely managed to protect him from death.

"I'd say you owe me one for that." Sakura said as she blocked Jerome's attack with her Katana. The Demon man was powerful, and she had to put a bit more power into her block than she expected.

{We were told he was dangerous, but I wasn't expecting this level of power.} (Hikari)

"Impressive, but don't think you'll hold me back for long, fox!" Jerome roared as he channeled magical power into his blade, coating it, and his entire body, in white flames that flickering and crackled with intense energy.

{Divine energy?!?} (Sakura)

Sakura and the other two Ninja were caught off guard by Jerome's sudden use of Divine power, especially since none of their intel showed anything about him being able to wield it.

"Not good! Sakura, get back!" Hikari said as she activated Ability Boost and ran up behind Jerome, aiming for the back of his neck with her daggers.

"Fool! I won't be caught off guard that easily!" Jerome said as he spun around, smashing Hikari away with the flat of with his sword and sending her flying into the ground.

"Hikari!" Sakura cried out to her friend but was unable to do more than avoid Jerome's follow-up attack, barely blocking it with her blade.

*CLANG*

{This guy is way too strong! We might need some help if we're going to take him down!} (Sakura)

"You bastard!" Nemino pulled out his pistol, unleashing several shots that Jerome deflected with ease. "Shit!"

{He can even block magic bullets?!?} (Nemino)

"Oh, man... That hurt..." Hikari said as she wobbled to her feet, downing a red healing potion that seemed to bring her back to full strength. "Watch out! Getting hit by him hurts like hell!" She said as she spit blood onto the ground.

"It's been a long time since I've had to bring out the power bestowed upon me by Lord Teiera." Jerome said as he spun his blade and reset his stance. "But I think this is an appropriate enough occasion considering I'm fighting the minions of a Demon Lord!"

"That's that fucking God of War, isn't it?!?" Sakura turned to Nemino, who nodded. "Great... Just our luck to fight one of his chosen warriors..."

{I might have to break out some of the untested abilities of my gear that Imp gave me... I really hope it works like she promised!} (Sakura)

"Hey, so we're going to need to work together if we hope to beat him." Hikari said as she landed next to the other two. “Divine Power like this is going to be dangerous.”

{Lady Akagi's power can protect us if it came down to it, but I'd rather not rely on her to shield us. That would disappoint her, and at that point I'd rather just die...} (Hikari)

"We should radio for backup." Nemino said. "Its better if we come together and focus him down than try and play hero."

{I'm sure Marshal could handle this guy in a straight up fight. That old man is a real monster.} (Nemino)

"Already done, but everyone is a bit tied up at the moment." Hikari said with a wry smile.

{And Lady Akagi is probably not going to step in over this guy. She treats us like a parent throwing their child into a pool without water wings, we either sink or swim through our own efforts. Though... Well she'll come if we really need it.} (Hikari)

"Then it looks like this will be up to us to win." Sakura said as she stepped forward, taking up a stance with her Katana, ready to fight Jerome head on. "Back me up, I'm going to keep his attention as much as possible and get you an opening to take him down."

"Are you nuts! You can't fight him head-on!" Nemino protested. Sakura was nowhere near as physically powerful as Jerome, and generally the ninja were not specialized for direct combat against such foes.

"Then are you suggesting we flee?" Sakura asked him without looking back. “Are we to turn tail and run back to Lady Akagi, crying that we were defeated?”

{That would be the ultimate humiliation and would make people believe her to be a joke for having such weak soldiers. I will not allow EITHER of those things!} (Sakura)

"I..." Nemino paused as he took in Sakura's words. He knew that running away to keep themselves safe would be the best option and one that Akagi would approve of, but it was an unpleasant notion nonetheless. Their pride as ninja didn't approve of such tactics, and their loyalty and devotion to Akagi made them believe that their performance reflected on her, and fleeing would serve only to diminish her reputation.

"What do you need us to do?" Hikari asked, completely agreeing with Sakura's words. “We'll back you up as much as possible.

"I don't have a specific plan, but I'm going to push these blades to the limit." Sakura answered as her blade cracked with electricity that ran down the yellow stripe that extended down its entire length. "So either take advantage of an opening you see or make one for me to end him." Her words sounded confident, but internally she was nervous and afraid.

"Alright." Hikari nodded as she readied two more daggers and took a deep breath. "Let's do this."