The Red Hand

"Today has been filled with all sorts of surprises." Akagi laughed as she crossed her legs, sitting on her throne and taking in the carnage. "First, Halifax shows me something that raises questions whose answers I suspect that I'll have to beat out of Elariel, and now..." She smiled, showing her razor-sharp teeth. "Now a truly interesting guest has appeared. One that might make things much more entertaining."

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<Silfana POV>

{This one... This one might prove... troublesome...} (Silfana)

Silfana had met plenty of Demons during her life, and the Vampire knew that they weren't the kind of beings you messed with unless you had a death wish. The one in front of her was certainly powerful, likely more powerful than most beings she'd come across, but at the end of the day, Silfana had an even scarier Demon at her back and wasn't about to retreat and give up on her dream.

"I never thought that I'd ask you for a favor... but I've been left no choice." Ariel clicked her tongue as sweat dripped down her face.

{That's just how bad the situation has gotten...} (Ariel)

"I'm probably as surprised as you are, and I can tell that you've gotten yourself into quite the situation." Sariel said as her eyes scanned around the battlefield before stopping on Silfana. "But to think that one measly Vampire caused all this slaughter." She laughed, impressed by her power. "I must admit that even I'm surprised. You must be quite the specimen to have done all this. I'll grant you the honor of being praised by me." She said before offering a slow clap.

{She's got that arrogance in her eyes like all her kind do. I'd imagine she doesn't even see me as a threat. At least Akagi can respect someone she's more powerful than.} (Silfana)

"But enough wasting time. Sure, I'll handle your little blood drinker problem." Sariel said as flame flickered around her body. "Just know that my aid isn't free, though I'll give you the family discount." The Demon laughed as she snapped her fingers, causing a pillar of flame to erupt from underneath Silfana, engulfing her in a tornado of fire that towered high into the sky. "And there we go. That blood drinker may have been a problem for you lot, but to me, she's just another-" Her monologuing

"A warm flame, to be sure..." Silfana said as she licked the blood from her blade. "But compared to that lizard's fire well, it's little more than a slightly hotter candle." She smirked.

"S-She..." Ariel and the others looked on in shock as they watched black blood drip from Sariel's cheek. "That's..."

{How could a mortal harm an Arch Demon?!? Sariel... She's... That shouldn't be possible!} (Ariel)

"You..." Sariel glared at Silfana, her eyes burning with hatred and contempt. "How dare you spill my blood?!? How dare a mortal act that way toward me?!?" She yelled, fire erupting from around her.

"Aw, where did all that smarm and composure go from a moment ago?" Silfana laughed as she flicked her blade. "You were so sure of yourself a moment ago that I didn't imagine that you were actually such a petulant little child who cries the moment something doesn't go their way. But I suppose all you're kind is like that, Demon."

{Except the kitty. I feel like I need to add that little qualifier in case she's listening.} (Silfana)

"Oh, ho?" Sariel laughed as she shifted her jaw back and forth, healing her cheek and causing the wound to vanish in a small burst of fire as she ran her finger across it. "I see that you've got a mouth on you, Vampire." She channeled flames in both her hands. "Let's put it to good use by making you scream!"

"Bring it, bitch." Silfana replied, readying herself for the Demon's onslaught. “I've got a much worse monster than you watching over me, so I'm not scared.”

"W-We'll do whatever we can to-" Ariel's attempt to intervene was brought to an abrupt halt as a wall of flame cut her off from Sariel and Silfana.

"Stay out of this!" Sariel growled. "I don't need weaklings like yourselves getting in my way! So just stand back and watch as I burn this Vampire to ash." Her comment elicited some grumbling from Bathrumd, but even he knew not to test the patience of the former Angel turned Arch Demon.

{This mortal fool will know the pain of my fire for making a mockery of me!} (Sariel)

"Oh, I don't mind if you bring in a few backup dancers! Go ahead. I can easily fight you all at once." Silfana said as she motioned for her to attack, increasing her mockery to an even higher degree which naturally pissed the Demon off even more. "Not like it makes any difference since I'll win no matter how many fools

"AAAAAAAAA!" Sariel yelled as she channeled a massive ball of fire above her head, throwing it at Silfana and causing a large explosion that pushed the others away due to its sheer power.

*BOOM*

"How do you like that?!? You cocky-mouthed son of a-" Sariel was cut off again as Silfana exploded outward from the, still ongoing, blast.

*SWOOSH* *CLANG* *SMACK*

"Temper, temper." Silfana mocked her as the Vampire locked her blade with the Demon's extended claws, her blade being kept mere inches from Sariel's chest by the Arch Demon's morphed hand. "Listen, I know that you Demons can't stand being toyed with, but throwing a temper tantrum is truly degrading." She leaped backward, doing a backflip and landing just as a rapid-fire stream of flame attacks streaked toward her.

*WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH*

"IF YOU WANT TO PLAY GAMES SO BAD, THEN FINE! I JUST HOPE YOU'RE READY TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS, VAMPIRE!" Sariel roared in anger. She was not the type to take blatant disrespect lying down, and as the Arch Devil associated with emotion, Sariel's already violent temper was easy to make explode into an inferno of anger. Not to mention that she was already a temperamental person long before she became a Demon.

"You must know that throwing barrages of weak attacks never works." Silfana laughed as she cut through and disbursed each blast of fire with ease, her blade moving like an elegant yet deadly knife. "If this is all you've got then I think this battle is already-" Her gloating was paused as black spikes shot out from the ground, nicking part of her leg before she could jump away.

{Earth magic? No, its dark magic!} (Silfana)

"I'M NOT DONE YET!" Sariel channeled her fire in a cylindrical wave that spiraled around the Vampire, trapping her within a vortex of white-hot fire. "TELL ME! HAVE YOU EVER FELT THE HEAT OF TRUE HELLFIRE?!? AHHHHH!" The Demon collapsed the fire tunnel on Silfana, creating another explosion and burning the Vampire in the abserdly high flame.

{HOT!} (Silfana)

"I-I suppose it's a-adequate." Silfana tried to keep a cool façade as she was burned, swinging the Night Blade and using some of Akagi's power to disburse the Demon's attack. She was badly burned, and it was clear that Sariel's attack had done quite a bit of damage despite its short duration.

{Let's not go copying her mistakes. No need to get arrogant myself. I've lost before due to that stupid flaw, so lets keep our head on straight, Silfana.) (Silfana)

"Oh? Are you alright?You're looking a bit charred, Vampire." Sariel smirked, happy that she'd finally gotten an attack to hit home. "I hope my fire wasn't too hot for you. Because if you think that was bad, then I'll tell you that I can make it even hotter!"

{Let's not. I'm much more resistant to the heat from her fire due to Queen of the Night Lords buffing my magical power, but it would seem that even it has its limits. I suppose it makes sense. This one here is a being only a few steps below a full-on God, and defeating her was never going to be easy. Though... I'm a bit surprised. If she is truly one of those Arch Demons, why am I even alive? Shouldn't she be able to kill me with a thought? Surely Akagi's power flowing within me didn't elevate me to such extraordinary heights? No, something is wrong here. I don't know what it is, but something is not right with this Demon.} (Silfana)

"No more quips? Have I finally realized that running your mouth against a True Demon was a grave miscalculation?" Sariel said as she channeled another white-hot ball of fire in her hand. "Because as limited as I am with this mirage body, I'm still MORE than capable of ending your miserable existence!" She hurled the blast forward, which Silfana blocked with a magical barrier, though she had to expend a large amount of power to keep from being burned further.

*BOOM*

{A mirage body? That explains it! She's not here in person! No wonder she's weakened!} (Silfana)

"Block all you like, but all that will do is delay the inevitable." Sariel said as she continued to fire increasingly more powerful blasts at Silfana, which slowly but surely began to break down her shield. "You played a game, little Vampire, one that you were guaranteed to lose from the very beginning!" She laughed as she channeled an even bigger ball of fire above her head. " AND YOU KNOW WHAT?!? I'LL FUCKING BLOW UP THIS WHOLE BATTLEFIELD! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! AS LONG AS I GET TO TORMENT YOUR SOUL IN HELL, THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME!"

"She's lost her Gods dammed mind!" Ariel yelled as she held the two Phimas in place and kept them from flying off from the sheer windforce given off by the ball of magic.

"As if she ever had one in the first place!" Melifous barked back as he tried to keep from being flung away by the sheer power of the fireball being gathered. "I told you this was a stupid idea! She's going to kill us all!"

"TIME TO BURN YOU FUCKING-" Sariel's words were cut short as Silfana unleashed one of her signature moves.

"Maximize Magic, Sword of Damocles!" Silfana's energy exploded outward as she allowed more of Akagi's power to take hold, knocking away any lingering flames as magic circles appeared all around the vulnerable Arch Demon. “Now fall.”

*SLICE* *SLICE* *SLICE* *SLICE* *SLICE* *SLICE*

"Gack!" Sariel gasped as her body was impaled by numerous blades that appeared from magic circles generated at her sides, causing her to lose concentration on her spell, and forcing the gathered magic to dissipate. “You...” She was barely able to speak, overcome by pain and the shock of being speared by a dozen blades.

"I haven't had the chance to test that one out with Akagi's power just yet." Silfana said as she began coughing heavily as the backlash from using Akagi's energy hit her body. "On the plus side, it ups the level of precision of the summoning... But on the downside." She vomited up a bit of blood. "Its not exactly good on the body..."

{I didn't have a choice though, had that blast gone off, I don't know if I'd've survived. This Demon was seriously pissed enough to nuke the entire battlefield and everyone along with it.} (Silfana)

"Y-You..." Sariel glared at Silfana as blood poured out of her mouth. The Demon's eyes burned with pure rage, and even as her body was skewered with almost a dozen blades, the Vampire could tell she wasn't down for the count just yet.

{At least that did something.} (Silfana)

"Still alive I see." Silfana gave an exasperated laugh. "I suppose killing you wasn't going to be that easy, but at least I can humble you a little bit."

{Yeah... So... This... This isn't good. If all that did was piss her off, then I'm going to have no choice but to get Akagi to help. I'm not foolish enough to try fighting a creature I have no hope of defeating, even if that does require swallowing my pride.} (Silfana)