The Red Hand

While the Demon leadership enjoyed an existential crisis the like of which Akagi had seen at least eleven times by this point the Demon found herself more interested in the creature summoned during the battle.

"So, this is one of those so-called Dukes of Hell?" Akagi said as she kicked the unconscious Demon in the shoulder, eliciting nothing more than a slight squish. "A bit more human appearance than I expected. Though I guess at this point I should be more shocked if the tropes didn't hold up." She sighed.

{Everything looks humanoid. Elves, Dwarves, Beastkin. So why not fucking Demons too?} (Akagi)

"They called her Sariel." Silfana commented as she drank another healing potion. She'd taken a beating from Sariel, though her pride was more wounded than her body. "From my reading, she was apparently an Angel that fell into Demonhood. Probably explains the more human appearance."

"Ah, yes." Akagi nodded recalling what she'd read about each of the Dukes. "Elariel did mention her when I asked about the Dukes, but why is she even here?"

{Halifax did say the Gods teamed up with the Dukes during Vikes' rampage, and I suppose them forming such a grand alliance again is possible. But why only use a false body? Surely such a being couldn't underestimate what I could do since she must've seen Vikes' power. Not to mention that I doubt it requires as much effort to come here in their full power as it does for a God.} (Akagi)

"I don't know the specifics. They summoned her with some kind of card." Silfana said. "It looked like she didn't have the greatest relationship with the Demons but was particularly interested in Ariel for some reason."

{She did say something about bloodlines, so perhaps Ariel traces her ancestry to the Regent? I suppose that would make some sense considering the Demon Race supposedly originates from them.} (Silfana)

"To think they had a literal ace up their sleeve." Akagi said as she moved to the other side of the Demon. "Oh well, it seems you handled the problem well enough. Headpats for the Vampire! You fought a kinda sorta but not really Demon to a standstill! Hurrah!"

"Unlike you, I don't need such things to live." Silfana said, rolling her eyes. "Nor do I want them." She figured that Akagi would make a comment about needs v wants and preempted her.

{I know you well, CAT!} (Silfana)

"Well, you're no fun." Akagi blew a raspberry at her, annoyed that her fun was taken away. "And you are horrible at faking unconsciousness, 'Demon'." She said as her gaze moved to Sariel's face. "You may have fooled the Vampire, but I'm far more sensitive to such things. That body may not be real but I can tell that you're still conscious."

"She's been faking?!?!" Silfana's eyes went wide as Sariel's snapped open.

"Well, well, well, I suppose I've been found out." Sariel said as she slowly sat up. "And here I thought that I was doing a decent job of pretending to be out cold. I suppose I need to work on my acting."

{Dammit! How did I not notice her?!?} (Silfana)

"Were you hoping that I'd casually reveal a fatal weakness next to you thinking that you couldn't hear me?" Akagi laughed. “I suppose that's not the worst idea!”

{I mean you'd probably go about spouting nonsense about your greatest weakness being fed pudding while being hugged just to see if people would fall for it.} (Yumi)

{It worked on you, didn't it?} (Akagi)

{As Hishya likes to say... Stupid Cat!} (Yumi)

"Can you blame me for trying?" Sariel said as she slowly stood up, seemingly not perturbed by the Demon Lord standing beside her. "After seeing what this interesting little Vampire was capable of I was curious to see what her master was like." She said as she stretched, seemingly unharmed by her battle with Silfana. "If you hadn't picked up on my little ruse my opinion of you would've greatly diminished."

"I'm soooo glad I passed your little test." Akagi said with a heavy amount of sarcasm in her voice, never one to enjoy being tested. "To what do I owe the honor of your interest, Ms. Duke of Hell?"

{Do I need a bucket to catch all that sarcasm dripping from your words?} (Yumi)

{Me? Sarcastic? Neeeeeeeeeever.} (Akagi)

"No need to be so hostile." Sariel said while putting her hands up to show that she wasn't a threat. "I'm fully aware that making you my enemy isn't in my best interest. A creature like you can make fools of Gods, and though it pains me to say it I'm not exactly more powerful than they are." True Demons like her were generally broken into many categories to differentiate their levels of power with the various Archdukes of Enoris' Hells being the most powerful of their kind. However, Sariel was an exception to this rule as she was a former Angel who fell to Demonhood. Her strength was a bit different than the others and still included a bit of Divine power blended in, which made her even more dangerous than most of the Archdukes.

"Well, excuse me for being a bit skeptical. You did just fight one of my minions in the middle of a pitched battle, so I hope you'll understand if I don't believe you're not my foe." Akagi glared at her. The Arch Devil's appearance made her worry that the other Arch Devils were going to make moves against her, though she was more than happy to clean them up if needed.

{Please don't call me a minion even if it's true...} (Silfana)

"It was nothing personal I assure you." Sariel said as she waived her hands and smiled coldly. "I was merely keeping up my end of a little bargain that I had with that man. I promised him that I'd come to his aid if he needed it, and when he called out to me I couldn't very well back of out my deal, could I?" She smirked.

{A Demon is a Demon, after all. It's in our blood to stick to deals I suppose.} (Akagi)

{Don't you alter those all the time?} (Yumi)

{Quiet you.} (Akagi)

"Now that you mention it, you seemed to be more interested in Ariel than you were in anything else." Silfana commented.

"That girl and I... Well, we have a bit of a history." Sariel laughed demonically. "I've been looking for a perfect opportunity to bring her under my control, and I figured that this was the perfect opportunity." Akagi figured that it had something to do with the Princess being related to Ariel in some way and that connection being desirable to the Arch Devil. Though she couldn't bring herself to actually care what it was and didn't have an interest in knowing.

"Too bad for you that your chance meant picking a fight with me." Akagi said with a glare. "I imagine that had you used your full power, you would've easily beaten the little Vampire. While your power isn't as high as that of the Gods, as one of the most powerful Demons in this world you're likely beyond what she's capable of handling at this moment." The Demon

{Which is something that we WILL be correcting. You got gifted my power Vampy. You don't get to lose or squeak out ties.} (Akagi)

"Ughggh." Silfana shuddered, seemingly for no reason.

{Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?!?} (Silfana)

"It's not like I can just come up here at full power." Sariel said with an overly dramatic shrug. "Doing that will destabilize things and draw the ire of the Gods, and I'd rather not have them breathing down my neck more than they already are. Hence why I created a body like this.” She said as she quickly spun in place to show off her appearance. “It has enough power to handle most of what I want but not so much that it would piss those idiots off." She continued. "That your Vampire managed to fight me to a relative standstill is something worth commending. I've not had something like that happen since I dueled Halifax two centuries ago." She turned to look at the Divine Blade in the distance, who was seemingly a bit overwhelmed by the ongoing mental breakdown of the Demon leadership. "Though I'll say that seeing her at your side was a bit surprising. That little sword is quite the goody-two-shoes, what with all her Hero play." She chuckled. “Seeing her play nice with a Demon Lord raises a whole lot of questions.”

"She's... She's got a lot going on." Akagi said with a shake of her head, not wanting to explain things in detail. " Let's just leave it at the Gods fucked up pretty bad by making her lose faith and I've simply taken advantage of their mistake to make myself a new friend."

{HISS! She's a thief! I thief I say!} (Yumi)

"You have no idea how long the other Archdukes have been trying to get their hands on her." Sariel said as she turned back toward Akagi. "She's the Blade which felled a Demon Lord. To have that kind of power at our disposal would likely tip the balance in our favor and give us a shot at overthrowing the Gods."

{Does she not know that Halifax isn't able to harm the Gods unless I suppress that limitation? No, they can't be that ignorant, they must mean that her power could be used in other ways. Perhaps it's related to what I felt earlier? Hmmm... Questions for later.} (Akagi)

"However, I think that's enough chatting for now." Sariel said before clapping her hand and creating a small flaming portal behind her.

"Oh? Going so soon? What makes you think I'll just let you walk away after you interrupted my fun?" Akagi asked with a raised eyebrow and a bit of snark in her voice. "You picked a fight with me and I don't tend to just let people leave after something like that."

"Well, I suppose you could stop me, but do you really want to bother?" Sariel asked with a chuckle. "You can't actually harm me. Even if you destroy this body and wouldn't you rather end our first meeting on good terms?" She smirked.

"True, I may not be able to destroy your real form through that little body you made, but I could easily follow you if I wanted." Akagi stepped forward getting into the Devil's face. "Unlike the Gods, the Archdukes are easily reachable since the Hells more or less blend into this world after a certain point." She continued, noting that it was very easy for her to be at the Devil's literal front door in a few hours. "All I'd need to do is go South for a little while and then... Well..." She smiled revealing her razor-sharp teeth. "I think you know what happens after that."

"True..." Sariel replied, seemingly not intimidated by Akagi's aura or tone. "But I can tell you're cunning enough to realize that taking that course of action would be a waste of your time. After all..." She leaned forward and whispered something in Akagi's ear, her words seeming to catch the Demon's attention. "Think about that offer for a bit. I think it's in both of our interests if we work together." She grinned.

"Get me some results first and maybe I'll consider your proposal," Akagi replied before grabbing Sariel by the scruff of her jacket. "But know this, if you try anything I will come down there and when I do, I'll make sure you regret every being sired by those foolish Gods." She said before tossing the Archdevil into the portal which quickly closed behind her.

{It's not a bad deal, and while she's definitely a slimy woman I think she's the type not to go poking the proverbial sleeping dog.} (Yumi)

"If only more people were like that then we wouldn't be where we are today." Akagi said as Halifax approached with the clearly broken Demon leadership and one very exhausted-looking Goddess. “But mortals are generally pretty stupid.”