The Red Hand

Chapter 358 – Burning Light.

"This is one a serious collection of firepower." A cat woman with green hair and red eyes said as she poked at the campfire with a small stick. "I mean, we saw some pretty big armies during the whole Spirit War, but to gather this many to fight the Cult? The Demons really aren't playing around this time. Did Esquire say anything to you about this? It really seems overkill for an operation to expunge one of those fake Demon Lords." She turned to Miz'ri who was happily chowing down on some cooked fish.

"Mpfpfhf." Miz'ri tried to talk with her mouth full and was scolded for bad manners. "Sorry, Katlyn." She apologized meekly to the cat woman. "But to answer your question I did speak with Lady Esquire about things when I was in the Cathedral, and she told me to be careful. Though I was not told anything about the so-called Demon Lord or what future awaits us."

{She seemed worried, almost as if she foresaw a terrible future, one that she couldn't prevent.} (Miz'ri)

"I suppose she doesn't want her precious little disciple to get hurt." Katlyn chuckled as she leaned over and pinched the Dark Priestess' cheeks. “Can't have this cutie getting a single scratch on her.”

"Why do you always have to do that..." Miz'ri pouted as her cheeks continued to get pinched.

"Because you're just so gosh darn cute!" Katlyn laughed as she pulled the girl into a hug. "Hey, when are you gonna start calling me Big Sis? We've known each other for so long, and yet you always just call me Katlyn! Would it kill you to at least call me Kat like everyone else?" She pretended to feel hurt as she squeezed her.

"Um..." Miz'ri didn't know how to respond and was saved from having to answer by the intervention of an elegantly dressed man with long flowing blue hair tied in a high ponytail.

"Come on, stop trying to pressure Miz into doing something that she doesn't want to do." Nier sighed as he pulled Katlyn off her. “Keep those wild fantasies in your own mind, Kat.”

"Oi! Don't take my huggie away!" Katlyn protested as she was separated. "And can you blame me for wanting a cutie like her to be all over me?!? Tell me that it wouldn't tickle your fancy if the positions were reversed?!?"

{You know she's a catch!} (Katlyn)

"I don't know what's worse here. The fact that you're putting Miz in an uncomfortable situation, or the fact that my Wife is openly telling me that she lusts for another woman..." Nier sighed, not surprised but rather exasperated by her, at this point expected, actions.

"Hey! It's not lust, it's love!" Katlyn retorted with a smirk. "I just want to spoil her nice and good and make her happy! What's wrong with that?!?" She said as she was sat back down.

"Miz, if this idiot ever does anything to you, feel free to give her a good blast or two with your spells. She'll deserve it." Nier said as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, I will." Miz'ri giggled.

"Hmmm, being blasted away by Mizzy..." Katlyn began thinking about how nice such a rejection would be. "I think I can work with that!"

{Why is she such a hopeless pervert...And why do I love that side of her...} (Nier)

"Think about it! If things work out then we can both have a fun time with you in-" Katlyn's comment was abruptly stopped by a bonk to her head with Nier's sheathed sword.

*BONK*

“YOW!” Katlyn yelped in pain.

"That's going to be an absolute no from me." Nier said, annoyed as Miz'ri's tanned face turned red once she realized what Katyln meant. "And don't go dragging Miz into your perverted fantasies any further than you already do! Unlike you, she is a normal girl who isn't messed up in the head!"

"Hey, you bought the whole package when you put a ring on this finger! So don't complain about some parts while enjoying others!" Katlyn blew a raspberry.

"And I am reminded of the folly of my youth each and every day." Nier rolled his eyes as he sat on one of the logs. The party had set up camp away from the main Demon Army as it was otherwise too loud and cramped, and they were enjoying a clear night sky as dinner finished cooking. The goal was to begin the three-day march southward toward the Dumetorian base at first light the next morning, and Burning Light was going to be a key player in handling some of the anticipated challenges. "But getting past my Wife's attacks on the sanctity of our marriage..."

"Oi! It's only Mizzy, so cut me a break!" Katlyn hissed as she defended her actions a safe and acceptable.

"I got a chance to finally speak with the Princess, and it looks like things have gotten a bit more complicated than we were first told." Nier said as he looked between his two party members, the jovial atmosphere vanishing in a flash.

"Meh." Katlyn shrugged. "When have things not gotten more complicated when we take a request from a government? I think I can count on one hand the number of times a job like that was straightforward and didn't lead to a massive mess at the end."

{And those still had there share of oddities.} (Katlyn)

"I hate that you're right, but this time is a bit different than our normal fiasco." Nier continued. "For starters, Penelope has commandeered the Demon Amy with a Divine Command and will be leading the operation herself."

"Well, that's certainly not normal!" Katlyn laughed. "Though if anyone's gonna do it, it's Penny."

"Lady Penelope..." Miz'ri said quietly.

{Lady Esquire didn't mention that she was involved. Have the Gods truly decided to intervene here? But why send her? Aren't there more qualified Demi-Gods to lead an army of this scale?} (Miz'ri)

"Unfortunately for us, she's the one calling the shots. I spoke with her briefly at the main camp headquarters, and she was just as arrogant and haughty as ever." Nier said as he recalled some of their prior meetings, all of which showed the Demi-God's 'personality issues.' Burning Light had worked beside the Demi-God on two other occasions, and neither left them with a good impression of her.

"Hey, Penny's not gonna, ya know..." Katlyn tilted her head toward Miz'ri.

{If she tries anything I'll fucking knock her teeth down her throat!} (Katlyn)

"I doubt she'll do anything to her, but we'd best be careful. Knowing Penny, she might just try and off her during the chaos" Nier sighed. Penelope's dislike of Demons and Dark Elves was well known, and ever since the Dark Elves were defeated and enslaved, it was common for most people to view them dimly, due to the part their ancestors played in a catastrophe that nearly destroyed the continent.

{If I recall correctly, she ignored Miz'ri during the last times we met, so hopefully it will be the same here.} (Nie)

"Well our little Mizzy has the protection of Mama Eclipse, so I think it will all be good." Katlyn tried to glomb onto Miz'ri again but was stopped by a barrier created by the Priestess. "Boo! Stingy!"

{LET ME HUG YOU!} (Katlyn)

"If Lady Penelope is here, then does that mean Lady Reflia is as well?" Miz'ri asked as she kept the barrier up. The Goddess and Demi-God were almost always seen together, so she figured that it wouldn't be strange for the Goddess of Space herself to be here too.

"Not from what I could see, no. Penelope was just here with Arcus, and Lady Ariel made no mention of a Goddess' being here, nor did I see her." Nier replied as the soup pot on the fire began to boil over.

{And I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Lady Reflia would likely keep her in check, but a Goddess being here in person would be stifling and would probably not be a good sign of things to come.} (Nier)

"That's strange. Penelope doesn't move without her mother's orders, so I'm assuming that she's here on behalf of the Gods then." Katlyn said as she took off the lid off the pot and began stirring the soup. "But I thought they weren't in the business of involving themselves like this? They didn't even let the Demis get involved in the Spirit War, so why is Penny here now?"

{It makes no sense for her to come here now. The Cult has always been a problem, but if their goal was to aid in its destruction then surely they'd send more firepower than one Demi-God? I know they battled with them a few hundred years ago, and that required a whole Goddess to come down. So something doesn't seem right here if only one Demi-God was sent.} (Katyln)

"I can't speak to the machinations of the Gods, but what I can tell you is that Penelope informed us this 'Demon Lord Akagi' is being treated as a greater threat than anything since Vikes." Nier's words seemed to make the world go silent for a moment until the boiling pot brought this back to normal.

"Yo... Wait... So... Does this mean she's an actual Demon Lord?" Katlyn asked as she put the pot lid back on and kicked a bit of dirt on the fire to make it smaller. “Like a whole... Destroy the world kind of Demon Lord?”

"I have no idea.” Neir shook his head. “Penelope just said to be prepared to deal with some tough opponents. Apparently, she'd been scouting out this base they have, and it's crawling with formidable enemies." He explained that a few were likely on the level of a Demi-God.

{Which would explain why were were brought in.} (Katlyn)

"Well, at least it will be interesting if nothing else." Katlyn laughed. "So what's our role? Charge in and die as cannon fodder? I think I could get some fun out of that."

"Luckily, not this time." Nier said. "No Penelope wants us to focus on infiltration of their base while the main battle rages. Apparently, they have less than one hundred people, but the quality of them means we can't get careless." He explained that they would be sent to take out anyone within the base while finding whatever method the Demon Lord used to get to Enoris and destroying it.

"That few?" Katlyn furrowed her brows at the small number of enemies. "Hmmm... That alone makes me nervous about this whole thing. It's never a good sign when an enemy pulls an attack like they did on Riftwood and then leaves themselves seemingly open like this. I'm going to bet twenty Gold Sel that each of those people is going to be a lot stronger than average."

{Word is that whoever this 'Demon Lord' sent to sack Riftwood killed Damion. I don't know if it was a surprise attack on the old man, but if they have people who can defeat the Dragon Slayer, then Nier and I are going to need to be on our toes. He was no slouch, and if these one hundred or so people are even half that strong, then we might be walking into a nightmare.} (Katyln)

"I'm sure that Lady Penelope has a plan." Miz'ri said with a slightly nervous-looking smile. "She's a great warrior and has fought countless battles, some of which were against the Cult. So I have faith in her ability."

{And surely Lady Esquire and the others would've prepared her for such a battle, right? There's no way she came here without a plan backed and approved by the Gods.} (Miz'ri)

"I hope you're right, Miz. I hope you're right..." Nier said as he looked at the night sky and the two moons floating above.