The Red Hand

"Hooo boy, this place got hit hard." Zo said as she kicked a rock through the side of a small village hut. They'd been following rumors of a powerful S-Class monster that'd been wiping out small farming villages for a while and were confident that whatever was going on was related to their target, the Demon Axe Labrys. "This is like what, the third dead village this week? Whatever this is it moves quickly."

"Technically its the fourth, if you count that church we found with all the dead priests outside." Ro commented as he examined a charred spot on the ground, noting that it looked like a body had been incinerated in that spot. "Though while the others had their unique quirks this one seems to have some interesting characteristics." He said as he scanned over what he assumed was some Human remains that were scattered on the ground.

"Yeah, someone was hungry." Zo laughed as she pushed over a barrel, only to be surprised by the mutilated body of a young man falling out and splatting onto the ground with a squish. "Nice... Just nice..."

{And there's a million flies...} (Zo)

"It's a wonder the village is in as good shape as it is considering what the road leading in here looked like. Ro said as he stood up. They'd followed a path of destruction on the way here, with countless dead bodies and wrecked carriages littering the road that led to the village. "If it really was the Demon Cult, it would seem they've given up on hiding their actions. This is just about as conspicuous a way of collecting souls as one can get."

{But why though? I thought staying in the shadows and evading detection was their MO, so why suddenly start consuming villagers and kicking up such a fuss that even local governments are starting to take notice?} (Ro)

"If we're to believe what that corrupt Cardinal said, then the Cult is shifting operations." Zo said. They'd gone to the Holy City after Akagi'd left and followed up on their hunch that the Cult had infiltrated the Church. While they didn't find as much as they'd hoped they did discover that a few higher ranking Cardinals were on their payroll and using their power to hide their activities. "I wish he had more intel than just the time for Lord Vikes' will to be enforced is upon us!" She sighed, recalling how the man exploded in a suicide bombing after they captured him.

"At least he was stupid enough to let fly that these attacks are probably connected to the Cult before he went all Earth terrorist on us." Ro replied. "Now the hard part is going to be finding the bastards. They could be anywhere in this dammed world and we've somehow got to root them out."

"We have to be getting closer." Zo replied as the two continued searching the empty street. It was eerily quiet in the village, almost to the point that it felt like they were being secretly watched and there was even a few times both siblings swore they saw something move just out of view. "This attack is fresh and it wreaks of fucked up power. Its pretty close to the Boss.'"

"I'd say that its definitely similar to the Bosses but far more... Chaotic?" Ro said with a hum as he thought it over. "I don't know how to describe it. The Bosses' power feels far more calm and deliberate, but this stuff reminds me of Dad's with how primal it feels."

{Its like it has no chill and could go wild at any moment.} (Ro)

"Yeah..." Zo said her attention slipping to a large gash in the side of the village's granary. The stone building was covered in blood and directly below the gash was a woman's body sliced in two, her upper torso hanging comically on top of the staw roof. "Hmmm..."

"You see something?" Ro asked as he watched his sister move over to the gash and examine it. “That body have something useful?”

"Maybe..." Zo said as she approached the gash, looking inside as her eyes seemed to flash with magic power. It was easy to sense magical power due to her her natural sensitivity but sometimes it needed a bit more deliberate action to find things hidden deeper. "Hmmm... Interesting." She said as she ran her hand over the hole in the wall.

*ZAP*

As the Primordial's hand ran over the gash her mind was bombarded by a series of memories. They were hard to follow but roughly outlined the death of this woman by a masked man with a large black Axe. The intensity of the memories and the feeling of dread caused by the masked man was enough to make the Primordial's skin crawl and Zo watched in disgust as countless people died and were drained of their very lifeforce.

"Ugh..." Zo's entire body shivered as she withdrew her hand. "Oh boy, I think we found something bad here." She said before explaining the vision she'd seen to her brother.

"Well, I'd say there's a good chance that the Axe used to kill these people was Labrys..." Ro said as he closed his eyes to think. "But who's using him? I can't imagine a mortal being able to do something like that."

{They'd likely be overtaken and destroyed by it. It would take something far greater than a Human or even an Elf to use its power.} (Ro)

"No kidding. Even Divine Weapons require an extraordinary person to use them, so the caliber of person needed to use a literal Demon Lord's Axe would have to be even higher. Right?" Zo agreed. "So let's see, who could it even be? I don't know exactly how many people on Enoris are of a level that high but it can't be that many."

"The most probable culprit would be... I guess a Demi-God?" Ro figured that the most likely answer was a traitor/brainwashed child of the Gods. Demi-Gods were incredibly powerful and most had minds and bodies far beyond that which could be found within purely mortal individuals. "I'd say that's the only answer that makes sense."

"Only if you discount one other contender." A woman's voice echoed from behind them, catching the two Primordials off guard. It was deep, though still clearly femine and gave off an feeling that the speaker was quite old due to their tone and inflection.

{Someone snuck up on us?!?} (Ro x Zo)

"Who's there?!?" Zo spun around, scanning the village for the source of the voice before eventually landing on the form of a woman standing on a rooftop opposite them.

"It's impolite to ask for someone else's name before giving your own." The woman said as she floated to the ground, her long white hair seeming to flow around her like water. "But since I startled you like that, I suppose etiquette would dictate I provide mine first." She laughed, though contrary to her charming outward appearance, the Twins felt a sense of unease as they looked into her golden eyes. It was as if they were staring directly into the very Sun itself, and the mysterious woman's eyes almost seemed to glow and flicker like flames as they gazed back at them. Her features combined with her strange outfit, a black trench coat and blue jeans with a sickly green scarf only confused them further. Regardless of her clothing choice it was immediately clear that whoever she was, this woman was not a normal person and she was not somebody they wanted to mess with. "Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sol, or at least that's the name I go by now." She smiled.

"We'll our names are none of your business." Zo hissed back as she took up a fighting stance.

"Yeah, don't you know it's bad to give your name out to strangers?" Ro smirked.

"I suppose that's to be expected." Sol sighed seeming to understand their wariness of her. "But if you won't give me your names then I'm forced to figure something to call you. Perhaps you can be [@#%@#$] and you can be [@!#$@#$]" Her naming convention caused both Primordials' eyes to widen in surprise, as both words were in a language they'd only heard their Father speak once before.

{Primordial?!?} (Ro x Zo)

"Are... Are you one of us?!?" Ro asked with a bit of hope in his words. "No, you don't feel like a Primordial. Your energy is too different."

{It's more like Divine Power than Primordial, but even then it doesn't exactly fit in well with what Dad's felt like. What the hell is this woman? Is she connected to us somehow?} (Ro)

"I'm..." Sol paused as she tapped on her chin as she thought about what answer to give. "I'm just me." She smiled, though the Twins did not buy that simply explanation.

{Whoever she is, we need to avoid fighting her. Our powers are too restricted to deal with her head-on. With what we're allowed to use now we'd probably get thrashed.} (Zo)

"Alright, Sol, so then, who are we forgetting in our list of suspects?" Ro asked the woman to explain her original comment. "Demi-Gods are the only beings beyond the Gods themselves who could wield a Demon Lord's weapon and live to tell the tale." She figured anyone too weak would simply be destroyed by its immense power and will. “Don't try telling me you think one of them is running around down here with it?”

"No, the Gods would never stoop to such low.” Sol shook her head. “But, if memory serves me there a few beings that recently arrived in this world might be able to do it." She said as she leaned against the wall behind her.

"Arrived?" Ro replied with a raised eyebrow.

{Does she mean the Boss' people? But I doubt one of them would've been taken by the Cult without her knowing and if one ways... I don't think Boss would be handling things this casually} (Ro)

"You... You mean one of those Heroes, do you?" Zo said as she hummed in thought, catching her true meaning. "Shiroe Amakusa, Kanato Hiyuki, and Hitomi Masayuki those three are accounted for... But Muichiro Sato... He seemed to vanish entirely after returning and no traces of him have been found." She'd gone back through Hitomi's memories and found nothing about him save for the fact that no sign of him had turned up after his last sighting in Northwind.

{Now that I think about it I suppose that a Hero might be able to use him. They're more powerful than Demi-Gods, so I suppose if the Cult got to him, it may be possible for him to to be the one running around with that Axe.} (Zo)

"Exactly. The Heroes are special existences their ability goes far beyond that which normal mortals or most Demi-Gods could attain." Sol explained. "They were granted power by the Gods far beyond anything else that came before them, and their bodies were infused with the very raw energy of creation itself. One of them would easily be able to withstand the energy of a Demon Lord's weapon and would likely be strong enough to wield its tremendous power."

{Though not for long I suspect.} (Sol)

"Okay but knowing the wielder doesn't really change much if we assume your little theory is true." Ro replied, shaking his head. "The Cult is good at hiding, and even their more brash actions here have left the trail rather cold. Even if we know that Muichiro is using Labrys that doesn't tell us how to find him, and actually makings things more difficult."

"True, knowing who may use the Axe offers little help in your search. Especially as the Hero in question was the most problematic of the bunch." Sol sighed while muttering something under her breath.

"So you're little tip amounted to nothing." Zo rolled her eyes. "Maybe tell us where they'll strike next? That would be great."

"Even if I did, what would you do with that knowledge?" Sol asked, the wind around them coming to a dead stop as she spoke.

"We'd..." Ro looked to his sister, unsure of what to say.

"You'd be killed." Sol answered for him. "Your power is much too weak to take that Axe head-on as it stands now. Perhaps you should petition the one who's holding your leashes to give you more slack."

"You... How much do you know about us?" Zo asked with a growl, annoying that this woman knew everything about them while they knew nothing about her.

"Not that much." Sol replied with a wry smile. "I only just woke up recently, but I know enough to be concerned about this whole situation. This world has been thrown woefully out of balance, and it's only a matter of time until [!#@%@#$]"

{It's the Primordial language again. Too bad Dad couldn't be bothered teaching it to us! Argh! I really wish we could've learned it!} (Ro)

"Is that why you're trying to help us?" Ro asked, not wanting to ask what she'd said since that would reveal a potential weakness. "If so it may be best if you meet our Boss. Perhaps you could work together."

"Work together?" Sol thought about it for a moment. "No, I can't do that." She shook her head. "I'm afraid that I've got other things to do and other battles to fight, but if I can manage it I'll offer a little support where I can."

{Not to mention that its too soon. Meeting the Demon Lord as I am now will only cause things to spiral out of control and could derail our carefully laid plans. Its best that we wait until the final pieces are in place. That way... That way the Tragedy of Fates can be averted...} (Sol)

"Are you an enemy of our Boss?" Zo asked, her mouth growing dry as she spoke, hoping that it wasn't the case.

"No, I don't think so." Sol said as she flashed a brief smile. "Though I'm not exactly an ally per se either. Think of me as more someone with a few overlapping interests, that's all." Her words caused the Twins to look at each other, skeptical of her intentions, before turning back the woman.

"Then could you at least-" Ro began to speak but as soon as he turned back to look at the spot the woman had been in, she was gone and the couldn't sense her anywhere nearby

"Where did she..." Zo paused as she was interrupted by Sol's disembodied voice.

"I'll give you one more tip since my other one seems not to have been enough." Sol's words seemed to come from all around them and they couldn't pinpoint her location. "The Axe hungers, it needs to grow, to feed, and in order to do that it must consume souls. So where do you think it will strike once commoners are no longer enough to satisfy its needs?" Her voice trailed off, vanishing into the wind and leaving the two Pimordials confused and anxious.

"Who the hell was that?" Zo asked her brother as she shook to allow the tension to leave her body.

"No idea, but she didn't seem to be our enemy." Ro replied while letting out a deep, stress-filled breath.

"Yeah... Come on, let's get moving. We've still got a job to do." Zo said as the two turned to leave the deserted village, eager to find Labrys and bring the final stage of Akagi's plan to fruition.

Spoiler

Sol!

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