Akuro sat upon his new throne, Inari and Onoma standing at his side, while Lilith was beneath his feet. Before him stood the seven Archdemons, as well as Gozzu. Each of the Archdemons took a knee, bowed before their new king. They had been uncertain of his rule, but when he had successfully and singlehandedly killed a god, they had no choice but to bow under his might.
Akuro had become everything he wanted to be; unstoppable and unbelievably overpowered. With a single snap of his finger, he could end gods, though, to do such a thing takes an extreme amount of aura. The souls of gods are much harder to break than demons or humans, therefor it expends more aura to destroy the soul of one. At most, Akuro could probably kill twenty low level gods at once, and maybe five mid level gods. As for the high ranking gods, he had no clue if he could even break the soul of one, seeing as he'd never had the chance to meet one. Raijin was right between mid and low level in the hierarchy of gods, or at least that's what Akuro guessed.
He expected the gods make a move on him at some point after he took the throne, it's just common sense to attack an enemy while they are in disarray and confusion, but even so, Raijin attacking did not seem like a decision made my the gods. Raijin seemed to be acting of his own accord, even so, Akuro felt that the only reason the higher up gods allowed him to do as he pleased was because they wanted to use him as a way of testing Akuro's strength. They were testing the waters, seeing if he was actually a threat or just a kid with a lot of luck.
Akuro's finger tapped against the armrest of his cold throne. He could guess that the gods were organizing at the moment, preparing to descend and attack at full force. Or maybe they would send a small force of expendable gods to weaken them before their actual attack? A multitude of scenarios ran through Akuro's head, he even considered the possibility of the high gods coming all at once to exterminate him in one swift move. What, Akuro wondered, would he do in a situation like that? Would he be able to defeat all of the high gods at once? Was he even strong enough to kill one of them? Or was Raijin right when he said it was all one big dream that would never come to fruition.
Either way, Akuro had an ace up his sleeve, but for it to work he would have to be in the Midrealm, otherwise it would amount to nothing.
He thought back to the night God had spoken to him, telling him he was the "chosen one." One out of every five Deities is a chosen one, he said, the one with the greatest influence on the world. Akuro looked down at his hand, the cold, black metal embedded in his skin. He now could see what God was talking about. Akuro had brought about a war between the gods and the demons, but why would God allow that? If he knew what Akuro would do, why didn't he just kill him back then? Is there something Akuro was missing? He couldn't understand why God would let a war come about instead of cutting off the snakes head as soon as it hatched?
Akuro leaned back with a sigh. 'Oh well.' He thought. 'That no longer matters. All that matters is my conquest.' His grip tightened on the armrest. 'I will become the one true god of this world, no, of this reality! I will be not only death, but also life. I will rule over everything.' The armrest suddenly cracked, snapping Akuro back to reality.
He looked down at the Archdemons gathered before him. They all seemed to of accepted the fact that he was their king now, their loyalty was his, maybe not completely, but it was still there.
"Now that the first god has fallen, there is no going back. War is unavoidable, it's only a matter of time before blood flows in waves." Akuro spoke. "You all are to be my generals. As you know, you each have rule over a portion of the demons. I expect that they have already been gathered and organized?"
"Yes." Xell spoke. Akuro took note of the fact that Xell seemed to be the most trustworthy of the seven, while Zealous and Kessana had resentment towards him. The other four seemed to be neutral, indifferent to who their leader was, so long as they had one.
"We've each organized our battalions, from first battalion to the sixth." Xell said. Akuro also took note of the fact that Xell seemed to be the most coolheaded and strategic of the Archdemons. "Our parties are ready to move on your word, over three hundred thousand demons, at your command."
"Oi, Xell." Akuro spoke.
"Yes, lord?"
"You seem to be the most promising of the Archdemons in terms of leadership skills. I want you to be the supreme commander, got that?"
Xell looked up at Akuro, obviously surprised by his words, but then nodded. "Yes. I understand."
"Any orders from me will be given directly to you, and it will be your job to pass them to the other generals, seeing as your battalion is the most flexible. You have permission to edit my orders to better fit any given situation, just make sure to check with me before you do."
"Yes."
"Good. Now that that's been covered, I'd like to say something." Akuro continued. "I have a way to kill the gods in mass, but, for it to work, we have to be in the Midrealm. I propose that we set up our main base in what's left of New York City, seeing as this one decided to flex her power by destroying it." He kicked Lilith's back.
Lilith couldn't quite figure out why, but she couldn't help but be attracted to Akuro's cold personality and his power. She was a sucker for punishment. As Lilith's cheeks became a tint of red, Inari gave her a look of disgust, as well as something else that she pretended wasn't there. Then she remembered about something that was there! They'd completely forgotten about Emma!
"Umm, Akuro?" She spoke, but he waved his hand for her to be quiet. It seemed he wouldn't listen to her until his meeting was finished. She folded her arms and gave a frustrated sigh. Akuro was beginning to irritate her.
"The Midrealm? Why would we go there? Are you mad? We'd be sitting ducks if the gods attacked!" Zealously complained, and as he did a pressure began to crush him, pressing him against the ground, which cracked under the force.
"Did i not just say I have a way to kill them in mass? I have not revealed all of my cards. I will only be able to do it once or twice, but it will instantly kill anything it hits, and believe me when I say the world will be cloaked in darkness."
"So.. it's some kind of worldwide attack, impossible to dodge?" Rezzaiel asked.
"You could say that. I won't reveal any more about it, it's possible they are listening in on us."
"No, it isn't. It's impossible for the gods to view anything that transpires in Xinoll. There is even the possibility that they don't even know whether or not that god is dead or alive. It may be some time before they figure that out." Xell spoke. "But I must say I don't quite agree with your plan of making our main base of operations in Midrealm, because we wouldn't just be open to attacks at all times, but then the gods would be able to spy on us, they have world sight after all."
"Oi.." Akuro sighed, releasing Zealous from his aura. "Fine, then is there a way to make some kind of field that would block off their sight?"
"Yes." Kessana spoke. "I can create a barrier similar to the trance I put you in before, anyone who tries to scry on us would only see darkness."
"Good. Then that solves that problem, and as for being open to attacks, how do you suppose Raijin got here? Because, honestly , if a single god came in and did all of that, I don't think this place is exactly secure. The gods must have some kind of hidden entrance to Xinoll, meaning we won't see them coming when they do attack. Plus a small, cramped place like this is not a good place for all out war." Akuro said. "Also, if we set up a base in Midrealm we can see them coming, meaning we can also set up counter measures and defensive strategies. It's much better to set up in Midrealm."
"I see, that makes sense. It is true we have no idea how that god infiltrated Xinoll… it shouldn't have been possible, we know of no secret entrance, the only way into hell his a gate made by an Archdemon or to enter the main gates, which can only happen if Cerberus allows you through, only a high god could kill it. There is no way that Zeus knock off could get past it."
"You think there is an Archdemon we don't know about that's working with the gods?" Sallius asked.
"Or one of us is a traitor…" Rezzaiel added.
"No." Akuro spoke. "I sensed no Archdemons near Raijin. I don't think that has anything to do with it. Either way, we should make our move and set up a base in Midrealm. Kessana and Mettrag, I want you to go to the surface immediately, Kessana will block the gods' sight while Mettrag's battalion will work with hers to construct a base. Until the base is finished, we will organize strategies and organize the troops here."
Akuro waved his hand. "You are excused." With that, the Archdemons bowed, then exited the throne room. Zealous gave a resentful glance at Akuro before following suit.
"Alright, now that your little clown posse meeting is over, can I talk to you?" Inari asked, her tone impatient and irritable.
"Clown posse? Watch it." Akuro growled.
"Don't act all high and mighty just because your the king of hell now!"
"I think being the king of hell gives him the right to be high and mighty…" Onoma pointed out.
"Shut it!" Inari yelled.
"What do you want, Inari?" Akuro asked with a sigh.
"Oh, so you do know my name."
"How could I not, you're so damn annoying."
"Screw off. Did you forget about something?" Inari asked, looking at Akuro expectantly.
He raised his brow. "What? I'm not forgetting anything."
Inari held out her hand and her aura began to warp and materialize into the form of a fox.
"Makane? What about her."
"Emma, dumbass."
Akuro's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, yeah! I did forget. Kill her."
Inari stood there, stunned. She blinked a few times in shock, unable to accept what Akuro just said.
"What?"
"I said kill her."
"Are you out of your mind? She is innocent! I thought she was your friend."
"She has no use to me anymore." Akuro said, then his eyes became dark and his tone was cold. "And let me make something clear. I don't have friends."
Inari's heart dropped. She felt dizzy, as if she'd been hit in the head and was about to fall over unconscious. Akuro had changed, a lot. But this was way more extreme than she had first expected. She stood in silence, head bowed and she felt like she was about to cry.
"Seriously? Grow up." Akuro growled. "In a world like this, bonds will only make you weak. You can't understand until you've been through what I have."
Inari gave no answer, she only stood, silent. She felt hurt. Why was she hurt this much by someone she hardly knew? It made no sense! It frustrated her, it made her so confused that she couldn't stand it.
Akuro sighed, then stood, walking past Inari without even a second glance.
"Do what you want with the girl. As long as she doesn't become a problem to me, I could care less."