The Red Hand

Chapter 89 – The Hero’s Triumphant Return.

Superbia looked at the hand of her savior, as the metal gauntlet gripping Gim's hand tightened. The goblin struggled to get free but was unsuccessful. The Oni had no idea who this was, and in her barely conscious state, she didn't care. All that mattered to her, was that she'd been saved.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Gim yelled. "You're not part of the RRT! And why weren't we told you were in Nagoya?!?" He looked up into the draconic eyes of a very angry Hishya. "What the fuck was Herlex doing?!?"

"I was visiting family in the city. When all of a sudden, you and your army showed up." Hishya increased her grip, causing Gim's bones to creak. "You're lucky I was able to get my Aunt and Uncle to safety. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a good mood right now." She said that, but her eyes told Gim she was extremely angry, and when Hishya got angry that was a bad sign of things to come. As for why Libra didn't know? That was because Yumi had teleported her into the city the day prior. So they couldn't have known as she hadn't left her aunt and uncle's house since arriving.

{I bet any money that Akagi saw this coming. No wonder she was so insistent that Yumi bring me via her teleportation. That son of a bitch used me!} Hishya cursed the Demon in her mind. She'd give her an earful once this was over.

Hishya lifted the goblin up and dangled him in the air, before using her other hand to punch him square in the gut, sending him flying into a nearby building. Part of which collapsed around him.

"Gim!" Grim called out and ran towards his friend.

Meanwhile, Hishya looked down at the nearly dead Superbia and let out a smirk. "You guys really are useless without me, aren't you?" Her draconic blood had heightened her already bad personality.

"Hi-sh-ya." Superbia cried out but was unable to speak.

"Here, take this." Hishya pulled a small vial out of her inventory and forced it down Superbia's throat. "It's a High Elixir. With that, you should be safe. But I wouldn't move around much." That item was the most potent healing item in the game as it restored you to full health and removed all status ailments and was extremely rare.

Superbia took a moment to recover before sitting up.  "I thought you weren't going to get involved. Even if your family was here, why not just run away with them?" Superbia asked. “And thank you, I'd be dead if you didn't step in.”

"I can't just sit by anymore." She turned to look at the carnage on the street. Countless people had already died, and the city was on the verge of destruction. The metal puppets marched across the city and the number of causalities was constantly on the rise. Screams and explosions sounded out around them. This was far worse than a normal Libra attack and Hishya had finally reached her limit.

"I couldn't live with myself if I let people die just because I was afraid, and we both know that my failures have already cost enough people's lives." Hishya turned to face the two goblins and slowly walked toward them. "I'll handle these two. I know you want to avenge your sister, but just sit back and watch." These two were one of Hishya many failures and she was going to handle them personally.

"Be careful!" Superbia cried out. "They got me with Moon-Night poison, don't let their blades scratch you!" She knew Hishya was tough, but that poison would be a problem to anyone that took it in.

"Hmpf," Hishya smirked. "I don't think that will be an issue." She said as she casually waved away the Oni's concern.

"Gim, get on your feet, man." Grim pulled him out of the rubble. "This is bad. We're not prepped to fight Hishya! This wasn't in the plan!" He said nervously.

"Yeah, I know," Gim was still woozy. "We need to get out of here and report back to base, maybe get some heavy hitters to deal with her." He figured they'd need to over Spellhauser and Birdy to fight her. "Once we rally with-" He was cut off before he could finish.

"Sorry to say this, but I don't think you'll be getting out of here alive." Hishya appeared right next to them. Her speed was extraordinary and even Superbia didn't even see her move. She stared down at the two goblins, her face contorted in anger and her eyes showed a dragon's fury.

{I've let you two have your way for far too long. And now, its time to correct that mistake.} (Hishya)

"When did she-" Before he could finish his sentence, Grim was grappled and thrown into the ground to the right of Hishya. He quickly got to his knees, but when he looked up, Hishya's extended hand was in front of his face. "What the?" Before he had a chance to say anything else, Hishya unleashed a full-force blast that stretched down the street, destroying scores of puppets. The burst was massive and could be seen by both Birdy and Alice, who were surprised.

When the dust settled, Grim was gone, vaporized by Hishya's attack. "Goodbye." She grinned.

"You-you killed him!" Gim was awestruck and angry. "You killed my fucking brother! You bitch." Gim rushed Hishya with his short sword drawn, but he was no match for the dragon. Hishya parried his blade with her gauntlet and placed her hand against his stomach, channeling a large amount of power into a red ball of energy. "I should have done this a long time ago. This is for all the lives you've taken!" Hishya frowned as she released the blast which carried Gim up into the air above the city. As he ascended, he could see the vast city before him, the skyline covered in fire an smoke. He tried to wriggle free of the energy attack, but was unable to move and his last thoughts before he exploded were that he'd wasted his life.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

A massive explosion rocked the sky above Nagoya as Gim exploded violently. Everyone, Soldier, Libra, and RRT, was stunned. They had no idea what just happened, but the explosion was large enough to blow out windows across the city and knock items over even as far away as Toyohashi. Some members of the military even thought the US had dropped a kinetic round from its satellite. But Superbia knew the truth, she'd just watched Hishya effortlessly vaporize two members of Libra right in front of her eyes, and even she couldn't believe it.

{H-how! When did Hishya get that strong?!?} Superbia couldn't bring herself to speak. She was just that shocked. Hishya had never been able to do things like that in FWO, and she'd most certainly never killed anyone. So seeing such a crazy display sent the Oni's head spinning.

{S-she just...} (Superbia)

Of course, what the Oni couldn't know, was that Hishya had been greatly empowered by transferring into the real world. Even more so than other returnees. Her draconic power was greatly reduced in the game by the developers and flavor text, so now that she was unrestrained her power as a True Dragon had been unleashed, and it was devastating. She was an order of magnitude more powerful now than when she was in the game, and with help from Kira, she was able to control it to a much greater degree than in her fight with Akagi. Though she still had a limit to what she could safely use.

Seeing the massive explosion, Hishya let out a small laugh, and her lips curved into a grin. "Akagi was right." She turned and started walking towards Superbia as she rotated her shoulder to stretch it. "This does feel good. And it looks like all that training was worth it."

Superbia wobbled to her feet. "Hishya, what happened to you?!?" She asked. "Where did all that power come from?"

"Do we really have time to chat about me?" Hishya pointed to the smoke rising into the air. "We still have two other locations to clear, plus the remaining members of Libra. On top of that, we need to handle the rest of the puppets in Gifa." Hishya looked at her. "And you're not exactly in fighting shape." The Elixir did manage to restore Superbia's body and remove the poison, but she was exhausted. Akagi's experiments showed that magical healing wasn't as powerful as it was in the game, and this proved it.

"It doesn't matter." Superbia shook her head. "I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"Then stick close." Hishya walked past her, handing her a booster potion. It would alleviate some of the exhaustion and stamina loss, at least temporarily. "I didn't go through the trouble of saving you so that you could die. So try not to get yourself killed." The two jumped on rooftops and began to clear the remaining puppets from Gifa. With the two of them, it was completed rather quickly and once their mission was complete they began running full speed towards Okazaki, where they were told that Spellhauser had been sighted directing a contingent of puppets.

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<Birdy POV>

"I've got eyes on Hishya. It seems like she stepped in and saved Superbia." Birdy was watching the Oni and the Dragon leap over rooftops as they went in the opposite direction of her. "It looks like she was the one who made those two blasts, and since I'm not getting anything from Gim or Grim, she probably killed them.”

{I see its going exactly as she predicted. I must admit, I didn't think Hishya would act, but that just goes to show the difference between Akagi and I.} Birdy sighed. {It truly is frightening how well she can predict things.}

Herlex responded over the radio. "This isn't optimal, but things are still going well. Thousands have already died and were inflicting serious casualties on the JSDF and local police."

He paused for a moment. "Losing Gim and Grim really doesn't matter, so I'd say we're still up. Even if Hishya wipes out the puppets, this is already a victory. We've already killed tens of thousands of people, far more than even my most generous predictions. The public's faith in the Japanese Government's ability to protect them will crumble and international intervention will be inevitable." They could rebuild the puppets, but the damage they inflicted couldn't be undone. That was what he was getting at.

If things continued like this, it was only a matter of time before their backers could swoop in and extract them under the guise of “intervention” and it would be smooth sailing from there. Other nations might pitch a fit once they knew Libra members were working for them, but by then it would be too late. And besides, who wants to argue with a nation that has over a dozen super powered fighters working for it?

Though unfortunately, more and more members of Libra were questioning why they needed foreign backing, and some were starting to get ideas about taking over the world. Herlex was trying to tamp down on these sentiments, but he couldn't stop people from talking. He knew that while they were strong, they weren't invincible and if they pissed off the collective humanity they'd be hunted down and killed. Unlike Akagi, taking on the entire world would likely be impossible.

"Take Alice and bring her back to base. We can't risk losing her," Herlex said. "I'll tell everyone else to be wary of Hishya. The forces we have in Nagoya might be able to handle her, but no reason to take chances. If things get dicey, I'd rather them fall back. Besides, I have a plan to deal with our little Hero. So we don't need to be all worried. Though I'd like to know how she got into the city without my knowledge." He cut the call. He and the others wouldn't intervene against Hishya, they saw no reason. Especially when she'd be working for them soon enough.

{Hmmmmm. Even with that suped up power and what my Lord has told me. I still don't think Hishya is enough to handle what Libra's got.} Birdy thought as she walked over to Alice. {She better be careful here too, if she fights Merkyul, Sabia and Spellhauser together, that might no be so easy for her.}

"Alright." She patted Alice on the head. "Herlex wants you to go back to base for safety, ok?" She smiled.

"Ok," Alice nodded, and Birdy picked her up and unfurled her rainbow wings from under her cloak.

"Hold tight!" She jumped into the air and took off at high speed returning to base. Everything was going as her master foresaw and planned, and It was at times like this that made Birdy think her master was actually able to see the future with just how accurate her predictions were.

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<Spellhauser POV>

"Rodger that." She said into her ear comm as she threw some poor man off a rooftop. "I'll do what I can to delay her and keep her attention as long as possible. Get the two trouble makers over here ASAP."

{Don't exactly want to fight that damn Dragon. But it looks like I have no choice. Herlex is coordinating the rest of us in Nagoya, so all I have to do is keep her busy. Once the others get here, she's done for.} She chuckled.

"Spellhauser!" Hishya landed on a rooftop across from her, along with Superbia.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Hishya?" The elf smiled. "Though you look a little more scaly than the last time I saw you, perhaps try moisturizer."

Hishya didn't reply to her taunt, and instead drew her flaming blade, pointing it at her. "Superbia, you handle the dolls. I'll deal with Spellhauser."

Seeing that Hishya wouldn't take any argument, Superbia descended to the street below and began fighting the dolls. There were a lot of them and she was still not at 100%.

"Oh?" Spellhauser summoned her magical blade. "Sending your teammate away? Are you really that confident you can beat me?"