CHAPTER 22:

BREAKING THE SIX ARMS

Operation Gehenna was going ahead the next night. With the exception of Shizu and Aureole, the Pleiades, albeit in heavy disguise, would be acting as Demiurge's 'subordinates', under his fake identity as Jaldabaoth. Harry was going to sit this one out on the sidelines, as this was to be 'Momon's chance at gaining more fame, though that was not as important as bringing down the Eight Fingers.

While Sebas was visiting Tuare in Nazarick earlier that day, though, Solution sent through a report: the Eight Fingers had sent kidnappers and had abducted them. Solution and the Doppelganger posing as Tuare weren't resisting for now, playing their roles to the hilt. But the Eight Fingers had demanded that Sebas come to a certain location. Using location spells ensured they knew not only where Solution and the Doppelganger were, but that the remaining five members of the Six Arms were present.

It meant that, while Operation Gehenna would start later, Harry and the others had something to do. Harry hurriedly summoned the Blue Roses, to notify them of what was happening if nothing else. Aside from Harry, Sebas, and the Blue Roses, Antilene, Leinas, Albedo, and Shalltear were present too. "So, how're we gonna do this?" Gargaran asked.

"Pretty much the same way as we took on that brothel," Harry mused. "Lakyus, Evileye…they're waiting for a confrontation in the courtyard of this building. I'm guessing it's a facility the Eight Fingers use, probably for entertaining others with battles to the death. The fact that they're doing this despite what happened to Succulent, Coccodoll, and Hilma shows that they're bold and arrogant. Solution and the Doppelganger could tear them apart if we gave the orders. But we're not. While we're confronting the Six Arms, I want the Blue Roses and Leinas to enter from elsewhere, and do a systematic search, for personnel and papers. This time, you can capture them for yourselves, get the Blue Roses some deserved attention and praise. It might be overshadowed by what's about to happen, but you're good people."

Lakyus pursed her lips. "I still feel uneasy being privy to a false flag operation, even one that will rid this kingdom of the Eight Fingers. Can Demiurge be trusted?"

"His loyalty to me and Momonga is without dispute," he said, adding a mental, I hope. "And Lakyus…this is one of the best ways to improve Re-Estize. Honestly, I'm tempted to go and have the Nobility Faction wiped out en masse, assassinated, along with Barbro. But would that solve the problem? In taking out the Eight Fingers, we can lessen their influence, their power base. Give Ramposa and his allies time and the opportunity to rebuild their own power…assuming he will take that chance. In addition, with Hilma's connections, we can influence the Nobility Faction subtly in Ramposa's favour, as well as our own. That's the only reason she remains alive and, by most standards, unpunished."

"By most standards?" Lakyus asked.

"I showed Hilma what awaits her if she betrays us, namely, the fate of her former colleagues," Albedo said. "And before you express any righteous anger, Ampetif Coccodoll delighted in the misery he visited upon others. He had no compunction of raping people of any gender, and indeed, if what my love gleaned from his mind is correct, he wanted to rape Climb and send Renner his head, dripping with Coccodoll's vile seed, as a message. His victims are legion. So too were Succulent's. Hilma has gotten off lightly…so far. Then again, living in fear, the same fear her victims or those of her colleagues felt is its own punishment."

"Sounds fitting to me," Gargaran said, with Keno, Tia and Tina nodding. Lakyus looked reluctant, but she conceded the point.

Shalltear frowned. "Am I being brought in to deal with the Six Arms as well, then?"

"Yes. Consider it a chance to make up for what happened before," Harry said. "Five of us against the five remaining Six Arms. Now, I know Sebas, Albedo and Shalltear would be champing at the bit to punish Davernoch for calling himself the Undead King, so…do you want to draw lots for that? Scissors, Paper, Rock?"

"The latter," Albedo said, before the three Floor Guardians began an impromptu game. Albedo won, and pumped a fist, hissing an enthusiastic 'yes!' under her breath, while the Blue Roses just looked on in bemusement.

"Hey, old man, I have a request," Antilene said. "I want either Peshurian or Malmvist. I'm actually curious about their techniques."

"Peshurian, then," Harry said. "I'll deal with Zero. Sebas, Shalltear, you figure out whether to take on Malmvist or Erdström. Now, keep in mind, we want to keep these guys busy while the Blue Roses and Leinas do their thing. What's more, I want them to understand how fucked they are. Shalltear, as long as you don't go into Blood Frenzy, that means you're allowed to play with your food." As the loli vampire grinned viciously, Harry said, "In other words, extend the fight for as long as you can before giving them the coup de grace. The only one to be kept alive for interrogation will be Zero. Once I'm done with him, he's bound for the Frozen Prison. And keep in mind, these are sadistic killers with a massive bodycount. We're just showing them what it feels like to be on the other side of the battlefield for a change…"

Along the way, Sebas and Shalltear resolved whom they were going to take on. Shalltear would take on Malmvist, while Sebas would take on Erdström. They used Disillusionment Charms on themselves, save for Sebas.

They came to a walled-off mansion in a seedy part of town. Sebas was invited through the gate, and the rest of them pushed past the gatekeeper, helped by a brief Confundus from Harry. Of course, once they reached a courtyard below a balcony, with a quartet of figures waiting (well, along with some thugs), Harry dispelled the Disillusionment Charms. As they started in surprise, Harry bowed. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he drawled in his best imitation of Heath Ledger's take on the Joker. "We're tonight's entertainment!"

After a moment, laughter came from the balcony above. There were nobles and higher-ups of the Eight Fingers, he reckoned, waiting to watch Sebas be massacred for their own entertainment. He smirked. The joke was on them. He looked around, before saying, "Where's Zero, by the way?"

"Why don't you introduce yourself first before you start making demands?" rasped the grotesque figure of Davernoch, his rotting features part-hidden by his hood. "The old man was supposed to come alone."

"Ah, yes, where are my manners?" Harry asked. "I am Hal, representative of the guild Nine's Own Goal. Sebas and Solution are my associates. This is my lover, Albedo, my adoptive daughter Antilene, and my adorable Bloody Valkyrie Shalltear Bloodfallen. And I know who you are. Davernoch, the so-called Undead King." He then pointed to a dandy-like figure with a long rapier. "Malmvist of the Thousand Kills." An armoured figure was the next he pointed to. "Peshurian of the Spatial Slash." And finally, the sole woman, with dark skin, dressed as a belly dancer, surrounded by floating scimitars. "Erdström of the Dancing Scimitars. So, where's the Fighting Ogre Zero? Or is that name just how much actual courage he has?"

"You've got a mouth on you, kid," boomed a rough voice from the balcony, and Harry saw a burly figure leaning over, silhouetted in the torchlight. "But I don't need to prove myself to rabble."

Harry smirked, before he flew up to the balcony, and landed in front of him, the onlooking nobles gasping. For a moment, he peered at Zero, at the burly, thuggish-looking man, tattoos decorating much of his muscular body. Even his bald head had a lion tattoo on it. Harry also knew they were shamanistic tattoos used by martial artists, that is, those who masters an unarmed combat style rather than the Martial Arts skills of this world.

Then, Harry's smirk fell from his face. "Prove yourself? You misunderstand me, Zero. Tonight's the night when the Eight Fingers fall. As for the Six Arms…no, wait, the Five Arms, given that we have Succulent, well, they will be broken. For what you did to Tuare, and so many others, I will show you where you belong: six feet under. So come on, Zero…use your buffs, and just know that, when you use them, they will mean exactly what your name is: Zero."

Zero gritted his teeth, before he snarled, in quick succession, "PANTHER! FALCON! RHINOCEROS! BUFFALO! LION!" His tattoos briefly flared with light as he invoked their power. And then, he lunged in for a mighty punch that, under normal circumstances, would have pulped anyone.

But Harry caught the fist in his own hand. All he felt was a slight shudder at best. "Like I said," Harry sneered, "Zero..."

Antilene watched the blade as it seemed to worm through the very air. She caught it in her fingers, and then stared at it in unabashed awe. "Wow, I've only seen these things in action once before," she said. "It's an Urumi! A whip-sword!"

The armoured figure of Peshurian halted, before his deep voice rang out from beneath his helm. "…You recognise it?"

"I've trained with so many weapons, and learned about almost every weapon that exists in this world," Antilene said, letting the tip of the flexible blade go. "I mean, it's not slashing through space, but…it's still pretty awesome. You need a LOT of skill to use something like this the way you do. A shame you're with the Six Arms, you're a damn good fighter to use something like this."

After a moment, Peshurian nodded, acknowledging her praise. "Then I will show you the true skill of Peshurian, girl. Even if I cannot slay you in one hit, I will merely have to use more."

"You can try, but the best you're going to do is ruin my clothes. Don't worry, I'll give you the fight of your life before I kill you…"

Shalltear grimaced as she tasted the residue from the blade on her finger. "Hmm, what a delightfully nasty cocktail of poisons," she mused. "Lethal to anyone lesser than us. And those curses on your sword, one to widen wounds, the other to grind flesh into mince…interesting, but futile."

"What the hell are you? Even a vampire should be frothing at the mouth, choking on their own blood, from all that!" Malmvist yelped.

"An inferior vampire, perhaps, but my creator made me of sterner stuff. A thousand kills to your name is admittedly impressive, but how many of them were weaklings, even compared to you?"

Malmvist turned to run, but Shalltear pounced and bore him to the ground, before licking his neck with a long tongue. "Ohhh, the poor baby is frightened? Don't worry, that fear will go away…eventually…when I send you into oblivion…"

Sebas knocked away the scimitars with his fists, while Erdström looked increasingly frustrated. "Damn you, old man! Why won't you die?!"

"Because my creator made me strong. Your skill is superlative, young lady, and it's a shame that you have used it for evil. However, I doubt you would sincerely repent. Once I am done showing you how outmatched you are, I will grant you a swift death as a mercy you do not deserve…"

"Your death will not be swift, Lich, though it will be swifter than I would have liked," Albedo said, even as she turned Davernoch's hand bones into powder with a sweet smile on her face. He pulled his mangled hand away from her own, staring at her in incomprehension. "There is but one who is worthy of the title of Undead King, and you are not he."

"How can there be an undead greater than I?" Davernoch demanded in his vicious rasp of a voice.

"Oh, your ignorance is forgivable, even if your arrogance is not," Albedo said. "To believe one is the most powerful being in the world and to discount the possibility of any other is nothing short of hubris. And all your attacks, despite your much-vaunted claims, haven't so much as tickled. You should be rejoicing, Lich. Your pitiful, unwarranted existence will soon be at an end…after much pain and misery, of course…in fact, as an end to this feast of pain, I'm going to feed you your own rotten heart…"

"…How is this possible?" Zero hissed, before bellowing, "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"

Harry squeezed the man's hand until it burst like a squashed tomato. To give Zero credit, he simply leapt back, even as he stifled a cry of pain, clutching his mangled hand. "I think the better question is…why? And I will answer that question with a better question. How many girls like Tuare did you enslave, have raped? It's one thing for someone who chooses to be a prostitute, but to have them enslaved?"

"That's the way of the world, you moron! It's eat or be eaten, and I'd rather be the one doing the eating! You're just doing this over some stupid whores?"

Furious with him demeaning those poor sex-slaves with such contempt in his voice, Harry grabbed him with lightning speed, and pulled him over to the balcony, forcing him to look down at the arena below, even as he sent a message to Solution to break out with the Doppelganger imitating Tuare. "Yes, I am. Because they deserve better. So watch as the Six Arms get eaten, Zero, and know that you're dessert. Or should that be getting your just desserts?"

Harry watched as Sebas finally cut off Erdström's head with a swipe of a hand. The floating scimitars actually stayed attacking for some time afterwards, and Harry had to admit to being impressed. Antilene, meanwhile, had crippled Peshurian, and removed his helmet, before taking his head with a swipe of her scythe. He must have impressed her somehow.

Malmvist, meanwhile, was not having a good time. Shalltear had decided to top off her torture of him by pulling down his trousers and gelding him. Malmvist was still screaming shrilly in pain before Shalltear shoved his genitalia into his mouth. Harry cringed, but he remembered that Leinas had done the same thing to her ex-fiancée. Shalltear also then drained him dry of blood, albeit from his neck than his groin. Though he was losing a lot from down there.

As for Davernoch…well, Albedo had just torn his jaw off, leaving it dangling on thin strips of rotten flesh, before she tore his heart from his chest, and shoved it into his mutilated mouth. "Remember what I told you? Now, swallow," she said with a sweet smile, before compressing his head with her hands. Slowly, lovingly, she crushed his head, even as he screamed muffled screams for mercy before his head burst in a shower of rotten gore.

Harry sighed. "Okay…maybe showing her episodes of Death Battle might not have been such a great idea," he muttered(1). Louder, he said, "Do you understand now? I mean, you should understand, given how easily I am holding you here. Your minions in the Six Arms, save for Succulent, were lucky in that we killed them quickly. You, on the other hand…you're soon to enter Hell. Back home, there was said to be a sign above the gates to Hell: Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here. So you can't hope for any rescue, for any miracle to save you, Zero."

He turned him around to face him, and as he opened a Gate to the Frozen Prison, he smiled, and said cheerfully, "Welcome to Hell!" And then, he kicked him through the Gate, hard enough to send the man flying, though not hard enough to do too much injury on landing.

He looked around at the gathered nobles and the higher-ups of the Eight Fingers. They would be captured and interrogated, though he didn't risk killing any of the actual nobles yet. They would eventually be left home with no memory of the night's events, if only to prevent Ramposa from viewing Nazarick as a threat to be acted upon. They would only act on these bastards directly as a last resort. They wanted the world to cheer them on as liberating heroes, not as monsters. Going down Jircniv's path was a dangerous one.

Then again, so too was this one. Harry's morals had certainly changed since his first betrayal by Ginnymort, even if it took some time for that darkness to truly hit home. He could be quite callous at times now, even brutally sadistic. As with Brita's Adventuring team, he might leave people dead who didn't deserve to be, though that had at least practical reasons behind them.

But he would never try to murder the innocent himself. He would ensure, where possible, that the innocent weren't slain. He hoped Shalltear had learned her lesson, to resist the Blood Frenzy, and instead conduct herself with the elegance that she pretended to, as well as follow his edicts.

But in the end, he still had his saving people thing. It just meant he was a bit pickier about who he saved. And he tried to think about consequences more.

With that in mind, he bowed to the nobility, before he said, "Don't try to run. It's futile…"

CHAPTER 22 ANNOTATIONS:

So, the Six Arms have been dealt with. And there was much rejoicing.

Now, to get onto how a couple of them were dealt with, you get the faintest impressions from the light novel that Peshurian has just enough valour that, when faced with an unwinnable battle he can't flee from, he'll fight to the bitter end. So I had this come across in his interactions with Antilene, brief though they were. I also wanted to do something more meaningful in their fights than just have the complete curbstomp in canon.

Of the others, well, there isn't much to say. I mean, aside from Albedo slowly dealing with Davernoch. Harry may be her lover, but Momonga is still her leader. And then, there's Shalltear's brutality with Malmvist. Seriously, he seems to be the most cowardly of the Six Arms, so having Shalltear do all that to him seems fitting. How the fuck did he get a thousand kills to his name when he is such a wimp? I mean, aside from the cursed and poisoned rapier, anyway.

Review-answering time! AvidReader2425: He was actually carrying most of it when the Platinum Dragon Lord sealed him. The PDL, out of pragmatism, took most of his gear away just prior to the sealing proper. Harry wasn't equipped with a World Item, just high-tier gear in general. He did have some reserve equipment in Nazarick, though, and he also bought what equipment he could use in the New World. Then again, thanks to his magic, he doesn't need it as much.

Neon1311: Still brutal for Hilma. She's been given the carrot, but shown one hell of a stick and told, in no uncertain terms, she will have to earn the carrot. About the nicest thing Momonga said to her was that he wasn't going to have her raped or sell her body while under his aegis, which was probably one of her fears. And yes, Climb would probably baulk at treating his princess like a pet, though she'd probably be into that sort of thing. And that scene would be hilarious.

Skull Flame: Demiurge may actually view that as a challenge, I had the same thought, but he'd be hampered by Havish's sheer sense of entitlement and inability to consider any other viewpoint. Demiurge, for all his lack of morality and empathy, seems to have a far better ability to discern what others are thinking, even if in Momonga's case, he is utterly wrong. And I get that about Foresight's fate. I love fanfics where they get another chance, or at least Arche does.

And I do think Lupusregina's friendliness is not faked. It may be part of her mask, but I think she does have some genuine like for the Emmotts. Admittedly, it's probably closer to the like one feels for pets, and she would like nothing more than to see them suffering from pain, misery, and despair, but I think she still genuinely likes them in a twisted way. She is certainly genuinely friendly and affable towards her fellow NPCs in Nazarick, so I think there's some bleedover despite her sadism.

1. This comes from one of my all-time favourite Death Battle episodes, pitting Homelander against Omni-Man from The Boys and Invincible respectively.