With a drawn out sigh, he looked away from the silent, slumbering room and the bodies within. He swung the door shut with force and spun away, a scowl carved in his face.
Chaos was the only word that could describe what had ensued, during and after the Anniversary. His breath bated, he had expected thousands of demons and dozens of angels to stream out of the portal from the Ascent. His castle, echoing and empty behind the crimson barrier that divided it from the world outside, had been constructed with the twin goals of acting as a final redoubt and as housing in the initial aftermath of the Anniversary.
Silent, he prowled down the corridor, checking behind other doors as he had the first. What met his gaze was always similar.
"GO GO GO GO GO!"
"Yar a madlad! Straight bedlam, mate!"
"WOOHOO!"
He sneered. Two goblins doing keg stands were being cheered on by a crowd of imps, gremlins, and other lesser demons. Others, monster and demi-human and other, were in the crowd, cheering them on. Uncontrolled chaos, in the form of bodies, slumbering or shouting or partying, was always what he found.
He turned away, slammed the door shut, and relished in the near-silence of his castle halls.
Litter clogged the hall, but he paid it no mind, stepping around and over as was needed.
In some ways, the Demon King had gotten exactly what he wanted.
No gods, goddesses, or deities had graced his halls.
He had expected a handful of angels, if any at all. He and most of his Generals had no connection to Heaven or actively spurned it, and even Wolbach and Celestina's presence in the ritual should not have been particularly holy, given one was a fallen Dark Goddess and the other served a mostly-defunct Dark Goddess. His expectations had been subverted; he had received hundreds of Angels.
Just like with the angels, the number of demons he had received was far greater than his expectations.
In both cases, he'd received two orders of magnitude more than he had expected. Instead of a handful of angels, he had received hundreds.
Instead of thousands of demons, his castle had been forced to process and house around one hundred fifty thousand demons.
He growled as he remembered yesterday. He'd been partially euphoric, when he'd met his goals, and then exceeded his goals, and then doubly and triply exceeded them. Then, after thirty thousand had been processed with thousands more to go and seemingly no end to the flood of bodies, he'd begun getting worried.
After fifty, his worry had grown into anxiety. He had done his best to begin organizing what would undoubtedly be a sprawling camp on the grounds of his castle.
When the Anniversary ended, and the wall that had been an opening into the Ascent faded into being a blank, unadorned wall, he'd been panicking and had ordered a full sixth of his forces from the frontlines so that they could help coordinate the sheer mass of bodies now occupying his castle.
The building itself was cramped. The ground between it and the barrier was just as cramped.
The Demon King lifted his foot over the sprawled out body of some ne'er-do-well, and the attendants behind him pushed the demon off the side of the hallway along with the other debris, where he would either wake and go about his business or would not, in which case the janitorial slimes would devour him.
The problem with that number of demons was not simply the space they took up. Since neither the demons nor the angels had been metaphysically separated from the arcana and mana supplied to them by their realms of origin owing to having left said realms while Heaven was otherwise occupied, neither had to congregate in particularly hellish or holy locations to absorb the magical energies that coagulated in such would run out of such energy if they used too many spells, but it would regenerate over time, like any normal mortal creature.
That connection did not mean they did not need to be fed.
Demons required emotions to feast on to remain alive and sane. Over the decades, the exact size of his kingdom's supply had waxed and waned, but what they had currently was supposed to be able to feed his forces for over two years, and that would be without any efforts to ration or supplement it. He found the idea that Belzerg could completely cut off his access to all mortal populations around them absurd to the highest degree, but they'd stockpiled the emotion anyway.
The information on every last angel and demon that had arrived was still being processed by the forces under his direct control and whatever forces his Generals had brought with them before they were teleported through the barrier. The exact number that had arrived was still being estimated, but it was around a hundred and fifty thousand.
He kicked a misplaced bottle, which shattered on contact with his foot. That many demons would eat through his supply in a few weeks.
Angels, thankfully, did not require emotion to feed on, but, now bound to mortal bodies, they would require mortal food. He would not exchange the slight increase in food prices from their demand for an even more acute shortage of emotions, but it was another problem he was going to have to address.
There were other problems, of course. Over ninety thousand of the demons had no desire to fight for him. Their reasons were numerous, with some being conflict averse, and others not finding his cause worth their time or lives. There would be an exodus as they were transported out from his castle.
They would still serve his purposes, even if they did not fight his enemies under his banner. Those wishing for a simpler, conflict-free life would be forced to reside within his kingdom if they wished to do so openly, while the majority of demons that sought to make deals with humans or take over a dungeon would do so within the nearest lands, which were Belzerg or Belzerg-alligned, depriving the kingdom of precious resources as it fought the wave of demonic entities.
Of the remaining sixty thousand, only a portion actually wanted to fight for his cause, specifically. Some would have gone on a rampage, if it weren't for the lack of available food, the barrier separating his castle from his dominion, and the threat of violence from him and his subordinates. Others simply found his cause or his promised compensation lacking. Still others disliked authority in general – a majority of angels fell into that last category most of all, though many also desired authority of their own.
He was more than okay with all of that. He was practically salivating at the thought of what he could do with those forces. He might have been able to take land occasionally, or to slip infiltrators into the rear of Belzerg with teleportation or more obscure methods, but with this much?
He could take and hold land from Belzerg.
It would be good to reclaim the land that had been taken from him, bit by bit, decade by decade, and for all the problems with the new arrivals, he was sure the decades of investment had been worth the power he could now wield.
He grit his teeth, his eyes roving over the hall's trashed carpets and decorations. His problems were not with the incoming demons and angels alone, however. His Generals were helping integrate the recruits, but with influx of new talent, some of the old guard feared for their positions.
His personal guard was mostly fine, especially among the upper echelons that he'd known for years if not decades, as were the commanders of the forces tasked with the internal security of his kingdom. As ever, it was the Generals of his offensive forces that were making the most trouble with their endless, endless squabbling.
Sylvia, fearing for his position with all the new talent and his long-standing belligerency, was taking the opportunity to sexually harass the newcomers, either for his own fulfillment or in order to establish dominance. Hans, fearing for his life after his threats about his openly mutinous behavior, was becoming more and more erratic, his paranoia feasting on his insides while he tried to eat whatever wasn't nailed down, be it unwatched rations or his new subjects. Verdia was quarreling with demons and angels that called themselves honorable, because their sensibilities didn't match his. Celestina and Wolbach were competing to convert demons and angels alike, garnering prayer and service from the willing and trying to extort the unwilling. That motherfucker in the basement, ever 'true to his ideals,' was acting like the basement-dwelling loser he was and making his army look like a bunch of idiots.
And, as ever, his daughter's endless attempts to convince him she was not being given enough freedom were compounding all of the annoying drivel he had to hear about while trying to run his kingdom, as if he hadn't-
One of the doors opened. No noise ricocheted out of it and through the empty, silent corridors, so it must have been one designated to rest. He wiped his frustration from his face and smoothed his robes. He held up a hand to the subjects behind him, causing them to stop their custodial work.
They fell back, standing straight-backed against the wall while the Demon King took in the appearance of the demon emerging from the door.
What might once have been a cloak for a normal sized person was being worn around one boney shoulder and their frail body like a toga, the bottom of the purple fabric stained a mix of reds and browns that indicated old, dried blood. Stooping down, the tall, thin demon struggled with its size and the size of his castle. Still, it managed to squeeze out of the room and into the hallway, which it still stooped down in.
Its long legs were the same ashy-white as the rest of its body, ending in feet that resembled a human's. Its longer arms split at each joint, two shoulders leading into four arms, four elbows leading into eight forearms, eight wrists leading into sixteen pairs of hands, all of them so very thin, all of them steadying it, pulling it, guiding it from the doorway and into the hallway.
The doorway shut with a quiet click, and four eyes met the Demon King's stoic gaze. The head, topped with long, black, oily hair, dipped, tripled features all paying his authority heed. "Your highness." Their voice was high and ephemeral, like the wind.
He raised an eyebrow. "You recognize my power?"
The demon looked up. The center mouth remained motionless. The face on the right seemed stuck weeping, eyes screwed shut and mouth downturned. A hand or two occasionally drifted close and grasped, stroked, and felt it. The mouth on the left let out a wistful sigh. "And your face," replied the center face.
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Indeed," said the center face. The face on the left added, "The name's Evan. Forget me already?"
The Demon King blinked, comparing the image before him to the slain Undead Mage. "Really? You've certainly-"
"Changed," wept the face on the right. His arms continued to move as he conversed, constantly feeling the walls, the floor, the ceiling, his body, his faces, gripping and brushing and touching and poking and prodding, all of it slow and methodical.
The center face hummed. "Indeed. With my change, I have grown in power. Has death proven my worthiness to lead?"
He suppressed the urge to growl. He was still adamant about that? "No," the Demon King replied. Then, he snorted. "Your form may have changed, but if you still come to me demanding that which you are not worthy of, then you are still a whelp."
The right face sobbed uncontrollably. The left face muttered an apology. "Sorry, can't control that one."
"Vanir's seat remains empty," he continued. The Demon King rolled his eyes. "You have yet to prove yourself worthy of such an assignment," he began, "and there are plenty of candidates who have seniority over you."
Unfortunately, none of the candidates were ready either. Some were powerful, and some were good at the management of armies, but the two that were good at both were also, somehow, more insane or annoying than his current roster.
"Axel proved my capabilities," the central face whispered.
"If you wanted to be promoted for not following orders," he sneered, "you should have at least accomplished what you'd set out to do, boy."
The central face remained unfazed, the right face remained weeping, though the left face looked suitably chagrined. The conflicting emotions pulled the skin around the head's four eyes in conflicting directions. "If you require more evidence, I will gather the forces summoned here and march on Belzerg again."
"How would you do that? They remain unruly." he asked, already sure of the answer he would get.
"My powers have only grown with my third death. I will compel them-"
"That is why I will not give you the position you seek. I want generals that think."
The central face paused, digesting the words. The left face winced, and then muttered, "Having buyers remorse with your current Generals?"
He did not respond. He would not publicly undermine trust in his rule like that.
"The people of my realm," he continued on, "would be worried that pressing the new arrivals into service, regardless of their desires, would signal a wider draft. My refusal to implement such and leave the peasant and urbanite alike alone is why my reign has been marked by internal stability compared to that of my predecessors."
"Such insolence from the masses-"
"The masses," he ground out, stepping closer, "provide us with food, labor, and taxes that keep my rule from collapsing, as well as emotions, when I can afford to pay my own citizens instead of instructing my forces to extort Belzerg's populace along the frontline. They have no desire to weaken my rule with a coup when such instability could lead to their land and property and lives being taken by marauding knights or adventurers."
"No, they would instead present a petition calling for the reversal of the measure and demand you face censure."
"So," he finished. "Get better, if you want to be worthy of being called a General of the Demon King."
He was quiet, and the Demon King snapped his fingers. The custodians behind him continued with their task of tidying the hallway, and Evan turned away.
"What are your aspects?" he asked. Demons could not be divided into anything so specific as species or forms, but he recognized that if a demon had more than one face, their faces usually expressed an aspect of a personality more strongly than any other.
"Sorrow," he began, the left arms and hands of his turned back curling and pointing to the weeping face, "Anxiety," the face on the right said as other hands pointed towards it, "and Fury," whispered the face in the center.
With his words said and no questions from the Demon King compelling him to speak further, Evan shuffled down the corridor, towards the stairs towards a higher floor he might be able to stand up straight in. The Demon King just sighed, his thoughts turning inwards once more.
For his faults, Evan was familiar with the army already, and if his claims that his power had grown proved to be true, then he would become a General Candidate regardless of his arrogance. He was among a group of two dozen who would be joining that group – a group that had not been so large since the beginning of his war with Belzerg.
He continued down the hallway, a custodian occasionally darting out from its primary duties to survey the rooms they passed. They always shook a head at him, and as they continued, his scowl only grew.
Where was Mary? He may not have gotten any deities, but her power easily surpassed that of Wiz and even his personal bodyguards. He needed that kind of power, if he was going to take on Belzerg more directly, and assuming Degurechaff really was dead-set on fighting him, her as well.
He couldn't give the empty seat to her immediately, not with the other candidates that held seniority, but he was genuinely considering having those that would seriously object killed, if they were that adamant they be given the opportunity first and she wanted the seat.
Of course, he also had to confirm she could be trusted. Her wings were light gray, nowhere near as dark as the other fallen angels, and while he hardly knew a damn thing about Heaven, Wolbach claimed it was a sign she'd not fully recanted her place in Heaven.
He was leaning towards her simply being hesitant. The surety she'd burst into the ritual chamber with had faded into trepidation, as she'd taken in his hellish home. She was a bit naive, but he'd take that over any of the other 'quirky' traits of his generals.
As soon as he found out what her goal was, he'd do his best to assuage her concerns and convince her that their goals could align. Hopefully, they would, though if they didn't…
Well, he'd lied about less, and she was but the first in a long line of demons and angels he would be talking with. Today would be a day filled with arm-twisting and guilt-tripping and threat-making and double-dealing, whatever he needed to see the best and brightest either working for him or pointed in a useful direction to aid him all the same.
When he'd become Demon King, he'd sworn not to do a lot of the things he'd ended up doing. There were still some lines he hadn't yet crossed… but he supposed, if the war went on much longer, he'd cross them too if it meant achieving his goals.
-OxOxO-
'WHAT ARE OUR RESOURCES?' was the question scrawled at the top of the whiteboard at the front of one of their home's meeting rooms. With its appearance, what was only the first in a number of meetings discussing her would now begin.
"Are you two sure you need to be that… dressed up?" Lorelei asked.
Lorelei was dressed in her adventurer's equipment. Tanya was certain, and Viktoriya supported her, that if she had begun traveling since her arrival, she would likely stop somewhere to sleep and rebuild her mana and then assault them today. He'd said as much to Lorelei. Being prepared was only natural.
They were dressed in their usual adventuring equipment, like Lorelei, but they were also loaded down with cloth bags, where they were storing extra ammunition as well as a few more grenades to go with the ones strapped to their chests. Small knives were strapped to their belts, alongside two pistols each.
"Of course not," they replied in unison. They glanced at each other, briefly surprised at the simultaneous response, but they quickly turned back to the board in front. Lorelei just shook her head.
The whiteboard was an illusion, since whiteboards hadn't been invented yet. Tanya made a mental note to pass the idea off to the Mithril Foundation. Certainly, Axel's school would appreciate the invention.
All three of them stared at it, for a moment, contemplating the question. In addition to their gear, Tanya had three of his divine relics. Viktoriya was holding onto the Type 95.
"Well, if she's fighting you, then the town will be behind you," Viktoriya said. Her raised voice fought with the echoing sounds of construction working to fix their roof.
Tanya frowned, because he wasn't sure that was true. "Will they? Could she try and pin the blame for the, eh… death of Eris on me? The changes my tenure has brought haven't necessarily benefitted the cults."
"If she's working for the Demon King," Lorelei said, shrugging, "then no one will pay her any mind… or they'll wait until after you take care of her to address whatever she tries to say about you."
"Fine," Tanya said, "the town and its adventurers will go in the personnel category, for however much help they can really be against her."
The words wrote themselves onto the board.
By and large, most of Axel's adventurer's, to say nothing of its population, would be next to useless in a fight against her. Anyone could technically lop off the girl's head with a blade, but that girl wasn't an idiot. Her active barrier spells would defend her from any such blows, if she didn't disintegrate any and all hostels in her vicinity when she arrived…
Though, like all of their assumptions about the relevancy of their resources in a fight with Mary, they were predicated on how the girl had looked and acted when they had last fought. Being X had stuffed Tanya into a new body; there was no telling how he'd altered Mary to serve as his executioner.
Regardless, the adventurers wouldn't do much besides act as an obstacle. If she wasn't completely blinded by rage, she might try to avoid them. If not, they'd probably die in the crossfire.
Refocusing on the personnel category, she went down the list of notable individuals.
"Aqua's power likely surpasses her's," Tanya began, Aqua's name appearing on the whiteboard in blue, contrasting the already written words, "and if Megumin managed to land a direct hit on her, I doubt she would be unaffected."
Lorelei's eyebrows rose. "She's that strong?" she asked, amazed.
Tanya scowled. "She wasn't, but I'm unwilling to rule out anything."
"Unfortunately," Viktoriya continued, "Aqua is… not the sharpest tool in the shed and is more effective against undead monsters than… whatever Mary is likely to be, and Megumin only has the one shot."
The capabilities of both girl's appeared beneath their names on the illusory board, and that was how it continued.
He and Viktoriya would be the main fighters. They had experience fighting her. Their time in this world had increased their capabilities and the cultivation technique could increase the efficiency and power of their spells further still… if she gave them time before she attacked. If she did not attack soon, either she had shown up further away than the Demon King, and was even more powerful than they feared, or she was not attacking them immediately. If she was either taking down or allying with the Demon King, then she might take some time to show up.
He did not dare imagine what she would do to them.
Aqua's attacks could do a lot of damage, and her ability to provide buffs, healing, and resurrection could turn the tide if Mary pulled ahead early. Her attacks were more suited towards combating either undead enemies or doing lots of indiscriminate damage with Sacred Create Water. She was a loose cannon who was unlikely to follow their plans unless her ego agreed her role was a fitting one or she was incentivized to follow along, with the threat of violence or additional rewards. Even then, she often went against their plans if she thought she could do something else that was more helpful or expedient.
His interactions with Aqua when he'd gotten back from Elroad and the capital had proven that if the woman got hit, every inch of her would be perforated with bullets courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie.
Megumin could also do a lot of damage, but she could only do so once, after which she would end up becoming a liability on the battlefield. Her knowledge could be useful in a rear position, if they could communicate effectively. Her particular cultural sensibilities drove her to be the center of attention, even when such was detrimental to a battle's plans.
If hit, Megumin would be left a charred, smoking corpse courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie.
Darkness's offensive capabilities were lackluster to say the least, and would be on par or below what the average adventurer could do. Her connections with the nobility would augment Tanya's own position and would be helpful in organizing a defense. Her defensive skills were robust and effective, but they were specialized towards allowing her to take sustained physical damage in the form of cuts and bruises over a long period as opposed to the quickly deployed, massive damage via spells Sioux was capable of performing.
If left unsupported, Darkness would have her chest cavity pushed out her back by a blow courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie.
Kazuma could not help quite like his party, but by virtue of his ridiculous Luck stat, might still be of use in a fight. Assuming Mary's Luck was not comparable with his, he could hide from her direct sight and use Steal to divest her of her belongings. Taking her gun or computation jewel from her – that she had them was another pair of assumptions they had to make – could prove pivotal. Motivating him to help them would be a challenge, but he was an uncomplicated individual who could be effectively coerced with money, if he remained obstinate. Additionally, for all of their bluster, his teammates often deferred to his tactical skill, and he seemed invested in them to the point that if they agreed to fight, he would without too much additional coercion.
If given the chance, Kazuma would have a neat, small bullet hole lance through the center of his forehead courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie. If he tried to hide, Kazuma would be blown into an unrecognizable bloody sludge by a saturated bombardment courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie.
Yunyun could perhaps do as much damage as Megumin, if she only focused on attacking, but her true strength was in her versatility. Her attacks could have a variety of secondary effects depending on the spell used, and her Teleportation spell and invisibility spell gave her mobility and stealth characteristics approaching him, Viktoriya, and Mary. She was willing to fight with friends, but Tanya suspected her resolve might break if faced with overwhelming force.
If that fear was capitalized on, Yunyun's neck would turn into a spurting fountain of blood when her head was cleaved from her body by a blade, courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie.
Mitsurugi was skilled, capable, and strong… normally. At present, he was under contract with the Yatagarasu, and the more time that went on, the stronger the compulsion he felt to leave town. Until that was dealt with, his capabilities would degrade steadily. His physical health was slightly degraded by the paranoia he'd felt while under the delusion Tanya was a nazi.
If he hesitated, his broken body would fly apart when it hit the ground after being dropped from a mile or two into the air, courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie.
While they didn't know their exact capabilities, Wiz and Vanir were the most powerful personnel they could call upon. Their help would also be the hardest to garner, but they were committed to asking what it would take.
According to Lorelei, Liches were invulnerable in the stories she remembered from her youth, which didn't track with Tanya's experience in Keele's Dungeon. He would have to clarify her weaknesses, because it was hard not to imagine her being reduced to dust by an overpowered beam of heat and light. Tanya's own actions had proven the same could reduce Vanir's mask to less than dust, though he at least had more than one life.
Princess Iris's strength would be a boon in battle, but she had other responsibilities. Attempting to garner her aid in a short amount of time would be a challenge, using her authority to rally others in time to help even more so. From what Tanya remembered, she had also never really been faced with a fight where she may actually lose, leading to overconfidence. Perhaps training with Tanya could cure her of such notions, but they may not have the time.
Tanya did not imagine the girl's uninvolvement in his life in the Empire would prevent the lookalike from being torn to bleeding shreds and whatever was left paraded around as a promise of more and worse for Tanya himself, courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie.
Tanya had absolutely no idea if he could call upon anyone in the Crimson Demon Village to aid him in the fight. They seemed to take pleasure in pissing off authority, if their touchy relationship with authorities in Belzerg and their intermittent attacks on the barrier around the Demon King's castle were anything to go by, so trying to appeal based on Tanya's position wouldn't work. However, if he gave them a chuuni enough speech and threw in some inspiring words about spiting an arrogant being that claimed dominion and superiority over everything, including them, he was hopeful he could convince at least a few to come along.
All of them might end up dead from a single bullet or five or twenty courtesy of the Bloody Valkyrie.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he tried to hide the fear crawling through his body when he smiled at Visha. She saw through the mask, but the meeting continued regardless.
"So, if she attacked now, only you and I would be able to fight her directly?" he asked. Viktoriya's face was stormy.
"Hey, Mitsurugi would do it, and I don't see my name up there," Lorelei complained, joking. They glanced at her for a moment before looking back down at the table. "You'd just be another body, Lorelei."
She winced from the sting of the truth she wouldn't contradict. Over the course of the conversation, they'd relayed just what she could do when she put her mind to it.
Still, she tried to reassure them. "Look, Mitsurugi would help you after the trouble he caused, so you just have to fix that problem. Besides, even if they won't last long in a direct fight, you could always have Kazuma's party act as support, right?"
They did nod in consideration. Still, neither were confident in a fight with her without overwhelming odds on their side.
They moved on from their personnel resources.
They had no way to know what weaponry the Bloody Valkyrie had been sent down with, though a rifle, ammunition, and a computation jewel were safe bets.
If she had what she'd used at the beginning of the war, their equipment was leagues better. Their rifles and clothes had been upgraded in the Crimson Demon village, and they had room to improve their gear still, with insets in the stock of their guns for gems still empty. Both of them had adamantite mail shirts. Without a doubt, what they had now would be more effective than the girl's usual equipment.
With more upgrades – mass-produced ammunition courtesy of the mithril foundation, adamantite and mithril bullets to pierce her shields and drain her mana, filling the insets of their guns, a full set of adamantite mail – their capabilities would only grow.
Tanya was loath to consider it, but if a set of mithril handcuffs was made, they would render her without her magic.
Getting them on her would be a challenge, considering they couldn't use magic if they were holding them.
Without any intel on her, however, they did not know what she had. Perhaps he'd given her every weapon she'd had during the war. Perhaps he hadn't sent her alone. Perhaps he'd given her technology from some far-flung future. Gathering intelligence on her, if she wasn't immediately attacking, would be paramount.
Tanya's divine relics were first among the tactically significant weapons they could use against her. While the actual abilities of the necklace and the summoning stone were not useful, the circlet and, obviously, the Type 95 would level the playing field enough that Tanya wouldn't be immediately blown away. Perhaps, if he secured more, they could increase the resonance that seemed to empower the Type 95?
That came with its own problems, of course. When Tanya used the relic, Johanna would come out, which added yet another erratic variable to their plans. Despite the ring he'd gotten from the Crimson Demon Village, Vanir had been able to upset the internal balance enough to bring her to the fore. Acquiring more divine relics would mean the possible return of Johanna's voice to Tanya's mind.
The second of their tactically significant weapons was IMPEDANCE. Tanya had begun work on trying to take it apart, but he was having trouble. He was a soldier, so he knew how to take apart and clean his own weapon, but he was not an engineer. He would take the rifle to the Mithril Foundation and see if they could figure out how it was made, or if that was impossible, then how to ensure it didn't break when they used the aged weapon. Besides the problems with the weapon, however, it might prove a pivotal role in taking her down, considering its supposed ability to take down the Mage Killer robot from the Crimson Demon Village.
The last option was not a weapon, but one of Tanya's spells. While he hadn't spent the skill points to learn the spell yet, he had seen that Undead Mage use Amalgamation all those months ago. If worse came to worst, he could jet off to the graveyard and create some monstrosity to distract her.
"At least we know what we're working with?" Lorelei said as they finished laying out their capabilities. "We're lacking up-to-date intelligence, but otherwise, yes."
Despite the awesome power that had rocked the world with her arrival, and despite his… fear of the girl, Tanya wasn't feeling totally helpless. He wouldn't dare to call any of the information on the board advantages, not without knowing how they compared with her capabilities, but it was a start, at least.
"Alright!" Visha said. "Break for lunch, and then we'll see if we can't convince Vanir and Wiz, hmm?" she asked.
Tanya nodded his assent. "They're the major unknown," he agreed. "After we can be sure about them, we can begin planning the fight. It'll have to be a bit slapdash, without knowing when she plans to attack, but… any plan is better than none at all."
"You don't think she'll try to ally with the Demon King?" Lorelei asked as she stood up and stretched.
Tanya shook his head as he stood. "She was incredibly self-righteous, always going on about the injustice of the Empire or how I killed her father. The Demon King and Being X are obviously aligned against each other, considering he's sending the hero candidates down in order to stop him. If she isn't here by the end of the day, then the Demon King is the only thing likely and able to slow her down."
They continued the discussion into lunch, wondering if either of them would know what happened yesterday that gave them the similar vision, and despite the long odds, working over the information and questions helped Tanya feel confident.
He was confident that they had a chance, at least, a chance which would grow with the aid of Wiz and Vanir.
-OxOxO-
They tried, hard, to accept the well-wishes and congratulations with grace and politeness, but they were far too focused on watching for her.
Both of them were constantly scanning with their observation spells, on every spectrum they had available. Viktoriya's spells were stronger, on account of her pouring half of the skill points she had saved up into increasing the efficiency of those spells at longer ranges, but Tanya compensated with extra mana in order to match her range. The mental effort wasn't especially taxing with their Type 97s, but they were also watching every nook and cranny of every road they used, just in case she tried a sneak attack.
So, Lorelei did most of the talking and thanking, and if anyone commented about their less-than-jubilant mood, Lorelei talked about whatever happened yesterday casting a pall on their mood. An excuse about important governor-related work usually got people to say goodbye and move on.
She was having a bit of trouble comprehending just how strong this enemy had to be, but she supposed that was why she hadn't been trying to take on the Demon King.
"HO HO!" cried the man behind the front counter as they opened the door. "If it is not the tiny man! Moi wonders which thoughts about thine beloved moi should reveal today? There are so many flavors of shame moi would love to dine on, so would thou mind if moi broke into thine raciest of thoughts?"
Tanya's neutral expression broke into a slight frown, while Viktoriya just rolled her eyes. "We're here to ask you a few questions, actually," Lorelei explained, trying not to feel too much trepidation standing in front of Vanir.
She didn't have any fancy shields if he decided to attack them, though he was reformed or whatever. She didn't buy it, but-
The man turned on her. Lacking eyebrows, he tilted his head at her. "Who art thou?"
She glared at the man. "You know very well-"
"Ah yes, the fool who clings ever-harder to the religion that decries thee as unlucky and suffering for thine own fault. Thou had questions for moi?"
Lorelei opened her mouth to retort, but Tanya cut her off. "Yes. Do you know what happened yesterday?" he asked. After a moment's pause and a look around, he added, "Where's Wiz?"
He gestured behind the counter with a straining too-wide grin and outstretched arms. "Moi is having quite the trouble with moi's business partner, blondie who's curious hair can always be seen twitching whenever thee gets annoyed."
Lorelei leaned to look and could see the archmage curled up in a ball, sniffling about trying her best. "Thou wishes for moi to answer thy questions? Why art thou curious? Could it be-"
"Mary Sioux has arrived in this world."
Vanir paused for a moment. Then, the grin beneath his mask grew far more genuine. "Oh? And thou has come to me to ask-"
"What happened yesterday, with the shared vision?" Vanir looked at Viktoriya for a few moments.
He turned back to Tanya. "Moi has looked into thine partner's head. Moi shall inform thee without a price, for the salacious images whizzing arou-"
"Yes?" whimpered the voice from below the counter.
"Not thee," he ground out without looking down. "Moi shall tease thee for thine sexual inexperience later."
Both tensed at that, but Vanir's rush of words kept them from responding. "Some unreasonable number of years ago, Heaven made some mistake, and seven deities were cast into hell. Those deities became the first Dukes of Hell. The Anniversary is the cyclical observance by all that exists of said occurrence."
Lorelei opened her mouth to ask a number of questions about literally every sentence he'd said, but he held up a hand. "Moi has not bothered to remember the sordid details of the affair during moi's millions of years of existence. During the Anniversary, demons and angels and souls from Heaven and Hell and all worlds may move between such places without the usual trouble. Moi could have descended back to hell without losing a life or paying a toll, should moi have desired," he explained.
"Thou may rejoice! That the flea-bitten Wolbach has survived, if the Demon King who contracted moi to help finish his ritual to advertise his location was able to draw in significant numbers of demons and angels. Now," he finished, his grin growing that bit more carnivorous, "Thou enemy from thine last life has come to take thine lives once more. Thou would like moi's help?"
"Yes," Tanya replied simply. "Both of you, in fact."
"Um," Wiz said from the floor. The conversation stopped, and she began to claw her way up to the counter, whose edge she peeked over. "Sorry." She cleared her throat. "If she's not working for the Demon King, then I guess I wouldn't mind helping out a frie-"
"Sack of bones and skin who calls herself a Lich," Vanir spat, expression twisting, "Thou has not recovered the money spent on the one-of-a-kind crystal that translates books, but only into languages one does not know!"
He slapped the back of her head. "Sell thine services as an adventurer! Tis the only thing thou were ever good at."
She stood and spun on him, lightly pounding on his chest with her hands. "Take that back, you meanie! It's not my fault! They were convinced that it could sell-"
"Thou art right," Vanir said snidely. "Thou were not good at adventuring either."
She sniffled, and Vanir turned back to them. "Wiz and Moi would demand a kingly sum for helping thee fight such a formidable enemy."
"What's your price?" Tanya asked. Vanir smirked. "Moi shall become the sole owner of the rights to distribute Mithril Foundation products-"
"No deal. Instead, why don't you help me or I'll report your identity to the authorities?"
Vanir began to pantomime. "Foolish knave who stared slack-jawed at his limp hand in wonderment when he touched his partner's left tit for the first time, thy friend Lalatina's odious father already knows of Wiz. Thy would not undermine thine reputation among our mutual friends."
"Does he know of you?"
The bargaining began.
Vanir was convinced Sioux would be working for the Demon King, and he wanted a lot of money, more if he was going to reveal he was alive to an agent of the Demon King and whoever she arrived with, and he wanted most of it paid up front. Wiz said she wouldn't fight her if she was working for the Demon King as long as she didn't target civilians. Tanya argued the girl wouldn't care about civilian casualties based on their past battles, and that business would be very bad for both of them going forward if Tanya died and stopped providing the Mithril Foundation with ideas.
Vanir claimed his price would only rise if he had to call him at the last minute. Tanya said Vanir liked Wiz too much to let her fight alone in a battle she might lose. Wiz circled back to her working for the Demon King, and that he would undoubtedly warn her that Wiz would retaliate, changing her actions.
Back and forth it went, until, after an hour, some points were agreed upon – they would supply them with explosive potions to make more ammunition, Wiz would teleport around and transmit information during the battle, even if she didn't participate in it, and, assuming she didn't attack immediately, they would procure more supplies – and others were left unresolved. If she attacked today, those questions would have to be decided in minutes. If she didn't, they could be debated over the course of hours and days.
They left, supplies for the explosive powder Tanya had been making for months in boxes, plans slowly coming to fruition.
-OxOxO-
"KAZUMA! The psycho's here."
"Don't call her that, Aqua! If you must insult someone needlessly, then-"
"What are you talking about? He's clearly psychotic."
Kazuma steadfastly refused to acknowledge the voices for one simple, satisfying reason.
It was winter.
He had no obligation to get out of bed. They had plenty of money to cover their expenses for the next few months. Most monsters were hibernating. Using Explosion anywhere not utterly depopulated might hit Snow Sprites and bring about the wrath of the Winter Shogun. Darkness's family was stinking rich.
It was winter, and Kazuma had no desire to get out of bed. There was plenty to do, after all!
He'd used Freeze three times already on various parts of his room in order to watch the ice melt and see how long it took. He had his Game Girl from the Crimson Demon village to play. He could stare at the ceiling and trace the lines in the brick until his mind went numb and blank and he took a nap.
He had a large window to watch people pass by. Dust had been storming down the frozen, snow-covered streets fuming about some happy couple and dragons or something. A religious procession had passed by yelling about the end of the world. That Kyokutei Meanspirit guy in the blue armor had been stumbling around while two girls wearing sexy yet environmentally inappropriate clothing had been trying to guide him somewhere. Yunyun had been sitting in front of their gate like an adorable puppy for a few hours.
"KAZUMAAAAAA!"
The voices could not hurt him. His door was locked with his thief skills. Kazuma was safe and snug under his pile of blankets, steadily warmed by his own body heat. Water wasn't a problem thanks to Freeze and a ceramic mug, while taking a leak wasn't a problem thanks to a few bottles fished out of the garbage.
He could go without food for a while longer – certainly another day, at least. After that, things would get dicey, but he could wait out the voices. They were cold, after all, while he was-
"Kazuma, if you don't come out, they said they'd force you out." He frowned, but he paid the threat no mind. That was illegal.
"Since it is only proper we all come to talk with them, I'll have no choice but to break down the door and suffer the consequences if you don't come out soon." An excited undertone colored the end of her sentence.
That, he believed she would do. Was a few extra seconds worth the manhandling, the broken door, and having to find a punishment that Darkness wouldn't enjoy?
Of course. Besides, the cold weather had given him plenty of time to think of plenty of new things to try on her.
He did not respond, and she did break down the door. Instead of tearing him out of his blankets, however, she just picked the mattress up with him on it. The queen-sized bed shouldn't have fit through the door, but Darkness managed to make it work.
As she picked him up again and began making her way towards the door, he finally poked his head out to stare blank-faced at Darkness. She was red-faced from exertion, yes, but she was probably also imagining what kind of punishment he'd give her for the door.
"Should I tell your father that you broke the door? I wonder how disappointed he'd be in his daughter's propriety and dignity."
That made her pause, in both her steps and her thoughts. He smirked a little at her. "Also, the strength of you and your adamantite abs are proven once again."
She flinched back. He pressed on, his smile growing slightly. "Gorilla woman."
He ducked back into his covers, his face warming once more. That would serve as a good appetizer for the punishment. Maybe he could collaborate with Tanya?
He blinked. Had he just moved backwards? And why wasn't Darkness moving?
He poked his head out, and he found that Darkness had changed her grip on the mattress, with one arm positioned beneath it to steady it while the other was positioned behind, almost like she was preparing to… throw…
"Darkness," he began, voice no longer lethargic, a long and insincere apology on his lips.
The woman paid him no heed. "I'LL SHOW YOU!"
She threw his mattress down the hall, towards the stairs, and as he sailed down, he screamed, "You're proving me riiiiiight!"
BOMBOMBOMBOM-CRASH!
He groaned. "My warmth… my precious warmth…"
"I'll have the Mithril Foundation look into making an air horn so you can wake him more easily," promised Tanya immediately.
"Demon," he replied as the blond quietly began explaining what that was to Serebryakov.
"Would it help me?" the brown-haired woman asked.
Tanya grinned. "Perhaps. Now that all of you are here-"
"Oh, Yunyun. They let you in. Did you enjoy your time outside?" he asked conversationally.
"You KNEW I was out there?" the girl in question blubbered.
"You knew she was out there?" asked the others, astonished, aghast, or angry. Kazuma shrugged. "Well, I didn't want to get out of bed, but I figured if she was still there after twenty minutes, she must have been enjoying herself," he explained. The girl's eyes watered, but Tanya cut off any other words with an exasperated sigh.
His voice was as cold as the stone sticking to Kazuma's sprawled out body. "An old enemy of mine I assumed was dead seems to have appeared with the… event that occurred yesterday. I have been travelling around Axel talking to the people I think would be able to face her. You all are on the short list, and I want to know if I can rely on you to face Mary Sioux when she arrives to kill-"
"Hold on."
Tanya looked down at him, and Kazuma scrambled to stand. As soon as he had, he cleared his throat and asked, "Mary Sue?" he asked, skeptical.
He narrowed his eyes. "Yes. You don't… know her, do you?" he asked, voice dangerous and low.
He shivered… from the cold. Definitely. "Uh, no," he blurted, "but… are you serious? Her name is Mary Sue?"
Everyone stared at him blankly. "Y'know," he said, helpless before their collective gaze, "the trope?"
Still, blank looks met his words. Still he tried to explain. "Like, a character that's ridiculously overpowered and doesn't have weaknesses or whatever?"
Finally, Tanya and Aqua blinked in comprehension. "Oh. Right," Tanya said quietly. "I suppose… her name hardly matters, and her last name isn't spelled like that, anyway."
"How else would you spell it?" Kazuma and Viktoriya asked.
He sighed. "Her name is not spelled S-U-E, as in litigation, but S-I-O-U-X, like the American tribe."
"What's an American?" asked Darkness.
"What's litigation?" asked Aqua.
"Don't tell her what litigation is," Kazuma begged. The last thing he needed was her trying to sue him for not praising her or-
"We're getting off track!" Lorelei said, her voice raised an octave. Tanya shook his head and opened his mouth-
"Anyway, I'm not fighting a Mary Sue. I've got more self-preservation skills than that."
"She has weaknesses."
"Such as?"
"Arrogance. Temper. Aim."
He hummed, utterly unconvinced. "What's in it for me?"
He stared into his eyes, somehow more intense than usual, and then looked at his party. "Well, would you all sit on the sidelines and let me go down fighting against an agent of the Demon King?"
"Of course not! As a Crusader of, uh… as a Crusader, I have a duty to protect the weak and help those in need! You are not weak, but you have come to ask for my aid… and, if the battle were a stalemate, perhaps they'd take out their anger on-"
"As your sworn rival, of course I'll defeat your old sworn rival. How else am I to prove myself, if not by doing something you were unable to accomplish?"
"Um… back in the forest, when Megumin was working up hard, you said we were… were… um! Yes, I'll help fight whoever this 'Mary Sioux' person is. You are, after all, my… my…"
The agreements came in quickly, and while Tanya thanked them each in turn, his gaze returned to Kazuma each time, his eyebrow only rising higher each time. "So?"
"Hmm." Aqua said, drawing their gazes. "Well, I suppose I could help you… for the right price!" Aqua declared. Kazuma sighed, thankful that at least one of his partymates – and Yunyun – wasn't so stupid as to charge into battle with someone named Mary Fucking Sioux. She'd demand something unreasonable and then-
"Praise me! I wanna one-up the old fart!"
Kazuma wanted to punch her in the head… only to realize that it looked like Tanya was actually angry about that. He tamped down on the urge to smack and insult her for acting like an idiot, like usual.
"In what way?" he asked, between grit teeth. His friends looked at her, surprised.
She tapped her chin for a moment. "Oh, you know. Say how awesome I am in comparison to that outdated windbag." Kazuma opened his mouth, now intent on berating her – he was asking her to fight against a Mary Fucking Sue and she wasn't asking him to denigrate himself, or make her the state religion or something? She was getting-
His anger now replaced with merely discomfort, Tanya squared his shoulders. "You are," Tanya began, his friends' eyes widening further, "the best entity to claim divinity I have met thus far. You are… prettier than Being X by my standards."
After a pause, Aqua flashed him a thumbs up. "Good try! It sure wasn't a prayer, and it wasn't praise on the level of my followers or Kazuma, but I'm sure you'll get better eventually. I'll definitely consider it, as long as you think up some more praise."
His fists clenched… but he said nothing, merely turning his gaze to Kazuma with a scowl. "Well?"
"I'm still not that stupid," he said. "And don't praise her so much, it'll go to her head and then she'll stop cleaning the toilets."
His partymates all gave him the stink eye, but he steadfastly ignored them, turning on his heel and gathering his blankets. He was smarter than that.
"She might come after anyone who allied with me if she wins."
He didn't care. If that was the case, he'd just use Lurk and get away. His Luck would see him through, like always.
"Or maybe she'd hold a grudge against anyone who fought against her with me?"
He kept gathering his blankets and pillows. He wasn't that stupid.
"Alright. If you don't think you can't help, I guess I'll just get any old Thief to help."
Kazuma stopped, holding himself still. Then, he pointed an arm back at them. "Steal."
He felt something appear in his hand, and he held it up to the light. "Neat locket. Has it got anything inside?" he asked speculatively. He looked over his shoulder with a smirk-
Kazuma blanched at the pistol held by the small blond man. "Give that back to her."
He narrowed his eyes. "You can't hit me." His Luck was that much higher than-
"Darkness, I'll shoot you in the thigh if you tackle Kazuma and take that back."
His eyes widened. "Wait-"
THUD!
Kazuma groaned. "Gorilla… a gorilla… who became a bodybuilder-"
The locket went flying behind Darkness's head. Viktoriya snatched it and put it back around her neck while the others began to devolve into squabbling.
"You- you cur! Say it again! Say it while I'm choking you, you… you…!"
"Darkness, stop! His lips are turning blue!"
Kazuma, arms pinned by Darkness's legs, grabbed Megumin's nearby leg with a hand and used Drain Touch. She shrieked, and he shouted "Tinder!" and shot a ball of flame at Darkness's face. She reeled back, stunned by the sudden heat and light, and Kazuma grabbed one of his blankets. "Bind!"
It was a poor substitute for a rope, but it did wrap around Darkness's torso and neck for a few moments, further stunning her. Kazuma managed to wiggle out from under her-
"Kazuma, did you hear that? The Athiest honestly praised me! With a little bit of work, I think we can convert her. Can you imagine how much acclaim I will gain for doing something the old man on the throne didn't manage? People will finally see me for-
"You, who dared to deprive me of my ability to use Explosion for today, will SUFFER!"
Megumin jumped on his back and began strangling him again. Darkness untangled himself, and Kazuma fought like a cornered animal as Aqua and Yunyun watched on, one uncomprehending of the chaos and the other too anxious to join one side over the other.
"With the bounty I'll retroactively apply to her, I'll consider your involvement a surety if I don't have you on the frontlines. Have a good evening!" Tanya called out as they retreated from the four-body pileup.
It was better not to get involved in their fun.
-OxOxO-
"So, you're afraid that she'll be too strong for you to handle?" Ignis asked as he set down the paper they'd copied their capabilities onto.
Tanya nodded curtly. Ignis sighed tiredly. "And I thought coming to Axel would be something of a retirement."
Tanya suppressed a wince. "Sir-"
He waved his attempt to backtrack with a chuckle and stood to stare out of the window of the meeting room. "Don't worry, I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to remain as uninvolved as I might have thought with how… peaceful things are around here. My first question is how your plans have changed between when you didn't know she was coming and when you did."
Tanya blinked. "Well… my plan was to travel south and free Mitsurugi from the control of the criminal gang operating through the lands there. Some priests," namely, Aqua, "were able to remove or mitigate the worst aspects of the curse he was set to be afflicted with, but he will continue to feel a pull to swear himself to their service. My plan was to travel south with my party and root them out to ensure a competent and valuable fighter wasn't lost to Belzerg's internal enemies."
He hummed again, not turning away from his view of the gardens. "And what would Axel do in your absence?"
"Walter proved himself able during my last trip, so I think he'd be up for a month or two. I'm sure he's sat in on enough meetings that he can carry out my industrial plans."
Finally, the man turned, his brows furrowed. "Industrial?"
Tanya nodded. "Yes, industry. It is a… mode of work designed for the mass mobilization of labor in order to produce uniform products."
He finally nodded. "Ah, and I presume the guilds chartered in Axel were not pleased with such foundational change?"
Tanya smiled. "Not at all. While I haven't been around long enough to know their full past, their grip on the production of goods and services has given them the political power to stifle what production they don't control, to the detriment of economic efficiency and the war effort."
He sat back down across from Tanya. "Can such a system work? It sounds very… volatile." He was cautious, but not scornful. That was all the opening Tanya needed.
"Of course. There is no specific job for industrial work, but…"
He paused, and then made a few illusions with his Type 97 and a muttered word. Ten nondescript, miniature men appeared on the table between the chair he was seated in and the one Ignis had been sitting in. "Imagine ten blacksmiths spread across the city, each with ten skill points. They need five skills in order to fulfill most of the orders they will get. They can distribute their skill points evenly, or they can specialize, but each of them needs to invest at least one point into each skill."
Five bars of light appeared above each illusory man's head, each of them different lengths. "While safer for each individual, the distribution of skill points is less efficient than if each blacksmith was able to specialize in a single skill." They rearranged themselves, the bars of lights shifting so that only one, far longer, bar of light hung above each head.
"With all of them working on a production line, working on projects together, each can allocate their skill points more efficiently. Ten inexperienced blacksmiths working together will be able to produce much more and much higher quality products than ten inexperienced blacksmiths working alone." Ten other little men stood at the side looking dejected while the original ten celebrated. "Depending on the product and the team, their ability to specialize might allow them to do more and better work than ten experienced blacksmiths." The illusion faded away and he looked back up at Ignis, who was staring at where the illusion had been, thinking hard.
"Their advantages compound over time as they grow more skilled and eat food and imbibe exp."
"And how does one set up a production line?"
"That part will require a good deal of capital investment, which I and Axel will initially provide using the dividends provided by killing the Mobile Fortress Destroyer, as well as from other bounties I've managed to turn in."
"I will also spread the knowledge of how this operation works to other people and organizations with lots of capital, such as the guilds not chartered in Axel, as well as noble families and rich merchants."
"This is all predicated on the benefits of working together outweighing the safety of working alone," he pointed out. He opened his mouth to explain more of his ideas, but Ignis cut him off. "And what about the political chaos created by cutting out the guilds?"
He nodded back at the desk. "They'll be too busy attempting to remain relevant in the midst of the information I'll spread and the refugees, who have less to lose and more to gain by taking risks."
He leaned back in his chair. "And what will you use all the newfound efficiency for?" he asked.
"Over the winter," Tanya said, "we'll create weapons of war from my homeland, adapted for use in Belzerg, like my own guns and the… biggun," he said, trying not to sound disappointed with the word that had caught on, "as well as other useful technology to ensure the ability of the kingdom to defeat the Demon King's army."
"And after defeating his army?" he asked.
"With luck," Tanya said, "they could prove effective against at least a few of the remaining Generals. Certainly, if they're taken by surprise, I imagine dying in a biggun barrage to be a common fate for them. For those that aren't, the forces freed up by the technology advancement would have the freedom to focus on taking down the Generals. If they remained elusive, I would suggest organizing the Hero Candidates into a more unified force that could be deployed to deal with each General specifically."
Ignis frowned. "That rowdy bunch is sometimes very… hard to persuade," he admitted.
"Every man has his price," Tanya replied. "The boons from the efficiency granted by industrialization would free up the resources to cater more specifically to their desires. However, if that angle failed, then the Crimson Demon Cultivation Technique could theoretically build up a force from scratch, though that would take longer."
"Finally," Tanya said, "I and my party, as well as your daughter's party and perhaps one or two more, would be training during all of the buildup in order to grow strong enough to challenge the Demon King in combat, should my homeland's weapons of war be unsuited to finishing him off." That was an outright lie; he was getting that wish.
He chuckled. "So eager to marry into the royal family after just having married your own love?"
Tanya blinked, any retort dying on his lips. What?
Again, he waved away her concern. "Don't worry, neither the King nor I would push to break up a marriage in order to uphold traditions. That is a concern that can wait for later. Now, defeating the Demon King is all well and good, but what are your plans for after the war? Have you considered what you'll do once you achieve peace?"
Tanya blinked again. How was that relevant?
Then, as he pushed past his confusion and considered the question, he realized he didn't actually know, beyond using his wish to finally rid himself of Being X's influence.
"I… am not sure," he admitted. He'd been fighting for a long, long time, and the prospect of finally being able to stop drew a deep, weary sigh from him. "I think I'd like to live a quiet life with Visha. Perhaps I'd fulfill an interesting quest or two, every once in a while, but I think I'd… like to stop fighting."
It was Ignis's turn to blink in surprise, his eyes widening slightly. "Really? You'd do so much work, just to retire?"
He nodded. With money from his investments in the country's burgeoning industry, he could retire and live off of those. Perhaps he could become something of a philanthropist, like those American robber barons and get a bunch of stuff named after himself.
Ignis shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. "I think I understand that sentiment, but it seems we've gone on a bit of a tangent. I believe, even with the arrival of this 'Mary Sioux' that your plan is relatively robust. I'll do everything in my power to support you – I'm not much of a fighter, these days, but the Dustiness family is one of the grand families, one of the most important in Belzerg. I think, if it becomes clear she is either unwilling to engage you while you remain in Axel or that she is being held up somewhere, that you should pursue your plan."
"Leave industry to Walter and I while you travel south to free brave Mitsurugi. Perhaps you could rally the people there to your cause?"
Tanya raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
He smiled sadly. "With how far the lands to Axel's south are from direct threat from the Demon King, they have not been quite so pressed to marshal forces or support the war effort. I believe there are at least some who would feel, with such innovative ideas, that you might have a shot and rally to your cause."
Tanya laced her fingers together, thinking. If she really wasn't going to attack immediately, as Ignis had posited, then sitting around waiting for an attack would only let her grow stronger. With a sigh, Tanya dipped her head. "You are right, I think. If we are to have any chance to defeat her, then playing defensive isn't a viable strategy." With Teleportation scrolls, he wouldn't even be that far from Axel if he was attacked while away anyway.
"If all else fails," Ignis said as they both rose, "I am the Sword of the Kingdom and Shield of the Royal Family, and you made quite the impression on Princess Iris. If we ask and explain the situation to them, they're sure to come to our aid and put the problem to rest."
They shook hands, and Tanya met back up with Viktoriya and Lorelei, and his momentary ease was disturbed again. It was easy to imagine that their chances weren't quite as bad as he'd thought.
It was another to try to hold that idea in mind, when images of the Bloody Valkyrie's work bubbled up in his mind and he considered Visha's life would be on the line.
-OxOxO-
A/N 1: This one is a pretty good chapter, I think. Not exactly a lot of action, but some fun hijinks as well as some necessary preparation for the second half of the story.
A/N 2: If you'd like to donate to support me monetarily, search for Sugarcane Soldier on the website of the Patrons.
Thank you to WarmasterOku, Theewizzz, Afforess, UNSC_Kawakaze, Vee, malenkaya, Saito Tachibana, and GnashingBeef for supporting this story and everything else I write. Make sure to vote if you haven't yet!