The Red Hand

Chapter 491.5 – Connecting the Dots.

"Nothing... Nothing... NOTHING! ARGH!" Tanya yelled as she scanned through reports from their scouts, each telling the same tale. Labrys was nowhere to be found despite how hard they looked and how many favors they called in. "Ridiculous!" She exclaimed in frustration as she pushed the piles of paper off her desk. “How can we find nothing?!?”

{I'm starting to think our people are incompetent!} (Tanya)

"There's no reason to make a mess..." Valuru sighed. He'd been slightly released from his bindings, being now more akin to Shiroe with her underlying personality than overwritten as he'd been before. While this was an improvement, it was still quite an unpleasant existence especially given the fact that he'd been tortured for daring to lay a hand on Imp. "And getting angry isn't going to make it any easier to find Lord Labrys."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?!?" Tanya glared at him. "Lord Labrys is out there somewhere, and yet I can't find a single scrap of information! Our networks have nothing! NOTHING! How is it possible that a system of informants that spans every corner of the world is unable to find even the slightest clue of his whereabouts?!?"

{Even the Demon Lord said her spies can't find him! This doesn't make any sense! Even if he ran out of power and went dormant, we should still be able to find SOME clue about what happened! But we've got nothing to go off of! It's as if Lord Labrys vanished entirely, but I know that's not possible; the spell he cast on me to speak with him telepathically hasn't dissipated so he hasn't been destroyed!} (Tanya)

"Calm down!" Valuru slammed his hand on her desk. "Getting worked up will do nothing to aid us in our search, and when is the last time you've slept? You look horrible. Well, more horrible than usual."

"Who knows? And I'll sleep when I'm dead anyway, so who cares?" Tanya snorted. “And also, fuck you.”

"Well I care, and while you may not believe it, there are plenty of others within the Cult that do as well." Valuru sighed, deciding to just roll with her attitude. "You might irritate me to death, but I don't enjoy seeing you like this." He paused for a moment. "Ever since Lord Labrys vanished, I know you've been in great pain. I may not fully understand your feelings, but I know he's special to you. It's plain as day to all of us that you're the person closest to him in the Cult, so believe me when I say we know that you're suffering."

"So you think me some stupid love-struck maiden too?" Tanya hissed, not appreciating the fact that the Cult now believed her to be 'in love' with Labrys. Oddly enough though, they didn't chastise her for such a thing.

"Love or simple admiration, one cannot deny that you have some deeper feelings for him." Valuru said, his comments forcing Tanya to remain silent since she knew he wasn't wrong. "Look, while I won't claim to understand Lord Labrys' mind, I can also say that he held a certain level of... I suppose I can use the term affection for you. It was barely your eleventh birthday when you found us, and Lord Labrys swiftly took you under his proverbial wing to train your ability and groom you into one of the leaders of the Cult... You were always his favorite, you know. It irritates me to no end to admit that, but its true. He always favored you, and I hate that I cannot deny your ability." She'd guided the Cult through a tumultuous few years and Tanya's efforts helped to shore it up during tough times, especially given the massive war on their doorstep.

"This is a pointless discussion that does nothing but waste time we could be using to look for him." Tanya bit back, wanting to end the conversation.

"Do you think he would want you pushing yourself to the breaking point?" Valuru tried to appeal to her.

"He'd be proud of my commitment." Tanya scoffed.

"He'd call you a fool." Valuru laughed derisively. "A fool who allows herself to get carried away. A fool that is compromising the mission by burning both ends of the candle."

"I am not-" Tanya tried to stand up to smack him, but found her legs unable to bear her weight as she fell to the floor, her eyes burning as the world seemed to spin.

"See? You can't even stand due to exhaustion?" Valuru shook his head. "You're running off coffee and magic supplements. Do you really think you are in any shape to help?"

"Be quiet." Tanya hissed as she tried, and failed, to stand.

"Am I wrong?" Valuru asked, to which Tanya had no answer. "All I'm asking you to do is take a break. Once you recover a bit of energy, then you can get back to work. Your mind will be clearer, and maybe you'll find something useful in those endless piles of reports after stepping away for a bit."

"Why are you suddenly being so nice and helpful? Did Demon Lord Akagi change that part of you?" Tanya laughed, finding it odd that he was so 'nice.'

"Despite our arguments over the years... Our many, many arguments, I don't actually hate you." Valuru sighed. "You are easily one of our best and devoted members, and that's not even getting into your ability to detect souls. Listen, I believe in Lord Vike's mission. I believe that Enoris must be destroyed, its sins wiped away in a fiery blaze that burns it all to the ground." He paused as his face grew dark. "It's taken far too much from far too many to justify its continued existence, and Tanya... You are an important part of making that happen. Personality flaws and all." He laughed.

{You could stand to yell less, and generally could work on being a bit more pleasant of a person. Being an icy rose with many thorns is only enamoring in those cheap novels that amateur writers concoct because they lack talent.} (Valuru)

"You were thinking something rude, weren't you?" Tanya glared at him, seeming to read his mind.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Your lack of sleep is making you paranoid." Valuru shrugged as he helped her up. "That and the lack of a proper meal." He said as her stomach growled.

"Perhaps you're right..." Tanya sighed as she put a hand over her stomach, which seemed like it was ready to consume itself for sustenance.

"I'll continue to go through the reports and follow up with our field agents, so get some rest." Valuru said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Once you've recovered a bit, then we can put our heads together and find Lord Labrys. I think that, together, we can be a much better team."

"Yeah..." Tanya said as she shuffled out of her office. “I won't say thank you... though...”

"That woman drives me absolutely nuts." Valuru said as he finished picking up the papers that she'd pushed onto the floor. "Her devotion to the cause has always been her strongest trait, but allowing her own feelings to cloud her judgment is simply-" He paused as his eyes passed over one of the reports. "What?" He did a double take before quickly rereading what he'd only barely seen out of the corner of his eyes. "This report is from a month ago? Why were..." He stopped before pulling out another document that was dated as being from the same time from the same pile. "And here again..." Valuru said as he slowly took a seat at Tanya's desk, his eyes racing as he read and re-read a series of reports.

{How did we miss this?!?} (Valuru)

"Evindal Ilimoira spotted on the 13th of Martuary in the Confederation's Capital. No other members of the Dawn Order sighted at this time." Valuru said as he read out the report's findings. Such documents were routinely drafted within the Cult, as field agents would record anything unusual during their investigations or missions. "Why was this not escalated further?" He growled in displeasure. "The Dawnmaster being alive should've warranted this being brought to our attention, but that he was so close to Lord Labrys makes such an oversight even more outrageous." He paused as he read through another report.

"Martuary 16th, Evindal Ilimoira sighted again in the Confederation's Capital. The subject seems to frequent a large Noble estate. Infiltration attempts have been unsuccessful; a barrier surrounds the estate and prevents all unauthorized entry." Valuru read off the next report. "Who wrote these reports?" He asked as he checked the documents, finding that the field agent was a low-level cultist spy of no note. "Argh! That's probably why. This guy is operating in a city where nothing ever happens. His supervisor likely slacked on reading these and funneled them up the chain of command without doing any further inquiry." He clicked his tongue in irritation, making a mental note to have a 'talk' with said supervisor later.

"Martuary 25th..." Valuru paused as he checked the date, noting that this report was from the day before Halifax's battle with Labrys and also seemed to be the last one from this field agent. "Subject Ilimoria departed from the Capital yesterday morning by horseback at high speed out the South Gate. Destination unknown. No further members of the Dawn Order have revealed themselves, but through bribery, I was able to ascertain that he is meeting with someone in the Estate. Descriptions from servants oddly seemed to vary. Some described her as a tall woman with blonde hair, while others insisted that she was a short brunette, though while the physical appearance always varied, they consistently described a powerful woman whose gaze caused them to flee on instinct. Some postulated that she was a Demi-God, though as of now, I have nothing to confirm this. Will now attempt direct infiltration of the Estate, expect a report within three days if I am successful."

{What does this mean? Ilimoria meeting with a Demi-God and just happening to depart in the direction of Lord Labyrs and Halifax's battle? An ever changing appearance? Why does that sound familiar?} (Valuru)

"I need to know if this agent succeeded in infiltrating the estate, though seeing as there are no further reports..." Valuru shook his head, guessing what'd became of the man. "They most likely perished, but I need to confirm it."

{Lord Labrys was severely weakened by the battle with Halifax, based on her testimony. Even still, it's hard to believe that he would lose to Ilimoria, but if a Demi-God is involved... No, wait... A woman who takes different form based on who is observing her... It couldn't be...} (Valuru)

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“Yo, Impy Imp.” Akagi stopped Imp as she was about to return to Earth via the portal. “Do me a favor and take this to Kana.” She said before tossing her a medium sized metal box that looked like something clothing would be shipped in.

“What inside?” Imp asked as she tried to open the package, only to find that it wouldn't budge.

“What's in there is a special present for my Sister. I have a note inside that will explain it a bit more.” Akagi explained as Imp continued to try and force it open, failing spectacularly. “Its restricted to my Sister's magical signature. That box won't open and the thing inside won't work unless its used by her. So good luck.”

“When you get into crafting-alchemy?” Imp asked as she continued to try and force it open.

“Last night.” Akagi winked. “But don't worry, you aren't out of a job just yet. This is a special project for special circumstances. So do me a favor and make sure she gets it. I have a feeling she's going to need it soon enough.”