The Red Hand
Chapter 414 – Chloe’s Trial (Part 3)

"A wonderful show."Deborian clapped as he slowly rose from his throne, patting Remmy on her head and instructing her to take a seat. "Johan was truly an interesting specimen. Father had high hopes for him, but alas, it would seem his merger with the Ifrit failed to provide him the power needed to defeat you. A pity that he will no longer spill blood, but I suppose that my Father will still be satisfied either way."He said as he slowly moved down the stairs and onto the ground floor of the room, each step seeming to shake the ground below as he walked.

{This guy means business. Every single hair on my body is standing on edge and my heart is pounding in my chest. I had no idea Demi-Gods could be this strong. Is... Is it possible for him to actually be more powerful than a returnee?} (Chloe)

"He was an interesting opponent, but my Myaster has trained me to fight and defeat anyone." Chloe replied as she spun two knives in her hands and took a battle stance. “And that includes you.”

"Undoubtedly you've been trained quite well. And I'll commend your master for producing such a capable pupil."Deborian laughed as the two heavily armored guards from earlier entered the room. “I'm looking forward to testing your abilities myself.”

{It looks like trying to do this one-on-one isn't happening. I may need to withdraw as futile as that may be. Fighting a Demi-God as well as his minions is a losing proposition.} (Chloe)

"Hold yourselves, Brothers."Deborian said, stopping the two guards with a waive of his hand. "Leave this one to me. Ensure that no one disturbs us."

"As you wish, my Lord." The two heavily armored guards stopped in their tracks and bowed their heads before backing away and taking up positions near the door before closing it.=

"Not going to try and beat me down with numbers?" Chloe smirked, internally overjoyed that he'd chosen to duel her. "I suppose you must be confident in your skill."

"I simply believe that one such as yourself should be given the honor of a proper duel." Deborian said as he summoned a large glaive. It was massive, easily two meters in length and its golden form crackled with both flame and divine energy. "As much as I appreciate my Father's work, I find myself enjoying honorable battle even moreso. A good battle before the bloodletting is one of my guilty pleasures and I can think of none who've peaked my curiosity more than you in recent memory." He said as he tapped the butt of the glaive to the floor.

{Is that a Divine Weapon? Halifax did mention that some of her siblings are being used by Demi-Gods. But I thought they couldn't bring them into the material world without permission? Does that mean this guy is acting under orders or...} (Chloe)

"Well, I suppose I'll have to thank you for the chance..." Chloe paused before looking at Remmy, who waived at her with a big smile. "But before we begin, can you answer a question for me?"

"I suppose I can afford you that favor." Deborian replied, gesturing her to ask. "Ask away, and I will answer what I can."

"What exactly is your relationship with Remmy?" Chloe's eyes sharpened as she snapped her attention back to the Demi-God. "You've obviously been treating her differently than the others, and the Cultists seemed to hold her in high regard even before we came here." She'd thought it was suspicious how well she was treated and, by this point, it was clear that something was off about the rabbit kin. Though Chloe had no idea what connection she had to the Demi-God in front of her that would allow her to be treated so well.

"Ah, an understandable question."Deborian replied with a nod that made his armor clank slightly. "I shall spare you the long and frankly unnecessary details, but suffice to say that Remmy is an existence similar to myself. She is a creation of Father's, born of his handiwork and thus special."His words caused Chloe's eyes to go wide in surprise.

"She's a Demi-God?" Chloe asked, unable to hold back the visible shock of his words from forming into an expression on her face.

{I didn't even sense divine power from her! With Halifax and this guy, I can feel it coming from their bodies, but Remmy doesn't have any at all! Is she hiding it? Did she know?!?} (Chloe)

"Not quite."Deborian shook his head as Remmy happily hummed in her seat, kicking her legs over the end and singing a terrifyingly bloody nursery song. "I am a being that term applies to correctly. Yet while Remmy is a special creation of his, she does not share my Father's blood in the same way I do. You see, I was born from the union of a God and a mortal. My mother was a Human and I was born just like everyone else on this world. However, Remmy was created by my Father as one of his Spawn."

"Spawn? What?" Chloe furrowed her brows, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Your confusion is understandable. From time to time, Father will impart some of himself into mortals, creating existences known as Spawn. They are born from his very essence and become instruments of his will. Surely you've noticed her dedication to our Father?"Deborian explained that Spawn were essentially purer versions of Demi-Gods untainted by mortal blood and would embody the Murder God's will in its primal form.

{Dedication? I suppose that would explain why she's so eager to kill for him and join the Cult. But to be created from a God in such a way... It kind of reminds me of-} (Chloe)

"Spawn are incredibly rare, and not even I know when and why Father creates them. During my short lifetime, I've only seen three, including her, and the others went on to become steadfast champions of my Father's will."Deborian explained that he'd only learned of her existence recently and was eager to meet her himself. “Spawn are blessed existances and are treated with our utmost care and respect.”

"So... I suppose that's why she has no memories before coming to this city." Chloe said, realizing that she was likely a recent creation.

{But why here? Why now? I suppose trying to understand the goals and desires of a God is by definition impossible. At least myaster makes what she wants obvious!} (Chloe)

"Precisely. Spawn live normal lives until their power awakens, and after that, they become entirely different people. Nothing remains of the person they once were, which is by design as they have no need of their past." Deborian's words made her think back to Akagi for a moment, noting that there were some similarities between the Demon Lord and the bunny girl.

{Remmy must've killed her family once she awakened. Her power must've made her go mad with blood lust before striking them down and venturing off to find more victims. Sad...} (Chloe)

"A sick creation for a sick God." Chloe hissed, finding the creation of Spawn to be disgusting. "Only a monster like him would sick such creatures on the world and corrupt innocent people into vile things like that."

"I disagree. Spawn are the purest beings in all creation. They aren't inhibited by the weakness that is emotions and they care naught for your mortal vices, nor do they fall victim to your many flaws such as greed and arrogance. They simply exist to fulfill our Father's will."Deborian retorted. "They are an existence that kills, nothing more. I find them enviable."

{Yeah, this guy is just as wacko as the rest of these guys. I thought he was perhaps a bit better, but it's clear his eloquence is merely a mask for what lies beneath.} (Chloe)

"Does that answer your question?"Deborian asked as he spun his glaive in his hand before taking a fighting stance and twisting the weapon so that its shaft ran under his arm.

"Yeah, I think that clears things up, thanks for the intel." Chloe said, a small bead of sweat forming on her brow.

"Good, and now you die."Deborian said as he flashed forward at incredible speed, his glaive slamming into Chloe's crossed blades with a force so great it cracked the very ground beneath her.

*BOOM*

"What ridiculous strength." Chloe said with an exasperated laugh as she struggled to hold back the Demi-God's attack. She'd activated Greater Ability Boost right as he finished talking, figuring that she'd need it in this fight, and was correct. As she predicted the Demi-Godhad her beat in raw power, something that meant going blow for blow with him was a poor idea for a speed based fighter like herself. "I guess I shouldn't be shocked that the child of a God has this kind of power though." She said before twisting her body to the right and sliding the tip of the glaive out of the way before disengaging and leaping away.

{After all, it usually takes other Divine creations to fight Demi-Gods.} (Chloe)

"You're full of surprises yourself."Deborian said as he reset his stance and gripped the shaft with both hands, ready to bring the flaming tip down to strike again. "You're not of Divine make, and yet you took that hit head-on without sustaining any noticable damage. A feat that not many could achieve."He laughed, glad that she didn't die immediately. "I suppose that means I will get to enjoy myself with this battle."

"I appreciate the compliment." Chloe replied as she flicked her hand and made nearly a dozen daggers appear between her fingers. "My myaster trained me well!" She said before throwing the daggers, which were easily deflected by Deborian's glaive.

{Though all that training won't mean much if I get hit by that thing. I have a feeling that it'll do far more than just shatter my bones, not to mention that if it really is a Divine Weapon then it'll be far more power than anything I've gone up against before.} (Chloe)

"This would be the perfect situation to start casting magic, but sadly I don't have the greatest aptitude for it." Chloe muttered under her breath before leaping backward and blending into the shadows.

"If you intend to flee by slipping into the darkness, I'm afraid that won't be possible."Deborian said as his glaive's tip exploded in fire, burning so bright that it banished most shadows in the room and left few for the Cat to hide in. "This place shall be your grave, Cat. The only way for you to leave alive would be to kill me, but that..." He paused as he spun and threw the glaive at a spot on the wall behind him, which caused Chloe to leap out of the shadow to dodge it. "Isn't possible for you."

"Maybe, but I guess we'll have to find out first!" Chloe exclaimed as she tossed several knives at the ground around his feet, each one wrapped in a talisman.

*TINK* *TINK* *TINK* *TINK*

"Charms? How quaint. I've seen such sorcery before, and it's little more than a pale imitation of the real thing."Deborian laughed as he attempted to bat them away with the butt of his glaive, only to find that each exploded upon being touched.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

"Don't underestimate me!" Chloe said as she appeared from the smoke, using her blades to get on top of and pin down his glaive by putting pressure on the center of the shaft with an athleticlly challenging maneuver.

"Your tricks won't save you!"Deborian roared as he met the Cat's gaze. She'd acrobatically positioned herself in front of his face with the rest of her body stretching vertically in the air, feet pointing toward the ceiling.

"Let's see about that!" Chloe said as he pushed her up into the air, causing her to flip backward, and swung with his glaive hoping to use his superior range to skewer the Cat. However, rather than run her through Chloe's body nimbly twisted around his weapon as the same red water-like aura emanated from her body. "Now how about we see just how tough you are!" She yelled as she spun herself and slammed her foot into the side of his head, smashing him in the temple and sending the Demi-God flying across the room before proceeding to land safely herself.

"Yow..." Chloe yelped as she landed. "Hitting his helmet with my foot... Owch... Let's try and avoid doing that too many times." Striking the metal helmet of the Demi-God sent reverberations through her body and made her feel as if she'd kicked solid concrete, it was uncomfortable but caused no real damage. The Cat was well aware that her single attack hadn't done much, though it was evident that Deborian had taken at least some damage himself from that attack.

{At least it seems that I might have the mobility advantage in this fight. But still, I need to play this one carefully. One wrong move...} (Chloe)