Chapter 8: Kusha's Red Dragon! The Mystery Behind Kanishka!

Previously on My Inferno: Upon reuniting with his brother, Sadow reveals the heated tension between the two! While the rest of the gang meet with the Pheonix Wing or the royal court, Sadow duels and, the following night, reconnects with his brother. Preparations are being made, for it won't be long before the group, along with the entire Brittannian army, are setting sail for the land of Kusha! thumb|300px|right|Opening

The Energetic Evanthiel
"Comeon! You haven't seen the kitchens yet!" Eve had been pulling Pandora's arm for so long, Pandora herself thought it would pop out at any moment. "Eve... We've been to the kitchens three times now... Please... I just want to visit the Library..." Eve giggled "Who wants to visit a boring old place like that? Comeon, I'll show you Randall! This is his working hours!" Pandora raised a brow at her "Randall?"

A young, dark-haired man with amber eyes stood in front of a sink, bubbles foaming in it with dishes piled high on each side of it. He was scrubbing a plate hard when Eve announced from behind "Hiii~!" He jumped in surprise and dropped the plate, shattering it on the ground. "Eve! What did I tell you about bothering me when I'm working?!" She smiled up at him "Oh come now, you love it when I visit!" He frowned down at her "Great... Now I have to clean this up before Administrator Bulton finds out..." Eve sits on a high stool and orders "Make me a sandwich. A Peanut-Butter and Jelly one!" He swept up the broken glass "After I am done." She whined "But that'll take foreveeer~!" Randall sternly replied "Why should I care?" She lectured "Because... I am your Superior Officer AND... your mentor. Now hurry up and make me a sandwich, Rookie!" Randall sighed and walked over the the fridge, turning once to Pandora "You want anything too?" She shook her head "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

As Eve munched on her sandwich, she turned to Randall, who was still trying to do the dishes, and noted "Put a little too much Peanut Butter on it, Rookie." He sighed in aggravation as she continued "But anyway... You're next order is to tour the palace with me and Pantera!" Pandora corrected "Pandora." as Randall turned swiftly, soap bubbles still on his hands "No way! Administrator Bulton would kill me!" Eve smirked "I can relieve you whenever I want. He'll understand."

As they strolled down the hall, Eve skipped along the patterns of the floor, humming to herself. Pandora asked out of boredom "So... you said yesterday that you were Phoenix Wing's powerhouse?" Eve twirled around and nodded at Pandora "Yep. I can store any form of energy I touch in my body and convert it into whatever through touch." Pandora raised a brow "Any form of energy?" Eve nodded "You name it: Thermal, Electrical, Radiant, Nuclear, Luminous... Even Chemical." As she said this, a green leaf glided into the hall from a window perched along the wall. She picked it up and, slowly, it's green pigment turned to a dark, cracked grey. It crumpled, dead, in her hand as she reached with her other and shocked Pandora lightly. Giggling, she continued "I can't quite control the input and output yet. To be honest, I didn't really know all of this until Lord Aki explained it to me~" She turned and continued humming and skipping along as Pandora thought to herself "Lord Aki... She seems to revere this guy." As they reached a separate hallway, Eve hid behind Randall fearfully. Pandora looked to see what was the matter and was curious as to the reason why, at the end of the hall, the door was not only sealed but bound in chains. "Something important must be locked in there." she thought. Randall warns "Keep back from this area. This is where Phoenix Wing's Berserker Division is kept, like animals in a pen." Pandora looked puzzled "Berserkers? Like from the North?" Randall shook his head "We just call them Berserkers because, essentially, that's what they are. Mindless, crazy folk with only rape and murder in their intentions. These are the worste, most atrocious criminals Lord Akihiro could stumble upon. The worste, however, is their 'leader'... Nemesis." Pandora noted how that name was Olympian in origin. She wondered if it was one of her people. Randall continued "When we found him, he had cut down an entire village of people, burning down houses and staking bodies in rows... It was a horrid sight..." Eve whimpered as a loud screaming sound was heard in that room. It was of a young woman, who was banging against the door in a vain attempt to be free of her tormentors. Pandora was horrified by the sound of it. Her screaming was followed by the bloated laughter of maniacs and a loud crashing sound followed. Eve looked away as Randall gravely explained "They... keep hostages they capture in battles. Because we want to keep their loyalty, we let them. We can only pray for the poor souls in there." Another loud laugh was heard as a repulsively disfigured man burst out from the room, the chains restraining the door from breaking completely. He saw them and maneuvered past the chains to get a full glimpse. His mouth leered in an eerie grin, his gums exposed and teeth missing. One of his eyes was beady and hung from where his eyebrow should've been, whereas the other was where it should've been but looked off in a different direction. His gut hung like that of a sow and his arms and legs were patched with red hair. He squealed out "More tender bodies~!" And leaped off toward, his hunched body frightening all three as it moved closer to them. It reached within arms distance of Pandora but stopped as a gagging sound was heard. Pandora had closed her eyes tight when she saw him near her but opened them to find the Kushan Giant from yesterday looming over her, elevating the maniac by his throat. Others inside the Berserker Division saw this and backed away from the exit, fearful of Ares' wrath. He carried the Berserker by his throat over to the door and threw him back inside, slamming the door and breaking it along the hinges so it wouldn't open again unless it were broken down by a force similar to him. Ares turned back to them and gruffed as Eve exclaimed "Ares~!" She ran over and hugged his leg thankingly. Pandora's heart was pounding. This Giant had just saved her from one of the most horrific things she had ever witnessed in her entire life. He was massive and imposing, and even stood taller than Baldr, who had joined them unexpectedly "Are you alright, Lady Pandora?" She nodded shakily. These people will be fighting in the war? They're like beasts, animals driven by an instinctual desire. For her, that was frightening enough.

Love At First Sight
Creed was examining books on training moves for his Lancer Division in the Royal Library. "They will need to be prepared for this Crusade. I'm not sure if Kusha has any Lancers, but if they do they'll probably be extremely skilled. If not, well... every bit helps." As he turned to check the books out, he bumped into a young woman with short, low-cut pink hair and amber eyes. She was holding several journals and a pencil, but dropped them with Creed's books on the floor when they had knocked into each other. He apologized immediately "I'm so sorry, ma'am. Let me help you up." She smiled shyly and took his hand and accepted the offer. "Thank you and... I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention and..." As she went on, Creed thought to himself "She's kinda' cute." She bent down and picked up her pencil and rummaged through the pile to find her journals "Again, I'm so sorry." Creed smiled and picked up his books as well as helping her with her pile "It's no problem, really. The name is Creed." He extended a hand to her and, blushing, she shook it "I am... Charlotte." He craftily kissed her hand while kneeling down on one knee "A lovely name." She turned a bright red from this, holding a hand to her cheek with her fingers covering the side of her face in embarrassment and flattery. He internally chuckled to himself "She's so cute when she's blushing!" She scrambled to pickup her books hurriedly "W-Well... I had better get going. I am doing a report on the war and will be accompanying you on your Crusade." He was thankful. That would he'd meet her again. "Very well. Good day, milady. And I look forward to seeing you on our trip!" She smiled and turned to leave, looking back at him while blushing and smiling before heading out the door. He sighed "What a woman."

The Tale of the Red Dragon
Sadow and Akihiro stood in the war room at night. It was late and the room was empty and cold. Akihiro had lit a candle on the wooden table that held the map of Kusha Ares had outlined for them. Akihiro had miniature metal ships placed on the coast next to the Kushan shore, maneuvering them closer to it and explaining "Our ships will land here." He placed them on the Kushan shore and marked several dots on it "We will, most likely, meet heavy resistance upon arrival." Sadow sipped some Green Tea from a cup. It had been heated by a servant boy who was really rather annoying when it came to conversation "Bring 'em on." Akihiro grimaced "Don't get overconfident, brother. You may be a Yatsumaru, but no one has ever taken Kusha or even come close. Brittannia has definately tried in the past but to no avail. All thanks to... their Emperor. Sadow heard of the Emperor of Kusha before in the History classes of his homeschooling. Apparently, their Emperor was a complete enigma. He asked aloud "Why? Is he powerful?" Akihiro smirked "Powerful would be an understatement. Kusha's Emperor is said to be many things: a god, a Demon, a Devil... But never is he spoken of as Human. It may just be fairytales cropped up from fear by locals but still... to have never been sacked or defeated in any war? That's quite the feat, seeing as how Kusha's most prominent foe, Brittannia, is a world power." Sadow shrugged "Maybe he's just smart." Akihiro nodded while looking at the candle's flame "Maybe... or maybe two-thousand years of ruling a nation starts to grow on you." Sadow's brows lifted slightly in interest "He's been around for two-thousand years?" Akihiro nodded "According to the legends. I have no idea what we will face in Kusha, Sadow. But one thing is for sure: We have to be careful. We may as well be charging into the pits of Hell, for all we know." Sadow asked out of a random curiosity "What's his name? The Emperor, I mean. What do they call him?" Akihiro looked up at his younger brother, his elbows leaning on the table and his face half-illuminated by the candle "They call him the Red Dragon of Kusha. The Sand and Fire god known... as Kanishka." The name itself seemed to grip Sadow's soul for a moment after uttered. It was definately Kushan in origin. Sadow's legs trembled uncontrollably and he did not know why. He took a wooden chair and scooted it to the table and sat down, sipping his drink shakily. Akihiro noticed this and smirked, hiding a chuckle "Don't worry, brother. Odds are against this Emperor even existing. We may just enter and be doing cleanup duty for a bunch of savage peoples." Sadow nodded "Yeah... You're probably right..." Why did the name alone invoke so much fear into him? Was this Emperor really so frighteningly powerful? He took solace in the knowledge that Akihiro may be right. He hoped that this Kanishka didn't truly exist and was just a figment of the imaginations of fearful Kushans.

Burial
The nights in Kusha were so cold. It was almost laughable. The days were long and hot, while the nights were short and freezing. Commander Ordo bundled himself in several robes to keep out the chill, as did his subordinates. He watched on as they used rusty, aged shovels to dig a large hole in the ground. "Twenty feet deep..." he thought to himself "...and six feet wide." Ordo put his cigarette to his lips and inhaled the warm yet bitter smoke. It trailed down his through and through his lungs, giving him a sense that he wasn't really cold. He had hit a nosey lackey across the face for informing him that it wasn't really keeping him warm earlier and trying to explain the ill-effects of smoking. No one would talk back to him like that. Not in his company. His eyepatche with built-in monocles helped him observe the large sarcophagus they were burying. It read, in Kushan "All those who open this are ill-fated to die an early death." An eerie notion. He valued life and did not dare to so much as touch the sarcophagus, having two of his underlings carry it. They were given strict orders to bury it beneath these sands and were even given measurements for how deep and how wide. We had been digging since sunset and continued. They will probably finish sometime midday tommorow. While he would be thankful to be rid of this acursed thing and be payed his sum, he wondered what could possibly be inside that the Emperor himself would want buried so deep and so far from any signs of civilization. One of his younger subordinates, who had been digging for almost three whole hours, demanded "Commander! Please, tell us why we are doing this at least! Let me take solace in the knowledge that we are burying something evil!" Ordo finished his cigarette and dropped it onto the sand, crushing it beneath his boot. He proceeded to walk up to the hole in front of the yelling subordinate. He examined him with both his real eye and the eyepatch-covered one "Take solace, eh?" The subordinate smiled fearfully before being kicked hard in the face. Ordo could feel his nose break upon impact "Do not question the direct orders of the Emperor, scum! Nor the orders of your Commander! Now get back to work before I decide to bury you here too!" The bleeding man nodded and picked up his shovel and got back to work, blood trickling down his nose, mouth, and dripping off his chin. Ordo would see to it that his mission was accomplished to the letter. Perhaps if he worked hard enough, he would get a better position. He watched on as his men laboured and glanced briefly back at the sarcophagus. "Fuck it's cold..."

Preview
Next on My Inferno: Preparations are made for the departure to Kusha! But what is the meaning behind the locket Akihiro gives to Sadow? Has he truly changed from the man he once was? Find out in the next chapter of My Inferno!