"Wakey-wakey, widdle kitty." Akagi said as she slapped Chloe's cheek lightly. She'd dumped the Cat out from her shadow and wanted her to be part of what was about to happen. “I've got some snacks for you.”

"Ugh... Five more minutes..." Chloe batted away Akagi's hand and rolled onto her side. “Sleeeeeeep, nya...”

"Oh for the love of..." Akagi sighed, questioning why the half awake Cat said nya while in her partially conscious state. "Listen, if you don't get up right now, I'm tossing this nice bucket of freezing cold water I've got on you." She grinned.

"NO!" Chloe shot up instantly upon hearing that threat, fearing the water more than anything else in the world. "Huh? Myaster?" She looked at Akagi with confusion before checking her stomach, expecting herself to be dead. "I'm... Alive, nya? And why are you here?"

"This is the afterlife. You perished in battle and you've come before me to have your soul reaped." Akagi winked. “I shall now judge you. How do you plead for your crimes?”

"Neat." Chloe snickered as she stood up. "Thank you for healing me, nya. I'm sorry you had to save me though..." She said as her ears drooped slightly. “I've failed you...”

"Don't worry about it." Akagi said while giving the kitty some ear scratches. "You did well in taking down that Demi-God. I'm proud of you, Chloe. You've truly become a student that I can be proud of, and trust me what happened here in no way shape or form counts as a failure." At her words Chloe did not respond rather she smiled happily.

"So what's the plan now, nya?" Chloe asked as Akagi ended the ear scratches. "Do you want me to finish off the Cultists? That should be easy enough, nya."

"Indeed, that's what you're going to do, but first..." Akagi pointed to the bunny girl who was still happily sitting in her chair. "We need to deal with her."

"Ah... Yes... The bun-bun..." Chloe said with a wry smile, understanding that Akagi wanted her handled. "Remmy! Come on over here! There's someone you need to meet!" She called out to the happy bunny girl, who ran over with a smile on her face and a shine in her eyes.

"Amazing! You beat them all, Ms. Chloe!" Remmy squeaked as she ran up to them, murder filled joy filling her eyes. "You even killed Lord Korex's son, and then this lady scared him off!" Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at Akagi, though Akagi was not pleased. "Are you the master Ms. Chloe told me about? You're really cool!"

"Hmmm... I appreciate that." Akagi replied while side-eyeing Chloe and telling her to continue.

"Myaster is the Demon Lord, so make sure you give her the proper respect, nya." Chloe scolded her for being so casual with Akagi.

"Ooh! The Demon Lord!" Remmy squeaked. "That's even better! Demon Lord Vikes went on a rampage of blood! He wanted to destroy everything! I'd love to kill for you, Demon Lord!"

{Good bun-bun!} (Chloe)

"Oh? Have you no loyalty to Korex? He is your father more or less." Akagi replied with a look of indifference on her face. “You'd join forces with one who opposes him?”

"Loyalty?" Remmy tilted her head in confusion, not understanding the Demon's point. "I only wish to kill. Lord Korex made that easy, and I respected him as the Murder Lord, but I'm more than happy to kill for you! I see more blood being spilled if you're around!"

"I see..." Akagi shifted her jaw in thought. "Chloe, restrain her."

"Yes, myaster." Chloe replied and instantly tied Remmy up with her wires. "I'm sorry, myaster. She's got a lot of promise, and maybe I can do something about her. You could even try to remove that part of her like you did with Black Company, nya?" She had taken a liking to the bunny-girl but was not a fan of the mindless killing she enjoyed, nor did she think Akagi would appreciate such a thing either and was thus not shocked by the Demon Lords visible displeasure with her. "I'm sure there's something we can do to deal with her, nya. Remmy may even have a bright future in the-"

"Kill her." Akagi's words brought Chloe's rambling to a halt.

"Nya?!?" Chloe squeaked in an inelegant manner.

"Kill her, now. Unless you want me to go thinking your loyalty is in question." Akagi glared at her with a side eye, sending a chill down Chloe's spine.

"Ms. Chloe?" Remmy looked at the cat with confusion in her eyes. "Are you really going to-"

*SNAP*

With a single flick of her wrist, Chloe broke the bunny girl's neck, killing her in an instant and not letting her finish her sentence.

"Good. I knew you wouldn't hesitate to do as I told you." Akagi nodded as Remmy's lifeless body collapsed to the ground. "[Consumption]"

{Not my favorite soul I've consumed, but it will do.} (Akagi)

"I wasn't questioning you or refusing to do as you command. I was just... surprised, nya." Chloe said as she wound her wires back up. "I thought you'd try to find a use for her despite her issues, nya."

"A creature like that has no place in the Clan and I will not countenance its existence in my world." Akagi clicked her tongue in disgust. "She's a murderous being that desires nothing more than to spill blood just for the sake of doing so. As you are well aware it is that creature I hate more than all else. She's little different than Black Gauntlet or so many of the other player killers from FWO, and I will have nothing to do with people like that."

"Its too bad. If she wasn't like that... She may have made a good Ninja, nya." Chloe said quietly, noting that Remmy was quite a promising student.

"Are you upset with my decision?" Akagi asked, understanding that Chloe may have grown attached to her during their time together.

"No, I just feel bad that the girl's life was ruined by that stupid God." Chloe replied. “She probably lived normally until that part of her came out, nya.”

"Well, if it's any consolation I've given him a very nice comeuppance." Akagi smirked as she pictured the hell his mind was being run through at that moment. "I'm sure that right about now he's regretting his entire existence."

"Nya?" Chloe didn't understand the context behind Akagi's words, but knew better than to ask questions she didn't need to know the answers to.

"Never mind that." Akagi said, waiving her off. "I want you to go ahead and finish up the Cult. You are to slaughter every remaining member. After that Halifax and some new recruits will be linking up with you to find my ticket to ending this whole farce. Find Labrys so that I may bring this world fully under my control. This is your most important mission yet, Chloe."

"Rodger!" Chloe saluted. "But what will you do, myaster?"

"A few things." Akagi explained the next stage of her plan. "First, I've got to head on back to Earth for a bit. There's a promise I need to keep, but after that, I'll be tending to a few other miscellaneous matters until I head to the Dwarves. Hopefully by the time I'm done with them you'll have what I need."

"Oh! I heard Alice is leading the assault herself!" Chloe said, her tail swishing happily. "It's too bad you didn't let me help..."

"You've got a far more important job." Akagi said as she poked Chloe in the cheek and patted her. "But before I go..." She motioned for Chloe to kneel, which the cat did without a second thought.

"Chloe, as your master I've had the privilege of watching you go from a kitten into a mighty lioness. When we first met, you were little better than a thug with a knife, but now... Now you stand before even Demi-Gods as an equal.” Akagi smiled. “You've truly surpassed all my expectations, and I couldn't be prouder to call you my student." She took a deep breath before continuing. "And now... Now the time comes for you to choose your future." She said, pulling out the Black Sunrise and running its blade over hand, causing black blood to spill out and pour onto the floor.

"Now, there are two choices in front of you, and know that whichever you choose you will have my full support. On the one hand, you can continue your current path. You you will be much as you are now, a powerful yet mortal leader of the finest band of Ninja this or any other world has come to know." Akagi held up her unwounded hand. "And on the other... You give yourself to me for all eternity." She said as she held out her other hand and allowed her voice to distort.

"Is... Is this... What you gave Zephiria and Silfana?" Chloe asked as she raised her head slightly, her entire body trembling with excitement.

"Indeed. IF you walk this alternative path I offer you a portion of my power, but in exchange, there will be no going back." Akagi replied as her form twisted into writhing shadow. "You will be mine for all eternity, and your soul will belong to me for all time. Once you accept my power, then just like those two..." She smirked, razor-sharp teeth forming where her mouth would be. "Well, I'm sure you understand what it means to make a pact with a Demon. So what do you choose? Do you desire to remain as you are? Untouched by my power? Or do you desire something more? Do you wish for power far beyond that which a mortal could ever hope to achieve? Do you wish to... ascend?"

Akagi's words made Chloe's heart pound from anxiety. It was an unexpected offer, one Chloe never expected to actually be given. Zephiria had been a test and Silfana a special case, but to offer Chloe the same deal as those two meant that Akagi felt her truly ready and worthy of such an honor. Naturally, Chloe was elated to even be considered for such a reward, but she needed to make sure of one thing before accepting.

"If... If I choose to bind myself to you... Will I still lead my people?" Chloe asked. “What will happen to them?”

"You will still command them as you always have." Akagi replied. "But understand that you will no longer be as they are. You may look the same as the other Ninja, laugh, and play like them, but you will be a fundamentally different existence. Chloe, to accept my power means casting aside mortality and embracing something far beyond your current existence. You will stand above and apart from those who share not in my gifts, which may bring you great hardship. So knowing that, what do you choose? Know that I will not think any less of you if you wish to stay mortal, and live out your life as a mortal will. That is your right, your choice." The Demon had no desire to force such a thing on the unwilling and knew that plenty would rather grow old and die rather than live for eternity. Sure many wished to serve Akagi until the very end, but not all desired the commitment that eternal life would require, and many more feared what such a thing meant. As Akagi had told Kana that day in the garden, eternity is truly terrifying a prospect and few are capable of handling what it means to live forever.

"Myaster." Chloe said as she slowly stood up. "It's just like I told you on the day I became the head of the Ondai Clan." She said as she grabbed Akagi's 'hand' and began to lap at the 'blood'. "I will follow you forever."

Saying nothing,Akagi simply smiled as Chloe drank the 'blood, watching in joy as the Cat dedicated her soul to the Demon and damming herself for all eternity. The transformation, no ascension that the Cat underwent was intense, painful, and seemed to reforge her from the inside out as her soul was essentially torn asunder and stitched back together. The Cat endured what felt like an eternity of pain as her very being was shaped by Akagi's power, screaming in agony as the Demon Lord watched, but when all was said and done Chloe had ascended, ascended to a place far higher than she could've ever gone on her own.

_____________________________________________________________________________

*SWISH*

"Ack!" A heavily armored guard screamed as he was sliced in two with a single swipe of Chloe's blade.

"I... Everything feels... Different." Chloe marveled at her power, her newly orange eyes glittering in awe as she imagined what she could with her new found strength. "Myaster... I can feel her within me." She giggled as she hugged herself tightly. "Now we can always be together, nya." She said before taking off and rampaging throughout the rest of the Murder Cult's base, slaughtering every single remaining member with glee, happy to have received the Demon's 'blessing'.