6 Words [Chapter 40] Progression Fantasy

Hey peeps!

Here is another single chapter.

"Words of Power" will be the new title for the book when it officially releases! I know it sounds like a certain Amazon show, but apparently this could be to my benefit... >.>

Aethon, the publisher, thinks this is the best title, and that books with the word "power" do better than others, lol

We'll see!

Shami

Chapter Forty

“The Hantha Imperium considers the Tze Empire to be a land of darkness and tyrants.”

- A quote from ‘Varinth’s Beginnings, a History Book’

            I searched for Ryota and Saiki, but fatigue found me first. With my two tiny bottles still filled with life essence, I headed up to the fourth story of the castle to get some rest. Whenever I awoke, I would find them.

            The life essence of multiple evenfall axolotls remained inside of me, ever present like a large meal remains in one’s belly. Once I had slept, I’d also have the powers of the axolotls, and after that, I’d need to find more creatures that could add even more to my essence.

            I stripped my clothing, climbed into my luxurious bed, pushing the silk pillows to the side, and fell asleep almost immediately.

            It was a dreamless slumber, and I awoke to something patting me.

            When I opened my eyes, I realized that spiders have genuine paws at the end of their spindly legs. I had thought they had nothing—I had thought spider’s legs ended in nubs—but instead, I saw a fuzzy paw with two toes touching my cheek and then my nose.

            I had no idea spiders had paws. Normal ones were so tiny, and I had never brought one up close to see, but this new information mildly fascinated me.

            Kumo stood on my bed, his eight black eyes staring down at me.

            “Danger…” His voice came out softly. “An enemy… Approaches…”

            Icy focus flooded me.

            I sat up, shoved the mountain of pillows to the side, and wildly glanced around. My room was as I had left it, but the twin suns were setting, and a blaze of orange light cascaded over everything, casting harsh shadows. Was someone hiding within them?

            “They climb… Up…” Kumo leapt from my bed and scurried over to the secret door that led to my balcony. With one of his spider legs, he tapped on the door.

            “They’re outside?” I asked.

            Kumo rubbed his two front legs together, and I knew it was the case.

            “My siblings… Will poison… All enemies…” Kumo practically snickered his last couple of words.

            When I turned my attention to the corners of the room, I realized the webs were empty.

            Well, that wasn’t true. They weren’t empty. The monster spiders were invisible. They were just waiting for a bug—or an enemy—to arrive so they could pounce.

            Despite the added protection, I wanted to see this enemy for myself.

            I quickly pulled on my robes and then headed for the door. With a twist on the lock, I opened it up and stepped into the short and narrow hall that led to the balcony. Fresh air washed over me, bringing with it a sweet scent of mountain trees. I inhaled, and then stepped onto the balcony, impressed with the craftsmanship of the wooden railing. Everything had been carved to appear like dragon scales.

            The balcony itself was so narrow, only a single person could walk up or down it at a time. The railing went up to the waist, and the roof overhang was so low, it almost touched the top of my head.

            Kumo scurried out onto the balcony after me.

            Smaller spiders emerged from their invisible hiding places, and I suspected the spiders had a little network of communication. That was how Kumo knew someone was outside—one of the tiny ones had informed him.

            I glanced over the railing.

            At first, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. The height caused a knot in my chest to tighten, as I wasn’t used to such a high-up sight. I quickly recovered, and then my eyes fixed on a man scaling the castle. He wore only black, and stuck to the dark shadow cast by the castle itself, moving at a slow, but quiet, pace.

            The strange man was already three stories up, scaling higher, toward my balcony. Was he coming for me? Several daggers were tucked into his tightly-tied robes. What other purpose did he have but death?

            “Kumo, where did he—”

            When I turned to face the spider, I realized he was no longer on the balcony with me. The monster had scurried over the railing, and when I leaned onto to it to get a better look, I spotted Kumo hurrying toward the man.

            “Wait!” I called out.

            I drew the man’s attention. He glanced up. His whole face was wrapped in black cloth except for his eyes. He spotted Kumo when the spider was only inches from him.

            “Arg!”

            The assassin reached for a weapon, but it was too late. Kumo lunged. The monster spider stabbed his fangs into the side of the man’s neck. There was a brief moment of thrashing, when the man tried to fight, but he had clearly forgotten he was on the side of a castle.

            His grip slipped.

            And then he plummeted toward the garden.

            If he had been lucky, he would’ve landed in a pond. But he wasn’t lucky. The man hit on one of the stone walkways, his head rupturing, blood erupting from his skull and painting an unfortunate part of the garden in gore.

            Kumo, clinging to the castle, stared at the body for a long moment before scurrying back to the balcony.

            “Kumo,” I said through clenched teeth. “I wanted the man alive. I wanted to know who he served—why he was after my life.”

            I had only just announced myself as the new Ring Warlock of Wist Castle. Who was already attempting to take my life? Or had this assassin been aiming for Garrain, unaware that the man was already dead?

            Now I would never have those answers.

            “Apologizes…” Kumo rubbed his two front legs together. “He was… Enemy…?”

            “I can’t question him if he’s dead.” I sighed and then shook my head. “But you were right to fight him. He was an enemy, whoever he was. Thank you.”

            Kumo seemed to accept this. However, I still didn’t know much. I’d have to glean answers from the man’s corpse.

*六つの言葉*

            When I made it down to the garden, there was already a crowd.

            The gardener, Hino, was hard at work scrubbing the stones and cleaning the nearby bushes of blood and bile. My bladekeeper, Ryota, along with Saiki, were also in the garden, but that seemed to be causing problems.

            Castle workers had gathered nearby to watch as Saiki tore chunks of flesh from the body and slowly ate them. She plucked skin from the man’s face, licked up the blood from the underside, and then slurped it down her mouth like a man might slurp noodles.

            The people of the castle gasped, and several of them ran toward the gates, likely to tell everyone else.

            “What are you doing?” I asked as I came over.

            Saiki tilted her head. Blood was smeared across her beautiful lips. “You told me I could consume our enemies, did you not? My children said this parasite was crawling on the walls.”

            I glanced over my shoulder at the two dozen people watching her display. They pointed and whispered horrified tales of demons.

            “I was hoping you wouldn’t do it so brazenly,” I said as I returned my attention to her. “I wanted the citizens of this prefecture to trust you. That will be nearly impossible if you’re drenched in blood.”

            Saiki huffed and stood. She used the back of her arm to wipe clean her face before frowning. “Are humans solely obsessed with appearances? Such superficial worries. You’re all as delicate as butterflies.”

            “I think this assassin was probably one of the emperor’s men,” Ryota said, drawing my attention.

            Ryota stepped close to the body and kicked it with one of his sandals. The man flipped over, and his knives were visible. They sparkled in the orange glow of dusk. Were they made of silver?

            “Was the emperor trying to kill me?” I whispered.

            Ryota shrugged. “I suspect the emperor sent this man to spy on Garrain, not you. Or perhaps take stock of the castle and return with a report. Garrain was quite terrible at keeping the emperor appraised of his actions.”

            Hm.

            That would make sense. Garrain has been dead for over a month, and if the emperor wanted word about a specific issue or task, none would’ve been given. However, that meant I had killed one of the emperor’s men…

            “There you are!”

            I turned just as Ketsu flounced his way over. He was flanked by soldiers, and even gave hasty orders to clear out the garden. With their spears in hand, the men did as Ketsu ordered and began ushering the crowds away.

            “Rimon-nox.” Ketsu bowed deeply before me. When he stood straight, he was frowning. “We have a problem.”

            “One of the emperor’s men is dead?” I asked, sarcastic in all regards.

            Ketsu pushed his glasses higher on his nose. “Don’t make light of such things. You see, as the new Ring Warlock, you must present yourself to the emperor within your first season, and typically, also ask his permission to command bladekeepers.”

            “You never told me any of that.”

            “You just announced yourself as the newest Ring Warlock. We hadn’t yet gotten around to discussing a trip to the capital, which is quite costly and time consuming.”

            I returned my attention to the body. Saiki hovered over it with a longing expression. To my surprise, smaller spiders emerged from the garden and began creeping closer to the corpse. The two suns had almost completely set, and now it was dark, but not yet dark enough that their many eyes didn’t glitter.

            “Now that one of the emperor’s men is dead, you might have a lot to answer for.” Ketsu stood a little straighter. “How would you like to handle this?”

            Normally, I wouldn’t have much to say, but this time I had an idea. “Send the emperor a letter informing him that I’m the new Ring Warlock. Explain that his man died on the outside of the castle, fending off monsters.”

            The man looked like he had been ravaged by a hungry dog, thanks to Saiki.

            Ketsu kept his full attention on me, his breath held.

            I concluded, “And tell him that I apologize—I’ll be clearing this prefecture of human-hunting monsters to better serve him and the capital. Then ask for a time for what I can visit.”

            What I needed was to stall, and if I sent the emperor my own letter, I suspected it would buy me time.

            “And send the corpse to the emperor,” I added.

            Ryota glanced at the body and frowned. “Are you… certain?”

            Spiders were swarming around the body in such numbers that they appeared to be black water. They withered about, like ripples in a disgusting pond. Despite that, none of them consumed the flesh. They were clearly waiting for permission.

            I nodded once. “Yes. Send the body and the letter.”

            “I will do so,” Ketsu stated. “But please keep in mind that the emperor is—above all else—a prideful individual. You shouldn’t attempt to snub him for too long. We will have to make a trek to the Ebon Capital and meet with him in his personal city.”

            “I understand.”

            But that would have to wait. If I wanted to make sure no one could force me to bow ever again, I needed to be more powerful than I was now.

            Which reminded me…

            I withdrew the last two bottles of axolotl essence from the belt of my robes. Would these ever turn rotten? I didn’t know how long I could hold onto them, but I suspected they were still useful.

            I handed one to Ryota.

            “This will help you heal faster,” I said. “Drink it.”

            My bladekeeper lifted and eyebrow. Then he popped the stopper and sniffed deep over the lip of the bottle. “This isn’t alcohol.”

            “Does alcohol help you recover?” I quipped.

            He shrugged. “It sure makes me feel like I heal faster.”

            I ignored him and handed the last bottle to Saiki. She sneered as she took it from me, and then did the same as Ryota. When she inhaled, she nearly gagged.

            “This is life essence from a river slug,” she said. Then she handed me back the bottle. “I am a demon. I don’t need this. I can already heal my body from terrible wounds—I feed not only on blood, but also on the grief of familial death. You need not worry about me, my queen.”

            Ketsu frowned so deeply, I suspected someone could see it from the fourth story of the castle.

            He turned to me and silently mouthed, “My queen?” as though bewilderment had stolen his voice.

            Ryota, on the other hand, just laughed. He leaned over the dead body, his sandals in a puddle of blood, and smiled. “You can call me queen all night long.”

            “You’re not worthy of such an illustrious title,” Saiki stated.

            Which then got Ryota frowning.

            I turned my attention to the bottle in my hand. If Saiki didn’t need it, because her demon powers allowed her heal at superhuman rates, who else would I give it to? Then I glanced up, and Ketsu was still staring, obviously disgruntled by Saiki’s title for me.

            “It’s improper,” Ketsu finally muttered. “You should be lord or addressed with the honorific of nox at all instances. It’s the way of things.”

            “You shouldn’t trouble yourself with it.” Then I handed over the bottle. “And you should drink this. It’ll help you recover from terrible injuries.”

            Ketsu took the drink I offered, and just like with Mazun, opened the bottle and drank from it without a second’s hesitation. Did he just trust me that much? Or did he want to just get this over with as quickly as possible?

            After shuddering, Ketsu handed me back the empty bottle. “I recommend you get this castle in order before you see the emperor. You want to make certain that you present yourself as a competent ruler. Otherwise, the emperor might try to strip you of your power.”