BXBX NOVEL Chapter 71 71 - The Emperor
Laying in a dark alley between two buildings, a young boy in ragged clothes shot his gaze up toward the sky. Dribbling onto him, a drop of rain grazed against his parched lips before strolling down his unkempt chin. Covered in mud and filth, the rain showered his body and even quenched his dire thirst.
"You wanted to see me?" Appearing out of a sparkling blue portal, a man stood towering beside the boy. "What is it? A kingdom in Feral land? Or did they find a lair of one of the demon lords in the Scorchen Gaia?"
Moving his fingers over the lips, the boy shushed the suited man. Stretching his hand outward, he delighted in the sight of water pooling into his palm. Irked by his behavior the man scowled and rolled his eyes in frustration.
"Micheal coronated a new duke, he's rather young don't you think?" the boy mumbled.
Bringing his palm closer to his lips, he drank the water in one swift gulp. As the water trailed down his throat he felt his body being rejuvenated with life.
"He might be, but why does that matter?" Speaking in retaliation, the man forced the boy to finally look him in the eye.
"Perhaps it's just my imagination, but in case it isn't, would you like to keep an eye on that boy?" Glaring at the man with his dead silver eyes, the boy kept staring until the man's indifferent demeanor was broken by an eerie feeling.
"Why? What's so special about this boy?" He asked, nervously adjusting his tie.
Offering no answer to that question, the boy simply turned back to his palms to gather more of the rumbling rain. Enshwored himself in an aura of protection, not an ounce of water had dropped on the man's suit, and to further the conversation without having the boy be distracted, he cast an aura of protection around him as well.
"Razor…" Wearing a frown, the boy turned to look at him again. "The next time you cast a spell on me, I'll have you die a thousand deaths."
Menacingly smiling at the young man named Razor, the boy waited for him to undo the protection spell. Regardless of the cold, a trail of sweat strolled down Razor's head from the warning. Quickly undoing the spell, he let the boy be.
"I'll…be off then," he mumbled, staring at the boy playing with the rain again. "But I can't promise much, especially the duke's life if he's as arrogant as Micheal told us about."
Watching the boy nodding his head, Razor conjured a lightning portal and disappeared right through it.
"I wonder if they'll ever understand what it means to wield true power," whispering to himself, the boy curled into his raggy clothes and closed his eyes to fall asleep. "Haruki Shin…I wonder where I've heard that name?"
***
"Check," Asmodia chuckled, having pushed Haruki into a corner.
"Again…goddammit," Frustrated for losing to her again, Haruki resigned without pushing the game further. "I have better things to be doing right now."
"Don't lie, sweetheart, you were done for the day. I would be too if I had to deal with that blabbermouth drunkard," throughout the game, and even now, she was trying to poke at Moriyana to perhaps dig up something of interest.
"You're just mad that she killed that bat spy of yours," Haruki replied, trying his best to keep his mind distracted from thinking back to the note. "Why did you bring me here again, anyway? Another tea party or something similar?"
After the busy day with Moriyana, he was swept into a dream the moment his head hit the hay. And despite harboring deep contempt towards the witch, he had little choice in the matter but to keep her entertained through a perpetual game of chess.
"Ughh…you know, sometimes you remind me of a snarky little boy with a tongue just as rancid," rolling her eyes, she looked away from Haruki's face and gazed into the abyss.
"Yeah, I doubt anyone would want to put up with you like I do," enraging her further, Haruki kept stabbing her with insults. "The only difference is that I don't have a choice."
"Watch it, warrior…" turning to look at him again, she stared at him intently. "I might not be able to hurt you because of the contract but that doesn't mean I can make you regret every word you speak against me."
Knowing better than to push her further, Haruki let go of the topic and began rearranging the pieces on the board.
"So what do you really want?" he asked, unsure why she was meeting with him so often.
"I don't want anything from you, not this time, instead I have something to offer," her reply left Haruki puzzled.
Raising his head to look right at her, he leaned back into the chair. Wondering if she was plotting yet another trap, he couldn't help but question her intentions.
"Stop doubting me, I'm not plotting anything this time," returning Haruki's gaze, she snapped her fingers and turned the chessboard into a tea set. "I just wanna offer you something, something that might be useful to us both."
Still a bit reluctant about trusting her, he decided to listen to what she had to say first.
"What are you offering exactly?" he asked, picking up the cup before she forced him to.
"As you might already know, I'm of the few remaining demon lords of this world," smiling as she watched Haruki take a sip, she picked up her cup as well. "And even if we're but monsters in the eyes of others, we still need companions and to some degree each other."
"What the hell are you getting at exactly?" Running out of patience, Haruki just wanted to hear the main point.
Closing her eyes she pressed her lips shut to regain her composure. Slowly opening them back up she huffed out a sigh and glared back at Haruki.
"Once it's all over, and I have my army and you have had your revenge," squinting her eyes, she peered right into his soul for a true unfiltered answer. "Would you consider being one of the demon lords?"