Chapter XVIII: Blood Lost

A guard rushes into the barracks.

“Little Master, I bring bad news! Both mistress Betha and mistress Rira have been killed!” she shouts

…What?

A bit of blood drains from my face.

Rira and Betha were my family of this world.

“Bring me to them immediately.” I order

“But little master, the assassins haven’t been taken care of yet…” the guard resists

“Bring me to them immediately.” I order again

I need to confirm… I won’t accept it otherwise.

“...As you wish little master,” the guard sighs as she begins gathering up the guards remaining in the barracks in order to act as my escort.

I hope in my heart that it’s a lie and they aren’t dead.

I’ve only spent the entirety of this life with them so far, after all…

My mood has plummeted to the lowest it’s been in this life.

The guards gather around me. I stand before the doors and order it to be moved.

As soon as the door has opened enough, I quickly step through the door.

There’s a flash of metal coming towards me.

Leave me alone, assassin. I’m pissed off right now.

…You know what?

I flinch towards the metal rather than away from it. It’s the first time I’ve attempted such a thing.

It works, however.

I pull the tiny dagger, which was made custom for me and finally made its way to me while I was waiting, out of it’s sheath, and stab it into the neck of the assassin, who’s shoulder I had teleported right onto.

Lady luck seems to be with me.

I’m more powerful when I’m angry.

Luckier, and much more skillful.

The tiny dagger is small enough that I can drive it deep enough to kill with ease.

I pull it out and flinch back to the ground.

The assassin holds onto their neck and begins to choke on something. Whether it be from lacking air, or their own blood, I don’t know.

I sheathe my blade again.

The guards rush up to me.

“Little master!” one shouts

What?

“Come on, hurry up,” I growl, before walking off in the direction of Betha and Rira’s rooms.

Anger and sadness burn inside of me.

The guards catch up and surround me.

There aren’t any more attacks until we reach the room.

A guard opens the door for me.

I look at the contents of the room in horror.

Betha and Rira’s heads have been separated from their bodies.

The only relief is that it seems to have been done quickly.

…The same cannot be said for the other bodies in the room.

The mistresses that I had previously purged from the household are also here. Well, their corpses are.

Their heads are left next to Betha and Rira’s heads. Their bodies are torn into pieces, dragged throughout the room. Cuts and evidence of torture cover their bodies.

There’s also a blood-covered note.

I pick it up.

‘This is a warning to not be nosy. The Underworld of the Akashi Territory is watching.’

Rage fills me.

So that’s who’s done this?

They will pay.

Pay for Betha and Rira’s lives. With their own.

Who do they think they’ve killed?

What house do they think they’ve messed with?

…This moment in time isn’t the right moment to go hunt them down though.

I drop the note and kneel down in front of Betha and Rira’s heads.

Now is the time to grieve.

“Guards, leave the room.” I order

“But little master, the assassins could still-” a guard starts before I interrupt them.

“Leave.” I order again, this time louder, and in a harsher tone.

I shut my eyes and let my tears out.

…No one this close to me has ever died.

Death has never been part of my life.

They… they are gone.

I admit I’m not even overly close to either, but they’re still the entirety of this world to me.

The sound of chanting comes from around me. “[alanul fliil varul] (Sound Lock Sphere)”

My eyes snap open.

The guard was correct. Assassins are still here.

My anger has clouded my judgment.

“Guards!” I shout.

A high pitched hyena-like laugh rings out from around me.

“They can’t hear you~! I’ve trapped you with my magic, little viscount. You’re mature enough to grieve, dumb enough to not walk into obvious traps, and have enough authority to kick away any protection you would have had! It’s perfect, really.” the man laughs as they step out of the shadows.

They’re tall and lanky, and covered head to toe in black. I cannot even see their eyes. It’s like they're only a shadow.

“Lucky me~ I’m only in middle management, but that won’t be the case for much longer~! Ah, I’ll take great pleasure in savoring this! My promotion is coming!” he shouts in glee

I panic a bit. I don’t think I can handle someone who isn’t a grunt…

No. I have to deal with him. He interrupted my grieving, which I had barely started.

I pull out my dagger.

The man leaps towards me, stopping right before me.

He’s fast!

His own dagger seems to appear in front of my face.

I had missed him pulling it out.

I flinch away from him.

“You have a very useful skill there, dontcha? It won’t help you here though.” He says

He goes right up to me again and slowly drags his dagger across my left cheek.

It’s intentional. He’s just playing with me. He can kill me at any time.

I try to flinch-teleport away but I find myself to be trapped against the wall.

I have no way out this time.

…I need to alert the guards somehow… or at least get them here.

“[iknuu dliin] (Spacial Cut)]” I chant, facing my arm towards the wall

Let’s hope that it makes it through…

The blade, being spacial, goes straight through the wall.

“Trying to alert them still, huh?” he asks “You’re so weak… will it even do anything?”

The door bursts open.

The man clicks his tongue.

“Lucky. I’ll be off then. It’s sad I can’t savor it, but I suppose that’s not too big of an issue. Remember that Blake Powell killed you, once you’re in the afterlife, little boy. Don’t worry, I’ll let you go out with as much suffering as I can. It’s not like the Lady Healer can heal you, I’ve already killed her.”

He stabs his dagger into my stomach, before leaping off.

The pain in my stomach comes in waves, and my vision darkens.

My consciousness leaves me.

Is this how I die in this life?

Maybe the next one will be better.

I’ll make sure the next one is better.