Volume 9 Chapter 8 The First Emperor and the Eternal Witch Cartera ★
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The depths of the labyrinth—once a tomb where countless famed adventurers had perished, so feared that challengers became few—now thrummed with grim vitality.
Tents pressed against each other where only bones and rusted armor had lain. The endless passages were choked with tens of thousands of spectral soldiers. At their center, a towering pyre of raw magic roared, casting a ghastly light across the vaulted stone.
Deep inside, in a chamber vast as a royal hall, a command post had been forged. Ancient banners of the Quvarian Empire hung from the high ceiling, their sigils recalling a glory long rotted.
Seated upon a throne-like chair of black wood was the man known as the First Emperor. His build was unremarkable, yet the generals and witches arrayed about him—each a hero or fiend of renown in life—stood as shadows at his side. None were mortal any longer; each had fallen on battlefields long past, yet now stood again, clad once more in bloodied raiment.
”Good. The army is assembled,” he said softly. His tone was gentle, disarmingly calm.
Beside him, the Eternal Witch Cartera writhed upon his lap. Once his mistress in life, she now returned with raven hair spilling over her bare shoulders, her body moving in shameless abandon, eyes lost in pleasure.
”You remain ever composed, Your Majesty,” rasped Raphastia, the Holy Corpse General.
”Ah, forgive me,” the Emperor replied with an almost tender smile. “It seems each time I take flesh again, passion burns brighter than I expect.”
Raphastia inclined his head. “We, alas, have not regained such hungers. Only loyalty.”
The First Emperor chuckled. “And still you retain self and will after ages in the dark. Wonderful, Raphastia. The title of Holy Corpse General remains undimmed.”
He gestured to the others. A massive man armored in living muscle, Keirald, bowed low. Once a commander in the northern wars, he now lived only as a vessel bound by a magic stone, yet his voice still thundered like iron against shield.
Next, For-Elda, the Magic Bullet General. A woman who had invented cannons wrought of stone and sorcery, famed for annihilating fortresses. Death had stolen her craft, yet now she strained to rebuild it, commanding her soldiers with fierce precision.
”The walls of McGaref endure,” For-Elda reported. “The living reinforce them with stone throwers in number. Yet we hold five witches.”
The Emperor’s gaze slid down to Cartera, still gasping sweetly against him. “Indeed. With her, no wall will stand.”
Keirald nodded, his eyes on her glowing skin, traced with intricate sigils that pulsed with unbearable power. Once the most feared witch alive, her sorcery had shattered armies. Now, reborn, she blazed with something fouler still.
”But,” Cartera murmured with a languid smile, “if I break them too swiftly, where lies the fun?”
”You’re right,” the Emperor answered, lips curling. “We must savor war.”
Talk turned to captives, to whether women would be despoiled, to how they would meet their end. Cartera’s words dripped with love for the Emperor, yet every syllable burned with cruel delight. She had once been courtesan as well as killer; history had forgotten that she could weave massacre with seduction in the same breath.
The generals, too, pledged themselves. None spoke of mercy. None felt the weight of slaughter. For them, the world above was only a field for sport.
Then came news of Princess Sheryl—a living descendant of the Emperor, soon to arrive.
”What to do with her?” he mused, eyes gleaming with madness.
Cartera leaned close, voice like velvet. “Both, of course. Defile her, adore her, and then sever her head.”
The chamber darkened as he laughed. “Why not? My descendants failed. Perhaps I shall end their line myself. If they cannot rule… I will instead end the world.”
The words rippled through the hall like steel drawn from scabbard. The generals bowed, their eyes lit with evil fire.
”Yes,” Grano said solemnly. “With Your Majesty at our head, conquest is certain. McGaref, the surrounding nations, even the seas—we shall devour them all.”
The underworld’s champions bent the knee. Cartera shivered with ecstasy in the Emperor’s arms. The torches guttered. The banners trembled as if in dread.
And in the shadows of the labyrinth, the world’s end was set in motion.
Notes:
• Quvarian Empire – Ruling kingdom. Harsh world, restricted freedom.
• McGaref – Fortress city, adventurer hub.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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