Free Web NovelChapter 232: The Spider and the Empress (9)
The ember that had been roaring like a starving beast suddenly softened into a meek lamb as it brushed against my fingertips. Heat streamed in, scorching and wild. No one needed to explain it. Like a salmon instinctively returning from the sea to its birthplace upstream, the Primordial Ember climbed along my arm and settled itself inside my soul stigmata.
As I watched the flame obey my command and flow into me, the corner of my mouth curled upward. “See? It would’ve been nice if you’d behaved like this from the beginning.”
As though it were a subordinate trembling under the scolding of its superior, the Primordial Ember shivered pitifully. I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. It was actually pretty docile now. I wondered if we would get along now. Or maybe, my power had simply grown so much that it had no choice but to behave.
Regardless, the reason for its current behavior wasn’t important. What mattered was that the Primordial Ember had submitted to me completely. I no longer had to wrestle with it inside my mindscape like last time. I could now absorb it fully, cleanly.
“Haaah!”
That scorching, untamed heat poured in—the fragment of the Demon God’s soul, the so-called divinity.
Melina’s face twisted in raw disbelief, and her voice faltered. “What on earth...”
Shivering like a leaf in a storm, she gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the mace. Then she shook her head violently, as if trying to reject the reality before her. “No. No, that’s impossible. You can’t be a descendant of Ruin!”
I scratched my cheek. “I don’t know who this Ruin person is. I’m a hundred-percent orphan, you know. Never even knew my parents’ names.”
With a shrug, I continued, “So, having someone decide who I’m descended from is kind of awkward?”
Melina’s face contorted with rage. “Y-you!”
Gripping the mace now blazing with fire, she vaulted upward. From high above, she swung the weapon down toward my head. However, with a swift motion, I caught the mace with one hand as easily as snatching a falling apple.
Melina’s face was drained of color. “What?”
Holding her weapon, I whispered, “Devour.”
The Cataclysmic Flame was unleashed, and Ashen Flames unfurled from my body in a circular wave. Gray flames spread across the space, forming an overwhelming domain.
A spine-chilling thrill ran through me. It was a sense of omnipotence, as though I could collapse the world with a flick of my fingers. I understood instinctively that the power coursing through me now wasn’t human. It grazed the realm of the gods.
So, this is what Camellia feels, I thought.
It was no wonder she acted the way she did. It felt like I had stepped away from humanity entirely. Right now, to me, Melina looked like a fragile clay doll that would crumble with the lightest tap.
I tightened my grip, and the mace shattered like brittle glass. Melina stumbled backward in terror. Ashen Flames burst from empty air and wrapped around her.
Her scream tore through the chamber. “Kyaaaaaaaagh!”
I leisurely raised a hand and flicked her forehead with a single fingertip. With just that simple motion, the black flames raging around her vanished without a trace.
“Y-you! What are you?” she asked.
“Haven’t we already introduced ourselves enough?”
With a flick of my fingers, a sword made of Ashen Flames formed in the air. I grasped it and swung toward Melina.
Suddenly, a voice rang out. “Manifest.”
A cascade of seven-colored radiance split the Ashen Flame-filled space. My blade was flung aside and dissolved into motes of gray light.
I turned to the source of the seven-colored glow. “This is?”
Standing atop the stairs leading down to the chamber was Empress Camellia. She descended gracefully, floating as though weightless, landing upon the underground floor.
Melina’s face twisted in panic at Camellia’s sudden appearance. “Y-Your Majesty? How did you?”
But after a moment, her eyes gleamed. “Y-Your Majesty! It’s him! That cadet was plotting to assassinate you!”
Melina’s desperate scream echoed through the chamber. “Think about it! Who benefits the most? Thunder God Lionel! He’s the mastermind behind him!”
Camellia merely watched her in silence.
“I-I saw it myself! He ignited a flame down here capable of neutralizing your blessing, Your Majesty!”
Camellia finally said, “That is enough.”
“Your Majesty, c-can it be that you doubt me, after I’ve served you loyally for ten years?”
“I said, enough.”
The Empress shook her head with a bitter expression.
“Y-Your Majesty...”
Camellia’s gaze shifted from Melina to me. “Step aside.”
“Are you planning to show mercy?” I asked.
She bit her lip hard. “No. I shall end this myself.”
Melina’s voice trembled. “Y-Your Majesty!”
She sank to her knees, bowing low. “I-it was the Demon Cult’s trick! The Archbishop of Ruin manipulated me!”
Camellia remained silent.
“Your Majesty, you remember, don’t you? When you found me, buried in that wreckage.”
“I remember.”
“H-how could I ever betray the one who saved my life?”
Camellia walked toward the kneeling Melina. Lowering herself onto one knee, she gently embraced her. “Melina, I’m sorry.”
“W-what?”
A shimmer of seven-colored light bloomed from Camellia’s hand.
Melina shrieked, “Eek! Let go! I said let go! Damn it, damn it, daaaamn you!”
Melina glared at Camellia with wild, feral eyes. “Even if I die here, you’re going to be ruined! When he comes, he’ll make su—”
Before Melina could finish her sentence, the seven-colored glow wrapped around her. The light burned so brightly it illuminated the entire underground chamber, only to gradually fade. When it finally vanished, Melina was gone, as if she had never existed there at all.
A heavy silence fell over the cavern. Camellia remained frozen in the same posture she had taken while embracing Melina when she unleashed the power.
I said, “You knew, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“That the maid held a grudge against you, Your Majesty.”
Camellia slowly rose to her feet and gave the faintest, barely perceptible nod.
“Then why did you keep her by your side?” I asked.
“Well...”
She had known this would happen someday. Long before it unfolded, she had sensed the inevitable tragedy.
“I do not know,” she replied.
Was it a clumsy attempt at atonement? A meager scrap of pity? Or perhaps, maybe she had hoped, naively, that time would mend everything.
“Your Majesty Camellia! You can’t leave your room in this state!”
“Ah! You spent the whole day lying in that chair again, didn’t you? Even with the blessing of the gods, the court physician said you still need at least thirty minutes of movement!”
“Why do I train so hard? W-well, to protect Your Majesty in the future, of course.”
“Your Majesty Camellia.”
“To me, Your Majesty, you are my savior.”
Camellia’s head dropped low. “I... do not... know.”
She remained silent for a long while before slowly turning toward Professor Baldwin and me. “Thank you. Thanks to the two of you, I’ve uncovered the conspiracies of a traitor.”
We kept quiet.
“I will report this to Headmaster Ryu so you may receive proper compensation.”
As she turned back, her face held the same gentle, unhurried smile she always wore.
“Is that all?” I asked.
Camellia let out a soft chuckle. “Hmm? Was there something else you needed?”
She then shook her head. “If there’s anything else to discuss, we can address it later. I’m tired for now.”
She waved her hand. “Go on ahead. Speak to the knight at the door, he’ll show you to your rooms.”
“What about you, Your Majesty?”
“I’ll tidy up down here before I come up. Honestly, how fiercely did you all fight to leave this place in such chaos?”
The idea of the Empress personally cleaning a wrecked underground chamber was beyond my imagination. Of course, with her abilities, restoring the place would be nothing but a trivial task.
I exhaled deeply and nodded. “Very well. We’ll go up first.”
“Go on.”
Leaving the Empress behind, Professor Baldwin and I climbed the stairs. When we reached the Empress’s room again, I called out to Professor Baldwin. “Professor.”
“You’ve worked hard today. You must be exhausted too, Dale. Go and rest in your room,” she said.
“Professor...”
“It’s gotten dark already. Ah, how about a drink later? We’ve solved quite the incident today.”
She was very obviously trying to change the subject.
I stared at her, then said, “I’m going back down for a moment.”
“Must you?”
“If you tell me not to go, I won’t.”
Professor Baldwin pressed her fingertips to her forehead as if nursing a headache and sighed deeply. “Wait here a moment.”
She shuffled away and returned shortly after with a bottle of alcohol in hand.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Liquor from the kitchen. Take it.” With a grumpy expression, she pinched my cheek. “Honestly, Dale, you’re too kind for your own good. Well, I suppose that’s part of your charm.”
“Ahem!” Hearing that directly to my face made my cheeks grow hot. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Go on.”
Leaving her behind, I headed down to the underground chamber once more. There, I found Empress Camellia sitting on the ground, hugging her knees, quietly sobbing.
It seemed she heard me approach. She looked up with startled eyes. “W-why are you?”
I sighed and sat down beside her. “I figured you’d be like this.”
“You came to comfort me?”
“Something like that.”
Camellia’s voice twisted with frustration. “How impertinent. I am the empress of the Empire. I do not let trivial matters sway my emotions.”
“But you were crying just now.”
Her shoulders flinched. “That was...”
Suppressing a bitter smile, I spoke gently. “When someone precious dies, anyone would be sad.”
Even if that anyone was an empress who ruled over hundreds of millions.
“And from my own experience, it’s better to have someone next to you when you’re grieving.”
When no one had stayed by my side back then, I learned that truth all too painfully.
“You...”
I held up the bottle I had received from Professor Baldwin. “I brought a bottle of alcohol from upstairs. Would you like a drink?”
She just looked at me.
“Ah, though I forgot to bring glasses.”
Were we supposed to drink straight from the bottle?
Camellia let out a disbelieving laugh, then flicked her fingers. Two crystal wine glasses materialized out of thin air. “You dare offer the Empress a drink without even bringing proper cups.”
She held out one of the crystal glasses to me. “Truly impertinent.”
Despite her words, a faint smile played at the Empress’s lips.
