Chapter 16: Hello Neighbor!

We marched through the streets in silence.

There weren’t many people in this part of the city. No jobs in the old docks, no real houses either. All that was left for people was a place to stay if they had nowhere else to go. Of course, they took one look at the murder lizard padding menacingly at my side and found somewhere they had to be quickly enough.

I took in the crumbling walls of old warehouses and other buildings. No wonder a ‘gang’ of six people could hold this section of the city; there wasn’t anything to hold, much less take. Really, why would anyone want to be the ‘ruler’ of this little patch of dirt?

Stupid question, there was always some would-be tyrant eager to extend his petty reach. God, it hadn’t even been twenty minutes and this place was already making me maudlin.

And people wondered why I preferred the company of robots.

“How much farther?”

Rel leaned forward at my question. “The people I talked to said people were busting down doors a little further south. Where the houses start.”

I nodded. “In other words, the only place with something actually worth stealing.”

“Exactly.”

It didn’t take much longer for us to find the Tarnished. I spotted the small group of men the moment we rounded the corner.

They were dressed better than the Scars had been, with distinctive metal armbands that marked their allegiance.

I was hoping for silver but was unsurprised to see mostly unadorned iron. How typical.

Two men, barely more than boys really, stood in front of one of the bigger houses. One had a pickaxe clutched in his white-knuckle grip.

The other was struggling in a headlock.

“I suppose negotiations didn’t go all that well.”

“’Bout as well as they went with us, Boss,” Dee said.

“Well.” I ran a hand through my hair. “We’ll see about that.”

The small group of Tarnished looked up as we came closer. The man holding the boy glanced towards his boss for a second, before shoving his hostage onto the ground and pulling out a mean looking dagger.

I took a moment to look over their levels.

Those two were the two highest levels of the bunch, with another handful of the same thrown in. And of course, at their head,

The Bale Blade, a young man with a long ponytail, saw us first, and moved to head us off.

“Gentlemen!” I placed my hands on my heads. “What exactly are you doing here? On my turf?”

The man crossed his arms. “Heard this place belonged to the Scars.” He grinned sharply, resting a hand on the sword at his side. “Or it used to, before I moved in.”

I sighed. “Like you moved back in with your mother?”

He snorted. “Think you’re funny, huh?”

“Please, I know I’m hilarious.”

The man flicked his sword from its sheath. “And who the fuck are you, anyway?”

“Why, I’m the new proprietor and this is my territory!” I waved my hands. “So, I suggest you go fuck in the off direction before I take care of you myself.”

The man glanced over his shoulder, jerking his head towards his squad. One or two of them eyed the demon at my side, warily, but they moved forward all the same.

I sighed. “Maybe one day people will start actually listening when I warn them.” Internally, I was already forming my first Summon Demon. By now, I had a feel for the spell, enough that I could skip the annoying middleman, so long as I knew what I wanted.

The other man just laughed, rolling his wrist. “Got a name?” He started walking forward. “You know, before I cut that tongue out of your pretty little face.”

“Hmmm. You can call me Empress.” I smiled at him. “Or you will, when you’re groveling at my feet.”

“Get her!”

The thugs charged. I waved my hand, summoning a half a dozen of my old standby, the hobblefiend.

Turns out Soul increased mana capacity, who’d ‘a thunk it! Thank god I put some points into that before this whole mess.

My gibbering army of demons launched themselves forward, with Blue only a second behind. I let out a satisfied grin as my little demons took down the first two criminals with ease. Then I turned to look at the rest of my entourage with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you going to make me do all the work this time as well?”

With bellowing laughs, Dee and Dum surged forward, flicking out their nightsticks. Rel ducked her head. “I helped last time.” Then she was running forward as well.

The two boys in front of the house stood paralyzed as well. They could stay out of the fight and I’d count it as a favor.

Ding

System Messages

You have slain a Thug lvl 8

For defeating an enemy twice your level, bonus experience has been awarded

Oh, there went the first one.

I was just about to call it an easy victory when the Bale Blade leapt forward with a roar, spinning through the air until his saber looked like a solid disk of metal.

He twirled like a top, cleaving through my hobblefiends as Blue trilled and danced back in fear.

I blinked. I felt like I was missing something obvious.

A second later he spun to a stop, and I smacked my fist into my palm. “Of course!” The remaining fighters paused, glancing over at me with various expressions of surprise and shock. “You’re named after that children’s toy, aren’t you?”

The man blinked, before glaring. “I’ll show you a—”

“Demon-itize!”

He threw himself into a roll as my bolt tore through the air. It smacked into one of the thieves, and the man shivered for a moment before popping as a slightly larger, uglier hobblefiend clawed its way out of his corpse.

Ding!

“You’d think I’d get more used to it.” I stepped to the side as a stray bit of blood sailed through the air next to me. “But really, it’s just excessive, isn’t it?”

“Get back!” I flinched; a wave of wind cut through the air right in front of my face. My eyes flicked over to Rel in surprise, but she wasn’t looking at me.

I spun just in time to see her cutting words slam into the Bale Blade’s sword, throwing off his stab. It scraped along the inside of my cloak, cutting a rent in the fabric.

I jumped back, hands coming up as a bolt of darkness formed around my fingers.

The man froze. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his head.

I held my hand steady. If I missed, he’d cut me down in a second.

But if I didn’t miss…

Well. I could always use another demon or two.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the rest of the Tarnished pressed into a tight knot, fending off my demons and my followers. Rel was tied up dueling with the highest-level thug, her low level coming back to bite her despite her rare skills.

A real stalemate then.

I gathered a second spell in my other hand, mana once again dripping down to near zero. Damn, I wasn’t used to being the one with the stamina problem. The Bale Blade dug his feet into the ground, no doubt lining up for another spin.

Then I whipped my hand to the side and fired.

Pressed together as they were, the Tarnished couldn’t even attempt to dodge my spell.

One of them screamed as he—

Well.

I’ve said it plenty of times already, haven’t I?

Instead, I kept my focus on the last man in front of me. He cursed, eyes flicking back and forth between the fight and me.

Then he threw his sword.

“Fucking—”

I ducked to the side, bolt of inky blackness firing from my hand, but he was already running. My spell splashed across the wooden wall of a house and the Bale Blade vanished into an alley a second later. I shook out my hand, hissing softly.

Holding onto that skill really started to sting after a second.

I stayed watching for a moment longer, only turning when the first of the system messages began to push against my subconscious.

No second level up, but Demon-itize did go to level 2, netting me five more stat points.

With a sigh, I lowered my hand, turning back to the scrum in the middle of the street. The rest of the Tarnished were in a pile on the ground, Dee and Dum standing vigil over them. Whatever demon that had been birthed from that mess had apparently been trampled in the fight itself.

I looked to my boys. “Is there anything I should be aware of, regarding the injured?”

Dee shrugged. “Not unless you want to ransom them back, boss.”

I quirked my lip. Then I turned towards the house that had started this whole encounter. An older woman had come out of the house; she ran her hands through one of the boy’s hair, fretting over him. Maybe I was being hypocritical, but…

“Finish them off.”

I was never one for loose ends.

A quick glance over my shoulder found Rel. She stood over the body of the man she’d been fighting, a bloodied dagger clenched between trembling fingers. There was a gash on the inside of her arm.

That made me sigh. I’d hoped for longer. It was easy enough to tear a strip of fabric off of my already ripped cloak. Rel’s eyes snapped up when I wound it around the gash in her arm.

Her mouth worked soundlessly.

“You did well.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can you hold it together, for just a little longer?”

If not, I’d send her back with one of the boys. But it would be better if we showed no weakness.

I could tell she understood. A moment later she nodded.

“Just stand behind me, and… try not to faint.” I favored her with a small smile. “I did, my first time.”

It was over quickly, but then, most fights were.

Rel gave me another shaky nod, falling into step behind me as I moved to the family. I saw people peeking out of windows and doors as I came to a stop in front of them. The eldest one pushed his younger brother behind him, looking up—well, down but we don’t talk about that—with hooded eyes.

“We ain’t got nothing for you.”

I rolled my eyes. “If I was looking for something, it wouldn’t be here.” I placed my hands on my hips. “Now listen up, all of you!” I turned my head, looking up and down the street. “This area, the whole territory the Red Scars used to hold, is under my protection. If you have any problems with outsiders, come find the foundry in the center of the old docks.”

The boys shared a confused look. “There’s… no foundry over there?”

I smiled. “There is now.” With a satisfied nod, I turned and started walking. And with a snap of my fingers the rest of my… gang fell in step behind me.

I ran my fingers through Blue’s mane almost without thinking, my smile growing wider.

Empress had always been a solo act, back on earth. I’d never bothered with organizations, or territory. At first, I’d been too raw to think about the future. Then I’d made the conscious decision to cut myself off from everyone. For their safety and for mine.

But despite all of that, in this new world, well…

It felt good to be queen.