Chapter 6:March of the Blood Emperor
1512 Words
Night hung over the estate, thick and suffocating, pressing down with a weight that seemed almost physical. Kairo Renjou stepped into the courtyard—there were no bodies now, but the ground still bore silent witness to the c*****e he’d unleashed the night before. The air was heavy with the memory of violence, and the scent of fear lingered like a shadow. Fresh soldiers lined the walls, backs rigid, faces pale, barely daring to breathe as he passed.
Ryoji hustled after him, struggling to fasten a stubborn strap on his battered armor, his movements betraying his nerves.
“Master! News is out already. If we move toward Lord Kurogane’s lands, they’ll say we’re starting a war!” His words tumbled out in a hurried whisper, anxiety etched into every syllable.
Kairo didn’t even slow down. “Good. Fear gets things done faster than talk ever will.” His voice was cold, a steel edge beneath the calm, and the soldiers stiffened even further at his tone.
From the shadows near the gate, Kaori Ayanami slipped into view, her sapphire-edged cloak swirling behind her like a living thing. Her violet eyes shone with a piercing focus, missing nothing in the gloom. She walked with the grace of someone used to keeping secrets.
“I’ve got intel,” she said, handing over a tightly rolled scroll. “Kurogane’s moved troops to the western ridge—way too close to the Obsidian ruins. He’s changed his deployment since last night.”
Kairo lifted an eyebrow, the faintest hint of amusement flickering across his face. “How convenient.”
“He’s hiding something,” Kaori insisted, her voice tense. “And I think he knows about the masked one. And about you. There are too many coincidences—someone’s feeding him information.”
Ryoji fumbled with his map, hands shaking, nerves plain as day. “If Kurogane’s working with the Obsidian Sect… we’re not just up against a warlord. That cult tried to swallow the whole empire once. The last time, half the capital burned.”
Kairo finally stopped, turning to face Kaori fully, his gaze sharp. “And you figured all this out… how?”
She met his gaze, steady and cool, her chin lifting. “I’m more than a noble daughter meant to smile at parties. I was trained to spot patterns. My family believed information was power, not just marriage alliances.” She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper, “You—need someone who can connect the dots.”
For a second, something gentler flickered behind Kairo’s red eyes—a rare glint of respect, born not of rank but of recognition.
“Then stay close,” he murmured, voice softer, just for her.
A faint blush crept onto Kaori’s cheeks, but she masked it quickly with a sly, confident grin. “That was the plan.” Her eyes held his, full of quiet determination.
Ryoji cleared his throat—loud, awkward, trying to cut through the sudden tension. “So… we’re a team now?” His attempt at levity fell a little flat, but the question hung in the air.
Kairo smirked, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. “For now.”
THE MARCH BEGINS
By dawn, Kairo, Kaori, Ryoji, and a squad of Tsukihana’s best soldiers marched east, boots pounding the earth in disciplined rhythm. The sky was streaked with bloody red clouds, the sunrise a violent smear of color, almost as if it echoed the power seething beneath Kairo’s calm exterior.
People in the villages parted as they passed, whispering urgently under their breath, eyes wide with fear and fascination.
“Is that him?”
“The blood mage?”
“No… he controls everything. They say he commands the storm and the flame.”
Kairo ignored them all, his stride unbroken. He kept his eyes fixed on the horizon—on that creeping darkness he alone seemed able to sense. The weight of his reputation moved ahead of him like an invisible shield.
Kaori, though, caught every whisper, every sideways glance. She fell in beside him, her gaze flickering from the villagers to the road ahead.
“They’re scared of you,” she said quietly, her tone not accusing, but curious.
Kairo shrugged, the movement dismissive. “Fear’s honest. Respect has to be earned.” His words were clipped, but beneath them was a hint of something wounded, something old.
She looked at him, thoughtful, studying the set of his jaw. “You talk like someone who’s been betrayed.” Her insight was sharp, cutting through his armor.
His jaw clenched, just for a moment. She’d hit the mark, but he didn’t answer.
Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, throwing out an arm to halt the squad.
The ground shook beneath their feet, a low tremor rising from the earth.
Birds exploded out of the trees in a frantic storm of wings.
A greasy, unnatural mist began to leak from the forest edge, curling along the ground.
Ryoji froze, eyes wide. “Master… this energy feels wrong.” His voice quavered, the magic making his skin crawl.
Kairo stepped forward, slow and deliberate, the squad falling in behind him. “Because it is.” His senses were alive, the air thick with danger.
Black mist twisted among the trees, coalescing into shapes—ugly, inhuman, barely holding together. The stench of blood and rot filled the air, suffocating, even the bravest soldiers faltering.
Kaori’s pulse jumped. “This is void magic… but it’s unstable. Someone’s forcing it to hold.” She could feel the distortion in the flow of power, the wrongness at its core.
Kairo raised his hand. Blood snaked up from his palm, glowing red and pulsing in the gloom, casting an unearthly light on the scene.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered, his tone brooking no argument.
The soldiers didn’t hesitate—they pressed together, placing their trust in his strength.
Ryoji drew his blades, nerves taut. “Master, what are those?”
Kairo’s eyes narrowed, crimson irises burning.
“Obsidian constructs. Twisted souls given form by forbidden rites. They’re killers—the Sect’s old weapons.”
A shriek ripped through the woods as the creatures burst out—shadows wreathed in burning masks, just like the one Kaori had glimpsed in her nightmares.
She gasped, horror in her voice. “Those things should’ve died with the Sect! They were supposed to be destroyed forever.”
Kairo’s power surged, the air snapping with energy, his aura a storm barely contained. “Someone brought them back… and aimed them at me. This is a message.”
The things lunged, claws outstretched.
THE AMBUSH
Kairo unleashed everything he had.
Blood exploded outward, spinning into a barrier that wrapped around Kaori and the soldiers, gleaming crimson in the half-light. Fire roared from his left hand, a searing jet that incinerated the first wave of monsters. Ice shot from his right, freezing others in place, shards exploding from their bodies. Lightning danced along his skin, arcing out to tear through the next group, the air filling with the scent of ozone and burning flesh.
The world lit up—red, blue, gold, a kaleidoscope of raw magic.
Ryoji charged in at his side, blades flashing. “There’s too many, Master! More are coming from the trees!” The constructs seemed endless, their forms endlessly shifting.
Kaori’s voice rang out from behind the shield, urgent, sure. “They’re healing! You have to destroy the void core! It’s the only way!” She’d studied their patterns, traced the ancient runes.
Kairo flashed a wicked grin, blood dripping from his fingers.
“Good catch.”
He drove his hand forward, shadows swirling. The ground seemed to open, sucking the constructs down as if the earth itself had grown hungry and vengeful.
Then, all at once, he called out, voice booming with power:
“Blood Break: Crimson Oblivion.”
A shockwave of blood magic tore through the forest, smashing into the void cores with unstoppable force, reducing the creatures to clouds of black dust and silence.
Everything went still.
Kaori let out a shaky breath, adrenaline making her fingers tremble. “That was… incredible.” Her eyes shone with awe and something deeper.
Kairo turned to her, cloak snapping in the wind, his expression inscrutable. “We’re close. Whoever’s using void magic is just testing us—probing our defenses.”
Ryoji gaped, sweat running down his face. “Those were just warnings?! If that’s a warning, what’s the real attack going to look like?”
Kairo stared toward the distant mountains, his eyes burning with grim anticipation.
“Lord Kurogane’s waiting.”
“And he’s got company.”
Kaori stepped up beside him, determination blazing in her eyes, jaw set. “Then let’s finish this. The empire doesn’t need another shadow war.”
The wind screamed through the trees, sweeping the black dust away and carrying their resolve into the dawn.Of the fallen constructs.
The march pressed on.
That’s when the blood war truly ignited.
- Writer
