We jumped into action.

  Sil leapt left and I rolled right, separating as one of the guards flew through the air, his scream cut off as he vanished through the rippling black surface of the doorway.

  There were four guards left. One screamed as the furthest right of the three abominations that had made it into the room rushed him, its tongue flicking out and wrapping around his head.

  The System’s description of the creatures had suggested their tongues were long, but this was even worse than I’d imagined—or seen in my own fight with them.

  Its tongue wrapped all the way around the man’s head like a ribbon, crossing over itself at least three times before it yanked him forward. Razer sharp teeth crunched down on his helm and metal and bone crunched under the pressure.

  Frenetic music filled the air, and I looked over to see Sil drawing his hands back in a motion I didn’t recognize.

  Lightning crackled around his fingertips and then he brought his closed fists together, as if he were holding a long staff. When he separated them, a bolt of bright blue light appeared in the space, resolving into a staff that shimmered with dancing bolts of lightning along its surface.

  Had he always been able to do that or was this something new his encounter with the crystal had given him?

  I didn’t have time to dwell on the question long as the creature closest to me snarled, its tongue whipping through the air, and then it lunged.

  With walls behind and to my side, my only option was to dive toward the beast as it brought its long, curved claws down. I felt one of them dig into my back as my body hit the ground, scrubbing across the stone floor.

  I groaned in pain, both from the claw wound and from the stone I’d just taken to the chest, and rolled to the side as another claw slammed into the ground.

  Sil’s staff smacked into the creature’s head as it reeled back for another go, and it tumbled backward, lightning dancing across its skin, sending flashes of white and blue through the sunken, empty eye holes.

  I had to physically tear my gaze away from the sight as Sil brought his staff in for another hit.

  Pulling myself to my feet, I looked around for a weapon of any kind. I had my abilities, like [Dragon’s Palm] and even [Swift Strike] would work with my bare hands, but against these things I needed something that kept me further from them. I did not want those tongues hitting me.

  I found my answer in the glint of lantern light from a weapon that had fallen to the floor. I scooped it up, feeling the weight of the sword in my hand once more. It was made of that same dark metal from before, like the swords I’d found on the weapon racks outside the captain’s office.

  “That’s imperial property!” One of the guards yelled as he swiped at one of the remaining abominations.

  “I’ll give it back,” I said, swinging it quickly. The weapon felt like it weighed almost nothing. Once more I wondered how the false empress had accomplished such a feat. There was no way the humans had figured it out themselves.

  I ignored the guard as he said something else, the words lost as the abomination he was trying to fend off reached forward with curved claws and dug them into his breastplate.

  He screamed in pain as blood pooled around the claws as the creature lifted him up, bringing his head between its jaws.

  Flames rushed up the blade of the sword, rising from the hilt to the tip. They danced around it, licking at the air as I swung the sword in an arc, fanning the fire. I rushed forward, using [Swift Strike] to kick into the air. My momentum brought me down directly by the beast. I twisted and swung my sword up and through the soft meat of its neck from the back as it bit down on the guard’s head, severing through its face.

  Both bodies crumbled to the ground.

  On the other side of the carnage, Sil finished putting down the creature that had attacked me, which left one more abomination and two guards.

  I watched the final creature rip off the head of a third guard and winced. Make that one guard.

  “Together!” I yelled over the sound of the abomination’s screeches.

  Sil and I moved closer, bringing our bodies side by side. The remaining guard met us there, and the beast began to circle us slowly.

  “If you distract it, I can kill it,” I told Sil.

  “What about me?” The guard asked.

  I shrugged. “Try not to let it grab you.”

  I broke to the right and Sil went left, lightning rushing from the tip of his staff as he shot bolts at the circling creature.

  It took the bait, bounding toward him on shuffling feet. I brought my sword down, point aimed at the back of the abomination and used [Swift Strike] to thrust myself forward.

  A yell like one I’d expect to hear from a soldier on a battlefield erupted from where we’d started and the abomination turned at the last moment, instead settling its attention on the single remaining guard. Its movements were just enough to send me flying past it, the tip of the sword grazing its back before my shoulder slammed into it.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  It squealed in pain and lashed out wildly, a heavy arm battering my side and sending me sprawling across the floor. The sword hilt slipped from my fingers and the blade clattered across the stone.

  Seven hells, I cursed as the last abomination turned its attention on me.

  I jumped to my feet, already calling forth [Dragon’s Palm]. Fire erupted through my body, surging to my hand. I released it and the ball of flames collided into the creature with a hiss of burning flesh.

  It screamed in pain and fled through the doorway, leaving Sil, myself, and the guard standing there. The guard was huffing for breath, and I winced as I turned to take in the room.

  There were at least seven corpses, not counting the creatures. An entire patrol, then, had almost been wiped out.

  “Thank the Seven you two showed up when you did,” the guard said as he stepped forward, black-bladed weapon lowered. He was missing a helm, but I noticed he was wearing black steel armor, too, and a quick glance around the room revealed he was the only one, though I saw several of the dark metal swords.

  Raising an eyebrow, I closed the distance between us, using [Swift Strike] to get in close before he could react.

  My fingers closed around the wrist of his sword hand and I held it tight, forcing it down. His eyes widened as I brought my face close to his.

  “One wrong word and I burn your entire hand off.” The words came out in a hiss. I raised my other hand, flames dancing across my palm. “Why are you dressed in that armor and they aren’t?”

  He glanced around the room and swallowed hard. Sil stepped up beside me and leaned on the lightning staff he’d summoned casually. He kept his eyes on the guard, too.

  “I…It’s standard for all the patrol commanders now.”

  “Where did you get it?” I figured it must have come from the empress, but knowing and thinking were two very different things.

  “It was a gift from the empress. She said it’s going to become standard issue throughout the guard. But right now we have limited sets.”

  “How did she do it?”

  “I…I don’t know. I swear.”

  I brought the flames close to his face and caught a glimpse of a grimace in Sil’s features.

  “I swear,” the man yelled. He dropped his sword as he did, as if giving up completely. The weapon clattered to the stone next to his boots.

  “Very well,” I said, releasing his hand and letting the flames fade away. “Are there more of these creatures?”

  “I don’t think so,” the guard said, his eyes jumping between Sil and I.

  Nodding, I said, “good.” I turned to Sil. “We need to get out of here, now.”

  “I agree,” he muttered, turning toward the door.

  I scooped up the guard’s sword and shoved it into the sheath at his waist.

  “You’re going to be our ticket out.”

  “What do yo—”

  “All you have to do is lead us out. Then we’ll let you run back to your family or whatever you have to run back to.”

  He stared at me for a long moment, as if trying to decide whether he believed me or not.

  “Choices, choices,” I said with a smile.

  “Sure, yeah. Yeah, I’ll help you get out. But you have to promise you won’t kill me.”

  “We have no reason to kill you if you don’t give us one,” I responded, turning my back to him. “Just keep that blade in its sheathe and we’ll consider ourselves on the same side.”

  I grabbed one of the other black steel swords and tightened my grip on it. The man looked like he was going to say something bold like his friend had, but he didn’t.

  Sil’s eyes were now on the doorway, which still rippled with that darkness. “We need to close this.”

  “How?”

  He shook his head and looked to the guard who raised both hands. Shrugging, he drew his staff back and focused on the doorway. Without warning, a bolt of lightning rushed from the end of the staff, colliding with the surface of the blackness.

  Sparks erupted from where it hit and then the doorway let out a gasp of air as the darkness collapsed.

  “Oh, that worked,” he said, as if he didn’t quite believe it.

  I stared at him for a moment and then shook my head and turned to the stairwell that led back down to the fourth floor.

  “Oh yeah,” I said, turning around just before I reached the landing. “What was the deal with the dragon before?”

  We followed the guard down the stairs to the first floor. The building was strangely empty as we moved through it, and the man—whose name was Claude—explained that much of the guard had been pulled away to deal with a situation in the Western Quarter.

  He wouldn’t say what the situation was, and while I thought about threatening him again, it seemed like a bad idea considering there might still be some other guards around. Luckily, we didn’t run into any of them.

  “The dragons came to get the captain,” Claude had explained as we climbed down to the fourth floor. “The Empress had a special detail she wanted him to handle. There have been whispers about his promotion for a while now. Some think he’ll be given full control of the city guard, and not just this barrack.”

  “That’s a lot of power for one man,” I said without expecting an answer.

  Claude shook his head. “Normally I’d agree, but the Captain is a good man. He has the empire’s best interests at heart. He’ll make sure the empress’s will is carried out.”

  I forced my face to remain a neutral, nonchalant appearance, but anger boiled beneath the surface. The false empress was setting up the people beneath her to continue whatever ploys she set into motion. That would make dismantling everything that much harder.

  The conversation continued in much the same way, Sil and I asking him questions about the guard. He was willing to talk, but he never said anything that would really give us much information. Not that I’d expected him too.

  Sil continued to carry that strange staff he’d summoned, using it to prop himself up as he walked, as if he were some ancient wizard from one of humanity’s folk takes about legendary heroes.

  It made me think about the [Hero], and I wondered where he might be in the world right now. What if he was in the city already? Working against me?

  I’d know him if I saw him, wouldn’t I? His face was seared into my mind. I’d never forget it. But what if he wasn’t the same person? What if he came into this world as someone else this time? Things had clearly changed since the last time we’d faced off. So it wasn’t entirely impossible, was it?

  What if he’s someone you already know?

  The question came unbidden and I almost couldn’t contain the spike of fear that rushed through me. I forced my breathing to remain even despite the frantic pounding of my heart.

  That was a terrible thought. One I hadn’t even entertained until this moment. Could anyone around me be the [Hero]? My eyes jumped to Claude’s back as the man led us through the hall of the building.

  I supposed it was possible. Anything seemed possible with the System and the influence it seemed to have on the world around me. But was it likely?

  “Here we are.”

  Claude’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I looked around to realize we were standing behind the building where Sil had let me in before.

  “Probably best for you to sneak out this way. I kept my word; I’ve led you out. But I do have to report this…” He trailed off as if realizing he might have made a mistake. “But I can hold off… give you time to get away. Just, please, don’t kill me.”

  I let out a heavy sigh. “I told you not to give us a reason to kill you, Claude…”

  I reacted before he could do anything, using [Swift Strike] to close the distance and jam my sword up and into his exposed chin. His eyes stared at me, wide, as blood leaked down the blade.

  Behind me, Sil let out a defeated sound as I pulled the sword free, letting the body thump to the ground.

  “We could have made it out,” Sil said as I turned to look at him.

  “Better not to take any chances. The last thing we need is to come out of the sewers into a net of guardsmen.” I left the conversation at that and climbed down into the sewers.

  Patreon to read ahead. We're currently at 9 chapters ahead, though I'm hoping to get some more finalized and uploaded today!

  Ruler of Nightmares: A Psychological LitRPG

  by C. Savant

  A prince rises in blood. A god rises in fear.