Viceroy of Hell (18+)

The sun had barely risen. Clashes of metals clung and gunshots rang outside. I clambered towards the window in search of the chaos. People rioted.

Or fought against each other. It was a chaos. Doors to houses were kicked down, people were shoved down the platforms. Blood splattered everywhere.

“What the hell is happening?”

Violent thuds knocked my door. It was Rulof, panting.

“Sire, we’re under attack!”

“Where the hell is Sae?”

“Defendin’, but they kept a-comin’!”

My footsteps stomped the plank floor. The lobby was a mess. Broken furniture littered the area. Tens of unconscious, maybe dead, men laid on the floor. Horeln hid the counter, protecting Llera within his arms. Sae stood behind a toppled table, shooting down any attempts to assault them.

“You gotta do something about these landers, Caesar,” Sae said.

“Did Aesel come here?”

“That woman from yesterday?”

“Yes!”

“Never seen her.”

Shit.

“Stay here and don’t let them burn this place.”

Several armed men jumped me on the way out. They froze right where they stood before being cast down the platforms.

Women and children were chased down. Those who get caught were either slashed or tied. Their cries for mercy and salvation rang deafeningly in my head.

Aesel should be fine, right?

Ice wall launched the perpetrators away, separating them from the victims. Those who drew blade against children and women were shot down and kicked off the path.

“Rulof, treat their wounds. Prioritize the children.”

“Got’cha, sire!”

I saved anyone I could along the way. Eventually, the tavern came into view. Armed men fortified themselves, raising spikes along the walls and standing guard behind the windows. The yard in front collected bodies. Anyone that got close added to the pile.

A brawny human stood topless on the roof Two long borestaves armed him, with several shorter ones strapped along his belt. He laughed maniacally as he sniped anyone that attempted to approach.

“The mayor is dead and this town is mine now!” he said, his laughter boomed.

The ice spear I launched pierced through his torso, leaving a gaping bloody hole. He let out a final shriek before tumbling down the roof.

Everyone stopped their business as their attention gathered towards me.

“Is this about the death of your mayor?” I yelled.

A huge wolfman kicked the tavern door open. He wielded two big cutlasses.

“Zey set a fore’ner’s aur nu mayur. Zat ‘cha?”

“You got problems with that, dog?”

He growled, screaming as he charged. I shot an icicle. The idiot’s attempt to slice it failed, earning him a clean hole between his eyes. He followed his boss into the ground.

“Anyone else wants to complain about me being the new mayor?”

Seconds ticked as I scanned for any protests among the crowd. They all dropped their weapons. Those who stood behind the windows retreated.

“Just as I thought. Whether you like it or not, I, Caesar, am your new mayor. Izzat clear?”

They shared awkward glances while some shot me angry or envious glares. Most of the yeses I got came from the unarmed victims.

“Now get your asses back to work... whatever you’re working on.”

Amea’s name came to mind right away. Air brushed against me as I carelessly zoomed past the crowd. Someone called my name but I paid it no mind.

Several armed men stood by the stairs. They juggled the responsibility of making the first charge through the collapsed mansion and past the golems.

“What the hell are you all doing there?” I yelled.

Their arguments halted. “Who even are ‘ya?”

“You can either go back down yourselves or I’ll do it for you.”

“Get a load of this guy—”

A boulder shot up from where they stood, sending them flying. I got too impatient and forgot elemental displacement. Hopefully the stairs wouldn’t collapse.

“Hey Aesel! It’s me! Where are you?”

Aesel peeked behind one of the golems.

“Those men are after me!”

“They’re gone! Come with me!”

“Have you thought about becoming the mayor?”

“Yeah and I accept the offer. Now let’s get the hell out of here cause I’m starving!”

A beautiful smile ran across her face. But she got to careless and slipped. She fell between my arms, her soft tits pressed against my face. A sweet floral scent wafted through my nose.

“You smell good.”

“Thanks…”

Gladly, the inn remained intact. Sae, like the glutton she usually was, feasted on a tall stack of cassava bread. A generous amount of syrup wrapped the tower. She began wolfing it down while unconscious men clattered around.

Rulof and Horeln heaved as they piled bodies to the side. They still had more than half the work left.

“What happened out there?” Sae asked. Despite her pig-like manner of eating, her face was spotless.

“It should be fine now, but I don’t know for how long.”

“Sure,” she said, devouring a whole soggy bread.

“You know, we should take care of these bodies first before we eat,” Aesel said.

“Don’t worry, they’re alive. I just knocked them.”

“Yeah that’s not the point, Sae. Aesel is right, let’s work first.”

Sae’s protest were ineffective. The bodies piled outside the inn. Those who woke up got knocked out again. They kept waking up so I just tossed every single one off the platform. I wouldn’t have bothered sparing their lives if this town wasn’t so desperate for labor power.

Stale bread and re-heated fish soup was served for brunch. Llera was apologetic about missing her early morning cooking duties, but it was understandable.

As usual, the sugar-addicted mermaid broke another universal law. She poured sugar syrup into the soup. Who the hell could ignore that?

“Sugar doesn’t go well with soup, Sae.”

“I’ve always wanted to try this! You have no idea how rare human food is.”

I shushed her, leaning closer to whisper. “Is that why you attack ships?”

“No… sometimes, maybe. Mind you they tend to attack us first.”

“So I can assume it’s just you, then?”

“Just me what?”

“Eating like that.”

“What are you implying, Caesar?”

I shrugged.

Something else sweet caught my attention. Horeln and Llera exchanged intimate smiles and touches. That, too, was difficult to ignore.

“So what’s with you two?” I asked.

“We’re uh, we’re lovers.”

I felt proud for him, though.

“Good for you!” I said, raising a cup.

“Well, it’s thanks to lady Aesel, really. I didn’t have the courage to ask her out…”

Aesel, who sat beside me, gave me a wink.

Hold on...

Oh, so that was how she knew about the blacksteel.

“You’re the one who spilled the beans, eh?” I told Horeln.

“What does that mean, master?”

We wouldn’t be sharing a table if Aesel was unaware of the blacksteel. But then again, Farisle was a small town and rumors traveled fast. It was my fault for docking that boat full of mythical items right in front of the public.

It wasn’t the best place, but I held my first meeting as Farisle’s mayor on the same table we ate from. The topic was obviously the town’s status quo.

The first thing I asked Aesel was the management style of Farisle. The town was technically autonomous. So, the mayor did whatever he desired as long as he fulfilled his obligations to Goldenwheel.

Farisle also imported other produces. Other than spice, local tropical produce, and dried fish, I was surprised to find out a sugar cane plantation existed in this island. It produced barrels of unrefined sugar annually. Each barrel was directly shipped into the mainland for refinement and distribution.

However, the plantation belonged to Goldenwheel. Its workers worked directly under the company. They owed zero taxes to this town, but the mayor remained obligated to protect them.

“Whoever’s managing this Goldenwheel sounds like he’s not serious about it,” I said.

There was probably a recent change in management. The new manager probably realized Farisle required so much time and money investment for it to pay off. Otherwise Farisle would’ve prospered well within the thirty years of its existence.

Or they just treated Farisle as a passive income generator that required minimal input.

“Goldenwheel mainly deals on the mainland,” Aesel said, “and since their influence reached as far as Almarad, they probably think it’s unprofitable to bother with a remote island.”

Aesel provided the map I asked for. Good thing Llera kept a lot of them around.

A’lmarad sat far to the west, along the outskirts of a vast desert region called Shar’harrud that spanned from the north all the way to the south of the continent.

Goldenwheel was a trade empire that spanned almost half the entire continent. Who in their right mind would go against them?

“I want one too,” I said, running my fingers on the map. Everyone’s curious attention fell on me. I cleared my throat. “I assume the collector arrives here with a ship expecting to go home with a full hold?”

“Yes, and we ensure they’re treated very well. They are, after all, representatives of Goldenwheel.”

Less than half the liquor casks survived the collapse. If I worked everyone hard enough, we could probably produce a whole ship’s worth of dried fish and local produce.

“And I ain’t giving them shit.”

Aesel was astonished. “Are you mad?”

Not like Goldenwheel could do something against me, anyway. Farisle was weeks of travel away by ship. I had mermaids on my side – well, I might have to ask Agaphonet for permission first. Even without them, I was confident enough to sink ships with my tentacle and water magic.

Unless they could fly on dragons or whatever, there was no other way of reaching us.

As this town’s mayor, everything in these islands belonged to me and no one else. I’d be the one putting the efforts of managing it, and I’d also be the one reaping the results.

This was the mark of my beginning as the viceroy of this world.

Sae was startled at my sudden whisper. “Can you take on a whole ship?”

She snorted. “How many do you want me to sink?”

I smiled. “Just asking.”

I returned my attention to everyone.

“Alright, I’ve made a decision. Everything in this island now belongs to me, the mayor. Only I can decide what to produce, when, and where. No one else will make the calls other than me.”

Horeln and Rulof reacted positively. Sae didn’t give a shit. But Aesel was horrified.

“But that means going against Goldenwheel?”

“Yeah, so?”

Aesel sighed. Her cold fingers wrapped my wrist. “Can we talk alone?”

We left the others and went into a corner.

“I know you’re powerful and so is your serpentine companion, but we’re up against a company spanning half of all Corocea. And I’m sure you’re aware of their friendly relations with the Illuminants?”

“Relax, we’re in the middle of the sea. Trust me, I can handle them.”

It was a lie. I had no idea what kind of power they had at their disposal.

Aesel grabbed my hand.

“I don’t know why… but somehow, I feel like I can trust you.”

“Don’t trust my word. Watch me act.”

She smiled. “Fine, I will trust you. You’re Farisle’s mayor, and I will follow whatever you tell me from now on.”

I refused to drop my guard. Aesel remained shrouded in mystery, and for all I know she might be loyal to Goldenwheel. But she was so tempting, especially her pale, plump lips. They begged to be kissed.