The Stratigos of Dark Magic

Hiraji Jirou walked through the samurai camp. He made his way to where the women of the samurai class were training. Walking over to the woman instructing the others, he asked a question.

"Do you know where Tomoe Tsuruhime is?"

"I do, Hiraji-sama," she answered. "She's over there, training by herself."

"Thank you, Tama-dono," he said.

He went away from them to where one of the women was training by herself. She was 15, the same age as Malleus, which Jirou thought was ideal. Long, black hair hung down from her head. Her brown eyes had an unsettling coldness to them. There was a naginata in her hands and a tachi at her hip. The girl noticed him and bowed.

"What do you need, Hiraji-sama?" she asked.

"Are you Tomoe Tsuruhime?" he questioned.

"I am," the girl replied without emotion. "I am at your service, Hiraji-sama."

"That is very good to know, Tomoe-dono."

The samurai nodded.

"Tell me, Tomoe-dono, have you learned any Grekken?"

She gave him a bow.

"Yes, Hiraji-sama. I have not learned much, but I know enough to hold a conversation."

"Tell me, what do you think of the Remens?" Hiraji wondered.

Tsuruhime stopped for a moment to think. She chose her answer with an incredible level of care.

"The Remens are barbarians. But they are strong barbarians. They outnumber us, and I saw their warriors training. If we were to fight them, I would surely die," Tsuruhime said with a coldness. "But if I die, I will die with honor. And that is better than living in disgrace."

Hiraji held up a hand.

"Let's not get too hung up on dying this early. Tomoe-dono, I do not intend to fight the Remens. Our best course of action is to join them," he stated.

"You are very wise, Hiraji-sama. But will they allow women to fight for them? Not everyone we met will," Tsuruhime replied.

The samurai shrugged.

"I do not know, I am afraid. But that is why I need you. One of the Remen emissaries is a man in the prime of his youth. His name is Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis. He is an onmyoji, but someone his age will be very susceptible to you getting information from him," Hiraji said.

Tomoe nodded.

"Yes, I understand, Hiraji-sama. What information do you need?" she asked with a strange serenity to her.

"Whatever you can get, but the more important, the better," he answered.

"Do not worry, Hiraji-sama," Tomoe said. "I will not fail you, even if it costs me my life."

Hiraji gave her a smile.

"That's a good girl. I wish you luck on your mission," he stated.

After that, Tomoe and Hiraji parted ways. The girl walked out of the samurai camp and made her way to where the Remens were. Two men on guard duty saw her. One of them stepped forward as she came close. He spoke in Grekken.

"Hey, who are you? What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Tomoe bowed as politely as she could. She spoke in Grekken, a part of her hoping it was broken enough that he'd think she was here to attack.

"Hello, Remen man. I am here for a people," Tomoe said without emotion. "The people Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis. I am here for talking to him."

The guards shared a look of confusion.

"Hey, do you think she's a spy or something?" one of them questioned.

"She might be, or the Stratigos might have managed to woo her somehow," the other said.

"Him? But he's such an ass! How could he possibly woo any woman?"

The first chuckled.

"Here's something you should know about women: they don't like nice guys. I mean, that doesn't matter if you're trying to get married, but if you just wanna fuck 'em, it matters a lot," he stated.

Tomoe understood a little bit of what they were saying, but most of it went over her head.

"Can I see people now?" she asked.

"Why do you wanna see him?' the first guard wondered.

"To talk," Tomoe said. "My despot wants join you."

The guards shared a look.

"First off, it's despotēs. Second, if he wants to join us, we'll still need to ask one of our commanders," the second guard said.

"Just give me a moment," the first guard stated.

He walked into the base for a few moments before walking out. Then, the three just stood there awkwardly. Several minutes passed. Things just got more awkward as they stood around.

"So, uh, you despotēs is pretty smart if he wants to join us. You'll have a much better life in the Remen Empire than you ever did living among barbarians," the second guard said.

"Life?" Tomoe did not know that word.

The guard scratched the back of his head.

"Eh, you'll learn that word eventually," he shrugged. "Well, you'll be happy in the Remen Empire."

Tomoe's expression changed. She went from stoic to sad. The girl shook her head.

"No happy. No ever happy," she said, her serene voice replaced with a sad one.

A different sense of awkwardness came over the guards.

"Why not? I mean, you're a good-looking girl. I'm sure your parents could find you a good husband," he stated.

Tomoe looked down. She literally did not know the words to explain what happened to her family. So, Tomoe just stood there awkwardly again. A few minutes passed before a man in metal lamellar went over to the gate. He looked at Tomoe with a cold expression.

"Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis will see you now," he said.

"Thank the kami," Tomoe thought before speaking in an emotionless voice. "Thank you."

The girl was escorted through the Remen camp. She looked around, seeing all the tents of different sizes. Tomoe looked at some men practicing with crossbows.

"Ingenious weapons. The Remens aren't the only empire that uses them, but they're always impressive. With a weapon like that, even a peasant with a few weeks of training can use something as powerful as a warbow. Maybe one of those will take my life?" she thought.

She was led to the largest tent in the camp. One of the guards held out his hand.

"Hand over your weapons. I'm sure Stratigos Demetrius can handle anything you can do, but there's no point in taking a risk like that," he said.

Tomoe nodded. She didn't understand everything he said, but the girl understood the general idea. In the first place, Tomoe didn't expect to be allowed to have her weapons when she met Demetrius. Not that having a naginata and tachi would help her against an onmyoji.

She gave the guards her weapons. One of them nodded and opened the tent flap. Tomoe stepped inside. On the other end of the room, Demetrius sat on a chair in full armor. The stratigos was alone, and he surveyed Tomoe with curious eyes.

"My men told me you wanted to meet with me," he said. "I am Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis."

Tomoe bowed to him.

"Hello, Stratigos-sama. I am being Tomoe Tsuruhime," she spoke without emotion before thinking. "I need to get information for my lord. He implied that he wanted me to seduce this man, so I'll try that."

Demetrius gave her a condescending smile.

"First, you will call me Stratigos Demetrius. My name is not Stratigos-sama. I just told you that," he said.

Tomoe nodded.

"I am understand," she did not fully understand.

"Good. Now, are you here to accept Caesar Basil's generous offer and join the Remen Empire?" Demetrius asked.

Tomoe forced a sly smile onto her icy face. Demetrius' expression turned to one of caution.

"I am here to you Stratigos Demetrius," she answered.

The girl started pulling her chest clothes apart.

"This barbarian won't be able to resist me. Most people, aside from the Yamato, have no self-control," Tomoe thought.

To her complete and utter shock, Demetrius held up his hand.

"Stop undressing yourself," he commanded.

Tomoe put her clothes back in place. Demetrius gave her a look of contempt through narrowed eyes.

"Did you really think I would be so easily seduced? Maybe some barbarian men would fall for this trick, but I am a Stratigos of the Remen Empire," Demetrius stated.

Panic flashed through Tomoe. However, she kept her calmness about her. A part of her felt a sudden flash of respect for Demetrius.

"This man is no ordinary barbarian," she thought.

"I understand that you do not speak much Grekken," Demetrius said. "So, tell me what you want as best as you can. If you really just want to sleep with me, you're out of luck."

Tomoe nodded.

"He seems prideful. Perhaps I can use that against him?" she contemplated.

"A spar. Tell about Remen Empire I win," Tomoe said.

A smug and amused expression crossed Demetrius' face.

"She just wants to hear about the Remen Empire? All she had to do was ask. I wouldn't tell her anything classified. But if she really wants to fight me for it, I might as well show this barbarian the might of the Remen Empire firsthand. She doesn't have magic, and there's no way I would lose to a woman without magic, even if she is trained," he thought before speaking. "Alright. Would you rather us spar with training weapons or our fists?"

Tomoe's expression was stoic.

"I don't think I could beat him in unarmed combat. Weapons are my best chance," she thought.

"Weapons," she said.

"Very well. Stay here," Demetrius nodded.

He left the tent. A few moments later, Demetrius returned with a pair of training swords. The Stratigos gave Tomoe one of them. She tried holding it in both hands, but its handle was too short. So, the girl held it like a knife instead.

"I'm not familiar with one-handed swords, and Stratigos Demetrius is. I'm at a severe disadvantage here. He's probably stronger than I am too," she thought.

"All I have to do is disarm her. She isn't holding her sword right and is weaker than me, so this shouldn't be difficult. Still, I cannot underestimate her," Demetrius pondered.

Normally, their assessments would both be correct.

"Let's begin," the Stratigos said.

Tomoe bowed. Then, she and Demetrius charged at each other. Their blades clashed. Demetrius felt Tomoe's strength. She was not as strong as him, but this was the first time the Stratigos experienced a strike from a woman as strong as her. His eyes widened in shock from her force, and Demetrius had another first:

He felt full physical attraction for the first time in his life.

Demetrius stepped back, not knowing how to comprehend this feeling. Tomoe seized her advantage. She swung her blade at Demetrius. He parried the blow before realizing that he had another sword sticking out of his pants. The boy curled his lower body inward to keep Tomoe from noticing, not realizing in his flustered state that the mail around his hips hid it.

Tomoe saw that Demetrius' stance was off balance. She capitalized on it, knocking the Stratigos' blade to the side and slamming into Demetrius with her body. He fell to the ground. There was a massive blush on his face.

"It's a good thing that we sparred with swords instead of wrestling," Demetrius thought.

As Tomoe stood over him, anger crossed her face.

"You let win," she said.

"There's no damn way I can tell Tomoe what really happened. I'd die of shame," Demetrius pondered before speaking. "Yes, I let you win. I just wanted an excuse to talk about the Remen Empire."

Tomoe's voice filled with cold anger.

"You insulted me."

Demetrius stood up right away. He made as dignified a pose as he possibly could while hiding his groin from Tomoe.

"Your challenge was an insult," Demetrius said. "So, it's fair."

"Maybe I can get what I seek now? I have an excuse," the girl thought before speaking. "We must fight. Real fight. Onmyodo."

Tomoe's face changed to an expression of utter serenity.

"Accept my challenge, Stratigos Demetrius. Fight me in a duel to the death."

A hint of joy pulsed through her heart.

"Kill me."

Demetrius reached his hand forward and flicked her forehead. Tomoe rubbed it. There was a look of anger on Demetrius' face that froze Tomoe's blood.

"Maybe in the barbaric hellscape you're from, duels to the death over insults are acceptable. But you are in the Remen Empire now. Here, dueling has a different name: murder," he said.

"Not let go," Tomoe replied.

Demetrius' heart was thumping so loud that he was surprised Tomoe didn't hear it. The Stratigos wanted to grab Tomoe in his arms, feel her athletic muscles, and kiss her. Instead, he walked over to his chair and sat down.

"If you want to follow me around in a futile attempt to get me to duel you, go ahead. I will not stop you," Demetrius said.

"Just kill me already," Tomoe thought.

She sat cross-legged on the ground.

"We will fight real," the girl stated.

"We will not, but you wanted to know about the Remen Empire, right?" Demetrius asked.

"Yes," Tomoe answered.

The Stratigos leaned back in his chair in a way that he thought made him look cool. He placed his elbow on the armrest and leaned sideways so that his hand held his cheek.

"Well, then. Let me tell you about the Remen Empire," Demetrius said.

Tomoe listened with incredible care.

"My family is the Kallergis family. We are one of the five most important families in the whole Remen Empire. I am the heir to the Kallergis family. Someday, I'll be its head," he stated.

The girl kept listening.

"Caesar Basil, the future Basileus of the Remen Empire, is my best friend. That's right. I have a close personal relationship with the co-leader and future sole leader of the Remen Empire. Well, he'll only be the sole leader until he has a son, but still," Demetrius shrugged.

Tomoe thought he'd transition to talking about the Remen Empire's leadership, but then...

"As Caesar Basil's top stratigos, I am one of the first people he calls in when the Empire is in dancer. Just a few months ago, he sent me to deal with a legendary warlord of the steppe: Tabahn Khan."

That's when Tomoe realized that Demetrius was just going to talk about himself.

"Let me tell you, Tabahn Khan was a brilliant strategist and a warrior who would have unified the steppe. Even most Remen commanders would have struggled with him. But he was no match for my awesome power," Demetries bragged, intentionally exaggerating Tabahn Khan's competence to make himself look better.

Tomoe, meanwhile, didn't know a lot of the words Demetrius was using. She had the dual task of figuring out what he was saying and how much of what he was saying was true.