Year 2: The Scorched Remains - Chapter 9

Hi everyone, TheGrompFather here.

I thought it prudent to put a small disclaimer or warning here at the start of this chapter due to the contents of the final scene of this chapter (a scene involving Amen) which I understand may be uncomfortable for some to read. If you do not wish to read that scene, then please do not - I would hate to upset or trigger anyone reading The Children of Eris, but please understand that it is part of Amen's character and his motivations, and not an attempt at glorifying any acts he commits (it is only referenced not directly shown).

Thank you for your understanding and I hope you enjoy the chapter:

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The Demonic Legion was just under three thousand strong.

With their armour and weapons all fully forged, the unit was ready to fight the Demon Emperor’s enemies.

Of course, there were those among the court, the emperor included, who feared that the legion could turn sides and join the rebels, which is why Abaddon was to lead the Demonic Legion on their first assignment in the north-east.

Their armour was made of heavy iron plate, difficult to move in and difficult to fight in, their weapons were swords, axes, bows and spears, and each carried shields regardless of their weapons. Some, like the spearmen, held tower shields; others had smaller, circular or triangular ones.

Each man and woman in their ranks had gone through hellish training to reach this stage, and they had witnessed the strength of the Dread Knights and Demon Emperor’s generals personally.

“It’s important that they understand how strong we are and how weak they are,” The Demon Emperor said. “They have to be strong enough to be useful, but weak enough so that they don’t get any silly ideas about joining Raeanne’s forces. Abaddon - break them, then mould them in this first mission. Turn them into weapons that we can use against the Alliance.”

Confidently, Abaddon, accompanied by two Dread Knights, marched along the long lines of the Demonic Legion, inspecting their armour, discipline and their officers. There were also standard bearers mixed in to the troops, proudly displaying the Satyr’s Skull on them, that were also dressed in heavy plate armour.

After walking up and down a few of the lines, Abaddon returned to the front where a wooden stand had been erected on a small hill, granting him visibility of the entire Demonic Legion as it waited for his orders, basking in the morning sunlight.

I wonder how many of them can stand this heat. Well, not that it matters to me. Abaddon smirked beneath his helmet. If they prove useful, then I’ll personally see to it that they get better equipment for their troubles.

“Soldiers of the Demonic Legion!” His voice echoed across the plains, carrying on the wind. “Today, marks the start of your first, great journey, a journey that will see you all rise to fame for your battle prowess and bring peace to your Demon Empire! In the north, traitors gather to the former princess Raeanne and her foolish allies, who think themselves strong, who think themselves as just, think themselves liberators. They are wrong! They are traitors! Rebels. Criminals that deserve no mercy, no quarter. They will not accept the peace that the Demon Emperor offers them. Instead, they insist that more blood must be spilt, that more must die, that you and I must spend months chasing them and for what?!

“You have heard what they are capable off, what they did to that young girl’s brother in cold blood, how they almost got all of those tributes from the Decree of Loyalty killed for nothing! The Banners of Themis were wooed into attacking the Dread Keep by Raeanne and her traitors! The Demon Emperor decrees no more! We shall march north, find them all and bring them to justice - we shall restore peace and order to our Demon Empire!

“For the Demon Emperor!”

“For the Demon Emperor!” The whole legion cheered back.

I wonder how many of those were genuine, impassioned shouts…no matter. “March!”

***

“I’m impressed.”

“With what?”

“How you’ve used my techniques to train your Demonic Legion,” Eris mused, gazing from up high down on the marching soldiers. “You’ve convinced them that Raeanne’s wrong, so they can tell themselves that they’re not doing anything wrong when they hunt down and kill their fellow man. They’ll sooth themselves with that little lie and, bit by bit, they’ll change.”

“What can I say? I learnt how to make monsters from the best.”

Eris giggled at David’s little comment. “Well, I wish you all the best, my Demon Emperor, David Athelward - I’m particularly excited to see what you’ve got planned for the end of the year.”

***

Even though the empress was pregnant, she did not slack from her duties as part of the Demon Emperor’s court.

After her talks with Rebecca during the Hundred Days War, Lilith had become something of an accountant for the Dread Keep and then later the greater finances of the south-eastern parts of the Demon Emperor. There wasn’t too much to do other than check budgets, allocate resources and make sure that the empire’s power and reserves grew at the same time.

“We are always encouraged to prepare for the worst-case scenario, even if his majesty has full confidence that such a future will not come to pass,” Mímir once told the empress. “Should additional funds ever be required, I’m sure that his majesty will appreciate having very deep pockets to pull from.”

Mímir was right, especially after the announcement of the Demonic Legion, Lilith thought. The reserves took a little bit of a hit, but we are far from poor, especially not after I pulled my share of the vampire’s court worth into the Demon Emperor’s vaults.

“Is something bothering you, Lady Lilith?” Rebecca asked.

“Not really. If anything, everything’s continuing as we want it to, yet.” The empress placed the documents for the Grand Academy’s new budget down on her desk. “I can’t help but feel like the empire’s wealth hasn’t increased as much as it should have.”

“Economically speaking, the Demon Empire is doing extremely well, but that’s largely because the majority of the soldiers are demons and undead,” Rebecca explained. “The internal market and economic space of Themis has been carried over successfully into the Demon Empire, though its growth is somewhat slow at present. No doubt because of the number of rebels, the ever-growing number of tributes for the Decree of Loyalty and the lack of trade internationally, not to mention the lingering instabilities in the north-east.

“Lord Allaric once mentioned that he would have liked the Scarlett Skulls to raid and pillage the west, bringing back resources and treasure to help finance the empire, but that plan has, unfortunately, fallen short.”

Lilith laughed. “That’s putting it quite gently. Those pirates have done nothing for us. Where even is Charledd these days?”

“Overseeing the new Demon Fleet, though, as I understand it, the Demon Emperor doesn’t have much confidence in its success.”

“Well, he can’t be blamed for that lack of faith. Anyway, Rebecca, what do you think? Will this be enough for the expansion of the Grand Academy?”

“…I believe it will just about be sufficient, but I think we should increase it another five or ten percent.”

“State your reasons.”

“Princess Raeanne’s forces in the north-east continue to gather strength, extremely slowly perhaps, but it’s possible that she and others like her might consider the Grand Academy a prime target for a raid or an act of ‘liberation’. If they somehow managed to succeed, then the hard-fought peace in the south-east will crumble, more will take up arms and join the rebels, and those rescued could betray the Demon Empire.”

“…I hadn’t thought about that.” Lilith hummed for a few seconds, tapping her fingernails against her desk. “By giving them an additional ten percent of the already high budget, do you think that would be sufficient in protecting it from outside interference?”

“I believe so. At the very least, it should deter the rebels from attempting anything.”

“Well, if our rebel hunters do their job, then this will be nothing more than us worrying over nothing.” Lilith smiled. “I do hope that ends up being the case.”

***

Among the treetops, the Neikea stalked their prey.

Despite the rustling of the leaves, the shaking of the trees and the cracking of their branches, the rebels couldn’t see their enemy.

They fired blind arrows and spells at the demons, but they missed.

The Neikea’s feathers were too well camouflaged against the treetops, making them near impossible to spot.

Worse.

“Argh!”

A gargoyle swooped in again for a swipe, cleaving a woman’s arm off from the socket, before flying away into the thick treeline again. Then, after successfully stalking their prey, the werewolves emerged ever so briefly.

They darted out of the shadows, clawed those nearest to them to death, then retreated away.

For the former soldiers of the northern countries, they were fighting enemies they had no experience with, little knowledge of and they were surrounded on all sides. They were permitted to run, but that was only because the enemy allowed them to.

Eventually, only five of the rebels remained, exhausted, bruised and bleeding, clutching their weapons whilst panting, desperate to recover their breath.

“Alright, hide and seek’s over,” Fenrir said as she walked out before them, two werewolves behind her. An archer tried to shoot her, but she swatted it out of the air. “First one to tell us where the princess is-”

Five bodies dropped dead to the ground.

Fenrir clicked her tongue. “I told you to stop them before they did that!” Her roars terrified her hunting party.

The rebels had taken their own lives.

As soon as Fenrir had emerged, the rebels knew they were finished, so they had resolved themselves to take their own lives.

Just as the last two groups had.

Unlike before however, this rebel group was nearly thirty members strong; the others had had seven between them.

Dammit! Fenrir punched a nearby tree so hard the wood split and it was felled, pulling its deep-set roots out. They’re getting better and better! We used to find rebels every day, but now we’re only finding one or two a month. Worse! Worse! She destroyed another tree, accidentally killing two Neikea who weren’t quick enough to avoid her rage. They’re not letting us trace them back to Raeanne! As long as she’s out there, they’ll keep on fighting and fighting, and the Demon Emperor will get angrier and angrier.

…Huh? She looked down at her hand; it was trembling. Wincing, Fenrir put her hand to her neck, where the Demon Emperor had choked her, where he could have killed her, and went pale. I can’t fail him…I can’t! I can’t! I can’t! Fenrir howled and the hunting party fell in behind her.

“Get anything useful of their bodies then find their trails! Find something! Anything!”

***

“Mania, if you would just ask-”

“The Demon Emperor’s orders were clear,” Mania said coldly to Hermes again. “The Summoned Heroes are not to be touched until he says otherwise. We cannot just kidnap one of them and try to turn them into an Awoken just because you want to experiment on them.”

“Surely, this would be a project that the Demon Emperor would give his blessing to. It would strengthen his position and weaken the Alliance. If those in King Alexander’s company are no good, then we could-”

“Don’t even suggest using Amen.” Mania clicked her tongue. “What’s wrong with you, even thinking something like that?”

Hermes chuckled. “Surely you would also agree that the boy has outlived his usefulness now that he is on this side of the world.”

“For someone so smart you’re rather dumb,” Mania laughed. “Amen was known among the west as a hero, so having someone like that stand under the banner of the Satyr Skull is far more valuable than having an informant, especially because we already have so many in the west now, thanks to Jorōgumo and Mímir. Not to mention.” Mania’s gaze turned cold. “The reward for loyalty cannot be a punishment.”

“…Out of curiosity, what did Amen ask for as his reward?”

Mania smiled. “Money, women and a big house.”

***

Once, the Parlour House belonged to Duchess Patha.

Now, it was Amen’s.

Its grounds were vast, its rooms were many, its wealth had been greatly reduced after the most valuable assets had been seized by Mímir during the Hundred Days War, but that didn’t matter to Amen.

He had it refurbished into the home he’d always desired.

He had guards, demons loaned to him by the Demon Emperor that obeyed his every command so long as it wasn’t contradicting the Demon Emperor’s laws. The master bedroom was turned into something a king would be jealous off, the wine cellar was full and often drunk from daily, and there were women, to wait on him hand and foot and to serve him in the bedroom.

Lying on the velvet covers and pillows, Amen was fed grapes by one slave, while another held his drink nearby as another moved up and down on top of him, desperately trying to give him as much pleasure as possible for fear of receiving his whip.

There were four more women in the room, stood at the side, staring downcast at the scene before them, fearing that they would be the next to be called.

All of them were naked aside from the thick collars around their necks, a reminder of what they were to Amen and that they were no longer Banners of Themis, but slaves for Amen’s personal amusement and enjoyment.

The Demon Emperor had not handed them to Amen as slaves, but Amen wanted slaves.

He wanted the joy of making them submit, of making them his, of inflicting all of his deepest, darkest, depraved fantasies on them.

This was the life he had always dreamed of.

Fortune.

Fame.

Women.

The one on top of him finally came to a stop as Amen finished. She quickly pulled himself away from him, not forgetting to bow politely as tears fell from her eyes, before joining the others at the wall.

Grinning, Amen chewed on another grape that was placed into his mouth, licking the woman’s fingers a little before she could pull away.

…Ah, this is the life, he thought, snapping his fingers. “You, the curly hair.” He clicked impatiently. “Hurry up!”

Fearfully, the woman ran forward and straddled him, facing away from him as she wept too.

Then, she began to move as Amen smiled.

I do not regret my decision, your majesty. He grabbed the woman’s hips and began thrusting. And I never will!