The old man gazed at General Augustus with a mildly annoyed frown, but when his gaze shifted to the head he held, his look quickly transformed into a fawning smile.
He was missing most of his teeth, except for two sharp incisors, that were dirty brown. His eyes appeared shifty and were never settled on a single thing, and he looked about with quick, jerky movements like a rodent. It made him appear incredibly distrustful.
General Augustus brought his arm forward, giving him the severed head, “Give me everything you can draw out from this brain. I only care for the last few hours. So be thorough as possible.”
The old man smacked his lips, his voice sounded as if he was trying unsuccessfully to stop himself from laughing and failing, “He he he… As you command, my master. Every laughter, every thought, and every sight he had witnessed, shall be yours. ”
He collected the severed head and looked at it from a different position, seemingly admiring the features of the face, “He he he… This is a big one. It’s been years since I last tasted the flesh of legends. Oh, and he has the bloodline of the Bone Army, this would be a delight. ”
“Stop dawdling and get to your task, Imp.” General Augustus frowned, his temper was clearly on a short fuse.
Bowing deeply. The old man closed his eyes and began to mutter in a strange language. His muttering soon increased into strange growls and grunts.
The sound slowly merged into a deep chant. The voice coming from his mouth was very strange because it sounded like multiple people speaking. Some were clearly female, even children’s voices.
He slowly bought a sharp fingernail to the middle lip of the mouth, as he turned the head to face him, and he sliced down. Parting the lips into two from the center.
The fingernail went up the face and two quick slices took off the eyelids. A pair of red eyes holding deep fury and resentment stared back. The old demon eyes showed intense glee. Their kind fed on negative emotions, and a face like this was like viewing an exquisite canvas.
General Augustus stared at the ritual with rapt focus. His eyes following every gesture and his ears pecked up to pick apart the language the Imp used.
He could not understand Thulle—It was one of the first languages, favored by Demons and other fell creatures.
General Augustus had formed a habit of looking over his subordinates with full concentration. He found out that it focused them and made them believe he understood far more than he did.
If the Imp knew about this weird quirk of the General. It gave no signs.
The old imp’s face was set in firm concentration as he never stopped chanting. A purple light began to grow inside the mouth of the Imp until it created an orb. With a harsh sound, the Imp spat the orb into the mouth of the head.
The light scattered when it touched the head and reassembled into multiple bugs numbering in the dozens. The bugs dug into the cut in the lips and soon all of them penetrated the head. In a short while, a sickening sound of chewing came from the head. 𝐨𝘃𝗹.
The Imp finally stopped his chanting and began to breathe deeply. He was readying for the final part. He focused his gaze and suddenly began to breathe in.
The eyes from the head bulged and exploded as waves of bugs poured out of the eyes and floated in the air, their wings were buzzing like flies. When all the bugs appeared, the head deflated into itself and in a short while turned to dust.
The flying bugs gave a little shrill of pain, and they all exploded. Leaving behind a purple light that oozed a loathsome stench.
The Imp looking at the purple light with intense desire before he barely quelled it. He gestured to the light, and it floated towards the General, “Here lies the memory of this Legend, General. I took great care to preserve all the most recent events he witnessed. His will was very firm, and his hatred was… delectable. Even in death, he fought to keep secrets from you. But I wrung out every drop.”
General Augustus grunted and looked at the floating light, he sucked it into his mouth and said, “For your sake and all of your brood, make sure you left the memory behind for your consumption. The secrets they contain are worth your life a thousand-fold.”
“I have served you for a hundred and twenty years, General. I have not failed you. I would not start today.” The old imp bowed until its face touched the ground.
Dismissing the Imp, General Augustus went to his palatial chair, that should be styled a Throne. It was covered in precious stones and ornaments, carvings of Dragons and Phoenix, with great Behemoths adorned the chair.
Beneath all the fluff, however, were carefully laid runes and enchantment that made this Throne one of the most precious Artifact that he had.
He settled on it and closed his eyes. Veins of purple light began to glow under his skin before they subsided. His expression was still before it broke into a frown and then a full-blown panic.
“How could this be. Those bastards lied to me. That’s a Sealed Chaotic Abomination. This is not what I signed up for. These bastards want to turn my effort into dust!”
“Bastards!!”
Augustus’ scream of fury shook the entire room. His skin turned red and a black substance like smoke began to emanate from his pores, “This was not how it should go. What were those traitors plans?”
He looked at his consciousness and he saw a ring of thorns surrounding his spirit. “The oath we all swore still bounds us.”
His breath slowly was coming under control, he distantly heard the coughing and crying of voices, but he pushed them away from his consciousness, “The binding Oath still stands. That means they have not betrayed me yet. But why put our undertaking in such dangers? Are there other benefits to the singularity I am not aware of?”
His head was bowed in thought. He only looked up when he saw a figure that had crawled to his feet. It was a mess of blood and bones. The skin from the figure had melted, and it’s dying hands could only reach for him before it fell and the body breath it last.
When General Augustus released his Aura in frustration, it tore through the room and the two women who laid on the bed were only mortal. Even if they had more stamina and were beginning to walk on the Paths Of Dominion. It would have done little to no good. Even a legendary Dominator would still die before the General’s fury.
“No. I cannot stand for this treachery. No matter how they would choose to veil the reason behind it. We need to re-discuss the terms of our agreement and partnership.
“Whatever benefit to be had by triggering a Sealed Chaotic Abomination. I want a part of it. To risk the wrath of the God King and every Noble family in Trion. The benefits must be incalculable.”
General Augustus realized the loophole those despicable partners of his used to circumvent the Oath. The mentioned the presence of an Abomination on the plan. But not the type of Abomination. It was a subtle difference, but in this situation it meant everything.
He stood up and waved his hand. His Throne shrank and entered his Forehead. He needed answers, and he was going to get them.