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"You claim you are loyal, yes?" Rot nods, blinking a few times as confusion settles over his features. Lucifer's face-splitting grin does nothing to calm his nerves, but when had it ever?"Of course, sir." He answers out loud, bile rising in his throat as the Fallen Angel chuckles and motions to an opening next to his throne. Rot's eyes narrow as three figures stroll through it, one in the front and two others very close behind. It takes him a moment, but then an overwhelming scent hits him and he takes a staggering step back."Umbra?" The Demon manages to choke out, gaze snapping from his wife back to Lucifer. "What is the meaning of this?" He tries to keep the snarl out of his tone as he watches two other Generals, Wither and Nation, shove Umbra towards him, causing her to yelp and trip. It takes every ounce of will-power in his body to not rush and help her up. Instead, he waits and listens to Lucifer's answer."Kill her." Rot's blood runs cold. His body goes stiff and he has to force himself to look up at the large Demon in front of him, pupils constricting and heartbeat pounding so loud in his ears he can barely hear himself speak."What?" Is all he can manage, and the way his voice cracks is apparently the funniest thing Lucifer has ever heard because he breaks out in bellowing laughter, leaning over to clutch his stomach while his other hand reaches up to grab his horn. The sound makes Rot sick, his lips twisting into a frown as he forces down the instinct to gag."Well, your little whore is a fucking traitor, didn't you know?" Lucifer manages to respond after his laughter dies down, and his voice just causes more blood to rush through his head. It gets so loud, pounds so hard against his skull, that Rot's surprised the substance isn't spilling out of his nose already. "She's been going to the Surface, getting buddy-buddy with the locals. In fact, she decided it would be fun to give your son one of their names!" Rot turns to the side, catching Umbra's eye. She's crying.
Palek. Don't you think it's pretty? It's short for 'Palekana', which means safe-and-sound, or protection! He's gonna protect a lot of people, I think.
He's shaking, he's shaking and he can't stop, even when Lucifer's voice rattles his brain once again."You've followed me for this long, General Rot. You've been here since the beginning. So..." He reaches to the side, grabbing Umbra by her hair and ignoring her cry of pain as he tosses her at Rot's feet. "Kill her." He leans back, legs kicked out casually, looking like he hadn't just ordered one of his Generals to murder the mother of his child, the love of his life. "I mean, you want to keep all of this nonsense away from your boy, don't you? Puzzle? He's grown into a fine General." Lucifer snickers, motioning to the Demon on the floor in front of Rot. "This will bring nothing but trouble for him, wouldn't you agree? He is grown now, yes, almost 10,000, but still terribly naive... Besides, who knows what would happen to you two if she were to stay around?" He knows exactly what the last sentence means as a threat to his and his son's life, and with every passing moment, Rot can feel his gut dropping. He wants to scream. Wants to grab Umbra and run, but then what would they do to Puzzle? Lucifer had been right, he was a man, not a child anymore, but...
You should be grateful! You've been chosen by your King to lead thousands! Why are you crying about it? Would you rather me hand you to the humans? Watch them tear you apart limb from limb? Get over it.
He can't leave him, not after all he'd put him through."Rot?" The General blinks and then glances down at Umbra, who's managed to shuffle her way into a sitting position. She's beaten, bruises and cuts littering her face, but Rot's gaze is drawn to her eyes. Still as happy and beautiful as ever. He sobs."Hey." She whispers, motioning with her bound hands for him to come closer. He does, striding forward and falling to his knees, tail lashing and wings quivering. She moves closer to him, resting her head in the crook of his neck."It's okay." His wife murmurs against his rough skin as he reaches up, tightly gripping her back."I can't." He breathes out, voice hoarse as he buries his face in her dark hair. "I can't do that to you, love. Please, please, I can't-""You have to." She interrupts, tears flowing freely from her eyes as her breath hitches. "For Palek. They'll kill all three of us if you don't do this." Umbra picks her head up, leveling her gaze with Rot's. "I'll be okay. I always am." It feels like someone is reaching into his chest and snapping his ribs one by one, the fractured bone piercing his heart and lungs when those words slipped past her bruised lips.Eyes glazed over, he reaches up, trailing a claw across her neck. He catches her gaze and she nods; they both know Lucifer and the others wanted a show.He wouldn't give it to them."Take care of him." She whispers, voice barely audible. Rot nods."I love you, Eve." He whispers right back, pressing his lips against hers. "I love you too, Jacob," The General can feel her mouth against him, and he presses his claw against her neck. She nods again.He presses and pulls.There's a sudden silence that somehow seems louder than the blood that had been pounding in his ears. He feels her gasp against his lips and he pulls back, hugging her body to his chest, holding her still as she spasms. Screwing his eyes shut, he tries to block out her gasps until those fade into silence, and then continues to hold her tight until her spasms fade into nothing."Well." Lucifer's voice rings out, shocking him back to reality, and he feels a sudden urge of pure rage that he quickly swallows down. For Palek. "That was boring. But, you did it, so I suppose I can't complain about a loyal General." Rot can hear the grin in his voice, but he can't do anything except nod. He assumes that Lucifer gives some kind of signal, as the other Generals are soon moving past him, exiting the palace. "Puzzle has been summoned, so he'll be here soon. I'll leave you to it until then." The Demon cackles, and then Rot can feel him moving by as well. He finds himself slowly looking down as the silence overtakes him again.Blood.He's covered in dark blood, and it's spilling down her neck, onto her chest and into his lap. Rot chokes back a wail. Puzzle has been summoned. He'll be there soon, but Rot can't force himself to move as he glances at her eyes.Blank.No more happiness. Not the bright, content shine they normally contained, usually paired with an angelic smile that would always make his heart melt.He thinks about their wedding. Sneaking up to the surface with Two, jokingly calling them the "Ordained Minister" and making them giggle as the two Demons tried to read their vows. Spending nights swimming in the ocean, moonlight cascading over her skin as she laughed heartily, a few pieces of hair that had escaped her bun laying over her face. Smiling as he kissed her, the taste of saltwater on their lips.He wonders why he had killed her so easily. He hadn't put up much of a fight, considering what was being asked of him. Why? Because she asked you too. The voice in the back of his head offers, causing him to chuckle flatly. Of course. He'd give her anything she asked for, even if it meant leaving him alone with nothing but his raging thoughts and the knowledge that his son would despise him for what he'd done, even more than he already did. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks, the shadows swirling around his hands and out of his nose, getting into his eyes. He hated it. He hated it he hated he hated it-Rot threw his head back and screamed.He often finds himself thinking of that day whenever he had a moment of quiet. About how he had been right about Puzzle; his son was 10,000 now, and still wouldn't look at him, much less speak to him. Puzzle himself was rather quiet now, too. Ever since Lucifer had ordered one of his daughters to kill Fuse, who Rot knew Puzzle had been in love with, no matter how much he tried to hide it. The daughter had been fake-dating Fuse for months, gaining his trust before tearing him down, all because he had refused to kill a rogue Demon that Lucifer had recaptured. It had torn Puzzle apart, watching that happen, especially since she was given her name after that; Wretched. Oh, how he had hated her. Rot could see it in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. He didn't talk much anymore, anyway. There was always a lump in his chest, forcing him to keep quiet and frown instead, a hard glare forming at anyone that had the guts to try to interact with him. God, he really had turned into a grizzly old man.It had been quiet for the most part, for years. A few captured humans came and went, and he prayed that they were in the hands of God after they... left. He found himself doing that a lot, too; praying. He wasn't sure if God could hear him all the way down there, but dammit, he tried. Nothing else was happening, anyway, what else could he do?That was currently being shattered as he stood in the throne room, listening to Lucifer roar and screech, the walls shaking and Demons scurrying out of his way. But not Rot. He was too far gone to care what Lucifer could do if he got angry enough. No, he was too occupied thinking of what had just went down.Cyrus, a rather vile human that Lucifer had had his eye on for a while, had finally been captured by Puzzle after he had won the right in a duel. Rot thought it was stupid, that the Generals would fight to the death over the rights to keep a measly mortal, but he knew Puzzle had his reasons, as Cyrus had come in contact with a certain... friend of Puzzle's. Rot knew he was going to kill him. Or, he thought he knew.From what he had gathered from Lucifer's ranting, Puzzle had just attempted to escape with Cyrus and three other Demons. Tero, one of his fellow Generals; Mina, the human that Tero had been keeping; and Ziggy, one of Puzzle's long-time friends, a defective Water Demon. He is happy at first, thinking that Puzzle is finally free, but then he hears it,
"He's dead now."
Of course. Rot thinks, gaze hardening. He went up in a head-to-head fight against Lucifer. He fights back the tears, thinking back to Eve. His darling Eve...
Take care of him.
"I'm sorry." He mutters, voice cracking as he picks his head up and stares at Lucifer, fangs baring into a vicious snarl as his pupils contract and smoke flows freely from the corners of his mouth.Burn in Hell, he thinks.But they all already are.