Eternal Rot

Reunion

Albert, the next overlord who’s name was on the list, the cannibal king; the one who had imprisoned him for all of that time. A fitting next target for the rising overlord. 

Alastor felt relieved to have heard from his mistress, as it had been a whole month without word. He worried his gentle treatment of Husk’s soul was frowned upon, but instead, she congratulated him, sending a fine wine and an even finer cut of venison. He hadn’t had the flesh of a deer since entering Hell, and so he cooked up his favorite meal, jambalaya, using the tender flesh from the creature instead of pork. The note had told him how pleasantly surprised Lilith had been, saying that his tactics made sense, saying that he surely used the powers she had given him in his own way. He didn’t quite understand what she meant by his own way, as he had used his own charm to worm his way into a deal, and not the powers per say. Either way, the praise was appreciated. 

Alastor felt that celebrating his first year outside of the room he had started Hell within would be marked beautifully with the death of the other overlord. He would make it slow, and he would savor his blood as he had savored his own. An eye for an eye, in a more literal sense of the phrase. 

He drank the bottle, finished the rice, and sat back with a long deep sigh. He briefly remembered the feeling of small hands tugging on his pants, tiny voices cooing for more bread pudding. He felt numbed, smile tight as he tried to refocus. But, for a moment, he lost himself in memories. Little Charlotte, she would certainly be a teenager about now. He wondered if she ever thought about him, or if she had forgotten him completely. He felt bad that her drawing had been abandoned, and he hoped that the little things that she had left behind had been cherished by another child.

It made his head spin, as looking down towards himself, he realized why he was feeling this way. His heat was approaching again. He was feeling sentimental, hormonal, and frankly, he wanted to rip something apart. He weighed his options, knowing that once his first symptoms appeared he would have a few days before he would lose his mind. Running his claws into his thighs, feverishly cutting into them, he thought it through as best as he could. 

Then the shadow appeared next to him, peering into the nearly empty pot he had been eating, smiling between the pot and Alastor, as if it was asking why he had stopped eating. Al sighed, turning towards the creature as he held up his arms. It regarded him momentarily before it lifted him, carrying him to the couch bridal style, it’s ears alert as it placed him gently upon the cushion, again tilting it’s head in question.

“I want to kill Albert, like Lilith has asked.” Al said, voice low as he thought out loud, “But I fear I will not have time unless I do something drastic.”

It’s smile drastically changed, growing wide with innate bloodlust, the creature crawling on top of Al’s lap, tail wagging happily as though it was trying to encourage the thought of violence. Alastor took the hint, pressing his palm into the being’s cheek, rubbing it lightly, “Fine, fine, we will do this fast, and we will be efficient. Let’s spill some blood, darling.”

Lucifer worked in his room for a long time, trying to wait out the clock of the extermination, as it ticked ever closer to its bell ringing out and the angels impending assault as they would rain down death upon the sinners. He had one more day before it would chime, but his stomach twisted in knots like it had every year. 

Charlie had hidden herself in her own room with her pets, closing out the world and the terrible fate of their subjects, while Lilith acted normal. She still sat on her balcony and she just watched the tower with her large eyes. 

The devil had tried to hide his work from her, as she was never fond of his toys, but today she had been especially harsh towards his hobby, telling him to man up and put his playthings away. He still felt tears stinging his eyes, her hash words never landing well with him as he hardly had it together to begin with these days.