Trapped

Alegria was perfection in its design. All those who were not of Tartaros became sustenance for Plutogrim. The insides of the beast could come out, melting away the stone walls that hid it's capture. To live inside of the belly of the proverbial beast was a delicate dance.

Mard Geer was in tune to all of it, his telepathy spread out to each and every denizen and trespasser. Once his guild hall was allowed its true form, he could monitor and witness the slow dissolution of those he deemed unworthy.

In this instance he was perplexed, one mind was not captured. That was unique, for it took a strong mind and a strong body of magic to negate even his cunning curse. No, Mard Geer did not possess human magic, he possessed something more powerful, Curse. For he was the Definitive Demon, the King of the Underworld and the master of Tartaros. He was Tartaros and the most brilliant mind that was given to Ishgar.

He had been around since the early days of Zeref, as the dark lord who controlled both life and death, Mard Geer was the first and shining example of what power was capable of. This was not hubris, for it is only hubris if you are wrong and Mard Geer was never wrong. Though now he pondered if perhaps he might have been wrong, as he felt the pull and mind of someone still alive.

He pursed his lips and debated for a while if he should attend to this himself or if he should allow his minions to handle it for him. After all a great king delegates, a good one does it himself, yet there is the peasant wisdom of "do it yourself".

Instead of wasting his precious thoughts on the debate, Mard Geer thought it best to go and seek out the disruption, this delicate but strong mind for himself. As he walked, the creatures who served him all dropped to the floor in reverence. This was most wise of them, but it was also what they were trained to do.

Jackal cackled in his mind and he gripped the Book of E.N.D tighter as his form of shuddering. No point in letting anyone know that the high-pitched cackle of the dog hurt his ears. No, Mard Geer employed many tricks to hiding his emotions for hundreds of years and mastered all of them.

His shoulders back, head high and mask of impassiveness on his delicate face he walked through the throne room. A wave of his thin hand and the doors opened wide, showing off the crimson interior of the inner working of the living demon who made his guild fortress. Carefully he stepped onto the muscles of Plutogrim, balancing his weight evenly with every step he took.

His coat blew behind him as he walked in hastened steps toward the pulse of mind and magic he could still feel. It was a light, a beautiful little light of human hope and he longed to tear it to shreds. Such hope and magic could not still exist if he was to destroy it all. His end game too important to be swept up in something that had a strange effect on his being.

It was unlike him to give into curiosity nor handle things by his own pale hands but for this moment, he would. The mind he tracked, too complex to ignore. He was certain that the person it would lead to would prove to be boring and weak when graced with his magnificence, but a small portion of his mind, a part he buried many years ago, hoped to be wrong.

Would that not be delightful? Proven wrong and shown something he could not calculate for?

Perhaps, if he was lesser than what he is. Mard Geer would find this joyful, if not entertaining but instead he was bored. Always bored, even if a one in a billion-chance hit him in the elegant face he wore.

"Jackal, move away, I will handle this." He said out loud and inside his telepathy.

But.... this is my kill, the explosive dog demon whined.

Enough, go, slaughter others, he commanded, dropping the telepathy without a care to hear the rebuttal.

Another turn around a corner, then another, he saw people shapes nestled within the veins of the demon who slowly ate them. They could not fight, could do nothing but wait till they died. Mard Geer did not care if they were in pain nor what kind of humans they used to be. No, he only cared that now they were food for the beast he made his guild within and perhaps the extras he would feed to his beautiful roses.