Chapter 132: Destro
An ominous sound could be heard as a large demon was chained and dragged through a narrow, dimly lit hallway.
Morbius had spend three days in the gallows, hanging directly before the Abyss. The things he had seen, the wails he had heard, even a demon like him was left utterly traumatized by it. He had near completely lost all cognitive functions by day two.
By day three, he spoke in murmurs, unable to control his thoughts anymore. He was dragged into the Demon King’s chamber and thrown mercilessly onto the ground.
"Hmm." The demon king hummed as he inspected Morbius from where he was, he wasn’t expecting a damaged individual to lay before him, but if Morbius was truly damaged, then he would be of no use any longer.
"I thought you more resilient than this, Morbius." The demon king said after a brief silence.
Morbius knelt on the ground, his head bowed and his body covered in perspiration. He took solace in the fact that the fear did not grip him so much that he would lose control over his bowels and therefore soil himself.
"I-I am r-resilient my lord." Morbius muttered silently, the demon king gave a frustrated him that suggested he was unsatisfied with the fact that he could not hear the words that emerged out of his servant’s mouth.
"What did you say? Don’t make me have to ask you again Morbius!" His voice thundered through the halls. Once again his face was hidden from the general, his face had always been hidden.
The truth was that his appearance had been so skewed by the gods, and himself over the years, that any lesser being that dared lay their eyes on him would melt instantly.
He still had profound need for his subordinates and therefore would not kill them so easily.
Morbius steeled himself and tightened his fists, his breathing was uneven and his kind was completely discombobulated, but he knew that if he showed signs of weakness, then surely he would be put in an even worse condition. "My Liege! I am resilient!"
Morbius screamed so loud that the walls shook, the demon king chuckled, that was exactly the way he expected a broken man to respond.
"Good—Good Morbius, that is exactly what I wish to hear."
"Y-Yes my Liege."
"I have begun conducting experiments on the sap from the world tree, infusing my essence within it. I would need you close by to carry out the mission of injecting it back into the tree." The demon king started. "Do not be mistaken, Morbius—I have very little trust in you—if you fail me, you will die—in the abyss."
The demon king’s words weren’t harsh, and they weren’t coated in anger, they were absolute. Morbius knew that this was his last chance, this was the last chance to show that he was worthy of the position he occupied.
"M-My liege, what if those humans from my previous mission show up as resistance? I am in no shape to deal with them." Morbius asked, his face had a look of uncertainty.
He doubted himself, the last time he had gone up, he put on a façade of strength and courage, but the truth was that he barely escaped. He still bore his scars, and even though he managed to injure one of them—if he was to ever go against them again, he would definitely lose.
"Since Jirin and Jaran are lost causes, I have made arrangements for Destro to go with you."
Morbius’ eyes widened at the demon king’s words. "D-Destro?! My liege, I thought Destro was dead!" He exclaimed.
Who was Destro? Destro was Helmand’s strongest soldier, most citizens of Helmand had already come to terms with the fact that Destro had died in a war that took place some two hundred years ago.
Destro was a tall, hunky demon, standing at nine feet tall. He was big, but he was also quicker than most.
"That’s what you were made to think, but we’ve been working on him the entire time, and I can proudly say that our strongest soldier has been modified." There was a hint of pride in the demon king’s voice, he sounded as though he was announcing his life’s work to the general public.
"Modified? My liege?" Morbius asked, confusion etched on his face.
"Yes. Modified, take a look for yourself."
In that moment, loud footsteps that shook the entire core of the castle could be heard.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
A large figure emerged slowly out of the shadows and into the luminescence of the dim lights.
Destro stood there, all nine feet of him, but he looked different. His eyes stared straight forward, all the life in them had been completely erased, he had a metal plate fitted on his head so tightly it looked like it compressed his brain.
His body was covered in all kinds of metal and electrical modifications that made Morbius just stare with his mouth open.
There were tubes that connected from his mouth to his chest, and then to his hands, all transmuting some sort of bluish liquid. Morbius knew instantly that the demon king had used the sap from the world tree to revive this Denon somehow.
"My liege, what did you do to him?" Morbius said as he slowly moved closer, his eyes filled with wonder and confusion.
He stretched out his had to touch the body of the creature, but the creature looked down at him instantly, sending a chill down his spine.
"It should be obvious, I couldn’t let my stringest soldier be lost to some pointless war. So I strove in silence, year after year, looking for ways to revive him. It wasn’t until you brought me that sap, I should say, that was the final ingredient." The demon king responded. "But we shall speak of this no more, Destro will accompany you back to the treant village once I’m done imbuing enough essence into this sap."
With those words, the large creature turned away from Morbius and went back into the darkness from whence it came.
Morbius was absolutely stupefied, he knew his lord was a vastly intelligent being, but the ability to raise the dead, without any necromancy, it was unheard of.
Morbius bowed his head as his words failed him, he didn’t know what to say, or how to act. All he knew was that he now had a new responsibility, and that was to fulfil the wishes of his master.
Destro or no Destro, his master was going to succeed, if he had any hand in it. His will was resolved and he now has a faint smile playing on his lips. He looked forward to facing those old humans again, especially Alaric Ironfell, the man who has always stood in his way.
With Destro behind him, or beside him, no one could stop him.
"Now leave me you peon!" The demon king yelled, pulling Morbius back to his senses as he quickly scurried away from the chambers.
He would use whatever time he had left to recuperate, heal his injuries and his mind, before he could embark on a mission such as this.
His entire body was buzzing with anticipation, he had almost forgotten the traumatizing ordeal he had gone through for the last three days.
Until...
There was a loud noise ringing in his head, he had only moved a few steps away from the double doors that led to the demon king’s chambers.
The voice rang in his head, a violent ringing sound that made him feel as though his skull would explode.
"Garhhhh!!!" He screamed as he fell to his knees, holding his head, his eyes were bloodshot and saliva dripped out of his mouth. "Stop! Stop! STOP!"
He yelled until suddenly the scenery changed, he found himself staring at the abysss once again, his body floating in the gallows right above the thing that he feared the most.
"No... No No No No! I can’t be back here! No!!!" He screamed as the wailing sounds filled his ears, he could see the faces of the lost souls that had been thrown mercilessly into the abyss.
Tears began to roll down his cheeks. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry." He repeated as he recalled all the times he had done the crime with his own bare hands, so many innocents he had thrown into the hole, out of blind service or pride.
He shook his head as the tears ran down his face. "I’m sorry I ever did that... I’m so sorry." He cried like a child.
The noise suddenly stopped, he sobbed and vibrated as he slowly opened his eyes. He found himself staring at the ground in the halls of the castle. He wiped his eyes and got up as quickly as he could.
Luckily, no one had seen what happened, he dusted himself off and kept going. He clearly had his work cut out for him. The time in the gallows had done him more harm than he realized.