Chapter Seven
MAGNIFYING THE TRUTH
Four months had passed since Dionysus had massacred Artius. He had entered and merged into the Gratnian kingdom. In the time that he had survived within it, he realized some differences compared to the world that was the empire.
Life was much more strict. Citizens were kept on a leash, and any bad utterings related to the kingdom itself resulted in the said person being executed. Besides that, it seemed to be quite fine in a lot of the other departments of life.
'Huh . . .'
As for Dionysus himself, he had no true home. His life ever since coming here had consisted of killing a person or family each night to sleep where they used to, stealing food when need be, and so on. It was generally the same as it was within the capital.
However, one of the main differences was that he was actually actively attempting to conquer the kingdom. He liked the idea of being the top dog in a kingdom where the citizens were mere slaves of the nation that they belonged to. To achieve his goal, he had been working with many of the rebellious sides of the kingdom.
"Got a meeting with Duke Estrodus at his manor tonight . . ."
One of the main rebels he had been working with was Duke Estrodus, a man who thought that the regime that the nation was currently under was wrong. He wanted to overthrow the current royal family and put himself or someone with a good mindset on the throne. Dionysus had been deluding the duke into believing he was someone who wanted the people that suffered to live freely.
'Right'
Dionysus sat on the blood-stained bed. The previous owners of this fantastic mansion were currently stuffed under the bed. The family who lived here consisted of the father, the king's younger brother, the mother, the king's sister in law, and the daughter, the king's niece. All of them had connections to the king, and each death was more likely to send him into a fit.
"The more angry he gets, the more predictable his next move is."
During the four months that he had been here, he had analyzed King Grant from the inside out. Whether it was his schedule, personality, family tree, or anything else, he knew it about him. It was all in the hopes of eventually assassinating the king. Of course, he knew it wouldn't be an easy prey.
KA-KAW
Dionysus began to hear the sounds of creatures outside. He looked out the window of the bedroom to witness that the sun was rising. Realizing that time was running out, he began to pack his stuff to make a run for it.
"G-Gua-"
SLISH
Someone had opened the door which was to the left of the bed, so it was close enough for Dionysus to slice their head off. After that, he approached the balcony that was connected to the bedroom and, from there, climbed all the way up to the roof of the mansion.
'The noble's really live a nice life up here in the rich district . . .'
In the Gratnian kingdom, each city was split up into three districts. There was one for the poor, middle, and elite-class. He was currently in the elite-class of the capital of the kingdom, and was staring at the endless amount of mansions around the place.
'Spoiled bastards, all of them!'
He stood and stared at the sunrise, watching as the rays covered the land as it rose. No matter how much he murdered, stole, and so on, one of the few things that had stuck with him was the thought that nature was too beautiful to be disturbed.
"Haaaaaah . . ."
Dionysus stretched his legs and arms out, getting ready for another day's worth of work. Duke Estrodus was going to attend a meeting hosted by the king himself deep within the royal palace. During that meeting, they were finally going to begin discussing the chain of murders that Dionysus had been committing himself to.
WHOOSH
Dionysus took off running on top of the roofs. The wind itself parted ways for him, though that was only thanks to the amount of negativity floating around in the air. A majority of it was from the lust that emanated from the buildings that he was hopping on top of, so Dionysus had to thank humanity for at least that emotion.
Dionysus arrived at the center of the capital. It was basically just a really long road that had stalls set up on either side, all the way from one side to the other. Other than just being the marketplace that every city had, it was nothing special.
"Mom, who's that man?"
A kid, who walked along with her mother, pointed at Dionysus' face. It was quite apparent that they were talking about him, but Dionysus acted as if he was hearing nothing.
"Honey, it's not nice to poi-!"
KUFF
She dropped the bags that she was holding the second she looked at Dionysus' face. No matter how anybody looked at him, what was on his face was blood stains, nothing less or more. The woman quickly picked up the bag that she dropped, and quickly walked away.
'The thrill that comes when ants realize they're in the presence of an anteater . . . there's nothing like it!'
A mad grin covered Dionysus' mouth, and as he spent the rest of the day terrorizing more citizens in a similar fashion, the grin only escalated more and more until it reached right below his eyes.
--- SEQUENCE 2 ---
". . ."
"Ehm . . ."
A man covered in jewelry so shiny that one would have to close their eyes if they looked directly at him sat on a throne. Before him, many people were kneeling while looking straight at the ground. This was the supposed 'meeting' that the king had wanted to happen.
'What a chilling and ferocious aura . . .'
Duke Estrodus dared to sneak a peek at the king who sat on the mighty and golden throne. Though he couldn't actually see a thing because of how shining and beautiful the things he had equipped were, he could still sense the power emanating from him.
'That's right, even if I want to change the Gratnian kingdom's fate of utter destruction that is awaiting it, before me lies an obstacle so big that the sun is blocked out.'
Duke Estrodus continued to stare at the red carpet below him and many others.
Some time passed, and the king then finally addressed each and every single one of them in a very, very dignified tone. Each and every single one of them walked up to him and kissed his hand before returning to their positions, including Estrodus.
"The elites of our society are currently struggling. A serial killer is running rampant, yet the guards are unable to capture him even while notified. What do we do?"
To show that he was in the most powerful position, he put his head in his hands, something that absolutely nobody else in the room could do. Estrodus bit his bottom lip before beginning to propose a plan that him and the supposed serial killer, Dionysus, had come up with.
"My liege, I believe I have an idea worthy of your elegance."
Duke Estrodus dared to look the king in the eyes. He thought it was a chance to show that he could rise to a similar level to the king.
HAH
BA-BUM
Estrodus, however, immediately backed down from the battle of wits between the two brothers. The reason was that the second he looked up, the king's eyes were already looking down on him, as if he saw it coming. It was as if he was scorning time for existing.
However, the issue wasn't that the king was already looking down. It was the fact that Estrodus could've swore there was someone behind the king, watching over him. A monster with crimson wings and devil-like horns.
'A guardian demon . . .'
Estrodus' heart refused to slow down. It was as if it was going to burst from his chest.
"Are you attempting to disgrace our blood, brother? Why are you silent after saying you have a proposition?"
Estrodus realized he was in no position to challenge his older brother. He continued to stare at the red carpet as he recited the plan that Dionysus had drilled into his head for hours on end.
"I believe that he should tell all citizens to go to the main road, including the elites. Once there, we'll use the entire guard force to scour the rest of the capital. If we happen to find the serial killer, we'll kill him while also sending the others to the main road."
Duke Estrodus stopped talking, and it seemed as if the king was taking some time to consider it.
"However, wouldn't this plan require that we know how this serial killer looks?"
King Grant was lost in a humongous thought loop that he couldn't escape from until he heard the answer.
"I already know how the man looks. He has black hair, silver eyes, and is a bit taller than average. It's a somewhat common description, but if you kill everyone that resembles it, he's bound to die."
"Oh? How do you know what the killer looks like?"
The king's sister spoke up. Hearing everything that Estrodus had uttered, she had arrived at the conclusion that he might be committing treason. The reason for that would be because he somehow knew how he looked, when nobody else did.
"These are the reports of many of the civilians. Many of them have reported sightings of a man with these details close to the areas of murder."
After fully stating his plan, Estrodus put on his poker face and continued to look at the red carpet. He was confident that it would work. He knew that he could be viewed as a suspicious person for knowing how Dionysus looked, but it wouldn't matter if the throne wasn't below his brother anymore.
The room and atmosphere ushered in a tense air. If there was anything to describe it, it would be similar to if the gravity in the room had just doubled in pressure. The reason for this was because, in the end, it was up to the king to decide if the plan would commence or not. If not, then this could spell trouble for Estrodus and Dionysus.
'Brother . . . you can't be allowed to wield the power of a king anymore.'
Estrodus knew that he wasn't anything special. He just had the blood of royals running in him, and because of that he was considered a special person in the world. However, for once, and only this once, he wanted to show the world that there was a better one to live in out there, and the first step was to put down his own brother.
His chest tingled, shook, and even hurt him when he considered that he might have to kill his brother, but he knew it had to be done.
'To allow the citizens of this nation to taste a drop of cleanliness in this vivid darkness . . .'
"The plan will commence tomorrow."
Estrodus could quite literally hear his sweat dropping onto the carpet, staining it with all his impurities. However, it all worked out in the end. His time, effort, and work finally turned out a profit.
After announcing that he would use Estrodus' plan, King Grant stood up and began to walk down the red carpet. All of them got out of the way as he walked down it, and none of them dared to move until he left the throne room. Nonetheless, the second that he left the throne room, all of them stood up and began to head to their respected positions within the kingdom, including Estrodus.
--- SEQUENCE 3 ---
Before Dionysus stood a demon. It wasn't that an organism that resembled a demon or attempted to look like a demon, but instead an actual demon. Both of them stood before one another, all while on top of the clocktower that pierced the clouds.
". . ."
". . ."
They stared at each other in silence for a while. Although, while it's body didn't contract and move, the demon's face did. It slowly curled itself a sadistic smile. It looked at Dionysus as if he was a snack on top of a table, and nothing more.
It was going to devour him.
"Have I gone insane?"
WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?
A voice deeper than even the core of the earth emerged from the demon with every movement of its lips.
"Well . . ."
QHHWAAAA-TOO
He spit on the demon's face, who still didn't waver.
". . . I'd never have imagined a fucking cockroach would stand up to me."
His face, slowly but surely, also revealed a sadistic smile. His insanity was beginning to show through the cover that was his human layer. His eyes had become bloodshot, and he began to drool.
"LET'S GET THIS SHIT STARTED!"