The Alexei dungeons were known for their hellish state. They were technically the definition of hell hath no fury in the supernatural world, which is why people had opted to use them for the supernatural world's worst of the worst.
No one ever wanted to find themselves there, not even once. However, if they thought that it was hell because of the conditions, then they needed to get a snippet of what it looked like today.
When Zymere had thrown Hera to Angelo, the mad king became the beast everyone was scared of. He became the man the history books had told of and the man the prophecies had spoken of over the years.
In the books, the mad king was a raging beast with an endless lust for blood and one who took pride in all the murders in his ae the mad king never cared who got hurt, especially if his beautiful mate was in danger.