Minion's Reasons

  Walking through the dark warren of the slums, Jed ignored the feel of the body in the sack as it bounced on his shoulders. He had done this enough times that he was almost numb to the feeling. He remembered the first time he had been told to dispose of a body and how much fear he had felt as he hauled the dead woman through the dark streets, always afraid some nosy guardsman would become suspicious. Thankfully, they never had. He had thought he had been lucky the next few times, but Jed knew now that most of the night watch had been on the pay roll of the council even back then. That had allowed him to do their dirty work without too many problems.

  However, the work had turned more and more disgusting and frustrating, especially having to deal with the madman over the last three years. It had started with some whores and a few street scum, who wouldn’t be missed. However, the madman had instead found interest in the street rats. So, Jed was left dealing with scum to meet the quota. It didn’t help that the damn councilors, being the parasites they were, just told Jed to keep the madman happy. Honestly, Jed was sick and tired of the work, but he knew too much to quit. If he did, there was a good chance he would end up dead, chopped up, and carted out to be dumped outside the city. It was the nature of the job, unfortunately.

  However, he could feel things in the city changing. There was fear in the air, but this time it was coming from the council. The five, decadent old fools had reached too far by involving the count's eldest son in their fun. It didn't help that the popinjay already had a bad reputation, but his involvement with the council's waywardness had brought back the second son to the city.

  Jed felt the sudden chill that ran up his spine as he considered the fallout so far. The city was like an ants nest that suddenly got stepped on. People were scurrying this way and that, trying to stay out of the way of the count's new heir. It had only taken one day for the change in status to be decided and for the elder son to be confined to his quarters in the central keep. The city councilors were also going crazy, trying to hide everything they had done.

  However, as he entered the courtyard of a run down house, he scowled thinking of the madman. The bastard continued do what he wanted, only demanding more from Jed. It was like the man was a monster in human skin, fixated on his desires and the evil that he bred within his soul. Jed had thought of running to the countryside many times, but each time, something had compelled him to stay. It had been like an invisible rope tying him to the madman. Jed wasn't a fool. He knew he had been magicked and that if wanted to survive, he had to serve the monster loyally. The other 'choice' was to become a sack of chewed on bones. Making his way into the basement of the house, Jed finally caught sight of the monster and his 'workplace.' Jed ducked his bald head, avoiding looking at monster in human skin and shakily said, “I've brought the boy, master...”

Demon Warlock's Madness

  Kor watched as the large lackey left the basement, almost scurrying away like a cat with its tail on fire. It was amusing yet normal, as most mundane fools would tremble and scream at the sight of all the blood that covered the basement. However, Kor sneered, wondering if they understood how everything had to be just right for the ceremony. The summoning circle had to be properly drawn to establish the boundaries for the summoned creature. The right amount of sacrifices had to be made before hand in order to allow for the veil between the two planes to be weakened. More than that, the blood and mana stones in the summoning circle were necessary to draw the demon's attention. He had been busy for close to two days to get everything carefully arranged.

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  It was all a rigorous process, unlike what those Temple fools and the wizards thought. Kor snarled, thinking about how people only thought of those like him as mindless monsters and labeled him as evil. It almost seemed like they ignored all the other 'monsters' in society. Kor then laughed, wondering how else he could have gotten everything he wanted in this beautiful city. He had more money than he had ever heard of, when he had just been a poor, new 'Awakened.” He had more influence now than when he had just been a weak mercenary. Moreover, he now had access to more sacrifices than when he had been skulking in piss poor villages. It was all thanks to those in the city and their greed. Kor felt his lips stretch as he knew he was smiling. He had been told on some occasions, that his smile was terrifying like a monster's, but Kor couldn't help wonder if he was the only monster. At least he had a purpose.

  Taking a deep breath, Kor felt refreshed as the metallic smell of the blood stimulated his desires again. It was almost time, and with the final sacrifice here, Kor knew he was just one final step away from becoming a 4th level warlock. Untying the bag, he dragged out the 'street rat' with the delicious 'smell' coming off of him. Kor had noticed that 'smell' a couple of weeks ago, when he had visited the various gangs, browsing and examining their products. The black haired boy's soul had been strong, something that very few were born with, and it had been tantalizing. That was enough for a proper final sacrifice to bind the new demon properly to fuel Kor's promotion to the 4th tier.

  Dragging the relatively, light body over to one side of the summoning circle, Kor felt the ecstasy building up in himself. It had taken him years to get to this point. Raising his tier as an apprentice warlock had been relatively easy, especially since he had originally 'Awakened' as a wizard, though one with a very weak talent. However, once he reached the journeyman tiers as a demon warlock, it had almost become impossible to go further. There was more involved than just some peasant sacrifices and gold. Not only did his very soul have to constantly fight the hunger and madness coming from the demonic souls he had bound to himself, he also had to satisfy their desires, both physical and metaphysical in nature.

  Thinking of the councilor's and their 'celebrations,' Kor giggled at how easy the physical desires part had been. However, he scowled, remembering how difficult it had been to sway the council's greed in the direction Kor had wanted. It had almost been a daunting process, until the Temple had remained strangely quiet. Kor had doubts about what the righteous fools had planned, but it didn't matter anymore. He was almost finished.

  Shaking in excitement, he cast to check up on the boy's soul one last time. To his surprise, it was much stronger than before. It only took him a moment to realize, the boy had 'Awakened.' His hands trembling, Kor broke out laughing. “Hahahahah... Fortune's with me today!” He felt excited as he knew the sacrifice would succeed, and he would become 4th tier. Inside him, he also felt the hunger from the demons he had bound before, as their desire leaked into his own emotions, mixing together until they were one.

  However, he kept enough of his senses to remember that he had much to do. The final spell to summon the new demon still had to be cast, and the foolish lackey from earlier needed to be sent elsewhere to avoid any issues. More than that, he had to remember to properly bind the boy, both physically and magically to avoid any damage he could cause. But all that was nothing but some effort. Hugging himself in exhilaration, Kor knew a new day was upon him and all his plans had finally come to fruition.