Hector sat on his throne, looking down at his new prisoner. He grinned.
"Normally I would take this time to ask you a couple of questions…but you're in no condition to say anything, are you?"
Skarmandros merely groaned in agony. The marquess had allowed his troubadours to heal up his wounds just enough to keep him alive, but he was still wounded terribly.
Hector laughed. "Good, good. Now then, we'd better get on with proceedings, hmm?"
Skarmandros winced. Hector was even more ecstatic at this, and an enormous grin broke out on his face. He was obviously enjoying this.
"You're quite lucky, you know," he started, "I have been given permission to execute you myself. You will have the honour of being slain by Armads."
"Take him away."
Lucius muttered in frustration. Something just didn't seem right about this.
As an Elimine monk, Lucius was given the task of keeping eye on Hector's demonic detainee. Not directly, of course, but he was the one that had to deal with all the paperwork, ironically, and so he had to scan through the library's records and compile a file for every prisoner that had ever been kept in the castle. He flipped through piles of sorted parchment, annoyed.
Renault should be the one doing this, he thought, he's the bishop around here. Why am I the one always stuck with the paperwork? And they wonder why I've been absent from Mass recently.
He was especially frustrated today. Something just didn't fit, but what? Normally it would be easy to find information on a demon, especially in this case, but there were several vital pieces of information that just weren't there. He had looked everywhere, even asked contacts in other provinces, but nothing. And his 'assistant', Serra, the cleric, wasn't any help, either. During the few hours she was actually with Lucius in the library, she would just flip through books on subjects that young members of the clergy weren't even authorised to think about. If Renault was here, Lucius thought, he would be off the wall at her. She just spends all day with that mage fellow. And he doesn't even like her!
The pink-haired cleric in question was sitting right next to Lucius, humming to herself and absent-mindedly looking through a strange-looking tome.
"I shouldn't be asking this," Lucius said, "but whatever are you reading?"
"The Complete History of Curses and Possessed Objects," Serra mumbled. Lucius rolled his eyes.
"No, really!" Serra cried. "It's quite interesting! Look at this!"
"The amulet of Behemoth is an amulet possessed by the spirit of a demon, which, when worn, grants the bearer eternal life. This is so as to sustain the host for the period in which the amulet corrupts and ultimately possesses the host, turning them into a demon themselves. This period normally lasts a few thousand years. During this period, the amulet can temporarily possess the host at any time, thereby holding the host in thrall and controlling them at will. The host has no control over such actions and is normally unconscious whilst in thrall, not knowing what has happened until afterwards.
After the corruption period, the host still contains the personality of the demon spirit, and is likely to be hostile at certain periods, but generally regains control of his or her body. Throughout the period of the curse the host is in extreme physical and mental agony, and thus is normally angry or can go insane.
The Curse of the Behemoth, as this possession is called, cannot be broken until the time of the host's death, at which the amulet disconnects itself from the host's soul and waits for a new host. However, it may be possible to purge the demon spirit from the host by an experienced acolyte, but this has never been proven, and if it fails, the consequences would be much more deadly for both the host and acolyte in question."
"Fascinating." Lucius approved. "Disgusting and forbidden, but fascinating. But I don't see how this is going to help us."
Serra tossed her pink hair. "I am researching the amulet the demon wears around his neck, and whether that has to do with anything. Besides, there's more to the article." She said, pointing to some red text.
"Warning: The following information was concealed from the public. It is top secret and should be used with caution."
"…Well?" Serra asked. "What do you think, Lucius? Should I read it to you?"
Lucius paused. "Yes. I would most like to hear…what happens next."
"It was widely believed that the famous 'missing lord,' Matthew of Ostia, had murdered his brother Sain in an act of cold blood. But this was not the case. It was revealed a few days after the incident that the Marquess Ostia, father to both Matthew and Sain, had plotted the death of Matthew and tricked him into putting on the Amulet of Behemoth. However, the results were not what the marquess had hoped. After Matthew's escape from the Castle Ostia, the marquess revealed this information. The staff present at the revelation were appalled at the marquess' hate for his younger son, especially that he had labelled him in dragon-speech – 'Skarmandros'. That night, the marquess hung himself in the tower.
It is unknown what happened to Matthew, though. It is widely believed (by the public, who knew nothing of the scheme) that the young lord went into hiding and died. But we all know that the curse would not have allowed him to do that. Whatever happened, we are sure that Matthew's demon form will appear someday, and wreak havoc as did the Behemoth's previous hosts…"
Lucius was shocked. He simply stared down at his papers, incoherent thoughts rushing feverishly through his head.
"Lucius? Are you all right?"
The monk ran a hand through his long blonde hair.
"Lucius? What's the matter?"
"Serra…do you know what this means?"
The cleric shook her head.
Lucius stood up in a hurry, pushing his chair onto the floor along with several papers. Serra stood, also. "Lucius?"
Lucius walked hurriedly out of the library.
"Lucius! Where are you going?"
The monk turned for a moment.
"I must stop the execution. They are making a terrible mistake…"
Lucius turned and fled the room.