"The city's… already been repaired?" Belos asked, his voice full of suspicion.
"I don't know what to say," the Construction Coven's head bashfully admitted, "By the time we got assembled, practically was fixed! The strangest part is I'd never seen these guys who did it before. They looked a lot like that big guy from before…"
Belos body grew visibly tense. The coven's head before him began to shake as he realized his words had struck a rather sensitive nerve.
"I'm sorry…" Belos growled, menacingly approaching the coven's head, "I'll need you to elaborate further."
"On what, exactly?" the coven's head muttered, trying to maintain his composure. Belos leaned forward, his masked face resting mere inches from his head.
"Everything." he snarled.
"Well…" the coven's head began, "Their armor looked a lot like his. It was bulky with unreasonably large black pauldrons. But it was a different color on the rest oof the body: bright yellow and red trim. They just showed up out of nowhere and started repairing everything!"
"Ugh…" Belos sighed, returning to standing upright, "Of course those over-glorified contractors would charge at the first sign of structural damage. Was their anything else unusual about them?"
"Well, they all just kind of… left. Once repairs were complete, they all turned-tail and ran out of town."
"Well, at least one problem that resolved itself." Belos thought to himself.
"Oh, sorry, once last thing!" the coven's head remembered, "These guys… they weren't all tall as the green one."
"Well, that's to be expected." Belos thought to himself, "The Salamanders geneseed always produced larger specimens…"
"Like these guys were tall, but that one that wrecked the town? At least ten feet tall. Probably closer to eleven."
Belos' grip on his staff tightened as his body shook with a mixture of rage and terror. He turned away from the witch so as to conceal his emotional state.
"Leave." Belos flatly said, barely suppressing the urge to scream.
"You don't have any further orders?"
"No." Belos said clenching his staff with unfathomable force, "Go and tell the coven members their job is done. They may return to their homes."
The head of the Construction Coven bowed silently to Belos before speedily making his way out of the chamber. Belos stood and stared silently at his nearly completed portal door, a flurry of thoughts zipping through his head.
"When Kikimora described his face, I knew he had to be someone of importance…" Belos whispered, "Only the most important space marines refuse to wear helmets. But I would have suspected He'Stan or Tu'Shan. Astertes of some renown, to be sure, but not a Primarch. Did Edalyn learn nothing after my arrival? How could she be so boneheaded to leave an open portal to our dimension? You'd think after my rise to power she'd at least have the mental wherewithal to make sure nobody else made it through. I only pray that at least some of my coven survives should they ever find…"
"Hello there, Emperor-friend!" a loud and cheery voice boomed from the entrance to Belos' chamber.
The Emperor whipped his body around. The sight before him left feeling strangely impressed, but also increased his sense of of overwhelming dread. Before him stood the giant Vulkan, unarmed and hands thick metal chains. Belos knew that Vulkan could shatter them at a moment's notice. He was surrounded by a cluster of his loyal coven members. Kikimora stood at their head, looking just as nervous as Belos, though not doing half as well at hiding it.
"Ah, Kikimora." Belos began, desperately attempting to hide his fear, "I see you've succeeded in apprehending our culprit. I must confess myself impressed."
"Um, y–yes, my l–lord." Kikimora stuttered, "If it's all the same, Emperor, could I possibly excuse myself?"
"Uh, me too?" a nameless member of the coven echoed.
"And me?" another member anxiously asked.
"Yes, Belos," Vulkan added, his tone suddenly growing sinister, "I've relished the chance to get to speak with you alone, my friend."
The gem at the head of Belos' staff suddenly burned a fiery crimson, Vulkan noticed a dim azure hue emitting from his eyes.
"Vulkan, I will allow this." Belos's voice echoed in Vulkan's head, "And I promise no tricks will be played. All I ask is that you hear me out before doing anything too rash."
"It is strange that you know my name, One-They-Call-Belos." Vulkan obliviously said out loud.
The coven members glanced at each other in confusion while Belos hopelessly slapped his free hand against his mask. Shortly thereafter his eyes and staff let out another glow.
"Vulkan, I am communicating with you telepathically."
"Dohohoho!" Vulkan telepathically chortled. Belos looked up and was relieved to see Vulkan's lips hadn't moved. "My apologies, I couldn't see if your mouth was moving under your stupid mask! I mean, just look at it! You look like a dung beetle! Why use a bug for your iconography when you could use the glorious lizard!"
"OY, WHO'S DAT TALKIN'?" Tiny-Beast interrupted, "WEZ ALREADY GOT THREE LADS IN DIS 'ERE HEAD, WE AIN'T GOT ROOM FO' ANOTHAH!"
"Vulkan, why am I hearing orkish?" Belos asked.
"Oh, that is a long story, friend!" Vulkan nonchalantly answered.
"Okay…" Belos replied, unassured, "But he specifically mentioned 'three lads…'"
"Weeeeeeeeeak…" a new voice telepathically rasped.
"I'm – I'm sorry, Ferrus? Was that Ferrus Manus?" an increasingly distraught Belos asked.
"DUZ DIS GIT EVAH SHUT UP?!" Tiny-Beast interjected.
"I must confess, Belos," Vulkan answered, narrowing his eyes at Belos, "I am unsure how it is that you know my brother's name. I find myself feeling very uneasy."
Kikimora and the Emperor's Coven stood in an uncomfortable silence, their eyes darting rapidly between Belos and Vulkan. The two of them just stood there, silently staring at each other. The scene was just as confusing as it was unnerving for the group of spectators.
"I'm sorry," one of the coven members whispered, "Did the giant say that Belos knows his name? Is anyone else concerned about this?"
"The Emperor, um, knows many things." Kikimora replied, a clear uncertainty in her voice, "It is not our place to question him."
"I can still here you." Belos angrily said while effortlessly maintaining his telepathic link with Vulkan, "You may excuse yourselves now. Be sure to close the chamber doors on your way out."
There was no argument given from the coven. The filed out of the chamber, being sure not to go so fast as to seem afraid. As the last members made their way through the threshold, they slowly pushed the chamber doors shut.
"So what now?" one of the coven members asked as the group stood in awkward silence.
"Do you think Steve was serious about opening a crêpe place?" another member followed-up, "Because I feel like we've earned a treat. Oh, maybe he sells those ones filled with Nutella and strawberries! That would be so good, maybe with some gelato on the side. Do you think he has gelato, too?"
"I mean, it would only make sense if he did." another coven member chimed in, "Come on, pastries and gelato? It's a natural combo! He'd be crazy not to utilize the innate benefits of horizontal business integration."
"Are you serious?" Kikimora asked, "You told me Steve left the coven just a few minutes before we rendezvoused; and that was just under two hours ago! Do you really think he opened a patisserie and gelato shop in two hours?"
"Kiki," one of the coven members replied, "A half-crazy giant that came out of nowhere just destroyed Bonesborough. Then a group of slightly smaller, less crazy giants fixed it. Then original giant let us take him in with zero resistance for reasons none of us understand, and apparently Belos and he are on a first-name basis. Steve fast-tracking a culinary franchise would easily be the least crazy thing to happen today."
"Um, excuse me?" a timid voice asked from down the corridor.
The Emperor's Coven and Kikimora looked down towards the entrance of the palace. A green-haired teenage stood there, her arms crossed and eyes looking down at the floor. She slowly walked towards the coven, who seemed none to worried about her presence.
"My name is Amity. I'm the youngest daughter of the Blight family and I, um… I have news for Emperor Belos regarding the giant." she sheepishly said, albeit loud enough to travel down the corridor.
"Oh, that." Kikimora calmly replied just as Amity came within arm's reach of her, "There's no need, to be frank. We've sent the giant to the Emperor. He's having an audience with him as we speak."
"What?" Amity asked, "But… I sort of… killed him…"
A wild look covered Kikimora's face. She turned quickly back to the coven members to be sure they heard nothing. Once sure they were oblivious, she quickly covered Amity's mouth with a clawed hand.
"Hush!" she hissed, "I don't know whether I should be laughing or weeping at what you just said, but I will not spend another moment with the monster in that room! You're a Blight, so it would be in my best interest to leave you be, but my life has fallen to utter chaos since your friends and that human have started sticking your noses where they don't belong!"
Kikimora freed Amity from her grip and brushed off her garb. She straightened her posture and let out a slight cough, attempting to release the rasp of her formerly enraged voice.
"Uh, boss?" a nameless coven member asked, "So, uh, can we go get crêpes now?"
Kikimora let out an exasperated sigh.
"I told you, there is no guarantee such a place exists. But if you insist on searching for this almost-certainly-nonexistent Crêpe-shop, feel free to…"
"Woohoo!" the coven member cheered, "Come on, friends, we've earned this! Crêpes! Crêpes! Crêpes!"
"Crêpes! Crêpes! Crêpes!" the entirety of the coven chanted in unison as they marched out of the palace.
"I shudder to think of the headway they'd make if they were that enthusiastic about serving the Emperor." Kikimora relented as she turned back to Amity, "As for you, I'd suggest you go home. But if you wish to interfere in a meeting between a homicidal giant and the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles, then I'm not exactly inclined to bother stopping you."
With that, Kikimora wordlessly scuttled down the corridor, taking a right after a few meters that presumably led to her chambers. Amity darted to the entrance to Belos' chambers, peeking through the crack between the two doors. Amity was shocked to see the green backpiece of Vulkan's armor, with Belos standing across from him.
"Well, now that we're alone," Belos started, "It's time we talked."
Belos gently sat his staff on the ground and turned away from Vulkan, facing the portal door. As his back was turned, Vulkan turned his head towards the doors, locking eyes with Amity eyes peeping into the room. He gave her a friendly nod and – sensing this was a sign – Amity slowly opened the door, being sure not to make a sound.
"Without my staff, I am incapable of casting spells." Belos said as Vulkan turned his head back towards him.
"He needs his staff for magic?" Amity thought to herself as she hid behind a large column, "That… that can't be right!"
"I want to make sure you understand that I genuinely want to talk." Belos turned back towards Vulkan, "I know you could effortlessly break through those cuffs and kill me without a second thought. I am trusting you will listen to what I have to say."
Vulkan pulled his arms outward, shattering the cuffs on his wrists,
"I will not stand on pillars of ceremony," he said in an uncharacteristically stern tone that left Amity feeling uneasy, "Say your piece, false-emperor. You are clearly familiar with who I am. You know my brothers. So, tell me, who are you?"
Amity carefully peaked out from behind the column. She saw Belos gently clutch his mask. He pulled it from his face and carelessly dropped it onto the stone floor. She saw a darkened face, with curved, black lines tattooed under his brown eyes. None of these features, however, were as striking as his rounded ears. Amity's hand covered her mouth, overwhelmed by the revelation.
"You… are human!" a truly flabbergasted Vulkan gasped.
"In a sense, I suppose, though many would disagree."
Belos unbuckled his cloak, revealing a white tunic with a golden collar and cuffs. He pulled the tunic over his head, revealing his torso.
"I'd probably find this attractive if it weren't for incredibly obvious reasons." Amity thought to herself.
Belos' torso was unnaturally brawny, with excessive muscle and sinew nearly bursting through his flesh. His body was covered in several small metal sockets, and on his left pectoral was a black tattoo of an ouroboros. This feature was what seemed to be most striking to Vulkan.
"Vulkan," Belos somberly began, "I am a son of Magnus, a brother of the Thousand Sons, and former Champion of Tzeentch. My name is Ahzek Ahriman, and while my coming here was an accident, I believe I have found the way to fix what had once gone wrong."