Author: My brain has died from the panic of my thesis. Here, have some Dais.

Trigger Warning: Torture and Rape.

Disclaimer: Nope.

~Chapter 7~

"I have a guest for you waiting in the south-eastern wing."

Dais knew who had written the note, even though it was not signed. He smiled grimly and burned the note, innocuous as it was.

It took him longer than I expected, but I suppose such was unavoidable. Most Dynasty soldiers are taught to kill first, ask questions later. Still, five days is a long time…

"Let's meet this guest," Dais murmured and stood. It was a comparatively short walk to the prison block when one knew all the secret corridors. He met Yami outside one of the maximum-security cells, and his general gave him a sharp salute.

"What rank is he?" Dais asked.

"Colonel or Lieutenant. I didn't have the badges memorized, but the soldiers were listening to his orders, so I figured that he was important in the command chain."

"A good enough assumption," Dais murmured.

"He is mostly unharmed," Yami commented. "We broke his legs and wrists, but they aren't complex breaks. He should be able to answer any questions my lord poses."

Dais nodded slightly, then opened the cell door to reveal his prisoner.

The man stared defiantly back, and the briefest touch on his mind revealed a fact that made Dais sigh softly. "Take him to the torture chamber."

"Sire?"

"He won't answer any questions willingly."

Sekhmet was usually the one charged with torture and interrogation, and he was good at it. However, the more stubborn ones, the ones who wouldn't bend to strictly physical torture, those were the ones Dais was called upon to break. It gave him no pleasure like it did Sekhmet. It was simply a distasteful aspect of a job that he was adept at, and was occasionally necessary (for information and to remind the other warlords that he could be just as sadistic as they).

Dais walked away from the cell and heard the kuruseida being hauled up and dragged behind him. They reached the torture chamber and Dais let the guards fling the man into the middle of the floor, near the grate that allowed the water that was occasionally used to clean the blood-caked equipment to drain.

Dais gestured his armor onto a nearby rack, leaving him in his normal 'civilian' clothes. They were easier to clean or burn than trying to clean his armor, as he had recently tended to the armor and didn't feel like getting more blood out of the grooves.

The kuruseida seemed surprised that Dais was a man.

"You have two options available to you, kuruseida," Dais said as he rifled through the equipment for his particular box of specialized implements. "Well, three. You tell me what I want to know without me harming you. You tell me what I want after I physically torture you. Or you can give me the information I need after I break your mind and shatter your will."

The kuruseida stared.

"You're human?" the man exclaimed, and Dais was amused to find that he understood the soldier. Perhaps the armor's influence was more extensive than he thought.

Dais quirked his good eyebrow. "As are you."

"But, that's…that's not possible."

"Why not?" Dais asked as he found his toolkit.

The man had obviously been about to say something, but training or fear kept him quiet after his initial outburst.

"So, which option will you choose?" Dais asked as he stood over the partly-supine form.

"You'll kill me no matter what I do."

Dais shrugged. "Let's say I let you go. How far will you get with your legs broken? Even if I tell my men not to hurt you, or even take you outside the Capital gates, how far will you get? Will you be able to hunt? Contact your allies? The death I give you will be gentle compared to starvation, illness, or wildlife."

The kuruseida looked away. "I will tell you nothing. Pain is an illusion."

Dais disagreed, but didn't bother with a reply. Pain was how Sekhmet had pried information out of prisoners very effectively. Nonetheless, Dais had found he received many more truthful answers if he mixed pain with pleasure as he wore away his prisoners' mental resistance.

Over the centuries, he had discovered that the majority of heterosexual men he had tortured found anal sex degrading, but stimulation in the right area pulled some of the most intense orgasms out of their bodies, unwilling though it may be. The perceived humiliation also coaxed information from unwilling tongues.

Not all illusions needed to be based in negative emotions.

Dais stomped on the man's shoulders, dislocating each of them, then pulled the man along behind him by one of his limp arms. Dais threw him up onto a slab of metal, maneuvered him so he was spread-eagle, and secured him still with shackles.

"It doesn't matter what you do to me. I won't say anything," the man affirmed, but it was more for his own benefit than Dais', who was ignoring him.

He left the man as he rifled through his private box of torture devices before choosing a dildo he thought might pry what he wanted out of the man. It was one of the larger ones he owned, covered in retractable spikes that were sharp enough to leave scratches, but not quite tear the skin, and were spaced far enough apart that if Dais twisted the dildo, it would wound new areas.

"What will that do?" the man asked, a tinge of nervousness coloring his voice.

Dais kept his face expressionless and failed to reply. He placed the dildo at the man's hip, and ripped down the man's pants and what served as underwear, bearing the man's lower body. The kuruseida seemed to be forming an inkling of what Dais was going to do and flailed weakly (Dais including a small amount of Sekhmet's paralyzing poison in the shackles—he didn't like his prey to struggle like Sekhmet did).

"One more chance to give me the information I want without lying," Dais said.

The man swallowed and looked away.

Dais sighed.

Dais decided that blood would be lubrication enough, and took a moment to debate on whether he wanted to penetrate the man entirely in one thrust or take his time at it, twisting along the way.

Slow would be better on this one, Dais decided when he heard the man whispering an incantation that was surely a prayer of some sort.

Dais retracted the spikes, figuring that the size and the lack of preparation and lubrication would be initially unpleasant enough. The man wasn't going to be one of his harder cases—he'd bend once Dais found the right place to put pressure. Dais spread the man's legs, maneuvered the kuruseida's hips, and then had shackles clamp down to keep him in the position Dais wanted.

Dais began to push the dildo in, and the man made a choked sound of pain. Dais leaned over the man and forced the kuruseida to look at him, catching and holding his deep blue eyes.

"Why are you foreigners here?"

"I don't know," the man choked out.

Dais pushed the dildo in farther, never breaking eye contact. "Why are the kuruseida here?"

"I don't know."

Dais continued slowly forward. "What made you invade the Netherworld?"

The discomfort seemed to push his pain threshold far enough that the kuruseida said: "We were promised."

"Promised?"

The man grimaced and tried to twitch his hips away from the invasion, which didn't aid in relieving the discomfort at all.

"What were you promised?"

Dais released the spikes just slightly and pressed the dildo in farther, which made the man gasp and try to flinch away from the increased discomfort.

"Salvation."

Dais hummed and gingerly picked at the kuruseida's surface thoughts. Most of them were about humiliation and the discomfort, but Dais felt a simmering conviction of sorts beneath it.

"Why were you surprised to discover that I am human?" Dais asked, beginning to work his way underneath the kuruseida's mental guards.

The question caught the kuruseida off-guard. "Because the Dynasty is made of monsters."

"Who told you that?"

"Arago."

Dais hummed, pushed the dildo in farther, and managed to find the right distance and angle that pressed against the kuruseida's prostate.

"Who were you going to save? The monsters…or yourself?" Dais asked and moved the dildo gently and carefully, making sure to drag out the moments of pleasure and the cessation into simply discomfort and pain.

"We were promised salvation," the man said through gritted teeth, an erection very slowly forming (Dais had discovered it was possible to force an orgasm even without arousal by appropriate stimulation). "If we followed the High Commander, if we purged the new land of evil, we would find out place in heaven."

Dais hummed and the kuruseida flinched in shame at the sensations Dais was provoking.

The only mind that was easier to break into than an exhausted one was one that was caught in pleasure.

Kuruseida was Crusader.

Naito was Knight.

They had discovered a portal into the Netherworld on accident, and had been approached by a man named Arago—who was Talpa wearing Anubis' face, which was the strangest thing—who had convinced them that they could save the Netherworld. The Dynasty in control of it was a source of evil, depravity, godlessness, and but Arago couldn't defeat them on his own. He wanted the Crusaders to help cleanse the Netherworld and bring light and life and order to it again. Reclaim it from monsters and demons and devils, as it were. Not only were the Crusaders provided with a righteous cause, but also a foreign place to prove themselves and wipe away all sin. Some of the Knights had resisted, but their oaths prevented them from outright disobedience.

Dais had gained a rather mythical status amongst the ranks of the Crusaders, as he was physically never seen but his touch was easily recognized in certain battles and troops. More people wanted to see him captured than killed. Death would be too good for him, since he was blamed with everything from a lost shoe to a massacre.

It was flattering.

To Dais' dismay, at least Kale had been captured through unknown means and subdued by the Knight of Spirit. He refused to give up his armor, but the merciless assertion of obedience kept him ruthlessly under control.

Dais almost felt bad for the warlord of darkness.

Almost.

No-one trusted Arago fully, but he was charismatic and attractively human enough to put most misgivings to the side. He was giving them a chance at greatness, anyway, and they had more firepower than he did, even with his "army," so they didn't feel threatened.

The crusader couldn't tell Dais, or wouldn't tell him, much about the Crusader's strategies or tactics, and Dais only get a sketchy idea of where hidden hold-outs were, given that he'd have to go over a map and try to match up the crusader's description to what he knew.

Dais allowed the man to orgasm once he felt he had enough information, and then promptly shattered his prisoner's mind.

He pondered what to do with the drooling husk as he cleaned the dildo.

Send him back to his people as a warning or would that provoke them to "righteous" attack? Or would me sending him back, broken as he is, be seen as both a mocking and twisted mercy? Give him back to them for them to bury instead of letting him become carrion? Dais put his tool away and closed the box with a quiet click of latches. I can use their righteous anger against them. Guide them as to who, when, and where to attack and then slaughter them all.

"What do you think?" he asked the body behind him, who gurgled nonsense.

He gestured a guard over and said, "Clothe him in whatever you can find, tie him to a horse, and send him towards the eastern mountains, along the Morigawa."

The soldier saluted and went to gather the required materials as Dais carefully heated up an iron poker.

"I have never been known for my drawing skills, but I'm sure they'll get the message," Dais told the Crusader before branding a rudimentary spider design on the man's chest.

When the soldier returned, Dais had called his armor back on, and left the man in the grunt's dubious care. He had much to think on, and precious little time to process it in.

Dais was pleased at the immediate response to his insult. The blind rage at the desecration of their comrade had spread his name and reputation further, and had resulted in a number of decisive Dynasty victories. The defeat of the Knights of Air, Light, and Water had also contributed to a decrease in Crusader morale. Overall, things were looking up, which made Dais cautious.

Dais was steadily becoming more concerned over Kurosuke. His general seemed more and more apt to interpret Dais' orders very loosely, and some of his actions in the field were causing Dais to consider requesting Yami to murder Kurosuke.

The two had never liked each other, so Dais felt Yami would get no small amount of pleasure from knowing one of his men had been the instrument of the General's demise.

Dais was surprised, then, when he received a written request from the High Commander of the Crusaders to parlay.

"It's a trap," Yami said flatly when he showed the request to Kayura, Yami, and Mayuri.

"It's too obvious," Kayura said as she examined the letter. "They're not Dais-smart, but they're not Sekhmet-stupid, either."

"They want to see my Lord," Mayuri said, giving Dais a glance. "To prove that you exist physically, and aren't just some manifestation of their fear and uncertainty."

Kayura snorted. "They assume that you're the leader of the Dynasty, Dais. Cute."

Yami gave off a sense of disapproval that Kayura ignored.

"You're planning on going?" Kayura half-asked.

Dais paused and said: "Maybe. If this request is honest, the High Commander will be attending, which would mean that a Knight or two will come with him, which will at least take two Knights out of play," Dais looked at Kayura, weighing his options.

Dais generally believed that a show of confidence was all that was needed to disarm most enemies. Such was why he always agreed to meet his enemies in their own territory, if he met them at all. The advantage to that was three fold, in reality. It gave him a sense of their physical defenses and strength (most liked to parade such in front of foreign hostile nations), the state of their citizenry, and the psychological profile of the leaders. They were in their own territory—they were safe, or so the rationale went.

Dais often went alone or with only one other person. Such a small entourage begged numerous questions: was he dangerously overconfident? Or did he have an army waiting in the wings? Maybe he suffered from an excess of pride. Maybe he had reason to be so confident. His armor made reading his face impossible and he had long ago learned to control his posture and voice.

It kept his enemies guessing and unstable.

He didn't trust any of the other warlords to not muck up a political meeting, but since most of the time Netherworld politics equated to curb-stomping someone, they usually fit the bill perfectly fine. It was a rare occasion for actual diplomacy to be required.

However, a meeting with the Crusaders required tact and superior perceptive abilities.

Yami and Thalus were his two most perceptive generals, but Thalus was in the field and he would need someone he trusted implicitly to stay behind in the Capital and make sure it didn't all fall apart in his absence, so Yami wouldn't be coming with him, if he went.

He wouldn't bring Kurosuke along even if he had been the only choice. He was a sledgehammer, not the stiletto he needed.

Mayuri rivaled Kayura in strength, skill, and speed, and had the benefit of extensive tactical education. While Dais would have been leery of such in any other commander, he knew that he had Mayuri's devotion. She loved him as a superior officer and as a man. If he would bring anyone, it would be she.

Dais picked up Kurosuke's piece and twirled it slowly in his fingers.

"Yami."
"Yes, sire."

"Do you still have that pact with the kagebito?"

"Yes."

"I know that they're good at intelligence gathering. How adept are they at murder?"

Yami's eyes narrowed in pleasure. "I know one or two who can rival your assassins, sire."

"Kurosuke is about to come into conflict with the Knight of Darkness, and will be itching for a rematch," Dais said and put the figurine Kurosuke back where he had taken it.

"Yes, my lord."

Yami saluted, then walked away to pass on orders.

Mayuri hesitated, then said, "I do not think you should attend. So much—too much—could go wrong. Right now, you are the only thing keeping the Dynasty offensive moving." Her glowing eyes darted quickly over to Kayura as she said, "Lady Kayura wins battles and keeps morale up, but you are the ghost in the machine, the oil that makes everything move smoothly and efficiently. Losing you would be a blow I don't think the Dynasty could recover from."

Dais smiled faintly.

"Warlord."

Dais turned to face Kayura, who was looking remarkable impassive.

"Yes?"

"Your general is right. You should stay here."

"Concerned for my safety, Lady?" Dais drawled as he formed a new piece for the man who called himself Arago.

Kayura picked the figurine out of his fingers just before he was about to put it down in Army territory. "Who is this?"

"The Army's leader."

Kayura gave him a sidelong look. "It's Anubis."

"It's Talpa wearing Anubis' body."

Revulsion crossed Kayura's face and she shoved the figure back at him. "How is that possible? What the Ronin did should have purified the evil in Talpa's spirit, or, better, destroy him all together."

"It apparently didn't work," Dais replied dryly.

Kayura watched him put Talpa down in Army territory, then repeated: "You're definitely not going now."

"I haven't sent out a reply yet."

"Don't reply at all. Piss them off some more. And it's not like they're going to agree to any kind of tentative peace agreement."

Dais nodded. The Crusaders weren't the kind who would settle for anything but complete victory.

"Are the guards still watching our messenger?" Dais asked.

"Think so, unless he killed them, and I don't think he would. Seems like the kind of man who has a sense of self-preservation."

Dais paused. He wanted to see the Crusader's commander very badly, but that could be stemming from the desire to rub his nose in his loses. He could, naturally, force conditions upon the meeting, but that would require multiple communications back and forth, which he had no time for. It could also be a tactic meant to divert their attention at a key moment.

Dais sighed. "Part of me wants to kill the messenger and send his head back as a reply, but that wouldn't achieve anything."

"I never knew you were so ruthless."

"Before Talpa's fall, I was inconsequential to you and you were just another piece on the board for me to move," Dais drawled. Dais tugged on a line and a guard appeared at the door. "Refit the Army's messenger with Dynaty armor and give him one of the oldest horses in our stables to ride back to his master. Tell him that the Dynasty does not need meaningless gestures of peace when the Crusaders seek to take over the Netherworld. They will accept no result other than complete victory, and the Dynasty will not hand the world over to them. Repeat that to me."

Once Dais was sure the soldier had the spirit of the message, if not the actual wording itself, right, he sent him away.

"Why the armor?" Kayura asked.

"As an insult," Dais replied. "You have troops near the town they indicated?"

"Mmhm."

"Tell them to do some scouting. I want to know why there."

There was a surprisingly comfortable pause before Kayura said: "They'd be useful right now, wouldn't they?"

Dais immediately knew who they were. "Normally I'd throw them at the Army and see what survived."

Kayura snickered.

"Unfortunately, Talpa has managed to get his hands on Kale."

Mayuri looked at him sharply as Kayura sighed.

"Well, we both have experience defeating them. I wouldn't worry too much about them."

"Defeating them isn't hard—it's a matter of how much information the Army gets out of them."

Kayura pursed her lips and looked at the map. "I…why hasn't Talpa done anything against the Capital directly?"

"Repairs take resources and time," Dais replied. "Although now that you've mentioned it, he'll probably attack."

Kayura laughed, but there was tension in the sound. "I'm going to go check on the defenses, then."

"Take Mayuri with you," Dais said, looking to his general. "Her troops are the ones who make up the majority of the guard, since my other generals are abroad."

Kayura gave him a dismissive wave and Mayuri followed the Lady after giving Dais a reverent bow, and left him alone in the War Room.

Dais clasped his hands behind his back and let out a long, weary sigh.

For the first time in his long career as a warrior and strategist, he wondered: How am I going to win this war?

A foreign army with nine mystical warriors who could turn the elemental energies against him, the armor of Darkness against him and Sekhmet at large, his old master returned and with a new army at his command…

The final battleground will be here, Dais thought as he picked up his own piece. And all my former victories will be meaningless if I lose the Capital.

A small smirk formed on his face. Until that battle, though, I will run the Crusaders ragged. The Ronin seem to be upholding their end of the bargain, anyway—none of my men have reported seeing modern humans in the Army's forces since I petitioned the Ronin for help.

A small patch of solid ground in a quagmire of problems.