The standing Goetia froze. Raucous chatter from the rest of the Assembly. "…my liege, this is outrageous!" Jeers and protests began to spout out.
"You have failed to acquire the grimoire, and not only that, but your actions have jeopardized Octavia's safety." The jeers quieted for a moment. The members of the Assembly looked at Lucifer. Andrealphus was silent. "The members of the Vigiles Goetia assigned to Stolas are not yours. You do not give them orders under any circumstance."
"I didn't-"
"You did. You ordered a Vigiles Goetia raid on the location of the grimoire. Not only were these particular Vigiles attuned to the grimoire magically, which is only possible if it were the Stolas household's regiment, but I have a confession from the leader of that department that you personally ordered that raid."
"My liege, with all due respect, it was the only way I knew how to acquire the grimoire. We had no leads, our Vigiles regiment was practically useless." Whispers and chatter from the Goetia.
"Regardless, the Vigiles regiments are the right hand of the Goetia that is assigned to them. Nobody else. How can I truly trust that you won't give an order that would jeopardize Octavia's safety? You would stand to gain quite a lot if Octavia perished." He looks over to Octavia, then back to Andrealphus. "Sit. Down."
Despite his protests, he did as he was told. The Assembly, although it murmured, didn't cry out. Lucifer stood up. "I also cannot trust that the grimoire will be returned in a timely manner under a Goetia regency. I cannot count the numerous instances of grimoires being lost for months at a time. These aren't just books, they are items of power, and until I see a considerable improvement in the retention of the grimoires, regency cannot be granted to any of the members of the Assembly." The murmurs grew louder.
"Therefore, I will undertake the responsibility of both returning the grimoire to Octavia's rightful hands and protecting her until such a time comes where she will be able to protect herself." The murmurs turned into protest. Goetia were now standing in their seats, jeering, screaming out. Lucifer looked over to Seviathan, who was observing the crowd.
"Give me a moment."
A surgeon and an anesthesiologist, standing now in a private room, secluded from the rest of the facility. The door closes behind them. A conversation was already taking place. "…well, I don't want a situation like that occurring again, especially when we amputate, so I hope that the mixes are accurate this time-"
"Did you intentionally replace the propofol with saline solution, Dr. Albright?"
The doctor furrowed his eyebrows, a shocked expression on his face. "…you're serious, aren't you? You come in here with the gall to blame me for a mistake you made-"
The anesthesiologist slams a piece of paper on a table next to them. "Then what's that?" He angrily points to it.
"…what?"
"You signed into the room that had the machine in it."
"And that proves… what? There are other things in there, you know."
"Yeah. Yeah, sure. You think I'm an idiot? I know what propofol looks like. It's not a motherfucking clear liquid. It's cloudy. What was in the machine was clear. I double-checked, triple-checked-"
"Well, apparently not. The thing still woke up during surgery."
"Because you switched the drugs out! You switched them out! God knows why, but you did. Now that thing's going to be-"
The doctor ejected out a laugh, snickering under his breath. "…you're kidding, right? We're cutting chunks out of it. Its leg is coming off next… and you draw the line at it feeling pain?"
The anesthesiologist sputtered out. "…well, I-"
"Look, go on, report it. Nobody will believe you. Even if they believe you, no one will care."
The anesthesiologist's eyes widened. He looked into Dr. Albright's face. "…but…"
"Of course, I could report you, say you messed up." He leaned against a wall. "Or… you could shut the fuck up, we can forget this happened, and we all keep our job. How's that sound?"
A pit grew in the anesthesiologist's stomach. He swallowed, sweat beading from his forehead as his pulse quickened. There was no longer any doubt. "…fuck. Fuck… haah, okay, I… I'm sorry, sir, I just…" He closed his eyes, exhaling, throwing his head back to lean against the wall. "...okay. Okay."
Dr. Albright opened the door and walked on out. The anesthesiologist was still standing there, feeling nauseous, completely losing any direction he had. All morality had flown out the window… all he could do is stay quiet.
For now.
"How big of a portal can we get with what we have?"
Both scientists looked at the gib receptacle. One looked over to the other. "We're thinking about a metre squared. Enough to fit a human but not much else. We want anything bigger, we need more material."
"We need a lot more. That demon we got isn't gonna cut it. Boss is pushing from above, they want to make this a whole operation."
"…so what do we do?"
"…" He closed his eyes. "We have an idea, but none of us are gonna like doing it."
The crowd was now throwing things into the front of the Assembly. Armed guards began crowding around Lucifer and his courtiers. The Frumentarii, the right hand of the Emperor, tasked with his protection and serving him with undying loyalty. Seviathan analysed the crowd. One word from him and the guards would break the fracas up. If nothing happened soon, then intervention was inevitable.
Octavia, once frozen in fear, unsure of what to do, turned to face the crowd.
The sovereign and the spymaster looked at her. Lucifer spoke. "What are you doing-"
The heir to the Stolas household shouted out. "SILENCE!" Her voice echoed out through the building, and even the monarch jumped in place.
Those protesting Lucifer's actions stopped and looked at her, shock in their faces. Octavia continued. "Shame. Shame! Proud members of the Ars Goetia chucking things at the stage like drunkards at a baseball game. And I need the regent!" She scoffs, stepping forward towards the others. Frumentarii guards follow her to ensure her safety. "…you guys really think I'm some sorta kid. Everyone's clamouring for the chance to be a regent, ohhh, look at me, I'm pulling the strings for another Goetia house. Well, how's this for size... I want Lucifer as my regent. At least he'll actually fucking work."
Lucifer nervously laughs. "H-haha, uh… thank you, Octavia-"
She continued, almost completely ignoring the monarch's words. "That's all you guys do. You just… laze around like stale water, letting everything pass you by while everything around you rots-"
"Octavia, enough-"
"And how many imps are you guys banging that you keep losing your grimoires to them-"
"Enough." Lucifer banged a cane on the floor loudly, his voice booming. Octavia froze. "I understand you have grievances. As your regent, I must implore you to respect the Assembly's procedure." The sovereign grins. "You can pick fights once you've sat in your seat."
The female Goetia took a deep breath in, closing her eyes and grumbling. "…fine. I'm still gonna complain."
Lucifer let out a chuckle. "Of course, of course, that's why we're here." The Emperor lifted his cane, pointing to the former seat of Stolas. Someone was in it. "You're right over there."
Octavia paused to look at the figure sitting on her rightful throne. Her eyes darted open.
