Arrgh, curse you document uploader! It will only allow me to upload documents in Notepad form...so formatting and some punctuation goes missing and I have to redo it. I might miss a few letters...

Hector swung Armads about like a baseball bat. He was incredibly happy, like a five-year-old at Christmas."Do you know…how long I have been waiting for this day?"

Skarmandros did not answer."I myself do not remember the exact length of time…but either way, it has been too long."
The marquess glared down at the demon. "Once this is over, I will have nothing more to worry about. You are the one thing that stands in my way. And putting an end to your miserable life will just give me an even greater pleasure. On top of that…I will be avenging my brother, and the ten others that came before him. Kind of gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside."
He grinned crazily. "And now, it ends. Any last words?"

Skarmandros sneered. "Why would I waste my breath on you?"

Hector smirked. "Amusing."
He raised Armads.
"Simply…amusing."

Lucius ran feverishly through the corridor.

There is no time to waste…I must be quick!
His soft footsteps resonated through the dungeon hall.
What a horrible place…but I must not be distracted. They must be warned!
The small wooden door at the end of the passage grew ever larger in Lucius' eyes.
I only hope I am not too late…

At that very moment, the door of the execution chamber burst open, and a small, blue-robed acolyte with long blonde hair rushed into the room.

Hector paused and slowly lowered his axe. He turned to Lucius. The young monk wiped his sweaty brow, panting. Presently, Skarmandros looked up at Lucius, surprised at this chain of events.

Hector growled. "Lucius! Can't you see I'm a bit busy here?"
"I'm sorry, milord, but-"
The marquess grimaced. "This had better be important."

Lucius gulped. He knew it would be hard to break the news to the temperamental marquess.
"I'm afraid you cannot execute the demon, milord."

Hector sighed. "And why not"
The monk fiddled with the collar of his robe. "You see, Lord Hector…you cannot kill him because…because..."
"Because WHAT?"
"Because he is the Marquess of Ostia."

Hector blazed. "That's preposterous!"
"Call it what you will, milord, but it is the truth."
"Do you have any proof of this…claim?"
Lucius paused. "Well, I…"

"LUCIUS!"
A pink-haired cleric rushed into the room holding a book of questionable content.
Hector groaned. "Oh, no. Not Serra too."

Serra hugged Lucius, the young monk wincing in reply.
"Oh, Lucius, I was worried about where you'd gone to. I thought you might need some help."
Lucius snatched the book from Serra's hand and, reluctantly, flipped through the heretical tome, cringing occasionally, until he came to the page Serra had showed him.

He handed the open book to Hector. "Read it from the red print, milord."
Hector scanned the page feverishly. "What does this have to do with anything?"
"The last sentence."

Whatever happened, we are sure that Matthew's demon form will appear someday, and wreak havoc as did the Behemoth's previous hosts…

"What about it?""I'm not entirely sure of it, milord, but I'll have to double-check, just to make sure."
"What do you mean?" Hector scratched his head. "I'm confused."
Lucius smiled. "Then perhaps this will clear things up. But if I'm wrong, you can continue with proceedings."
Lucius walked up to the restrained demon. "As unorthodox as this is..."
The monk knelt down so he was eye-level with the captive.

"What…is your name?"
Skarmandros was confused. "…What?"
"What is your name?"
"You know my name. I am Skarmandros."
Lucius smiled slightly at the familiar term. "Not that. What is your real name? The one you were given at birth."
Skarmandros closed his eyes. "I never forgot it after all these years. It was the one thing that kept me sane…knowing that I used to be somebody."
"…Well?"
The demon sighed. "My name…is Matthew."
Hector's eyes widened. Serra gasped silently. But Lucius just grinned.

"And your brother's name?"
"Why the hell would you want to know that?"
"I just do."
"His name was Sain."
Lucius nodded. "And your father?"
"I don't know his name. What, you think I'm some kind of know-it-all? I was sixteen, damn it! You think I cared squat what my father's name was?"
Lucius sighed. He knew he was getting into personal territory now. "Do you at least know who he was?"
"Of course I do! He was the damn Marquess Ostia! The worst of them all!"

Hector snorted. "So what? He's the son of a marquess that's been dead nearly five millennia and who concocted the biggest conspiracy in history. SO WHAT. Proves nothing."
Lucius grinned. "And this…is where pure logic comes into things."
Hector rolled his eyes. "I'm not one for thinking, so I probably won't understand a word."

"Well, as you've read, after…Matthew escaped from the castle, he was the last surviving member of the nobility. That would automatically make him marquess. However, since everyone thought he was dead, they picked someone else. So you could say that this fellow's been on the waiting list for…nearly five thousand years."

"But I'm the Marquess of Ostia! The one and only! You can't knock me off the throne just 'cos it's logical."

Lucius sauntered over to Hector, a huge grin on his face. He whispered into the marquess' ear. "How else do you suppose you'll get him out of your life? Law says you can't kill him. Once he's marquess, you won't have to worry about what he does…" Lucius glanced toward Skarmandros as he said this.

Hector rolled his eyes. "If you insist. But ONLY if you can get him out of demon form – I don't think the people would take too kindly to a demon ruling over Ostia."

Lucius smiled. "Don't worry. I think I can take care of that."

"Are you sure you don't want my help, Lucius? This is a matter of national importance!"

Lucius sighed, taking one last look through his Purge tome. "No, Your Grace, I'll be just fine."

Renault grunted, running one hand through his sky-blue hair. "Well…uh…do you at least want me on the sidelines, you know, in case something goes wrong?"
Lucius nodded, not looking up. "It would be appreciated."
Renault sighed. "Thankyou. At least someone here pays attention to me."