Damien remained silent, letting the Emperor work through the implications.
"I need these traitors eliminated," the Emperor said finally. "All fifteen of them. But I can’t do it through official ans without triggering exactly the political nightmare we’re trying to avoid."
"What are you asking, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor turned to face him directly.
"I’m asking you to kill them. All fifteen. One by one, quietly, without anyone noticing. Make their deaths look like accidents, natural causes, anything except coordinated assassination. Remove the conspiracy from my governnt without exposing how deep it actually ran."
The request hung in the air between them.
"You want to be your executioner," Damien said. "Operating outside all legal fraworks, eliminating imperial officials based on evidence only you and I have reviewed, with no oversight or accountability."
"Yes." The Emperor’s voice was flat. "I’m asking you to do sothing morally questionable to prevent a greater disaster. To kill in secret to maintain stability. To beco the kind of person who makes impossible choices so others don’t have to."
"Why ?"
"Because you’re already compromised in the eyes of imperial institutions. Your shadow magic, your thods, your relationships – you’re controversial enough that if this sohow cos to light, I can disavow you without destroying my own credibility." The Emperor’s honesty was brutal. "You’re expendable in ways my official forces aren’t. And you’ve proven you’re willing to kill when necessary without hesitation or moral paralysis."
"Flattering."
"Realistic." The Emperor returned to his desk. "I’m not asking you to like this assignnt, Lord Valcrest. I’m asking if you’re capable of executing it. Can you eliminate fifteen high-ranking officials without detection? Can you maintain the necessary operational security to ensure this never becos public knowledge?"
Damien considered.
The thirty percent corruption made the calculation simple – remove threats to imperial stability, protect his position and his anchors’ safety, gain leverage with the Emperor through successful completion of an impossible task.
Emotionally, he should have felt conflicted about becoming a political assassin.
Should have questioned the morality of extrajudicial killings based on unverified evidence. Should have worried about what this would do to his already degraded humanity.
Instead, he just felt... ready.
"I can do it," he said. "Give the list and any intelligence you have on their locations, routines, security asures. I’ll eliminate them within a week, each death appearing unrelated to the others."
"Are you certain? Once you accept this assignnt, there’s no backing out. No changing your mind halfway through." The Emperor’s eyes were sharp. "I need absolute commitnt, Lord Valcrest. Can you provide that?"
"I can." Damien’s voice was steady. "These people betrayed the Empire to demons. They coordinated attacks that killed innocents. They deserve execution, whether it cos through official thods or my shadows. I have no moral reservations about eliminating them."
The Emperor studied him for a long mont, perhaps sensing sothing off in Damien’s too-ready acceptance. But ultimately, he nodded.
"Very well." He pulled out another folder – significantly thicker than the evidence docuntation. "For the fifteen nas. Detailed information on each target. Current locations, daily routines, known security asures, potential vulnerabilities. Everything my intelligence services have on them."
Damien accepted the folder, flipping through the contents. Military officers, economic advisors, judicial officials, even two Church administrators. All strategically positioned to assist demon infiltration through their specific authorities.
"Ti fra?" Damien asked.
"One week maximum. After that, the disappearances will start looking suspicious regardless of how natural individual deaths appear. Spread them across the city, vary the thods, ensure no pattern erges that suggests coordination."
"Understood."
"As for you companions, telling them is your decision. But I’d recomnd maintaining operational security. The fewer people who know about sanctioned political assassination, the better." The Emperor’s expression was grim. "This is dark work, Lord Valcrest. The kind that stains everyone involved. If you can accomplish it without compromising your patners consciences, I’d advise that approach."
"I’ll handle it alone," Damien agreed. The corruption made lying to Seria and Elara feel tactically appropriate rather than morally questionable. "They’ll focus on the conspiracy investigation through official ans while I eliminate threats through unofficial ones."
"Good." The Emperor extended his hand. "You have my complete authority for this operation. Whatever resources you need, whatever access is required, you have imperial sanction. Just get it done."
They shook hands – sealing an agreent that made Damien an officially sanctioned assassin operating beyond all legal oversight.
"One more thing," the Emperor said as Damien prepared to leave. "If you’re caught, if this operation is exposed, I will deny all knowledge. You’ll be labeled a rogue operative, arrested, and likely executed. There will be no imperial protection, no acknowledgnt of your service. Understand?"
"Completely, Your Majesty. I’m expendable. The Empire’s stability isn’t."
"I’m glad we understand each other." The Emperor returned to his desk, already moving to other business. "You’re dismissed. Report back when all fifteen targets are eliminated."
Damien left the private study, the folder of targets secure under his arm, his mind already planning execution thods and operational tilines.
Fifteen high-ranking imperial officials. One week. Complete deniability required.
The kind of assignnt that would horrify him if he was still capable of horror.
Instead, the thirty percent corruption just made him feel... efficient.
---
He returned to the residence as dawn fully broke over the Imperial Capital. Found Seria and Elara waiting, having coordinated cleanup of the warehouse and secured the demon cargo for imperial examination.
"How did the Emperor respond?" Elara asked imdiately.
"Grateful for the evidence. Concerned about the political implications. Assigned us to continue investigating while he handles the fallout from Veyrix’s death." All true, if incomplete. "He wants us to identify more conspirators, track down additional smuggling operations, basically continue what we’ve been doing."
"And the fact that you killed a council mber?" Seria pressed.
"Justified given the circumstances. He reviewed the evidence, confird Veyrix’s treason, accepted that imdiate elimination was necessary." Also true. "We’re clear to continue operations with full imperial authority."
They seed to accept this. No reason not to – Damien was telling them true things while omitting the darker assignnts that would complicate their moral positions.
The corruption made compartntalizing easy.
"We should rest," Elara suggested. "It’s been a long night. The investigation can wait a few hours while we recover."
"Agreed," Damien said. "I need to review so intelligence the Emperor provided, but that can wait until after we’ve slept."
They moved to the bedroom together, exhausted from the night’s events. Seria and Elara fell asleep quickly, the stress and combat having drained them thoroughly.
Damien lay awake between them, the folder of assassination targets hidden in his study, his mind already planning the first kill.
Tomorrow night, he’d begin eliminating threats to the Empire.
One target at a ti.
Quietly. Efficiently. Without rcy.
The hollow man the corruption was creating would handle it perfectly.
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