Being a king was a game of pretending to care about things after they had already ceased to matter. Case in point, a subordinate nearly getting his companions killed became, apparently, an occasion for disciplinary theater. Rossweisse had stood before his desk that morning with her arms crossed beneath her breasts and informed him, in the calm voice she used whenever she had already decided that he was going to do something, that Leonardo required a serious reprimand.
Meruem had attempted the obvious defense that everyone involved was currently alive, that Valerie had ended Kouki's unfortunate adventure in the afterlife, and that Leonardo himself had delivered Hanezou into their hands, which was worth considerably more than whatever obedience the boy had neglected along the way.
Rossweisse had stared at him. Meruem had smiled. Rossweisse had continued staring at him. He had eventually discovered that even absolute monarchy had certain constitutional limitations when one's Queen had mastered the ancient and formidable art of looking profoundly disappointed.
Thus Leonardo now stood before the enormous desk in Meruem's office while Meruem reclined behind it with all the solemnity the occasion deserved, which amounted to having one boot resting upon the polished surface and a half-eaten bowl of grapes balanced upon his stomach.
"Leonardo, my dear delinquent," Meruem began gravely, selecting a grape and examining it as though divine revelation might be hidden beneath its skin, "Rossweisse tells me that you behaved like an insubordinate little shit, and then flew off alone. This magnificent display of independent thinking compromised the operation, and ultimately helped create the circumstances in which Kouki was killed. Rossweisse therefore believes that I should impress upon you the gravity of your misconduct."
He popped the grape into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully while Leonardo watched him with growing suspicion.
"And since I am a responsible King who takes the concerns of his Queen with the utmost seriousness, I shall endeavor to look disappointed for the appropriate duration. Anything you would like to say in your defense?"
Leonardo folded his arms. "Kouki isn't dead…anymore."
"Yes, I made much the same observation, whereupon Rossweisse informed me that resurrection does not retroactively transform dying into a harmless recreational activity. Apparently, 'Valerie can fix it' is also an unacceptable foundation for operational planning, which I thought was terribly restrictive of her."
Leonardo's mouth twitched, although whether he was suppressing amusement or irritation Meruem could not immediately tell.
"She was being annoying," the boy said after a moment. "Every time I tried doing something, she had another order. Stay here, wait there, don't summon that, don't attack yet, follow the plan. I knew what I was doing, and I caught Hanezou in the end, so I don't see why she's still complaining."
Meruem chuckled softly. Leonardo had the particular arrogance of a gifted child who had spent too much of his life believing that rules were usually written by people weaker and stupider than himself. Meruem could hardly condemn the instinct without becoming a hypocrite of almost ecclesiastical proportions. Unfortunately for Leonardo, hierarchy became less philosophical once Meruem himself occupied its summit.
"I sympathize with your condition, truly. Being surrounded by people telling you what to do is one of civilization's most persistent afflictions, and I have dedicated a great portion of my life to arranging matters so that nobody can inflict it upon me. You, however, have neglected one tiny distinction between us - I am the King and you are currently standing in the King's office explaining why the King's orders became optional because his Queen irritated you."
Meruem lowered his boot from the desk at last and leaned forward, his amusement lingering even as something colder entered his gaze.
"You did capture Hanezou, and that accomplishment is precisely why this conversation is a verbal reprimand. I reward results, Leonardo, and you produced a valuable one after helping create the original disaster. But your behavior was unacceptable. Kouki's death showed how expensive your improvisation could have become if Valerie had been incapacitated, or dead herself. We had a plan because several lives and objectives depended upon one another, and when you tore your piece from that arrangement due to boredom, everyone else had to compensate for your decision."
Leonardo's expression tightened. "I could handle myself."
"I don't doubt that," Meruem replied. "But that doesn't give you permission to sabotage my plans. If you believe Rossweisse has made a bad decision during an operation, tell her why. If you simply find her instructions tedious and decide that your boredom outranks my chain of command, then we have a very different problem."
Leonardo was silent for several seconds, staring at Meruem with that stubborn gaze which had probably driven every adult responsible for him toward premature aging.
"So this is really because I ignored Rossweisse?" he asked eventually. "You don't actually care that Kouki died, or that Hanezou caught us because we still won. You're angry because you told us she was in charge and I didn't listen to her."
Meruem smiled. This was why he enjoyed dealing with psychopaths who understood the world chiefly through the language of power and authority.
"There you are," Meruem said approvingly. "Now we have reached the heart of the matter. Rossweisse is my Queen, and my second in command. When I place her at the head of an operation, she carries my authority for its duration. I don't care whether she tells you something politely, or while threatening to freeze your balls to your thigh. You obey her because I commanded you to obey her. You may argue your case when circumstances permit - I have no desire to surround myself with obedient idiots who march cheerfully into pits. However, once she makes the decision, the discussion ends. Disobeying her authority in my absence is disobeying mine, and that I do not tolerate. If she tells you to summon a pink rabbit and dance naked around it while singing hymns, you do it. Understood?"
The smile remained upon his face, but Leonardo had become still now, and Meruem could see the boy finally understood that beneath all the jokes lay the single point he actually cared about. Meruem could forgive many things, but never defiance.
Leonardo looked conflicted, then clicked his tongue. "Understood. I'll be more careful to follow your orders in the future," he said calmly.
"Perfect" Meruem collapsed his hands, pleased. "There, Rossweisse wanted me to frighten some discipline into you, and I believe we have finally succeeded. You may go, Leonardo. Tell her that you contemplated the consequences of your behavior with profound remorse, and that my wisdom transformed you into a humbler and more responsible young man."
Leonardo turned toward the door, already looking offended by the prospect. "I'm not telling her that."
Meruem reclined once again, returned his boot to the desk, and reached contentedly for another grape.
"Then at least tell her I tried. She has been giving me that disappointed Valkyrie stare all morning, and frankly, your insubordination is beginning to inconvenience my sexual life."
Leonardo walked out with a bow, and Meruem offered a silent prayer of gratitude to himself for possessing such extraordinary wisdom. A psychopath like Leonardo understood the world primarily through power and authority, respecting those who neither feared him nor lacked the strength to impose their will upon the world. In other words, the boy was practically power-sexual, and he had become thoroughly enamored with Meruem and the sheer force of will he represented.
Meruem had seen it in the way Leonardo watched his coronation videos and the burning of the traitors, with something akin to religious devotion as Meruem demonstrated exactly what happened to those who challenged his authority. He liked that twisted devotion immensely. Still, Leonardo required a shorter leash than most, lest the boy eventually decide that reverence for Meruem entitled him to ignore everyone else in his peerage.
The door had scarcely closed behind Leonardo before it opened again, and Meruem did not need to open his eyes to identify the particular rhythm of Rossweisse's footsteps. He sat exactly where Leonardo had left him, the silver bowl of grapes resting against his stomach and a half-eaten cluster dangling from one hand. Rossweisse stopped several paces inside the office and watched him in silence. Her blue eyes moved from his face to his boots, then to the grapes, and finally returned to his face with a frown.
"Did you actually reprimand him, Master?" Rossweisse asked suspiciously. "He looked far too cheerful for someone who had supposedly received a stern reprimand from his King."
"Your lack of faith is disturbing." Meruem pressed one hand dramatically against his chest, deeply wounded by the accusation. "I was stern, uncompromising, and positively draconian. You should've seen me. Leonardo stood trembling before the terrible majesty of his King while I explained the grave consequences of insubordination. I believe there may even have been a moment when I frowned."
"You were eating grapes while you did it and making jokes, weren't you?"
"I refuse to dignify that baseless accusation with an answer."
"I knew I should have stayed." Rossweisse sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please tell me you at least made it clear that he has to follow my orders when you place me in command. I can tolerate his attitude, Master, but there has to be some order during an operation."
"I told him precisely that," Meruem replied, allowing some of the levity to leave his voice.
That earned him the faint smile he had been waiting for, but Rossweisse did not leave. She lingered near the desk with her hands folded behind her back, and Meruem watched her for several seconds while he ate another grape. There was something she wished to say. He could see it in the way her gaze wandered toward one of the tall windows whenever their eyes met for too long. The banter had served as a comfortable little bridge across whatever uncomfortable subject had brought her here, and now she stood at the opposite bank without quite finding the courage to take the final step.
That was unusual. Rossweisse could lecture him quite happily about paperwork, etiquette, and approximately six hundred other offenses against civilization. Matters touching his judgment as King were handled with greater care. The Evil Pieces had given their relationship a hierarchy that affection could soften without erasing, and Rossweisse understood that hierarchy instinctively. Meruem set the grapes aside.
"I can see that there is something else you came to say, Rose" he observed. "You're my Queen, and I would make a very poor King if the person occupying that position had to swallow every thought she imagined might displease me. Whatever is troubling you, I'll hear it."
"It's about Valerie, Master," she said carefully. "I've been spending some time with her since the mission, helping her recover, and Kuroka has been doing the same. She has been quieter than usual whenever her Graal comes up, and I think some of what happened during the operation affected her deeply… It's just… She is terrified of disappointing you. I'm concerned that sometimes this makes it difficult for her to tell you when something you ask of her causes her distress."
"I care about Valerie," Meruem said, watching her carefully now. "You know that. I have no desire to see her suffer."
"I know you care about her, Master, and I would never suggest otherwise." Rossweisse paused, choosing each word with such care that Meruem could almost see her arranging them before allowing them past her lips. "This is difficult to phrase without sounding disrespectful, so please forgive me if I choose poorly. Sometimes you can become… very focused upon your own objectives, and when you decide something has to be accomplished, you expect everyone around you to endure whatever accomplishing it requires. Valerie will endure almost anything you ask because your approval means so much to her. When she was made to use the Graal to transfigure those souls during the mission, she obeyed, but I could see what doing it cost her."
Meruem kept his expression pleasantly attentive while an alarm rang in his head. He had anticipated this eventually. Rossweisse unfortunately had a functional conscience, Kuroka had enough experience with abusive masters to recognize coercion quickly, and Valerie had the emotional defenses of a child who had spent most of her life starved for affection. Put the three together long enough and eventually Rossweisse would begin teaching Valerie that obedience could coexist with refusal, that affection entitled her to boundaries, that discomfort deserved expression. Admirable lessons under most circumstances. Catastrophically inconvenient lessons for Meruem.
"Valerie's affection gives you enormous influence over her, and I think you should exercise greater care with that influence," Rossweisse continued, gaining a little confidence now that he had allowed her to speak uninterrupted. "If she hates using the Graal to disfigure or transfigure souls, asking her to do so should be reserved for circumstances where there truly is no better option. Kuroka and I have been encouraging her to speak for herself when something makes her uncomfortable. She has spent so much of her life being told what she must endure that she barely knows how to say she dislikes something. It would help her if she knew she could say no to you as well"
"I understand what you mean," Meruem said, allowing warmth to enter his voice as he leaned forward. "I'll keep what you have said in mind for the future, and I will make it clear to her that she may tell me when something troubles her."
"Thank you, Master," Rossweisse said, relieved. "I hope you understand that I wasn't trying to criticize you, or imply that you were exploiting her affection intentionally. I simply thought that, as your Queen, I should mention something you may not have noticed because Valerie herself would probably never bring it to you."
"Rossweisse," Meruem said warmly, reaching across the desk and taking her hand before her nervous retreat could gather momentum, "if I wanted a Queen whose only function was to praise every decision I made, I'd commission a statue and enchant it to applaud whenever I entered the room. I chose you because your judgment has value to me, including those occasions when your judgment concerns my own conduct. You needn't spend half an hour rehearsing the gentlest possible words beforehand."
Rossweisse flushed enough to confirm that she had probably done exactly that. "I will try to remember that, Master."
"See that you do," Meruem replied warmly, reaching again for his grapes as she finally relaxed.
He watched her for a moment while his smile remained effortless, already considering how carefully he would need to manage her influence upon Valerie from this point onward. Rossweisse had given him useful advice after all, although perhaps not quite the lesson she believed she had delivered.
---
Soul magic was the most elusive and mystical of the magical disciplines, and annoyingly, the one discipline Meruem could not seem to master on his own. There were two aspects to mastering it: strengthening the soul and refining the soul. Those were the fundamentals behind using soul magic on oneself or others. Strengthening one's soul could be achieved through training, or through consuming other souls for devils who possessed the innate ability to do so.
Of course, the second method came with the slight problem that a soul contained a person's memories, feelings, personality, identity, and essentially everything that made them them. Devouring one therefore carried the risk of absorbing fragments of those memories and identities until the consumer eventually lost track of where they ended and everyone they had eaten began, which was less than ideal.
That was where the second aspect became important: refining the soul. Ideally, soul refinement was used to cleanse corruption, treat ailments of the soul, or prepare mortal souls for the reincarnation cycles maintained by the gods, but like most useful things, someone eventually figured out how to weaponize it.
Consuming souls was inherently dangerous because of the residual identity contained within them, so why not refine that away first and consume what remained? Soul refinement could strip away memories, emotions, and identity so a soul could safely enter reincarnation while leaving the soul itself intact, which meant that purified remainder could theoretically still be consumed.
Of course, this was an extremely advanced technique known mainly to gods and certain other great beings, so some random devil could not simply learn it over the weekend and start eating souls like candy. Even among those capable of soul refinement, there were levels to this shit, and without something approaching godlike proficiency, problems were inevitable.
"Where are we, Master?" Valerie asked, looking around in awe. "What is this place?"
"This, my dear Valerie," Meruem said, turning toward her and spreading both arms, "is the foundation of my power. A pocket dimension, whose existence was known only to me and, as of this moment, you."
The pocket dimension was roughly the size of a football stadium, a vast expanse of empty space swallowed by darkness. At its center floated an enormous artifact nearly thirty meters across, wheels nested within wheels, each rotating along a different axis while their rims crawled with hundreds of lidless eyes.
Within the revolving rings hung an immense central eye surrounded by smaller concentric structures that contracted and expanded like the workings of some impossible celestial organ.
Streams of translucent energy flowed continuously toward it from nowhere, each current carrying different shades and textures corresponding to the seven sins it harvested. Around the artifact drifted several pale blue incorporeal shapes, circling it like moons around some hideous god. Souls.
"W-what's that huge eldritch monster-looking thing with all those eyes?" Valerie asked, shivering despite herself.
"That's the Furnace of Desire," Meruem explained.
He was pleased that it looked eldritch and creepy enough to frighten her. He had designed the thing after those supposedly biblically accurate depictions of Ophanim he remembered watching on youtube in his previous life, all wheels and eyes and incomprehensible geometry. The angels of this world were disappointingly humanoid by comparison. Heaven had neglected the Lovecraftian aesthetic entirely.
"What does it do?" Valerie asked, fascination quickly overcoming her unease as she stared upward. "It has eyes… but no soul. It isn't alive, so what is it?" Her brow furrowed as the Sephiroth Graal allowed her senses to probe deeper. "I can feel something inside it… No, many things. Countless things that were once alive, or belonged to something alive, but the thing itself has no life."
"It's a machine I created," Meruem explained. "Its complete function is too complicated to explain right now. What you need to understand is that the Furnace gathers the energy produced by the seven deadly sins from my acolytes."
"What's an acolyte?" Valerie asked.
"A worshipper or follower," he answered.
"Then why not just say that?" Valerie asked, rolling her eyes.
"Because an acolyte is a special kind of worshipper," Meruem explained patiently. "Their devotion involves active participation in ceremonies, practices, or rituals dedicated to whatever they serve. Think of monks who fast, pray, observe rites, and structure their lives around their devotion."
"And what do your acolytes do?" Valerie asked, turning toward him.
"Luxuriate in turpitude," Meruem said.
"You're using big words to annoy me on purpose, aren't you?" Valerie said dryly. Her eyes wandered back toward the enormous machine before narrowing suspiciously at him. "Why did you bring me here? You said I'm the only other person who knows about this place. Does that mean even Rose and Kuroka don't know?"
"They don't," he replied. "This is a delicate matter, and if they knew the details, I suspect they would be disgusted. Don't get me wrong, I trust them both, and I know they love me, but sometimes… I fear that they would stop loving me if they ever knew my true self."
"They would never!" Valerie protested immediately. "They love you dearly. They would never betray you or stop loving you, no matter what."
"Look at this, Valerie." Meruem approached the floating machine, watching its countless eyes follow him while the concentric wheels continued their endless revolutions. "I have an entire cult dedicated to indulging in sin. These people are constantly pushing themselves toward greater acts of debauchery because the marks I placed upon them actively reward such behavior. This machine gathers the energy produced by their depravity, refines it, and prepares it for me to consume."
He turned toward her. "Do you understand what that means? For me to grow stronger, I turn good people into bad people and bad people into something worse. Do you seriously believe Kuroka and Rossweisse could learn all of this and simply be fine with it? That nothing about the way they see me would change?"
Valerie stared at the Furnace of Desire with new horror. The countless eyes suddenly seemed to frighten her, and Meruem could practically watch understanding settle across her face as she grasped what those pale streams entering the machine represented. She stood silent for several moments, struggling to reconcile what he had shown her with the man she loved.
"Wh-why are you telling me, then?" Valerie asked, stumbling slightly over the words.
"Because you're different," he said softly, allowing just enough sadness to enter his voice. "And because I trust you to love me unconditionally, regardless of what you learn about me. I…I want someone who understands me, Valerie, someone who can see everything I am and everything I do, the good and the terrible alike, and still choose to stand beside me without recoiling. And you're the only one I could trust to do that." He met her eyes and let the silence breathe for a moment. "Am I wrong?"
Of course, the entire performance was bullshit. Meruem suffered from no illusions concerning what he was, and he certainly did not lie awake at night yearning for some kindred soul who might gaze into the abyss of his tortured heart and understand him. He was a monster, he enjoyed being a monster, and he had long since made peace with the fact that his ambitions would require monstrous things. His claims about Rossweisse and Kuroka were, however, true.
Rossweisse still believed deeply in chivalry, honor, and moral responsibility, and however loyal she might be to him, that loyalty had limits. Kuroka had already lived beneath an immoral psychopath who experimented upon others and eventually turned his attention toward her own sister. Learning the full extent of Meruem's activities would strike wounds neither woman could easily ignore.
Perhaps they would stay. Perhaps love and loyalty would carry them through the first revelation and the second. But eventually that irritating little voice would begin whispering in the back of their minds: Is this really the monster you want to serve for eternity? Once that question existed, cracks could follow.
Valerie was a different problem, and therefore a different opportunity. She had spent most of her life being abused and controlled, with precious little opportunity to develop a firm morality or even a strong sense of self. She was still a blank canvas in many ways, and Meruem intended to decide what was painted upon it.
He had already seen the beginnings of a conscience during the battle with Naburazad. Valerie had been disgusted by the transfiguration of humans, and she disliked using the Graal to violate other souls because she considered souls sacred. She had obeyed because she loved Meruem, and because she could convince herself that the people they were hurting deserved what happened to them.
Meruem would need her to do the same things again, and likely far worse, as his ambitions grew. If he simply left Valerie alone, Rossweisse and Kuroka would inevitably nurture that budding conscience, teach her to trust her discomfort, and give language to doubts she currently lacked the confidence to express.
He could not allow that.
Valerie was his most important servant, and Meruem intended for her devotion to become absolute, something buried so deeply within her identity that morality itself would bend around it. One day, if he commanded an unspeakable atrocity, he wanted Valerie to smile and ask him how soon he needed it done.
She looked down at her feet, and he could tell she was overwhelmed.
"Am I wrong to trust you, Valerie?" he asked sadly. "Am I wrong to believe that you would never turn your back on me, no matter what you learned about me?"
"No!" Valerie shouted with sudden conviction, looking up at him. "You are my master… my savior, my everything. You gave me my freedom, and I will never stop loving you, no matter what. Never!"
"Even if I were a monster?" he asked, allowing his expression to tighten with carefully feigned pain. "Even if my ambitions led me to hurt innocent people someday, and you saw things in me that frightened you? …Even if I asked you to commit horrible things for my sake?"
"Even then, I would never stop loving you!" Valerie vowed.
"Even if Rossweisse and Kuroka turned against me because they believed I had become a monster?" Meruem asked.
Valerie met his eyes sadly, visibly troubled by the thought. "They would never do that. They love you too much."
"And if they did nonetheless?" Meruem insisted.
Valerie's eyes began to water. "Then I would do anything to protect you, Master," she said, her voice trembling. "Even if I had to kill Rossweisse and Kuroka. Even if I had to kill my dear friends for you, I would protect you."
Meruem pulled her fiercely into his arms, privately elated by the answer. "Oh, thank you, Valerie. I knew it. I knew I could count on you."
Valerie clung to him just as fiercely and buried her face against his chest. "I didn't know you felt this way," she said through her sobs. "I didn't know you were afraid we wouldn't accept your true self. You must have been so lonely. I promise, with the world itself as my witness, that whatever you may do, whether good or evil, kind or monstrous, I will never leave your side or stop loving you. Ever. This I swear."
Meruem was elated. Gratified, even. One of the finest ways to cultivate a unique kind of devotion among one's followers was to divide them emotionally and make each believe they had some privileged understanding of him unavailable to everyone else. It made them feel special, trusted and worthy, and people would go to remarkable lengths to prove themselves deserving of such confidence. He did not seriously expect Rossweisse or Kuroka to betray him in the future, especially since he took considerable care to keep his ugliest activities beyond their sight. Neither had intimate knowledge of how the Cult of the Dark Prince actually functioned for precisely that reason.
Meruem's fingers tightened around Valerie's wrist as he pulled her deeper into the embrace. He had to sell the performance of a relieved man, after all. The darkness of the pocket dimension swallowed them whole, broken only by the grotesque Furnace of Desire pulsing at its center, its concentric rings turning slowly while countless unblinking eyes tracked their every movement.
Valerie's breath hitched as she finally pulled away enough to meet his crimson gaze, her elegant dress of deep red silk fluttering around her ankles. She had dressed for him tonight. Meruem had begun to notice that Valerie always dressed extravagantly whenever she expected to spend time with him these days, as though each carefully chosen gown and ornament were another timid attempt to draw his attention.
The girl had been besotted with him ever since he had descended from the heavens to deliver her from captivity like some ridiculous knight in shining armor upon a gallant steed. He also knew well that Valerie was jealous of his relationships with Rossweisse and Kuroka, mostly in the carnal sense, but she was far too shy to make any move herself.
"You showed me your truth, Master," Valerie whispered. "All of it. And still… I remain yours. Always and forever."
Meruem smiled like God must have on the seventh day. He turned her around until her back rested against his chest, his free hand sliding upward to curl around her throat as his lips brushed against her ear.
"You wore this for me," he murmured, his voice a little above a hum. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Valerie's pulse fluttered beneath his fingers, a blush spreading across her skin. "Y-yes, Master," she admitted softly, her voice trembling with embarrassment. "I wanted you to see me. Rose said red would bring out my charm."
"Such a good girl."
His hand left her throat and wandered lower, fingers tracing the lace of her undergarments before hooking beneath the waistband of her panties. With one impatient tug, he tore them apart, the fabric surrendering with a sharp rip that made Valerie gasp and arch against him as the cool air of the pocket dimension washed over her exposed skin.
Her fingers flew instinctively to his wrist, nails digging into him. "Master, please…" she stammered, though whatever else she meant to say dissolved into a helpless whimper as his hand slid lower, fingers parting her without preamble.
"Look at you," he purred. "Already dripping for me. Did you imagine this, Valerie? Did you dream of my hands on you, even as you knelt at my feet and begged for more?" His fingers slid through her folds, teasing her clit with slow strokes.
"N-no, Master," she stammered, her hips rocking against his touch. "I–I never dared to imagine–"
"Of course you didn't," Meruem chuckled. "You were too busy convincing yourself you were unworthy of my attention. Too busy worshipping me from afar like the good little servant you are." He curled his fingers inside her, dragging a broken moan from her lips. "But you are worthy, Valerie. Worthy of my cock. Worthy of my seed. I will take what is mine to enjoy, would you like that?"
The words sent a jolt of shame and pleasure through her, her thighs trembling as she rode his fingers. "Y-yes, Master," she gasped. "Please, I need–"
Meruem noticed the nervous twitch of her fingers at her sides and the way her breathing changed whenever his gaze lingered upon her, as if being seen as something precious and possessable scratched at some secret appetite she didn't know she had.
It seems she has a submissive spirit to her, how wonderful.
He stepped back, just far enough to let his gaze rake over her body. The dress, now ruined where he'd torn it, clung to her like a second skin. He reached out, gripping the fabric at her shoulder and yanking downward with a force that sent buttons scattering across the ground. Valerie cried out, her hands flying to cover her exposed breasts.
"No." He seized her wrists, wrenching them away from her chest. "You don't hide from me. You don't cover yourself." His voice dropped to a growl. "You are mine to look at. Mine to touch. Mine to use."
Valerie whimpered as she forced herself to lower her hands. Meruem's hands slid over her, as he cupped her delicate breasts. They fit perfectly in his palms, her pink nipples hard and aching for his mouth.
"Do you want this?" he asked. "Do you want me to take in all the ways a man can take a woman?"
Valerie's fingers curled into fists at her sides. "I–I do, Master," she whispered. "I want you."
"Good." He pushed her to her knees, his hands tangling in her hair as he guided her mouth toward the bulge in his pants. "Then show me."
Valerie hesitated only a second before obeying. Meruem watched her, his member straining against the fabric. She freed him with a shaky hand, her breath warm as she took him into her mouth for the first time.
Meruem groaned, his fingers tightening in her hair. "~Ata girl, just like that," he said, his hips rocking forward just enough to test her.
She gagged slightly, her eyes watering, but she didn't pull away. She couldn't. Meruem let her struggle for a moment, savoring the way her throat worked around him, the way her fingers dug into his thighs. Then, with a sudden thrust, he took control and started fucking her mouth with brutal strokes.
"Take it," he commanded. "Take every inch, my dear. Show me how much you want to please me, your king."
Valerie moaned around him, her arousal dripping down her thighs. He could feel her surrender in the way her free hand crept between her legs to touch herself. Then, almost uncaringly, he seized her by the hips and spun her around, forcing her to bend over at the waist. Valerie yelped as her palms hit the cold, hard surface beneath her, her ass presented to him like an offering.
Meruem crouched behind her, his hands gripping her hips with bruising force.
"Look at you," Meruem said. "Bent over for me like a bitch. Begging for my cock even though you've never had one before."
He didn't bother with gentle teasing this time. He lined himself up and, with one brutal thrust, buried himself to the hilt inside her. Valerie screamed, her back arching as pleasure and pain crashed through her in equal measure.
Meruem groaned, his fingers digging into her flesh as he pulled back and slammed into her again. "Fuck, you're tight," he said. "You were made for this, weren't you? Made to be my fucktoy."
"Y-yes, Master!" she sobbed. "It feels so good–so full–!"
"That's right, slut. Take it." Meruem said, his grip on her hair tightening as he pulled her back onto his cock with every thrust. "You love this, don't you? Love being my good little cumdump. You'll take every inch of me, right? Even when I fuck your throat so hard you gag. You'll beg for it, won't you?"
"Y-yes, Master!" Valerie screamed, on the edge of orgasm. "I–I'll beg, I'll do anything–please, don't stop–!"
"Oh, I won't stop," he promised laughing, his hips pistoning into her with even more force. "Not until I've bred your womb. Not until I've filled you so full of my cum that it drips down your thighs." His fingers worked her clit faster, his breath coming in ragged pants as he chased his own release. "And then, Valerie?" he said. "Then I'll fuck your mouth. And you'll swallow every last drop, won't you?"
Valerie could only whimper in response, her nails scraping against the ground as she struggled to keep up.
Meruem reached around, his fingers finding her clit easily. He circled it once, twice, before pinching it hard enough to make her scream. "Come for me," he commanded. "Come like the good little slave you are."
Meruem's command was not a thing to be taken lightly. Valerie's back bowed as her orgasm ripped through her, her pussy clenching around him so tightly it bordered on painful.
But Meruem wasn't done. He pulled out with a wet pop, and seized her by the throat again, forcing her onto her back. She landed hard on the ground, her breath leaving her in a rush, but before she could recover, he was on top of her, his hips settling between her thighs once more.
Valerie's eyes widened in panic. "M-Master, I can't—"
"You can," he ordered. He guided himself back inside her, this time slowly, savoring the way her body clung to him. "And you will."
He set a restless rhythm, his hips snapping against hers as he fucked her into the ground. Valerie's legs wrapped around his waist, her fingers clawing at his back as she tried to match his pace. His shaft thrusting in and out of her with no room to breath, each thrust drawing moans from her lips.
"Look at me," he commanded again hungrily. "I want to see your eyes when I make you come again."
Meruem's lips crashed onto hers, taking her mouth like he owned it - which he did. Valerie moaned into the kiss, her hips rising to meet his thrusts as her orgasm crashed over her. She came with a cry, her body shuddering beneath him as he swallowed her moans with his own.
He pulled out, his cock glistening with their combined arousal, and gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Open your mouth," he ordered.
Valerie obeyed without hesitation, her lips parting as he guided his member between them. She took him deep, her tongue swirling around him as she cleaned him of her fluids. Meruem groaned, his fingers tangling in her hair as he fucked her mouth with shallow thrusts, savoring the way her throat worked around him.
"Swallow," he commanded and she obeyed, her throat contracting around him as she swallowed every last drop.
When he finally pulled back, his cock shined with saliva and cum, and Valerie's lips were swollen and red. Meruem tucked himself back into his pants with a satisfied smirk, watching as she collapsed against the ground.
He crouched beside her, his fingers tracing idle patterns over her skin as she caught her breath. "You did well, Val," he murmured. "Very well indeed."
Valerie looked up at him with worship in her eyes. "Thank you, Master," she whispered, her voice hoarse from her cries.
Meruem's laugh was triumphant. She was his now, and he intended to ensure she never forgot it or allowed anyone else to take her from him.
---
Valerie lay sprawled across his chest on the ground, her bare body clinging lazily to him in the pleasant exhaustion that followed their passionate session. Every deal ought to be sealed with hot, passionate sex, Meruem mused. It certainly made negotiations considerably less tedious.
"You tore my clothes apart," Valerie pouted, glaring accusingly at him. "Now I don't have anything to wear! Hmph!"
Meruem chuckled at her rather futile attempt to hide her small breasts from his gaze. It was amusing how different she was from Kuroka, who was enemies with shame and would probably have taken the opportunity to stroll naked through the castle and act surprised when everyone stared.
"I'm thinking of teleporting us directly into the middle of Sheol," Meruem teased.
"Don't you dare!" Valerie trembled at the very thought. "I might actually faint if all those people saw me naked."
Meruem chuckled and made a simple gesture with his hand. A magic circle shimmered into existence beside him, and from its glowing center emerged a beautiful purple dress. Valerie snatched it from him with impressive speed and immediately began putting it on.
"There is another reason I brought you here," Meruem said as he rose to his feet, snapping his fingers so that his own clothes settled themselves neatly over his body.
"What reason?" Valerie asked, still adjusting her dress.
"You see those incorporeal forms orbiting the Furnace?" Meruem pointed toward the hundreds of souls drifting around the immense construct like pale blue moons caught in the gravity of some obscene mechanical god. "Those belong to some of my more ambitious worshippers, every one of whom sold their soul to me in exchange for something they desired badly enough."
"They sold their souls to you?" Valerie stared at the drifting spirits with sorrowful disbelief. "Why would anyone ever want to sell their eternal soul?"
"You'd be astonished by how cheap eternity can be when someone is miserable in the present," Meruem said, watching the procession of souls with quiet fascination. "A homeless man convinced himself that his life had no conceivable future. He had nothing except one desire powerful enough to reach me. He wanted wealth beyond anything he had ever known, and the sort of appearance that would make people who had ignored him all his life suddenly notice when he entered a room. He offered me his soul, and I granted everything he requested. He became a multimillionaire overnight, and for perhaps the first time in his miserable existence, the world treated him exactly as he had always dreamed it would. He enjoyed that paradise for a single year before overdosing on drugs, whereupon his soul passed into my possession according to the terms of our agreement."
Meruem smiled faintly. "There have been men who wanted fortunes, lovers who wanted someone returned to them and cowards who wanted vengeance performed by another hand. Good people sell themselves for beautiful reasons, wicked people for ugly ones, and most fall somewhere within that crowded country between virtue and depravity. I rarely need to persuade them. Desire performs that labor beautifully on my behalf, and I merely arrive when they have finally decided what their eternity is worth."
Of course, the bargain only promised that Meruem would grant them their heart's deepest desire. There had been no clause stating that he must patiently await their natural deaths before collecting what was owed.
The devil was in the details, after all, and Meruem was perfectly happy to let his petitioners imagine that he wanted only the best for them, much like a genie with a particularly creative interpretation of contractual law.
"And what do you intend to do with these souls?" Valerie asked, her expression visibly disturbed.
"Your Graal has the ability to refine souls," Meruem explained. "It can strip away their memories, identities, emotions, and all the other remnants that make consuming another soul inconvenient. I want you to refine these until nothing remains except the soul itself, and then consume them."
"Me? You want me to consume them?" Valerie asked in surprise. "Why?"
"The most effective way to strengthen a soul, outside prolonged training or senjutsu, is to consume other souls," Meruem said. "Your current soul can't withstand the knowledge being forced into it by the Graal because, for all your power, yours is still fundamentally a mortal soul. I have a possible solution in mind, but I would prefer to have multiple avenues available rather than gamble everything upon one. If this works, every soul you consume should make your own progressively denser, purer, and stronger, until perhaps it becomes resilient enough to withstand the Graal without buckling beneath the strain."
"But Master, didn't you gather all these souls for yourself?" Valerie asked.
"There are two hundred souls here at best," Meruem said dismissively. "Consuming them would hardly increase my power in any meaningful manner, nor will they suddenly make you overwhelmingly powerful. They're only human souls, after all. Besides, my cute bishop is in danger of losing herself - I would gladly sacrifice such a trivial resource if there is even a chance it might help you."
Valerie blushed deeply, a soft giggle escaping her. "I understand. Thank you, Master…But what if it doesn't work? What if the Graal adjusts to the strength of my soul and simply forces even greater amounts of knowledge into me?"
"That's why I am here," Meruem said confidently. "My mastery of soul magic may be rudimentary, but I am competent enough to intervene if something goes wrong. We'll proceed slowly, observe how your soul responds after each refinement, and stop the moment the Graal begins doing anything unexpected."
--
AN: This chapter is mostly about how Meruem views people, including his own peerage. Despite how charming he can seem with all the jokes and playful banter, you should never forget that he's a true devil through and through.
It's also the first lewd scene in this fic. For someone who always said he felt uncomfortable writing smut, I sure am writing a lot of it. But it was necessary for this chapter, and it won't be particularly frequent anyway.
Advanced chapters are available on my Patreon. If you want to read ahead, vote on which story gets updated each week, or simply support my writing so I can focus more on it, you can check it out here: patreon.com/abeltargaryen?