1 Arrested

**********

CHAPTER ONE

The sound of marching boots against the cold grounds could be heard echoing in the entire hall.

THUD! THUD!

Girls, no, young maids, young men, women, rushing and hiding. Something was wrong. Something terrible was about to happen and they knew it.

The sounds of their heavy boots continued, bringing fear into the hearts of those who heard it. They were back again, the legion. Their presence in a place spelt doom and tragedy.

Who was it going to be this time? Who was the scapegoat? Who had angered the Almighty Lord? Who was so stupid?

Several questions echoed in the minds of the inhabitants of the palace.

***

Somewhere amidst this chaos were two beings sitting and discussing important matters of the kingdom. Completely unaware of the chaos that was happening right in the very palace that they were.

"I told you before. We need to speed things up. The Demon Lord is not having so long to live."

"But there is nothing more I can do, Master."

"DON'T TELL ME THAT!" He yelled at the other man, standing up at once.

"Master…"

"Do not even dare say it. He is the Demon Lord. We owe it to him to find a solution for his illness. He grows weak day by day. I cannot bear to see my dear old master crumble like that because of such sickness."

"You know it is on a different scale. He is going. He needs more souls to nourish him and help speed his recovery."

"Then send our people out there to conquer and kill to get him the souls needed," He hollered again, causing the other person to shrink in his seat.

"Forgive me, things are not that simple. Not just any soul can enrich him. They have to be specific,' the being uttered again.

"What nonsense are you speaking of this time around? You said it yourself, souls. So why must we have specific ones."

"Because his illness is terminal. He would die without them."

"DAMN IT!" He threw his hands up in the air as he hollered in anger, causing his brows to creased as he shut his eyes in pain.

This was the very master who had cared for him while growing up. He took him in as a son since he did not have one of his own.

Ever since then, they had grown together and in each other. They were inseparable. He grew up to be one of the strongest of their people due to the useful teaching of the Demon Lord.

Now he was sick, he just could not bring himself to accepting that nothing can be done for him.

"I refuse to accept it."

"I am sorry, Master but you need to and with the ever-increasing death rate of our people due to the attack and vanquishing by the angels, I hate to inform you but… it is going to be hard finding the right ones."

"You are a physician. You should know. You just should know. Keep searching and do not give up. We must find a solution please."

'Yes, master Aba…"

BANG!

Both of them turned their heads instantly to the rude intrusion

"In the name of the king, I command you to stand down,' one of the soldiers announced sternly.

He arched a brow at him. Unsure of what they meant or to whom the message was for.

"Abaddon, I urge you to stand down in the name of the king. If you resist, we would be forced to take you with brute force."

'Hey, Conlaed, what the fuck is going on?"

"You have the right to remain silent until the Demon Lord orders you to do so."

"Excuse me? You barge into my chambers and now you speak rudely to me? Might I remind you of who I am and who you bow down to?"

'Insurgency confirmed. Seize him."

0_0

Abaddon could barely believe his eyes. One second he was talking and the next, several of the legion soldiers rushed in and quickly circled around him.

"Guys, what is going on? Stop this, I do not want to fight you," Abaddon said, trying to reason with them.

"Then you would obey and surrender."

'There must be a mistake somewhere. What insurgency are you speaking of, Conlaed?"

Rather than answering him, Conlaed cast his gaze on the trembling physician and then brought it back to Abaddon.

"What do you call speaking in private with the Demon Lord's personal physician?"

"We were looking for more solutions to his illness."

'Yes, that is all you would say. More like you were the one causing the sickness in the first place," Conlaed stated accusingly.

That was it. Abaddon had heard enough already. They were not just speaking rudely to him and insulting him, he was being called a traitor right now.

The nerve!

He took a step forward in Conlaed's direction. A terrible mistake as the others saw it as a threat and quickly lunged for him.

Due to his resolve not wanting to hurt them, he paused, thinking they would stop as well.

Before he could say, Jack Robison, they had attacked him, tackling him to the ground and binding him with spirit ropes, one that even he one of the strongest demons could not break free from.

He struggled, trying his best to break free but couldn't.

From his vantage point, he could see Conlaed, his second in command walk majestically towards him and managed to look up but the knee of one of the demon soldiers prevented him from doing so.

"Aarrghh!"

Conlaed smiled, before squatting down to his level so Abaddon could look him in the eye. "Look at you now. How art the mighty fallen."

'You…" he gritted his teeth. If there was one person he would always believe in and all, I was his second in command.

He trusted him and knew he got his back. Conlaed also knew him and knew what he was capable of doing and what he was not.

"You know this is wrong. I thought we were friends," Abaddon said through gritted teeth.

"I am no friend with a traitor. I live to serve only the Demon Lord."