text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, grimdark, fantasy, villain protagonist]
  
  6 TR
  
  You attempt to cast a simple cantrip and barely a flicker of flame shoots from your fingertip. Kessla's little headquarters certainly was well nullified, though Dero rock tends to be great for such things. It's partially why the Svelk never tried to conquer the insane ugly little bastards.
  
  You wonder how Kessla managed to get a Dero (let alone several) to even agree to build a place for her out their magic nullifying rocks. Even Casimir couldn't do that and he directly helped them in their war with the trolls. Then again Casimir was a necromancer and probably wouldn't have wanted to hamper his magic abilities.
  
  Speaking of necromancy, this place apparently is also very good for keeping out the dead. There are dead bodies all over this place and not a one has even twitched, something that's unfortunately all too common nowadays. Getting to the point where the dead just have to be burned to ensure permanent eradication. Really makes killing those who displease you more of a chore than it needs to be at times.
  
  "Mistress the entire place has been searched and there was indeed a hidden door leading to a deeper passage which leads to another door made of solid rock. Can't open it and haven't explored it yet, but there could be more rebels hiding somewhere down there." Drunni remarks as he comes up to you.
  "Brilliant conclusion Drunni. Glad you're able to come up with some things all by yourself since you obviously weren't able to handle this without my direct help."
  
  Drunni surprisingly doesn't even scowl at your remark and quickly moves on to telling you that Kessla is still alive if you want the pleasure of killing her yourself. Honestly you wouldn't have bothered wasting your time with any of this, but since you had to be directly involved anyway, you figure you might as well amuse yourself.
  
  "Kessla's still alive? Were you too overcome with pathetic sentimental feelings for her to actually finish her off, or was it just simple incompetence again? No need to answer Drunni, it was a rhetorical question and I know the answer anyway. Well, where is the traitor?"
  "She's down the hall and in the last room on the left. Have fun...I know I did."
  
  Drunni says and walks off with a smirk on his face. You briefly wonder what the hell he's smiling about considering he's one of the most unfun bastards you've known since...well Francis.
  
  You wonder how he's doing in all this.
  
  Last reports you heard is his Empire isn't doing all that great against this apocalyptic event he's unleashed. Serves him right for not listening to you. It's okay though; he'll have plenty of time to apologize to you when you meet again. You'll enjoy that.
  
  You'll enjoy punishing him and making him crawl for forgiveness. Then when he's right where you want him, you'll have some real fun.
  
  "What the hell, Drunni didn't even leave guards here? Fucking idio... hrm...well wasn't expecting this..."
  
  You see Kessla bent over the foot of a bed with both of her arms stretched out forward tied to the bedposts by ropes. She's stripped completely naked and has wounds on her back. When you walk over to the side of the bed, you look at her face which also show a few signs of physical trauma. She manages to look at you back with her one eye, which isn't closed shut, but she's obviously not one hundred percent.
  
  You sit down on the side of the bed.
  
  "Wow, I guess you two rekindled some old flames. No wonder Drunni was so uncharacteristically happy. Looks like he really wore you out. Also looks like your ass was bleeding back there. Bet he didn't even have the courtesy to at least spit on his dick and just went in raw."
  
  Kessla doesn't respond, she just buries her face partially into the bed breathing slightly louder than normal presumably from her ordeal.
  
  "I guess he had a lot of pent up energy, but I'll be sure to remind him of this incident, the next time he wants to turn up his nose at my activities. Shit, I bet that pervert even called you by name while he railed you didn't he? I knew he wanted to fuck me, but then who doesn't right?"
  
  Kessla manages to lift her head up a bit to look at you.
  
  "Just kill me and get it over with you fucking bitch. Nothing matters anymore anyway. This world is fucking doomed and we're all already dead." Kessla says.
  "You sound like a dero with that sort of fatalistic outlook. Is that how you built this place? You suck some dero cock and let their seed infect your brain? It's okay, you can tell me. How did you get past the smell? I don't think even I would be able to get used to that. With humans at least you can mask their odor." you respond.
  
  Kessla doesn't respond.
  
  "Very well I can see you're in no mood for girl talk and just want to get this over with. There was a secret door discovered going to a deeper passage. Tell me where this leads exactly and I'll make your death quick. Don't tell me and I won't. Either way isn't going to bother me. This choice is purely for your benef..."
  "YES, I'll fucking tell you! I'll fucking tell you everything if you just shut the fuck up! By the gods this was one of the reasons we broke off from your leadership, you're fucking annoying and not nearly as clever as you think you are. You're the damn reason we're all in this fucking mess!" Kessla shouts.
  
  You smile.
  
  "Well? I'm waiting." you ask.
  
  Kessla exhales and gathers her strength before speaking.
  
  "First, you probably think some of my people ran down there to hide when you breached this place, well I can tell you that didn't happen. I'm the only one who knows how to open the door by way of magic password. It leads to a dero community."
  "Okay. Not too surprising though perhaps mildly concerning that there's one so close by. Most dero communities are under Evigrus and even then very deep underground. This brings further questions of course, one of which is, are the rock eaters deliberately trying to destabilize us? Is that why they helped you?"
  "Partially, though their primary goals are a bit convoluted and they didn't just help me for the fun of sewing discord either. I had to come up with ongoing payment."
  "So you WERE sucking dero cock then."
  "Well not me, but they did want some of our females to breed with."
  "Wait, what? I know that dero managed to get around their female sterility problem by raiding females of lesser races like humans, keeping them as breeding stock until they're worn out from the birthing process, but to my knowledge they can't breed with us. Just doesn't work."
  "Yeah well apparently they managed to get around that problem through science or something. You know those little mad bastards are always tinkering with shit like that. Still, it's a recent thing and it's not a high priority since from what I hear the most of the dero are preparing themselves for some sort of collective suicide of allowing death to take them."
  "Yeah, yeah, I imagine with what's going on this would fall into their nihilistic outlook and embracing complete oblivion. But if that's the case why would they bother breeding with anything?"
  "As I said, this is only most of the dero. The community I've been dealing with isn't quite as hung up on embracing death. They're determined to survive, but they'll need more numbers hence the need for more breeding stock. And of course they're still mad bastards as you might expect though. To set up a community here under Dokkrus and approaching me to give them breeding stock is proof of that."
  "So when did they approach you anyway?"
  "Shortly after your dismal failure in leading the defense of Necros."
  "Hm, a little insulted they didn't just approach me directly about this. Not like I would have been against having them as allies during this crisis."
  "I believe they felt you would have been less reasonable to work with."
  "Nonsense. I'm very reasonable. Like I fully intend on keeping my promise of giving you a quick death since you've cooperated with your information. Though I need a few more answers before we get to that."
  "Great and here I thought I was getting to the end."
  "Almost, almost. But tell me, besides intending on fighting off the undead and gaining breeding stock, what is this dero community planning? I mean do they intend on attacking us at some point?"
  "To my knowledge, no. They seem focused on trying to keep the undead out with their magic nullifying rock and just continue to exist with a steady supply of breeders. Honestly, I haven't even heard from them directly in three years. After last year I stopped even leaving them females. I needed all the direct help I could get to fight undead and YOU anyway, and they weren't providing shit at that point. For all I know they could have all descended into madness and drooling on themselves."
  
  Kessla says she doesn't know much more about the dero community other than the one time the one approached her; they've never even bothered to come to the surface and only met her in a neutral place past the stone door. (Where she would leave the females for them).
  
  In any case, it doesn't sound like you should just ignore this. A group of rock eaters making their home right under your feet in Dokkrus is a security threat. You just aren't sure if you shouldn't approach in a diplomatic manner or just go in and wipe out the little bastards.
  
  > Genocide
  Never let it be said that genocide doesn't resolve all problems.
  
  Still, these are dero you're talking about so you're going to need a greater force than you currently have. You'll also need Kessla to say the password to the dero door.
  
  "Thank you Kessla, not only have you been very helpful, but you've also extended your life by a few moments." You say.
  "Great. How long exactly?"
  "Hrm, at least a few days. I'm going to have to get a sizable invasion force over here since the amount I currently have left from putting an end to your little rebellion probably isn't going to be enough for a dero stronghold."
  "So you're going to wipe them out?"
  "I thought that was obvious when I said I would be amassing an invasion force. In any case, your presence seems to have put Drunni in a better mood, so maybe I'll leave you in his care at least until this dero business is over with."
  "You fucking bitch."
  "Hrm. Well I suppose I couldn't have expected anything wittier than that."
  
  You call to some nearby soldiers to take Kessla away and make the preparations to gather another assault force. You figure you'll have Gikil head the invasion. Give him something important to do.
  
  Now with Dokkrus reunited, (or at least not in open rebellion anymore) you can focus on a more concentrated defense. You still aren't sure what you're going to do about stemming the tide of undead though. The only thing that comes to mind is trying to scour old magic tomes to find potential answers.
  
  You wonder about Francis and if maybe perhaps he is coming up with ideas of how to stop it, but then you shake your head that he's probably fumbling about in the dark more than anyone about this. He was the one that caused this after all, why the hell would he have any idea of how to stop it. He is a child. A child that needs discipline. If only your hands hadn't been tied, you could have whipped him into shape better.
  
  In any case, you get ready to head back to your fortress; you've got a lot of work ahead of you.
  
  Two months pass...
  
  "He's fucking dead?" you exclaim.
  "That is what the latest reports say Mistress. Apparently there was just enough of his face left to identify it as Gikil." Drunni replies.
  "Fuck!"
  
  You throw a nearby vase against the wall in anger.
  
  "That incompetent dumb ass. I should have taken him off the assignment when he didn't get the job done after one month. Are the dero finally destroyed at least?"
  "Erm, no. Apparently they have managed to refortify their gate and have actually been launching their own attacks by making tunnels in the area. The svelk outpost above the dero community is a killing zone and svelk forces have had to retreat outside the old rebel hideout so as not to be completely decimated. Of course this is starting to draw the attention of wandering undead, which are becoming more frequent on the continent."
  
  You shake your head in exasperation. You can't believe things have gotten so horribly fucked up with this simple task. Granted you knew the dero weren't going to be push overs, but you at least figured Gikil would have been able to handle a small enclave of them. And on top of it all he got himself killed in the process.
  
  You're starting to think that you might have to handle this yourself. You can't trust a male to do this job, and even with the magical nullifying rocks, you'd still be able to assist magically. Just would take more energy on your part.
  
  You'd have to levy more soldiers from the svelk communities into helping which won't be popular, but then they're going to bitch about your leadership anyway.
  
  Of course you could just pull back altogether and shore up defenses at the svelk strongholds. The undead are more of an immediate threat and what remains of the dero community probably isn't going to venture too far from where they are. They didn't when Kessla's rebels were there after all and there was more of them then.
  
  > press the attack
  There's nothing else for it, you have to destroy them completely. If you don't they'll just dig under you and launch ambushes right in your own homes. Especially now that you've attacked them and they aren't getting svelk women from Kessla anymore.
  
  You tell Drunni to go to the invasion encampment with some reinforcements and try to get shit organized again. You tell him to just keep a guarded perimeter around the area and keep an eye on things. Drunni isn't exactly pleased to do so, but ever since you allowed him to keep Kessla around as a fuck slave, he's been in a better mood, so he complies without much grumbling.
  
  You spend the next few weeks teleporting to all the major svelk strongholds emphasizing the danger of the dero threat and in particular their lust for svelk women since Kessla and her rebels were offering them up as payment. It's enough to cause concern in your female population and as such your male population follows. Raising a large army isn't as much of a problem as you thought it might be, but you have to be careful to not take too many to leave svelk centers completely defenseless.
  
  Eventually the time comes for the attack. Drunni says there hasn't been any unusual activity from what he could tell. He says they even did some minor scouting of the rebel hideout and there weren't any signs of dero. He believes they're probably expecting a big invasion and are waiting for your attack.
  
  You come up with a plan to send in another group of scouts to secure the upper level. Make sure there aren't any traps or anything like that first.
  
  After the upper level is secure, you and Drunni enter with a large group of elite warriors by your side. You make your way past the now destroyed door to the dero community and down the stairway. With some effort you manage to cast a protective barrier around yourself and your front row.
  
  Eventually you reach the bottom and walk until your reach a large open area. Up ahead is a huge gate that has obviously been pieced back together and reinforced with large stones in front of it. Doesn't take long before the guttural sound of deros shouting in their awful language.
  
  This is it.
  
  The dero fire upon you and your people immediately, but your magic barrier holds. You don't know for how long though since you're attempting to summon up enough magic to blast through the gate.
  
  Drunni orders the warriors to start firing their crossbows at whatever they can see, the problem though is the dero are small targets standing high above behind battlements and encased in very heavy armor. Even in the small chance of hitting them, it's unlikely going to be an instant kill.
  
  Still, it's enough to act as a distraction while you unleash a large blast of lightning to the gate.
  
  You manage to blow the dero gate off its smug little hinges. Not enough to completely destroy it, but it's open and the dero aren't going to be repairing it anytime soon.
  
  Of course it's took a lot out of you and you fall to one knee in exhaustion from the ordeal. You also don't have it in you to maintain the protective barrier. The dero take advantage and fire into your ranks taking out several of your people.
  
  Drunni actually takes the initiative, telling everyone to spread out and advance inside as quickly as they can. He even goes to check on you.
  
  "Mistress, are you alright?" Drunni asks while trying to lift you up before you push him away.
  "Yeah, yeah, I'm fucking fine. Let's just finish this shit." You answer and stand back up and cast the protective barrier over yourself and those within your immediate vicinity.
  
  The battle is a slaughter on both sides, but you've got the edge due to numbers, it's barely enough though. In fact if you hadn't been assisting with your magic, this could have easily been another loss.
  
  The most difficult fight is around the nursery and breeding facility. The dero females don't give an inch without at least several of your own paying the price. The svelk women still being held there are in a sorry state. Some are barely even alive. Almost all of them are begging for death, which is given not so much as a mercy, but more because they're useless and would be a drain on resources.
  
  The dero fought to every last man, woman and even child. It's a bit odd that they fought so hard given what you know of their race being generally fatalistic with this situation. Why bother to fight when everyone is going to die anyway? Then again Kessla did say they split from the rest of their society.
  
  By the same coin, you're sort of surprised they didn't just escape when you broke through if they were so determined to live. You doubt you would have been able to follow them into any tunnels they dug. They must have really believed they could win.
  
  Drunni and those that survived say they haven't found any survivors hiding or lurking about.
  
  "Looks like we got them all or at least haven't found any tunnels or anything." Drunni says.
  "Yeah I don't think any tried to escape considering their babies were still in their cribs. Dero are pretty protective of their spawn. If they tried to escape, they would have most certainly taken them and not left them for us to bash against the stone walls." You reply.
  "Guess that's true. Are we heading back?"
  "Soon. I'll send a crew here to gather the valuables, weapons and such when I get back."
  "Okay, well I guess I'll head up then and SHIT, look out!"
  
  Drunni points out a figure that comes out of the shadows. It's a dero, though he's not crazed or grizzled looking for one of his kind. He's also not encased in heavy armor and is wearing simple clothing. He's also got blood on his head.
  
  He carries no weapons at all and has his hands raised.
  
  "No need for alarm. I'm not armed." He says in a calm tone.
  
  A bit unusual, but since you seem to have the advantage you don't kill him immediately.
  
  "How long have you been hiding? Since the beginning of the battle or just when you knew you were going to lose?" you ask.
  "I actually wasn't hiding. During the battle with all the canons and magic flying around, a loose stone fell on my head and knocked me out. Damn fool me for not wearing a helmet I suppose. By the time I woke up, you lot had already made your way into the heart of the community and were mopping up the survivors. Didn't seem to be much point in charging into battle at that point, so I just waited."
  
  The dero looks around and sighs.
  
  "I like to think I would have given you more of a fight had I been conscious to lead my people better." The dero remarks.
  "Wait. YOU'RE the leader of this pathetic community?"
  "I am, or was. I'm Marzost. I'm guessing you're the infamous Mistress. Kessla mentioned you many times. Wait, are you Drunni? She mentioned you as well. Didn't have fond words for either of you."
  "Yeah well she's not saying too many negative things anymore, especially not with my cock in her mouth all the time." Drunni interjects.
  "Hm, well I knew it was only a matter of time before you got her, knew it was only a matter of time before you confronted us as well. I just thought it wouldn't need to come to this. Why the hell did you attack in the first place? We didn't do anything to you."
  "Didn't do anything? And I suppose those svelk women were in that breeding chamber of their own free will eh? You were also assisting svelk rebels." you say.
  "Hey that was Kessla and the old dero leader's agreement., not mine. Had it been up to me, I would have approached you to deal with immediately. I knew of your reputation. And I will say, you are every bit as magnificent looking in person. I'm privileged, to have seen you before my death."
  "Well at least you know what awaits you, though I'm still baffled to as why you didn't at least put up a fight. I mean just surrendering when all your people fought to the death seems unworthy of a leader that is willing to die with them."
  "Oh. I think you've misunderstood. I'm not surrendering."
  "While I don't doubt a muscular rock eater like yourself could snap my neck with your bare hands, I guarantee you'd be dead before you'd make it to me or Drunni. I also see no weapons or even armor. Unless you're going to surprise me and claim to be a magic using dero."
  "Hah, well I wish I had that sort of surprise. I do have one though and I don't need to get any closer than I do right now."
  
  Drunni's eyes widen and suddenly runs, you aren't sure exactly what Marzost is going to do, but you know you have to stop him fast. You can't believe you were so foolish to not kill him immediately. You start to cast a spell, but its too late, Marzost quickly pulls out two large dark red crystals out of his pockets and with a crystal in each hand he slams them together creating a large explosion.
  
  It's enough to bring most of the ceiling down and create a cascading effect on the area as a whole. You getting crushed by falling rocks though is not a concern since you were killed immediately by the initial explosion.
  
  A quick death, though what awaits you in the afterlife isn't so quick unfortunately.