C20 Pest Control

And another. One by one, they knelt. Until only a handful remained standing. Seeing this I sighed, shaking my head.

"You f*ckers just dont listen do you?"

I muttered, rubbing my temples as if dealing with an insufferable migraine.

Without thinking much of it, I reached up, grabbed the laurel crown from my head, and tossed it carelessly to Augustus.

He caught it effortlessly, his sharp gaze watching me with amused curiosity. Scratching the back of my head, I muttered under my breath, my irritation growing.

"The f*ck was I thinking when I wrote you lot? Making you this damn annoying…"

A few of the kneeling senators dared to look up at my words, confused. But I ignored them. Instead, I let out a tired sigh, running a hand down my face.

"Fine. Have it your way."

I rolled my shoulders, stretching lazily, then turned my head to the massive beast lying beside my throne.

"Lupa."

The Iron Fenrir's long and pointy ears perked up at my call, her golden eyes snapping to me, alert.

"You hungry, girl?"

She let out a low, rumbling growl, deep, expectant. Like she was saying, "Well duh, of course I am." I smirked. Then, without looking, I pointed directly at the remaining standing senators.

"Bon appetit."

For a brief second, no one moved. Then, a blur of black aka Lupa lunged forward like a thunderbolt, her claws tearing into the marble floor as she sank her massive fangs into the nearest standing senator's torso, lifting him clean off his feet.

The man barely had time to scream. A sickening CRUNCH echoed through the hall. Bones snapped like twigs. Blood splattered across the floor. The senators who were standing immediately collapsed to their knees, their faces drained of all color.

"Mercy! MERCY, IMPERATOR!"

One of them wailed, hands clasped together in desperation. I picked at my ear with my pinky, looking completely disinterested.

"Too late"

I muttered.

Lupa, meanwhile, tore into another one, her razor sharp alloy teeth rending flesh from bone like it was paper. Blood pooled beneath her as she feasted, her metallic tail whipping lazily behind her.

Some senators gagged, their stomachs failing them. Others wept. The stench of iron and gore filled the chamber, mingling with the incense that once gave this place an air of d*vine authority.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention…"

I sighed, as if I had just remembered something trivial.

"All of you f*ckers that refused to kneel earlier…"

I let the words hang in the air, allowing the weight of them to sink into their trembling bones.

"…you also condemned your entire bloodline to the same fate."

The silence that followed was deafening.

Some of the senators visibly froze, their eyes widening in sheer horror, their lips parting in wordless protests.

Others outright collapsed, their bodies failing them as the reality of my decree sank its claws into their skulls.

The older ones, the ones with wives, children, grandchildren their expressions shattered first. Because they knew. This wasn't just about them. I was going to erase their families from history. Then, just as their panic was reaching a breaking point, I grinned.

"But..."

I paused, tilting my head.

"I'm feeling merciful today."

A few senators looked up, hope flickering in their eyes a fatal mistake.

"So… if you kill yourselves now, I'll spare your families."

The hope shattered instantly, replaced by paralyzing dread. I leaned back against my throne, my crimson gaze sweeping over the trembling masses.

"Oh and you better hurry up,"

I added casually, poking my thumb over my shoulder at Lupa, who was still feasting.

"Because she's still very hungry."

Lupa let out a deep, guttural growl, her golden eyes gleaming as she snapped the spine of one of the corpses between her alloy plated jaws. Blood splattered across the marble, some of it even reaching the trembling senators.

That was the final breaking point. The reactions of the condemned varied, some expected, some utterly pathetic. Some senators collapsed to the floor, sobbing, wailing like infants.

"I... I can't! I CAN'T DO IT!"

One of them shrieked, his fingers clawing at the marble as if it could somehow save him. Another shook his head violently, hyperventilating, whispering prayers to g*ds that had long since abandoned him. One particularly pale, sweat-drenched senator grabbed onto the robes of another.

"Please, please, help me! HELP ME!"

He clutched at his neighbor, as if the other man could somehow drag him out of hell itself. The other senator violently shoved him away, his own expression twisted in terror.

"GET OFF ME! DIE LIKE A DOG ON YOUR OWN!"

Then there were the ones who simply stared at the floor, their eyes dead, their souls already gone. One of them, an older man, exhaled sharply, closed his eyes, and muttered.

"At least… my son will live."

Without another word, he reached into his robes, pulled out a small ceremonial dagger, and plunged it into his own throat.

A wet, gurgling sound filled the chamber as blood poured down his robes, pooling at his feet. A few others followed suit, silently cutting their own throats, falling onto their sides like discarded puppets.

No words. No screams. Just resignation. And then, there were the ones who refused. One man, rage replacing his fear, suddenly leapt to his feet.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE A G*D?!"

He roared, pointing a shaking finger at me.

"You are a monster! A tyrant! You think history will remember you as a hero?! It will remember you as a butcher!"

I arched a white brow, still lounging lazily against my throne.

"…sure whatever you say dips*it."

I gestured lazily. A nearby paratrooper didn't even hesitate. A single gunshot cracked through the air.

The senator's skull burst open like a ripe fruit, splattering his nearest colleague with bits of bone and brain matter. The man next to him screamed, his hands clawing at his own face.

"OH G... G*DS..."

Before he could finish, another shot rang out. More blood. More silence.

"Anyone else?"

I asked, tapping my fingers against my armrest. Not a single one spoke. Good. The last of the condemned senators either lay dead or were kneeling, trembling, drenched in sweat and piss.

Those who had surrendered to my decree? Their families would live. Those who resisted? Every trace of them would be erased.

Lupa finally licked the blood from her muzzle, her golden eyes flicking toward me as if awaiting another order. I patted her massive head.

"Had youre fill?"

I murmured. She huffed, then settled back down beside my throne, content. The remaining senators those who had submitted from the very beginning remained deathly silent, not daring to move even a muscle as they continued to kneel.

Their robes were soaked in sweat. The power structure of the ducatum had been shattered. Now? It would be rebuilt. The tension lingered for what felt like an eternity. Followed by asoft chuckle.

Augustus, the former Emperor, still seated beside me, was shaking his head, amused.

"I'm not complaining,"

He said, his voice laced with something close to approval.

"But don't you think that was a bit too… bloody?"

He asked, raising a brow. I exhaled, shrugging.

"No point in wasting good food,"

I responded flatly.

Augustus snorted, shaking his head.

"You certainly have a… unique approach to governance."

I smirked, resting my chin against my fist.

"Governance?"

I scoffed.

"No, granmps. This?"

I gestured toward the blood soaked chamber, the bodies littering the floor, the trembling remnants of the Senate.

"This isn't governance."

My voice dropped lower, colder.

"Its pest control."

Augustus chuckled darkly, swirling the wine in his glass before taking a slow sip.

"Well,"

He muttered, glancing down at the kneeling figures below.

"I suppose it's working."

I exhaled, my gaze sweeping across the now silent, broken Senate.

"You know you disgust me."

My voice was calm, but the venom beneath it was undeniable, the Senators stiffened.

"All of you."

My words were soft, but they cut deeper than any blade, I let out a low, exasperated chuckle, shaking my head.

"The amount of factions, the petty rivalries, the constant infighting, the self serving ideologies you cling to… "

My crimson gaze swept across the room.

"It makes me want to vomit."

Several Senators exchanged uneasy glances, but none dared speak, so I continued, my tone growing colder.

"The only reason I created the Senate… was to help me rule."

A heavy silence followed, my voice darkened.

"But look at what you've done."

My words struck like a hammer.

"After my death, the Imperium was torn apart."

I stood up, leather boots clanking against the bloody marble floor.

"Poverty. Corruption. Nepotism. Treason."

Each word was a blow, hammering their failures into them.

"You turned MY IMPERIUM into a rotting corpse where the strong exploit the weak, where nobility means gluttony, where you debate and argue while the Imperium burns!"

The Senators shrank back, their heads lowering even further.