"I can't fathom your foolishness; how in hell did you allow an enforcer to come close enough to slice you?" Lucius gritted out as he pierced his assistant's flesh with a suture needle, threading the torn skin together with gentleness he thought himself incapable of.

Lucius had existed before the dawn of time, yet this was perhaps the first instance where he felt something akin to emotion. It disgusted him. He was not a human; worry, fear, and guilt belonged to the weak, to those he used as pawns. Solar City had an abundance of those types, mere maggots beneath his boot who vowed their souls to him; he owned them and their organisations. He did not belong to that class.

But seeing his wounded assistant—a lesser demon who had latched onto his side for as long as they had both lived— ignited a fire of anguish deep within his core. They had trudged the Earth together, inflecting havoc upon humans, side by side. Lucius could not deny that the pain on his aide's face pained him.

That was not to say that he cared for his assistant; that was too strong of a sentiment. No, he tolerated the lesser demon. Though, had he known this fiend would lead him to such a pathetic state, he would have snuffed out the tolerance between them instantly.

"I'm right by your side, you can handle this," he murmured less bitingly, holding his assistant's shoulder with one strong hand to seize any attempts of jerking away. Despite having watched men—the powerful and weak alike—beg and plead for their lives like dogs, the sight in front of him was the most jarring he had ever seen.

He sighed when he finally secured the last stitch, his eyes trailing along the gash that travelled down his assistant's stomach. He had no doubt this was the doing of an enforcer from The Watcher, a group of Solar City council members attempting to clean up the underground. If only he hadn't assigned his aide to this mission.

“I want to know exactly who did this to you. Now.” He spoke, bracing his hands against his desk, either side of his assistant.