"Hohoho. What brings you here, old friend?" The king smiled, showing his yellow-tinted teeth when Krampus walked forward.

"I have some things I need to verify."

"And what would that be?" the man asked with a chuckle.

Calm down. As much as his arrogance annoyed the hell out of him, he restrained himself from acting out. The sullen prince took a step towards the glamorous throne. "A lot of the things I've seen here confuse me. Why is the town so morbid now? What happened to the excitement and joy that used to flourish here?"

"I don't think that's any of your concern." He placed his finger on his chin, looking up at the golden chandelier swaying above them. "All you need to know is that Christmas season is more efficient."

Krampus bit his on lip to keep from screaming in frustration. "You know that's bullshit. Vanilla told me the gist." He clenched his fists, letting droplets of blood fall from his pale, trembling knuckles. "Why did you not follow my advice and treat our subjects better? From what she told me, it sounds like you've become quite the bastard."

"Ah, her. She was a wonderful worker until she traded her intelligence for that... foolery." King Santa sighed as a leer curled his lips back. "I generously  help them focus more on work and what do they do? Band together in a futile attempt to overpower me."

King Santa had chocolate chip cookies clutched in his hands. "So, now that you know, what are your plans? Cry to the elves like you did all those years ago?" he drawled, waving the sweet treats around before stuffing them in his mouth. "Y'know, I realized something long banishing you: without me those elves would be weak, untrained savages."

The king paused to push down the cookies in his throat with milk before staring at Krampus with misty grey eyes. "They should be greatful, really. I want them to become great guardians for the next generation, and this is the only way to guide them."

Krampus said nothing for a few moments. His eyes shut tight while he tried to wrap his horns around what the king was blabbering on about. He drew in slow, steady breaths to calm the beast that raged within him before scoffing, "What, you think you're God now?"

At that, King Santa guffawed. His mighty laughter echoed through the castle, shaking the fragile walls and bringing icicles to the ground. "No, I'm Santa Claus."

Kranpus knew he was arrogant, but deep in the back of his mind he wondered who stroked the king's ego while he was gone. After scratching his scalp, the outcasted prince took a step forward. "I want to know why there are corpses in the junkyard."

King Santa took this time to observe his nails. "They didn't listen."

Breathe. Breathe. Speak calmly. Krampus repeated the mantra in his head. "What did you tell them to do?" Krampus asked, his tail swinging behind him.

The man clad in red and white robes wiped the crumbs caged between his beard hairs free. "It wasn't too difficult; all I told them to do was bring their children to work. There weren't enough toys to take around the world and I needed more by midnight. But, they didn't listen. So," he started after sipping a red substance, "I had their families kill them. Pity, really―they were such hard workers. Now I give the living elves more hours."

Krampus clicked his tongue, keeping a fixed gaze on the checkered floor. Vanilla was right; he really was a tyrant. A wretched, toxic tyrant. The prince felt ashamed to carry the same title as the wicked man. Chills crawled up his spine and held his heart hostage.

"You've been busy while I was gone, huh?" he said between seethed teeth. "Given your size, I bet the sins in that broken mind of yours could keep me full all winter!"

The king shook his head, uttering tut tut tuts. "No such thing. On the contrary, We're making so many more children happy now."

Krampus stomped his hoof, ready to tackle the man for speaking such nonsense. "If they knew what you were doing up here, they wouldn't be so jolly, now would they?"

"Now, now, Krampus." King Santa had the nerve to scold him. "Has your vacation muddled what little sense of humour you have?" The king ignited a small flame with a snap and took out a cigar, lighting it with the flame licking his finger. "I told you," he began after letting out a puff, "it's for a good cause. I did what I had to out of discipline because your methods of caretaking were far too soft."

He chuckled afterwards, glancing at the seething goat demon with a smile. "Oh, and Simon was quite the sight to see trembling until he learned to obey. Now look, your friend's my best global chauffeur."

At that point Krampus snapped, bolting towards the beer-bellied man, eyes bulged. Santa snickered, his steady gaze unwavering when he clapped his hands.

In seconds the prince was restrained by the arms of two snowmen with whom he was unacquainted. No matter how hard he struggled to break free, it was pointless; he couldn't escape their death grip.

His Majesty waved to the frost-biten guards after setting his dessert aside. "Bring him to me."

The snowmen bowed slightly, placing their slender hands on their chest before dragging Krampus across the hall.

Don't kill them, the goat demon thought with annoyance, you'll be just like him if you do. So, he allowed the snowmen to guide him.

"My boy," the king said, inches away from his once companion's face, "you know why you haven't had any children appear on the naughty list recently?"

He leaned out of his throne, then patted his stomach while bringing his face close to Krampus' ear. "I ate them."

Krampus already had grimace etched on his face as his skin was assaulted by cookie crumbs and corn syrup, then Santa's words registered. He growled low, not even trying to hide his disgust. "What?" 

"Hohoho, yes indeed, you did not hear me wrong. The boys in particular were incredibly delicious. Listening to their screams just gives me shivers!" He cackled, his voice an expulsion of hysteric laughter dangling towards inhumanity as he eased back into his throne. "I'm just doing the job you weren't man enough to do."

"You don't know what you're doing. The reason why I stopped eating them was so they could learn from their mistakes! Why do you think I took them to hell every year? For a fucking tour?" Despite the snowmen's arms riddling his own with splinters, Krampus ached to burst into flames and dye Santa's precious castle red. He was missing the whole point. The demon's breath was ragged as he added, "I do it to show what's waiting for them if they don't get their shit together, you dumbass." 

"I could care less about the method, it's the results I want. Ever since you were exiled, not a single child's name has been on the naughty list thanks to me." He put his cigar between his lips and let out a puff of smoke in Krampus' face.

The king smiled at him holding his coughs back before reasoning, "When you brought the little cretins to your domain in that pathetic line of yours, they could've easily just brushed it off as a Christmas nightmare. My method molds children into respectable adults while eliminating the ones who aren't needed in society."

Krampus could feel his fur growing thicker and his teeth pressing against his lips as he fumed. "That's their decision and you have no right to take that from them."

"Why not?" King Santa questioned, tilting his head. "Those children love me more than their parents. What better way to repay them than getting rid of some bad apples?"

The prince opened his mouth to retort, but changed his mind. He shook his head as he said, "It's pointless trying to talk sense into you. Let me go."

"Hm, and if I don't?"

Every second Krampus spent talking with the plump fool made his stomach growl in aching hunger. Exhaling, he met the man's gaze. "You do not want to do that right now. I can't guarantee that you won't have to gather the pieces of these fine gentlemen here otherwise."

At that, the snowman to his left squeezed the demon's arm, making him flinch. "What shall you have us do with him?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

King Santa glanced at them and chuckled. "It's fine, let the little cunt go. He's powerless anyways."

Krampus' ears twitched when he ripped his arm from the guard's loosened grip, landing a solid punch on Santa's face. The sound of his fist slamming against the king's ancient bones reflected on the walls. "How dare you!" he yelled when the snowman grabbed him, one muttering apologies for letting him go to the other.

"No," Santa started, "how dare you!" When he yelled the last word, he stabbed his sword in Krampus' stomach, cutting through his fur and penetrating his skin. Santa Claus' breaths were heavy while he pushed the sword further into his stomach, licking his lips when a splash of blood landed on his face. He inhaled before twisting the weapon inside of the demon for what felt like an eternity before ripping it out. "It seems you've forgotten who raised you. I've left you off your leash for far too long; it's about time I tightened it. You owe me your life." 

Krampus bit his lip to trap any screams that dared to escape from his mouth at the sword scraping against his organs. Green and purple staining his vision when he glared at the ceiling to distract himself. He was boiling, his adrenaline being the only thing keeping him on his feet.

Krampus stared at the shackles that bound him to the king after his vision cleared. He then clicked his tongue before breaking out of them. The golden constraints jangled when they fell to the blood-splattered floor was the only thing audible until he snarled in jagged breaths, "Not anymore."