The drive to Kuala Lumpur was always boring and mundane to him. For a good chunk of the duration, you’ll be looking at the road ahead, the trees and greens that surround the landscape and occasionally have to stop at a rest station for personal reasons. At least that was what he remember back in his early days.

But that was twenty five years ago. Most of the forest had been chopped down, the earth flattened to pave way for the foundations and concrete buildings had taken their place. Some of the lands were turned into massive palm oil plantations or huge neighborhoods accessible by the rich. It’s a stuff of wonders really.

When he was a kid, all he saw was the forest. Now, he sees a different kind of forest. One of towering grey, white and black structures decorated with shining lights. Everything has changed for the better.

Kuala Lumpur, a bustling metropolitan has expanded into greater size. There were skyscrapers that reached past two hundred floors and they looked like something straight out of a skyscraper. Not to mention how the city had expanded in the past twenty years with the aid of the famous company from America, the Another Genesis Corporation. The one glaring law it has is the singular tower in it.

The tower was long and menacing, reminding William of Lord of the Ring’s tower where Sauron’s evil eye would be. He recalled vividly how it had erupted out of the ground, destroying the Twin Towers in an instant with its girth and size. Images of myriad beast, snarling and scowling at one another, were engraved along the reddish-black exterior.

The Beast Tower as it was known by many cast a terrible shadow over the city and a good chunk of the area closest to it were left barren due to the magical energy having contaminated most of the area and rendered it uninhabitable. Any normal human would get affected by the mana and eventually fell to the Raksasa Syndrome.

Thinking about the incident made his grip tightened around the steering wheel. The monster that roamed the streets, humans turned into half-broken monsters crossed between a man and some beast. The place became a warzone for almost a week; the few Ascended amongst the populace tried to set orders and others have less-than-altruistic goals in mind. Add in the mutants that roam the streets, many died and many more suffered.

William was snapped out of the memory lane when the phone rang. Left hand left the steering wheel and grabbed the phone. A quick swipe across the screen and the caller’s voice came in.

“Come on, I thought you’ll handle it just fine.” Tony’s familiar voice came in.

“Take a hike you bloody snake.” Snarked William, growing furious hearing his voice. “We had a deal. I’m help you with whatever problems so long as you don’t force me to hurt kids. Or women. Or anybody that doesn’t deserve a fist.”

Adult men are free game especially if they owe debt to their gang or their boss. Adult Ascended are even better as they can put up a fight. He wouldn’t raise a hand against those who are incapable to defend themselves considering the most of the former category would kneel before superior might and the latter can actually endure some of the beatings.

“Alright, fine, thanks. Just transfer the money to me through the banks. You can keep thirty percent.”

“Make it fifty.” Snarked William, taking a turn to the right.

Tony laughed and William waited until the man stopped laughing. He had to stop at a red light at some cross junction. Cars and motorcycles by the dozen waiting for their section of the traffic light to turn green.

“You’re not joking are you?” Asked Tony.

Lights turned green and everyone moved. The Beast Tower was looking bigger as he drove closer. Dread pooled in the man’s belly, bringing up past memory. Even as he drove deeper into the city, the Tower looked just as imposing.

“No. I’m getting closer to the raiding site already. If you like, we can solve it right there.” Snarled William in a deep guttural voice.

“Oh no, no, no. I’m not interested in taking you on.” William scoffed at his coworker’s words. Slimy bastard ain’t no slouch in combat neither but he’ll do anything to evade unnecessary harm.

“Fighting you is like fighting a giant truck and you wouldn’t even use your full power. No fair.” Barked Tony. “Anyway, you better hurry it up. There’s a surprise waiting for you.”

Before William can say anything, the phone line went dead. A deep inhale followed by an exhale to control the self, William decided focusing on the road was a better alternative. After making several more turns, he reached the undesirable part of town; a spacious area placed to separate the civilians from Ground Zero’s territory.

A massive wall stood in front of him where a gate stood. The sign above it said ‘East Gate’ and there were guards stationed. One of them noticed he was approaching and yelled to stop. William complied. Another approached, demanding he states his intention and William complied.

“My name’s William Wang, here’s my ID card, my Slayer license. You’ll see I’m also affiliated with the Janissary Corp. It’s there.”

“Alright, alright, you no need to be rude.” The Malay soldier remarked, inspecting the documents before waving at the guards to open the gate.

The giant metal steel begun to move up as the guards in the nearby hut used the controls. William stifled a yawn with a hand, turning the head away as to prevent the guard from taking offense. He didn’t want to let the man look at his opened mouth.

“You’re looking sleep-deprived. You sure you want go through?”

“Buddy, I’ve been driving for almost 17 hours. I didn’t even slept on the way, no rest stop or anything.”

“Whoah, that’s dangerous there buddy. You might be above human but sleep is still important.”

“Sleep is for the weak. And my raid doesn’t start until tomorrow.” William replied offhandedly. “Speaking off raiding, if you ever want a change of career, come join my agency. It’s where all the fun people hang out.”

“No thank you, I prefer to serve and protect the people.” Smiled the man who handed back the documents. William merely scoffed, taking the documents and driving forward past the gate.

The concept is noble but it’s not exactly practical. Working for the government doesn’t pay as well as working as a freelance or even as an agency-affiliated Slayer. A large amount of money earned by the government from Tower raiding is devoted to funding development of new technology to lessen the casualties.

The scenes around them changed as he continued onward-the road becoming less filled with cars and more with decrepit, abandoned buildings. William had never thought he’d came back here after all these years. The smell of death, even if it was decades, is still vividly present in his mind.

He gagged briefly, recalling the vile stench in spite of the fact the corpses were long gone, having been disposed by one of the leading Ascended during the early days. It took them almost six months to properly disposed of the many, many dead bodies that littered the streets and those were the small ones. The big ones were the real problem.

Shaking the head to get rid of bad thoughts, William continued to drive.

Known as the ‘Dead City’ to the people across the world, it fell to ruin when the Tower erupted and denizens of the Beast Tower emerged to feed on the people. The common people didn’t have the strength to fight against the beast and many were either dead or trapped underneath the earth. Worse, some of them had begun turning into monsters.

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Ever since it erupted out in the area, the place has been deemed a dead zone. Contaminated by the magical energy leaked out by the dungeon, normal humans are not allowed within the perimeter for their own health lest they suffer one of the myriads of mana-induced disease. When the government tried to reclaim it with normal human soldiers, almost every last one turned into a hideous beast resulting in more monsters to kill.

William remembered how he took part in it. At that point in life, there weren’t many options available to a twelve-year-old boy at the time. Many stuck together under the notion of strength in numbers can provide safety but they had to learn to adapt regardless. Burying your fist into a violent creature that was a former human is rather uncomfortable. Then there’s the actual monsters that crawled out of the Tower and not everyone who received powers were good people.

There wasn’t any satisfaction taken from creating a mountain of bloated and malformed corpses. Especially when some of his parents were amongst the dead. He was sickened by it.

Driving for another three minutes across the barren city, William eventually caught the sight of life after entering the barren wasteland of a city. Multiple camps and tents set up outside the one of the four entrance of the

Tower. Dozens of bus and vans placed parked outside with dozens of people going about with their daily tasks.

Finest of the Janissary Corps, each and every last member are capable, veteran Slayers.

Parking the car and getting out, he walked towards one of the tents. Some of them greeted him an he responded in kind. William scowled when he saw one of them approaching him, arms spread out in a friendly gesture along a welcoming smile.

Unlike the others, he was wearing a sleeveless jacket that exposed the belly and scars adorning it. Balding head that reflects the sunlight, briefly blinding him. A pair of khaki shorts and flip flops to finish the look making the man look like some genial man. The smile he sports reminds him of chubby buddha monk, his elongated ear lobes further reinforcing this image.

“William, it’s good to see you.” Tony Wong laughed, trying to go for a hug. William took a step back, not out of fear but disdain.

“Get off me you bastard.” William retorted.

“Hahah. Come on, is that anyway to greet your friend?”

“What kind of a friend that sends him to collect money he’s too lazy to pick up?” William snarked. Tony laughed, slinging an arm over the shoulder. He tried to break free but finding it difficult as the man’s grip was like a bear; strong and overwhelming.

William kept quiet and followed along upon realizing the man was dragging him. He might as well followed and see where they are going.

“The kind that wants you to rise up in ranks.” Anthony stated, making a grand gesture towards their base of operations. There were dozens of people miling about, some of them chatting in groups with their friends and close associates. All of them were armed and equipped for the raid.

Their weapons and equipment quality varied from individual to individuals; some wielding archaic and primitive weapons like swords and spears. Covering their body were protective gears looking like it should belong in a fantasy setting. Gauntlets, breastplates and helmets adorned their body to give them a degree of protection against the oncoming threats.

“I’m decent enough. I enforced the rules quite well.” William replied, trying to find the leader.

“Stop looking around, I’m taking you to the big man already.” Tony instructed, giving a fake grin.

William knew what the man was talking about.

“I already made my bones. I’m not killing girls and children but I bashed a lot of folks up didn’t I, that ain’t good enough for him?”

“Oh, you’re a decent worker but that’s it. A decent killer too but there’s only so many you need to kill. Not everyone needs that kind of treatment but you being picky isn’t-as you youngsters say-vibe with our mutual employer. So, our boss is gonna show you what happens if you don’t get hard enough for the job.”

William wanted to say something but decided to keep it down. Following the older man’s lead, the two entered one of the bigger tents. It looked like the place where they made plans; a table and a map of the Beast Tower’s structure mapped out. Their boss was there along with the captains of the five squads.

He knew the five by name and worked with them on multiple occasions. None of them are people he liked on account of their ruthlessness on their shadier side of business. A few noticed his presence but said nothing. Not even a nod of acknowledgement unlike the slimeball Anthony.

Ahmad, CEO of Janissary Inc and one of Indonesia’s strongest Slayer looked like the terminator actor in his prime. Standing at a head taller than everyone in the room with the musculature of those 80s action movie his father loved to watch. Bulging biceps big, broad shoulders and drums for chest, every part of their CEO reeks of strength.

Black hair cut tied into a small manbun and shades slung atop the forehead, revealing a youthful face. It’s hard to believe he’s fifty-five years old sometimes with how he looked and carried himself. The choice of apparel, being that of a dark blue pinstripe suit, makes William realize he is not participating in the raid.

“Aah, William, you’ve arrived. I’d like to introduce you the head of this raid.” Ahmad stated cheerfully, dragging the strange woman close.

“Since everyone is here, I’m letting you all know Amara here will take charge of our operation. This is the last thing I wanted to inform you all since there’s a recent monster outbreak at my home country.”

His words surprised William, causing him to realize why the man isn’t in the right uniform as Ahmad always took part in their raids. However, William was also positively taken aback when none of his coworkers were against the idea. In fact the third and fifth strike force head were smiling in approval. William looked towards Anthony, the second head who merely smiled.

The smug expression was everything he needed to know. Their boss had clearly planned this but he wanted to object. It felt planned.

“In any case, we’ll go over the attack plan again for the sake of ensuring full success of the plan. I will now let Amara take over the debriefing.” Ahmad paused and gestured at the singular woman to continue.

“Thank you, now then. I understand that our company employs methods that would be frowned upon and I also have full awareness of our less-than-pleasant nature. My father has also told me about each one of you. Your performance as a Slayer and an enforcer.”

William raised an eyebrow at what she said.

“Hence, the first team will lead the assault. Before you ask, you need to be aware of your own shortcoming.” Amara stated, directing an eye at William. The man knew why eyes fell on him.

“Does that mean the indentured squad will be aiding me or my team will be doing the heavy work?” William asked.

With a background in the underworld, the Janissary employs unorthodox method. One of the first one is the highly looked down indentured squad. Essentially a massive squad of low-ranked Ascended that acts as a meatshield to tire out the enemy for the real heavy hitters to defeat. Most of them were people with gambling debts who decided to pay them back with physical labor.

This only applies to the Ascended and Slayers. The normal ones have to resort to other methods to pay them back. Methods that gets them landed in jail for life, taking the blame as they are paid to do so.

“…due to your benevolent nature, you will need to earn my father’s favor. This is your doing, you chose to throw your lot in with us and yet you chose to keep your hands clean. I suggest you use this opportunity to make yourself useful to us.” Amara replied.

William huffed in annoyance. The others chuckled and shot some dirty looks.

“The First captain gonna have to dirty his hands now.” The third squad captain laughed. A bald-headed Indonesian man named Agung who was built like a brickhouse. In an ironic twist, the brute’s weapon of choice was a complete opposite of his name as a pair of spike-studded gauntlets are worn over the hands.

“Agung, watch your mouth less the monkey starts howling.” The fifth squad captain, a thin and lanky fellow named Edmund Tan. Physically he wasn’t particularly impressive, looking like a standard dastardly comical villain. He even has the moustache to twirl! Edmund was also the second Malaysian born-Chinese of the group and an associate of the old fart Anthony.

“Hah, what he gonna do? Pay us with money to keep our mouths shut?” The fourth squad leader guffawed, finding amusement at his actions. Left hand on the curved blade attached to his hip as his remaining eye, a blue eye, watched William with utter disdain, the fourth stuck out as the man’s facial appearance resembles Two-Face from Batman.

“You run your mouth again, I’ll make the remaining half match, Daniel.” Snarked William, cracking his knuckles.

“You arrogant little-“

“Enough.” Snapped Amara. “I don’t care what you say. Since you guys likes to butt heads over useless things, Agung and Daniel’s forces will protect William’s forces. Set a base of operation at each fifth floor of the Tower. It’s a thirty floor Tower so I hope you egotistical gorillas packed your essentials otherwise you’ll be coming out in bodybags.”

Her words had their attention as Daniel simply ran out the room. Agung and Edmund turned red from embarrassment, neither willing to make eye contact with the girl. Anthony Wong merely laughed at what unfolded.

“Oh man, this is gonna be good. I just can tell.” The bald man laughed.

“In any case, we’ll be bringing down the Tower for good. Malaysia had this Tower plaguing them for years now ever since Emergence Day and now we’re paid to destroy them permanently. Almost a good chunk of the raiding members are citizens of this country so I hope the leaders will be a role model. Do not mess this up. Dismissed.” She retorted.

William took this as a cue to leave, wanting to grab a meal before going out. Anthony and the remaining captains shared the same sentiment as they left the place. William lingered briefly, eyeing the man and his father before ultimately leave.

‘Almost got into a fight, now I have to follow some random girl.’ William gloomily thought.