The person who went by the name King, and could make a giant like Barge shiver in fear and drop to his knees in respect, was no higher than four feet?

Elmer almost spat forth a derogatory chuckle without his notice. But instead he activated his spiritual eyesight, taking his mind from the rudeness that had popped up in it, and confirmed that King was an Ascender.

I doubt he’s a Baseborn, though… He shifted his eyes from King to the kneeling Barge, Hence the reason for the gap in strength between him and this giant-baby here…

Although, Elmer felt he was stronger than this King. After all, compared to when he’d met that man, Hunter, in this same Black Market, he was feeling no sense of overwhelming power in the face of this individual before him. And if what he believed was truly the case, then…

Is he the one who took on the Echelon 10?

Elmer thoughts went over to the deceased Ms. Edna for a moment, then he thought of another possibility due to the varying cultures he’d come across in this Black Market: Maybe King wasn’t an Echelon 10 Ascender of the Pathway of Time, rather he was that of a completely different Pathway… In that regard, it was even possible that he was an Echelon 9 Ascender.

A silent sigh escaped Elmer. If it’s the latter then I’d rather not get into any squabbles with him. Belonging to the same Echelon rank would mean we are of equal strengths, and that is just my wishful thinking; depending on his years of experience he might even be far greater than me if we butt heads. I honestly am not interested in finding that out.

“What happened?” King asked, his hands tucked into the side pockets of his silk trousers of black, while his eyes were focused on Barge, who, even while kneeling, still towered over him.

The man of questionable height was dressed in a tuxedo and a bow tie, almost like he was going to an exquisite ball. And as Elmer took notice of it, he only now saw that Patsy was dressed similarly, in an elegant sleeveless gown of a bright rose color.

Is this some sort of dress code for those working in this cartel? Elmer studied Barge too, but the beast was just in a rough tunic for a shirt, suspenders, and short pants that revealed his burly hamstrings. For the higher-ups only then. He stole a glance at Patsy while Barge recounted the events leading up to the current scenario in a rather ear-bleeding manner to King. I had guessed she definitely had some power within these walls, but now I’m curious how that came to be. There was no way he could ask though; for once he was going to let his curiosity remain unresolved.

“You bloody fool!” King roared. And as though that insult had been thrust at everyone—even the patrons—eyes turned to him in silent puzzlement, some with fear mixed in, while others with just pure curiosity at what had brought such on.

Elmer and Patsy were no different.

When King noticed that his uproar had disturbed the pleasure of the patrons, he bowed at them all with a crooked smile, showing his gap teeth, then prompted Barge to follow him to a separate location with a whisper.

Again, Elmer and Patsy were no different. They followed behind them when they saw the quiet movement.

Where they had come to was a corridor brightened by simple gas lamps of bright red with a couple of doors on both its sides. Downcasted but feigning-smiles workers entered and exited from those doors, all with greetings to King and Patsy, and with trays of pipes and opiums in their hands.

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Elmer had long closed his heart to the silent cries of the workers, so he was not drawn to their expressions but rather the manner they greeted his old friend.

Ma’am Baker, huh?

Considering how she had once been, he’d wanted to congratulate her despite what her job entailed, but a sudden loud but hollow crisp snap forced him to look up at Barge. In the man-child’s hands was King, raised up like he was a child. Though, the similarity ended there as Barge had tears in his eyes and his right cheek had turned red.

“Put me down, you retard!” King spat furiously.

“Aye…” Barge obliged with a whimper.

Elmer couldn’t believe his eyes. Did he tell him to pick him up just to slap him? Now he really wanted to laugh.

“Begone!”

“Aye…”

And Barge was no longer anywhere to be seen within the walls of the corridor.

With that Elmer thought King would focus on him next, but no, it seemed he was still invisible to the dwarf-man since Patsy was who had been next. Surprisingly, his tone was filtered down for her.

“Done with your smoke, I see, Miss Baker.” King’s uninviting smile was on his face again.

Smoke?

Elmer had not been that fixated on the words Patsy had uttered while they had still been outside, so maybe that was why he had not heard her mention anything related to this.

She’s smoking now?

When they had still been rats of the slums he had not noticed her being involved with such. Maybe she had been, maybe she hadn’t; regardless he was still caught by surprise. He almost even thought to advise her on the cons of ensnaring herself with such an act, but he held himself back. That would be hypocritical, considering he was quite the smoker too.

I even have a pack with me now, he told himself self-deprecatingly. Then he turned to glimpse Patsy with an expression layered with cringe as she stared at King. Not on good terms, I suppose. Elmer made a guess.

“You know, I should reprimand you the same way I did for that knucklehead,” King continued, his smile now a devious grin, “but if you agree to warm my bed tonight then I shall look the other way. You know I always keep my promises.”

Elmer’s stomach churned, but he quickly repressed it. What their conversation entailed was none of his concern. And besides, he did not have the right to defend her. He had once thought she was one to engage in such activities for money, and he would have kept thinking that way if not for Lev who had cleared his doubts unknowingly.

Patsy further cleared whatever lingering doubts he might have been having now too.

“You talk a lot for a little man,” she had said elegantly in a tone filled with repulsion, her nose wrinkled to boot.

King licked his lower lip while rotating his neck as though it was cramped. “Making fun of a person’s defects isn’t nice, you know?”

“Inviting me to your bed isn’t nice, you know?”

It was obvious that King was fighting back hard to suppress his anger. And because of it Elmer deduced that the little man did not have it in his power to lay a hand on Patsy. But as for the ‘why’, he couldn’t quite figure it out.

King was an Ascender, Patsy wasn’t, and power was everything in the world of the supernatural, so why did it seem like they were apparently on the same level within the Underground Cartel?

Sure, that deduction of his had some faults since the guards of the gate and Barge were also Ascenders, but they… they were basically foot soldiers; King was like an admiral. In that regard, their situations weren’t comparable.

It was eating at Elmer, but since he couldn’t request an answer he just kept quiet.

“Do that again and I’ll have Sir Redgrave have your manhood,” Patsy told King with a demanding tone.

Sir Redgrave? The boss, I suppose? Elmer’s brows twitched.

In response to Patsy’s words, King simply clicked his tongue in feigned defeat and pointed a finger at her in a manner that seemed to praise her for her stubbornness and another that said: “Let’s see how long you’ll keep yourself from me”.

Instantly, and for some unfathomable reason, Elmer grew hate for this King fellow.