“Harvey,” the man with the red eyes called out.

“Yes, leader?” Harvey replied.

“Is there any news from our Captain Fischer?” asked Harkin—the leader of the Bloodworm gang.

They were cooped up in their warehouse base for the past three days now. Harkin had spent a hefty sum to bribe Captain Fischer so that he could get up-to-date news about the expedition. So far, the investment hadn’t paid off.

The team of officers that he and the other gang leaders had sent to hinder the expedition party still haven’t returned yet. He wasn’t too worried though. Three days was nowhere near enough for them to return. He would have to wait six days at the minimum.

“Nothing yet leader. I heard he came back from the mines again this afternoon. Officer Petr went to see if he had anything for us as usual,” Harvey replied.

“Let him know that if he doesn’t have anything for us in the next three days then he won’t be getting any more money.”

Harvey nodded and said, “I will tell Petr to pass the message along when he goes back tomorrow.”

“…der! Leader!” they heard someone shouting from the corridor. Then the door to their room was burst open and a scrawny man with dark hair barged in. He was short of breath and sweating heavily.

“What’s wrong Petr? Are we under attack?” Harvey asked in alarm.

“Oh, you were here too Harvey,” Petr said while catching his breath. “No, no one's attacking, but I have good news Leader.”

“Out with it then. Stop wasting my time with chitchat.” Harkin ordered.

“Yes, Leader. Captain Fischer had some great news for us,” he said and then paused to smile. “It’s done, leader. Operation dusk was successful!”

Harkin rose from his chair in excitement and disbelief, “How sure is he? He is not just trying to appease us with fake information, is he?”

“No, leader. He said he saw the return of the High Priestess with his own eyes. She was all battered and bruised up. Only she could make it back. Everyone else is speculated to have died,” his voice turned louder and louder as he spoke.

“HAHAHAHA! This might be the best day of my life!” Harkin exclaimed. “The High Priestess surviving is a nuisance, but it's still a success if the expedition failed.”

Harvey was also excited when he heard the news and suggested, “Leader, this means that there is no one else to step in our path of rule. The Dawnblade is no longer in our way! No one in the slums will have the guts to stand up against us anymore!”

“That’s right men. Our profits had suffered for a long time ever since the Dawnblade rose in popularity. But that ends today,” Harkin smiled ferociously.

The Dawnblade’s name was a sore spot among the members of the enforcer gangs of Winterport. His very existence was a hindrance to their operations and undermined their legitimacy. After the White Serpent Massacre, the gangs were much more apprehensive about killing anyone that said that they were under the Dawnblade’s protection. Even though most of them lied, the gangs did not want to risk their existence on the off chance that they were speaking the truth. Annoyingly, the Dawnblade never clarified if anyone was not under his protection.

If all that wasn’t enough, he had a cult-like following amongst the slaves. They viewed him as their savior and protector after he dealt with the Shadow last year. It was these slaves that first coined his nickname. Harkin wouldn’t have been bothered by some lowly slaves who still hadn’t awakened their mana if their ideology wasn’t spreading like wildfire. Soon most of the slaves that awakened would be followers of the Dawnblade. That could not be allowed to happen. The gang culture within the enforcers would be uprooted if they didn’t do anything to stop the Dawnblades influence.

But now everything was solved. Back to how it should have been since the beginning. The Dawnblade was no more. His followers would soon wake up to reality. No one will be exempt from the protection fees anymore. Harkin could not stop smirking as he thought about the good days ahead.

“What’s your orders Leader?” Officer Petr asked.

Harkin looked at his two officers and said, “We must destroy his influence as soon as possible. With the expedition’s failure, the city will be under heavy alert. We might have to stay low for a week before everything normalizes again. Before that, we should set an example. Let the people know that their hero is no more. Make them cower in fear and let that fear brew for the rest of the week. So that once we come knocking on their doors again, they will bring out their purse without a single word.”

“How do we do that Leader? Kill one of his followers?” Petr asked.

“No,” Harkin said sounding annoyed. “You idiots never use your brains. What’s killing one random asshole on the street gonna do? People will just go about their daily lives after hearing the news. Sure, some of them might be spoked but the vast majority will forget about it the next day. No. We won’t just kill anyone. We will do a public execution. Let them know that we are the top dog now.”

“That’s brilliant, Leader!” Harvey praised. “But won’t the guards stop us?”

“They will be too busy for the next few hours with the aftermath of the expedition’s failure. But yes, time is of the essence now. Find one of his followers and bring him to Elmwood Street. With all the bars there, most of the people should be hanging around there in the evening,” Harkin ordered.

“Yes, Leader!” Harvey exclaimed and then added. “I have the perfect person in mind Leader. I am certain he was under the protection of the Dawnblade very recently. A few of my men have been keeping tabs on him for the past few days.”

“That will do. Bring him to Elmwood Street. I will wait with the other over there,” Harkin heading out with a grin.

Harvey also left and went on his way to find his target.

…

Victor was waiting in line to get on the ship to the continent. The port was busy as usual, with fishermen heading out to set their nets and workers loading up batches of flamestones on ships heading to the mainland.

This was his last day on the island and Victor was getting lost in nostalgia. He thought about his childhood when the island was still a backwater colony which was almost uninhabited except for the sporadic villages of exiles here and there. Then came the discovery of the mines. And with it returned the interest of the Empire. They first kept sending more people to slowly increase the population who in turn built the town of Winterport which later became the city it was today.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Victor had saved up money during this period of economic boom to send his beloved daughter to the Imperial Capital for better prospects in life. And now everything had paid off. His daughter was working in a respectable position in the City Hall and was going to be married soon. She even requested him to spend his last days with her. Victor was proud of raising such a capable child. All his suffering in the slums was finally justified.

His thoughts then shifted to Cal. ‘I hope he is alright. That boy is a piece of work. Stubborn to the point of being suicidal on the wrong things. Life forced him to grow up way too quickly. Yet, his morals are still intact, unlike others who were in similar situations.’

‘I wish you find something to live for, son. The White Flame has a plan for each one of his believers,’ he prayed.

Out of nowhere someone grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away from the line.

Victor was enraged and wanted to give the perpetrator a piece of his mind when he recognized who they were.

“What do you cowards want? Didn’t Callahan already spook you enough to leave town?” he said in irritation to the two men who previously came to his cart to heckle him.

The two men grinned at him. Then without any warning, the shorter man punched him in the guts.

Victor’s old body couldn’t stand the pain and he fell down clutching his stomach.

“What did I tell you, Eric? This fool still thinks he is some big shot in the city,” the short man said and laughed menacingly.

“You’re right Sean. I guess the geezer still didn’t get the news. It would be hella funny when he learns about the death of his master,” Eric said in a condescending manner. “OH wait! I already spoiled the surprise. Damn it. Well, the cat's out the bag now Gramps. The Dawnblade is dead. And guess who’s next?”

Eric then kicked him in the same spot where he was punched. The nearby people looked at what was happening, but no one stood up to help Victor. They were all terrified by the enforcers.

“Now, now Eric. We can’t be too cruel and kill him here. The old man has a purpose to serve. After all, he will help cement our position as the rulers of the underworld,” Sean said.

Victor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘Cal’s dead? That’s impossible it’s only been three days since he left. There should be no news yet.’

“Stop lying!!,” he said. “Cal’s much stronger than you assholes! He’s destined for great things. He won’t die in some mines.”

“You can check the facts when you are in hell geezer,” Eric said. “You should’ve just paid up when we told you to. But you had to run your mouth. Look where it got you know.”

Eric then grabbed his hair and started pulling him away from the port.

“Let go of me!” Victor grunted in pain.

“Be careful Eric. He still has to be presentable when he meets the leader,” Sean smirked.

Victor screamed as his skin scraped against the road. He clawed at Eric's hand but only got another kick in return.

“No….s-stop,” he cried in desperation. “I-I will miss my ship.”

…

Martha heard a commotion from outside her bar. But she chose to ignore it and get back to work. ‘Must be some drunk fool getting rowdy again,’ she guessed. It was a common occurrence in Elmwood Street.

However, the noises only got louder as time passed. Martha was starting to get annoyed and wondered who was causing an incident in front of her bar.

As she was grumbling to herself, a man barged into Cat’s Tail bar and shouted, “Everyone get out on the street. Our leader has a message for you.”

Martha looked at the man with the bloodworm tattoo on his neck and sighed. What was the point of paying the protection fees if her business was still hampered by the gang? She stopped what she was doing and went out to see what the big deal was.

A crowd had already formed ahead of her. Martha pushed through the crowd with all the strength that her old bones could muster and moved towards the front rows. She could hear the Bloodworm leader loudly addressing the crowd.

“Guess, that’s enough people,” Harkin said. “Listen well you lowlifes. I don’t know if you have heard, but your hero and savior is no more. That’s right. The Dawnblade has perished.”

Everyone in the crowd started murmuring. Some even snickered quietly and looked at the Bloodworm leader with ridicule.

“The Dawnblade’s dead you say? Do you think we are some gullible idiots? Even a shadow couldn’t kill him what makes you think we will believe you?” someone in the crowd said.

“You don’t have to believe my words, fuckers. Soon you will learn news of the expedition’s failure. You will know the truth then,” Harkin smiled.

The murmuring turned to full-blown shouting now. Martha was getting more and more restless. She didn’t know why but she had a feeling that they weren’t lying.

“QUIET!!” Harkin shouted. “I AM NOT HERE TO LISTEN TO YOUR COMPLAINTS TRASH!”

The crowd quickly calmed down in fear.

“That’s better,” he said. “I have a demonstration planned for you today. Since you are so skeptical of my words, why don’t I back them up by my actions? BRING HIM OUT!”

Martha was now in the front row of the crowd. She saw one of the officers bring out a battered-up old man. She gasped in horror when she the face of the man. ‘Is that Victor!? Oh my God! What did those bastards do to him!’

“A lot of you might know this old man as someone who was under the protection of the Dawnblade—” he took out a knife while speaking “—who had refused to pay any money to our gang. Today, he is going to be paying with something much more dearer to his heart and no Dawnblade will be here to save him,” he said and plunged his knife into Victor’s stomach twisting it inside.

Victor screamed in agony while the crowd watched in dread. Tears ran down Marta’s cheeks as she could not bear to watch her friend’s torture.

“Does it hurt?” Harkin asked sarcastically. “Don’t worry we are just getting started. Let’s see, I heard you were bad-mouthed some of my boys. Hmm. That’s no good now, is it?”

Harkin grasped Victor’s chin and pulled his tongue out. He then used his powers and the tongue swelled up before bursting into a bloody mess. Victor’s scream now sounded like the whimpers of a beast.

“Now you sound like you should,” he said then turned to his followers with a massive grin. “I can’t hog all the fun; I wouldn’t be a good leader then, would I? You guys join in as well. Show him a good time.”

Harkin then stepped back and let his underlings continue the torture. Kicks. Stabs. Mana attacks. They spared nothing. Victor was even healed up a little bit so that he didn’t die quickly.

The crowd was trembling. Most turned their heads to stop seeing what was happening. Some even shut their ears. Martha could not stand still anymore. Her heart couldn’t bear the stress of seeing her childhood friend being handled like this. She was going to stop them even if it meant losing her life. But she was pulled back before she could even take a step.

She looked over to see her son holding onto her with a determined face.

“Let me go to Tyler! I must save him,” she shouted.

“Praise the White Flame I found you before you killed yourself, Mom. Do you even know what they would do to you if you tried to stop them? Stop being reckless,” he admonished.

“RECKLESS!? Are you alright with seeing your uncle die like that? He practically raised you after your father died! How can you be so ungrateful!?” she said with rage and tears.

“I know Mom. I know,” he gritted his teeth. “You don’t know how angry I am right now Mom. I am having a hard time holding myself back. I would sacrifice my own life if I could kill those beasts in human shape! But I can’t. I am not strong enough to even touch them. My death would be in vain, and my kids would have to grow up without their dad.”

Martha calmed down after she thought about her grandchildren. She lost the strength to stand, but her son caught her before she fell. She quietly sobbed while holding on to him.

“Alright, that’s enough boys. We have wasted too much time the guards will be here soon,” she heard Harkin speak.

She hoped they would just leave him behind without killing him, but her hopes were dashed the next instant.

Harkin walked up to Victor’s broken body and put his hand on his chest, right above Victor’s heart. A few seconds later they heard a pop and Victor stopped breathing.

Martha fainted. Her heart couldn’t handle the grief of her friend’s death. Tyler quickly took her back inside the bar.

Harkin turned back to the crowd and said, “Remember this day you mongrels. From this day forward there will be no more exceptions to the protection fees. And those who had used the Dawnblade’s name before, be ready to pay up your life’s worth. You bastards had been running from our grasps for long enough.”

He left leaving a crowd of terrified onlookers who soon dispersed and spread the news.

Nobody was brave enough to even touch Victor’s body. He was left there all alone until midnight when Martha regained her senses and returned with her son to take him away.

They buried him in the corner of their backyard so that he could at least find peace in his death.

Martha cried the whole night and only went to sleep when she collapsed from exhaustion.