A month after the formation of Exsul.
A car was driving down the road of the 9th District. Inside this car was a man surrounded by a group of girls and laughing merrily.
The car stopped at a stoplight. That's when a motorcycle rode up and stopped beside the car.
The rider was in a leather suit and was wearing a helmet. From the figure the rider was male.
The stoplight changed to green. The rider rode off first followed by the car.
That's when the rider dropped something in the car’s path.
*Boom!*
When the car drove over it an explosion occurred, which cause the car to flip over.
Seeing that, the rider did a u-turn and drove up to the car.
He got off the bike and walked over to the car.
He then ripped off the back door and dragged the man out of it.
The man was bleeding heavily and was barely conscious.
“Johnny Nuer?”
The man looked at the rider with unfocused eyes.
And then-
“Exsul send their regards.”
The rider pulled out a gun and shot the man in the head.
The man fell on the ground lifelessly.
“……”
He stared at the body for a bit before shooting it several more times in the head.
After feeling satisfied, the rider jumped back on his bike and rode off. However, a card with image of a dragon entangling with a crow was left behind.
“Last night famous entrepreneur Johnny Neur was murder upon returning to his home in the 9th District. The authorities say that they have reason to believe that the newly form crime organization Exsul is behind the murder. Exsul has been responsible for numerous crimes in the city of late. Some these crimes includes the assassination of several crime lords, the robbery of a truck carrying millions of gold that belonged to several crime syndicates, they are also said to be responsible for the abduction of several engineers and scientists.”
A newscast was being broadcast in the sky.
“The authorities believe that the mastermind behind this group is the S-rank criminal and king of the Dragna kingdom, Heavenly Demon King Miko. The authorities are urging citizens to stay away from the king and anyone wearing the crest of Exsul, because they are deemed as highly dangerous.”
“This Miko is becoming a thorn in our sides.”
Somewhere in the city, there was a meeting being held.
The one who spoke his displeasure of Miko's activities was a chubby man dressed in a pink suit.
He was chewing on some candy with a frown.
This man was called Sweet-Tooth and he was one of the most notorious crime lords in the city.
Jonny Neur was a business associate of his, and a close financial advisor.
“I know how you feel boss, but I think it would be better if we don't provoke him too much.”
The one who said that was a slim man in a navy suit, who sat in front of Sweet-Tooth.
“What? Are you afraid of a kid, Kal?”
The one who spoke with displeasure was a muscular man in a grey suit.
“It isn't like that, Yota. Don't forget that this kid belongs to a dangerous bloodline. One wrong move could get us all killed.”
Kal argued.
“Hmph, this is Grim City. No outside eyes can see in here. If we kill the kid in secrecy nothing will happen.”
Said Yota.
“I agree with Yota.”
Said Sweet-Tooth.
“I was grateful to the brat when he chased that bastard Blanche out of the district for me, but now he's nothing but an annoyance that needs to be dealt with!”
Sweet-Tooth slammed his fist on the desk and shouted.
When he slammed his fist, the candy in his hand broke and a beautiful young girl quickly handed him a candy stick as a replacement.
“But boss!”
“No buts! The kid must be dealt with, and that's that!”
Kal didn't say anything more and gritted his teeth in silence.
Yota had a big smile on his face, which pissed Kal off.
Kal had been working for Sweet-Tooth for over a decade now. He had been there from the days when Sweet-Tooth was just a no name thug with barely any followers. He was Sweet-Tooth’s advisor, but as of late Sweet-Tooth have been ignoring Kal’s advice and listening to everything Yota said.
Kal knew that Sweet-Tooth was a really simple man and that he loved to keep things as simple as possible.
In fact, without Kal being there steering him in the right direction someone like Sweet-Tooth would've never been able to become one of the biggest crime lords in the 11th District; who was now on verge of taking over the entire district.
This was the reason Kal hated the newcomer Yota.
Kal also didn't trust Yota, who came out of nowhere and joined their gang.
Upon his admission into the gang Yota had time and time again taken the most dangerous jobs and somehow succeed in all of them and made it back alive; even jobs that were considered suicide.
These jobs helped the to gang to gain a lot of territory and power in a short amount of time. So it was natural for Sweet-Tooth took a liking to Yota.
Unlike Kal who had to work many years to build up their organization to the level it is now, Yota achieve a similar feat in less than a month after joining. It was obvious who would seem more attractive to Sweet-Tooth
It was his instinct as a human to favor something that could give him the same great results in the shortest amount of time possible.
But Kal was different from the excited Sweet-Tooth about Yota’s achievements.
He couldn't believe that someone as talented as Yota would want to work for someone like Sweet-Tooth. He especially wouldn't admire him like he claimed he did.
Yota was up to something and Kal was determine to find out what that is.
*Knock Knock*
It was at this moment that a knock was heard coming from the door.
“Who is it? We're having an important meeting!”
Kal who was in a bad mood shouted.
“I-I'm sorry, but we've just received word that members of Exsul were clashing with enforcers downtown. The report says that they're on the verge of losing and had many causalities.”
The voice reported.
“This is it, Boss!”
Yota suddenly became excited.
“If we help those enforcers kill off those Exsul bastards, we’ll deliver a huge blow to that brat while improving our reputation!”
“Oh, explain Yota.”
Said Sweet-Tooth.
Kal creased his eyebrows when he heard Yota’s suggestion. He started to listen closely, trying not to miss a single word.
“Exsul and that Miko brat have been the hottest topic in the city for a while now; they have been constantly basking in the limelight. Do you know what would happen if we took them out? We’ll become the new hottest topic, the talk of the town! Not to mention that Miko has a well-known blood feud with the pillar Sebas Lovefall. If we help his enforcers win against Miko's group then he'll be in our debt; and everyone knows that someone like Sebas Lovefall always repays his debts. Imagine having one of the Four Pillars owing you a favor. There's nothing more valuable than that in the whole city!”
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Yota energetically explained.
“I see! We’ll not only have Sebas lovefall owe us but we'll also get to torment that cocky brat! It's like killing two birds with one stone!”
Sweet-Tooth laughed happily.
Seeing that Yota nodded with satisfaction.
“As expected of the boss, you catch on quick.”
Sweet-Tooth turned to Kal with a smile.
“What do you think, Kal? Pretty good plan, right?”
“….Yeah.”
Kal turned to the door.
“Were there any signs of Heavenly Demon King Miko anywhere near where the battle was taking place.”
“None sir.”
“…I see.”
Kal entered deep thought.
He had to admit that Yota’s was pretty tempting, but he couldn't help but to be cautious.
After all, there was no telling that this wasn't a trap laid out by Yota.
However, Kal had faith in his comrades. He trained them himself, so if they said that Miko was nowhere to be seen he would trust them.
“Okay, lets go along with Yota’s plan. But we need to move with caution.”
Kal and the rest of his gang arrived at the location where Exsul was sighted fighting the enforcers.
“Woah…”
What they saw was a deadly battle that gave birth to a corpse every second.
Just like the report had said, the enforcers had the upper hand and were slaughtering those wearing the Exsul insignia.
The enforcers were wielding some high powered weapons while the Exsul members were wielding clearly inferior weapons.
There was a big shoot out but, it was nowhere near equal.
“This isn't what I had hoped to happen.”
Said Yota with a complex expression.
“The enforcers had far more advantage in this battle than I had hoped.”
He looked at Sweet-Tooth.
“If it was an equal battle or they were being pressured, then we could enter and help them out and receive their praises. However, if we enter when they have such a big advantage, it would look like we're needlessly interfering in their affairs. Worst case scenario, they could deem us a nuisance and moved to eliminate us as well.”
His expression was sour as his plan had already failed.
Sweet-Tooth placed his hand on Yota’s shoulder.
“Don't be so glum. We can still take the opportunity to kill off those Exsul bastards. We might get called scavengers who feed on the weak, but at least we'll be seen as ruthless.”
“There's the chance that the enforcers will mistake us as Exsul reinforcements and start attacking us as well.”
Said Kal.
“I don't care. That brat killed one of ours, so it's naturally we kill a hundred of his!”
Sweet-Tooth bit down on his candy and roared out an order.
“Go kill those bastards! If the enforcers get in your way kill them too! Don't let a single one of them live!”
The close to a thousand people that he brought rushed out in response to his orders.
They were all wielding high powered weapons as well, which they quickly fired at the Exsul members.
*Boom!*
Explosions rang out through the town as Sweet-Tooth’s gang joined the already chaotic battle.
“Let's go!”
Sweet-Tooth, Kal and Yota jumped into a van and drove out.
Kal was driver while Sweet-Tooth and Yota hung on the doors with high powered guns in their hands.
“Die, you brats!”
Sweet-Tooth fired his guns and Yota did too.
The Exsul members who were already being hard pressed by the enforcers found themselves in a desperate situation.
They were now dying by the dozens after being attacked from both sides.
Surprisingly enough, the enforcers didn't attack Sweet-Tooth’s gang, but instead even worked with them to eliminate the Exsul members.
“Hahahaha! Do you see that?! These brats are like vermin, everyone wants to destroy them no matter the cost!”
Sweet-Tooth was naturally overjoyed by this turn of events.
“……..”
Kal on the other hand was getting more and more nervous.
“This isn't right. Why isn't Miko here yet, even though his gang is being slaughtered? He couldn't have been too scared to come out, after all he's the confrontational type.”
Kal peeked over at Yota. He was happily killing Exsul members who were trying to escape for their lives.
Kal thought that Yota might've been an Exsul spy, but after seeing the excited expression on his face as he slaughtered Exsul members he started to have doubts.
Thinking that Kal was able to relax just a bit, even though Miko was still unaccounted for.
Even though he wasn't a foot soldier anymore Kal was still a season gangster. Even while driving he occasionally put his gun out the window and fired at the running members.
Being cornered from all sides by enemies, the Exsul members became quickly extinct.
The van stopped and Sweet-Tooth came out laughing.
“Hahaha! Take that brat! I slaughtered your little gang!”
Yota and Kal also came out the van smiling.
That's when an enforcer approached them.
He took off his mask and smiled at Sweet-Tooth.
“Thanks for your help. Without you here we wouldn't be able to exterminate every last one of those pests.”
He said with a grateful tone.
“Don't worry about it! I was just doing my part as a citizen of the city and rid our home of those terrorists.”
Sweet-Tooth was definitely an experienced crime lord. He was able to flip the situation around and make his actions seem righteous with a single sentence.
Of course he could only do this because Miko was a S Rank criminal with no human rights. Hence those who assisted him were considered terrorists and also had no human rights.
“I see. I'm sure Master Lovefall will appreciate your sense of duty.”
Saying so, the enforcer who seemed to be the captain walked away from Sweet-Tooth and ordered his men to start retrieving the corpses.
Sweet-Tooth was smiling ear to ear when he heard the enforcer mention Sebas.
“Hahaha! This was a good day! Candy girl!”
At Sweet-Tooth’s call the same candy girl from earlier came up and gave him another candy stick.
“I feel like great things are to come.”
After saying that, he bit down on the candy with a joyous expression. Seeing him like that, made Kal couldn't help but to smile.
But then-
“Cough?! Cough?!”
Sweet-Tooth started coughing nonstop, he looked up and blood was seen flowing from his nose.
“It couldn't be….Poison!”
Kal shouted out in shock.
He turned and saw a smirk on Yota's face.
“Yota, you fucker!”
He got angry and pulled out a gun.
And then-
*Gunshot!*
“…..Eh?”
Sweet-Tooth placed his hand on his stomach and then looked at it.
It was stained with blood, his own blood.
He then looked at the person who shot him.
“Why, Kal?”
“I-I…”
Kal looked equally as confused as he pointed the gun at Sweet-Tooth.
“Kal…”
*Gunshot!* *Gunshot!* Gunshot!* *Gunshot!*
Kal shot Sweet-Tooth in the head, chest, and stomach repeatedly until he finally fell to ground never to move again.
The gang members who just witnessed their boss getting killed by his right hand were shocked speechless.
“Kill them.”
It was Yota who broke the silence by shooting one in the head.
And as if it was a signal, the gang members started killing each other.
No, it was obvious that this was a ploy. The traitors were killing the ones loyal to
Sweet-Tooth.
“Finish them!”
At this moment the enforcers suddenly stop retrieving the corpses and started slaughtering Sweet-Tooth’s loyal subordinates. It happened too fast so they were late to respond.
It only took a few short minutes to kill them all off.
Kal watched all of this, and fell on his knees in confusion.
“….Why did I….?”
At that moment he suddenly heard the sound of fingers snapping.
The moment he heard that memories started rushing into his head.
“You want to betray your boss and align with me?”
Kal stood in front of an azure haired boy(?) who was surrounded by several people, who included a younger version of himself and a mischievous looking girl.
This boy was Miko who had Ishma and Regis at his side.
“Yes. Sweet-Tooth hasn't been the same person since Blanche left. He became greedy and unreasonable. At this rate the gang will fall.”
“And you want to jump off the sinking ship onto my cruiser?”
Miko asked with a smile.
“That's right. I can tell from all of your feats that your future is endless.”
“Cut the crap.”
Miko interrupted Kal.
“Rather than someone who might become paranoid and cut you off, you want to align yourself with someone who might be able to make you move from your position as a second to that of a don.”
Kal smiled with embarrassment after his intentions were easily seen through by a child.
“Fine, I'll help you.”
Miko said.
“But you'll be the one to kill him.”
“T-That's impossible. I’m a terrible actor. Sweet-Tooth will easily figure what's going on if I tried to kill him.”
Miko laughed.
“Well if you can't act, then we'll just make it so that your loyalty to Sweet-Tooth is as real as the day you first swore loyalty to him.”
“Did the hypnosis finally wore off?”
The one who said that was Yota who was looking down on Kal.
“Y-Yeah.”
Yota frowned at Kal’s response.
“You don't look happy though.”
Kal opened his to say something, but before he could he saw Yota bowed his head in servitude.
He looked around and saw everyone else doing the same. Even the enforcers.
“You don't all have to bow whenever you see me you know.”
Kal looked to his right and not too far away he saw Miko, and the girls walking with leisure through the hellish scene of corpse and fire.
“Well, you are the don. So it's naturally they want to show you respect every chance they get.”
The one who said that was the enforcer leader who thanked Sweet-Tooth earlier.
He waved his hand over his face, and his face distorted like it had a glitch before changing.
The plain face it changed into belonged to Edward.
“Don, huh? I do like the sound of that.”
Miko said with a laugh.
He quickly arrived in front of Kal, who after a bit of hesitation bowed as well.
Miko smiled when he saw.
“Good work. You were able to kill your boss and become your own man. How does it feel?”
“I-I'm still a bit confused because of the hypnosis, but overall I'm well.”
“Really? You look more than confused, you look like you're drowning in guilt and regret.”
Said Yota.
“……”
Kal looked a bit flustered when he said that, which didn't miss Yota’s eyes.
“Its fine. He was hypnotized to feel absolutely loyalty to Sweet-Tooth. I would've started to question his humanity if he hadn't feel even the tiniest amount of guilt for killing his best friend.”
Said Miko.
“Really?”
“Of course. Betraying someone you've known is common in this kind of world, but not everyone can do it without feeling a thing. You're just not the traitorous type you thought you were. Having your loyalty renewed just reminded you of that.”
“I see….”
Miko walked up to him and dragged him to his feet.
He smiled and said-
“It's too bad that people who don't know what they want like yourself tend to become the greatest liability sometimes.”
Before Kal could even react Miko placed his palm on his chest.
“Plus I really hate traitors.”
*Boom!*
With a loud explosion fire burst through Kal's chest and left a hole in it.
Kal looked at the hole in his chest with disbelief and despair.
“Get out of my sight.”
Yota walked up to kal and placed his gun on his head.
*Boom!*
He blew his upper body away.
Miko then flick a spark on what was left of Kal’s body and it caught fire and quickly turned into ash.
“Okay, now that's dealt with.”
Miko dust his hands together.
“Report.”
“Yes!”
A couple people stepped forward and stood at attention.
“Among everyone that died here we only lose 23 people. The others were fake Exsul members and members of Sweet-Tooth’s gang.”
A woman reported. She was Sweet-Tooth’s candy girl.
The Exsul members that were massacred today were members of enemy gangs or enforcers who were captured and hypnotize into believing that they were Exsul members.
The hypnotism was done by Ishma and Miko. Miko didn't really hypnotized them, he just used [Rule] on some of them and ordered them to act like Exsul members and get slaughtered.
Ishma on the other hand used her demonic powers that she inherited from her father, Lucifer to confused her victims and use them as puppets.
The enforcers who were led by Edward were the real Exsul members.
“Good work. Next.”
“We just got word that the real enforcers are on route to our location.”
“Fuck them. We’ll leave at our own leisure, if they come itching for a gun battle then we'll give it to them. Next!”
Miko spoke with an arrogant and overbearing tone.
This tone made all of the Exsul members feel awe as they looked at this young boss.
It made then feel reassurance that they joined the right group and followed the right leader.
Even Edward looked at Miko in awe as he couldn't believe the schemes this 13 year old boy could design off the top of his head.
This boy who looked like an angelic being was actually the personification of the underworld.
Just like the rest he believed that joining Miko was the right choice.
“Next!”
Miko spoke a second time and knocked everyone out of their daze.
“Y-Yes! We received report that the other two operations were also a success, and the targets were both taken out. Their territory has also been claimed in Exsul’s honor and their surviving men has also plead allegiance through soul promise.”
The members of Exsul started to get excited when they heard that.
“Then that means that we’ve done it.”
Miko smiled brightly.
“We took over the 11th District! Exsul is now the rulers of the Night District!”
“All hail the King Of the Night!”
Regis suddenly shouted.
“Hail the Night King!”
“Hail Exsul!”
Chants started echoing through the district as Miko was named the king of the Night District.