The city of Raind is a recent creation, founded by the Republic of Selus. It has only been six months since the foundations of houses and businesses began to form. The idea was to create a closer trading point between the Selus Republic in the south and the Kingdom of Axes in the north. Both nations were separated by the great forest that had been agreed upon by both to be their border.
Although a novel idea at his time the truth, no merchant was willing to offer the necessary resources to begin the construction of the city. So much that almost no one on the council of 52 supported the original idea. It took 10 years for a faction of the council, led by the patriarch of the Comtes family, to raise the necessary funds to begin construction.
Despite being a city that had just been built, progress was evident. Several shops and companies gradually settled. The most important was, undoubtedly, the Comtes family and its large tailoring industry. Also, as it was a new city, organized crime had not yet infiltrated to do illegal business as in the capital or the rest of the republic.
None of the big three syndicates had taken territory. Or at least that's what the people and the soldiers believed. In truth, one of the syndicates had already begun to gain power over the city, The Red Dragon.
In a bar that at first glance seemed normal, it was actually a façade so that The Red Dragon could run his business without a problem. Inside that building, in the owner's office, was Adel, the boss in charge of managing this newly created branch of the Red Dragon.
Adel was reading the latest business reports in the city and elsewhere in the nation. Nothing out of the ordinary. The news was generally good. Setting up a headquarters in this border town had made it possible to improve the smuggling of weapons, potions, drugs, exotic animals, etc.
Smuggling was the specialty of the Red Dragon. Of course, they also did other jobs, such as protection, extortion, and even murder. In fact, murders were not their forte, unlike one of their rivals. The Black Rose syndicate were much better at stealth and infiltration, but if one was willing to pay even more, they could hire the services of a man like the one sitting in front of Adel.
A mere apprentice of The Hand, Adel knew this person could kill him and the other 20 members of the syndicate in this building without any problem. He was playing with his knife while looking at the ceiling.
"Hey, how long will it take for the carriage to arrive?" He said as he turned his dagger between his fingers.
"I don't think more than a couple of hours at most" Adel replied without even taking his eyes off the reports.
"You are quite cold, haha. Tell me, don't you get bored of having to read documents all the time?"
"Don't you get bored of having to run errands for your boss all the time?"
"Haha, you are right. Everyone has their own preferences. But I couldn't be stuck in a small room waiting for the results. You know, it's the worst. My boss is thinking about making me his successor. Impossible, he barely goes out on missions every 3-4 months. The rest of the time, he stays, coordinating the information network or meeting with clients. I would die of boredom." He threw himself on Abel's desk, making a yawning gesture.
He was a man of strange tastes, but Adel could not afford to anger him or interfere with his mission. When the letter arrived, they learned that a member of The Hand would be arriving for a mission and needed to grant him a carriage. He immediately made the preparations so that the murderer would not be there any longer than necessary. They only had to put up with it for an afternoon, and the payment was 1000 gold coins. Only a fool would go against The Hand.
"Hey, aren't you going to ask me about the woman I'm transporting?" Sebastian asked curiously.
"You can't tell me anything, right? As it would go against your boss's orders"
"Ahhh... so cold."
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of the office. "Boss, the carriage has arrived!"
"I'm going in a moment" Adel replied.
Both men got up from their seats and walked out the door. Both about to fulfill their mission without any interest in seeing each other again.
It was a large, two-story building, and it gave the impression of being a salon or some similar place. That was what Edgar assumed had followed Lia's trail here.
When he entered the city, he had to apply a simple spell on himself. [Disguise] was a magic that allowed him to hide his eye color and whitish complexion to go unnoticed. His impression when he spoke to Lia and Sebastian was that his appearance was not normal and, therefore, he had to do something to not attract attention. He returned the color to his skin and changed his eyes to his original green color. Luckily, the magic also covered the damage to his suit.
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Now he was formulating a plan on how to enter the building. The entrance was closed and looked empty, but his ears told him there were a few people inside. He didn't know how many enemies he had or how strong they were. If everyone possessed strength comparable to that of the murderer, then he was in serious trouble.
It was at that moment that his ears picked up something from the back. He could hear the trot of a horse. A carriage was parked near the rear. Driving the carriage was a man in thin green clothes. His gaze was disinterested, and he could feel somewhat tired with dark circles in his eyes. With an idea in his head, Edgar began the plan immediately.
He slipped away quickly, and before he could get out of the carriage, he took him by the neck and closed the door.
"W-What happened? Why did you attack me?"
"Don't worry, tell me what your name is?"
"Ah... My name is Castess."
"Castess I need a favor. I'm going to accompany you to that building, and if someone asks, you will say that I am your assistant. Understood"
"Man, you see, I'm just a merchant. I have no contacts with the Red Dragon."
"Red Dragon?"
Shit, I always end up revealing something I shouldn't. That's what Castess thought. In fact, he had a bad habit of revealing too much information.
"Look it is not convenient for you to mess with me if something happens to me the Red Dragon will go for you and your family" Decided that the threats were the most effective way to end this encounter peacefully. Unfortunately, that name meant nothing to Edgar.
"Yes, the Red Dragon, I have business with them that's why I'm asking you for help. Quiet I will take care of them."
"That's insane. You want to fight the Red Dragon? I can't help-"
"Then I'll kill you right now." Edgar began to squeeze the merchant's neck, implying that he was not making empty threats. The pressure was such that it began to be difficult for him to breathe.
"I-I'll help you-o" He let go and could breathe.
After a few minutes, both men got out of the carriage and walked to the back door of the building. It was closed, but Castess only had to knock three short and two long times. The window opened and let a man's eyes be seen.
"Business?"
"Collect the fine fabrics"
The window closed and Edgar could hear the man telling a colleague to relay the message to the boss. A moment later, the door opened.
The man was quite burly, bald, and had a scar on his right cheek. Edgar studied it for a moment and decided to test his theory.
"Hey, who is this? I thought you came alone?" The man asked Castess.
"It's my help-" Before he could finish, Edgar's claws had pierced the subject's heart.
Blood spilled to the floor in spurts, and the man could do nothing but vomit blood for a few seconds before he died.
If they are not as strong as that killer, then it will be much easier. Edgar thought as he pulled his bloody hand from the man's chest. Mmm, even if I kill a person, it feels no different than when I kill the wolf.
"I-I thought the plan was to say you were my assistant." Castess said, in a trembling voice.
"Well. Now this is the new plan. You are going to wait here in the carriage and a woman will come out. You will take her wherever she asks you to understand"
"Y-Yes, I understand." All his senses told him that he had to run and not look back if he wanted to live, but...
"If you don't do what I ask of you, and you leave alone on your own, I will chase you no matter where you try to hide." The look he gave him was cold and threatening.
With those words, Edgar went into the hallway where the companion of the man who had just died had gone. Without even wiping the blood from his hand, he set out without hesitation to save Lia.
"Miss Lia, our transport has arrived." The same smile was on his face, completely ignoring the woman's feelings. "Oh, you didn't eat or drink a little of what I brought you. Your health worries me."
Lia got up from the floor with her gaze down. Without saying a single word, she left the room. She knew that trying something else at this time was impossible. Her chance would come while they were traveling.
While being escorted by the men, she passed through the main hall. It was full of tables and a large bar with different types of drinks. The members of the Red Dragon were resting and talking to each other, laughing and drinking after a day of work well done. There were more than a dozen men with weapons, all of them with strength above average. There was a reason they could join this syndicate.
It was obvious to Lia that trying to flee in that situation was futile. Only a fool would try it.
"AHHH BOSS COME, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" Shouted a short man with a spear in his hand as he covered the entrance with his body.
"The Black Rose, or The Blue Wind. How many are there in total?" It didn't take long for Adel to spring into action, but the response wasn't what he expected.
"It doesn't seem to be from a syndicate. It's just a man. But it's strong, He decapitated Luis in one fell swoop. I saw him with my own eyes."
Impossible, a single man attacking a Red Dragon headquarters. It seemed like a bad joke, but if it was not one of the rival unions or the guards, then who would be so foolish to do something like that.
"AHHGGGGH-" The vomit of the man who had just reported spread all over the floor.
Everyone was stunned to watch as a human hand with claws completely pierced the door and stomach of its companion. Then he flew out of a kick next to the door to one of the tables.
Everyone stood up and took up their weapons. It wasn't the first time they had to fight for their territory, and it wouldn't be the last, or so they thought.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?" Shout Adel to the figure that just entered the living room. Everyone looked at him with a face of rage and violence, except for two people. The killer had a sadistic smile, and Lia was the only one who really felt happiness from what she was seeing.
Although his eyes and skin color were different, his features were the same. No doubt, both recognized it.
"Who am I? You can call me Thanatos. Because I am the one who is going to send you all into the underworld."