The bodies were lying on the table. The coldness of death covered the room. Thanatos, Adel, and Eric were the only people in the room. The two dead bodies were massacred in a horrible state.

They had broken fingers, cuts through their skin, nails peeled off, and the symbol of the Red Dragon carved into their flesh for everyone to see. Adel was indifferent, Eric was a bit disturbed imagining the torture they went through, and Thanatos was not fazed by any of this. His only concern was the situation his syndicate was in right now.

"Who were they in terms of members?"

"Sellers of drugs and weapons." Adel responded. "They were in the lowest part of the organization. Even if they spilled information, it wouldn’t be something crucial. He probably killed them to corroborate the information the Red Dragon already has about us."

"You talk like it was one person who did this?" Eric questioned him.

"Yes, I’m sure it was only one person. They didn’t send a group to retake the city and kill us; instead they sent a Red executioner." A drop of sweat rolled down Adel's face.

"What is a Red executioner?"

"Let me explain, Master. The Red Dragon as an organization is built around the leader at the top. Directly under the leader's command are the bosses. They manage most of the organization's business and send orders to the bosses of smaller groups in different cities all over the Republic."

"That’s how the syndicate works. Of course, they have thousands of members across the country. There is, however, a special designation between the bosses of the Dragon and the lackeys in charge of cities and villages. A Red executioner is a guy that was noticed by one of the higher bosses or the leader himself. They gave them missions that they had to complete alone, and if they managed to do it multiple times, they get promoted and become one of the bosses and right hand of the leader."

"In other words, they are candidates being tested. The way the mark was carved into the bodies is characteristic of the executioner's work. His mission is probably to eliminate Underworld so they can retake the city with no casualties."

Thanatos and Eric took a moment to process the information. If Adel was correct, then they had a silent assassin hidden somewhere in the city planning to destroy them all.

"Adel, you said this guy is working alone. Can you compare my power to him?"

"No, Master, I’m sorry. I had never met a Red executioner before. I only heard about them when the bosses put me in charge of managing the city. If I have to compare him to someone, he is probably around the level of a captain of the army."

"A captain? This is bad; the only one that could potentially fight him would be the boss here!" Eric's reaction made clear that this executioner could destroy the whole syndicate if they weren’t careful.

"We need to find and kill him. Start handing out a report of the situation; send patrols and spies around our sellers and other points of interest. We can let them find our base."

"Yes, Master. What should we do if someone reports that they found him?"

"Tell me immediately. I will deal with him personally." The plan was formed, and they were on their way to carrying it out, but...

The door opened. Neo and Lia were standing at the entrance. They had grim faces. Neo was the one to speak. "We received a report. One of our hideouts was destroyed, and ten members were killed. One is missing, probably kidnapped."

"W-Wait which hideout?" Eric asked as a terrible feeling began to form inside him.

"The one in the south."

"T-That’s where some of my boys were!" He ran out, only to be stopped by the voice of Thanatos.

"Eric… you already know what happened to them."

"Boss, please let me go there myself. I need to see it with my own eyes. PLEASE!" He bowed his head, asking for permission.

"Ok, but you can't go alone. I'll go with you. Remember, I’m not the leader of this syndicate. The boss is Hades. Is that clear?" He asked while looking at Adel. "You need to act like the leader, so you can’t leave the building. You also need to have at least a couple of bodyguards to make the lie more believable."

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"I can do it, since we won’t be sending anyone to collect ingredients from the tribes while we deal with this, right?" Neo volunteered.

"Perfect. Lia, you also stay inside the base. You can think of an excuse for your maids in your house, so they don’t get suspicious."

"Wait a minute you are going to go outside too, then I´ll go with you-"

"No is too dangerous. I promise you we won’t be looking for a fight. I also need you to make more armor for everyone. You're the only one of us that can do it."

Lia hesitated for a moment, but Thanatos' eyes were full of trust. He didn’t want to keep her locked away like a bird. After the raid and the battle with the elemental lion, he believed in her abilities.

"I understand. I'll try to make something useful for all of you."

"Let's go, Eric." After that, the two men left the building and went toward the hideout.

"…"

It was a disaster. The room was covered in blood and smashed organs. The stench would make anyone vomit. Eric couldn't hold his stomach and puked in a corner. Thanatos remained neutral.

He began to wander, looking for clues or something that could reveal the identity of the killer. The fight began to play in his head. His fighting instincts had improved to the point where he could learn a few things after seeing the aftermath of the carnage. The wounds were mostly inflicted by hand. The bodies had signs they were penetrated by a great force. It wasn’t a surprise attack. Most of the men managed to grab their weapons as they had them in their hands as they lay on the floor. Meaning the Red executioner was probably cocky, he wanted to make an example of them.

He left the first two sellers somewhere we would find them and now this. This asshole is clearly mocking and taunting us. The lookouts outside said that no one had come close since they got here. I don’t sense anyone watching me. He's already gone, or he is good at hiding his presence.

Eric walked back after puking. His face was contorted by anger; a vein was about to pop in his head. He walked alongside Thanatos looking for any clues, but they didn’t find anything of note until they reached a corner.

At the back of the massacre lay the head of a young boy. Eric recognized him in a second.

"Hil..." It was a young boy who worked for Eric for almost a year. He joined him while he was travelling in the west of the Republic. He didn’t know how to fight with a sword or with his fists, but he was damn fast. A little runt that could walk in the middle of the market and snatch the bag of gold of a customer in less than a second. He was an orphan, so Eric took him without a second thought. Even after refounding the syndicate, he was still stealing from the clueless, with that dumb and cocky smile.

Now the head of the young boy was lying on top of a barrel, his eyes empty, looking into the nothingness. Behind him, a message on the wall was written with the intestines of several people. 'Those who indulge in Dragon rage always pay the price.'

"Boss, I want to fight at your side when you kill this bastard!" He clenched his fist till the knuckles turned white. "I can’t forgive him for this!"

"Ok, we'll fight him together." Thanatos grabbed the head and closed his eyes. "They think a dragon is scary. I’m going to show him the fear of the Underworld."

In the dining room of a simple house, a man was slowly sharpening a knife. He had red hair and eyes. His body was covered in red armor with a cape, the symbol of the Red Dragon on the back. He was methodically going through the knives, sharpening them all one by one, separating them into the ones that called his attention. Finally, he chose a big butcher knife. After taking his tool, he walked toward the bedroom. He splashed a bit of blood from a pool that was leaking below the door.

He opened it and the sight of the dead bodies greeted him. There were four bodies on top of one another. They were the residents of this house. They didn’t do anything wrong. They only suffer the bad luck of living in the house that the Red executioner chose to hide in this city.

On a chair tied up was one of the members of Underworld, his eyes swollen, and his body slashed by multiple tools. He had been abducted after someone from the Red Dragon destroyed and killed everyone in his hideout.

The red-haired man stopped in front of his prisoner. He was playing with the butcher knife in his hands. "Are you ready to tell who your leader is?"

"Ah... I already told you my boss is going to kill you."

"Stop wasting my time. You already told me about your superior." He began to cut the ear with the knife.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"I want to know who is the leader of your syndicate. The one you called Hades. Tell me his real name, his appearance, his likes and dislikes, his abilities, everything." He yanked the ear and threw it toward the pile of bodies.

"I’m not telling you anything, I’m not a traitor. Eric always said he was prepared if one of us spilled the beans, because he would just run away to another town, but we can’t do that anymore. If we want to become a big player, then we need to defend our turf. So torture me as much as you want, I won’t say anythi-"

The butcher's knife split the head in half. "Shut up. Stupid grunts like you think I won’t kill you just because I’m looking for information. I can visit any of your little hideouts and kill everyone inside. It is a hassle, but if I have to kill all of you one by one until I find your leader, I'll do it."

"Oh, you can’t hear me because you are dead. Sorry, I forgot... Wait, you are still dead. Sorry, I have a bad habit of talking to myself out loud." He grabbed the butcher knife and began to cut the body into pieces.

He finished the dismemberment of Eric's subordinate and then went to the kitchen to grab some bread and a bit of fruit to have his dinner.

He sat alone, ignoring the smell of death as he spoke. "I´m going to have to attack another hideout, or maybe I can try something else. None of the vendors or this guy knew anything important. Hades. I wonder what type of guy he is? I want to kill him quickly so the leader can promote me soon. You get me, right?" He looked into the rotten corpses. "Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself… Wait you guys are dead."

He continued eating his dinner in silence, surrounded by the dead.