CHAPTER 185: CLEANING PLAN
Death Valley, California, USA, Saturday, November 21, [01:10 a.m.].
In Death Valley, located in southeastern California, a group of individuals was moving about at night.
The moon was dimly illuminating the surroundings, but the small group was completely hidden because of the veil of darkness around them.
Their presence could not be felt in any way, and all was hidden.
“Are you sure our target is in this place?” a figure wearing a black mask asked.
The mage’s staff revealed his profession, but it was the only thing that could be seen due to the equipment of the special forces they carried.
The captain signaled for standby upon hearing those words and looked at the surroundings.
Against the darkness of the night, the moon was the only light, but using night vision, they could see nothing striking.
It was a desert with nothing in sight for a long stretch and the closest thing was some hills and ridges.
This place was once a hot place, and now, with the magical energy, it was even hotter.
The only striking thing was the howling that from time to time resounded, perhaps coming from a magical beast belonging to this region.
However, the captain of the group knew that this was not this way.
“These days, we have been doing nothing. Pending a mission. I have not informed you before due to confidentiality issues, but now I can inform you,” said the captain and looking at his group, he announced. “The Immortal Eagles have made a magical contract with the South American Empire, and our target is the main headquarters of the California Mafia.”
Instead of giving unnecessary questions, the team stood at attention waiting to hear their leader and he continued to nod in satisfaction.
“This may seem like something done by South America, but the higher-ups in ‘The United States of North America’ know about it and cooperate. Only no one has talked about it because every individual who knows about it is restricted with a contract in the name of a god,” reported the captain, getting everyone to fall silent.
Magical contracts were common and, depending on the type of contract, there were some that had greater restrictions and consequences than others, to the point that failure to comply could be death.
However, an expert could evade the consequences with different methods.
With contracts in the name of a god, they were not so easy to break or evade.
There were specific gods for making deals, such as the ruler of the third hell ‘Avarice’ who was known as the God of Wealth, Trade, and Usury.
Not all gods accepted contracts, and some gods were weaker than other gods, which meant that by obtaining the blessing of one god, they could get out of the contract of another god, although it was not an easy matter.
In this world, not all gods were responsive and, more so, to insignificant people or unimportant matters.
That it was done in the name of a god revealed that the matter was something big.
“Now, everywhere in America in as little as ten minutes, a full-scale attack on the mafia and cartels across the entire American continent will begin. Dozens of guilds, heroes, mercenaries and the military will participate in this large-scale raid. All are like you with no knowledge of the target and with captains like me, tied up to the neck with restraints,” reported the captain, getting a few to give a chuckle, but his gaze turned serious and he stated. “However, once this is over, we will not only have on the record of having participated in the downfall of an SS-Rank, but we will have a lot of money.”
The Queen of the North was known as being the one who had unified all the Central and South American cartels, managing to unite them with the North American mafias.
She was a famous SS-rank and, as such, could be considered an extremely dangerous weapon.
That her ‘downfall’ was approaching made everyone excited.
“If you have any doubts, it’s time to tell it,” said the captain and seeing that everyone was silent, he ordered. “Then let’s go.”
He gave the orders to his group, and they advanced to the agreed point, then the captain tore up a scroll.
They all stood silent and fully prepared, without even hesitating.
Although their objective had not been fully briefed, they had come armed to the teeth.
The Immortal Eagles were a guild focused on mechanics and weapons masters, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have other individuals to give them more balance.
In this group were all the experts of this guild considered to be a large-sized guild thanks to the number of S-Ranks that were found as members.
Now those S-Ranks were present here.
The earth swallowed them as they tore the scroll apart.
All without a sound, they began to descend underground as if it was natural for the earth to move out of their way.
In just an instant, they came to a cave that was quite deep, but in this cave in the middle was a buried building where they could see lights and hear noises of a party.
“Everyone is celebrating the fall of the emperor, not knowing that this man organized their fall,” muttered the captain, taking up his assault rifle.
Once the order was given, it would be a massacre.
******
Lago Argentino, Santa Cruz, Argentine region of the South American Empire, Saturday, November 21, [01:10 a.m.].
Two mages flew over the beautiful lake.
Even though it was nighttime because of the moonlight, the two mages could see the beautiful scenery of the place.
The calm and tranquil lake while in the background was the Andes Mountains.
“Master, what are we doing here?” asked the younger of the two.
If there was anyone else here, they would have recognized him as the ‘Aquatic Swordsman’, Sergio Linhares.
A famous hero among the heroes of South America.
“Are you feeling it?” Asked the old man standing next to him.
His light blue mage robe fluttered around and his gaze was fixed on the great Lago Argentino.
That old man would be recognized anywhere in the world because he was an SS-Rank known as the ‘General of the Sea’ and was one of the SS-Ranks of the South American Empire.
Alfredo Rivas was one of the few Latin Americans who stayed in his home country when corruption surfaced and danger became commonplace.
He protected the coasts of Chile from the tsunamis and the creatures that were swept away with it, becoming someone admired and respected by all Chileans and all of South America.
He was now in the service of Emperor Victor, who managed not only to unify all of South America but to raise a new nation from the ruins of others.
“Do you feel the lake stirring as if a disease is found within it?” General Rivas asked and when his apprentice looked at him strangely, he stated. “Today, we need to clean this lake.”
With those words, he pulled two drones from his space ring and activated them, managing to shut down all communications from magical to technological.
Other individuals had to bide their time to get started, but General Rivas was different.
He was one rung away from Emperor Victor, and this was not his only task throughout the night.
“What are you doing, master?” The curious and attentive young man asked.
The old man calmly pulled out a mage’s staff and surveyed the lake.
“Emperor Victor cleansed South America of the cartels, but they were once strong and powerful. The remnants were left as tumors hiding in places no one could find. It was their command centers, their safe havens, and lairs where they could retreat to safety and start over whenever they wished,” General Rivas reported and, pointing to the lake, he revealed. “This is one such place.”
Emperor Victor arrived a couple of years ago and before him, all of South America was bleeding to death in agony.
While the corruption of politicians was most remembered, it was also afflicted by monsters, lunatics, and an economy that was collapsing like a building without a foundation.
Those who fed on that blood were the cartels, gaining strength, interfering in countries, and even ruling them in secret.
Such opponents were Emperor Victor’s greatest challenge and although he won the victory and publicly eradicated them from South America, in reality, they were still present, trying to spread their claws again.
General Rivas, looking at the lake, brought it under his control and then waved his staff.
“...” The young man next to him was stunned to see that Lago Argentino was splitting and something was coming up from the bottom.
On top of a huge hand of water was a small castle ripped from the ground, in its courtyard was a private gate that was disabled.
The people present came out to look worried and frightened by what had happened and the young hero could notice several S-Ranks among them.
The entire atmosphere became damp as General Rivas activated his water domain.
“This is the tumor we must clean.” General Rivas said and waved his staff again.
*BOOM*
The huge hand of water holding the castle was closed and the barrier covering it was immediately destroyed, leaving the entire castle to shatter as it was pressed down by the fingers.
Those who were not crushed by those giant fingers of water began to drown from the water in the hand.
Only a few S-ranks survived, but the young man understood the reason why he had been brought here today.
That is why he cast his best spell by which he got his title of Aquatic Swordsman, despite being a mage.
Hundreds of water swords were created around him and the young man sent it to attack, starting a massacre.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
******
Blue Mountain Peak, Jamaica, the United States of North America, Saturday, November 21, [01:35 a.m.].
Inside a large mansion built atop ‘Blue Mountain Peak,’ its owners were partying.
“Emperor Victor is rumored to be some of the worst players in Terra nova. While he did it in secret and there is no accurate information, it is said that he participated in the genocide against werewolves in Terra nova and other conflicts where hundreds of thousands died. It is normal to think that he experimented on students using drugs.”
That was reported by a West African Republic channel and announced when they were paid several million to give that kind of news.
“As a tyrant, Emperor Victor is a danger that threatens the union of North America. A man with such power has been thoroughly corrupted and needs to be stopped before he causes a tragedy. Perhaps he will even replicate the infamous Malik Zamora and wish to conquer the world by bringing cities to ruin, just as Malik did with Jerusalem.”
One of the guests in Canada’s high-profile media gave his controversial comments on the subject.
Comparing Emperor Victor to Malik Zamora who, after bringing several Middle Eastern countries under his control, started a war to conquer the world.
Casting a forbidden spell on Jerusalem, he disappeared the entire city, murdering millions.
As if that was not enough before his death, in Ankara he opened a portal to a demonic world starting what later became known as the European-Demonic War.
That man led countries in the Middle East to destruction and was the cause of millions of deaths, initiating some of the most emblematic wars in the recent history of the earth.
Making it clear what happened when the strength of an SSS-Rank merged with the madness and ambition of a lunatic.
“What a delightful guest!” exclaimed a woman with a smile.
In the room, everyone was watching replays of the emperor’s disaster and everything that happened a few hours ago.
“It’s all because of you, boss!” said a skinny, gaunt man.
With that first comment, everyone praised the woman, and she laughed quietly.
Eva Santos was a mature woman in her late forties, but while she was a beauty, very few men dared to approach her to court her.
She was the Queen of the North, the one who unified the mafias of Central and North America, uniting them with the remnants left over from the South American cartels.
“No, no, this wasn’t all me. We all did this job,” Eva said with a charismatic smile and, looking at the projections, she commented. “Besides, while we threw the first stone, others have joined in.”
There was some laughter from those present.
Each of them was heads of highly recognized U.S. mafias, heads of cartel families from Mexico and elsewhere.
This circle was the closest to the Queen of the North and those who were one rung lower.
So they knew that they had not actually paid that guest from that Canadian media to say those words.
That meant that others were starting to criticize the emperor, further sinking his reputation!
Once the first stone was thrown, others joined in and now Emperor Victor was enduring a hail of stones!
“Please, Your Excellency, stop being so humble. You are the one who brought us all together and got us to be in this place,” said the thin, gaunt man, after raising his glass, he declared. “You are the one who avenged all of us.”
That man was a member of a Venezuelan cartel who was able to flee after Emperor Victor moved to take them down.
Sinking from his anger and spite at losing his family, he wished to take revenge on Emperor Victor and began to climb until the Queen of the North began her unification.
Helping her, he became her right-hand man and was now the second most important person in this entire place.
Greco, known for his ruthlessness and loyalty, rose to such a level with his cunning and intelligence.
“It’s true!”
“Cheers!”
The other bosses and heads of the mafias gave their greetings humbly and began to toast.
No matter if they were the ‘godfathers’ of their cities, here in front of the Queen of the North, they were only subjects.
To get to this point, the Queen of the North needed not only strength but intelligence and, above all, ruthlessness.
“If you are so encouraged, I will accept it cordially,” Eva replied with a casual smile, and looking at those present, her expression became serious and revealed. “However, this is the beginning.”
Attracting the attention of her followers, she gave a smile full of confidence and continued with a more serious tone.
“Emperor Victor is someone who doesn’t care about rules. We don’t have to be overconfident and rely on ‘The United States of North America’ to be our shield forever.” Eva announced with a serious expression.
Due to the conflict between the two giants of America, cooperation for various issues was extremely restricted.
Tensions were so high that military cooperation seemed impossible.
However, Emperor Victor was not a simple person and, as happened a while ago, it was possible for him to pass the border without the consent of the northern giant.
The Queen of the North had bribed, threatened, and paid a huge amount of money to politicians from all regions of the northern giant to keep the tension high.
Shielding themselves as ‘The United States of North America’, they had moved forward with many large-scale projects and managed to make a lot of money, but the Queen of the North was wary.
“This new drug will help us open up a large market worldwide. Once we succeed, we will be able to expand everywhere and make new allies. If things go well, we can even root ourselves in ‘The United States of North America’ when the abyssal portals arrive and cause destruction.” Eva commented with a casual smile.
Those present broke into a cold sweat at those words.
If they thought of ruling their cities as kings of the underworld, the Queen of the North wanted to rule half a continent.
What was worse was that she clearly understood the situation and had the power to carry out her ambitions.
After all, if the abyssal portals started to cause destruction in the northern giant, they could always come over to ‘help’ them.
At first, it could be superficial and light, but when they revealed their power and their full numbers that stretched across the continent, then things could change.
Once they were dependent on them, even Emperor Victor could not eliminate them.
“If so, then I will serve you loyally,” Greco replied, smiling excitedly.
The others gave smiles, but inwardly they only sighed, cursing that skinny, emaciated man who was known as a ‘bootlicker’.
“Good. Let’s keep drinking and partying on this great day.” Eva announced without hiding the happy smile.
At that moment, a knock on the door was heard.
“Keep the party going. It must be the servants with the drinks. I’ll see to them,” Greco commented with a smile.
As this was a meeting in which delicate matters would be discussed, no servants were brought in and everyone was left outside the mansion.
Seeing him do such a humble job, the others couldn’t help but have their expressions change.
“I will accompany you,” said another man casually.
Perhaps for some of them, doing these ‘servant’ jobs was demeaning, but they had to show a hardworking spirit in front of the Queen of the North.
The Queen of the North saw that and gave a casual smile while continuing to speak without giving it any importance.
Even though those present were powerful in their regions and some of them would even make medium guilds tremble in fear, they were all now trying to win that woman’s favor.
At that level was the Queen of the North.
It was at that moment that footsteps were heard from the entrance.
Slow and powerful footsteps, but slightly wet as if she was walking on water.
The Queen of the North gave a casual glance, thinking someone threw a bottle and her expression froze as she saw an extra guest.
Everyone else looked and also gave stunned expressions, only to turn into expressions of terror and fear.
A man was dragging the corpse of the mobster who had accompanied Greco and that man observed those present with a casual smile.
Although he wasn’t that handsome, his sculpted physique gave him a unique sense of strength and the confident smile was striking and frightening.
That and his hands and feet were not only stained with blood, but he was also carrying the mobster’s body in his hands as if he was some kind of toy.
Next to him stood Greco, as if he were a servant.
“I hope you don’t mind, but Greco invited me.” said the man casually and with a big smile, he commented. “I hope I wasn’t late to the party.”
Emperor Victor laughed.
******
*BOOM*
A terrifying explosion resounded and the force of a punch shattered part of the ‘Blue Mountain Peak.
In the middle of that was a woman with wounds all over her body, shooting arrows at a smiling man.
The arrows were powerful, but the man only used his body to deflect them and although his body was wounded, he was healed the next moment.
“Come on, you can do better!” Emperor Victor said, throwing another punch in the air.
*BOOM*
The force was so explosive that a crater of hundreds of meters formed on the ground as the mountain collapsed.
“Are you all right?” Director Vincent asked, looking at Elder Harris.
About two kilometers were cut off from space, creating a battlefield that would not interfere with the surroundings.
This was a spell cast by Elder Harris, a renowned Grand Archmage of space magic.
It prevented the Queen of the North from escaping and keep the destruction from spreading out of control, keeping everything quiet at the same time.
When an SSS-rank fought, it was a true calamity whose battle could cause a disaster at terrifying levels.
A mage could cast a forbidden spell that could wipe out an entire city, but a fighter was no slouch.
Now Victor was fighting, and with each punch, he was changing the terrain to an impressive level.
“Yeah... I was just worried about him getting carried away,” Elder Harris replied as he watched the battle.
The Queen of the North was a powerful SS-Rank archer, but compared to Victor, she was just a joke.
However, she was now desperately running all over the place, trying to escape and flee from the approaching death.
The problem was that Victor was not fighting at full strength and was playing with his opponent.
That might not be dangerous for him, as even if they performed an extremely powerful attack, he would survive with his very resilient body, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a problem.
If the battlefield spell weakened, the Queen of the North could escape.
“It’s normal to get carried away. There aren’t many SSS-Ranks in the world and those that exist wouldn’t fight someone like Victor,” Director Vincent commented seriously.
How many people could stand on an equal footing against some of the strongest earthlings in the world?
The number of SSS-rank was low and worse, everyone knew the ferocity of Emperor Victor and his portrayal of a true ‘fighter’.
Elder Harris sighed as he understood that and watched the battle unfold.
Director Vincent had captured everyone in the surrounding area, letting no one escape, all to allow the battle to unfold without worry.
The old mansion of the Queen of the North was already gone, as well as part of the mountain.
*BOOM*
Again Victor threw a powerful punch, and a crater was created by that blow, but the Queen of the North prepared an arrow as she retreated.
A huge vortex-like force was created at the tip of the arrow and the Queen of the North drew her bow to shoot it.
Victor paused, watching and waiting for the attack.
He was confident in his body’s endurance and did not need to use barriers to sap the force of that attack; such was the confidence of a fighter.
The arrow broke the sound barrier and traveled at a speed that Director Vincent and Elder Harris only saw ghostly.
Only Victor saw the arrow fly in his direction, and before it could hit him, the arrow changed direction toward the barrier.
“Victor, stop it!” shouted Elder Harris, but it was too late.
*BOOM*
The arrow hit the barrier, and the vortex spread, causing a gap in the battlefield.
The Queen of the North used that gap as she tore a scroll and disappeared.
“She can’t be far away. Let’s go look for her!” Elder Harris said in a serious tone.
While it made it possible for her to escape, it wasn’t far enough to go far due to his spell, rendering the scroll’s teleportation unstable.
Should she use another teleportation spell again, Elder Harris was prepared to sense the space around several kilometers and manage to stop or follow her.
As for whether she wished to travel on foot or fly, no one was better as a Grand Archmage of air magic as Director Vincent.
However, Victor let out a chuckle and dusted off his shoulders.
“You needn’t worry, she’s done.”
******
Coughing up blood, the Queen of the North tried to hide her presence.
As an archer, she had an impressive ability to stay in stealth and instead of running; she hid.
To her luck, she had reached the city of Kingston, which was close to where she had her mansion.
The place was quiet, making it apparent that no one had really noticed that a calamity had struck ‘Blue Mountain Peak’ a few kilometers away.
Walking through some neighborhoods, the Queen of the North broke her holographic clocks and all her technological and magical communication objects.
She even changed her clothes and threw her ring on the ground before pulling out a holographic watch that no one knew she wore.
Greco had been at Emperor Victor’s side and the Queen of the North did not need to be very smart to realize that his right-hand man had betrayed her.
Like any smart person, she had used powerful magical contracts to bind him, but when the individual who sent him was Emperor Victor, it made sense that they would have no effect.
“Damn.”
Using the new holographic watch, it only took one glance at the news to realize that it wasn’t just her that had been attacked.
Some battles could not be hidden and were now the focus of attention.
From northern Canada to southern Argentine, news of assaults against mafia groups was all over the news.
In the United States and Mexico, it was more extreme, not only were well-hidden mafia dens raided and protected by S-ranks, but also the police mobilized to catch all the corrupt officials.
From police chiefs to members of the senate to presidents of regions... Thousands of individuals were being imprisoned in a purge of impressive magnitude.
The reason the information had not been leaked was that it was a plan carried out under the watchful eye of the Church of Order and carried out in the name of the Goddess of Order.
That meant everyone who knew about it was bound to a contract in the name of a Goddess and no one could say anything.
“Shit... Shit... Shit!”
If that information had been let out earlier, the opposition could have been used to say that a tyranny was being installed or that the northern giant was trying to control its opposition.
However, that it involved the very Supreme Pontiff of the Church of Order and that it was done in the name of his Goddess was another matter.
After all, the Goddess of Order was someone considered being friendly to Earthlings, and the deals that Goddess accepted always had to be ‘balanced’.
All those they had bribed to pass information to her could do nothing to refuse that deal, as it was surely going to be suspicious... And the funny thing is that they believed that their information would not be discovered, but in reality, they were imprisoned.
Greco was her right-hand man and the Queen of the North had trusted him.
After all, Greco’s family had died at Victor’s hands and his hatred had always seemed sincere.
Eva’s anger rose and all she could do was walk through the alleys, trying to see a way to hide without anyone discovering her.
Her backup plans surged in her mind and she thought of each of the safe places that Greco was unaware of, trying to prepare to head to one of them.
At that moment, the Queen of the North felt as if everything went dark.
Her wariness increased and when she took a step, the surroundings cracked as if it had all been an illusion.
She was stunned at the sight, but her mind kept thinking about the places of safety, allies, and friendships that Greco was unaware of... All the information began to emerge and the moment she thought of the new drug, the Queen of the North realized that someone was inside her head.
“...”
As soon as she had that thought, two gigantic eyes glowing with white light were looking at her from the darkness.