Chapter 14

13 hours earlier…

"This is Channel 9's Samantha reporting in from our chopper. The Bayor's Manor has been attacked. Early reports indicate a female clad in a black cloak turned the building into ash as it funneled upward into the sky. Then Captain Cosmo shot into the air, snatching the woman with him, only to be struck by some kind of spell that sent him sprawling through downtown, reducing twelve buildings to rubble. Fires have sprung up in several areas, and the death count continues to rise.

"Was this the home base of the Pantheon? More of team Pantheon are now being seen exiting what remains of the building, and an unknown figure… I'm sorry I don't remember what I was saying. Oh, no! It appears two members of the Pantheon are lying on the ground in a pool of blood. It is difficult to des…"

"Samantha? Oh, dear, it appears our chopper has exploded. It is unsafe to continue reporting on this ongoing event. However, we here at Channel 9 urgently convey to evacuate the area or go to ground. Underground shelters or even a basement. Our prayers are with those who have fallen already."

~~~

"Who is attacking us?" the Huntsman asked his remaining teammates. After the building had suddenly been turned into ash, two people could be seen. Captain Cosmo went after one and the others started to move after the other when suddenly they all forgot what they were doing. Despite the man dressed in black being right in front of their eyes, no one could remember his presence. Renovate was the first to suddenly die from a blade through the side of her head. Then Dark Matter took a blade through the eye socket.

Comet Rush moved at super speed and dashed out of the building while the Huntsman tuned all his senses into discovering anyone invisible nearby. Nebula sank into a cloud of fog only to be sucked into a magic bottle and locked away. They heard the words "She thought of that one and already had a plan for her," but then forgot it immediately.

Titan, careful of his allies, began to blast anywhere and everywhere with his yellow beams of energy, but then a punch to the gut doubled him over, and he coughed blood.

For a moment, Titan saw the man who had attacked him. "My power may be to make you forget, but my strength is rated SSS. I also have a neat little trick that lets me bypass flesh and attack the organs directly. So, you can probably imagine how much damage you've taken by the pain you're feeling right now." Then Titan forgot what he heard as the man suddenly vanished in his eyes.

A sudden blow to the side of his head, and brain matter leaked out of every hole as he fell to the ground dead. Comet Rush didn't know what had happened to Titan, but he figured whoever had done it had to be standing over his body right then, so he came in at full speed and punched where he thought the enemy would be, only to hit the air. However, there was a sudden push on his back, and that added to his considerable momentum, and he became an unstoppable bullet that was sent through miles of the city. Not only did he turn anyone he hit into a bloody paste, but he crashed through so many buildings that when he finally stopped, he was a broken mess, barely clinging to life.

Captain Cosmo went all out against the Witch. His energy beams burned more of the city than even the Witch caused, but her magic was unbridled. She smacked aside his attacks and unleashed her own devastating power upon the city. Eventually, she appeared behind him as he attacked an illusion, and she stuck her hand into the back of his head and locked away his powers. Then he fell out of the sky and was impaled on a stop sign.

The Huntsman could smell something, but then it would suddenly vanish from his memory. This discrepancy between his brain and his senses caused his body to suddenly act on instinct instead of relying on intellect. He became a blur of slashing claws whenever the Forgotten got close. While the Forgotten had SSS-rank strength, his durability was not on par. He took more than a few wounds before he decided to back off and try something different. He calmly kept his distance while walking in a circle around the Huntsman and placing a circular object on the ground until there were eight total. Then he activated the eight devices, and a static net suddenly appeared over the hero, which then tightened and flattened. The net forced the feral hero to his hands and knees and then eventually to his belly. Any struggle caused unbearable pain, even for someone such as him.

Then the Forgotten walked over, removed ten long spikes from his cloak, and began to impale the Huntsman. He put one through the head, one through his heart, and the rest through all his major organs, as well as a few in the arms and legs. Then, with a flick of the wrist, the net vanished, and the devices sprung up and floated back over to him, where he promptly tucked them away.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

~~~

"This is Channel 9's Alex reporting. The attack seems to have ended, and in the aftermath, only one member of the Pantheon seems to be alive but is in critical condition. More than a quarter of the city is destroyed and burning. Early estimates are in the hundreds for civilian casualties, but that number is sure to rise. May God have mercy on us all."

~~~

Darci slammed her fists on the bar top as she watched the news with the rest of the city. Her compiled data had only just turned up information on the Syndicate and the dealings with the Governor. She immediately redirected the evidence gathering to focus on everything related to this matter, and after a few hours, she had compiled enough footage of private meetings with both team Pantheon and the Governor's office to expose the truth. Then, she uploaded everything to hundreds of online sites and even hijacked many news station broadcasts. She would make the world see the truth.

~~~

"Alright, team," Max stated after the shock wore off. "We need to report in right away. I'm sure we'll be tasked to help with the aftermath. Let's get moving now!"

They were definitely tasked with search and rescue and clearing rubble that emergency vehicles couldn't access. Jacik messaged Darci to let her know they were done with the Dungeon and were busy with the city's destruction. They were busy for days, and in between their work, they all got a little rest and caught up with current events.

"I can't believe it," Max stated.

"The Governor called in the Syndicate, and this was the result. All because of the supposed vampire?" Sally asked.

"I thought that vampire business on the news was a hoax. But if the government and the Meta Association were that scared that they would be okay with this…" Bubbles waved her hand at the debris for miles on end. "What the hell are we even fighting for?"

"What is the Syndicate?" I asked. I had some knowledge, but I learned a lot more from the released recordings.

"The Syndicate is essentially the organization that trains villains. Sure, occasionally, a Meta becomes powerful and goes on a crime spree, and even some become strong enough to fight off many heroes. But most of them are untrained and clumsy. The Syndicate turns would be mediocre bad guys into true villains. They're all dangerous, but among them, there are always a couple truly diabolical. For instance, the recordings indicated that the Forgotten was hired, yet no one remembered if he was even here. Yet, there is evidence of an invisible enemy, and he's responsible for the most deaths of the Pantheon."

Jessica patted Oden's head while they listened to the explanation. "I wouldn't forget him. I'm like an elephant. I never forget. Can I have a treat for not forgetting?"

"You weren't even here during the fight," Jessica admonished Oden. Oden drooped his head and gave her the sad puppy dog eyes. "No way, buster, you're not getting a treat for that. I will give you a treat for all the hard work you've done rescuing people, though."

"Okay!" He suddenly looked much more happy.

"Back on topic…" I stated while looking at them flatly. "Do we know how many members of this Syndicate there are?"

"Ha, no," Max laughed. "Oh, I'm sure someone has a decent list of suspected and known members, but they recruit as often as we do, I'm sure. In fact, the sheer number of A-rankers and above that they got likely means they have a way of tracking down new powerful Metas and turning them before we do."

"That's disturbing. And on top of all of that, we got these bloody dungeons popping up everywhere now," Jasper remarked with a flippant flick of his wrist. "I'm glad we got this gig, though; I would hate to be out there wearing costumes and fighting crime."

"I don't mind fighting crime," the Jackal responded.

"We know you don't; you're just as mad as those Syndicate people. Did you know this guy got a court order that restricts him to the dungeons because of how much destruction his black flames cause?"

"Whatever, those pricks just don't understand my dedication to burning out evil."

The group laughed a good hearty laugh. It was much needed, considering what we had all witnessed over the last several days. We continued for the rest of the week before I was able to take a nice long break. I gave Olivia a call to let her know I was back and gave my condolence for learning her parents were killed in the attack.

The Governor, Mr. Nathan Guildwell of the Meta Association, and more than a dozen other officials who were found to have connections to this tragedy were arrested and brought before a Royal Magistrate. The city got a new emergency Governor, and more than two hundred hero teams were brought in to restore order and peace.

For now, the Syndicate seemed to have gone into hiding, but they knew their mission wasn't done. I knew their mission was done either since I was still alive. I set about reinforcing the Club with even more powerful enchantments and had a nice long conversation with Darci.

"So, this whole time I've been getting new identities from some random hacker, you could've done it for me?"

"Technically? Yes. But I'm terrible with background details. Like you, I didn't grow up here."

"Fair point. So, when I bought this place and put in enchantments, you also merged your ship with the building's defenses. Obviously, this will be the next target when the time comes."

"I know what you're thinking. Between my defenses and your enchantments, it'll hold out long enough for me to teleport the entire building to another dimension. Don't worry."

"Fine, but I will worry about fighting those two. If they could do that much damage, even I might be in trouble."

"Darling, you just need a drink and relax. Stress, worry, and doubt will be the end of you. Just remember you are strong, and that will carry you through. Plus, you got friends."

I smiled. "You're right. Top-shelf whiskey, please."