Chapter 161 - Bad Assassins

[Several days later]

Jack strolled through the battlefield remains of Sector Two. What was once the most prolific sector in the city was now nothing more than a monster-infested wasteland, much like the rest of the city. The battle that took place outside the auction house was hard-fought but swift to finish.

Jack sighed to himself. He was sort of ready to be done with this floor. He had gotten all he had come here for, but he still had the Black Centipede problem to deal with. Cumberlin hadn’t shown his face, and no one had made an attempt on his life, so he couldn’t be certain if he was out of the clear, but he knew if he left the floor without completing the secret quest, they would keep hunting him. Probably. So he had to stick around a little while longer. Things were going to be different now that he had his mana back. The city was likely very unprepared for the storm he was about to unleash on it.

Part of him had been strolling through the sector in hopes of coming across Victor, the new leader of the Black Centipede. Jack had heard several stories of the fairy’s exploits while on the second floor. Apparently, he racked up a mountain of corpses acquiring the Legendary race potion that was up for auction. Supposedly he drank it, and instantly disappeared. Jack couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or bad thing. He at least wanted to size up his opponent first so he could understand the threat. He was hoping that he had disappeared alongside Cumberlin, but it was hard to imagine anything good ever happening so he didn’t hold out much hope for that.

Most of his team wasn’t ready to leave the second floor either. Hannah demanded another chance at taking over the city, and her new best friend Elera demanded the exact same. The two had formed an alliance of sorts in his brief absence.

Jack tried to touch base with Karlisle and Mortimaxx, but he was still apparently on their do-not-call list, getting thrown out on his ass by a group of very angry death knights.

Jack pulled a glowing purple vase out of his void sack and gave it a few tosses in the air. He couldn’t break it. It was enchanted until he was able to take over all six sectors of the city. Only then would he be able to challenge Mortimaxx and kill him for good.

Jack grinned to himself, thinking back to moments before the moon exploded. There was one room on their way out that Mortimaxx really didn’t want him going into for some reason.

That reason, Jack learned, was because it contained Mortimaxx’s phylactery.

Jack thought he was fast enough to make it across and grab the phylactery without them noticing. He was. Almost.

Mortimaxx failed to mention that the room was booby trapped to hell and sitting on what was essentially a nuclear bomb. Mortimaxx knew Jack had entered the room, obviously, but he didn’t know whether the lich was aware he had managed to steal his phylactery. If he did, he made no mention of it. He likely thought it was lost amongst the rubble and would be recovered in the event of someone killing him.

Jack had a sudden realization, glancing once more at the vase. Things could get awkward if someone killed off Mortimaxx, and he suddenly respawned to find Jack in possession of the vase. The lich had mentioned something about wanting to die, but Karlisle seemed to have breathed new life into him and given him a renewed vigor to rule the city with an iron fist. Jack honestly wasn’t sure what the lich’s intentions were these days.

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Jack crested some rubble and spotted Hannah and Elera, standing in one front of one of the few still-standing buildings in the sector that wasn’t buried under the rubble of the moon. It was a giant square block, mostly undamaged from the falling debris, if not for some deep cracks running through the sides.

Elera waved at him. Devin, Nutt, and Gaiju were all gathered there, as well.

Gaiju was exceptionally pissed off that she’d missed the auction, showing up a day late and dollar short with a battalion of orcs at her back. Still, though, it was good that she was back. They needed her troops, after all.

“About time,” Hannah said, inspecting Jack. “What the hell is that?” She was staring at the vase that Jack was still cradling in his arms.

“Uh, my grandmother’s ashes?” Jack tried, shoving the vase back into his void sack.

“This everyone? What happened to the elephant? I thought he was coming?” Jack asked.

Kilgor, the dragon slayer, had been the talk of the town. Hannah filled him in about how the elephant had managed to fight evenly against Gideon. Even more shocking was the fact he had been training Sam all this time. Jack had an amusing time watching Hannah bully the titanic elephant into answering every singular question she had about Sam. Even all-powerful dragon hunters paled before her fury.

“Went to visit Mortimaxx,” Devin said.

“Is he seeing everyone but me?” Jack complained.

“Both him and Karlisle are still very annoyed with you,” Elera teased.

Jack rolled his eyes then glanced at the building. “Are we still waiting on this asshole?”

“Yeah,” Devin said, his sword resting on his shoulder.

“Well, that’s fine, because I’ve had some thoughts about the name. I was thinking—”

“We aren’t changing the name,” they all said in unison.

Jack held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine.”

Jack glanced at the large square building. The Twilight Lord’s fortress. Apparently, he had been in hiding ever since Gideon had declared him a dead man, refusing to come out. There had been several of Gideon’s lackeys keeping the building surrounded, ensuring he wasn’t able to escape.

Jack and his crew relieved them of their duties.

“Are you sure he’s going to come out? Doesn’t he still think you’re trying to kill him?” Jack asked.

“He’s not getting much in the way of intelligence locked up in his fortress,” Elera started. “He thinks that my forces have been mostly wiped out by Gideon and I’m desperate for salvation. I’ve sent him a message explaining as much. Plus I’ve promised to let him take a walk through my… garden,” she teased, her eyes turning evil and smile going sinister. “If that isn’t enough to draw the idiot out I don’t know what is.”

“What kind of garden do you have?” Nutt asked, earning him a slap in the back of the head from Hannah.

The front gates of the large, square building swung open, and a tall, slender man stumbled out. His skin was pitch black, and his hair was cut short and slicked back. He wore a simple leather headband that had a crescent moon at its center. His black robes dragged across the ground, and he moved like a shadow out into the open.

“Elera? Is that you, my sweet? Is it finally safe? I received your message, your king is here to save you.” The Twilight Lord said, stepping in front of the group.

“Who are these strangers with—”

“I’m going to go ahead and cut you off there, buddy,” Jack said, stepping up in front to face the Twilight Lord. “Unfortunately, your time as king is over.”

“What?” he said, stumbling backwards. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve been selected as first on our kill list for taking over the city.”

“Who are you people? Elera? What is this nonsense?”

“Us?” Jack gave his daggers a lazy spin and fixed the Twilight Lord with a vicious smile as weapons were drawn and spells were readied behind him.

“We’re the Bad Assassins.”