In the Dragna Empire, there are over two dozen countries. Outside of the famous four which consisted of Dragna City, Lushun, Gael, and Vera, there were over 20 smaller countries that made the empire the biggest empire on the Silver Continent. These countries were also feeling the effects of Nebulous’ passing.
One of these countries was called Axel and it was located in the center of a mountainous range. It was a country that excelled in the mining of Magus Ore. Magus Ore was a special material that can be found underground of places that had a high concentration of mana. It was a very expensive mineral and could be used for countless applications. Although the most common one was forging powerful weapons and armor.
Because of its Magus Ore mines, Axel enjoyed a certain level of luxury. The country was modern and had skyscrapers, towers, and a metropolis. Currently, in its capital, the citizens were dressed in coats to combat the cold, but a lot of these coats were stylish. A man was walking down the streets blending in the crowd, behind him was a group of men dressed in similar black coats. They all had their hands inside their coat pockets as they walked.
*Screech!*
It was then that the sound of tires drifting resounded in the area. The man looked ahead and saw a car driving on the sidewalk. It was heading toward him without care for those trying to get out of the way.
“Don!”
The men behind him stepped forward. They pulled out machine guns from inside their coats. These guns were all magic guns.
*Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!*
They fired their guns at the car, what came out seemed more like lasers than bullets. It was mana that was concentrated and turned into projectiles. They were countless times more deadly than regular bullets.
*Bam!* *Bam!*
The bullets hit the car, but they didn’t slow it down in the slightest.
“It’s made from an anti-magic material?! Don, escape!”
Seeing that their efforts were futile, the men decided to shield their leader with their bodies.
“That won’t be necessary.”
The don’s body started glowing as it was covered with a green hue. The image of a bear-like beast appeared behind him. He pushed the men out of the way and stepped forward.
*Bam!*
He stooped and swung upwards and uppercut the car into the air. The car flew backward and crashed into a nearby building.
“Don!”
The men had elated expressions on their faces.
“As expected of the top crime boss of Axel, Grizzly Joe.”
“?!”
The men and Grizzly Joe all spun around to find a man wearing a red and black mask with a crown in the center of the forehead.
“You…You’re NoFace. Nebulous’ former respective.”
“Grizzly, I heard you’ve moved up in life. You were only a small-time Mana Ore dealer but look at you now. You’re walking around like you own the place.”
“Because I do own the place. This city is mine!”
“So I’ve heard. You slaughtered all of the big names and rose to the level of Don.”
Jason started to clap.
“I must applaud you for your efforts.”
He stopped.
“However, the title of Don isn’t yours. This city isn’t yours.”
“Hahaha! I see, so you’re the one who sent that car at me. What? Are you trying to keep Nebulous’ legacy alive or something? The Crime God is dead, and so is his era! It’s time for new blood to take over!”
Jason nodded.
“I completely agree. It’s time for new blood.”
*Thud!*
Grizzly heard a sound behind him and turned around.
“?!”
There, someone standing stained in blood. He was dressed similarly to Jason; however their mask was blue and white and had a music note on the mouth area. Grizzly looked down. His men were all motionless on the ground with blood leaking from their orifices.
“New blood is taking over, but unfortunately it’s not yours.”
Jason spoke as the masked person started approaching Grizzly, who had a sour expression.
“Life or death?”
They suddenly asked.
“What?”
“Do you want to live or die?”
Jason answered.
“Submit and live, rebel and die. It’s as simple as that.”
“Hahaha!”
Grizzly started laughing.
“Fuck you! This is my era!”
The green hue from earlier came back much more explosive than before. An image of the bear-like creature appeared more solid behind him. Grizzly’s body started to grow and his limbs were covered in fur that resembled black needles.
“Beastly Vita, huh? It’s your specialty, isn’t it? Looks like you’ve fully copied the Needle Bear’s Ability.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Jason was apathetic.
“However…”
Grizzly stepped forward and threw a powerful punch at his opponent.
*Bam!*
“Ahhh?!”
Grizzly roared out in pain when his fist hit the masked man. No, it didn’t reach him; it instead hit something like an invisible wall that separated them.
“Ahhhh!”
He screamed and held his hand. It was busted up until to the point his bones were sticking out. The masked man placed his palm on Grizzly’s head, which caused him to look up.
“I see. Then death it is.”
“Wai-”
*Bam!*
A loud sound reverberated and Grizzly’s head exploded. His body hit the ground and blood drained from his neck and stained the streets. This all happened in the middle of the day, under everyone’s eyes.
“It’s too bad, Grizzly. I really like people who rose up using their own strength.”
Jason stood over his headless body and took out a card.
“It’s too bad that your blood is only good enough to stain these streets.”
He dropped the card on the headless body and left with the masked man. After a while, people started approaching Grizzly’s body and saw what was written on the card.
“The Crime God’s Second coming, Renacido.”
Dragna City.
The Dragna clan was divided into five branches, each branch is a descendant of one of Tia’s five children she had with Augustus Dragna. The members of the five branches all live in their individual domains within the palace grounds. With over 1000km2 of land, the entire population of the Dragna clan could easily fit there.
In the Primus domain, the emperor of the empire, Nero was sitting on his throne in the throne room. This throne wasn’t the throne of the empire, but the throne of the Primus branch. Sitting there indicated that one was the head of the Primus branch. Many didn’t believe it, but being a branch leader of the Dragna clan was higher in rank than being the emperor. So even if Nero stopped being the emperor, his power and authority in the clan and empire wouldn’t diminish. So to him, being emperor was just an extra job.
“I’m bored. Son, entertain your father.”
Nero said to Nova, who was sitting on the ground in front of the throne with a stack of pictures spread out before him.
“How about we go hunt a wild dragon? I haven’t had dragon meat in a while.”
Nova spoke without looking up..
“That sounds like a good idea. I heard Andreas has a farm of them, let’s go steal one.”
“You can’t sit still and not cause any trouble for a bit, can you?”
Nero looked in front of him and saw Rouge appear beside Nova.
“Those dragons are Andreas’ steads. If you kill one, he’ll kill you.”
“Sounds fun. I haven’t had a good fight in years.”
Nero showed an excited smile.
“Don’t come crying to me when he fills you with bullets.”
“By the way, Rouge. What’s with the sudden visit? Bored?”
“Don’t compare me with you two. One would think that you don’t have an empire to run or something.”
“I’m just a figurehead, so what does it matter?”
Nero stood up from his throne.
“More importantly, be the emperor already. I haven’t left this place in almost a century because of it. I’m bored out of my mind. I was this close to starting a war just for the fun of it.”
“I’m surprised you can say that when we have a possible war at our doorsteps. Besides, I’m already busy with my own branch to deal with the empire as well.”
“But you people forced it on me…”
Nero frowned.
“Who was it that tried to slaughter the entire clan when his daughter was going to be executed for her husband’s sins? This is punishment.”
“I understand him, but why was I forced to stay here as well?”
Nova complained.
“Because if this idiot’s here, we can’t let you roam without supervision. You tend to cause trouble when you’re alone after all. Also, didn’t you participate in the massacre as well?”
“But so did Rihan, Gian, and Gamion. Why am I the only son to be punished?”
“Because you’re the oldest and the one who invited them here to help with the slaughter. Also, those three can’t be contained here. It would cause more bad than good.”
Rouge answered.
“Anyway, let’s get back to the topic. Nero, what are you going to do about this Miko-Flameheart fiasco?”
“What do you mean? I’m just going to follow the decision of the clan.”
“Need I remind you that we don’t have time for internal struggles?”
Rouge put on a serious expression.
“We have bigger enemies lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce at our necks when we’re at our most vulnerable. The issue with the Flamehearts mustn’t distract us from that.”
“I think you’re too late regarding that. The fact you’re here already shows that you’re distracted.”
Nero smirked.
“But don’t worry, Cousin. I’ve already started making preparations.”
At that moment, Nero’s phone started to go off. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the screen and smiled.
“What happened? Did your preparations come through?”
Nero smiled at Rouge and then said-
“They couldn’t find it. We’re screwed.”
*Bam!*
Rouge kicked Nero and sent him flying through the wall.
“Ahh~. This is why I never leave important stuff up to you.”
Rouge started rubbing his temple.
“Hey, it was an ancient weapon that was forgotten in time. It’s not my fault if someone else took it.”
Nero walked back into the room while dusting himself off.
“It’s great that I have experience with dealing with you and already asked Raven to make backup preparations.”
“Hey, don’t go using the people of my branch.”
“Like you’re one to talk. Besides, it’s not like you’re using them effectively.”
Rouge took out a coin and threw it at Nero.
“Oh? Isn’t this the coin granny gave us back then?”
Nero started expecting the coin with his eyes and even went as far as to taste it.
“Take it as payment for borrowing your Guardian Beast.”
“Are you sure? This thing is pretty valuable you know. It’s made from the first lump of gold to ever exist.”
“If I don’t repay you now, you’ll come up with a stupidly impossible request later.”
“Tsk. And here I was going to make you take my place as emperor.”
Nero mumbled.
“Give up, Old Man. You’re stuck as emperor until you die.”
Nova burst out laughing.
“If he dies, you’ll be the next emperor, firstborn son.”
Nova’s body froze.
“You two are probably the only persons who would react to ruling such a powerful empire like this.”
“Because it’s a pain in the ass.”
Nova complained. Rouge looked down at the pictures he was organizing and saw that it was composed of mostly pictures of their female family members like Sasha and Momo. They were being handled with care like they were his greatest treasures.
“…..You know, I’m starting to wonder if retardation is inheritable.”
He turned around.
“I’m going to leave before my blood pressure raises.”
“Take it easy, old man.”
Nero waved at him.
“We’re three months apart in age.”
Rouge snapped back.
“Ah, I just remembered. What are you going to do with Krow? I mean, he hates all of us, but he seems to have a personal vendetta against you. When the time comes, I’m sure that he’ll go after your head first.”
“Then let him. I would gladly welcome a fight to the death with him.”
“You hate him that much?”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Rouge. I don’t hate our uncle. In fact, I admire his dedication and strong will to achieve his goals.”
“But you want to fight him to the death?”
“Of course. When you’re as strong as I am, there are only a few who can really push you past your limit. I wouldn’t miss a chance to fight someone like that, not for the world.”
Nero grinned.
“Aren’t you the same, Walking Apocalypse?”
Rouge didn’t answer and just started to leave.
“Ah, one more thing. Sasha approached my wife earlier.”
“What’s wrong with Sasha visiting Celina? She’s her mother’s sister after all.”
“I haven’t visited Aunty in a while myself.”
Nova added.
“You two don’t get it, do you?”
The father-son duo both put on a confused expression at the same time.
“Sasha is becoming anxious. It’s been two months since her son was taken from her and imprisoned in the country’s worst prison. She most likely started researching what kind of place the Demon’s Nest is. What do you think she’ll do after finding out what it’s truly like?”
Rouge paused for a bit before saying-
“She’ll panic. Her son is imprisoned and everyone is treating his life as a bargaining chip; treating him like he’s a sacrificial lamb. No mother, especially one as overprotective as her, would allow that.”
Nero and Nova were silent because they could understand Sasha’s hardship since they went through something similar to Momo’s mother.
“After hearing her concerns, Celina also started to become anxious. And when those two become anxious but can’t rely on this clan, there’s only one place or rather one person they can rely on.”
“?!”
A pale expression appeared on Nero and Nova’s faces as they realized their mistake. Rouge started to look like he was having a headache.
“Your wife could be coming back soon, and if she does with the situation as it is, all hell will break loose.”