The rescue mission had been gladly accepted by the young Don. Apparently, Hermes asked his servant to check the surroundings while he would investigate the gate where the kidnappers exited last night. When he arrived at the place, he saw two traces of blood on the surface where the gate guards died, and the scratches of blades where the swordfight began could be seen, as well.
There were new gate guards stationed there, and they were hostile to anyone who wanted to get closer to the place. The young Don wanted to trace down the kidnappers, but the only path had been closed for him, so he decided to find an alternate route to by-pass the guards and make his way to check the footprints left behind by the kidnappers.
Luckily, Justin arrived on time after he briefly finished his mission. Hermes asked his servant what would be the best solution for them to exit the place.
The butler suggested that it was possible to jump over from the wall, so it was clearly a good idea to do it. If he didn't want to get caught by the eyes of the public and the security forces, they must do it after the nightfall. And, so they did what he said.
The sun had disappeared and the night dominated the place. Hermes and his servant exited the place successfully.
Hermes wore his tophat and fixed his clothes.
Justin was about to say something, but a shadow from the street coming from the west had appeared, so he moved behind his master to protect him from the upcoming person. His hostility began to disappear when the face of the person had shown after the moonlight illuminated the field.
A black bald man appeared and he was in a pitiful state. He had several cuts around his body and his clothes had been torn because of his battle against several hostile men. Blood from his mouth had been dry and gave an unpleasant color to his lips.
"Please, help.... me.," asked the black guy before his body collapsed.
The black guy was Mambo. He was a native and part of an Uruk tribe from Western Africa. He had a good life together with his family, relatives and childhood friends, however, his quiet normal life had changed after the colonizers arrived.
According to what he heard, the chief of their tribe had met with them personally and discussed what the colonizers wanted from them. They were friendly at first and introduced them to their religion and technology to the many. However, the colonizers suddenly changed when the tribe leader showed them the place where the diamonds located.
The colonizers returned to their homeland and surprisingly, they returned with their elite troops after several months. Later on, the tribe had collapsed, the people who resisted were hanged or worse got beheaded, and the people survived from the purge became their slaves. The worst thing happened with them was, they were separated from their wife, children, and friends.
Diamonds? What's so important about that thing? His mind always kept thinking about it. He was around seven when the colonization of their place began.
Afterward, he got sold from a wealthy family somewhere from the south-eastern part of Unified Amerigo. He had treated a speck of dirt worse than an insect and he always got a free ticket to hellish torture from the guards.
Every African like him had experienced the same fate. Some of them tried to resist however only death awaited for those pitiful souls. No one dared to escape because they didn't have any place to return again, so they gave up including himself.
He abandoned his old faith and embraced the new religion that the colonizers believed in. He had no idea who was their God, but it was worth to try it albeit he had no reason to comply. He believed that the moment he believed just like them, his life would be changed, as well. He didn't need help from mortals, so he began to believe in their God, and he asked him for help.
After he turned thirty and in the brink of losing his hope to humanity, a fateful encounter happened. During the time when a white man accused him of stealing a barrel of cotton, and the authority arrested him with false charges. He received a heavy punishment by multiple strikes of whips from his back for several months. His body became weak and thin. His ribs showed up and his abs disappeared because of hunger.
He wanted to die but he couldn't do it by himself. So, he prayed for God.
On the day of his trial, a beautiful platinum-haired maiden on her white conservative style dress appeared in the court. Everyone was surprised. She approached him and asked, "Do you want to live?" and he didn't even hesitate to reply. "Yes, I want to live."
"I received an oracle from the God of fate. He said that a man was begging for his salvation. And, he told me to save him from total chaos. I am here to adhere to his command and I hereby request for the court to stop bestowing him the false charges. The white man who accused him is the person who stole those cotton. I request you all to stop this trial or else you'll meet a certain degree of his Almighty's wrath."
From that day, the colors of his eyes showed up and he thanked God for saving him. He pledged his loyalty to that woman because she gave him the reason to live, education, and also a new life.
His eyes slowly opened and he surprised at the two men in front of him. He wanted to move his body but he couldn't raise it.
"Greetings, mate. You're finally awake. Hey, Justin, can you give him a glass of water?" greeted the masked man. He wore a tailored suit and a tophat. The person he asked to give him a glass was named Justin. His butler suit was very unique and looked fancy, in his opinion.
Justin offered him a glass of water. Mambo hesitated to take it, however, the gentle face of this guy made him accept it. He assumed that the butler was a good person than the kid who wore a non-facial mask.
"Who are you pipol? Wot du yu wunt frum mi." He gulped the glass until it was empty and rested his hands on his laps. What he meant was: 'Who are you, people? What do you want from me?' His gaze focused on the butler and he wanted him to answer it. However, the young Don spoke on his behalf.
"Chill, boy. Chil. Look around. Look at us. Don't get scared at us." asked the young Don. "Justin, the glass is empty. Pour it again."
The servant obediently followed and poured the glass with his pitcher. He returned the pitcher from his dimensional bag afterward.
"I am nut scarad. I saed. Whut du yu wunt from me? Whu du yu fock yu are?" Mambo asked before he drank his glass. He meant, 'I am not scared. I said, what do you want from me? Who do you fuck you are?'
Hermes misinterpreted what he meant because of miscommunication. He said, "Likewise, don't fear us. I advise you to lower your weapon away from me. Or else, my servant behind me will behead you in an instant. By the way, my name is Aljen. Everyone calls me that. And, this… this man behind me is my personal butler, Justin. And, you are?"
Mambo replied with a smile, "M-mambo, sir. Nice to meet you."
"Oh, Mambo. You have a fascinating language earlier, but it was shocking that you know our mother tongue language. You speak so fluently despite the fact, you're black. So, how did you learn Italian?"
Mambo, surprised, got mad upon hearing his racial bloodline. However, he lowered his hostility because the kid must not intentionally want to provoke him.
He replied, "I learned it from my master. The Priestess of the God of Fate. She taught me everything when she adopted me as her personal guard."
Hermes simpered, "Adopted? Oh, you can speak so fluently than before. I'm very interested to hear your story. Well, we used an elixir to heal your wounds and gave you new clothes because we burn your old torn black suits. So, I hope you don't mind to share your story behind how exactly did you get those wounds from your body earlier."
Mambo checked his body first and noticed that the wounds had disappeared.
"Why should I tell you?" asked the black servant. "Sir, forgive me. However, it is best for you not to get involved in my problem. I don't want to put your lives in danger."
Hermes interjected to block his nonsensical advice. "C'mon, you asked for our help earlier. You're in a pitiful state that forced us to use our expensive elixirs and gave you fancy clothes, though. Are we going to start a conflict between ourselves? I'm just here to know you're story. To tell you the truth, I'm the man hired to rescue the abducted woman departed from the port yesterday. I'm in charge of her case. So, if you want to save her then you have no other choice but to cooperate with me. Even you like it or not."
"I learned that there's a security in this place,' and my plan is headed there to ask for their help. A public servant that provides safety and offer their lives to save the many. And also, I need to report this to the members of the Church residing in District 1. Why do I dare to tell you about it? You don't have the proof to prove your existence. So, please, don't get involved with me."
A shadow appeared behind the young Don. His veins showed up in anger. He said with a calm tone, "Boy, you're getting on my nerves. But still, I already told you that I'm in charge of saving the Priestess. You won't get close to your objective since the gate is heavily guarded. No one can enter it even you beg for it."
"But, to be sure, I will go to the guards and tell what I found. If I fail, then I will ask for the help of others with higher authority than them. It's better than leave it to someone like you. You guys are only two and those bastards are so many. You'll be overwhelmed by strength and numbers. This is not a fantasy story about heroes and others related to heroic deeds."
"Oi, Mambo, I told you to stop wasting my master's time." Justin pressed his hand on his neck and he showed him a hostile gaze with hazardous aura. The black bald man was surprised by his sudden change.
"W-Why are you doing?" asked Mambo with cold sweat to Justin. The butler replied, "Hypocrite. Do you want to see hell first before we save your master or not?"
Hermes asked him to stand down. He sat in a duck sit position and he said with a cold voice, "The guards ain't doing anything to save your girl, boy. Those villages ain't going to help you to solve this case. They will just kill you because one of them is working together with these maniacs. Please, we insist to help you whether you like it or not. Don't worry, we are experienced in solving this kind of problem because troubles keep following my ass even I hate it since birth."
"Don't call me boy." Justin's gaze made him gulp. What was wrong with these people was the question kept appearing on his mind albeit he tried to push them away. Mambo still resisted, "Looking at your physique, you're three decades younger than me. You have no basis to prove it. The accusation is bad and it will result in you to be detained for false charges."
Justin cracked his fingers one by one. And he sincerely asked with a sharp gaze, "Hey, do you want to see your girl or not? Don't even dare to speak ill at his presence. I won't tolerate any single thing that could taint the name of my master."
Mambo replied with cold sweat, "A'ight. A'ight. I won't go to the guards. And..."
"And?" Hermes stood up and folded his arms, waiting for his response. On his right, Justin which had an intention to torture the black man readied himself to make him agree for his cooperation.
With no other options to take, Mambo gave in. "I will tell you everything. Everything I know. So, please have mercy."
Hermes simpered and asked his servant to assist him to stand up. "Good. Justin put down your weapon. And, Mambo..."
"Y-Yes?" asked Mambo with cold sweat. The young Don replied, "Please allow us to accompany you to where those kidnappers residing right now. This place ain't safe so we must talk it somewhere else."
This was the first time for Mambo to feel frightened by a kid. His outside appearance looked intimidating compare to his former masters.
Several minutes had passed. Mambo had finally recovered from his fatigue and started to stretch his body from head to toe. He told everything about what happened to the kidnapping, the time he discovered the place, and how he ended up getting some bruises all over his body. The location, place, and numbers of the enemies were the only thing important that the young Don wanted in the first place, so the other information related to the Priestess origin didn't bother him at most.
For him, she was just a minor character and her existence won't affect the playable female characters once the first quest for them began in the next three years.
"Thank you for cooperating with us, Mambo. Please take this weapon," Hermes gave him a box.
Mambo humbly accepted it and he opened it. His face smiled when he saw a pistol of caliber .45 with three magazines aligned under the gun and a short blade. He bowed his head with respect at the young Don, "Thank you very much, sir. After we save my master, I'll treat you with our finest dish. I don't have money to pay for this but I hope my cooking skills will be enough."
"I'm looking forward to it." Hermes simpered.
The kidnappers decided to camp in the deep part of the Dark Scily Forest. They had rifles and two mages on their ranks, so there were monsters including the demon wolves failed to take their lives. The plan was simple: exterminate the kidnappers except for the leader and save the young maiden.
Hermes could feel on his palm that the plan would work according to his scheme, however, there was a big problem that occurred before they commenced it.
"What the fuck did you say?" explicitly asked Hermes as he got surprised by the sudden confession.
"Sir, the enemies are wearing the same outfit. They are wearing a white mask and all of them are well-experienced combatants," replied Mambo as he cleaned his blade with a white cloth.
"I already know they are experienced mercenaries however, the fact that they are wearing the same outfit will prevent us to assassinate them during their sleep. We might lose our chance to extract some information that was responsible for the kidnapping. Justin, as my adviser, what do you think we should do about this?" Hermes asked as he turned his gaze at his servant. Justin simpered, "If the enemies are wearing the same uniform, confronting them is the best solution. Remember what he said, the enemies have different jobs and skills during live combat. The enemies shows their strength and abilities as they pleased."
"In short, we must compromise them with full strength. We show up ourselves and fight them head-on." Hermes sighed and sat down on the huge rock. "I thought we will get this thing done easily. Sucks. My plan is ruined again."
"My apologies, sir. I didn't mean to make you feel bad." Mambo lowered his head in apology. The young Don gulped some air and exhaled. He said, "Nevermind. Let's move out now."
Later on, the campsite of the kidnappers was quiet. Two guards assigned to become the night watch, while the others were in their sleeping bags. There were several horses tied near the branches of the trees and a small white tent. Hermes made a guess that the tent must be the place where the leader slept and where the Priestess held in captive.
"It is unfortunate for the girl if she gets raped at a young age. That bastard is so lucky to have her by himself. Or she got gangbang? Yuck, but the mission is a mission. I don't think it is the right time to think about such an unfortunate event." Hermes murmured which could only hear by himself.
"Sir, what is your plan this time?" asked Mambo in a low voice that the two of them could possibly hear, crouching next to the young Don on his left.
"Hmm, let me think." Hermes thought for a solution but none of it was possible. "Darn it, it's hard." He pulled out his submachine-gun and reload it, just in case.
"So, it's going to be a long night for us, huh. How bothersome." Mambo muttered aside.
"Oh, by the way, where's Justin?" asked Hermes as he looked around for his butler.
Mambo raised up his shoulder with his hands on the air telling him he had no idea.
Hermes stared at him with a sharp gaze. He quizzed him, "Hey, the two of you are talking to each other lately. What exactly did he say before you separated with him?" The black man answered, "He said that he will do what his master said before. Confront them is necessary then I will do it personally."
Hermes gulped upon hearing it. He muttered, "Don't tell me. He ―" His face turned pale after the seven horses made a neigh in surprise.
The ropes were cut-off from the branches and the horses made an amock in the surrounding. The sounds of their neighs and footsteps made every kidnapper woke up from their slumber.
The two night watchers aimed their rifles at the butler however, they got easily beheaded before they pulled the trigger of their weapons. Justin hid behind the shadow before the leader ordered his crew to make a fire to serve as their light in the middle of the night.
When Hermes noticed that one of them cast magic, he didn't hesitate to fire his gun towards him. His bullets didn't reach his target because of the interference of the second mage. This mage used an invisible barrier to shield his companion before he got hurt.
"The mages have been identified. Ignore the other three. Shoot to kill. Mambo, do what I say!" Hermes reloaded his rifle and shot the two targets.
"Sir, yes, sir." Mambo jumped out from his hiding spot, ran towards the enemy mages, and pulled out his blade on his left waist. "Hello, motherfuckers."
"What's going on here?" asked the leader of the group.
"The enemies are attacking. Permission to engage." said the other one on his left.
"Permission granted. Protect the tent at all costs."
"So, you're the leader, huh." a man from the shadow showed up behind their back.
"Who the hell are you? Shoot him!" the leader ordered.
The two bodies of his henchmen were divided into two pieces like a slice of meat. The leader, surprised, peed on his pants.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the servant of the Supreme Being named Hermes Archnemesis. The Consigliere of the mighty family that will rise above all. You filthy insects have the right to remain silent before you meet your end. Allow me to put your mind at ease before you reach hell on my hand."
"I-i-insect?" He couldn't believe he was called an insect. He couldn't deny it was such a humiliating feat for all of them because they lost.
The two mages got easily knocked down because they were bad in close-combat. They only relied on the defense capabilities of their comrades. It was unfortunate for them to be killed by a black man who they thought was killed from the forest.
"Oh, that was easy. Good job, Mambo, and Justin. My loyal servant, you deserve a reward." Hermes gave him a thumbs up to praise his service.
"Your praise is more valuable than any kind of jewelry." said Justin with his head lowered with respect towards his master, "It is a pleasure to receive such a gift but serving you is enough reward, my Don."
Hermes smiled and turned his head at the enemy. "Whatever. Tie them all. Find some ropes and place these bastards in one place. Mambo, search for the girl."
"Y-y-yes, sir. Right on it."
One of the mages asked the young Don personally, "Who are you?"
Hermes stared at him and pointed his index on his neck, "Justin, kill him."
"Yes, sir." His servant beheaded the man before he could say something.
The last mage survivor begged, "W-wait, why are you killin' us? Don't you guys have no plan of asking for information?"
Hermes tilted his head and placed his hand on his chin, "Well, yeah. He has the point there, Justin." Upon hearing it, the two survivors heaved a sigh of relief. However, the atmosphere went darker than before.
Justin said, "Sir, I advise you to kill everyone except the leader. We're really lucky that you didn't point at the leader of the group. It will be troublesome, sir."
Hermes chuckled, "Oops, my bad. My mistake. He doesn't look intimidating, so I decided to kill him. A'ight, kill the last henchmen."
"Yes, sir. As you wish." Justin raised his hand and readied to behead the last mage.
The mage got killed albeit he begged for mercy.
"Kyoowa, what have you done? You just killed my men! You monsters!" the leader said with anger.
Hermes moved his face closer to the leader, he said with a smile, "Hey, hey, look at me. Look at me, dude. Do you really think we're going to allow you to rest your eyes? Do you expect something good of being a prisoner, hmm?"
His neon scarlet eyes made him trembled. The leader peed once again, "N-n-no, but I don't expect anything at all. You guys are more vicious than any criminals I've ever encountered."
"Oh, that's a good remark, dude." Hermes pat his trembling shoulder and stood up. "I expect nothing too, filthy criminal."
Hermes got easily finished the quest with no casualties. He thought it was difficult at first, but this moment was already grasped by his hands. Inside his mind, his whole body celebrated their victory and laughed at the bottom of his success.
"Sir Aljen, we've got a problem!" Mambo panted as he approached the young Don. Hermes pat his shoulder and placed his rifle on his back. He asked, "Hey, calm down. What's wrong, Mambo?"
Mambo tried to raise up his face and spoke, "The.... The.... Hah... hah... The Priestess .... the Priestess is not there. My master is not here!"
Hermes stunned and a dark shadow appeared behind him while his face was still smiling. His body trembled and asked, "Goddamn it. What?" That time, the quest turned out harder than he expected.