In the fifth district, there was a secret underground base located at the place. Four men opened the door of his office. They dragged the body of an unconscious butler in front of their leader.
They placed a hand on their chest and lowered their head respectfully. The leader stood up from his chair and walked closer at the captive. He looked pleased to see him like this.
He had sparse lime hair and a handsome face with a mole under his left eye. His pale skin and elegant manner showed how mighty he was. His white suit pinned with a small red silk-made rose showed his high authority within the ranks.
"Oh, take a look at that. What a wonderful gift you got there, men," said Mattheus Dante, smiling. He's the Underboss of the Verdugo family. He's the right-hand man of the clan and second-in-command after their boss. "This is the butler, sire. We found him in front of the entrance gate. We've come here to ask for confirmation," one of the guards answered promptly.
"Hmm, yup. It is him. There's no mage other him within their family. He's the only servant left to protect his master, though," Matheus confirmed. "By the way, good job. Whoever the bounty he is, I'm grateful for this."
The four men stood firm and raised their arms with salutation.
"How lucky we are. To think the Consigliere is here. Covered with his blood and isolated. Capture by one of our men. What an unlucky peasant," Matheus kicked the face of the butler and laughed. "If you're here with us, then your tiny little lamb has no shepherd to protect him. To guide him for glory and honor. Man, fate is on our side this time."
'Magnificent. He's not responding. No sign of resistance. What kind of spell did they use against this fellow? Man, lucky us.'
"Take him away. Send him to the lowest room suitable for this peasant," Matheus directed, pointing his thumb downward. "Yes, sire," the guards saluted in response.
The men exited with the unconscious body of the captive thereafter.
"I wonder who is helping us behind the scene. Never mind, I guess the time has come to commence it," Matheus muttered as he picked up the glass from the table.
Suddenly, a tiny letter entered his room. But since he was familiar with the aura, he lowered his guard down.
'Another prophecy from God, huh.'
He picked up a dark letter on the table and opened it.
His pupils trembled in excitement. Lips upturned.
He placed a hand on his eyes and laughed.
"Wonderful, what a great prophecy indeed. Whoever you are. I'm going to play my part then. Glory to my family!" He raised his glass and gulped it.
Four minutes later.
Fourth district, Neue Fiona Village.
Inside the temple, the three elders met up with each other in the headmaster's office. One of them carried a huge box containing different articles, and next to him, he was holding a black briefcase in his hand.
"Brother Damaso, I found these articles about Hermes Archnemesis. Please take a look," Elder Kilo handed over a pile of old newspaper on the table.
Elder Damaso moved closer at the table and picked up one page. Then, he quietly read the content until the last paragraph.
"Interesting. This could be a piece of potential evidence against that man," he commented, rubbing his beard as he imagined the scene where Hermes got arrested.
"Brother, these are the photos we gathered from our investigation," Elder Wamo opened the briefcase, an orange orb appeared in his sight. "Oh, you are using the [Sony II], huh. Magnificent," Elder Damaso patted his shoulder with a smiling face, appreciatively.
"Brother Wamo, that relic is an ancient relic from the former Empire. I thought it was already extinct. Where did you get that thing?" Elder Kilo marveled with a glistering gaze. "Hmm, I just bought it from the auction at the Romue," Elder Wamo rubbed his nose first before he replied.
"Since when?" Elder Damaso followed. "Last September, brother," he simpered.
"Good thing we have this relic. We can use this to showcase our evidence to overthrow the Archnemesis from this place," Elder Wamo's lips curled in a crescent form.
The two elders clapped their hands with awe.
"Brother, are you sure this is enough to defeat him?" asked Elder Kilo, worryingly. "Yes, this is enough. The villagers loathed their own master to the highest extent. We've been here for more than a decade after we hailed from Siberia. The instability of the order and lack of proper lordship is sufficient power to end his career," Elder Damaso assured.
"Brother, I only investigated the office he rented in the third district. The former headquarters of the Handdog gang. The only thing I ever recorded were the torture chamber, the prison cell, and the illegal potions from the organization," Elder Wamo interjected. "It's okay. There's a saying, false evidence appears real to the eyes of the ignorants. Humans are an irrational race where emotions prevail over rationality. You don't have to worry about it. Those records will only increase their hate once more," Elder Damaso pointed out with smiling teeth.
The two younger elders clapped their hands in awe.
"Wonderful. That's one of the greatest schemes we've ever plan, brother," Elder Kilo praised. "Thank you," Elder Damaso appreciated.
"But still, there are several things we need to clarify here, my brothers. Three questions we need to uncover first, why is the head of the family here? Why is he trying to form a friendship with the chief? And, what's the purpose of his presence in this village? Look here. I have a doubt at first. I'm curious about this. Very curious. I don't think there's a good reason for him to stay here and form a good relationship with his people," Elder Wamo quizzed, pointing out all the questions through their minds.
"Hmm, I wonder why too. Hmm, I do believe we need to extend our investigation about those important cases before we proceed on this segment. But unfortunately, we received the letter from the Grand lord himself. Urging us to commence his brilliant plan. I know this is a bad idea, but I think we need to put it on hiatus," said Elder Damaso as he mounted on his single-seat chair.
"But, brother. I think we need to. Do you think he knows what's going on in this place?" asked Elder Wamo, worryingly. "Hmm, to think you are going to get worried to unnecessary. Brother Wamo, I know you're a very cautious man, but no need to tell us a disturbing idea. There's no way a child like him will get involved in this place," Elder Damaso chuckled.
"But brother. My point was, he might be secretly destroying us from behind. Remember, even a rat can kill a lion with its cunning trait," Elder Wamo defended. "But still, a lion is a giant host and the rat is just a tiny rat. Even he has money and power behind his back, there's no way for him to get involved. To support these words, here is the paper. Here, take a look," Elder Damaso slid over the documents on the table. The two elders took a peek and read it without picking it up. Both of them exchanged glances and nodded. "I told you before. He won't bother. Grand lord already prophesized he's apathetic to his people. This is why you don't have to worry," Elder Damaso assured.
Elder Kilo rubbed his beard and his eyes turned blank after he sensed a powerful aura coming from the east.
"What's wrong, Kilo?" asked Elder Wamo. "I don't know if I mistakenly feel it wrong. Call it a joke, but I think... I think I sensed the power of the Great spirits," he shuddered.
Both of the older elders gasped and shivered in fear.
"T, t, the Great spirits? Are you fuckin' serious right now?" Elder Damaso fretted, lips retracted. "I, I know you're worried brother, but I'm telling the truth," Elder Kilo confirmed.
"Y, you're jokin' right?" Elder Wamo's eyes trembled. "Unfortunately, I'm not. Please calm down, gentlemen. Thankfully, the two powerful auras coming from nowhere have already disappeared. I don't think they are coming to disturb us at all," Elder Kilo assured, trying to ease their minds.
"R, right, we don't even dare to provoke their turf. I, I think the grand lord send his familiars to act as a spectator in the upcoming event. Thus, we don't need to fear their existence anymore. After all, we are allies of the true reincarnation of the Great Emperor," Elder Damaso placed a hand on his chest and heaved a sigh of relief. "Y, y, yes, agreed," the two younger elders nodded in unison.
"For now, we need to cause a mutiny within the village. Then, once the unrest started we will sneak some of our troops inside and send them in to capture the important key points of this territory. Second, we need to convince the chief that the menace has returned and shown these documents as a shred of evidence. Pieces of evidence linked to the cases for the past five years. That he, Hermes Archnemesis, was the person who causes all of the kidnappings. Then, we will wait for him to send some village guards to arrest the man. Easy squeezy," Elder Damaso explained briefly.
The other two elders clapped their hands.
"But brother, there is something you missed out. You forgot the rival clan of the Archnemesis next to us," Elder Wamo reminded, pointing his index at the east. "No need to worry about them. The Verdugo clan is nothing but a mere pawn for this plan. The villagers and the people of that clan will become the mere ingredients for the upcoming event," Elder Damaso assured.
"Humans are humans. They are dumb, weak-minded, and stupid creatures. Ignorant and lack of proper discipline are one of the worse traits I cannot argue with. My dear brothers, I cannot wait to see the rebirth of our Supreme being. He is the divine one who will punish these heretics," Elder Kilo simpered. "Indeed, they are fragile, pessimistic, and above all, mere mortal beings unlike us. I wonder why they are praying to a false God who they believed created them after his image. What a biased information," Elder Wamo jeered, holding his tummy.
"Brothers, I would like to inform you that I lost contact with Arak. I tried to call him through the orb, but to no avail. I still don't receive any message from our little brother," said Elder Damaso with a sullen face.
'What happened to that bisexual boy?' asked Elder Kilo inside his mind.
'That man is seriously a troublesome fellow,' Elder Wamo heaved a disappointing sigh.
"Do you want us to meet him at the cave?" Elder Kilo inquired. "Yes, please. I'm worried about him lately," Elder Damaso stood up from his chair and moved closer near the window.
"Brother, I will give my forces to Kilo, so he won't go alone," Elder Wamo assured. "Thanks, we need to be careful right now. I don't know what happened to him, but make sure to return home immediately after you're sudden visit to his place," replied Elder Damaso, smiling.
"You heard the man. I will give you fifteen men under you. Make sure to return home safely, Kilo," Elder Wamo patted his shoulder once. "Thank you very much, brother," Elder Kilo pressed a hand on his chest and bowed down appreciatively.
"Fellow elders of this place, never forget our objective. Family first before everyone else. Got it?" Elder Damaso reminded. "Yes, brother," the two younger elders lowered their heads once respectfully.
"Go now. Make haste. We still have time before the plan commences," Elder Damaso extended his hands, like a general on the battlefield. "Yes, brother!" the two Elders exited the place afterward.
Elder Damaso turned around and looked at the outside through the window. He saw a lot of kids playing on the street.
'Hermes Archnemesis, you won't see the sunrise tomorrow,' Elder Damaso declared, gravely.
"Grand lord stated that he will become an obstacle to his plan, so he wanted us to get rid of him as quickly as possible. I cannot wait to see his reaction after he experiences the harsh reality of life. Tormented by his own people, his own race who truly believed he's the culprit all along. Man, what an unfortunate homo sapien," Elder Damaso closed his eyes and laughed out loud.
Meanwhile, there was a sudden movement across the borders of the fifth district. A high pitch of the siren alerted all the residents within the place. Then, they rushed to the central place where the members of the organization should go.
All of them wore black suit uniforms with a logo of the Verdugo clan, a red skull mask covered with scarlet blood as a background. Two small black axes crossed each other above the mask.
They formed up in different units, twenty-four men per platoon.
Suddenly, everyone stood properly after they recognized the appearance of their superior. Stomach in and chest out.
A close-cropped golden hair man appeared on the small stage. His eyes resembled the eyes of a hawk, ready to kill his prey when he's been ordered to. His blue suit symbolized his authority as a capo outshone the others. On his left chest, a logo of the Verdugo clan pinned.
"Good evening, gentlemen," said Patioche Woale, the fifth Caporegime of the Verdugo clan. He's the leading ringleader of the occupied territory, the fifth district.
His silver watch on his wrist quickly tensed the people when he lifted his hand up.
"Men, don't worry. I'm not here to punish the fools who tried to violate the divine law of our mistress. I've come here to inform you all that I received an urgent notice from our beloved Underboss, Matheus Dante," he added, smiling.
All of the low-ranking members gasped after they heard his name.
"Chill out and relax. Men, rejoice. The Consigliere of the Archnemesis was captured by one of the elites. Wonderful, right? That means bandit time is over. The unification of the East and West will come to fruition. Raise your banners, start the engines of our vehicles. This time, we're going to war!"
The short speech of the caporegime raised the morale of the members.
"For the glory of the Verdugo clan. Long live, Verdugo clan. All hail, Lady Veronica!" Patioche raised his arm and the people followed.
"All hail, Lady Veronica! All hail, Lady Veronica! All hail, Lady Veronica," the members cheered, shouting the name of their supreme leader with delight.