A few days after meeting Renard in the small Prana Production Facility, I decided to take the next step into building my empire of sinners, so to say.
I am currently on my way to a certain location where illegal transactions were the norm. Everything was permitted so long as you had money.
One can find everything they could ever need or want in such a location, even slaves.
I peered outside the window of the car. The high-rise apartments and commercial buildings have long disappeared and in their place stood countless of poverty-stricken circular houses that were lined up in neat row.
During the great wars of the old order, the United Nations opened up a refugee camp right outside Seoul.
The landscape of the world was reshaped by conflict and by newly prana-capable warriors who were permitted to disregard the costs of collateral damage and after a prolonged skirmish, cities disappeared and families were torn apart by the flames of war.
This used to be a fairly decent refugee zone but the flames of greed, ambition and indifference slowly warped this once safe haven into a hive of criminals and evil who dared to even sell their children for a bowl of rice.
I let out a low growl, "Disgusting."
The driver, instructed to remain indifferent to me, did his job and focused on ferrying me to my location.
I rolled my eyes at him and kept my lips pursed.
Ten years from now, Private Mercenary Corporations will rise up and take over the global economy.
Wars will change into that of proxy wars fought by these PMCs and one such PMC is led by a Swordmaster that went by the codename "Noblesse". It was rumored that Noblesse was a mute and slender young man who was unmatched with the sword.
Noblesse was a threat so huge that armies put a huge bounty on his head and squad leaders were permitted to flee on sight as soon as they confirm his personal emblem – that of a sword wrapped in the thorns of a rose.
In reality, Noblesse was a young woman – that of royalty to be exact. She wasn't a princess but the successor of a chaebol. She was everything a South Korean wanted back in the old order. Rich, beautiful and of a noble pedigree.
In the fall of the old order, her family was rescued by soldiers and relocated to the refugee zone. They lived a happy life as she was surrounded by her family and bodyguards who remained loyal until the end.
It should have been a happy life, truth be told, but the illegal trade of this certain location changed things for the worse.
Her father, an honest man to a fault, resisted the changes and tried to convince his fellow refugees to remain steadfast and to await official support from the government.
For a time, everything was fine. Eventually the people grew too tired and hungry to believe in the government and for all of his kindness and nobility, he was consumed and killed by those he considered his friends.
They robbed him, they butchered his wife and humiliated his daughter repeatedly until her mind broke. To add insult to injury, the syndicate carved out his daughter's tongue and plucked out her eyes and served it for him to eat.
They laughed and taunted him, "Your daughter might not be able to see the future anymore but at least you can shit it out for her later."
His daughter's broken mind, at that point, seemed to flicker back to life and after a prolonged struggle, the daughter died and, in her ashes, rose the vengeful ghost known as Noblesse.
It seems the stress and the trauma changed something inside of her and forcibly unlocked her affinities as a prana user. Anyway, she was skilled enough to be deemed a Swordmaster and even Arthur Almasy from ten years from now was unable to defeat her in a one-on-one fight.
Anyway, that's all something that happened in the past or at least depending on how you look at it but right now, she should still be a blissfully unaware 20 something year old woman living with her family in bliss.
Gently interrupting my thoughts, the driver turned his head to look at me "Miss, we have arrived to our destination."
I nodded and exited the car. I was expecting to see lifeless people all around me but I was pleasantly surprised to see that despite their harsh living conditions, people seemed to remain hopeful.
Children were playing in the streets and a bunch of stalls were set up around the houses. It felt like a lively community.
Seeing me exit the car, the gazes of everyone landed on me. I ignored everyone and walked towards the city center. My goal is to meet the head of the refugees here; Noblesse's father to be exact.
I passed by a few street signs and a few menacing men were surprised by my appearance but they ignored me and let me be.
It seems that I have found his loyal bodyguards who were acting as the city watch. Amazing, he's had everything under control with what little resources he has. This is truly the power of a former chaebol.
People's gazes were glued onto me as I passed by them but I was already long used to this sort of treatment. It was common knowledge that Alagarassi had a gorgeous face and an outrageous body so it was normal for these commoners to be fascinated by her.
Maintaining a noble gait, I finally reached my destination. It was a slightly bigger refugee house but it was repurposed to act as a sort of city hall. Inside the small house was a partition. There were also various furniture to receive visitors.
It was a quaint and comfortable space. I rapped my hands on the table and a few moments later, an aide appeared.
It was a young woman who had unremarkable features. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw my face but she quickly resumed a neutral façade.
Interesting. It seems she's been trained well.
Her chapped lips curved into a polite smile. "Welcome to Sector 5's city hall. To what do we owe the pleasure, madam?"
I curtly replied, "I've come to see your boss."
"Do you have an appointment with him?"
"No."
The unremarkable woman seemed troubled but she dutifully replied, "Master is currently preoccupied so if you could please write your details here, we'll get back to you at his soonest available date."
She handed me a piece of paper and pen.
I scoffed at her and smiled, "Can you really afford to send me away, little one?"
She shivered at my subtle threat.
She soon regained her composure and replied, "I'm just a humble person but I still have to do my job. Please don't make things difficult."
I shook my head and gazed into her eyes. "He has a problem and I can solve it. You know what I'm talking about."
I took out a small envelope from my bag and handed it to her. "Give it to him. If he feels the same way you do, he would simply glance at it and then throw it away. If he doesn't, then he better start running."
I turned around and walked away. "It would be for the best if he were to catch me before I reach my car."
I smiled at her and chuckled, "tick-tock, little one."
Realizing the meaning of my words, the aide ran inside the partition. I took my time in walking back to my car.
Before I could go any further, the sound of hurried footsteps reached my ears.
"Wait! Miss, please wait!"
A man slowly came into view. Despite wearing shabby clothes, he couldn't conceal the aura of a master. He was sweaty but he was still pleasant to the eyes.
Lim Cha-Kyung. He was one of the revolutionary tech leaders during the days of the old order but more importantly, he is Noblesse's father.
Appraising him, I smirked. "Took you long enough."
He hurriedly gave a light bow and smiled, "My apologies, my lady."
He coughed and carefully asked, "Is it true? What's written in your letter?"
"You're a smart man, Lim Cha-Kyung." I carefully looked into his eyes as the gentle wind made my face feel a light breeze. I tucked my hair behind my ear and continued, "Surely you wouldn't have chased after me if you thought that I was lying."
Troubled by my carefully worded words, Lim Cha-Kyung pursed his lips. He soon entered into deep thought. I could almost imagine countless complex calculations running through his head but after a short while, he exhaled a sigh of relief.
He stared into my eyes and reached out with his right hand.
"I will do as you ask."
Truly a smart man. I walked up to him and grasped his right hand with my own. I closed the distance between the both of us and I whispered something into his ears.
He nodded with a serious look in his eyes. "I understand. I will set out with my men and family in two days. I will meet you inside Seoul."
I nodded. "Good." I reached into my bag and handed him an envelope. "This has all of the legal documents you and your men will need to enter into the city. As of right now, you have all come under my family."
"Serve me well."
Lim Cha-Kyung bowed and after expertly giving instructions to his men he turned towards me. "I look forward to the future you will bring, Master Alagarassi."
I chuckled at him, "Do not disappoint, Cha-Kyung."
After giving him some instructions as well as my contact information, I turned away and got back inside the car.
I closed my eyes and nodded off into sleep.
"…"
After Alagarassi departed, the unremarkable young woman stared at Lim Cha-Kyung in bewilderment. She knew that he master was an intelligent and proud man. He might be a humble man at the moment but he used to be akin to an Emperor in the past. For him to bow his head and agree to that woman's terms..who was she?
Sensing his young protégé's confusion, Cha-Kyung gently patted her head.
"You must never get on her bad side, Eunha." Lim Cha-Kyung lit up a cigarette and continued, "She is the most dangerous woman in the world."
Cha-Kyung continued to observe Alagarassi's car that was getting smaller and smaller into the distance.
"Her ambition will one day eat the world and everything in it."
Lim Cha-Kyung handed Alagarassi's letter to Eunha and he waited for her to finish reading it.
Eunha broke into a cold sweat. What was written in that letter…it was truly horrible to put into words.
"How could she predict the future like that? She also blatantly threatened you with information from the past and warned that you will die a gruesome death if you refused to follow her." Eunha trembled as her lips struggled to utter words. "That woman, who was she?"
Cha-Kyung took a long drag from his cigarette and looked pensively at the faraway Seoul. "She is the key to the future." He stamped out the cigarette and walked toward the make-shift city hall. "She is also our new master."
The Chaebol – End.