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/Somewhere deep below Orario…/
'Inside a dark room filled with bland stone pillars, illuminated by metal torches burning with strong yellow flames… A duo could be seen discussing something...'
'One of them was a woman with dark pink hair, it was unknown if it was natural or not, but it was certainly an oddity within this already unique world.'
'She was resting her back on a stone pillar when she snickered:'
"It's been a while already, when will that hoe stop with her little tantrum?"
'This woman looked like a punk, her clothes were mostly leather with metal adornments, her leggings and top were slightly cut, and she wore an open leather jacket that went all the way to her knees.'
(Image)
"She should be stopping soon, after all, she isn't stupid. Give her some space... She needs it." Replied a man with dark purple hair as he massaged his own shoulders
'The man smiled, but not in a pleasant way, his smile went from one corner of his mouth to the other...'
"After enough time has passed and her anger has boiled off, she'll return to normal, this wasn't the first time she got angry, she did such a thing more than once in Heaven."
"Although, that was so long ago I barely remember..."
'This man was a God, exuding a faint yet gloomy Divine presence that was unmistakable to any Mortal.'
'His eyes were purple and deep, his gaze was as if he was staring at your soul... Each eye was accompanied by a distinct dark circle as if he hasn't slept in decades... Perhaps he never did.'
'He wore a black cloak that looked oddly comfortable and familiar to the observer, perhaps due to the fact that all souls would, and had already passed through his hands.'
'He was a God of death, perhaps THE god of death…'
'But what was such a being doing here on the mortal plane, when there were so many souls waiting to be cleansed and sent back into the Cycle of reincarnation?'
'If his dark circles weren't enough, he looked visibly tired as if there was something weighing down on his shoulders…'
'Towards his words, the woman snickered once more.'
"As if you forgot, you're just a loner, be it here, or in up there, yeah?"
"Ah... Come on Valletta-Chan, I'm not that bad..."
"Ha! Although I don't doubt it, would you even pay attention to such news?" The woman asked
'But this time, the man ignored her, paying more attention to his shoulders...'
"Arg, I'm all stiff… This work is getting its toll on me, I'm not suited for this… Have you reconsidered my offer?" He said in a painful yet playful tone
"Tsk, lazy ass." The woman said as she started walking out of the room
"Is that a yes?"
"Not in a thousand years."
"I can wait that much. I'll hold upon your words." He said with a smile
"Tsk."
'She looked at the ceiling with a pensive gaze.'
"At least nothing bad happened with Miss buttcheeks."
"How harsh... She's a God you know?"
'Valletta ignored him as she continued.'
"She did lose a considerable portion of her money, which was the main reason why we kept her around, but she has already started to recover."
"As long as she raises her legs, money will come flowing down together with jizz ya?" She said ironically
"... Ishtar is indeed very good at making money and getting a hold of other people's weaknesses…" The man said nonchalantly
"But Ishtar is also resourceful, keeping her eggs in many caskets, and albeit retrieving them has cost her quite a bit of power, it'll take no time at all for her to recover."
"Tche!" She spat on the ground
"..."
Can you not spit on the floor?
"That bitch of a woman, I'm glad someone put her in place, she almost foiled everything because she was fucking hasty."
"She ignored our calls and tried to push everything forward despite our countermeasures not being in place, and if it wasn't for us holding things from inside, it would've ended in a lot more than just a monetary loss."
"What does she take the Freya Familia for? A bunch of pushovers gathered around a mega hoe?"
"Freya only targets the most interesting adventurers, and they all tend to be very talented, it took us years to prepare a counterplan to deal with Ottar, and even so..."
'The woman's eyes sharpened, violence could be seen hidden within.'
"But this raises the question of who… Who was the son of a bitch that foiled her plans to such a degree that she could only resort to crying and sucking on her thumbs in frustration…"
I heard she even started to lose hair due to stress...
Although I praise the fucker for pushing her so far, that doesn't make him any less of a Son of a bitch.
'The man sat down on a black throne, swinging his foot like a kid on a swing...'
"Well… Didn't we already investigate that, Valletta-Chan?" The man asked with a small smile
"You call that an investigation? A bunch of loose ends that lead nowhere…"
/Thud!/
'She smashed her hand against the stone pillar.'
"It didn't even help we had the Hermes Familia snooping around and getting in our way, it was harder to keep our activities hidden from that God's eye than actually investigating this fucking Ghost…"
'She opened her eyes wide, a large smile forming on her face…'
"It even makes me think that it wasn't a group that caused this at all…"
"But if so Valletta-Chan, who could even be behind this?"
"Let's think about it for a moment. Although the clues weren't conclusive, there is indeed something to sniff…" She said seriously
"Are you trying to imply this has anything to do with Freya?"
"Who else?"
'He shrugged, shaking his hand in disapproval.'
"That is indeed a possibility, but I thought we had already determined she had nothing to do with this situation due to her own personality and way of doing things."
"None of her children's abilities fall within the necessary parameters to perform this operation, even if they were to work together... Nor are there any outsider groups that can perform such a task while remaining invisible."
"Still! Who else could cause such widespread confusion and avert our gaze, while remaining hidden at the same time? It would have to be a team of extremely skilled assassins or warriors…"
But the best assassins in the entire world are already under my finger...
"They couldn't have used the black market, we control that, nor can they request someone from the outside, there wasn't enough time for that…"
They would have to have requested an off-country assassin group, but as retarded as this sounds, Freya wouldn't have resorted to this...
In the first place, Freya's actions were always filled with a certain layer of mystery.
'Her expression twisted into a grim.'
"Or one resourceful motherfucker."
'The God shrugged.'
"You think too much Valletta-Chan, whoever it was, he left no clues, and the ones we have point to Freya, in the end, our goals do not change."
"Be it her or not, we still have to take her down... We have to take this defeat and move on…"
/BAM!/
"Fuck this! I hate this feeling the most!" She exclaimed as she smashed her fist on the pillar, cracking it
"Calm down Valletta-Chan!" The man said as he looked at the ceiling, fearing it might collapse
'To be outplayed, she hated the very thought of this…'
'She was once outplayed by the captain of the Loki Familia, and this caused most of her companions to die, and for her plans to foil… All because of a midget that decided to use thousands of people as bait.'
'Her plans did succeed due to his actions, but as a result, most of her allies on the surface died…'
'The Nightmare of the 27th floor, it was a partial failure, all because of that fucking man-child…'
"Where are you going Valletta-Chan?" The man asked calmly
"I'm not like you, I can't stay in place for too long, I need something to do… Play around with someone... Or something." She said as she licked her lips
"Perhaps that smart glasses will have a spar with me? He kept refusing me last time saying it was a waste of his damn time… We'll see about that now."
"Where was he again?"
'The God scratched his chin, asking, "Are you talking about little Dix?" while pointing upwards.'
"As we requested from his Familia, he must be collecting more goods for us to sell, we need the money after all..."
"Our operations are expensive and it's needed otherwise we can't keep Barca-Chan in check, you know he's always in need of materials, and if we don't give it to him, who knows what he'll do?"
"I got it I got it! You fucking need money right?!" She said with a sickening smile
"Are there any rich people worth... Giving a hand? Or taking one? It's about the same..."
"Oh Valletta-Chan, you can go hunt monsters as much as you want, but killing people in broad daylight will only attract more attention to us…"
'The God smiled evilly.'
"Do it at night, and in a place less conspicuous so the investigations become harder…"
"Yeah yeah! I got it Thanatos-Sama… I know how it works!"
'She slowly walked out of the room with her hands on her head, extremely relaxed…'
'But she had a thoughtful look on her face, she was always thinking, thinking about what to do next…'
'Should she keep sniffing around? Or should she go have some fun?'
"Alright, I've decided." She said with a wide smile
I'll go have some fun… I've never hunted one of those before…
What were they called?... Xenos?
Thanatos will surely scold me for interfering in things I'm not supposed to… But a little bit of fun every once in a while is necessary.
Otherwise, I'll go crazy staying in this damp and dark place all day.
"Hehehe…"
…
/Step step step.../
'Just after she left, someone rushed inside the room. It was a person clad in white cultist robes, his eyes were those of a fanatical... The looks of someone who has given his all to God and cause.'
'The moment he got inside, Thanatos's relaxed disposition changed completely, turning to one of focus and seriousness, ascertaining his position as the Boss of this place.'
"Lord Thanatos, 'she' has come." The cultist said
"Oh? She recovered faster than I thought, is she finally ready to discuss the future again after her past embarrassment?" He asked himself out loud
"Well? Bring her to me." He said deeply
"Yes!"
...
/Southernmost Pantry… 24th floor/
"Isn't this plan of yours… A little too simple?" Silver asked as he looked at Lyd
'The large red lizardman replied as he shook his head.'
"Simplicity can oftentimes be the best approach, overcomplicating things won't guarantee us victory, it may instead prove to be our downfall."
'Silver nodded, and in a sense, he agreed, but there was something missing...'
"I understand what you're talking about, but I repeat, we're dealing with some cunning people here alright… I hope you have a plan B ready."
'Lyd smiled.'
"I have one, Silver-Chi, you can be assured of that…"
"But we won't be needing it!" Gros replied deeply on the side
'He looked at Silver and smiled arrogantly... If that was possible at all.'
"Are you having second thoughts? If so, stay away and let me deal with the rest." Gros said as he opened his right hand, checking his claws
'Silver rolled his eyes, ignoring Gros for now.'
'After getting to know him, his actions became more akin to those of a child than intimidating... But he would never say that, he didn't want a very angry Level 5 gargoyle to rush at him...'
'Yet.'
"..."
We're dealing with the Ikelos Familia...
Although they're small, they're elites, the darkest of the dark, and they have no morals.
Despite not being known, as long as you have dealt with the black market near or within Orario for long enough, you would hear of them sooner or later, they are quite the force after all.
Their Captain was known to be Level 4, a strong one at that.
And that information is at least 7 years old, at this point in time, he has probably… No, he definitely became Level 5, and that is enough time for him to grow beyond just that as well.
Aside from that, their combat-ready members, on average, are at least Level 3, not incredible for Orario's standard, but substantial as a medium-sized force.
Despite dealing with some heavier and more illegal things, they have never been captured, being able to escape or disappear every so often from their pursuers, who most often tend to be the Guild.
And this is the end of the information you can find just by paying the right people and digging in the right places…
But the truth goes way deeper...
Starting off with a bang, they are backed by none other than Evilus, the organization most think to be buried 10 feet deep, meaning, dead.
Especially after a certain Elf's rampage... That event marked the end of Evilus and Orario's dark age.
But they couldn't be more wrong…
'Silver looked around, but it seemed there wasn't anything else to do apart from waiting for the "Bait" to arrive…'
"Sigh…"
Evilus is more alive than ever, and its strength is increasing, in the shadows, they plot to destroy the Dungeon's seal… Well, they don't matter right now.
What matters is that they supply the Ikelos Familia with the means for their fame, or better put, Infamy.
First would be Knossos, the man-made Dungeon...
'Silver rested his chin on a nearby tree as he thought.'
At this point in time... Has the Guild become aware of its existence?... I supposed not... Otherwise, their investigations would be progressing more smoothly, or at least, Fells might've shared something from his side.
Having full access to it, as long as the Ikelos Familia remains within Daedalus Street, they are untraceable, and it doesn't help that most black market dealings are made there… Perhaps that is the reason.
The place where the abandoned gather, the poor with nowhere else to go…
As for the rest, it's definitely gear… Evilus has in their hands an incredible Hexer, one out of the two confirmed descendants of Daedalus of this generation…
Cursed weapons, items, and such… They're all things I keep my distance from.
It's not like I'm not curious, but there is a certain line people draw, one to not cross…
'But the true reason Silver had yet to study Curses, was simply that it was too hard to get a sample, otherwise, he would've gotten one without a doubt.'
'A Curse item is already illegal, with very very few Curse items being allowed to be sold...'
'This is because Curses tend to be born in those with some severe mental or bodily trauma, and as such, carry a heavy reputation due to the actions their masters have caused over the centuries.'
'When Silver raided the vault of the Ishtar Familia, he found no such items in there, something that made him frown, but he soon understood what had happened.'
'The true special items, the things that could be used to incriminate or be used as blackmail material to Ishtar wouldn't be located at a vault many of her Familia can access…'
'It was definitely within her secret, personal vault, and Silver hadn't touched that vault apart from when he was investigating the strength of the Familia.'
'Not because he felt pity for her, but for several reasons…'
'The biggest one being that he didn't want to push Ishtar too much, he can't silence her were something to go wrong, so he has to give her some space to breathe, else she may want to strangle him to death, even if it costs hers.'
'If things go wrong... She'll come back eventually, Silver won't.'
"..."
They'll definitely bring in curses, if that's so, how am I supposed to deal with them?
'Silver thought and thought, and eventually, a plan formed on his mind.'
'His enemies definitely know that they're walking right into a trap, and they're bound to have countermeasures in hand…'
'But no matter how much they think, they can't account for his presence.'
'He'll be the Xenos hidden card…'
"Lyd, I have a plan… Or at least, a better role for me to play." He said with a smile
"Oh? Please share it with us."
…
"Then… I'll be off." Silver said as he turned invisible, disappearing into the shadows of the trees
...
/A little over an hour later.../
/Squeak!/
'The loud noise of a rat echoed in the cavern, signalizing that it was time, their bait was coming.'
"Get ready everyone, they're here." Lyd said when he heard the signal
'The Xenos started to raise their arms, it was time to fight, to make the hunters feel like prey…'
'But who was truly the prey here? Was it the monsters, or the adventurers?'
"LYD! We have a problem!" Exclaimed a Xenos, a buffed Hobgoblin as he ran from a hole on the Dungeon wall
'With a frown and deep concern, Lyd exclaimed:'
"Jerem, what happened?! Were are the others?!"
/THUD!/
'The Hobgoblin slammed his fist on the ground, creating a small pit, saying:'
"They got us first! It was a double trap! Right now, they should be leaving the Dungeon with our brethren!"
"What?..."
"How did this happen?!"
/ROAR!/
'A gray Gargoyle took off into the sky, going inside the hole the Hobgoblin came from.'
"Gros! We need to stick together!" Ray said out loud as she flew after him
"Dammt! Everything's falling apart!" Lyd said loudly
'It's just like Silver-Chi said, it was impossible for things to be so simple...'
'They have switched the positions, now we're the ones that need to go after them...'
'How frustrating!'
"We can't let Gros and Ray alone! Everyone, charge!" He said loudly
/ROAR!/
'The Xenos roared, and from the trees, holes, behind the rocks and other things, dozens of monsters rushed from the shadows...'
'This was much scarier than a monster party!'
"..."
So it has begun.
'From atop a tree, Silver gazed at this commotion with sharp eyes.'
I would've liked it if we fought here since I set up some traps, but it seems those are meaningless now.
'He shook his head.'
Doesn't matter, or perhaps, I should've expected this.
What matters is making sure the Xenos return safely and capturing at least one of those sons of bitches.
As long as I have their head, even if they decided to kill themselves...
"I'll know everything." He said with a smile
/Fwoosh!/
'He jumped from the tree, running after the Xenos.'
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Notes