(Sorry for the poor quality. I'm really struggling with ideas and there's too many distractions irl that dampen my writing.)
"So, I heard you have interesting information for me?" The man wearing goggles asked while he was leaning on a wall while looking at a Pallum.
The Pallum rogue looks at the man with fear. The man's name is Dix and he is from Ikelos Familia. Dix is known to be a cruel, sadistic and self centered person that cares only about making money.
"Y-Yes. I saw a female adventurer with four feathered wings in the dungeon. I heard you have great interest in people with unique appearance." The Pallum answered quickly while peeking at Dix's face to gauge his interest.
"Four wings?" Dix mutters while trying to recall if there's any race or monster with such appearance.
"She can also hide her wings." The Pallum added.
Dix stared at the Pallum for a moment before he asked. "So, how much are you trying to charge for this information?" His face remains expressionless as he awaits the answer.
"I don't charge money." The Pallum quickly answered. "All I want is the human girl that is part of the same party."
Dix didn't look surprised because the Pallum had THAT kind of face on when mentioning the human girl he wanted.
"Fine, but you will have to work with me to capture them." Dix said while in his mind, he is thinking of disposing of the Pallum once he gets the goods.
"Of course, of course." The Pallum nodded like a chicken pecking on the ground before Dix sent him out.
The Pallum feels very happy and excited as he walks out from the building.
"Hahahaha! She is mine. She cannot run away from me." The Pallum made his evil villain laugh before his mind sobered up. "Where should I go to wait?" The pallum wondered and remembered it hadn't been long since he left the dungeon and right now should still be night time.
"Entertainment District?" The Pallum thought of an answer while navigating his way out from the Black Market.
Then the Pallum stopped dead in his tracks. He noticed the street was too quiet. Normally it's indeed quiet but there will be sound in the background. But this is dead silent and his instinct he honed from his years as a criminal told him something isn't right.
The Pallum unsheathe his dagger and holds it close to his chest in a reverse grip while hugging his back against the wall.
"Did they come for revenge?" The Pallum thought for a moment but quickly shake his head. "No, their Familia is just starting out in Orario. Those three are the only members." He dismissed the thought of revenge as impossible since the three are from a newbie Familia without any fame.
The Pallum checks if the coast is clear before he activates his Stealth and runs in the shadow of the dark Deadalus street.
'I must quickly leave this place!' The Pallum said in his mind while he rapidly turned left and right through the dark alley.
He can feel like something is following him but when he turns his head, he sees nothing. Others will normally feel relief but he can feel it even if there is no one behind him. His instinct is telling him to run as fast as he can.
Just as he is about to leave the heart of the Black Market, he smells the heavy scent of blood wafting through the air. The Pallum instantly stopped and hid while trying to peek through the corner.
Death in the Black Market and Deadalus street in general is quite common. But this… this isn't normal. The Pallum thought as he stared at the street littered with corpses and blood.
"Yo! How long are you planning to hide?"
The Pallum didn't turn his head to look at the person talking to him and instantly ran in the opposite direction.
*Bang*
"AHH!" The Pallum screamed and fell to the ground.
"That's not nice of you trying to run when I am trying to talk with you. Don't you think so?" The unknown person said while the sound of his boots echoes closer with each step he took.
He claws away with his fingers and nail until it bleeds and tears off. His instinct is screaming at him that he is… dead.
A foot stepped on his back, making the Pallum fall flat to the ground as he kept clawing away but failed.
"P-Please, I'll do anything. P-Please don't kill me!" The Pallum begged but the man stepping on him remained silent for a moment.
"Of course. Why would I kill you." The man answered with disbelief, which made the Pallum feel relieved.
"Killing you is too light for a punishment. I will make you regret being born." The man's tone suddenly changed to cruel. "I'll make you beg for death." The man said before he felt something sharp cleaved through his both legs.
"AHHHH!" The Pallum screamed again and stopped resisting. "P-Pulesh!" He sobs and whimpers while begging for forgiveness but the man doesn't care and cuts off his remaining limbs before flipping him over and forcing a potion down his throat.
There the Pallum saw, piercing red eyes like blood staring at his soul. But what made him instantly turn insane is the horrific figure looming behind the man. An inhuman figure with dozens of eyes staring at him as unknown knowledge forcing themselves into his cranium until his eyes rolled to the back and passed out.
Leo stared at the filth with emotionless eyes as he kicked Pallum's jaw and cracked it instantly. The pain made the Pallum jolted awake before staring at Leo with horror.
"Are you going to kill him just like that, Leo?" A girl in a green dress and green little parasol appeared and stood behind the Pallum.
"What else should I do then?" Leo asks because he didn't really have much idea on torturing except cutting more limbs.
"Well, let this Artemis help." She said and moved in front of the Pallum.
She squat down and stared at the Pallum's eyes with a sweet smile like a savior.
"Leo, give me a healing potion." Artemis asked and Leo handed her the potion curiously.
Artemis uncorks the potion and feeds it to the Pallum but he recoils in fear.
"Don't worry, I'm not trying to hurt you." Artemis cooed and the Pallum stopped resisting as he drank the potion which heals his broken jaw and stops the bleeding stumps of his missing limbs.
Hiding under the sweet smile on Artemis' face is a cruel and sadistic expression that the Pallum failed to see.
"Do you want to be saved?" Artemis asks with a gentle tone like she is comforting a child.
The Pallum nods vigorously as he shrinks behind Artemis' body to hide from Leo that is staring at him.
"Good. Then you must listen to my words carefully. Okay?"
"Okay!" He replied
Artemis nodded satisfyingly and then whispered something to the Pallum's ear which made his eyes widen and then rigorously nodded.
"I will do it. I will do it." The Pallum said.
"Good boy. Now go before he changes his mind." Artemis sends off the Pallum that immediately crawls away excitedly.
Sadly the potion didn't manage to regrow back the entire arm and only partially. But enough for the Pallum to crawl away.
Leo look unwilling to let the criminal that attempt to kill and rape Tanya off just like that. But he is more curious about what Artemis did.
"What did you told him to do?" Leo asks Artemis.
Artemis turns away from the Pallum and looks at Leo teasingly. "Are you curious, Leo?"
"Yes."
"If you give me a kiss on the lips. Then maybe I will." Artemis closed her eyes and pursed her lips for Leo to kiss.
Leo rolled his eyes at her and left. He would know anyway if he used Clairvoyance later.
After waiting for a few minutes Artemis opened her eyes and found she was left alone in the alley by Leo. She looks around in disbelief to make sure before she stomps her heels angrily on the ground.
"Hmph, is he a man or not? How dare he leave me hanging like this." Artemis vented her dissatisfaction and quickly calmed down to restore her image of a proper lady. "Just you wait, Leo. You cannot keep running away."
Ever since that day Leo pinned Artemis down to the floor but was thwarted by the girls barging into his room. Leo had been very careful to not get swooned by her temptation. It's not that he disliked her. She knew because she can read his mind to some extent due to their bond. He just feels like he doesn't deserve it. The reason why he has such thoughts eluded her but she has an inkling the entity he referred to as 'System' is to be blamed.
———
With a chime of the mystical bell, Leo arrived at a location surrounded by thousands of Hunters waiting for him.
"Leo, the extermination in the Black Market had been completed. But unfortunately, most of them fled into this place." Father Gascoigne points at an unremarkable wall but Leo can feel there is illusion magic placed on the wall.
"Unfortunately, not even my finest explosives can make a dent on this thing." Jura stepped forward with a cannon on his back and a gatling gun on his arm.
Before Leo could bust the wall open, someone else interrupted him.
"Leo, what should we do about the Adventurers?" Lady Maria appeared looking annoyed. "They are attacking our Hunters and we cannot keep holding back."
Leo felt a headache that things didn't go as he planned. He is trying to fix this mess in Orario. The criminals he killed should be enough as an indication to his actions and yet those Adventurers are still trying to kill his Hunters.
"Where are they?" Leo asked and Lady Maria pointed in a direction. Leo can hear loud noises and sees buildings are being demolished due to fights.
The Old Hunters are holding back well against the Adventures. But the Mage are an issue, bombarding magic which the Hunters have difficulty to evade.
Leo approaches the battlefield angrily with lightning gathering in his hand before transforming into a black sword. He slash with the sword and a thick lightning bolt fell from the sky before it exploded like a very powerful flashbang with blinding light and deafening noise.
"All Hunters retreat." He ordered.
The Hunters fighting against the Adventurers immediately fall back while the Adventurers lead by Loki and the few executives she brought along.
"Oi, which god are you? Brazenly using Arcanum in Orario!" The redhead goddess angrily shouts at Leo. But her anger is more of frustration than hate.
Instead of answering Loki's question, Leo ignored her and swept his gaze at all the Adventurers present.
"Get in our way one more time and your lives is forfeit. I have no time to entertain your whims." Leo said before turning away and launching a lightning bolt at the illusionary wall which instantly revealed a gate of some sort made of pure Oricalchum.
The wall resisted for a few moments but Leo increased the intensity of the lightning and the wall immediately started to melt and soon revealed a passage.
Leo enters the passage along with the Hunters all following behind him. The Adventurers were in a bind because the intimidation Leo showed isn't just an empty threat. They can feel the power contained in that lightning.
"What should we do now, Loki-sama?" Riveria and Finn ask.
Loki recognizes the passage Leo just entered. Knossos existed for a thousand years but its entrance remains hidden until now. Rumors said it was used by criminals as shelter against the prosecution of the guild. So, the probable reason why Leo and the Hunters entered Knossos is only one.
To exterminate the criminal.
Logically, Loki should just let these good samaritans deal with the criminals once and for all, which is good for Orario.
But Loki is more worried about the emergence of this unknown powerhouse and his group that will cause quite a domino effect on Orario.
After Daedalus street and the remnants of Evilus. What comes next? The Familia that is involved with crime? Shady business?
What matters now is to learn as much as possible about this new group and ascertain their goal if they will be a danger to Orario and her Familia.
"We follow and investigate." Loki answered and quickly followed behind the Hunters to enter the passage into Knossos.
—————
(Taken much longer than I expected. The original plan for this little arc had been forgotten by me because I didn't write it down and a few days had passed. So I have to improvise. This wouldn't be tackling the Xenos. Only the remnants of Evilus. Lurking in Knossos.)
If you readers feel generous or want to appreciate my work and effort, feel free to tip me here.
https://ko-fi.com/lazy_kat_aoi