"To the patriarch of the Butcher Clans, I pen this missive not out of courtesy, but as a reminder of your place in the grand scheme of things. It has come to my attention that your pitiful butler's excuse of a son met his demise at the hands of one far superior to him - our brethren Nyx, who is currently held in prison."
That first paragraph alone caused Patriarch Hanzhi's facial expression to go through changes from peaceful to anger.
The butler, who was patiently waiting for his master to finish, couldn't help but be curious about what his master was reading to make his face go through all these changes in a split second.
'I hope the Elite clan hasn't made any absurd demand again,' the butler thought, remembering the times the great Elite clans that resided in Asia, The Long Clan, had made the Butcher clan send out their own men to be used as cannon fodder in the lost lands.
Little did he know that his entire thought process was wrong, and the person who was making the Patriarch's expression shift like this was because of the death of his son and the way the sender was belittling Hanzhi.
'Who dares talk to me like this?' The patriarch thought annoyed as he continued to read the letter.
"Now, let us not dwell on the inconsequential details of his demise, for they matter not in the face of our superiority."
"Instead, I demand that you and your clan cease any pathetic mourning and acknowledge the true nature of his demise. He died at the hands of a conqueror unmatched in skill and cunning. He should be celebrated, not mourned."
"Furthermore, I expect you to plead to the academy, claiming that Nyx was a hero and he was sent by your clan to murder Marcus Butcher because he is a pawn of villains. You will offer tribute and gifts to Nyx or face the consequences of defying us."
"Make no mistake, this is not a request; it is a decree from one who is infinitely superior to you and your insignificant clan. Failure to comply will result in swift and merciless retribution.
Consider yourself warned."
When he seemed like he would explode out of anger anytime soon, the letter finally came to an end, and at the bottom of the letter, there was a symbol that made Hanzhi shiver and tremble in dread.
Even the butler, who was seeing this, was alarmed. "Master, is everything alright?"
"Your son is dead," the patriarch stated with clenched fists. "And we can't do anything about it. The cause of his death is even demanding us to announce his killer as a hero and give him gifts, the guts of those bastards!"
"W-what?" The butler stammered when he heard what Hanzhi Butcher was saying. "My son is dead, how and why can't we do anything? Patriarch, I have served you for all my life. Please don't let the killer of my son go scot-free." The butler pleaded as he dropped to his knees.
'Do you think I don't want to do anything? He's my son for Christ's sake.' These were what the patriarch wanted to say, but he could only swallow his words and think with a clearer mind.
"My hands are tied, Han," the patriarch said with a heavy sigh as he passed the letter to Han, his butler. His most trusted servant, but one night when he was drunk, he'd slept with Han's wife, and during the process, the woman had conceived his child.
At first, Hanzhi regretted what he did for sometimes, but he and Han's wife finally came up with a plan to keep this a secret.
'Maybe with him dying, that secret would die with him.' The patriarch thought, but he was still angry because like any father, he loved his son Marcus, and that was the reasoning the boy was able to attend the prestigious Elite Hero Academy.
Han, who was reading through the letter, came to a sudden stop when he saw the symbol at the bottom of the letter. The symbol was a pyramid-shaped church ablaze with dark flames. What was even more unsettling about this symbol was the mask of the wickedest villain to grace the world, Nightmare. And that mask was placed on the tip of the pyramid.
"If it's them, the patriarch's hands are really tied," Han thought in realization after seeing this famous symbol known by everyone all over the world.
"I'm sorry, my son, but we can't go against them," Han said. "We can't go against The Church of Villains."
***
"How is this possible? Marcus was actually a traitor?" The vice principal of the Hero Academy, Camila, expressed shock as she watched a video call from the patriarch of the Butcher clan himself.
"Yes, it seems he had been conniving with villains for a while now. Investigations from the clan also suggest that Marcus had been corrupted and is a mole planted by a Villain organization that is set to bring down our clan."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Camila asked.
"I'm suggesting you release the boy Nyx, and we will send his reward for doing us this great deed."
"It seems you don't get me," Miss Camila said. "The students killed another student on Academic grounds. Are you telling me to let someone like that roam the academy?" Camila spoke in an icy tone, and from her tone alone, it was evident that she didn't hold the Butcher Clan in high regard.
Not many people could speak to clan heads like this, but Camila was among the few. She was a being who had lived long enough, and everyone knew about her legendary battling prowess. It was even rumored that White Frost was as strong as the leaders of the prestigious clans.
Knowing all this, Hanzhi Butcher wasn't offended despite Camila's outburst. He knew all he had to do was calm the vice principal and find a way to get the boy called Nyx, or his clan ceased to exist no more.
"Miss Camila, you see, before the kid Nyx wanted to attend the academy, we had already contacted him to take care of Marcus because we knew he was beyond salvation. The best we could do is eliminate him, thus shutting him up for good."
"And I forgot to tell you that Marcus had always had a penchant for villainy since he was a child, and our sources have also reported that he was actually reporting activities happening in the academy to the villains."
"In a way, we also helped the Academy, and even the academy is supposed to reward him for this great deed."
"What do you think?" The vice principal muted the patriarch and asked Momo, who was standing beside her.
"I think the Patriarch is right," Momo said, adjusting his glasses. "We should free the boy and thank him properly for eliminating a potential villain. A gut feeling is telling me that this boy gave information to the Villain about our Academy."
"It's decided then," Miss Camila spoke as she addressed the patriarch of the Butcher clan.
A few minutes later, Nyx was sitting in the corner with a bored look in his eyes as he scrolled through the Villain Evolution System interface.
While strolling, he heard a series of footsteps. Looking around, he could see the cold-looking vice principal, Camila White, standing there. Then she started to do the unexpected by unlocking the cell door, surprising Nyx.
"Follow me," Camila said as she started walking out.
Nyx, who was still sitting in the prison, stared at the open cell with a smile on his face. He knew he was freed.
"Just who are you, Momo?" He thought as he followed Camila. He was now even more curious about this mysterious man who was always in a suit.
"Just who are you?"