Cerberus, ah, Cerberus.
This is an example of what a human genius could accomplish if he wanted to. The problem was that this human genius was a lunatic.
Experiment with other species, experiment with his own species, kidnap kids from their homes, etc.
You name an atrocity, and I bet you they have done it in the past.
They were a tumor that would slowly consume the Galaxy, that everyone should have gotten rid of ages ago. The problem was that they were good at hiding in plain sight. So much so that while the government knew about Cerberus, they still didn't know the atrocities they were committing on a daily basis.
The ones who knew have long since joined them or killed.
Anyway, you might ask, why Samael, who knew about them in totality as he worked for them in one of his cycles, wasn't doing anything to prevent them from doing all that?
Well, let's just say he still has a few uses for them. Don't get me wrong, if an opportunity to destroy them without any repercussions appeared, he would probably take it. It would disrupt his plans, but that was okay.
So, for now, he tolerated Cerberus existence, even if he knew what they were doing. But if they ever crossed his path with malicious intent, he would act.
They still have a part to play in the whole stage which was the galaxy.
Anyway, after the product launch was a success, LD was slowly gaining momentum as it continued to consume parts of the market other people had.
Even the Alliance was keeping an eye on it, but Samael didn't care. He just wanted money, the market, and a few other things.
He didn't care about what others might do. If they tried to force something he didn't want, he didn't mind screwing things over for everyone.
As it slowly dominated the market on Earth, a lot of groups started to try and infiltrate LD or try to find out who was behind it all, but Tarzan did a good job hiding Samael's existence.
All the groups found out was about Tarzan, and while they thought it was a ruse, they still didn't want to piss off a powerhouse from a slum. Even though a lot of groups were powerful enough to destroy Tarzan and his slums, it was too much of a hassle for them to do so.
Besides, it would raise a lot of questions.
So, they hit a wall in that area but continued to monitor Tarzan.
But that didn't stop them from continuing to try to make a better Med-Gel than LD, but so far, nothing has come from that area.
Months after launching, the Degraded Advanced Med-Gel had already dominated the market on Earth, pushing the other companies that made Med-Gel to the brink of collapse, then assimilating them under LD, and in proxy, Samael. The majority of the companies on Earth were following this path.
Even in the galaxy, some parts were already exclusively using the Med-Gel Samael made.
It is safe to say that the number of people looking for information on the company only increased, but no attacks were made.
As it assimilated more and more companies, LD started to grow more and more, gaining more influence. There were even talks they were making something so revolutionary it would shake the whole galaxy.
It was Samael who made that rumor, and it was true. But he would only launch this product in the future—a few years at least.
At that point in time, Earth's market would probably be controlled by him, and he would have a foot in the galaxy.
Of course, everything wasn't smooth sailing, as LD met resistance when trying to buy out other companies. Some resisted to the end and just went bankrupt. Generally, those companies were related to Cerberus or other secret organizations.
Samael specifically focused on those he knew who worked under those secret organizations. If they don't comply, they would be pushed off the market.
After making sure Cerberus and those secret organizations lost their footing on the market, Samael used his future knowledge about good companies that would make new products and started to buy their companies at a very early stage.
But, as it was too soon in the timeline, the number of companies he has under his wings is still too small, but the quality is top-notch.
He tried his best to remember the people who would make big in the future, but even that was limited.
When he talked about the companies, he assured the owner he was going to let the work flow freely from LD. He wanted them to flourish sooner than before, and not letting them have freedom wasn't good for that.
So, he promised a lot of money in exchange for them to study normally, maybe even better than before. After all, everyone looks for comfort, stability, and normality.
Even doing all that, Samael continued to stay out of sight, relaying his order through the talents he hired earlier on. Until now, no one knew about his existence, only a select few.
If buying the company didn't work, LD did try to hire a few employees, but the majority said no.
The majority who rejected were under Cerberus, as at this point in time, they were already deep in the earth.
To say he disrupted the Cerberus plan was an understatement. Their plans were destroyed, and they lost their influence and a lot of money.
But Samael knew how rich Jack Harper was, so while it was a lot of money, at the end of the day, the lunatic was still in good shape.
Still, he wanted at least to see the man's face when he realized he was outsmarted by a supposed 10 or so-year-old.
WITHIN CERBERUS
Jack Harper was trying his best to maintain his poker face, but he was failing quite badly.
Over the last few months, he lost most of his footing on Earth Market, a few of his supposed friends abandoned him and joined under LD, and he lost money.
A lot of money.
So much so that it was starting to affect, even if minimally, his plans.
It was bad to the point he was not sure anymore if he could still maintain Cerberus's good image, as a lot of things about them started to circulate around.
Harper knew if he didn't act, sooner or later, everything he built at this point would come crashing down on him. Of course, at the end of the day, he was still a trillionaire, but for him, that wasn't enough.
He wanted more. He wanted to see humanity at the top of the galaxy, above everyone else. He committed his being every day to that task.
But now, it seems his plans aren't going to become a reality.
'All because of this company... I should've acted as soon as I found out about them.'
LD, or Last Defense. A behemoth that started a revolution in the market as soon as they launched their first product.
Jack wanted it for him, as it was really revolutionary, but every person he sent on a mission to find more about the product was missing, as his best scientist still didn't manage to crack the product.
To make matters worse, as LD continued to grow in the following months, it started to 'eat' a lot of other companies. Jack didn't mind them eating up those companies, as in his eyes, they weren't valuable.
But he soon regretted that. After those companies went under the wings of LD, they started to launch products after products. There was nothing revolutionary that had shaken up Earth and the Galaxy, but they were good products.
So much so, that those companies under LD started to eat up their rivals in their respective areas, a lot of them were under Cerberus, making LD more powerful and making Cerberus weaker.
When Jack noticed that, it was too late. He even tried to use his connection with the government, but that too did not work, as his inside man was afraid of LD.
That was also something deeply puzzling to Harper, as it seemed almost every corrupt person was afraid of LD.
' It's almost like what they have on them is worse than what I have.'
So, only a few months later, LD has taken Cerberus out of the market, gaining control over it, and it doesn't seem to stop.
And that made Jack Harper furious beyond belief. He regretted not acting sooner.
' It seems I will have to do something about them... but what?'
Sure, he could kill the supposed owner of the company, a thug from San Francisco if his intelligence was right, but that would be it. He doubts the man had the intellect to have done all of this, meaning he was just a front, a ruse.
The problem was, even if Jack knew it was just a ruse, he had no idea who was really behind it all. And that infuriated him, as he had no real target.
'... Calm down. It's not the first time you've experienced failure.'
Jack knew an opportunity to rise again and strike LD would come, so he decided to continue to fight them in the dark, even though he was losing, in hopes of catching them off guard.
' I hope you enjoy your fame while it lasts because I'm watching you.'
---
What Jack didn't know at that time was that LD would not stop, and when he realized he had made another mistake not attacking them with everything he had at this exact moment, it would all be too late.