—3rd Person POV—
Relaxing in his office, Prime Minister Darius savored a fine glass of wine with a perfectly cooked porterhouse steak. Cutting into the tender piece of meat, the Prime Minister savored his first bite while looking out his window. Wondering how the raid was coming along, he could not wait to see Sauros’ defeated expression as he and his daughter-in-law were cast into the dungeon.
‘Such is the fate of those that stand in my Lord’s way.’, Darius thought, with a cruel, twisted smile, ‘Before I have him executed, maybe I should let him wallow in agony as his daughter-in-law is passed around like a common whore. Watching such a proud man crumble to pieces would be quite a sight!’
Thinking of other ways he could torment the old man before his death, he heard a knock on his door. Wondering who it was at this hour of night, Darius thought that maybe James was starting to have cold feet. Telling whoever knocked to enter, he was surprised to see that it was some of the bandits he sent to capture the two Greyrats. Believing that they had flawlessly executed the plan, he wanted to hear all about it while eating his late-night dinner.
“See, I told you fools that this would be a very simple task. Adventurers are always willing to change sides for the right price, you just need to know what that amount is.”, he laughed, taking another bite of his meal, “Since you came back earlier than anticipated, tell me all about the despair those fools felt when the world came crashing down around them. Do not spare any of the details, I want to savor them with my meal.”
Realizing that the Prime Minister was in high spirits tonight, the bandits knew this would not end well for them. Looking at one another, hoping someone would step up to tell him the truth, they quickly selected the scrawniest man among them and pushed him to the front. Glaring at his comrades for forcing him into this position, Darius told him to stop fooling around and start giving his recount of events.
“Well uh…if I am honest with you sir, things went amazing well…till they did not.”, the bandit said, lowering his head to avoid eye contact with Darius, “You see, we were unable to capture the two Greyrats…we apologize for letting you down Lord Darius.”
“Haha, I must be more tired than I initially thought. It has been quite a long day as this damnable tragedy has been keeping me incredibly busy.”, Darius said, setting his fork and knife down, “Please repeat what you just said for me.”
“The bald adventurer, he is a freaking monster! He killed most of us within seconds of setting foot on the Greyrat’s property. One second everyone was alive, the next most of our men were either blown to pieces or impaled with dozens of blades.”, the bandit explained, shaking violently just thinking about it, “After watching that, all of us ran straight here to tell you that we cannot possibly take him on!”
“You blithering idiots, you might have led him straight back to me!”, Darius shouted, grabbing his wine glass and throwing it at the man, “This is what I get for relying on stupid bandits to do my bidding, all of you were worthless! Now I must ensure that anyone who saw you is dealt with to keep this quiet. Do you realize how many people I will have to make disappear because of your screw-up?!”
Concluding that his Assassin Squad met the same fate as the bandits, Darius got up and went to the window. Looking out toward Greyrat Manor, he silently cursed at the family for making him look like a fool. Assuming that Sauros was laughing his ass off after handily defeating his men, he swore to repay him double for this embarrassment. Turning to the bandits, he ordered them to summon Minister James Greyrat for him and to go back to their hideout till he called for them again. Graciously taking this opportunity to vacate the room, the men tripped over one another trying to get out of there before he had them killed by the Royal Guard.
“Calm down, all is not lost.”, Hitogami whispered into his mind, “You can simply pin the incident on another Minister or even the King if you need to. They have nothing tying you to this incident, and even if the bandits turn on you who would believe them? Prime Minister Darius is an upstanding citizen of the Asura Kingdom and they are lowlives who murder and steal on an almost daily basis.”
“You…you are right, they have nothing on me!”, Darius agreed, his anger slowly winding down, “I can push this all on James if needed as well. He attempted to bribe me with his sister-in-law and niece to look away from his crimes. Yeah, that is it!”
Slowly building a narrative on the series of events leading to the attack tonight, a smile crept up onto his face as he could frame himself as the hero in all of this. Retaking a seat behind his desk, he reached for his glass of wine only to remember that he had thrown it at one of the bandits.
“Giovanni, fetch me another glass of wine!”, the Prime Minister called out, knowing his personal butler would hear his request.
Sitting back in his chair and taking a deep breath, Darius was about to start eating again when James came rushing into the office. Worried that something had gone awry, as Darius’ men looked mortified, he asked his superior how he could be of assistance this evening.
“Your little plan failed James, the bald Adventurer that Hilda hired is a monster. Most of your men died just stepping onto your father’s estate.”, Darius informed him, “The few men that managed to escape ran back here, and I fear he may have given chase. If he did, Sauros now knows who attacked the Greyrat Estate. Unfortunately, this means you are going to have to shoulder the blame as I cannot be tied to any of this.”
“The hell do you mean they were my men!?”, James shouted, unwilling to accept fault for this, “They are your men and it was your plan that led us to this point, you are the one that hates my father, not me. Do you even realize how much I sacrificed to get to this point!? I cannot throw it all away now that I have gone this far, I will not allow it! If you cast me to the wolves, I will make sure to tell everyone exactly the kind of man you are and all the crimes you have committed!”
“Oh really now, you do realize that since you have turned on your entire family I am the only one that will be willing to look after your wife and daughters. It would be a shame if they were to end up like Eris and Hilda.”, Darius said, liking his lips like a fiend, “Be a good man and shoulder this burden for me, I might consider sparing them if you do.”
“You bastard, keep your fat, grubby hands off my children!”, James howled, stepping up to the edge of his desk and slamming his hands down on it, “You can have Eris and Hilda, but my daughters and wife are…”
Before James could finish his sentence, Darius’ butler burst into the room breathing heavily as he had run there from the castle’s kitchen. Asking him why he burst into the office unannounced, Giovanni took a moment to catch his breath and point to the window.
“Sir, someone is attacking your home!”, Giovanni exclaimed, placing his hand on the wall to steady himself, “The City Guards report that a bald man is mercilessly slaughtering anyone in his path. We need to request assistance from the Royal Guard and Court Mages to stop him.”
“Damn it!”, Darius shouted, knocking his food off the desk, “Summon them immediately and stop him, he cannot be allowed to get into my home. If he does, my career and life will be over!”
Doing as his master commanded, the butler headed off to request additional aid from the King’s forces. Telling James to grab his sword and armor, Darius said they were heading back to his home to try and salvage this before it was too late.
—Cole POV—
“All you people had to do was stay out of my way, but you will not listen to reason. As far as I am concerned, if you are trying to protect the home of a fucking pedophile you are just as guilty as them!”, I spat, using the Omega Force on Darius’ guards.
Vaporizing swaths of them with just a glare, the City Guards immediately began retreating to save their own lives. Letting them flee, for now, my attention was solely focused on the Prime Minister’s victims below the estate. Sensing them with my Radar Pulse, I counted ten children locked up in the basement which irritated me.
‘I am going to skin Darius alive when I get my hands on him!’, I thought, rushing toward the front door, “Out of my fuckers, I am going to do what all of you should have done ages ago!”
Blasting the door in with my Electric Shockwave, I continued blasting holes through walls till I reached the stairwell going into the basement. The guards inside the home began swarming me in an attempt to prevent their employer’s dirty secret from getting out. Letting out their battle cries as they swung their blades at me, their blades snapped on contact leaving them in shock and disbelief.
“All of you are just as disgusting as Darius, you know what he does to children and yet you do nothing to stop it. Join your comrades in the fucking afterlife!”, I shouted, using the Omega Sanction to cast them into endless suffering for their sins.
With the home clear now, I kicked the basement door in and was immediately hit with a putrid stench of decay. Tossing out a few Magelights to illuminate the area, the children scurried together trying to make themselves as small as possible. Seeing their ankle shackles digging into their flesh, I could also tell they were severely malnourished from the poor quality food they were being served.
“Everything is going to be alright kids, you are safe now.”, I said, ripping their shackles off with telekinesis, “Let us get all of you a warm meal and a bath, does that sound alright?”
Nervously glancing over at me, the children realized that I was not Darius or any of his guards. Pulling my Adventurer’s Card out of my pocket, I informed them that I was an S-Ranked Adventurer who heard that the Prime Minister was holding them captive.
“Does S-rank mean you…you are strong?”, one of the girls asked, in a meek tone.
“I am the strongest person you will ever meet, I guarantee it!”, I chuckled, with a reassuring smile as I stretched out my hand, “Now let us leave this place behind, and get you somewhere safe.”
Looking at one another, the girls decided to place their trust in me and shakily made their way to me. Using Telekinesis to pick them, so we could move faster, I promised to get them a warm bed to sleep in tonight. Setting the home ablaze as I escorted the children out of the home, we ended up running into Darius and several hundred guards and mages at his front gate.
“You bastard, you set my home ablaze! I will see your head removed from your shoulders for this!!”, Darius threatened me.
“I am so scared.”, I mocked him, setting the children down and casting a protective barrier around them, “If I were you right now, I would start praying to your master Hitogami as you are not going to see the sunrise tomorrow. Your guards and bandits got off easy, I am going to hand you over to a very inquisitive Devil who could use a few willing test subjects for his work. You should be proud that after all the shit you have done, you can atone for .0000001 percent of your sins.”
Pulling my Grim Reaper’s scythe out of my Storage, I gave the men a few moments to observe it before lunging head-first into their ranks.
—3rd Person POV—
Relaxing in his office, Prime Minister Darius savored a fine glass of wine with a perfectly cooked porterhouse steak. Cutting into the tender piece of meat, the Prime Minister savored his first bite while looking out his window. Wondering how the raid was coming along, he could not wait to see Sauros’ defeated expression as he and his daughter-in-law were cast into the dungeon.
‘Such is the fate of those that stand in my Lord’s way.’, Darius thought, with a cruel, twisted smile, ‘Before I have him executed, maybe I should let him wallow in agony as his daughter-in-law is passed around like a common whore. Watching such a proud man crumble to pieces would be quite a sight!’
Thinking of other ways he could torment the old man before his death, he heard a knock on his door. Wondering who it was at this hour of night, Darius thought that maybe James was starting to have cold feet. Telling whoever knocked to enter, he was surprised to see that it was some of the bandits he sent to capture the two Greyrats. Believing that they had flawlessly executed the plan, he wanted to hear all about it while eating his late-night dinner.
“See, I told you fools that this would be a very simple task. Adventurers are always willing to change sides for the right price, you just need to know what that amount is.”, he laughed, taking another bite of his meal, “Since you came back earlier than anticipated, tell me all about the despair those fools felt when the world came crashing down around them. Do not spare any of the details, I want to savor them with my meal.”
Realizing that the Prime Minister was in high spirits tonight, the bandits knew this would not end well for them. Looking at one another, hoping someone would step up to tell him the truth, they quickly selected the scrawniest man among them and pushed him to the front. Glaring at his comrades for forcing him into this position, Darius told him to stop fooling around and start giving his recount of events.
“Well uh…if I am honest with you sir, things went amazing well…till they did not.”, the bandit said, lowering his head to avoid eye contact with Darius, “You see, we were unable to capture the two Greyrats…we apologize for letting you down Lord Darius.”
“Haha, I must be more tired than I initially thought. It has been quite a long day as this damnable tragedy has been keeping me incredibly busy.”, Darius said, setting his fork and knife down, “Please repeat what you just said for me.”
“The bald adventurer, he is a freaking monster! He killed most of us within seconds of setting foot on the Greyrat’s property. One second everyone was alive, the next most of our men were either blown to pieces or impaled with dozens of blades.”, the bandit explained, shaking violently just thinking about it, “After watching that, all of us ran straight here to tell you that we cannot possibly take him on!”
“You blithering idiots, you might have led him straight back to me!”, Darius shouted, grabbing his wine glass and throwing it at the man, “This is what I get for relying on stupid bandits to do my bidding, all of you were worthless! Now I must ensure that anyone who saw you is dealt with to keep this quiet. Do you realize how many people I will have to make disappear because of your screw-up?!”
Concluding that his Assassin Squad met the same fate as the bandits, Darius got up and went to the window. Looking out toward Greyrat Manor, he silently cursed at the family for making him look like a fool. Assuming that Sauros was laughing his ass off after handily defeating his men, he swore to repay him double for this embarrassment. Turning to the bandits, he ordered them to summon Minister James Greyrat for him and to go back to their hideout till he called for them again. Graciously taking this opportunity to vacate the room, the men tripped over one another trying to get out of there before he had them killed by the Royal Guard.
“Calm down, all is not lost.”, Hitogami whispered into his mind, “You can simply pin the incident on another Minister or even the King if you need to. They have nothing tying you to this incident, and even if the bandits turn on you who would believe them? Prime Minister Darius is an upstanding citizen of the Asura Kingdom and they are lowlives who murder and steal on an almost daily basis.”
“You…you are right, they have nothing on me!”, Darius agreed, his anger slowly winding down, “I can push this all on James if needed as well. He attempted to bribe me with his sister-in-law and niece to look away from his crimes. Yeah, that is it!”
Slowly building a narrative on the series of events leading to the attack tonight, a smile crept up onto his face as he could frame himself as the hero in all of this. Retaking a seat behind his desk, he reached for his glass of wine only to remember that he had thrown it at one of the bandits.
“Giovanni, fetch me another glass of wine!”, the Prime Minister called out, knowing his personal butler would hear his request.
Sitting back in his chair and taking a deep breath, Darius was about to start eating again when James came rushing into the office. Worried that something had gone awry, as Darius’ men looked mortified, he asked his superior how he could be of assistance this evening.
“Your little plan failed James, the bald Adventurer that Hilda hired is a monster. Most of your men died just stepping onto your father’s estate.”, Darius informed him, “The few men that managed to escape ran back here, and I fear he may have given chase. If he did, Sauros now knows who attacked the Greyrat Estate. Unfortunately, this means you are going to have to shoulder the blame as I cannot be tied to any of this.”
“The hell do you mean they were my men!?”, James shouted, unwilling to accept fault for this, “They are your men and it was your plan that led us to this point, you are the one that hates my father, not me. Do you even realize how much I sacrificed to get to this point!? I cannot throw it all away now that I have gone this far, I will not allow it! If you cast me to the wolves, I will make sure to tell everyone exactly the kind of man you are and all the crimes you have committed!”
“Oh really now, you do realize that since you have turned on your entire family I am the only one that will be willing to look after your wife and daughters. It would be a shame if they were to end up like Eris and Hilda.”, Darius said, liking his lips like a fiend, “Be a good man and shoulder this burden for me, I might consider sparing them if you do.”
“You bastard, keep your fat, grubby hands off my children!”, James howled, stepping up to the edge of his desk and slamming his hands down on it, “You can have Eris and Hilda, but my daughters and wife are…”
Before James could finish his sentence, Darius’ butler burst into the room breathing heavily as he had run there from the castle’s kitchen. Asking him why he burst into the office unannounced, Giovanni took a moment to catch his breath and point to the window.
“Sir, someone is attacking your home!”, Giovanni exclaimed, placing his hand on the wall to steady himself, “The City Guards report that a bald man is mercilessly slaughtering anyone in his path. We need to request assistance from the Royal Guard and Court Mages to stop him.”
“Damn it!”, Darius shouted, knocking his food off the desk, “Summon them immediately and stop him, he cannot be allowed to get into my home. If he does, my career and life will be over!”
Doing as his master commanded, the butler headed off to request additional aid from the King’s forces. Telling James to grab his sword and armor, Darius said they were heading back to his home to try and salvage this before it was too late.
—Cole POV—
“All you people had to do was stay out of my way, but you will not listen to reason. As far as I am concerned, if you are trying to protect the home of a fucking pedophile you are just as guilty as them!”, I spat, using the Omega Force on Darius’ guards.
Vaporizing swaths of them with just a glare, the City Guards immediately began retreating to save their own lives. Letting them flee, for now, my attention was solely focused on the Prime Minister’s victims below the estate. Sensing them with my Radar Pulse, I counted ten children locked up in the basement which irritated me.
‘I am going to skin Darius alive when I get my hands on him!’, I thought, rushing toward the front door, “Out of my fuckers, I am going to do what all of you should have done ages ago!”
Blasting the door in with my Electric Shockwave, I continued blasting holes through walls till I reached the stairwell going into the basement. The guards inside the home began swarming me in an attempt to prevent their employer’s dirty secret from getting out. Letting out their battle cries as they swung their blades at me, their blades snapped on contact leaving them in shock and disbelief.
“All of you are just as disgusting as Darius, you know what he does to children and yet you do nothing to stop it. Join your comrades in the fucking afterlife!”, I shouted, using the Omega Sanction to cast them into endless suffering for their sins.
With the home clear now, I kicked the basement door in and was immediately hit with a putrid stench of decay. Tossing out a few Magelights to illuminate the area, the children scurried together trying to make themselves as small as possible. Seeing their ankle shackles digging into their flesh, I could also tell they were severely malnourished from the poor quality food they were being served.
“Everything is going to be alright kids, you are safe now.”, I said, ripping their shackles off with telekinesis, “Let us get all of you a warm meal and a bath, does that sound alright?”
Nervously glancing over at me, the children realized that I was not Darius or any of his guards. Pulling my Adventurer’s Card out of my pocket, I informed them that I was an S-Ranked Adventurer who heard that the Prime Minister was holding them captive.
“Does S-rank mean you…you are strong?”, one of the girls asked, in a meek tone.
“I am the strongest person you will ever meet, I guarantee it!”, I chuckled, with a reassuring smile as I stretched out my hand, “Now let us leave this place behind, and get you somewhere safe.”
Looking at one another, the girls decided to place their trust in me and shakily made their way to me. Using Telekinesis to pick them, so we could move faster, I promised to get them a warm bed to sleep in tonight. Setting the home ablaze as I escorted the children out of the home, we ended up running into Darius and several hundred guards and mages at his front gate.
“You bastard, you set my home ablaze! I will see your head removed from your shoulders for this!!”, Darius threatened me.
“I am so scared.”, I mocked him, setting the children down and casting a protective barrier around them, “If I were you right now, I would start praying to your master Hitogami as you are not going to see the sunrise tomorrow. Your guards and bandits got off easy, I am going to hand you over to a very inquisitive Devil who could use a few willing test subjects for his work. You should be proud that after all the shit you have done, you can atone for .0000001 percent of your sins.”
Pulling my Grim Reaper’s scythe out of my Storage, I gave the men a few moments to observe it before lunging head-first into their ranks.
