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The Necromancer in Shadow (The Eminence in Shadow fanfic)

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Chapter 82: The Soup Kitchen
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    • Chapter 82: The Soup Kitchen

    "Haaah…." I sighed due to hearing the same name multiple times in the reports I received on my desk in an office room assigned for me in the temporary school building so I can work as soon as my lessons are over. At least nothing happened during the Red Moon and most vampires and ghouls vanished without causing huge damage to Midgar. But the Lawless City remains a problem due to one person, whose name is currently giving me stress.

    "That's a long sigh. Are you okay, Princess Alexia?" Asked Glen, the vice-commander of the Crimson Order who's being assigned as my bodyguard today. Excessive I know but my sister is really paranoid that she would assign her best knight to guard me occasionally now that Claude has his own duties and thus unavailable.

    "Tell me, what do you know about this Don Jon fellow?" I asked him.

    "Not much. I heard he defeated the three rulers of the Lawless City and became its sole ruler years ago. That's all."

    "Lately I've seen his name on the reports way too much. Illegal contrabands, drugs, slave trading, underground gambling casinos, blackmail, robbery, fraud, scam, and many more… all under his name. And I don't trust the Soup Kitchen he built in the slums at all! Ever since he took over the Lawless City, they've become more of a menace than ever before! As if we didn't have Shadow Garden, the Cult and Necromancer to worry about!" I complained, feeling stressed because of how much work I still have to do despite needing to continue attending school.

    "At least the Snow Fox Corporation, which is owned by one of the three former rulers, was a legitimate company, right?" Glen remarked.

    "Their rivalry with Mitsugoshi is more concerning than the Major Corporate Alliance actually. I'm convinced they stole some of Mitsugoshi's trade secrets, including chocolate and coffee. Being a company that originated from that damned city, there's no way they're clean." I replied, totally not biased towards Mitsugoshi.

    All these stressful paperwork is killing me. I want to see Pooch again. Whenever I see him, my stress and worries goes away. With that in mind, I worked harder so I can finish today's work early and—

    *Knock knock*

    Oh no…

    "Who's there?" Glen asked.

    "It's Marco, sir!"

    "Come in!" Glen said as the maids open the door for Marco, who's carrying a stack of papers.

    "Ehe he…" Marco, who noticed my frustrated expression, didn't say anything and just smiled uneasily. He put the papers on my desk silently and I took a look on one of the papers…

    "FUCKING HELL!! WHY IS IT HIM AGAIN!? SCREW YOU DON JON!!!" I shouted angrily while raising a middle finger towards the papers.

    "P-Princess! Language!"




    "That bitch! Not only chocolates and coffee, she even made whiskey, brandy, vodka and rum before we do! How did they obtain the Shadow Wisdom and figure out about distilled spirits before we do!?" Complained Gamma as she read the newspaper, with news of Snow Fox Corporation's new alcohol products being on the front page of this week's edition. Nu is beside her, assisting her with her work.

    "This goes beyond stealing our company secrets. I've checked and re-checked and yet found no breaches in our security. Any thugs attacking our shipments or tried to infiltrate our company buildings, which we have thwarted every time, worked for Garter, not Snow Fox. No members behaved suspiciously either. I can only imagine that they have the same source as…" Nu remarked hesitatingly.

    "That's impossible! Lord Shadow wouldn't share his secrets with anyone but us!" Gamma exclaimed.

    "What I meant that… they have access to the same source of the Shadow Wisdom as Lord Shadow."

    "But who could've…?"

    "Only two people comes to mind, Don Jon and Necromancer. The latter is more likely as he is the one who--"

    "Don't say it, Nu. Just don't!" Gamma stressfully commanded, not wanting to be reminded of the sight of her beloved Lord Shadow nearly dying from his latest battle against his archnemesis.

    "Should we stop the research into distilled spirits?" Nu asked.

    "No. We will lose a lot of profit if we allow them to dominate the alcohol market. Even though I dislike it, we have no choice but to be second place this time. At least we should try to make better products than theirs." Gamma answered.

    "What if they accuse us of plagiarism?"

    "We will simply do what they did when we accused them of the same thing, prove that the claims are false. The so-called antitrust laws will also work in our favour to prevent them from having monopoly over the alcohol market." Gamma remarked, adopting the stance of fighting fire with fire, even if they have to use the law that prevented them from achieving their goal of global economic dominance.

    "Very well. I shall inform the production sector to hasten the research into distilled spirits." Nu said.

    "Speaking of the production sector, where's Eta?" Gamma asked, hearing next to no report from Eta for weeks now.

    "Last time we heard from her she said she is still busy with the Artifact we found in the underground labyrinth underneath the Capital."

    "That strange and creepy tome? This is bad. She has become obsessed with something dangerous and is neglecting her duties, hasn't she? Send a report about Eta to Lady Alpha in Alexandria."

    "Very well." Confirming her orders, Nu left the room to deliver the messages from Gamma.

    "Haaahh… So many problems… So many obstacles. But the burden I carry is nothing compared to the burdens Lord Shadow is carrying. I musn't give up!" Gamma remarked, reminding herself of the purpose of her existence in order to not lose hope.




    "Ha ha ha! Skipping classes is great! Less burden and more time for me to do my Shadowbroker acts!" I remarked happily as I once again skipped Goldy-sensei's class. I managed to purchase my new outfit for my next Shadowbroker act. Once again from the Snow Fox Corporation. Seriously, they have everything I ever wanted! Though this time, in order to mask my tracks, I have to buy every piece from different branches under different names. They are expensive but I covered them easily with the money I robbed from the Crimson Tower before vanishing that night.

    I could've just invaded the Don Jon Tower as Shadow and rob him of his money but that ain't stylish! To fight against a mafia boss, you need a proper identity. And what better identity than a Super Elite Agent!?

    But first, I need to obtain information. That's why I'm going to this Soup Kitchen in the slums of Midgar, which is frequented by not only homeless and poor people but also mercenaries looking to save money by getting free meal. Why a Soup Kitchen you say? Because this Soup Kitchen has the Don Jon name. This Don Jon fellow definitely followed the footsteps of Al Capone, building a Soup Kitchen and giving soup to poor, homeless and unemployed people for free to raise his reputation.

    I entered the Soup Kitchen, my eye-catching suit and mask gathered the attention of everyone, especially the mercenaries, wondering who I am. I went to order a soup and sat on a table near a bunch of mercenaries, looking to extract information from them. Hmm… the soup is delicious.

    "Oi, Mister. You don't look like the rest of us. Are you sure you should be here?" One of the mercenaries came to me. Looks like he's just a common thug after all. His friends gathered around my table too.

    "Yeah. You look like your pocket is full of gold. You shouldn't steal free food from the rest of us poor people!"

    "Why don't you share your wealth with the rest of us instead of being such a cheapskate?"

    The thugs tried to intimidate me into giving them my money. I continued enjoying my soup while ignoring them.

    "Oi! Are you deaf!?" One of the thugs shouted, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword sheathed on his hips. His friends did the same, though some brought out guns instead of swords.

    "Hmph. I'll share some of my wealth, in exchange for information." I said to them, which made them laugh.

    "Huh!? You think this place is for business!? This place is for charity, mister! And you're not supposed to get anything out of charity!" How boorish. Mistaking robbery as charity. I'll put them in their places.

    "Now, you'd better give up your money to us poor people before somebody gets hur—AAAGH!!" one of the thugs tried to threaten me further before his words… and both his hands are cut.

    "UAARGHH!!! MY HANDS!!!"

    "Oi! What did you do!?" Shouted his friend as he pointed his gun to my head while I continued enjoying my soup.

    "You said that this place is charity. Then I shall ask you to donate the information I want." I said. My words enraged them.

    "That's it! Just kill him!" Shouted one of them, which prompts the others to unsheathe their weapons and started attacking me, only for their movements to stop.

    "Wha… Why can't I move!?"

    "What is this!?"

    "Huh!? This is… steel threads!?"

    "Took you long enough to realize it." I remarked as I finished my soup and stood up. My steel threads bound them in place, not allowing them to move. Not even the gun wielders can move their fingers to pull the triggers of their guns. The rest of the people in the Soup Kitchen, who previously ignored the thugs harassing me, stood up warily. Some even outright ran away from the building.

    "Now… will you generously donate your information to me?"

    "You're not getting anything out of—AAAAGHH!!!" Screamed one of them, whose hands are sliced apart by my steel threads for being defiant. His friends got the message and becomes less defiant.

    "Wh-Who the fuck are you!?" One of the bandits asked fearfully.

    "I am… John Smith."




    Author's Note:

    And so the Super Elite Agent has made his debut!
     
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    Chapter 83: I Want You For Don Jon Army
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    • Chapter 83: I Want You For Don Jon Army

    I interrogated the thugs and as thanks for their 'generous donation of information', I stitched their limbs back on. Whether they can still function or not is not my problem. I left the Soup Kitchen with the information I obtained.

    I merely asked for three things and they answered.

    Firstly, Yukime of the Snow Fox Corporation has close ties to Don Jon.

    Secondly, Don Jon is filthy rich. I know it's obvious but I can't help but ask.

    Thirdly, they are understaffed because Black Jugga or whatever betrayed Don Jon during the night of Red Moon and Don Jon slaughtered them off. I can make use of this situation to my advantage!

    But before I can do that… I gotta go back to school. Because Goldy-sensei's class is over. I sneaked into the school through the back entrance.

    "Stealthy as a mice… stealthy as a mice…"

    "What are you doing here, Pooch?" Whispered someone who should not be here, though I sensed her presence so she doesn't surprise me.

    "Isn't that obvious? I'm skipping class!" I answered with a happy face.

    "Haaah… Typical Pooch. Always so carefree and selfish. Though I'm one to talk since I'm running away from my duties too."

    "Hoo… I see. So the princess is slacking off too. Good to know."

    "Tell anyone and there will be no more coins for you for a month." She threatened.

    "My lips are sealed." Money is very important after all.

    "Anyway, now that we're here, let's have a chat, shall we?"

    "Chat about what?"

    "About you returning to being my boyfriend."

    "No way."

    "Hmph. I'm kidding. I know your answer already. It's just… can I rant for a bit?"

    "Sure. I'll listen for a gold coin." With that, she threw a coin and I catch it with my mouth like I usually do. And then we sat down on a bench as she started her rant with a frustrated voice.

    "Don Jon… Don Jon…. Everytime I read reports, it's always his name that came up these days. It's frustrating!" Oh? I'm listening.

    "You know about him, do you? The sole ruler of the Lawless City. So much crimes under his name. And I've received new reports that he's massively recruiting, as if he wants to go to war with someone. And I suspect that he's targeting Mitsugoshi." Oh? Mitsugoshi? Makes sense. Mitsugoshi is a highly profitable company after all. A Gangster like him would definitely want to take it over.

    "So far, his partner Yukime from the Snow Fox Corporation hasn't behaved suspiciously, maintaining a fierce rivalry with Mitsugoshi. The Major Corporate Alliance stood no chance against these two giants." She continued.

    "But I know it's only a matter of time before they act together with Don Jon. It's crazy because we already have the upcoming war with Oriana to worry about… and a possible civil war before it too. Now we're having a corporate war too? I just… Hahh… I miss the peaceful times when I only have school and potential suitors to worry about."

    "Sounds rough."

    "You have no idea, Pooch. You're always so free of burdens after all." She let out another sigh before standing back up.

    "Thanks for listening, Pooch. I feel better already. I hope you'll lend me your ear again next time." She said with a smile as she left to return to her royal duties.

    "No… Thank YOU." I murmured as I stood back up too, grateful for the info-dump.




    View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmEBHpHVQ0Y&ab_channel=YearoftheBandicoot


    "Ughh…. To think I'm reduced to such a state… Now I can't even feel the excitement of--"

    "Be silent, boar. Only speak when spoken to."

    "Yes, Lord Necro—Don Jon…"

    The rabid boar I'm speaking to is Juggernaut… or to be more precise… was Juggernaut. Back in the Red Moon incident, he launched an attack on Don Jon Tower and I sent a Don Jon clone to slaughter him and his minions. Let's just say that my Don Jon clone went overboard and killed even the Tower's staff too. Stories began to spread of how a furious Don Jon single-handedly massacred both friends and foes alike in his tower, making the rest of the Lawless City residents fear Don Jon even more than before. There will be no more large scale rebellions after that.

    The current Juggernaut is a zombie. Because my clone is the one who killed him, I wasn't able to capture his soul to reanimate him so I had to use his corpse the way I usually do my elite undead minions, planting AI on their brains using their original memories as template. The AI is severely limited in intelligence though and thus I want to experiment with imbuing real souls into corpses during reanimation so they will have real intelligence, not artificial ones. Though it's too risky for now considering my current condition.

    In any case, Juggernaut is now my undead minion and will serve Don Jon because the Don Jon Tower is now severely understaffed thanks to his betrayal. I had to have him wear a mask though. Can't have people connect the dots that Don Jon is affiliated with the Necromancer by parading a zombie guard after all. Now he stood beside me as a bodyguard, wearing black long coat and a hockey mask reminiscent of Jason Vorhees. His new axe is strapped on his back.

    The Lawless City has lost two of its three original rulers but under my leadership (reign of terror) it still functions, though slower than usual for now. Yukime, the only remaining former ruler, will never betray me, not out of fear but out of gratitude. Her help in managing the chaotic affairs after the Red Moon incident is immense. Her influence combined with mine managed to bring some semblance of order into this chaotic city during its most chaotic time. I fear that she would be overworked though because she's shouldering the burden of two other former rulers as well as the Snow Fox Corporation.

    Also, the vampires are now nearly extinct. Should I repopulate them using the Blood Queen's blood? Questions for later.

    Because of my Don Jon clone's rampage during the Red Moon incident, I am forced to cut my rest time and appear in the Don Jon Tower. I'm still banned from using another clone by Sherry because I already have Claude clone active in Midgar and she doesn't want another memory overload incident so I had to come here personally. My presence in the tower alone helps with the recruitment and other operations. Corruption and embezzlement among the new staff is minimal when I'm around.

    I'm currently sitting on a huge sofa while smoking a cigar and sipping wine. I've managed to get the smoking thing to work without coughing. My new secretary entered the room delivering me reports. Her poise is almost perfect, if not for the fact that she's trembling, not because she's intimidated by my huge scary bodyguard but because she feared me specifically… fearing what I can do.

    "L-Lord Don Jon… We've now reached our monthly q-quota of recruitment." Said the brown haired girl named Marie, a former prostitute, as she handed me papers listing new thugs we've managed to recruit this month. So far nobody is interesting. I need to recruit more than just cannon fodders. Where can I recruit strong individuals? Most people I know who fall into this category are either Shadow Garden member, Cult of Diablos member or already employed in other kingdoms.

    Yukime sent Marie to me as a secretary to help me manage the recruitment and other things. Despite being a popular prostitute, she does not enjoy working as one and has been saving up money to leave the Lawless City. The chaos of the Red Moon led her to lose her savings and Yukime sent her to me because she showed aptitude for this job.

    "That quota is outdated. Double… no… triple the amount of people we need to recruit."

    "B-But, Lord Don Jon! The Lawless City is still recovering from the Red Moon incident! I don't think we can recruit that many people this month!"

    "Who says we can only recruit only from the Lawless City? Recruit people from outside as well. Even in other kingdoms. Use the Soup Kitchens I've established in major cities. Especially in Midgar Royal Capital, where there are still many warriors who came for the Bushin Festival and stayed for the upcoming war with Oriana. And I also need more than just common thugs. I want to recruit someone who is more than just a cannon fodder. Someone whose worth is equal to multiple men."

    "A-About the Soup Kitchen… I've received news from a Soup Kitchen in Midgar Royal Capital, my lord." She said with slight hesitation in her voice.

    "What happened?" I asked her sternly.

    "A-A man named John Smith mutilated and interrogated several thugs working for you in the Midgar capital's Soup Kitchen. H-He then stitched back their mutilated limbs after he's done with them." Oh? How brutal. Interesting.

    "What did he look like?"

    "H-He's a black haired young man… about in his 20s… and he wore a white and black mask … and a black suit." Hmm… sounds stylish.

    "What weapon did he use?"

    "Th-They said he used steel threads that he controlled with his fingers." Hm… Steel threads, eh? Classic. How interesting! He sounds very promising!

    "What did he ask them? And what did they tell him?"

    "H-He asked about how closely you worked with Lady Yukime… And they've answered … that Yukime worked directly under you. He then asked how much money that you have… and they answered that you have so many. Lastly, he asked how many people you have under your command, to which they answered currently not much due to the Red Moon incident… and that you're currently recruiting." She finished her reports and closed her eyes, fearing the worst already. Instead of being mad, I laughed.

    "MWA HA HA HA! John Smith, eh? Interesting! Gather all the information you can about this man! And notify Yukime of this man! I want to know his intentions!"

    "A-At once!" She exclaimed as she bowed and left the room hastily.

    "Heh heh heh. John Smith… Of course. Such a common American name." I muttered to myself whilst grinning excitedly.

    "John Smith, eh? You know this guy?" The boar dared to speak.

    "I believe I told you to be silent unless spoken to, boar."

    "S-Sorry…"

    "But to answer your question, no. I don't know him. But his name isn't foreign to me. It's somewhat familiar." I answered vaguely and he didn't have the courage to ask me to elaborate, not that I'm in the mood to do that even if he asked.

    "So what's your plan for him?" The boar asked again.

    "It depends on his intentions. If he dared to oppose me, he shall be eliminated like you did. In the end you shall all serve me. Heh heh heh."




    Author's Note:

    Zombie Jugga Jugga and Marie now worked for Don Jon. I've been contemplating for a long time on how to use the character Marie but as I write this chapter, I figured Marie could be Don Jon's secretary because she wasn't saved by Shadow and thus couldn't escape the Lawless City. She's now one of the rare non-combatant characters in this fic.
     
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    • I binged to page three so far. Great to see things derailing from canon, I loved what you did. The world is being pushed to the brick by two autistic chunni man-children, and it is glorious!
     
    BrunofanofK said:
    I binged to page three so far. Great to see things derailing from canon, I loved what you did. The world is being pushed to the brick by two autistic chunni man-children, and it is glorious!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Thanks. Glad you liked it. I did struggle a lot on deciding how to make the story divert from canon but at the Bushin Festival I say fuck it, let's just switch the position of Midgar and Oriana! At page 3 is around chapter 50s right? Let's just say you just finished Season 1: Shadow VS The Necromancer. Now you enter Season 2: The Alter Ego War. Yeah I gotta make this a thing in the arc list.

    Edit: I did it.
     
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    Chapter 84: The Boar
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    • Chapter 84: The Boar

    In a luxurious office located within Garter Corporation's main building, a short old man with frog-like face is bowing his head in fear before a black haired wolf beastkin wearing black sunglasses who sits on the desk. The old man is sweating nervously as he reported his men's failure yet again.

    "I-I'm so sorry, Sir Gettan! But both Snow Fox Corporation and Mitsugoshi's forces are too powerful for us to overcome! None of our scouts returned with any info on their forces! With Snow Fox Corporation it is somewhat expected that they'll have powerful mercenaries from the Lawless City though we couldn't figure out how powerful but we still have no idea about Mitsugoshi's guards!" Said Garter, the president of Garter Corporation and the head of the Major Corporate Alliance or MCA for short. Although the beastkin in front of him is his bodyguard in public, in actuality he's Garter's superior and a member of the Cult.

    "Tch! How useless can your subordinates be!? I'm not asking to defeat their forces! Just figure out their numbers, strength, who among the stands out, anything!" Shouted Gettan angrily as he broke his own desk again in frustration.

    When he heard the news from the Lawless City, of how Juggernaut's rebellion during the Red Moon made Don Jon wipe out both Juggernaut's forces and many of his own subordinates and that Don Jon is massively recruiting men as a result, Gettan thought this is the perfect chance to launch attacks on Snow Fox Corporation to inflict some damage or at least figure out something about their forces. But even when understaffed, Don Jon and the Snow Fox Corporation's forces still annihilated all the men that Garter sent to attack their distribution channels, even the scouts whose orders is to remain hidden and bring information back to him.

    "Are you sure you sent the right people!?" Shouted Gettan again.

    "Y-Yes! I've sent the best scouts I can hire from the Lawless City along with a bunch of mercenaries to serve as distrac--"

    "From the Lawless City you say?"

    "Y-Yes!"

    "Then isn't there a chance that they actually abandoned their mission after pocketing your money? They must've worked for Yukime or that blasted Don Jon!"

    "T-That's what I thought too at first… But they're found dead too. All of them…"

    "Tch… It seems that I have to do it myself. Prepare some men. We're going to attack the Snow Fox Corporation's distribution channels!" Declared Gettan as he stood up from his chair.

    "B-But… what about Mitsugoshi, Sir Gettan!?"

    "The plans to destroy Mitsugoshi are already in place. We need only focus our attention on Snow Fox Corporation!"

    "V-Very well, Sir Gettan! I'll prepare the best men we have left right away!" Obeyed Garter as he rushed out of the room.

    "Yukime. I shall prove that I've gotten stronger. After everything I've sacrificed… I've definitely…" Gettan murmurs to himself as he too left the room after fetching a new katana he purchased at a high price from the Necromancer.




    Gettan had his men place blockade on the train railway with rocks and wood where Snow Fox Corporation's carriages will pass through to distribute their goods internationally. They would then stand there, waiting for the train to be forced to stop. After few hours, they spotted the train they're meant to intercept. Gettan braced himself for battle as the train entered their view.

    "Prepare yourself for battle!" He shouted and his men roared in response.

    But, instead of slowing down as he expected, the train went full speed ahead.

    "Why isn't the train stopping? At this rate it will collide with the blockade and will be heavily damaged!" Muttered Gettan in disbelief.

    Before he knows it, a magical beam was shot from the train engine, destroying the blockade his men put in the way. The train then passed the railway without problem.

    Without his vision, Gettan can't see anything but he sensed an ominous presence standing above the train engine. Said presence is the one who shot the beam.

    "Tch! After them!"

    "B-But, Lord Gettan! It's too fast even for us!"

    "Tch! Useless!" Shouted Gettan as he gave chase alone. Putting more effort than usual, he chased the fast moving train and jumped to the roof of the train cars. There he was greeted by a bulky and tall man wearing black leather coat and a hockey mask carrying an ominous axe, obviously an Artifact.

    "Who… are you…?" Asked Gettan whilst trying not to show how intimidated he is by the man, no… the beast in front of him.

    "Who am I…? There was a time when I have a name… Now, I am just a nobody. You can just call me Boar. That's what my master called me."

    "Boar, huh? Are you working for Yukime?"

    "That she-fox? No. I work for Don Jon. Though now I'm assigned to this grunt level work for the she-fox because the old man killed so many of his own men."

    "Hmph… Is there a chance that I can convince you to walk away?" Asked Gettan, desperately trying to avoid engaging in combat with the man in front of him as he don't have any confidence to defeat him.

    "None. Now shut up and fight, dog!" Said Boar as he brandished his massive axe.

    "Tch. What a pity. You shall not live to see tomorrow." Said Gettan as he brandished his own enchanted katana, Yoru, whose blade possessed speed and sharpening enchantment capable of cutting through even Mythril with ease.

    "That's the spirit!" Boar said as he charged in, his step leaving a dent on the roof of the train car. Boar raised his axe in an attempt to chop Gettan in two.

    "What simple movement. As expected of a beast like you." Gettan muttered as he was about to slice Boar's torso with his katana before the axe chop could land… only to be kicked by Boar instead.

    "What!?" Exclaimed Gettan as he received the unexpected kick, which almost pushed him away from the train.

    "You're one to talk, you dog man! You are more of a beast than me! Though you've fallen into the trap of most swordsmen fell into… which is abandoning your instincts!" Shouted Boar as he charged again delivered a punch to Gettan. Gettan attempted to avoid the punch but he sensed the axe coming from the other direction and had to dodge that instead. The punch is blocked with his katana, whose sharp edge dealt a cut on Boar's fingers, though he ignored the pain.

    "Now that's more like it. It's good that you still rely on your instinct!"

    "I had to rely on instincts more than even other beastkins ever does when I lost these eyes! Don't you mock my capabilities!" Shouted Gettan as he removed his black sunglasses, exposing the scars on both of his eyes, an injury that gave him blindness years prior.

    "Then why did you receive that kick?"

    Tch. To think I'll be lectured by an enemy like this! But he's right. I need to rely on my instincts more. But that's easier said than done when all my instinct ever said is to run away! Gettan thought to himself.

    "SHUT UUUP!!" Shouted Gettan in an attempt to give himself courage as he pushed Boar's punch away and started his own assault with his blade, which is parried by Boar's axe. Gettan continued his assault on Boar regardless of how many times it was blocked. Boar was about to get bored before he noticed the blade of his axe started to get chipped bit by bit.

    "Hoo… so your sword is an Artifact too." Muttered Boar as he blocked another strike.

    "Took you long enough to figure it out." Gettan said as he once again delivered a slash which is parried once again by Boar, receiving another dent on his axe.

    "Impressive. But futile!" Shouted Boar as he filled his axe with his magical energy, causing it to glow.

    "Th-This…!" Gettan muttered, recognizing the ability.

    "It's been fun, doggy. But you started to bore me. If you somehow survive this, I'll take you on again anytime!" Declared Boar as he launched a beam attack from his axe, blowing Gettan away and destroying several of the train's cars.

    BOOOOOM!!!

    An explosion occurred, shaking the ground and the train, though the front end of the train survived and kept going on is merry way.

    "Heh. That she-fox is going to be so mad that I destroyed parts of her train, her merchandise, and the railway. No matter. It's that dog's fault for boring me!" Exclaimed Boar as he re-entered the train to resume his guard duties.




    "Ughh… Have I…. gotten stronger… at all? I should be… considering how much I've sacrificed… How many people I had to betray and slay… to prove my worth to join the Cult… So why… so easily?" Whispered Gettan in pained frustration as he lie in the cold ground with a huge bleeding gash on his torso.

    "Lord Gettan!" Shouted one of his men as they arrived on the scene. The sight of him being beaten so badly shook their loyalty, making them question their affiliation.

    "Lord Gettan is beaten…"

    "So fast!"

    "Even Lord Gettan is nothing but a weakling compared to them!"

    "To hell with it! I'm not going to fight them again! I'm going to the Lawless City to join Don Jon! Who's with me!?"

    "Me!"

    "Me too!"

    "Let's go!"

    Gettan was unable to do anything but grit his teeth in frustration as his men left him for dead with the intention to join his enemies. But his anger and pride won't allow him to just let them leave.

    "You… fools… If you think… I'll let you go just like that…" Muttered Gettan angrily as he reached for a certain vial from his pocket.




    Author's Note:

    Long time no see? I know it's only been a few days but these busy days felt like a long time for me. Anyway, Gettan is going on a slow descent to despair. Yukime didn't even need to lift a finger to get her revenge on him. He's gonna do it to himself.
     
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    • Chapter 85: The Ponzer Plan
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    • Chapter 85: The Ponzer Plan

    "How goes the distribution of the new products?" Don Jon asked whilst sitting on his sofa in his private chambers. Yukime stood before him whilst confidently exposing more cleavage than usual.

    "It's been going very well… except for one minor incident involving a certain Boar. The nobles of various kingdoms loved them and has placed orders for huge amount of them." Yukime answered with confidence and poise she normally wouldn't show in front of him had she not changed her opinion of him.

    "And how did Mitsugoshi respond?" Don Jon asked again.

    "They haven't said nor done anything. Though I suspect they felt like we stole their business once again."

    "Hmph. It's only natural. We are competing to release the same products in the same markets after all."

    "That does remind me. How did you know these products? Where did you get the knowledge?"

    "You think I would tell you?" Don Jon answered coldly, applying some mental pressure that would normally made Yukime tremble in fear and stopped asking question. But instead…

    "Come now, Lord Claude. There's no need to be so cold, is there?" Yukime said as she winked at him seductively.

    Hmph. She's so brazen and no longer fears me… But as long as she's loyal and useful, I'll tolerate it. Thought Claude.

    "Hmph. They are knowledge from a realm far away from here."

    "How far?"

    "Too far."

    "That far? I see." Yukime eventually gave up after receiving nothing but vague answers from him.

    I must strive to get him to trust me more. The road ahead is still very long it seems. Thought Yukime.

    "And the MCA? What of their movements?" Don Jon asked again. His question made Yukime lose her smile for a brief moment.

    "They haven't done much besides the usual attempt to attack our distribution channels, which failed every time partly thanks to the Boar." Yukime answered professionally.

    "Something's bothering you. What is it?" Don Jon asked curiously.

    "If I may, Lord Claude. I don't see a reason why you showed interest in them. They are a dying breed and will soon collapse and forgotten."

    "They have a plan that I was planning to make use of… but they are taking too long to execute it and thus I'm going execute my plan first."

    "You have a plan?"

    "Yes. A plan to slowly take over Mitsugoshi. With the MCA as collateral damage."

    "Oh I like the sound of that, Lord Claude. Tell me more." Yukime regained her smile as she urged him to continue.

    "Here's what we're starting with. We're going to commit a fraud!"




    "Lady Gamma. Have you heard the news?" Nu asked whilst bringing the latest newspaper with her to Gamma's office.

    "Yes. This Ponzer Plan… An investment opportunity where you invest your money in order to get high return later after the business that they're investing in becomes successful. The MCA, on the verge of bankruptcy, immediately flocked to invest their money to this… thing in order to get their rewards. It requires opening an account on Snow Fox Bank as well. It seems that Don Jon has made his move." Gamma answered, the very same edition of newspaper already in her hands.

    "What are the odds of this being a fraud?"

    "100%. It's Don Jon of Lawless City we're talking about after all."

    "So all we need to do is to avoid investing in it and we won't be affected." Nu came to a conclusion.

    "It'll be nice if that's all that will happen." Gamma retorted.

    "What do you mean, Lady Gamma?"

    "This plan is more sinister than I initially imagined. We've expected the MCA to simply collapse for a long time because they picked a fight against us but what happens if they suddenly bankrupted?"

    "Umm… We'll simply take over their market?" Nu answered, unsure of her own answer.

    "We could've done that without a problem… if Snow Fox Corporation didn't come into the picture and become such an annoying business rival that stole so much of our profits and market dominance. If this plan of theirs succeeded, the MCA will collapse and we will be forced to deal with the consequences." Gamma answered with a grim face.

    "What do you mean, Lady Gamma?" Nu said, her face showing concern even though she still didn't get the full picture.

    "Our policy is to only employ Shadow Garden members into Mitsugoshi whereas Snow Fox employs even thugs from Lawless City. When the MCA collapse, its remnants will no doubt be absorbed by Snow fox Corporation to avoid being jobless. That, with the addition of the funds that Don Jon would collect through his Ponzer Plan will make them stronger and the negative reputation we'll get from refusing to hire the bankrupted merchants, who still hate us more than they do the Snow Fox Corporation, will weaken us. We will be at an overall disadvantage." Gamma explained.

    "But that won't be enough to destroy our operation, won't it?"

    "Unless he came up with another scheme." Gamma's words made Nu become alerted and fearful of the future.

    "Nu. Keep an eye on this Ponzer Plan of his. I never thought I'd say this but we need to prevent the MCA from collapsing."

    "It shall be done." Nu bowed before leaving the room to carry out her orders.

    "Haaah… What a pain in the…" Gamma's eyes went wide after she read the next segment of the newspaper.

    "What!? They're already digging for Petroleum in Madlid before us!? Curse that fo—Aaagh!!" Shouted Gamma before tripping on her high heels and falling on the floor face flat, giving her a nosebleed whilst nobody was around to tell her that her nose is bleeding.

    "Ugghhh…"




    "You did what!?" Shouted Gettan, whose wounds from his recent battle with the Boar has healed thanks to the Red Pills he consumed before slaughtering his own men. His vision was restored but only temporarily, thus he returned to wearing his usual black sunglasses.

    "I-I think it'll be profitable for us to invest our money into this Ponzer Plan! With our constant failures, we barely have enough men and capital left and… we are desperate for more money!" His minion Garter replied, as nervous and sweaty as ever as he stood before Gettan, who's sitting on his desk.

    "How are you so sure that Don Jon won't simply pocket your money and run?"

    "I-I've had Feigling Corporation from the MCA test it out few weeks ago and they're already seeing some return on their investment! I believe we can profit from this as well!"

    "Hmph. Make sure to be cautious when dealing with Don Jon. You're dismissed." Is all that Gettan can say with his current mental state.

    "Y-Yes, Sir Gettan!" Said Garter as he rushed to leave the room.

    "Aghh… First the paper money… and now this… Ponzer Plan… How did they come up with such cunning schemes? If I was that smart… or possess subordinates as smart as them… I wouldn't be in this situation." Muttered Gettan, frustrated and envious at everything his rivals has that he lacked.

    The next day he heard that most the merchants who are part of the MCA has joined the Ponzer Plan and are already seeing some returns on their Snow Fox Bank accounts. Hearing the news, other members of MCA rushed to join, eager to be among the first investors of the Ponzer Plan so they can reap their rewards earlier than those who joined at a later date.

    The promise of money was so tempting that they forgot that the host of this plan is a notorious crime lord from the Lawless City. The possibility of him betraying them didn't cross their minds as they convinced themselves that investing their money into the Ponzer Plan is worth it.

    Gettan can only watch in horror as he kept seeing reports of the MCA merchants pouring more and more of their money into the Ponzer Plan, expecting high amounts of returns.

    But he is still confident in his own plan to spread counterfeit bills to collapse the MCA and Mitsugoshi banks. He believed that as long as he took over Mitsugoshi for the Necromancer, his current predicament will become nothing but an afterthought once he sits on the 12th Seat of the Rounds.

    With that in mind he ordered Garter to immediately withdraw the money he made from his investment, which is already double the amount he initially invested. Garter was reluctant to do so as he expected more rewards from his investment if he waited longer but Gettan was not having it.

    Garter is once again meeting Gettan in his office room, sweating nervously as he got into an argument with Gettan.

    "Sir Gettan! Please! I beg you to reconsider! We could have more funds if we--"

    "We need to proceed with the counterfeit bills plan as soon as possible!"

    "But Sir Gettan! If we wait a little longer, we surely could--"

    "Remember that our mission is to take over Mitsugoshi, not to make money!"

    "But Sir Gettan!"

    "Silence, Garter! Remember your place! Remember who elevated your position into becoming the head of the MCA! Remember who stands behind you as you do business! Remember whom you're working for!" Gettan said, reminding Garter of the powers that lurks in the darkness.

    "Y-Yes, Sir Gettan! Right away!" Said Garter as he left the room to fulfil his orders.




    "Ponzer Plan? A Ponzi Scheme then? Heh heh heh. How interesting. Also, reeeeally original there, Don Jon. What are you, Chinese plagiarist?" Muttered John Smith as he leaned against a wall in the streets of Lawless City whilst reading a newspaper. He also made a bank by pick pocketing several people using the thinnest of his steel wires as they passed him by whilst reading.

    "He's gonna make so much money scamming all those poor merchants. How do I turn this around? Heh heh heh. I know what I'm gonna do! But first, I need to go meet the miniboss fox lady." John Smith muttered once again as he walked to the direction of the White Tower.

    As he entered the Pleasure District on his way to the White Tower, he passed through several beautiful and scantily dressed prostitutes who tried to seduce him and offer him their services. He ignored most of them as he is already used to being surrounded by beautiful women.

    "Oi. Mister! Ain't you being rude by ignoring all these wonderful women?" A tall and muscular bouncer said as he blocked John Smith's path while glaring at him threateningly. The prostitutes surrounding them watched with mild amusement.

    "Hmph. Out of my way, scum. I have no business with them. And neither do I have business with you." John Smith replied nonchalantly.

    "Huh!? Who do you think you are, you scrawny little—AAAARGHH!!!" The bouncer screamed as both his arms suddenly fell off as if sliced cleanly by invisible blades even though all that John Smith ever did was move his fingers slightly. The women surrounding them fled the scene whilst screaming in fear.

    John Smith walked towards the screaming man, grabbed his head and whispered "I am John Smith. There is only one lady I have business with and I want you to take me to her."




    Author's Note:

    Deciding Don Jon's plan is kinda hard. At first I almost had him just recycle the canon counterfeit bills plan but I changed my mind eventually and decided he should be original, thus I had him start with a Ponzi Scheme. How will John Smith turn things around? Find out on the next episode of The Necromancer in Shadow!
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 86: Super Elite Agent
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 86: Super Elite Agent


    View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w_I5JAkjN4&ab_channel=%E6%9C%AB%E5%BB%A3%E5%81%A5%E4%B8%80%E9%83%8E-Topic

    It was a peaceful day, peaceful by the standards of Lawless City, where people occasionally get pickpocketed, mugged, robbed and killed. But the peace is broken when Yukime smelled blood in the air. She sensed something happening and as if to confirm her suspicion, Kana entered her quarters.

    "Lady Yukime. He's here." Reported Kana.

    "John Smith is it? What does he--" Yukime was about to ask Kana before a man's voice is heard behind her.

    "I am here to offer my services, Lady Yukime. I heard your syndicate is in dire need of… reliable hands. I can fill that position." Said a man dressed in black suit wearing a white and black mask as he stood confidently with his arms crossed in Yukime's balcony. Yukime tried to hide her surprise by slowly turning around.

    In contrast to Yukime's calm demeanor, a surprised Kana jumped in front of Yukime and with a hiss, throws knives from her pocket. The knives she threw never reached John Smith as they stopped halfway and remained suspended in the air, not falling on the floor.

    "What!?" Exclaimed a surprised Kana.

    "Steel wires, huh. Just like the reports." Muttered Yukime as she tried to maintain a nonchalant attitude in order to hide her nervousness.

    This man… He's good. Too good. I get the feeling that he can be compared to Lord Claude when he appeared as Don Jon... and that Van Helsing fellow as well. Indeed it would be wiser to keep him close rather than have him work against us elsewhere. Thought Yukime.

    Kana was about to throw more knives before she was stopped by Yukime placing her hand on her shoulder. "Stand down, Kana. Let the man speak." Said Yukime whilst giving a reassuring smile.

    "Very well, Lady Yukime." Kana replied as she retreated, letting Yukime face John Smith.

    "May I ask your intentions in serving me?" Yukime asked with a seductive tone, though John Smith seemed unaffected.

    "Money." John Smith simply said.

    "Oh? A man who enjoys luxuries that money can buy I see." Yukime replied, recalling the reports of how John Smith asked how much money that Don Jon has to the men he interrogated in Midgar capital's Soup Kitchen, leading her to conclude that as long as he is well paid, he will be obedient, though she is still cautious nonetheless.

    "Money can be used in many things. There are many things that money can buy."

    "Oh? And what is it that you want to buy with money?" Yukime asked curiously.

    "Many things." John Smith answered vaguely.

    "I see. Now then, Mr. John. I've seen your capabilities firsthand and I believe that we do need someone like you. From here on out you shall work for me. Let us discuss your employment terms, shall we? Including your salary."

    "Oh, I can't wait." John Smith said while smiling.




    Heh heh heh. Infiltration successful! Like a true Super Elite Agent! I'll even be paid 2 Million Zeni a month. How generous! Almost makes me wanna stay and work here forever! It's good that I repaid that kind bouncer for bringing me to her by stitching his arms back together.

    But money is only one of the things I'm aiming at. What's more important is my mission… my shadowbroker play! No matter how much they pay me, I shall stay true to who I really am and proceed with my original plans.

    Now comes my first job… which is to guard Snow Fox's distribution channels, namely the trains carrying their merchandise to various kingdoms. Lately the number of bandits trying to rob the trains has decreased but Yukime still wanted someone to guard them just in case, someone who's not a boar she said. I don't know what that means but no matter. Time to work!

    I sat on a seat in the train while it's heading towards Midgar for the next distribution. The entire car is empty safe for me. Due to Midgar being the place where Gamma and the others started Mitsugoshi, Snow Fox Corporation has to focus their efforts there in order to compete with Mitsugoshi. Good for me! That means my job will not take me too far away and I can go home faster when morning comes so I can still attend school whilst being a secret agent at night!

    I was expecting some bandits to attack so I can show off my skills but…

    "How boring. Why is there no attacker?"

    I sat there in complete boredom as the night ends uneventfully and I had to go back home and get at least an hour of sleep before I had to return to my mob life.

    The next few days also proceeds uneventfully. How dreadfully boring. I almost decide to just quit this job and just storm the Don Jon Tower before something finally happens.

    "Oh? I sensed a somewhat powerful presence entering the train whilst it's still moving. Good. I was so bored I almost fell asleep."

    I get up from my seat in order to prepare to greet the infiltrator.

    "Heh. You must be one of that fox's new employee." Said a tall middle aged man with a cool scar on his cheek as he entered the car I'm in. The man is wearing a black cloak and leather armor underneath it. He is also carrying a pair of Chinese Hook Sword with glowing runes. Must be one of the Necromancer's work.

    "May I see your ticket please?" I taunted him nonchalantly.

    "Ha ha ha! You're a funny guy! So I shall let you know the name of the one who shall send you to your grave! I am Sicherlich Nichtkabal the Sword Slayer and I shall take over Snow Fox Corporation in the name of the Cu--" His words are cut by several steel threads I already set in place to bind his legs.

    "Steel threads? How clever. But it won't work against me!" The man shouted as he tried to cut the steel threads but failed due to how much I reinforced the threads with my magic.

    "What!? Impossible!" He muttered in disbelief as I moved my threads to bind his hands too.

    "You bastard! Don't you know who I am!?"

    "Who you are doesn't matter to me. You're nothing but a butterfly caught in the spider's web." I replied as I tighten the binding of the steel thread, slowly digging to his flesh and making him spill some blood.

    "UAAAAGHHH!!" The man screamed in pain.

    Now then… How should I finish him? I don't think tearing him apart will be cool. It will be messy instead and I don't think anyone would appreciate it, especially my employers.

    "Aaaaghhh!!! Stop!! STOOP!!!"

    "Hmm… How should I dispose of this trash? Should I just throw him out of the window? Or…"

    "Are you fucking listening!? I said STOP!!!" The man is being so noisy so I manipulated my threads to bind his neck and choke him in order to silence him.

    "Hmm…. Come to think of it, I still need to train with this new weapon. My magic training and Shadowbroker act as the vampire hunter Van Helsing cuts some of the time I had to practice this weapon. But I think this is adequate enough for now. I'm sure I'll get better in time." I murmured before finally noticing that the man is already dead.

    "Oh. That works too I guess." I shrugged as I pulled my steel threads back and let his body fall to the floor. His hook swords looks cool so into my Eminence in Shadow collection you go! And of course I didn't forget to take his wallet. Also found that red drug again. It's useless to me so I put it back on his pocket.

    I left his body there to serve as proof that I did my job well. The cleaning staff will dispose of his body later. I should just sit back and relax whilst waiting for the night to… actually I have so much time to train my steel thread manipulation skills! Why didn't I think of this before!? I wasted few days being bored to death! That's it. No more idleness! I shall train my skills with this weapon whilst waiting for bandits to attack from now on!




    "So you've hired John Smith. Where did you assign him to?" Lord Don Jon asked me as he sits on his usual sofa.

    "For now I assigned him to guard the distribution channels. He's been doing well although I fear he's getting bored due to how small the amount of attacks are. He managed to defeat a Named Child of the Cult with great ease though." I answered him whilst letting my kimono down in order to expose as much skin as possible in my usual attempt to seduce him, which has been unsuccessful so far. This makes me even more jealous of Sherry who gets to receive his love and affection any day she wants.

    "What do you think of him?"

    "Well… he is quite handsome and reliable. He is very powerful and can be… quite cruel towards his enemies. Almost reminds me of you, Lord Claude." Lord Don—Claude frowned at my words.

    "Hmph. Will he be satisfied with what you've offered?"

    "He is a man of greed. He sought after us for money alone. I've made sure to keep him happy with my offer. Though naturally I'm still cautious of him and his intentions."

    "A man like him must have ambitions greater than money. Make sure to keep watch over his movements at all times and do not, under any circumstances, trust him." Lord Don Jon sternly warned me. I can sense how wary he is of John Smith. Though… considering how he frowned when I called John Smith handsome… Am I sensing some jealousy here? Hee hee hee. I was right. I still have hope after all.

    "Do not worry, Lord Claude. I shall make sure to keep him in check." I smiled and replied to reassure him.

    In time I shall make sure to melt that ice cold heart of yours, Lord Claude… just like you did to mine.




    "No. A man like him must have ambitions greater than money. Make sure to keep watch over his movements at all times and do not, under any circumstances, trust him." I gave my warning to Yukime, not wanting her to fall to John Smith's schemes. I'm certain that man is a reincarnator and we must be cautious of him. Who knows if he has some cheat like that Epsilon.

    He must know about the Ponzi Scheme I'm enacting too. I must not let him ruin everything I've worked for!

    Yukime just smiled after I gave my warnings though. "Do not worry, Lord Claude. I shall make sure to keep him in check." It seems that my words didn't get into her head. What useless big ears you have, Yukime. Though I should've known that as someone who does not recognize the dangers that reincarnators posed you would not be as cautious as you should be.

    I can only sigh and let her do her thing for now as I'm still reluctant to reveal the knowledge of reincarnators to her... or to anyone for that matter.

    Regardless. I shall keep watch on his movements myself. We shall see what plans you have in store for us, John Smith!

    "Now, on to the next agenda. Gettan has finally made his move… but not against us. Against Mitsugoshi. We shall watch and wait as his effort bore fruit… for us." Yukime smiled wider when she heard my words, excited at the prospect of using her past lover as a pawn in our game.

    Now that's a face of a true villainess.




    Author's Note:

    The 𝓢𝓾𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓐𝓰𝓮𝓷𝓽 has made his move! And in true Eminence in Shadow fashion, Yukime misunderstood Claude's warnings and thought he's a tsundere! We shall see how that goes from here.

    Sicherlich Nichtkabal is German for Certainly not Kabal. Kabal is a character from Mortal Kombat who wields the Chinese Hook Swords. Also Feigling Corporation from the previous chapter. Feigling is German for coward.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 87: The Big Bank Withdrawal
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 87: The Big Bank Withdrawal

    Marie entered Don Jon's room to report the progresses of Don Jon's plans and other news. Afraid as usual, she bowed before proceeding with her report. Don Jon is sitting on his sofa as usual.

    "Lord Don Jon. We've received reports from Snow Fox Bank's Midgar branch that Garter Corporation is trying to withdraw the money they made from the Ponzer Plan. Attempts to prevent them from withdrawing have been made but that may result in all of MCA losing faith in the Ponzer Plan before it can bear fruit. Their request for withdrawal came earlier than we expected." Marie reported whilst trembling.

    "No. They came to withdraw their money at the right time. Let them withdraw the money posthaste. Let Garter Corporation withdraw their money and no one else. Make sure the process is as tedious as possible for the rest of them." Don Jon answered.

    "O-Only Garter Corporation?"

    "Didn't you hear me, woman? I said Garter Corporation and no one else!" Don Jon said whilst applying some magical pressure on Marie.

    "Y-Yes!! I'm very sorry, sir!!" Marie bowed her head down, her hands clutching her clothes, ready to take them off in an attempt to quell his rage using her body. But before she can do that…

    "Is there anything else?" Don Jon asked her.

    "J-J-John S-S-mith has… b-been…" Marie struggled to speak coherently as she falls on her knees whilst hyperventilating and trembling with tears flowing down her cheeks.

    Hmm… I think I overdid it. I should remember that she's not a Spellsword but an ordinary civilian. I'm still lacking in staff so I shouldn't break this one yet. Thought Don Jon.

    "Breathe!" Don Jon ordered.

    "W-What…?"

    "Breathe slowly and calm yourself." Don Jon said. Mare proceeded to take a deep breath and managed to calm herself down. She wiped her tears and stood back up.

    "Better?"

    "Y-Yes… Thank you, sir."

    "Proceed with the report."

    "J-John Smith has been transferred from guard duties to infiltration duties. Lady Yukime sent him to spy on the MCA's movements."

    "And has he delivered any news from his end?"

    "He said they have begun the production of counterfeit bills… The MCA counterfeit bills I mean."

    "He works fast. Indeed. The Mitsugoshi's printing method is too advanced to be replicated by the MCA and thus they have no choice but to create counterfeits of their own paper money."

    "M-May I ask… why they did that?"

    "Because they intend to take down Mitsugoshi with them. Once the counterfeit bills floods the market, making the supply of paper money becomes greater than demand, the value of paper money will decrease exponentially as people will start questioning the value of paper money and realize that they are merely pieces of paper with no value. Trust in paper money will fall and the banks that made them will become bankrupt in no time as people will flood the banks to withdraw their coins... and only the fastest ones can get their money back."

    "S-So that's why Snow Fox Bank never made paper money!"

    "Indeed. It's because I foresaw this development."

    "I see…" Marie nodded in understanding, realizing how Don Jon is not only powerful but also cunning.

    "Now we should only watch and wait while the MCA and Mitsugoshi destroy themselves. Heh heh heh."




    I left Don Jon's room, no longer trembling in fear but in awe.

    "So Lady Yukime is right. He is kinder than I expected." Marie muttered as she recalled him giving her time to calm down.

    "And his intelligence and foresight… to think he thought that far ahead. Ahh… I thought that working here will be worse than in the brothel." Muttered Marie, recalling her time with stupid, impatient and abusive men in the brothel.

    Besides her experiences in the brothel, she also recalled several things that happened in recent times which led her to the Don Jon Tower.

    Back during the night of the Red Moon, she thought it was over when she was bitten by a ghoul and becomes a ghoul herself. By some miracle she and many others returned to normal on the same night. But before she can escape the Lawless City with her savings like she initially planned, a bunch of people from the Spellsword Association robbed her of her savings and even sexually harassed her under the guise of inspecting her ghoulish infection. Even with the name Spellsword Association attached to them, a resident of Lawless City is the same as the rest.

    She was forced to return to Yukime and begged for a different job, which Yukime mercifully gave her. She was then employed as Don Jon's secretary after Yukime judged that she has the aptitude. Initially she was very afraid that she would be killed by Don Jon after hearing how he massacred the previous staff of the tower during Juggernaut's rebellion on the night of the Red Moon. Her experiences with abusive men only reinforced such thoughts. Yukime reassured her that Don Jon is kinder than what people think but she does not believe those words one bit. It was only today that she saw how kind and reasonable her new employer can be.

    "I thought I would be killed if I happen to be around when he is angry. But he's surprisingly patient. Ohh... Thank you Lady Yukime. I think this job is so much better for me." Marie smiled, looking up to the future without fear and anxiety but with enthusiasm instead. She hastened her steps in order to carry out his orders of sending a message to the Snow Fox Bank's Midgar branch to let Garter Corporation withdraw their money.




    A luxurious carriage carrying a huge amount of gold left the Snow Fox Bank, its owner just finished withdrawing their money.

    "Haaaahhh… Finally I'm able to withdraw my money. For a second there I thought they were scamming me out of my money. Ha ha ha!" Garter muttered whilst wiping his sweat, which came from his panic, not the weather, with his handkerchief.

    "But seriously. The withdrawal procedure is too tedious. I think I'll just keep my money there for a long time and withdraw it when the returns get bigger." Said a fellow merchant accompanying him, who happens to be the owner of Feigling Corporation, one of the first MCA merchants to invest in the Ponzer Plan, and who happens to be as fat as Garter is.

    "I think that would be best for you." Garter replied.

    "But why did you withdraw your money so early, Mr. Garter?" The merchant asked.

    "You don't want to know, Mr. Feigling. Believe me." Garter replied vaguely but the implication is enough for his fellow merchant to understand.

    "R-Right. I will ask no more. I don't know anything."

    "Good." Garter said.

    The carriage then stops as it arrived in the MCA central bank where Gettan is waiting. Garter left the carriage accompanied by Feigling and both their bodyguards.

    "Garter. How goes the withdrawal?" Gettan asked, addressing Garter with an air of authority that rubbed Feigling's bodyguards the wrong way as they didn't recognize him.

    "S-Sir Gettan… I…" Garter was about to reply but was interrupted.

    "Oi. Don't address Mr. Garter so rudely, you animal! Don't you know that he is the president of the MCA!?" Said one of Feigling's bodyguards. Feigling can only drop his jaw as he saw what happened.

    Gettan's response is to behead the bodyguard swiftly.

    "Hiiiyyyy!!! F-Forgive me, Sir Gettan! That bodyguard acted on his own! I have no part in this! Please forgive me!!" Feigling bowed down and begged for Gettan's forgiveness. His other bodyguards followed suit. Gettan ignored them and addressed Garter once again.

    "Garter!"

    "Y-Yes! We managed to withdraw all our money from Snow Fox Bank and can now proceed with the plan!"

    "Took you long enough. Make sure the plan proceeds on schedule."

    "Yes, sir!" Garter bowed his head down as Gettan left.

    "M-Mr. Feigling. Who was that…?" Asked one of Feigling's bodyguards.

    "Shut it! You don't want to know! Even I don't want to know… although I already know about that Sword Demon…!" Feigling answered, still bowing and unable to rise out of fear even though Gettan has left them.

    "S-Sword Demon!? So he's--"

    "Be quiet!"

    "Y-Yes sir!"

    Feigling finally rose up and accompanied Garter as their bodyguards unloads their chests containing the gold coins they withdrew from Snow Fox Bank. Some of said gold coins will be used as funds to produce the counterfeit bills that they plan to use to bankrupt both Mitsugoshi and the MCA and the rest will be transferred to the Cult via donation to the Church.




    Within one of MCA's secret underground factories, a man dressed in black suit and a mask, who's clearly not one of MCA's employees, lurks in the darkness as he watched the printing machines print counterfeit bills which will be circulated to the market.

    "Hmm… It's strange that they would make fake money of their own bank. What were they thinking? Too much paper money in circulation will simply make the value decrease, you know? That's what I know from watching MHK documentaries anyway." John Smith muttered to himself as he recalled teaching the Seven Shades about paper money, which is why they started creating a bank that produces paper money. The MCA obviously followed suit as they always have in order to compete with Mitsugoshi, though their products are always inferior compared to Mitsugoshi's. Strangely the Snow Fox Bank didn't do the same despite being capable of more than just creating bootleg Mitsugoshi products like the MCA. John Smith wondered why that is the case.

    "Come to think of it, I too wanted to make counterfeit bills since I was a child. Ahh… those days when I tried to print paper money on regular printers. Good times. If I wasn't aiming for Don Jon's money I would've done it myself." John Smith muttered again whilst remembering the good old days on Earth.

    "Oh? Someone's coming. And it's not someone from the MCA but someone familiar. Heh heh heh." John Smith said as he noticed a familiar presence entering the factory. He jumped and landed behind said person, who is a girl wearing black hooded cloak made out of slime, signifying her affiliation to Shadow Garden. John Smith recognized her as Nu, one of Gamma's assistants, as he has met her before.

    "Who's there!?" The girl said as she turned to face him.

    "I am John Smith. May I ask for your employee card, ma'am?" John Smith asked mischievously.

    "Hmph. It's unfortunate that you saw me. I have to eliminate you." The cloaked girl created a slime sword and rushed at high speed to slay the eyewitness. But she stopped her steps as she noticed the steel threads that almost caught her. She jumped back and watched his movements warily.

    "Impressive. To think you noticed my threads in this dark place before I can catch you." John Smith praised.

    "John Smith, eh? Are you working for the MCA?" Nu asked in an attempt to gather as much information about this dangerous individual as she can.

    "No. I worked for Snow Fox Corporation." John Smith answered nonchalantly.

    "And what interest does Snow Fox Corporation have in this MCA owned facility?"

    "What of you? What interest does Shadow Garden has with the MCA?" John Smith countered with a question of his own, which Nu is unwilling to answer.

    "Tch. John Smith. I'll remember that name." Nu said before retreating, her intuition said she is no match for the man before her, especially within the dark where she has difficulty perceiving her opponent's steel threads, giving her a great disadvantage.

    John Smith merely watched as she left the factory.

    "Hmph. Wise move. I'd hate to hurt one of people Alpha hired to help my Shadowbroker plays." John Smith muttered as he too left the factory, already gathering all the necessary information he needed.




    Author's Note:

    So the counterfeit bills plan isn't abandoned, but Gettan is the one who did it, not John Smith. Don Jon and Yukime just watched as Gettan did all the work for them. Also Marie has experienced that bittersweet Stockholm Syndrome too.

    PS: MHK is probably a parody of NHK, a Japanese TV company.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 88: Counterfeit Bills
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 88: Counterfeit Bills

    "Excuse me, Lady Gamma! Urgent news! Oh, Lady Alpha. You're back!" Said Nu as she entered Gamma's office with a worried expression and found Alpha sitting in front of Gamma while sipping tea. She carried a folder containing detailed reports from her scouting.

    "Yes. I've returned later than planned but my training with the Mist Dragon has bore fruit. Is there anything you'd like to report, Nu?" Alpha remarked on her absence.

    "Let me guess. It's about Don Jon or the Snow Fox Corporation, isn't it?" Gamma tried to guess the topic of Nu's report with a frustrated face.

    "Well… partially. My first report is about the MCA. I've confirmed that they've begun producing and spreading counterfeit bills of their own paper money to the market. So far the public hasn't noticed but if this kept going, the value of their own paper money will drop from oversupply." Nu reported, making Gamma gasp.

    "That's dangerous. Even though their paper money is different from ours, if their paper money system collapses, trust in our own system will go down along with them! Our banks will be affected!" Exclaimed Gamma, understanding the danger of the situation from the knowledge that her lord granted her.

    "So they're prepared to take us down with any means necessary, then? The Cult is getting desperate to destabilize Midgar's economy it seems." Alpha added with a calm demeanour.

    "Haaah. And here I was talking about protecting them from Snow Fox Corporation the other day. I assume you've identified the factories where they produced the counterfeit bills, correct?" Gamma asked addressing Nu after sighing at the MCA's antics.

    "Yes. I've identified several locations. They're here." Said Nu as she handed her folder to Alpha and Gamma, who took a glance at its contents which include a map of Midgar kingdom with locations of the factories marked by Nu.

    "We shall send some squad to destroy them in order to prevent them from producing more counterfeit bills." Gamma decided. Both Nu and Alpha in agreement.

    "What is your next report, Nu?" Alpha asked with a stern tone, sensing that the second news she brings is in a way more troubling than the first.

    "Yes… When I was scouting one of the MCA factories… I encountered a dangerous man named John Smith."

    "John Smith? I've never heard of that name. Who is he?" Gamma asked curiously.

    "He claims to work for Snow Fox Corporation. When I met him, he was also scouting the MCA factory on behalf of his employer."

    "From your expression, I gather that he's strong?" Alpha guessed after reading Nu's troubled expression.

    "Yes. He's dangerous. He used steel wires as weapon. His control of the wires is astonishing and I almost got caught into his trap when I faced him in battle. I decided to retreat immediately because the dark battlefield is disadvantageous to me. Unfortunately that meant Snow Fox is now aware of Shadow Garden having interest in the MCA's activity." Nu replied regretfully with her head down, shameful for her inability to silence him and allowing the leaking of information to the enemy.

    "Do not worry, Nu. As long as they didn't know the connection between Shadow Garden and Mitsugoshi, it is fine." Alpha remarked calmly.

    "Thank you very much, Lady Alpha."

    "Anything else about this John Smith fellow?" Alpha asked again.

    "Nothing. Except his appearance, which I sketched in the report." Nu replied, prompting Alpha and Gamma to search the folder and found Nu's rough sketch of John Smith's appearance.

    "Hmm… A peculiar appearance. I assume that he is a resident of Lawless City but he is more well-dressed than most bandits from there. It is frustrating that we have so little information about him because that means he is a danger that we cannot foresee. He could be a First Child of the Cult for all we know. With this threat looming on the horizon, I think we should enlist Charlotte's assistance. See if she can get her brother and the princesses to move for us in handling the MCA politically while we focus our attention on Snow Fox Corporation." Alpha ordered.

    "And of the previous order to destroy the MCA factories, Lady Alpha?" Nu asked for clarification.

    "We should still send some squad for that but they must be carefully selected and in few numbers in order to attract less attention. Also we shouldn't burn all of the factories. We need to leave some of them alone so Charlotte can use them as evidence of the MCA's activities." Alpha said.

    "Very well. I shall relay your orders swiftly." Nu said as she left the room with haste.

    After Nu left the room Alpha turned to Gamma and asked "What is Lord Shadow doing nowadays?"

    "As far as we know he's still attending school. But sometimes he disappears, especially at night and we cannot track his whereabouts when he does." Gamma replied with concern.

    "I suppose we cannot stop him from doing what he must. I shall try to talk to him again to at least convince him to rely on us more." Alpha said with sad eyes. Gamma shares the same opinion.

    "In the meantime, Lady Alpha. I have a plan to make sure we survive everything the Snow Fox Corporation and the MCA throws at us!" Gamma exclaimed excitedly.

    "I'm listening." Alpha said, regaining a smile after seeing her comrade's enthusiasm.




    I finally got time to return to Midgar castle to act as Claude. This time I didn't take all the memories from my clone but only sorted out the useful ones before transferring them to my brain. I read the morning newspaper and saw news of Mitsugoshi launching various schemes to counter our moves such as no longer accepting MCA bills due to concerns of counterfeit bills whilst promoting the quality of Mitsugoshi bills, and bringing a Supermarket-like Membership System where they give various benefits to subscribers of Mitsugoshi Membership such as exclusive discounts for Mitsugoshi products, free trial of every new Mitsugoshi products and weekly newsletters for a monthly fee. Membership also requires Mitsugoshi Bank account so they can more easily control the finances of their customers and secure brand loyalty to all Mitsugoshi related services.

    They are trying their best to survive MCA's inevitable credit collapse by securing customer loyalty and gathering as much money as they can it seems. I suppose the credit crisis will not be enough to make them go down. I need to bring them close to bankruptcy where I can sweep in to buy the company. With a good cop bad cop approach using both Claude and Don Jon as potential buyers if necessary.

    And there's also news of MCA counterfeit bills being spread of course. And of course the newspaper said nobody knows who did it. Heh.

    Trust in paper money is starting to go down but thanks to the aforementioned strategies, Mitsugoshi is largely unaffected for now.

    I need to damage them in various other ways. I suppose it's time to organize some bank heists. And I know the right man for the job.

    Suddenly a knock on the door. "Come in." The maid went to open the door after I said that.

    "Good morning, brother." Now that's a voice I haven't heard in weeks. I watched as my sister entered my office room after the maid opened the door for her.

    "Charl? Where have you been?" I asked her curiously.

    "Busy keeping the kingdom together, the same as you. Congrats on being a monarch candidate, by the way."

    "Thank you. But judging from your face, I take it that this is not a random visit." I said whilst meaning business. Her face looks a bit sad, probably from how distant we have become. I don't know exactly what happened between her and the clone that made her behave like this though. The clone's perception is not 100% reliable and thus, despite no longer being bothered by her constant nagging, I'm still concerned about her wellbeing and our relationship.

    "Yes. Me and my… friends are concerned about Major Corporate Alliance being up to no good." The friends she mentioned must be nobles who are within her inner circle, her faction if you will. They have been assisting me and the princesses greatly since King Klaus' death and limiting the movements of the Thirteen Night Blades, giving us much breathing room to deal with various problems that the power vacuum caused by the king's death brought.

    But I'm surprised she's taking an interest in the MCA. I must not let her interfere with my plans.

    "Up to no good?" I asked her in order to carefully understand her perspective.

    "You should've known already that they're spreading counterfeit bills of their own paper money."

    "Why would they do that? They're the only ones losing from that."

    "I don't know but we've confirmed the existence some factories producing MCA paper money which are lower in quality than the official ones which are already bad compared to Mitsugoshi's."

    "Who confirmed it? Shadow Garden?"

    "Yes!" She answered without hesitation. I did receive reports from John Smith that Shadow Garden also infiltrated the MCA's counterfeit bills factories.

    But to think she thought of Shadow Garden highly enough to say "we" when referring to them… The friends she mentioned previously could be referring to Shadow Garden too. I need to handle this carefully. Claude is still viewed positively by Shadow Garden and I'd like to keep it that way.

    "Hmm… It is indeed troubling. If they keep this up, the value of paper money will collapse and Mitsugoshi might be affected too." I remarked while observing her reaction.

    "Yes indeed! You get it after all!" She said while smiling. She probably had to deal with some idiots during her time in the den of politics. I understand that. I had to deal with a lot of idiots both in the Cult and in Midgar's high society.

    "Well… what do you propose we do? We can't possibly act just by using evidence gathered by an organization that's still considered a threat to our kingdom."

    "They are not a threat! They want to help!"

    "I know. I know. But the rest of the kingdom doesn't. Not yet anyway. Your answer?"

    "We need to pressure the MCA to stop producing cheaply printed money or they have to reimburse affected parties!"

    "But we first need to prove that they're responsible for that."

    "Don't worry about that. I have the proof we need! I only need you to authorize some knights and investigators for me!"

    Hmm… If this keeps up, Gettan's counterfeit bills plan will be thwarted. I need to send corrupt investigators to delay her as much as possible. I'll just apologize later.




    Author's Note:

    Gamma is making a plan to try and counter the credit collapse through brand loyalty. I figured a smart character like Gamma shouldn't be passively reacting to Claude's schemes all the time.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 89: Casino Royal
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 89: Casino Royal

    I'm currently in the Don Jon Tower, waiting for my next assignment. I decided to get a tour of (scouting) the place in the meantime, trying to smell where the money is. Navigating through the floors is easy thanks to elevators installed on the building. How modern. After walking through many floors I finally found a floor filled with money and greed, the Don Jon Casino.

    The casino is lavishly decorated and filled with colourful lights. It's almost like the casinos I saw in movies. I almost thought I was back on Earth for a second there. I feel like I'm in Las Vegas.

    "Ah! Welcome! You must be Mr. John Smith! Fancy a game?" Said one of the well dressed men when he saw me enter the casino. I dislike chance based games and have no interest in gambling but… It'll be uncool to back down now.

    "Indeed. Show me the table." I said, and he led me to the table where I sat down together with several rich guys playing Black Jack. Honestly, due to my dislike of gambling, I've never bothered to learn how to play the game… but at this point I can't ask them about it so I should just roll with it and hope for the best.

    "Welcome, sir! Welcome!" The dealer welcomed me warmly while grinning maliciously, thinking he can rob me out of my money. Hmph. If it comes down to it, I can just cheat… even though I don't know the rules and thus don't know how to cheat.

    Piles of casino tokens representing the money we bet are placed on the table and we draw our cards. I used my wires to secretly draw 2 cards from the middle of the deck rather than the top. The cards I got are queen of spades and 10 of clubs. I don't know whether the cards I got were good enough but let's keep observing.

    I saw one of them drawing one more card, followed by another one. I decided to draw too and got 1 of hearts. After a while the dealer calls for all of us to show our hands and we did it.

    "Wh-What!? A Blackjack!?" The dealer was in disbelief when he saw the cards in my hand. I seemed to have won the round without knowing what's going on.




    "Whaaaat!? Again!?" Shouted the dealer as I beat him in his own game again despite not exactly knowing the rules. The other players eyed me with awe and envy. I suppose drawing cards from the middle of the deck has something to do with it. I've won several rounds so far and have taken all of his tokens. Heh heh heh. This rocks!

    "Mr. John Smith! You must've cheated!" Accused the dealer whose tokens are in my hands.

    "How are you so sure?" I asked him without losing confidence, not showing how bewildered I actually am at the situation, which is ridiculous even for me.

    "Of course I'm sure! I've rigged—Ahem! I mean, it's strange how you got blackjacks after blackjacks in almost every round!" He said angrily. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

    "Prove it then." I simply said. He responded by calling the guards with a snap of his fingers. I simply grinned as the guards surrounded me.

    "Guards! Throw this man away!" The dealer ordered. But the guards didn't move.

    "Well!? What are you doing!?" Shouted the dealer angrily.

    "This man is one of Lord Don Jon's most valuable agents. His head is worth more than yours. Deal with it." One of the guards said as they left the scene, making the dealer growl in frustration as I gathered the tokens to my side of the table. Hooray for the laws of Lawless City where might makes right!

    I then played several other games such as Roulette, Poker, Baccarat, and even tried the slot machine, occasionally using my wires to hopefully cheat my way to victory... and I won several times despite not knowing what's going on. Huh. I'm almost astonished at my own luck. It seems that gambling is a more profitable venture than I thought. And thanks to the law of the Lawless City, no one can call me out on my cheating, nor can they stop me!

    The people around me can only watch in envy as I cash out all my earnings. I left the casino richer than before whilst many people left it poorer than ever before. They began to call me the Casino Royal or the Casino King due to my undefeatable winning streaks at every game in the casino even though this is my first time gambling. Heh heh heh. This is great. I left people in awe while getting so much money!

    I left the casino carrying 2 briefcases filled with gold coins, with few more briefcases carried by a servant using a cart. The servant thought he could steal a coin from my briefcases but one glare is enough to stop him. Then I went back to the waiting room assigned to me and sat down the comfortable sofa when a brown haired secretary entered the room.

    "Greetings, Mr. John Smith. My name is Marie. I'm here to relay Lord Don Jon's words to you." She said while bowing her head. Her name sounds similar to that vampire hunter chick. Coincidence? Perhaps.

    "Very well. Let's hear it." I simply said while sipping wine elegantly.

    "Lord Don Jon wants you to rob several Mitsugoshi banks in Midgar Kingdom. It doesn't matter how as long as you get the job done and no information leaks that links your activities to both Snow Fox and Lord Don Jon. We will also assign several people to aid you." She said. Well… I suppose I shouldn't tell them that I leaked the information about me working for Snow Fox to Shadow Garden. Meh, I'm sure it'll be fine.

    "Consider it done." I said confidently. She then takes notice of the briefcases filled with gold.

    "I see you've acquainted yourself well with the casino, Mr. Casino Royal." She remarked while glancing at my money with a mischievous smile. I won't share my money with you, you know?

    "Yes indeed. It was a very profitable venture."

    "Will you consider putting your money in the Snow Fox Bank?"

    "No. I shall keep my money to myself."

    "I see. I shall say no more… safe for a word of warning." The girl said with a stern face. I listened intently without showing interest.

    "Never ever betray Lord Don Jon. Last time a fool betrayed him, Lord Don Jon single-handedly slaughtered said traitor's entire forces and the Don Jon Tower staff along with them. Lord Don Jon never forgives traitors. Keep that in mind as you work for him." She warned after telling me a crazy story about Don Jon.

    "Hmph. I shall take your warning to consideration." I replied, not losing my confidence even for a second, which made her sigh in frustration. Did I do something?

    "Well… I already gave you my warning. If you take it too lightly and got yourself killed, that's your own fault." She said before leaving the room. What a rude girl.

    But anyway, my next mission is a bank heist, eh? And I'm assigned to rob the girls too. This is troubling. I have a rule to only rob from bad people who deserved it but… well… I suppose I'll just compensate the girls with interest later. I'm going to play the role of a villain for now.




    In front of a MCA owned warehouse in Midgar Capital's harbor, which secretly housed a factory underneath the building, stood a group of knights and a few nobles.

    "Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Lady Charlotte. Please let us handle this. Your brother has entrusted this job to us and we'll see it through." Said a gray haired old man as he stood in front of one of MCA's secret factories that produced counterfeit bills. Charlotte faced him with an angry face.

    "No! I shall join the investigation, Mr. Gray!"

    "Lady Charlotte. Please. Leave it to us professionals." The man named Gray, who is the head of the Knight Order's investigation department, said condescendingly, which rubbed Charlotte the wrong way.

    "Know your place, Gray! I'm joining the investigation effort and you cannot stop me!" Said Charlotte as she and her entourage of nobles loyal to her entered the building.

    Hmm… She is getting more and more meddlesome as time goes on. First she interferes with the Thirteen Night Blades' efforts to undermine her brother's influence amongst the nobility, and now she's meddling with the MCA too… Should I eliminate her here and now? Or should I just kidnap her and use her as leverage to go after her brother? No. At this stage it is too risky to do that. Trust in the Knight Order never fully recovered after Princess Alexia's kidnapping and if she is harmed while under the care of the Knight Order, we will be held responsible for it and would be purged. I must delay her as much as I can for now. Gray thought to himself as he too entered the building along with his knights.

    As they enter the building, Gray tried to slow down the investigation by attempting to distract her in order to conceal the entrance to the underground factory but that was thwarted by Charlotte finding the entrance in no time.

    "Here it is! The entrance to the underground passage! Let's go!" Exclaimed Charlotte.

    "As expected of Lady Charlotte!" The nobles following her showered her with praises before they entered the underground passage with her.

    "Ughh… Now you've done it, Lady Charlotte. I suppose I cannot let this slide just like that. You! Close the door to the entrance and trap them inside!" Gray ordered and the knight obeyed, closing the entrance to the underground passageways.

    "And you! Go with a few others and close the smoke exhaust pipes! Let them choke to death inside the factory!" Gray ordered another knight to close the exhaust pipes which is connected to another nearby factory in order to conceal the fact that there is a secret factory underneath the warehouse that they're currently in, with the intent to slowly choke Charlotte and her cronies to death inside the underground factory.

    "But sir! There will be consequences in killing her!" One of the knights warned.

    "I know that! But the consequences of letting her do as she pleased is much greater! We must kill her now!" Exclaimed Gray while frowning.

    "Is that so? Is the consequences of killing her not that great?" Said the knight whilst his voice changed into a… unfamiliar but terrifying one… one whose owner is unmistakable to him despite never meeting in person before.

    "Wh-What…?" Gray started to become nervous as he eyed the knight whose form shifted from an ordinary knight into one of the Knights of Rounds, Necromancer.

    "L-Lord Necromancer! What are you doing here!?" Gray exclaimed whilst panicking.

    "You will cease your attempts to kill her and only delay her. And you will forget meeting me here." Said Necromancer whilst glaring into his eyes, projecting his will into the old man.

    "Y-Yes… Lord Necromancer." Gray muttered, his terrified mind unable to resist the Necromancer's will.

    "The same goes for the rest of you!" Said the Necromancer as he hypnotized the other knights who are present before teleporting away.

    "Huh? What was I… Yes… I must delay Lady Charlotte but not kill her. Why not kill her? Hmm… There will be consequences I think… No matter. I shall do what I must." Muttered Gray as he opened the door to the underground passageways and entered the factory with his knights.

    "Oh ho ho ho! Took you long enough, Mr. Gray. I almost thought you're scared of the dark." Remarked Charlotte the moment she saw Gray enter the factory.

    "In any case, you professionals are a bit late. I've collected all the necessary evidence and we're ready to move to the next location!" Charlotte continued and Gray can only grot his teeth in frustration at how fast Charlotte works… as if she knows what to look for and where to look.

    "Pardon me for asking but… how did you obtain all these information, Lady Charlotte?" Gray asked in an attempt to get some insight on her source of information.

    "It's a secret." Charlotte said teasingly.

    "You wouldn't tell us even though we are the Knight Order?"

    "The Knight Order is not clean, Mr. Gray. The world knows that since the Zenon incident. Don't think you can simply use the Knight Order's influence on me." Charlotte said.

    "Pardon me. It's just that I can't help but be curious as to how you know all this."

    "It's a secret. That's all you need to know." Charlotte replied, not willing to relent.

    "V-Very well, Lady Charlotte." Gray said with frustration in his mind.

    This is going to be a hard task, isn't it?




    Author's Note:

    This chapter's title is a reference to Casino Royale, the James Bond movie. But I never watched that movie though. Cid's luck is in full force here, winning games after games despite not knowing the rules. After this he might like gambling more. And Gray from Volume 6 appeared. And Charlotte did the ojou-sama laugh. Always wanted her to do that but I keep forgetting about it.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • I was half expecting a game of poker between the Don and Smith because of the tittle, oh well.
     
    darconor said:
    I was half expecting a game of poker between the Don and Smith because of the tittle, oh well.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Is that how it goes in the movie? I haven't watched it. I did consider letting John Smith play a game against Don Jon but I wanted to highlight Cid's comedic luck in this chapter. Also making him absolutely dominate the games is what earned him the title Casino Royal/King (Royal as in royalty).
     
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    Chapter 90: The Bank Heist
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 90: The Bank Heist

    That was close. I almost let Gray took my sister away. I know I'm the one who wanted someone corrupt like him to delay her but I never thought he had the audacity to make such a decision. It's a good thing I'm paranoid enough to disguise myself as one of his knights in order to keep watch over her. My interference resulted in him no longer able to delay her despite his best efforts though. How useless.

    I suppose I need to send one of the Seven Wraiths to delay her. She and Shadow Garden already knows that the MCA is affiliated with the Cult so I guess it wouldn't be a problem to send a direct subordinate of the Necromancer. And only one person could be trusted with such a task.

    "Sherry!" I called upon my most trusted companion who would obey me without question and would understand what I wanted.

    "What is it, Claude?"

    "I have a task for you. I need you to delay my sister's investigation of the MCA factories as much as you can to ensure that their counterfeit bills enter the market."

    "It shall be done. But if I have to ask… why should we aid Gettan's plans to destabilize the kingdom you're meant to rule?"

    "The collapse of the economy isn't what I'm aiming for. It's Mitsugoshi."

    "Ah. So you want their female employees all to yourself. Tee hee. I kid. I kid. I know you wanted economic dominance too. I shall aid you."

    "Thank you, Sherry. You're the only person I can trust with this job."

    "I know." She said before pulling me into a kiss. She has become much more assertive ever since we had sex. She teleports away to accomplish her task afterwards.

    Still… I know that as a villain I shouldn't have cared about someone like this. But I can't help but grow fond of her after spending so much time with her. This can't go on. My love for her will drag me down, weaken me and taint my villainy. I need to think of how I'm going to deal with her in the future.

    I'm sorry Charl… But your brother is such a monster who intends to betray you at one point.



    I returned to my dorm room in order to prepare for my bank heist but before I could put on my John Smith outfit, I sensed a familiar presence and thus I had to hide my John Smith outfit under the bed before she came.

    I was sitting on my bed Alpha entered my room through the window. She's wearing that school uniform again. The visit was so sudden that I didn't even have the chance to set up the room Eminence in Shadow style so when she came, my room is the same as usual, just an ordinary student's room.

    "Good afternoon, Cid. Are you doing well?" She greeted. For some reason said greetings felt distant.

    "I'm good. Just got back from school." I answered casually. My relaxed demeanour seemed to have put her at ease.

    "I'm glad. I always worry for your health after your last battle with Necromancer." She remarked with worry in her eyes.

    "Don't worry about it, Alpha. I've long since recovered. Have faith in my strength." I replied, putting some of Shadow's confidence in my words and voice.

    "I suppose I shouldn't have underestimated you. I'm sorry. It's just that… We are so desperate to be of use to you." Alpha said as she approached me and sat on the other side of the bed.

    "You've done plenty enough. Don't worry." I replied. My words didn't seem to reassure her though.

    "No. We haven't done nearly enough. That's why… please… we need your guidance once more." She said with a hint of desperation. Does she miss the good old days when it was just me and 7 of them together in that small house we built together? Those were indeed fun days and I'm happy that Alpha hasn't let those childish memories go when she and the others left me to pursue their own interests.

    That's why it's a little hard for me to betray them like what I'm going to do tonight. But I'll leave them some money as compensation so we'll be even. I'm sure Mitsugoshi won't collapse just from a few bank heists.

    I pulled her closer and for some reason she blushed. I whispered to her ears. "Please wait for me. I'm currently putting the pieces in place. Soon you'll understand."

    "Cid…" Her voice sounded like she was so moved by my act… more than I anticipated. I thought it'll take more than that to convince her to let me do my stuff.

    "Very well…" She hugged me close and whispered back. "I shall wait for you."

    She stayed in that position for at least a minute before finally letting go.

    "Now, I must get back to work. I hope your endeavours are fruitful, Cid." She said before jumping off the window.

    Great. Now I can finally prepare myself for the heist. My first target is the Everick branch. It's located in that ikemen's hometown. My men (cannon fodders) are already there and waiting so I should hurry up and meet them.

    After this heist, I hope I'll be one step closer to Don Jon's money vault so I can rob him and destroy his entire crime empire stylishly. I'll leave the miniboss fox lady around so she can keep the Lawless City full of wallets for me to steal.




    It's dusk now but the Mitsugoshi Bank hasn't really closed yet. Usually banks close at 5 but Mitsugoshi opens until 7 these days. Is Gamma overworking her employees or something? Or maybe this is done in response to Don Jon's Ponzer Plan and MCA's counterfeit bills schemes?

    I just hope Mitsugoshi won't become a black company or I'll be forced to destroy it and start from scratch. Rename it to Yotsugoshi or something.

    Anyway, I should make my entrance now.

    "Gentlemen. I have arrived." I greeted the bunch of cannon fodders in a dark alley near the Everick branch of Mitsugoshi Bank. It feels strange to be on the side of bandits instead of slaughtering them but my current Shadowbroker play demands that I temporarily play the villainous role.

    "So you're the boss today? You don't look so tough!" One of the bandits with a pink Mohawk and lots of piercings on his face sneered and his companions laughed along with him. I merely smiled in response. "I should be the bo--" He continued before I cut him off by tying one of my steel wires on the piercing on his lips.

    "U-Ughhh… shince when…!?" He muttered as I pulled his piercing along with his lower lip with my wire. His companions went quiet after seeing how I can end their pathetic lives merely by lifting some fingers. I then pulled my wire back, pulling off his piercing in the process. "Ughh…" He can only grunt in response.

    "Now that you're listening, here's what we're gonna do. You guys separate into three teams. First team will have the largest amount of members and would storm the entrance demanding money from the tellers and the customers."

    "Easy enough. Heh heh heh." Said one of the bandits whilst grinning with bad intentions, probably involving the girls. He won't be missed.

    "Second team will infiltrate from the back to scout and eliminate any guards."

    "What? But that's boring! I wanna have some fun with the girls too!" Said another bandit who's assigned to the second team. He also won't be missed.

    "Third team will follow me to the vault. Your job will be to carry the hard cash for me."

    "O-Okay." Said the bandit whose piercing I removed. He's more obedient now that he's intimidated. He still won't be missed though. The same goes for the rest of them.

    "Good. Second team and third team will wait for the first team to make noises before infiltrating. Is that clear?"

    """Yes sir!"""

    "Good. Now get into positions!" I ordered and the teams rushed to get into their assigned tasks while the third team follows me to the left side of the building, which apparently has no entrance. Curses.

    "B-Boss… how do you plan on getting inside?" The piercing guy asked with a more subdued attitude. Gotta improvise then.

    "Watch and learn." I said as I create a perfectly circular hole in the wall with my wires without making any noise. They looked at me with awe after witnessing my prowess. The piercing guy in particular is grateful that what I did to the wall wasn't what I did to him.

    "Now. Follow me. We'll enter deeper when the first team managed to make some noise."




    BANG!

    The sound of a gunfire echoes in the bank's main hall as one of the bank robbers shoots at the ceiling to make their presence known. Screams followed.

    "Everybody hands up! This is a robbery!" Shouted one of the bandits as the first team entered the bank through the front door and started pointing their guns and swords at the tellers and the bank customers. The tellers and scared customers raised their hands.

    Some of the bandits tossed a duffel bag towards the tellers and told them to fill the bags with money. The female tellers pretended to be afraid and complied with the bank robbers seeing as they have the customers taken as hostages and filled the bags with Mitsugoshi paper money, waiting for the right moment to strike.

    "Now that's a good girl! While you're at it, why don't we have some fu--?" Said a bandit who tried to sexually harass a teller before his words… and his arms holding his gun are cut.


    View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFNs3wf_Vmw&ab_channel=%E6%9C%AB%E5%BB%A3%E5%81%A5%E4%B8%80%E9%83%8E-Topic

    "UAAARGHHH!!! MY HANDS!! WHAT THE HELL!??" He screamed in pain as he saw both his arms are cut off cleanly before he could notice. He then saw the culprit, a short blonde haired elf wearing blue military-like uniform, which is a uniform of Mitsugoshi's security force. The uniform hid her feminine features well, making her able to pass off as a man, which many people thought she is. One of her eyes is covered by an eyepatch and she wields an ordinary steel sword.

    "Who the fuck are you!?" Shouted one of the bandits whilst pointing his gun at her. The elf girl is unfazed and simply moved too quickly for their eyes to catch up and managed to cut the hands of the bandit who pointed his gun towards her. As she stepped forward, other individuals wearing the same uniform as her appeared behind her.

    "We are the Mitsugoshi security force. We won't allow you to harm innocents… and disrupt our business." The chivalrous blonde elf said as she and her comrades starts to move quickly to free the hostages from the bandits, focusing their efforts on neutralizing gun wielders first in order to prevent casualties among the innocent bystanders.

    The bank robbery turned into bloodbath as the bank robbers were cut one by one.




    "Hear that noise? The first team has started! Now we move in as the boss instructed!" Said the leader of team two as his group entered the building through the back entrance, which was suspiciously unlocked.

    "Man, I'm jealous of those guys! They get to see some real action and get to have some fun with the Mitsugoshi employees!"

    "Hope we can catch some of them girls on the way--" One of the bandit's words are cut as he disappeared.

    "Huh? Where the fuck did he go?" Exclaimed one of the bandits as he started to get scared.

    "I heard that Mitsugoshi's mercenaries are tough! So tough that the MCA's thugs can't do anything to them! We shouldn't be here!"

    "Shut up! What are you, a coward!? We're gonna be fi--" His words are cut as he disappeared.

    "Hiiyyy!!! This place is haunted! Ghosts are coming for our li--" Another man's word's are cut as he disappeared into the dark without his companions knowing what's going on.

    "W-Who are you!? Show yourself!" Shouted the leader of the second team with shaking voice.

    "Very well." Said a calm, feminine voice as she revealed herself.

    "A woman?" Exclaimed one of the bandits as they beheld the form of a dark skinned black haired half elf wearing black bodysuit and wielding a black sword.

    "W-Wait a minute… That black uniform… Could it be… Shado--" The leader's words are cut as the half elf moved faster than the eye can see and knocked him unconscious with a hit on his forehead from the pommel of her sword.

    "Hee hee hee. Since you seem to be the leader, I'll let you live so you can sing for us." The half elf remarked while grinning playfully.

    "K-Kill her!" Shouted one of the bandits, which prompts the rest of them to charge towards the elf.

    "My, look at them go!" Shouted the dark skinned half elf excitedly.

    The second team had their own bloodbath afterwards.




    Hearing a lot of noises and screams of men made the third team nervous as they followed John Smith. In contrast to them, John Smith merely walked leisurely and calmly through the hallways.

    "B-Boss…! The other teams…!"

    "They were merely sacrificial pawns for a greater purpose." John Smith merely said whilst smiling as he continued walking. The men accompanying him didn't say anything in response and continued following him nervously, afraid to ask if they are sacrificial pawns too.

    Suddenly John Smith stopped, prompting the rest of his men to stop as well. He then began waving his hands around as if conducting an orchestra. The bandits are unable to see the wires he weaved in the dark and thus unable to comprehend his move but at this point they are too afraid to ask.

    After a few seconds he finished weaving his wires he called out to the presences he sensed. "You can come out now."

    In response, a group of three women wearing black cloaks revealed themselves. John Smith recognized the three because he met them in Lawless City when he acted as Van Helsing. The blonde haired one in particular is quite familiar to him but he ignored her as he focused his attention on someone else.

    "He matched the description Lady Nu gave us. That's John Smith." Whispered the dark blue haired elf.

    "Hmm… Gotta be careful. Got it!" The white haired elf said, for once not munching on food while on a mission.

    "We won't let you pass, John Smith." Rose Oriana… or to be more precise 666, exclaimed as she brandished her rapier. Her teammates followed suit.

    "Hmph. I was not talking to you." John Smith said confidently, surprising the three of them.

    "Hoo… So you noticed me. Not bad, John Smith." Said a familiar voice who is one the Seven Shades. The leopard beastkin Zeta revealed herself to them. Her presence is a surprise even to the three Shadow Garden members.

    "L-Lady Zeta!? Why are you here?" Exclaimed the blue haired elf.

    "I was in the area when I noticed a bunch of bandits skulking around, no doubt up to no good. It's still surprising that you're the one who leads them though, John Smith." Zeta answered, her eyes never leaving John Smith and his wires that she noticed is already surrounding them like a spider web without the three girls noticing.

    "You girls! Retreat immediately!" She ordered once she saw John Smith's fingers twitch.

    "Huh!?" 665 exclaimed as she was pulled back by 666 before she was caught by John Smith's wires. 664 on the other hand was able to jump back in time.

    "Hoo… So you noticed. As expected of one of the Seven." John Smith complimented.

    "You guys should handle the cannon fodders. I'll deal with this man myself." Zeta ordered.

    "But Lady Zeta! I can--!" 666 was about to interject but was instantly rejected by Zeta. "My decision is final!"

    I will not let another Shadow Garden member die on my watch! Thought Zeta with determined eyes.

    "Very well! 665! 666! Let's go!" Ordered 664 as the three of them ran past John Smith to engage the bandits behind him. John Smith ignored them all, focusing his attention solely on the most talented member of the Seven Shades.

    "Before we begin, I want to ask you. Why are you doing this? Why are you joining a bunch of bandits to rob a bank? You obviously don't fit with those lot." Zeta asked in order to obtain some information, hoping his arrogance would let him spit out some useful information.

    "I was ordered by Don Jon to rob Mitsugoshi Bank. That is all." Surprisingly the man answered easily.

    "By Don Jon, eh? I should've known." Zeta said while frowning. The name Don Jon irritates her as she has heard a lot of it recently.

    "No matter. You shall not enter the vault. I'll make sure of it!" Exclaimed Zeta as she prepared for combat.

    "Come then, one of the Seven!" John Smith exclaimed in return with a grin as he weaved his wires.

    The two formidable forces clashed in the dark hallways leading up to the bank's vault.




    Author's Note:

    Probably the longest chapter I've written so far. Cid just rizzed Alpha effortlessly. With this she will be calmer than she was in canon during the John Smith arc. Also, the bank heist begins. John Smith obviously only agreed to bring the bandits because they are cannon fodders and he trust Shadow Garden will be able to handle them very easily. He even planned on killing all of them himself once the job is done if there are any survivors. And instead of Delta, John Smith faced Zeta this time! Also, instead of protecc, he attacc! We shall see how this goes.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Well, I've never read the manga. I've read the anime series which ends at the point of Sid, returning to his original world, but I don't remember anyone ever using guns in the series in general possible I missed a forgettable character, who did use one like a mob.
     
    Crashdash said:
    Well, I've never read the manga. I've read the anime series which ends at the point of Sid, returning to his original world, but I don't remember anyone ever using guns in the series in general possible I missed a forgettable character, who did use one like a mob.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    In the anime guns already exist since episode 2 but old models. The bandits that Cid massacred had one, the Knight Order fighting Millia had some, the terrorists attacking school has some and Oriana guards shoots crowd of people before Rose's wedding.
     
    Chapter 91: John Smith’s Prowess
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 91: John Smith's Prowess


    View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S888KolB0DI&ab_channel=%E6%9C%AB%E5%BB%A3%E5%81%A5%E4%B8%80%E9%83%8E-Topic

    CLANG CLANG CLANG

    The sound of blade clashing against blade… no, to be more precise, blade against steel wires. You'd think that the steel wires that this man wielded can't possibly produce such a sound when clashing against my blade, let alone withstand my strength, and yet… here we are.

    It is a coincidence that I happen to be in the area when he decided to rob this bank. Due to rumors of Necromancer's base being located in Everick, I've made periodic scouting of the area to try find it. No luck so far due to how well hidden his base(s) is/are. I can't even tail the Reaper Squad to find the entrance because they always use teleportation circles that only they can use! And interrogating them is useless because the moment we tried to make them talk, they'll turn themselves into mindless zombies.

    Back to John Smith… He's a tricky opponent, much like Alucard. His fighting style unorthodox and thus it is quite challenging to predict his moves. Though he was much more predictable than Alucard was. I can still predict something's coming whenever his finger moves. With Alucard, I had to react to his attacks as they come.

    Although… one thing that makes John Smith more difficult to deal with compared to Alucard is how much his weapon dominates the battlefield. With Alucard I only have to worry about what comes out of his body. With John Smith, I have to watch my surroundings as well because they are all over the place and some of these wires are too thin to be seen in the dark when they move so fast and so well hidden. One tiny mistake and I'll be trapped in the web he weaved.

    What a terrifying man. Such frightening magic control and skill. Lady Alpha was right to put him on the same level of threat as Don Jon. Makes me wonder why a man like him even worked for Don Jon in the first place.

    "Impressive. How about this?" The masked man said as he weaved his web once more and…

    "Huh!?"Suddenly I'm already surrounded. I was trying to figure out the limit of his wires' range by using hit and run tactics but with a single weave his wires already surrounded me. Range means nothing to him in this enclosed space! I must attempt to lure him outside!

    His wires closed in and tied me up. "Lady Zeta!!" One of the girls, 664 if I recall, shouted when she saw me being captured by John Smith.

    "Woohoo!! As expected of boss!" Shouted one of his goons.

    "Don't be distracted!" The new member, 666, exclaimed as she sliced said goon's torso. Their group returned to their rather one sided battle, which heavily favors the girls.

    "Is that all? I was expecting more from one of the Seven." John Smith said as he walked leisurely towards me. Yes. Keep getting closer.

    "I knew I would be facing fierce resistance from you when I came here." Damn it, he already knew about Shadow Garden's connection to Mitsugoshi from the beginning. Which means Don Jon already knew as well. That's why they sent a man of his caliber for the job and no one else.

    "But you would do well not to interfere with my plans. If you want to live." He said with a smirk.

    "Why would you let us go? Are you underestimating me!?" I exclaimed, projecting a fake anger in order to feed his ego and get him to talk more.

    "Oh no. I rate your skills very highly. Very highly in fact that I have plans for you all."

    "What plan? Might you be planning a rebellion against Don Jon?"

    "Soon you'll understand." He simply said before tightening his wire's grip on my body. This is when I smirked and decided to act.

    "Hm?" He reacted to my body turning to mist and escapes his wires before materializing behind him to go for a slash.

    "Hoo… Mist form, huh? A vampire's signature ability." He said calmly while blocking my sword with wires he prepared beforehand.

    "Let's just say our vampire hunts bore some fruit!" I said as I poured more magic to my attack, slicing them off and forcing him to dodge.

    "Hm… So that's the weakness of your wires. No matter how much magic you poured into it, it is still made of steel in the end." I remarked while smirking. He was unfazed at that remark and merely sent more wires at me.

    I tried to cut them off like before but I found out too late that they are harder than the ones I cut. The wires caught my sword and my hand.

    "What!?" I exclaimed.

    "Who says they are only made of steel? Of course some of them are made of mythril as well."

    "Clever bastard!" I said as I let my hand escape his binding wires with Mist Form again.

    "But at this rate you can't hurt me."

    "The same could be said of you." He taunted. Okay, that makes me mad.

    "We'll see about that!" I said as I put magic to my legs to enhance them, allowing me to move faster. I appeared on his right side and poured more magic to my sword, letting them go unstable almost like Beta's exploding daggers.

    "Ho…" John Smith only smirked as he called his wires and weaved a net shield out of them to protect him from the inevitable explosion.

    "Take this!" I said as I slashed at him, unleashing the magic contained within the sword and letting it explode, throwing him against a window where he crashed through it. I jumped out of the window to chase after him.

    "Now you're mine!" I said as I tried to deliver another strike, which is once again blocked by his wires. Tch. Even in such an open space his wires still worked fine, huh.

    But now that we're on open air, I can use my newest technique… courtesy of the Blood Queen!

    I gathered magic and blood around me and performs another feat that until now only wielded by vampires, blood magic.

    "Hmm?" He eyed me curiously when he sensed the magic I gathered.

    "Let's see how you handle this!" I turned the blood I gathered into arrowheads and shoots them at him.

    "Heh. The Blood Queen's technique, huh." Surprisingly, he knows. Did he watch the battle at the Crimson Tower during the night of the Red Moon?

    He responded by weaving a shield dome out of his wires, which perfectly protected him from hundreds of arrowheads I shoot at him. Tch. All my moves thwarted so easily. He's merely toying with me. This is getting annoying. The only time this happens was during the battle against Alucard… and during spar against Lord Shadow.

    Come to think of it… why is it that his confident smirk looks so… familiar? Not to mention… his reaction time and mastery of space and range that allows him to strike whilst not allowing my strikes to land… his absolute control of magic… Also the lack of killing intent…

    He emerged unharmed by the hail of arrowheads. The ground around him was damaged. The damage was in the shape of a perfect circle, which is formed by the dome he used earlier.

    "Is that all?" he taunted.

    "You talk big when we are in a stalemate, John Smith."

    "A stalemate? Is that what you think this is? Heh heh heh." He chuckled ominously. I have a bad feeling about this.

    "Then… Playtime is over." T-Those words…! Impossible! Why would--

    He moved his wires to once again capture me, prompting me to use Mist Form once again in order to avoid the wires… but once I assumed Mist Form, I found out that I'm still trapped. He has placed a lot of his wires in the air. Its range encompasses the entire district that the bank is located in! The moment I materialized within his range, I will be eviscerated in seconds… and flying out of his range would allow him to rob the vault!

    Tch. It's checkmate for me I suppose. You won this round, John Smith. Now I have to retreat. I hope the other girls are fine. Well... they should be if my suspicions are correct.




    Zeta seemed to have retreated. Now nothing stands in the way of my objective! The Mitsugoshi bank vault! Well… nothing except three bewildered girls who stood before me as I entered the hallways once again through the window I crashed out of. My men seemed to have been defeated.

    "L-Lady Zeta has retreated! Impossible!" Exclaimed the blue haired elf in disbelief.

    The familiar looking blonde haired girl brandished her sword whilst slightly trembling, trying to summon all her courage. The other two followed suit. How impressive.

    "I'll say it again. Do not interfere if you value your life."

    "Not an option!" Shouted the blue haired elf.

    "Is that so. Then…" I moved the wires to capture the three of them and with a pull, I had the wires throw them away from the building through the window. Then, I weaved several traps out of the wires to prevent them from interrupting me as I went to the vault.

    With my wires I cut through the thick vault door and beheld all the gold that this bank has in store. Usually I would be excited when I see this much money but this one ain't mine. It belongs to the girls. I'm just… borrowing them for a bit. Using my wires I also made sure to count how much Zeni I'm borrowing.

    After I'm done, I recalled the wires I used to encompass the entire district and weaved a net to store all the gold and left the city through a secretly prepared train which is scheduled to go to the Lawless City after a few transits which is meant to throw them off my trails. I could've reached the Lawless City faster on foot even while carrying a huge sack of gold but since they've prepared a transport for me, I'll take it.

    When I entered the train, I met the miniboss herself who is seated on the VIP car accompanied by her two beastkin attendants.

    "My. To think you could force one of the Seven Shades to retreat. You are indeed very formidable, Mr. John." Yukime remarked.

    "Hmph. I merely outsmarted her."

    "Don't be so modest. I'm sure if it comes down to it, you could even kill her. Couldn't you, Mr. John?"

    "We shall see when the time comes."

    "When the time comes indeed." She said with a smile.

    "Though… it is curious that Shadow Garden decided to interfere here. Do you know anything, Mr. John?"

    "I have no idea. I was as surprised as you are to find them there." I lied through my teeth. I may have worked against the girls but I wouldn't sell them out.

    "Well… it matters not for now. At least you've demonstrated your ability to adapt to unexpected situations."

    Hmm… This fox lady seems o have a high opinion of me. Time to see if I can use this to my advantage.

    "Say, Lady Yukime. I've heard of this Ponzer Plan. Would you like to hear my thoughts about it?"

    "Oh, Mr. John. Please do."




    "So, the heist is a great success despite one of the Seven Shades interfering." I remarked while reading the reports about John Smith's successful bank heist on the morning newspaper and listening to Yukime's verbal report at the same time. I am seated in my usual sofa as Don Jon as Yukime stood in front of me.

    "Yes. He is a very valuable asset. He is not only strong but also reliable. He even gave an input to your Ponzer Plan." Said Yukime enthusiastically. It seems that John Smith has successfully seduced her, so much so that she's showering him with praise.

    "He still didn't kill her though." I said while frowning.

    "If my observations are correct, he cannot kill her as long as she used the Mist Form ability, which is why he covered the entire area with his wires, turning it into a death trap, resulting in her retreat. After all, his objective is not to defeat the Seven Shades but to rob the Mitsugoshi Bank as you instructed." She said in his defence. She's sort of correct though. Shadow Garden's interference is outside our expectations but he still performed beautifully.

    "Hmph. Did he found out why Shadow Garden decided to interfere?"

    "He said he has no idea why they decided to appear, though I believe it might be due to your influence in the area." Hmm… Then probably Shadow Garden is investigating rumors of the Necromancer's base being located in Everick and John Smith just so happens to encounter them by chance when he robbed the Mitsugoshi Bank. Funny coincidence indeed.

    Still… John Smith… His talents exceeded my expectations. He's brutal but efficient. He made use of the cannon fodders I lent him very nicely too. You'd think I'd be happy having such a reliable subordinate but it's because I rate him pretty highly for a villain that I cannot trust him. Especially since I know next to nothing about the man. What he holds dear in his heart… besides money… what makes him tick, etc. Well… if push comes to shove, I'll just enslave both his corpse and soul so he will become truly loyal whilst remaining useful.

    "You mentioned that he shared his thoughts about the Ponzer Plan."

    "Indeed. His insights are marvellous!"

    "Yukime. I told you not to trust him."

    "But Lord Don Jon! Please hear me out! He has a plan to expand the Ponzer Plan!"

    "I'm listening."




    Author's Note:

    Zeta action again! I need to give more screen time to the Seven Shades so Zeta got more. I should get more for Eta soon too. Also Delta. She hasn't had much screen time in my fic but I have a plan.

    Also, John Smith is stronger than in canon because he had time to train more.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 92: The Betrayal
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 92: The Betrayal

    Charlotte and the knights and aristocrats accompanying her have been separated from a company of knights led by Gray and are currently being ambushed by a company of undead on the way to the next MCA secret factory. She knows what that means.

    So you've decided to show your face, Necromancer!

    "Lady Charlotte! It's the undead!" Shouted one of the panicking knights.

    "Hold steady, men! Cut off or stab their heads!" Charlotte shouted her orders and the knights braced themselves for battle.

    The undead moved in and attacked relentlessly. The knights tried to decapitate them, only to find out that losing their heads no longer killed them.

    "T-They're not dead! UWAAAH!!!" Shouted a knight as the zombie warrior he just decapitated stabbed him in the chest. The other knights suffered similar fates as their efforts to defeat their undying enemies proved futile. Morale quickly dropped amongst her men when faced with enemies who ignored all damages that they can deliver, enemies that they cannot kill, who would fearlessly and mercilessly attack and kill them all.

    "Retreat! Retreat!" Charlotte barked orders. But… "There's nowhere to run, Lady Charlotte! We're completely surrounded!" True enough, Charlotte looked back and found the escape route she thought she could use has been blocked by another horde of undead warriors.

    Charlotte looked around her, trying to find the Necromancer, or some prominent figure that could be controlling these undead warriors. And soon enough, she found a short robed and masked figure floating in the air above a horde of undead. The robed figure stared at Charlotte with an eerie mask. From the dossier she received from Shadow Garden, she came to recognize the figure as the Acolyte, who is said to be the Necromancer's apprentice, a mage who wielded magic the same way as the Necromancer.

    "So you're the Acolyte." Charlotte remarked, addressing the Acolyte, who doesn't respond and merely continued to stare at her.

    "If you've come to kill me, too bad! I won't go down without a fight!" Charlotte shouted as she unveiled the black slime she had hidden within her clothes, slime that received from Shadow Garden, allowing them to coat her body, creating a black bodysuit similar to the ones worn by Shadow Garden members. She also created a black blade made of hardened slime. The sight of her bodysuit finally made the Acolyte react in surprise.

    "So that is your choice…" The Acolyte remarked whilst clenching their fist.

    "Indeed. Your master left me with no other choice after all."

    "Hmm... too bad. You've made the wrong choice." The Acolyte declared as they mentally ordered the undead to charge, killing the rest of Charlotte's men in seconds.

    Despite the loss of her men, Charlotte kept fighting, slicing through the bodies of the undead warriors cleanly with a swordsmanship style that her brother taught her, ignoring whether they died or not as her target is the Acolyte. She thought that if she kills the Acolyte, the undead warriors would die too… hopefully.

    "HAAAAA!!!" Shouted Charlotte as she jumped to reach the Acolyte, intending to slice her enemy in half with her sword. The Acolyte responded by erecting a barrier that clashed against her blade.

    "Tch! Dammit!" Charlotte jumped back after her failure. When she landed, she is once again surrounded by the undead horde. She is all alone now but she showed no fear and focused her eyes on the Acolyte.

    The Acolyte silently admired her resolve and ordered the undead troops to retreat.

    Seeing her enemies retreat surprised Charlotte greatly.

    "Wait a minute!? You're running away!? Why!? Are you mocking me!?" Shouted Charlotte angrily.

    "My master does not want you dead for now." Is all that the Acolyte said before they left with the undead horde and taking with them the corpses of Charlotte's men, leaving her alone.

    So you've caught interest in my Demonic Possession then, Necromancer? That's why you spared me back in the attack on our school too. Too bad, I've been cured! You shall regret sparing me today! Declared Charlotte in her mind.




    Gamma is busier than usual. She's currently doing paperwork in her desk, calculating the losses from Mitsugoshi bank robberies. Yes, robberies, as in plural. John Smith has robbed more Mitsugoshi banks in rapid successions these past few days and even Shadow Garden personnel guarding the banks are unable to stop him. Curiously though he hasn't slain any Shadow Garden member and merely trapped them with his wires. He still stole their money though!

    "Haaah… Who the fuck is this John Smith!?" A curse uncharacteristically came out of Gamma's mouth as she sighed in frustration.

    Besides the John Smith problem, she also heard of Don Jon's Ponzer Plan being expanded, offering greater bonuses to investors who brought new investors, making it entirely reliant on getting new investors to bring more profit and turning it into a program that resembles the Pyramid Scheme that Lord Shadow once mentioned to her in passing years ago.

    Said expansion have attracted even merchants outside MCA's sphere of influence, especially small merchants whose business has been greatly affected by Mitsugoshi's rapid rise to power and are close to bankruptcy if not bankrupt already. Even aspiring merchants and people who wanted easy money (some including lower ranked nobles) have joined. Gamma felt a little guilty and regretful over the fact that every business rivals she defeated has joined her greatest enemies now.

    If Don Jon didn't exist, she could probably safely ignore all her business rivals and achieve global economic dominance for her master without resistance, even if she has to ruin the lives of many people for it. Most of them worked for the Cult anyways, she reasoned.

    Besides the Ponzer Plan is the MCA's counterfeit bills factories. Efforts to shut them down has been slowed down by the Necromancer's forces led by his infamous apprentice, the Acolyte. Charlotte has been hard at work to thwart the MCA's schemes but her efforts have been stopped by the Acolyte ambushing her group with undead minions who no longer dies when decapitated. After losing her men, her brother called her back to the capital in order to protect her from further danger.

    The Shadow Garden members they sent to burn the factories have also been attacked by the undead, suffering some casualties and even losing some of their companion's corpses to the undead, forcing Gamma to order most groups to retreat in order to prevent more casualties among them. At this rate, the MCA's plan to flood the market with counterfeit bills may succeed and it would cause a collapse of trust in the paper money system that Mitsugoshi introduced to this world.

    The Mitsugoshi Membership system she developed could probably allow Mitsugoshi to survive the credit collapse but with how many banks John Smith had robbed, she feared that they would lack the funds to survive the inevitable credit collapse.

    Meanwhile, the leader of the Seven Shades, Alpha, is merely sitting on a sofa whilst blushing and daydreaming like a lovestruck schoolgirl. She's even wearing a school uniform instead of the dress she usually wore when working in Mitsugoshi. She has been like that ever since her meeting with Shadow few days ago. Gamma has no idea what happened between them but the thought makes her quite jealous! But she doesn't want to interrupt Alpha whilst she is daydreaming.

    THUD

    Gamma's head dropped to her own desk face down, not from her slipping like usual but from how mentally tired she is. She still got her usual nosebleed from the impact though.

    "Hm? What's wrong, Gamma?" Alpha asked, the sound of Gamma's face hitting the desk seemed to snap her out of her thoughts.

    "I'm fine… It's just that… John Smith!!" Gamma complained with a single name and Alpha immediately understood.

    "John Smith, huh. Forgive me for getting distracted, Gamma. But I received a message from Zeta who encountered John Smith in Everick few days ago."

    "What did she say?"

    "She simply said "Soon you'll understand." A rather cryptic message, don't you think?" Alpha said. Gamma, who didn't have the context, couldn't understand the meaning of those words.

    "What does that mean?"

    "Hmm…. Few days ago… when I met with Shadow…" The mention of her meeting with Shadow in his dorm room made Alpha smile and almost got lost in her thoughts once again, but she shook her head to dismiss those happy thoughts for now. "… he said the same words to me."

    "Then… John Smith is…!" Gamma exclaimed.

    Alpha only smiled in response. Her smile seemed to have infected Gamma as well, giving her relief from her stress.

    "So… it's all part of his plan after all. And that's why there have been zero casualties to our members who faced John Smith. Haaah… What should we do from now on then, Lady Alpha?"

    "For now we should keep this a secret from anyone outside the Seven Shades and the Named Numbers. Most of them probably wouldn't understand why Lord Shadow has moved against Mitsugoshi."

    "Very well. But about the Ponzer Plan…"

    "I'm sure he's handling that too. He has infiltrated their ranks deeply after all."

    "As expected of Lord Shadow!"




    Another day, another bank robbery. My suggestion of turning the Ponzi Scheme into a Pyramid Scheme has been a great success and brought plenty of money to the Snow Fox bank. The fox lady said that Don Jon didn't trust me yet despite that but I don't care as long as I got the fox lady's. I sensed that she have some ulterior motives though. Perhaps she's trying to scam me too? I should be wary when approaching her.

    Anyway, back to the robbery part. Since I've proven my capabilities, Don Jon no longer assigned men to me and allowed me to do as I please when robbing the banks. He did instruct me to bring corpses of Shadow Garden members to him. Why? Did he have a necrophilia fetish? Ewww… There's no way I'd do that. Which is why from then on every time I rob a bank, I made sure none of his spies watched me fight and subdue Shadow Garden members so I can simply say I didn't encounter Shadow Garden anymore. They seemed to have believed my lies considering they still didn't know that Mitsugoshi belongs to Shadow Garden.

    Tonight, I'm off to rob another bank. My constant bank robberies have harmed the bank's business so I felt somewhat at doing this but I need access to Don Jon's money so I can compensate them later!

    Hm? I sense members of Shadow Garden approaching. Three of them. How bold of them to approach me with such small numbers. Let's play some game shall we?

    The three of them arrived. And lo and behold, it's the gray haired wolf beastkin who constantly panics, the one who assaulted the Crimson Tower with me and others. Her two elven teammates are here too.

    "So you've come again. No matter how many of you come, it's futile. You cannot defeat me." I taunted them.

    "Wh-What!?" She looked like she's VERY surprised to see me for some reason. I thought you came here because you knew.

    "Hey, 612. You said he's here. But I don't see him. I only see this… John Smith fellow." One of her teammate, an elf with short red hair, spoke to her. She didn't respond and merely trembled. She's always been a panicky fellow but this time more than usual for some reason.

    I wanted to tell her to relax and take a deep breath to calm herself down but unfortunately I'm currently in the role of an enemy so I can't.

    "Heard he's pretty dangerous. But if you said that he's nearby, we should be fine, right?" Her other teammate, the elf with long turquoise hair, spoke to her. Again, she didn't respond.

    "Retreat…." She finally said something!

    "612?"

    "What did you say?"

    "I said retreat!!!" She shouted as she began running away whilst crying. Her companions followed suit in utter confusion. Well… I'm confused too. She has always been a strange fellow. But this made robbing the bank easier so I won't complain.




    I ran as fast as possible as if I was chased by a wrathful god. Well… considering who is behind me, it might as well be true!

    After we got out of the town entirely, my companions looked at me with concern when they saw how much I'm trembling.

    "612. What's going on?" 610, my companion with turquoise long hair, asked me, sensing my behaviour is more bizarre than usual.

    "L-L-Lor… Sh… Sh… Sha…." I muttered incoherently, unable to form proper words from how panicked I am.

    "612! Calm down! Take a deep breath!" 611, my red haired companion, said while grabbing my head to make me face her.

    "Lo… Lor…" In my panicked state, I still couldn't properly communicate. But I kept trying. I must tell them what's going on! I took several deep breaths and did my best to calm down as much as possible.

    "You good? Now, can you tell us what's going on?" Said 610, who trusted a traitorous scum like me completely and never questioned my behaviour since we met that man.

    "Haahh… Haahh… Hahh…. 610… 611… Lord Shadow…"

    "Yes. You said you smelled Lord Shadow's scent. That's why we followed you so we could greet him and report to him. But we encountered John Smith instead. What's going on?" 611 asked me.

    "Lord Shadow… has turned against us…!"




    Author's Note:

    The Seven Shades knows of Shadow's John Smith persona but the lower ranked members don't. And now that one of them has discovered the secret, there will be chaos in Shadow Garden. Who better to rat Shadow out than 612, the former wolf in sheep's clothing herself?
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 93: Raid on Mitsugoshi
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 93: Raid on Mitsugoshi

    My sister has returned to the capital and due to the dangers she faced out there, I didn't allow her to go out again. She will not get in the way of Gettan's plan now. The counterfeit bills plans shall go smoothly from here. It's surprising to hear from Sherry that she joined Shadow Garden though. I don't know how to feel about that. But anyway, Sherry has returned to the Necromancer's base with not just good news but also spoils of war. I gave her a kiss as a reward.

    I'm now looking at several corpses of Shadow Garden members, with their remaining magic still allowing their slimes to still behave like bodysuits, allowing me to also secure some samples of their signature weapon. From my brief analysis of the slimes, it seems that Shadow Garden mixed the slimes with human flesh, allowing the slimes to possess similar magic circuit to human's in order to facilitate an easier control over them. Fascinating invention indeed.

    They have been an elusive bunch but thanks to Gettan's scheme and my reliable apprentice, I've managed to obtain their precious corpses. A living specimen would've been better but I'll take what I can get.

    Whilst studying their magic circuits, I realized how much potential that Awakened Ones, individuals who adapted to Diablos Cells and overcame Demonic Possession similar to the Three Heroes, has. Even grunt soldiers of Shadow Garden are Awakened Ones. That's why they are stronger than average knights. Beatrix is one as well. I wonder how beautiful the magic circuits of the Seven Shades are if their grunt soldiers already possessed such beautiful circuits. I can't believe I've ignored such potential for so long.

    Truly… between the Awakened Ones, the Blood Queen and my research on souls… Which one should I prioritize? Not to mention I have to act as Don Jon… Ahh… I'm so busy! So much to do, so little time!

    Speaking of Don Jon… I've been sitting in that sofa for far too long! Now that John Smith's bank robberies and the counterfeit bills plans have bore fruit and the recent news I heard about their employees having some kind of labor strike, most likely in response to their imminent collapse, have put much pressure on Mitsugoshi, I suppose I should pay them a little visit later.

    But first, the corpses and their magic circuits! For now I should start with them because the fact that they are within sight makes me can't wait to study them! Heh heh heh.

    "Claude? What are you laughing at?"

    "Oh. You've noticed me chuckling, Sherry. I was… fascinated by their corpses… by what's hidden inside the black exteriors. Can't wait to strip them off and properly examine them." I said whilst grinning. Sherry seemed to find my words scandalous. It took me a second before I realized the implication of what I said and I gasped at the realization. "I meant examine their magic circuits, Sherry! Magic circuits!"

    "Claude, you pervert!" Sherry shouted whilst hitting me in the chest repeatedly.

    Haaahh.. Why does this thing always happen to me? Oh well… The corpses can wait. I should go for Mitsugoshi first after all.




    It is evening in the Midgar Capital's Mitsugoshi main office. Mitsugoshi has started to feel the effects of the counterfeit bills circulating in the market and their banks started to see some bank run, where many of their customers started to have doubts about paper money and began withdrawing coins en masse. And with their funds being affected by John Smith's robberies, they can barely keep up with the withdrawal requests. Gamma still has faith in her lord's plans, which is why she kept working even when it's already late.

    Gamma is working hard into the night before she suddenly noticed how quiet the night is. The building would usually still be brimming with life even in the late hours as Shadow Garden's activities intensify during the night. Tonight though, it's eerily silent that Gamma noticed even with how busy she is.

    "What's going on!? Where is everyone!?" Shouted Gamma as she left her room and found the building somewhat abandoned. Only a few personnel remained and even they are not showing enthusiastic expressions. Eventually Nu arrived to deliver her report.

    "Lady Gamma! T-The Numbers found out the truth about John Smith… and they've begun abandoning their posts! Faith and morale in Shadow Garden is at an all time low!" Nu reported.

    "How did they found out!?"

    "I believe 612 is the one who spread the news! They said she caught Lord Shadow's scent on John Smith and began assuming that Lord Shadow has turned against us!"

    "Dammit! Bring her to me! And keep the Numbers in line! It seems that we must reveal the truth now that they've found out…" Gamma stopped herself as she heard an explosion on the side of the building.

    "Dammit… We had to be attacked at a time like this!?" Gamma muttered as she sensed foreign magic signatures entering the building from the direction of the explosion and began scattering around the building. The lack of personnel caused the security of Mitsugoshi to drop significantly, which is how they couldn't detect intruders until it is too late.

    "Nu! Gather everyone still available and defend this building! The rest of you, brace yourselves for a fight!" Ordered Gamma as she and everyone else brandished their swords, though not the usual slime weapons but mythril ones in order to conceal the connection between Mitsugoshi and Shadow Garden. Nu obeyed her superior's orders and left the scene.

    They stood guard in front of Gamma's office, where important documents are stored, before eventually several footsteps began echoing in the dim hallways.


    View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKMMxuUv1lI&ab_channel=YearoftheBandicoot

    The man who walked in front emerged from the darkness. His white suit stood out compared to his minions who wore black suits.

    "Good evening, Lady Luna. We finally meet each other. I see that most of your employees have abandoned you. It seems that you're unable to satisfy their monetary needs." Greeted Don Jon as he stood facing Gamma, his signature walking staff in hand.

    "Good evening, Mr. Don Jon. At least I didn't slaughter them like you did your people, though." Gamma said while frowning.

    "Well… you could say they URNed it. Heh heh heh." Said Don Jon, whimsically telling a pun. No one seemed to understand his joke and thus the hallways became silent for a few seconds.

    "Come now, milady. Do not ruin such a beautiful night with a frown. I bring great news for you and your company!" Said Don Jon to break the silence, pretending as if he didn't tell a joke that no one laughed at seconds before.

    "What, you're going to tell us to invest in your Ponzer Plan?"

    "Even better. I'm offering you the chance to work for me, the same as what Snow Fox Corporation had done. Accept my offer and your company will survive the imminent collapse and be guaranteed protection." Don Jon made his offer. Gamma can only continue frowning as she realized Don Jon's aim. Robbing her and threaten her with more violence unless she pays tribute. But even if Don Jon didn't employ such a Viking-like strategy, her answer is clear.

    "After robbing us, you're telling us to work for you in order to survive? How absurd! I refuse!"

    "I see. It's a shame that you cannot surrender willingly even though I could've saved your company from collapse. Now I will be forced to make you work for me unwillingly." Don Jon declared as he ordered his men to wreak havoc with a single hand gesture. His men moved quickly to attack the girls but the expected death of the Mitsugoshi employees didn't happen. Instead it was Don Jon's men who got slashed and collapsed one by one.

    "Hoo… Your employees are better trained than I thought." Don Jon remarked amusedly.

    "Ready to give up?" Gamma taunted with a grin.

    "Hardly. We're just getting started." Don Jon snapped his fingers and a huge figure eventually emerged from the ceiling. Said figure wore black trench coat and a hockey mask and carried a huge axe. His huge form, clad in black, intimidates Gamma and the girls. His huge axe is stained with fresh blood, which no doubt belonged to Mitsugoshi employees. The sight both angers and intimidates Gamma.

    "You called, boss?" The huge masked figure asked his master.

    "Kill them, Boar."

    "Huh? Killing a bunch of girls again? Tonight's going to be boring." The masked figure called Boar complained but nonetheless obeyed his master. He brandished his axe and was about to strike Gamma but... his axe is blocked by a blonde haired feminine figure clad in black who appeared all of a sudden, whose entrance is sensed only by Don Jon, whose face is very familiar to him. The blonde haired elf's sudden appearance brought a smile to Gamma's face.

    "Hoo… Finally someone strong!" Boar exclaimed excitedly and prepared to fight the blonde haired elf but was interrupted by Don Jon.

    "Finally! Shadow Garden has appeared! I would ask you what interest does Shadow Garden have with Mitsugoshi but I'll do it later. For now, let us speak with our blades." Said Don Jon as he unsheathes a blade hidden within his staff whilst grinning towards the blonde elf, who just stared at him warily.

    "Boss… let me fight her!" Boar requested, itching to fight the blonde elf.

    "No. She's mine. You can have the others." Don Jon said. Boar groaned in frustration but obeyed nonetheless and stepped back to face Gamma instead.

    The blonde elf and Don Jon continued staring at each other before suddenly both of them bursts into action, appearing in front of each other and locking their blades, causing shockwave that shook the entire building. They then jumped out of the building to take their fight elsewhere.

    "Heh. That old man. Always not allowing me to have fun. Even that John Smith fellow gets more fun than I do. No matter. Hope you girls are ready to die!" The Boar declared, pointing his huge axe in front of Gamma and the Mitsugoshi employees accompanying her.

    "Lady Ga—Luna! This guy seems strong! What should we do!?" Said one of the Mitsugoshi employee whilst trembling.

    "Retreat! You're no match for him! Go assist the others!"

    "But Lady Luna! What about you!?"

    "Just go! You must go and survive! That's an order!" Exclaimed Gamma. Her words made the girls shed a tear.

    "Y-You too, Lady Gamma! You must survive too!" Shouted one of them before they run to the other direction to assist their comrades in defending the building from the rest of the invaders.

    Gamma stood alone against the imposing form of the Boar. His intimidating figure is made more terrifying by the enormous amount of magic he exudes. She knew that even with the power that Lord Shadow bestowed upon her, which greatly exceeds his, she is still no match for him due to how unskilled she is with the blade. Her encounter with the Named Child called Sergey Gormann years ago was proof of that.

    She considered running away but no doubt he will chase after her and catch up with her in no time the moment she tripped on her high heels like she usually did.

    No choice but to face him head on!

    "You done? Now let's get into the killing!" Boar shouted as he jumped towards Gamma, his axe aiming to chop her head off. In response Gamma did the unthinkable… she tripped face down and dodged the attack.

    "What!?" Exclaimed the Boar, flabbergasted at how his opponent dodged his attack, a move he did not anticipate at all with his instinct.

    "Just a coincidence! Take this!" The Boar once again shouted and tried to attack again but…

    "Ugyahh!?" Gamma's head hits his chin when she stood up all of a sudden.

    "Aghh! What the!?" He grunted as he staggered back, not expecting such a force from her simply standing up.

    "Oww! How cunning of you to hit my head when I stood back up!" Complained Gamma as she rubbed her hurting head and her bleeding nose.

    "Tch… What the hell is with this chick!?" The confused Boar stood warily and used all his senses to try and predict her movements.

    "Hmph! But now I shall show you my prowess!" Gamma declared as she coated her sword with enormous amount of magic.

    "What the… My instinct was certain that she's a weakling! Has my instinct dulled down because of that old man!?" The Boar said as he found his opponent more ridiculous by the minute.

    "Take this! Swish Swish Swish Swiiish!!!" Gamma thrusts and slashes at random direction. Although her form is terrible and her aim even more so, her power is undeniable. Her attacks, which never lands on her opponent, destroyed walls, the floor and ceiling around them.

    "Tch! This chick's crazy! She has no form just like me and her aim is terrible… but what's with this power!?" The Boar continued to dodge, sensing that he may be unable to block her attack even if he tried.

    "SWISH SWISH SWISH!!!" Gamma continued her assault but this time she poured more power into her attack, causing the ceiling to collapse on Boar, though it didn't hurt him.

    "Heh. What an enemy. I can't read you at all! In all my years I've never encountered someone like you! If I wasn't ruined by that old man, my blood would be boiling with excitement right n--" The Boar's words are cut as his cheek is also cut by one of Gamma's stray attacks. He couldn't react to that attack at all because his instincts, dulled by his new undead form, didn't warn him about the stray attack. Even if his instincts were at his best, he still wouldn't be able to react to a threat which is more of an accident than intentional attack that he's trained to read in his previous life.

    "Heh! Whatever! Let's see if you can handle this!" Shouted Boar as he poured an enormous amount of his magic into his axe, trying to shoot a beam of destruction. But as he poured his magic, the axe started to crack… starting from the chip damage it sustained from his encounter with Gettan.

    "Of all the times…" He complained, regretting his neglect of weapon maintenance before one of Gamma's stray attacks hit the axe, causing it to explode. The explosion engulfed the Boar and blew Gamma away.

    "UGYAAAAHHH!!" Screamed Gamma as the explosion threw her away. She eventually crashed against a wall and was stuck there with her feet above her head.

    "Ughh… That hurt…"

    "Gamma! Are you okay!?" Shouted Beta, arriving with reinforcements.

    "I'm… okay… In fact… I won!" Gamma said as blood drips from her nose because of tripping earlier. But she ignored it as she is so happy at her accomplishment.

    "Your nose is bleeding." Beta remarked.

    "Ah! It's been so long since someone said that. It seems that things are going to get better now!" Gamma said with a smile, happy that someone finally commented on her nosebleed like usual, something that hasn't happened since Don Jon and the MCA launched their schemes which stressed Gamma out. The return to usual habits is a good sign to her.

    "That's not a good thing, you know. I'm really amazed that your face never suffered permanent damage from all the tripping." Beta remarked with a confused face.

    "Anyway, where's Lady Alpha? She came with me as reinforcements." Beta asked.

    "She's currently facing Don Jon."




    Author's Note:

    Don Jon started to get his ass out of the sofa! Also, Juggernaut's undead form has AI that severely negates his specialty, which is fighting creatively, because he didn't follow any established fighting style and just fought the way he wanted to. The AI that controlled his corpse cannot be as creative as the real one no matter how advanced it tried to emulate him and thus he was defeated pretty easily by Gamma in this chapter. But…
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 94: Draconic Power
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 94: Draconic Power

    Welp. This is bad. When I read the newspaper this morning, I heard a lot of Mitsugoshi shops have been closed due to severely lacking in staff. It seems that my stealing money from their banks made the girls unable to pay the people they hired into Mitsugoshi so they're probably having a labor strike.

    And the MCA counterfeit bills have entered the market and the value of MCA paper money has dropped significantly as a result, prompting a bank run where people withdraw their money from the banks in the form of gold coins. Mitsugoshi banks are also starting to get affected.

    I need access to Don Jon's money and fast. Luckily Don Jon is confirmed to be out tonight (usually I can never be so sure about whether he actually left the tower or not) so I can be more brazen than usual tonight. I've begun sneaking into some rooms in the Don Jon Tower that I haven't explored before in order to search for his money vault where he kept his earnings from the Ponzer Plan. I know it's not in Snow Fox Corporation but here because I brought the money here and never saw them go out.

    No luck so far though. Due to my inability to find the money, I just walk aimlessly around the hallways when I encountered a shifty looking bald-headed bandit wearing gray leather armor.

    "Hey, you! John Smith, right? Heard you like money! I like money myself! And you know who has lots of them? Don Jon! What'd ya say we rob him together?" The bald bandit said whilst addressing me.

    "Ho? Robbing Don Jon?"

    "Yes, you stu--! Look. I've been workin' here longer than you and I know my way around the place. And I definitely know where the money is at! I just can't do it alone and need a partner. We'll split the money 50/50! What'd ya say?"

    "Hmm… Interesting." Very interesting indeed my slippery looking friend.




    "If Lady Alpha is facing Don Jon, then the battle is as good as won, right? I heard Lady Alpha's training with the Mist Dragon is successful." Beta remarked.

    "I don't know about that. We still don't know how strong that Don Jon is so to be safe, I suggest we go aid her." Gamma, who's no longer sticking to the wall and are now standing properly, said her opinion, to which Beta agreed.

    "Very well. Let's--" Beta's words are cut by an ominous presence, a presence that's supposed to be gone already.

    "Well… What the fuck…" A curse once again uncharacteristically escapes Gamma's mouth when she saw the heavily injured Boar emerged from the smoke, still standing after tanking an explosion head on. A huge wound is visible on his chest, exposing some of his ribs, the lower half of his hockey mask is broken, from which his jaw is left hanging and his wrists also showed some bones but he still stood as if nothing's wrong. His artificial intelligence, no longer working properly from being unable to keep up with Gamma's ridiculous fighting style and perhaps a little damaged from the explosion's impact, decided to just go berserk.

    "How is he still standing after that!?" Beta exclaimed in disbelief.

    The Boar unsheathes a machete hidden within his coat that he strapped in his hip as a backup weapon. Seeing as their enemy is still intending to fight despite the serious wounds, the intimidated Gamma and Beta decided to just run away. The Boar chased after them despite shambling due to his legs somewhat injured as well.

    "Gamma! You defeated him, right!? Now do it again!" Beta shouted while running.

    "No way! No way am I fighting that!" Gamma shouted back while crying. But due to her high heels, she didn't make it far and fell down, hitting the floor face down again.

    "Aghh! Beta!!" Gamma tried to stand back up whilst wiping the blood from her nose but the Boar is already behind her, raising his machete to chop her off.

    "UGYAAAAAHH!!" Gamma shouted in absolute panic as she created a slime sword and started thrusting in random direction again.

    This time the Boar just received whatever stray attacks that came his way, ignoring whatever damage his body sustains and brought his machete down.

    "Geez! Can't you just drop the high heels already!?" Beta said whilst blocking the Boar's machete.

    "It makes me look more mature!"

    "But does that matter in this situation!?"

    "Well I--"

    "ROOAAAARRR!!!" Gamma's words are cut by a guttural roar from the Boar, who pushed the bewildered and scared Beta away and jumped forward to attack Gamma again.

    "AAAAHHH! WHY ME!?" Gamma shouted as she managed to roll away from the Boar's attack, but the shockwave generated by his machete hitting the floor blew her away again.

    "AGHHH!!! WHY AGAIN!?" Shouted Gamma as she hit a wall with her head down again, sticking there as she saw the Boar running towards her again with his machete in hand.

    "I'm dead… eh…?" Gamma muttered as she noticed the sounds of the wall cracking, threatening to collapse. With her body sticking on it, she cannot escape in time.

    "I'm SO dead!!!" Gamma cried as the wall collapsed before Boar can reach her, making both of them fall outside the Mitsugoshi building from the third floor, with the Boar launching himself far away due to how fast he was running, which caused him to crash against another building.

    Gamma, who fell on the ground, decided to finally ditch the high heels and ran away as she heard the sound of Boar jumping towards her, still intent on chasing her.

    "AAAAAHHH!!! When will this guy dieeee!!!?" Shouted Gamma as she kept running, with Beta following her close by.




    View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuVe5xVUjiI&ab_channel=YearoftheBandicoot


    My blade clashed against Don Jon's. Every clash created shockwave that destroyed the ground and walls around us. Our clashes brought chaos to the capital similar to the night of the raid where Shadow rescued the kidnapped Princess Alexia, though on a smaller scale. It still sent the citizens running away in panic though. Soon the Knight Order will arrive. I have to finish this quickly. But that is easier said than done. He's indeed as skilled as I predicted and from his smirking face, I can see that he's still hiding his true strength like I do.

    "Exceptional display of skill. Tell me. Would you like to work for me?" Don Jon calmly gave me a ridiculous offer.

    "Stop joking! I cannot be bought with money!"

    "Is that so? How about instead of money, I offer you information about a certain… old rival of mine, whom you know well." Those words made me widen my eyes and took a step back.

    "What do you know of Necromancer?"

    "Do you accept my offer, milady?"

    "How do I know that you're not lying?"

    "How distrustful of you, No. 001. I'm hurt!" He mockingly and dramatically clutched his chest as if in pain. But I certainly noticed the hateful name bestowed upon me.

    "Do NOT call me that!" I shouted whilst pointing my blade on him.

    "I must apologize but that's the only way I know how to address you, milady." He sneered with a sickening grin.

    "My name is Alpha! Remember that!"

    "Sure I will… No. 001." He said whilst grinning, still using that degrading name when addressing me. How infuriating. But I didn't let my emotions get the better of me. I kept my emotions in check and watched his movements warily whilst projecting fake anger in order to get him to speak more freely, a tactic I picked up from Beta and Zeta.

    "Oh come now. Don't be so mad. It ruins your pretty face. How about a joke?" He said, still with his sickening grin.

    "What kind of joke?" I asked as I watched him putting his hand on his pocket and retrieved… a cigar and a lighter. He proceeded to relaxingly light the cigar on his mouth and takes a puff before putting the lighter back in his pocket.

    "What do you call a rich elf?" He asked. I stayed silent as I didn't know what he's saying.

    "It's Welfy!!" He declared with open arms as if he just told the best joke in the world, which I still didn't find funny although I did understand the pun.

    "Here's the next one! What's a banker's favourite type of snack? Cash-ews!" He made another pun which I didn't find amusing.

    "And last one for tonight! What do you call when people withdraw their money from banks en masse? A Bank Run!" He finished by describing the situation that the MCA and Mitsugoshi currently find themselves in, which is not a pun.

    Losing interest in his jokes, I jumped forward to slice him. He blocked my strike with his blade. With a smirk, he took a puff from his cigar and blew the smoke straight to my face, irritating my eyes. I jumped back immediately but before I can recover, I sensed him delivering a strike which I barely dodged with my eyes closed. My left side was slashed and I had to cover the wound with my slime suit to prevent bleeding. My eyes recover from the irritation eventually and I was greeted by the sight of his smirk.

    "I must apologize. My smoking habits must've irritated you." He apologized with that same smirk. Is that another pun?

    I poured more magic into my blade and moved faster to attack him. Weirdly enough he blocked them all as if he was familiar with my swordsmanship style, a style that Cid taught us. Did he fight against Shadow before? I must confirm this.

    "You seems to be familiar with my swordsmanship. How did you know?" I asked him whilst locking blades with him once more, this time being careful about his smoke.

    "Well… I may or may not have encountered someone with that swordsmanship before." He answered, confirming that he did fought against Shadow before. There's no one else it could possibly be. But the fact that he survived the encounter speaks for his level of skill. I must be more careful.

    "Hmph. Then I suppose I should step up my game." I declared as I unleashed greater amount of my magic, coating my whole body in an armor made entirely of magic which resembled dragon, complete with a tail that I can control.

    "Hoo? A draconic power? Interesting!" Don Jon remarked as he watched me with great interest.

    "Let's see if you can handle this!" I said as I unleashed a draconic breath attack from my mouth, a breath attack consisting of pure destructive magic similar to the Mist Dragon's own breath attack, which splits into several other beams that shoots towards him from multiple direction.

    Don Jon was still able to dodge each beam simply by side stepping them. When he dodged them all, he jumped in front of me and takes a puff from his cigar.

    "Let me return the favour." He said before blowing smoke from his mouth, though what comes out if no mere smoke but a wave of burning hot smoke that would've burn me if I didn't have this draconic armor. I decided not take the risk though and sent my tail to attack him. He blocked the tail with a single hand but my tail coiled around his hand, allowing me to pull him and throw him against a building.

    He crashed through several walls of the building I threw him at, prompting its inhabitants to shout in panic. The shouts were silenced immediately as he eventually emerged from the building with blood staining his blade, no doubt coming from the citizens.

    He jumped towards me at high speed but I formed wings from my draconic armor and flew off whilst blowing him away with wind generated from my wings at the same time.

    The wind didn't send him as far as I had hoped as he once again jumped to attack me. "HAAAAH!!" I had to generate shockwave with my breath to send him crashing on the ground.

    He stood up immediately and proceeded to dust off his white suit.

    "Damn… A Dragonborn. If only you had said the three magic words, it'll be more fitting." He said some words I didn't exactly comprehend but he seemed to call me a Dragonborn. I'll take note of that.

    I continued my assault by sending a long ranged claw attack (similar to Epsilon's long ranged slashes) but he dodged them effortlessly. I tried to trap him by sending a pincer attack, two claw attacks from his front and back but he dodged them all by jumping away and let both attacks clash against each other without harming him.

    "Come on! Show me more of your draconic powers!" He taunted as he landed on the ground unharmed.

    I was contemplating on unleashing the poisonous mist, which is the Mist Dragon's technique, but his power level made me doubt it'll work against him. In fact, it'll merely kill Midgar citizens in the city and would make Midgar kingdom more hostile towards us, which would make it harder for us to aid them during the upcoming war against Oriana.

    I was about to send another claw attack when I noticed the Knight Order finally arriving at the scene, led by Iris Midgar, no doubt arriving here in response to the chaos an explosions caused by our battle.

    "Shadow Garden!!" She shouted as she saw me flying in the sky coated by my draconic armor.

    "Iris Midgar. We meet again." I addressed her.

    "You're that Alpha, aren't you!? What are you doing here!?"

    "Trying to stop him." I said as I pointed my blade on Don Jon, who's standing calmly as the knights move to surround him.

    "You're… Don Jon!?"

    "Evening, Princess Iris Midgar. How fares your noble kingdom?" Don Jon said.

    "Still better than your Lawless City at least!"

    "A kingless kingdom might as well be lawless. You should hurry up and crown the next monarch!"

    "I don't need you to tell me that, you criminal! You're hereby arrested for many crimes you've committed against Midgar! No longer will our citizen suffer from your hands!" Iris shouted.

    "Ha ha ha! And who's gonna arrest me? You? And your petty knights?" Don Jon taunted whilst moving faster than the eye can see… for untrained eyes at least… and slashed the belly of every knight under Iris' command in less than a second before returning to his previous position, leaving her in awe as she could barely react to his movements. Iris can only grit her teeth in response as she watched her men spilling their guts to the ground before her.

    "Now you see how powerless your kingdom actually are against me. I hope you'll learn your lesso--" His words are cut by a beeping sound coming from his pocket, which made him finally lose his sickening grin.

    "John Smith!!! So you've made your move!!" He shouted in anger before jumping away to the north, leaving us all alone.

    I merely smiled as I am once again humbled by Shadow's genius. He saved us all without even being present. I dispelled my armor and landed in front of Iris, my back facing her like last time.

    "Hey… Alpha…" She called out to me. Her voice no longer carrying hostility that she usually displayed to us.

    "How did you… get so strong…?" She asked a genuine question from the bottom of her heart with a defeated voice.

    "I… was saved by my lord. He gave us all power… and trained us to be as strong as we are now." I answered honestly in response.

    "Does that power… allow you to protect everything you cared about?" She asked. It took me a few seconds to answer.

    "No. It's not enough. It's never enough. Everything we've done… everything we've accomplished… everything we've obtained… it was all never enough… at least in my eyes. I felt so inferior compared to those monsters…" I answered honestly with a bit of rant. She gasped in surprise. The fact that someone like me, who's much stronger than her, still felt inferior must've surprised her.

    "I see… What can we do...?" She said in understanding and despair.

    "We must do what we can, Iris Midgar. Know that you are not alone in this struggle."

    "Alright… I'll trust you… for now." She said. With that I left her alone to aid Beta and Gamma, who's still struggling against their opponent.




    Author's Note:

    But… there's one they fear. In their tongue, he's Dovahkiin. Dragonborn!!

    FUS RO DAA!!!!

    fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok, Fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!

    So anyway, I hope you enjoyed the Alpha vs Don Jon battle. Don Jon didn't get to show off much save for his puns and his smoke this time though. He'll show off more during his inevitable clash against John Smith. Also, did you think I'll give Juggernaut the Jason Vorhees mask without turning him into Jason Vorhees-like monster? He still dies off screen though. Poor Jugga Jugga.

    Also, the bald and shifty looking bandit. I wonder if you guys can guess who his appearance is based off of.
     
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    • Chapter 95: Internal Problems
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 95: Internal Problems

    The alarm on Don Jon Tower's money vault rang, sending the entire tower staff into panic. Right when Lord Claude is away too. I sort of hoped that Mr. John Smith isn't the culprit but he's the likeliest candidate. And here I was trying to use him to make Lord Claude jealous. Too bad. But I suppose I should cease such childish behaviour before my relationship with him becomes irreparable.

    "Lady Yukime!!" Marie shouted as she ran towards me. Her face showing a look of pure terror, no doubt fearing Lord Don Jon's wrath. I pulled her into a hug, which made her cry.

    "L-Lady Yukime! I tried… I warned him! I-I…" She muttered as she cried and trembled.

    "Shhh… It's okay. It's not your fault." I reassured her.

    "But… When Lord Don Jon gets angry… he'll slaughter us all!"

    "Don't worry. I'll protect you."

    "Lady Yukime…"

    "Now let's go. We need to catch the culprit, don't we?"

    "Y-Yes… I apologize for losing my cool like that." She said as she regained her mask of professionalism.

    Accompanied by Kana and Natsu, we used the elevator (a brilliant invention by Lord Claude, though I heard Mitsugoshi also have them) to enter the underground vault, which is full of traps, most of which includes laser beams. Lord Claude is a very cautious and paranoid person.

    Using a board shaped Artifact on the wall that reads my magic signature through my palm, I got permission to enter the trap halls without the traps activating on me. As we walked through the trap hall, we eventually found John Smith… only he was not alone as we expected. He tied a bald headed man with his wires.

    "Ah. Lady Yukime. It is good that you have arrived. I caught this man trying to steal Lord Don Jon's treasure." John Smith said.

    "You bastard! You ratted me out as soon as we got caught!" The bald headed man shouted.

    "I have no idea what you're talking about." John Smith said calmly. It is suspicious that John Smith would be here alongside this man. It is probable that what the bald man said is true. But I have no proof of that and I need to wait for Lord Don Jon to make his judgement.

    "Lord Don Jon will decide your fates. Come with me." I said while gesturing them to come and they complied. We entered the elevator and go straight to Lord Don Jon's floor, where I felt he's already waiting. How quick he is.




    Man. That was a disaster. I trusted this man too much and he tripped that laser trap which made the alarm go off. Whether he did that intentionally or not doesn't matter because what he did was foolish and it made our heist failed miserably because I sensed Don Jon's aura immediately returning to the tower. I decided to throw him under the bus for that.

    We now enter Don Jon's room and I finally meet the man face to face. He's definitely dressed fittingly like a mafia. His white suit and round glasses is cool. And I have no doubt he concealed a blade inside that cane! He's now sitting in his sofa, projecting an aura of anger, which made weak willed characters like the baldy, the secretary and Yukime's attendants to tremble in fear. Only Yukime and I withstood his aura and stayed calm.

    "Lord Don Jon. I've brought the suspects." Yukime said as she bowed before Don Jon.

    "So… We finally meet, John Smith." He said while addressing me.

    "Yes, Lord Don Jon. A pleasure to finally meet you." I greeted back while bowing my head.

    "I had to abandon my attack on Mitsugoshi because a certain someone decided to enter my vault without my permission. I even lost Boar to Shadow Garden. I will listen to your story." He said with a glare that can be felt through his round glasses.

    "L-Lord Don Jon! I'm innocent! This man threatened me and brought me to the vault and--"

    "Silence! I was not talking to you, Patches!" Don Jon said.

    "M-My name is Baldief, sir!"

    "Whatever! You shall be silent!"

    Patchy… or Bald Thief… stayed silent after that, allowing me to begin my testimony.

    "Ahem. I am innocent, Lord Don Jon. I never met this man prior to this evening where I noticed him sneaking around and decided to follow him. And lo and behold, I found him in the underground vault, where I proceeded to capture him."

    "He's lyin'! It was all his idea!"

    "He is more familiar with this building than I do, and with the plans to raid your vault as well. Just look at his face! It practically screams "untrustworthy"!" I said while pointing at his face.

    "What'd ya mean!? My face is the very image of honesty!" He said with a face that looks like a minor villain's.

    "SILENCE!!" Don Jon shouted, intensifying his aura.

    "Patches. I told you to stay silent, didn't I?"

    "B-But, Lord Don Jon! Don't listen to what this man sa--" His words… and his head are cut off. To the untrained eye, it looked like his head was detached from his body on its own but I saw Don Jon quickly unsheathing his blade, which is hidden on his cane, and cut Patchy's head off and unsheathes his blade back before anyone noticed what he did. He's good.

    The secretary looked like she wants to scream but she held back her voice out of fear of becoming the next victim. Yukime's two beastkin attendants also looked like they want to run away. Yukime and I are the only ones who stayed calm.

    "Hmph. I have no use of this fool's body. Send him to cremation, Yukime."

    "It shall be done, my lord."

    "Hm… It seemed like he… URNed it." I can't help but tell a joke when I heard Patchy was about to get cremated.

    "HA HA HA HA HA!!" Don Jon laughed loudly at my joke. He definitely gets it. His mood gets better and the pressuring aura fades away.

    "I shall believe you for now, John Smith. But remember what happened tonight. You're dismissed!" He finished with a threat and I bowed before leaving the room with a confident smile.

    My plan to rob him failed… for tonight at least. At least I know where he kept his money now and next time I'll be more prepared… and far more stylish. Slow and steady wins the race as they say.

    But about Mitsugoshi and the girls… It seems that I had to send them money from my personal vault so they can get their shit together. Lucky that there's plenty of gamblers so willing to donate their money to our cause right in this building. Time to hit the casino again!




    "Is it fine to let him go, my lord?" Yukime asked me after John Smith left the room. She noticed that I'm still distrustful of John Smith.

    I know this scenario. Indeed, I am convinced that Patches tried to trick him into robbing my vault (like he did in those Souls games) but John Smith was definitely in it himself. And he ratted out Patches as soon as they tripped the alarm. For now I shall keep him because his value is still pretty high despite his untrustworthiness.

    "It is fine. He still has his uses. But it is surprising that you no longer defend him, Yukime."

    "Forgive me if I did that too often. Just know that I am loyal to you and you alone, my lord. For everything you've done to me, I'll never betray you." Yukime said while bowing her head again.

    "Then can you tell me why you've defended him so many times?" I asked her whilst keeping my eyes on her bowing figure warily. Marie and her attendants, Natsu and Kana, watched with scared expressions, fearing for Yukime's life and their own. She stood back up and… blushed like a naughty kid who's caught doing mischief.

    "Well… It was because I tried to make you jealous." Ha? What?

    "Forgive me, my lord. I now realize such childishness is unbecoming of me." And here I thought John Smith had seduced her. This stupid woman. Haaah…

    "It's fine. Though I expect you to stop it and show professionalism when working with me in the future. Understand?"

    "Absolutely, my beloved lord." Ughh… Still trying to seduce me, are you? It won't work. Thanks to Sherry, my libido is kept under control so I can now ignore her advances.

    "We need to raise the security of the vault now that John Smith already knows where it is. Draft a plan and submit it to me as soon as you're able. You're all dismissed." I ordered and they all left the room after bowing.

    "Still… John Smith. Good to see how he appreciates my dad jokes. I tried the jokes to give Don Jon some character but most people didn't get it. The fact that he gets it is totally not the reason why I spared him. Not at all." I said while smiling.

    "Let me see it. Let me see how you plan your betrayal, John Smith. I shall study your villainy without blinking." I muttered with anticipation to my inevitable clash against him.




    It's been a week since our encounter with Don Jon. He must be dealing with internal problems that Shadow caused while we are dealing with ours. The timing was impeccable.

    In the throne room hidden in the rooftop of Mitsugoshi main building in the capital, so many Shadow Garden personnel gathered that the throne room is full of people. About 100 personnel has been gathered here, more to come later. Despite how crowded they are, Lambda's training made them disciplined enough to stand in line. I managed to gather most members of Numbers who deserted their posts with the help of Delta. They looked afraid, like they are about to be executed. I stood in the raised platform beside Shadow's throne with Gamma and Beta at my side.

    I sighed and gazed upon the culprit behind it all, No. 612, who's trembling as if she has been left out in the cold winter. Speaking of winter, it has started to snow today.

    She was indeed a suspicious individual when she first joined Shadow Garden, harbouring disloyal thoughts and perhaps intended to betray us. But Lord Shadow foresaw that immediately and showed her what happens should she decide to betray us. Her loyalty has been rock solid ever since. In fact, she's too loyal to the point of paranoia that I started to feel pity for her.

    I don't blame her for this incident. We decided to hide John Smith's true identity from the Numbers after all. Did Shadow intentionally reveal himself to her in order to teach us to put our trust in the Numbers?

    We already used some of the spells that Eta learned from that infernal tome we found on the capital's underground maze during the Bushin Festival incident in order to put some shields into the minds of every Shadow Garden members to protect them from mind control, mind reading or any kind of mental assault and also prevent them from physically leaking any information we didn't want leaked.

    Shadow must've known about that in advance and thus he's teaching us that holding information from the Numbers is no longer necessary. Truly, his foresight is astonishing. Even now he's still teaching us valuable lessons.

    "No. 612." I addressed the wolf beastkin. She trembled even more when she heard my voice.

    "Y-Yes, Lady Alpha!"

    "You know what you did, and its consequences, didn't you?"

    "Yes… I understand completely. I am r-ready to accept any punishment!"

    "No. You shall not be punished today. This is not your fault. This mess is caused by us purposefully withholding information from you." I said. My words caused them to whisper amongst each other.

    "Lady Alpha… Is that true?" One of the Numbers asked me.

    "It is true. Lord Shadow took the guise of John Smith and has robbed our banks. But before he did that, he told me and Zeta that soon we'll understand. I ask that you put your faith in him."

    My words still isn't enough to fully convince them but I hope they'll stay in line for now. I have to repeat this speech to other members who will come later.

    I saw Nu enter the room through the window. She wouldn't do such a thing if it wasn't urgent. "Great news! We received a message from John Smi—Lord Shadow!" She said. Her words took everyone's attention.

    "What did he say?" I asked her.

    "He gave us the location of his money vault and told us that we can use them to allow Mitsugoshi to survive the coming crisis! And he told us there will be more money later!"

    Her words brought smile to the faces of everyone present.

    "Lord Shadow didn't abandon us, after all!"

    "Of course he wouldn't! He didn't kill any of us after all!"

    "He was actually quite dazzling when he dressed as John Smith! He's amazing!"

    "So he has infiltrated the ranks of the enemy? As expected of Lord Shadow!"

    Murmurs after murmurs praising Shadow was heard.

    "You guys! Stop shouting and--"

    "No. Leave them be, Beta. Let them have their moment." I said to Beta and she just smiled and let the Numbers restore their faith in Lord Shadow.

    It seems that putting the Numbers back in line would be easier than I thought it would be now that Lord Shadow has responded.




    I visited my sister Iris in her room after she is done with her work and is resting. It's a girly room full of cute animal plushies that you wouldn't expect out of Iris considering her public image. I love this side of her. It's cute.

    When she returned to the castle after encountering Don Jon, she vomited and passed out. Looking at the state of the knights she commanded that night, with their guts spilling out of their stomachs after beings sliced open by Don Jon, I can see why. She tried to hide it whilst working but I can see that incident bothered her.

    Looks like she has once again blamed herself for not being strong enough. It's funny that Iris, whom I once thought to be invincible, would suffer an inferiority complex like I did in the past… no, much worse than I did. She's burdened with more responsibility and expectations after all.

    "Sister."

    I called out to her as she lay in her bed with distracted eyes. It took a few seconds for her to respond.

    "Oh. Alexia. What's up?" She said with a forced smile. I don't like it one bit.

    "It's you. Are you okay?"

    "I'm okay! I'll just take a few days rest and I'll be fine! Don't worry!"

    "Liar. That night has affected you like the day our father died." I said. My words broke her smile.

    "Alexia… I… I'm…" She's holding back her emotions because she doesn't want to burden us again. I pulled her into a hug to comfort her and she hugged me back.

    "Alexia… How do I become strong like you?" She asked a question that I never thought I'd hear coming from her mouth.

    "What are you talking about? You're still stronger than me, sister." I asked back, confused by her question.

    "When father died… when we faced all those troubles… you remained strong and…" Ah. I see.

    "I had… support from Poo—from a friend." I said while slightly blushing.

    "…Your friend is a good person."

    "He is. You need such a friend too. Me and Claude will be here for you."

    "I suppose so. Thank you Alexia." She said, finally regaining a genuine smile.

    In order to help her, I decided to share my own inner demons, and how I overcame them. "Let me tell you a story, sister. About a time when I was the one having inferiority complex."




    Author's Note:

    Don Jon and John Smith won't clash yet. We still have Gettan and the MCA around so we shouldn't go to the climax of the arc yet. And yes, Baldief is a reference to Patches from FromSoft games.
     
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