Ashley's Mafia

They fear the mafia because they aren't bound by any rules. They do not care for feelings or pity. They are there to get the job done and earn the money, that's all. Some of them don't even know their target's names, just their faces. Hence, it made sense to team up with the Underworld.

I knew that very well. To the point that it makes me sick to know that even in this world, the Underworld has more control over the people than actual leaders. These atrocities are still rampant during my previous life and I hope it isn't as bad over here.

As for my current situation, I felt bad for Bryan. He was just looking for a buddy to talk to. Luckily, he nodded and sat back down. He then took another sip of the soup.

"Anyways, were you close with Ashley by any chance? Since you were working with Minwoo most of the time, I thought you won't be in the same room with Ashley," I asked, wondering more about the two Pillars.

"I was but I only got to know him through missions and late nights. Due to nightmares, he had trouble sleeping. Due to my insomnia, I also had a problem sleeping. The first night I didn't drink myself to sleep was the first night I found Ashley cleaning his sniper rifle."

"And it was also the first time I had seen a gun being broken apart in such a complex manner. I thought they were a whole piece... And his reply was throwing me the scope of the rifle, right at my head."

After watching my mother strip down an M16, I beg to differ that guns are one whole piece. Then again, I won't know what type of gun does this place has.

"I was surprised when he offered to show me the parts of the sniper rifle. Thus, it began our late nights, cleaning weapons and talking about past experiences. He spoke to me about his worries of his brother being the Marquess of the Campania so soon."

"And I kept thinking that he hated his brother since they were at a point that they had their weapons right at each others' heads. Hell, they made an all-out war within the Five Domains which caught the Arks' attention."

"An all-out war? I thought it was just Ashley against his brother?" I asked, puzzled.

"Ash had the Mafia, which consisted of the sewer rats. They are a group of people who are poor and living in the sewers. Ash had gathered them to rebel against the nobles, the main reason why he got thrown out in the first place. And they could fight tremendously well."

"Earl Yan had been a sewer rat first before joining the Five Kings. Gab as well, but only for a single mission. I nearly got roped into Ashley's side when I was younger but I was told off by my adopted mother not to get into trouble. Because, unlike the Nobles, the Mafia truly doesn't care."

"At least, for the Nobles, they've got a reason why they go for the kill. Be it to take down the person for their position or to stop rising competitors. The Mafia, however, did not care about such things. If anything, Ash's main goal was to kill every noble he could find."

That's horrifying to hear! Sure, you've got your family feud... But that ain't gonna justify the fact that you would be killing more innocent lives! It's your family problem, why are you roping other people into the mess?! I was beginning to get angrier at the fella rather than pity.

"Usually, each Domain had a small group of the Mafia with an appointed leader. And Ashley's instruction was to kill any noble they wanted and if they got enough heads, they'll be rewarded. Since Ash's wealth was quite large, he had plenty of profits to go around."

"Some of the leaders used this to get revenge on greedy landlords that kicked them or their comrades out. This caused havoc within all the Domains. And Ash was harsh against the Mages, before meeting Mavislin. After the encounter, he made a point not to hurt any Mage."

"A simple token of gratitude since he didn't expect Mavislin to be so generous with her food. The Mages refused to step in to help at first but Sir Noble got pissed off and decimated the Mafia at the Teuton Domain. Ash got real angry at the Arks and went against Sir Noble himself."

Sir Noble... That would be the guy I was supposed to look for, right? He is Baldwin Noble, head of the Knights of Dawn, under the Arks, right? Great, I'll hear how he went up against the Mafia. Hopefully, he doesn't have too much a temper...