Mercenary Crew (Part 3)

"H-huh…?"

A small smile of relief formed on the trembling lackey's face as soon as he heard the Intermediary's condition.

All he had to do was tell him the details of his now deceased comrades regarding the concluded preliminaries and their roles in the imminent Combat Exams? He wasn't good for much, but his memory was excellent. Even now, visibly shaken by the demise of all his colleagues, the man could remember the details of the preliminary rounds.

He never expected his sharp memory to save him one day, but life often worked in such unpredictable ways.

"I-I'll do it… I'll tell you everything!" The man happily grinned, blood staining his ugly face as tears and mucus streamed down his orifices.

Ignoring the pain, the fear, and the disgust—all of the negative emotions swirling within him—he swallowed his vomit and told the intermediary everything he knew. He went into even greater detail than what was expected of him, all so he could prove more useful to the man before him and have his talents acknowledged.

"Is that all? Hmm… so only five passed, yet he bragged about half." The intermediary chuckled deeply, rising to his feet. "The other groups had even poorer results, so I suppose these ones weren't too useless."

As the intermediary walked away, his massive gait diminishing in the distance, the spared man found himself mildly disappointed that he wasn't recognized in the end. However, a greater sense of relief to be alive overshadowed those emotions.

He was just about to celebrate when he heard a passing comment—one so nearly imperceptible that it seemed insignificant. 

"You should have just gone straight to the point instead of wasting my time…"

At that moment, the man felt something hot in his chest—no, his heart. He tightly clutched it as his blurry vision quickly turned red.

Then—

SPLOOSH!

—He too became nothing but blobs of meat paste, trapped in an ocean of blood.

The intermediary did not bother sparing the sight a second glance. Instead, he brought out a cube from his pocket and stared deeply at it. "I didn't think I'd have to use this, but the last one is out of range, and there are no immediate solutions."

The cube trembled slightly, a runic symbol suddenly glowing from it.

It hummed and buzzed, the symbol shining bright in the dark alleyway as the intermediary kept walking forward. Finally, it stopped pulsating and died down very quickly.

Upon seeing this, he smiled.

"Now that they've all been taken care of, I should report to the King…" Sighing quietly, he returned the cube to his pocket and dipped both hands into his trench coat as he walked alone—a faint whisper leaving his lips as he subtly disappeared into the all-embracing darkness of night.

"What a mess…"

********

Theo's eyes were wide open, his body trembling, as he witnessed the horrid sight of chaos unfold before him. Right in front of his eyes, on a desolate rooftop, was a man already set ablaze by a mysterious marking that appeared in his chest. His skin had now become nothing but charred black with his dying screams piercing deep into the night as Theo found himself unable to do anything but watch in silent horror.

He felt no pity for the man, though a part of him wanted to.

Whatever this man was involved in had most certainly led to his brutal death, that much was certain. However, the mere sight of a fellow Mortal perishing in such a terrible way tugged at his heart, forcing him to look away and make a disappointed sigh.

"In the end, I was unable to get much information from him." Theo mumbled. "All I know are three things."

One, this man and his comrades were low-level mercenaries who belong to a mysterious organization known as the Mercenary Crew. Secondly, their target was none other than Shen Ak'ashi and they desired the downfall of the Ak'ashi Guild.

Finally… they all served a single man who stood at the helm of their organization.

'The Mercenary King…'

Theo inhaled deeply, kicking the man off the rooftop so his corpse fell into the empty street. 

'No doubt the combustion drew the attention of patrol officers, and they'll arrive soon enough. I have to leave before then.' He swiftly ran off, his head slightly hurting from all the stress caused by the suddenness of the night's events.

'This Mercenary Crew… I have no idea how big they are, and how powerful their members are. It's clear that people like that man, and probably those other men, are nothing but low-tier disposable pawns—the lowest in hierarchy on the food chain.'

They were too incompetent to have any relevant role in a group this organized and ruthless.

'They never met the King. They only got information and missions from higher-ranked members called Intermediaries.' Theo processed more information as he ran further away from the scene of the crime. 'Now that they have compromised their organization, should I assume that they've been eliminated by the higher-ups? Or is it only the one I captured that was purged?'

There were so many thoughts running through his mind at the same time.

He thought he had left the dark recesses of society in Sarvos, but the shadows of death and chaos seemed to linger wherever he went—clinging to him like the stench of blood on an executioner's blade.

'This conspiracy is bigger than I previously assumed. If these people could go through the screening process and become participants in the Combat Exams, I have to assume that they exist in other areas of the Guild's affairs. They mentioned having insiders, which means it's a well connected organization…'

If that was the case, who could he trust?

'The Officers? The Staff Affairs Division? What made him certain the Mercenary Crew didn't have eyes there as well?' Theo gritted his teeth, finally making it to his residence, checking into his room as he collapsed on his bed and felt his racing heart finally settle.

After thinking all night, Theo felt his mind go numb as he slowly drifted into sleep. As his train of thought evaporated into fragments of dreams, he found his mind settling on a simple, but pertinent conclusion.

—The very crux of the matter at hand.

'At the center of everything are two people: Lord Shen… and the Mercenary King.'

***********

Standing at the edge of a port, watching the vast ocean before him ebb and flow, was a man behind a mask. His face was almost completely covered with a black mask that resembled a skull, having all but the lower jaw intact.

The bald chin of the man was visible as a result, and his dark gray eyes shone deeply, reflecting the bright lights of the moon above. He wore a custom-made suit, with a cloak that flowed down his back, nearly touching the ground.

His suit was covered in heavy pieces of armor—a breastplate that covered his chest, blades held in holsters on his waist and back, a shoulder-pad for one of his sides, and armor to cover the entire left arm. He also had metallic boots, and the orb at the drooping end of his necklace glowed bright to mimic the stars above.

A hood attached to his cloak covered his masked face, and he heavily exhaled.

"I see…"

He spoke aloud, slowly turning away from the ocean to see three people bowing their heads as they addressed him. "So, the sources of the leak have been extinguished, and the other loose ends have been tied. That's good… this means our agents can take their place and make their moves with greater ease."

The three nodded and remained silent.

"As for the kids who eavesdropped… there's no need to blow the matter out of proportion by going after them." His words elicited surprise from his followers, but he instantly silenced their hesitation with his next series of words. 

"We've been planning this covert operation for so long, my friends. We have taken our time infiltrating the Guild and strategically placing our allies in advantageous positions. More than ten percent of the Guild's Active members are our people, and we have even more members occupying their land to feed us information. After all these years… we've finally reached this precipice…" A small smile formed on his face. "We can not afford to step into the light at this point just for some kids who do not fully understand the scope of the Mercenary Crew."

"But, sir…"

"I understand your concerns, but there's no need to take any active steps to silence them—at least, not yet." He chuckled, his eyes expressing shrewdness that could only come with age. "In the end, no one will believe a bunch of kids and whatever disjointed explanation of a conspiracy that they have in mind."

The three individuals nodded and bowed their heads even lower.

"Besides… the promised day is nearly upon us, so any feeble resistance or preparation they dare to imagine against us will be for naught."

"We understand." The three said in unison.

"Good."

The Mercenary King returned his gaze to the ocean, his eyes seeing beyond what the mildly turbulent waters had to offer him and instead gazed upon the rich land that existed for the sole purpose of his conquest.

"The end is near… and when we're done… my old friend will perish watching his precious Guild burn to the ground." A broad smile formed on his face at that moment, and as the serene glow of moonlight and starlight showered upon the world around him, he felt empowered by the gaze of the Divine Ones.

Surely, his crusade had their full blessing.

Ak'ashi would fall, and the Mercenary Crew was going to rise from its ashes.

"All shall come to pass according to the prophesied will of the Divine Court… the birth of a new KING!"