Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Three knocks in a row, a brief pause, and then another three impacts. That was the confidential key indicating the arrival of a visitor to the facilities of Kaleidoscope, the thieves’ guild.

It was most likely that someone required the hiring of their criminal services.

A top-tier criminal organization charged exorbitant sums, so those with limited resources had to turn to smaller factions, just like theirs.

Bearing this in mind, Baker, a low-ranking criminal, moved to attend the entrance. On the other side of the entrance waited an individual completely covered by a dark robe.

“What business brings you to this place?”

“I come with the intention of requesting your services.”

Although the hood hid his features, the tone of his voice betrayed youth and an evident lack of experience.

“Wow, you’ve come to the right corner!” declared Baker, drawing a smile on his face. “Our Kaleidoscope functions just like a magical creature capable of materializing any desire!”

“Are you capable of… taking an individual’s life?”

“Of course we are!” Baker’s voice turned more intense and enthusiastic. “We can steal whatever you want, eradicate a target, or extract confessions by squeezing anyone’s throat!”

Clearly, everything remained within the margins of their real capabilities, as long as the client had the necessary funds. Upon concluding the subordinate’s description, the hooded subject performed an affirmative movement with his head.

“Once an individual is placed on our target register, their fate is sealed.”

“That gives me peace of mind.” The stranger nodded once more and pronounced coldly: “I desire the elimination of every single member of Kaleidoscope.”

“…?”

“There is an unsettled account between us,” stated Dale, devoid of any hint of emotion. Before Baker could process the meaning of those words…

Boom!

A precise impact shattered his throat.

“Gah, gah…!”

A dark and stylized edge flashed with a promise of death. However, the dark manifestation did not stop after the initial cut; after piercing the fleshy area of the neck, it began to move internally as if it possessed a will of its own.

It was a shadow parasite.

A distorted shriek, completely alien to human, tore through the environment.

In the depths of the Thieves’ Guild shelter, a group of criminals was sharing some drinks when the mysterious hooded man burst into the room.

“Who is it? How did he manage to bypass the entrance…?”

No potential buyer should have had the ability to enter that sector. However, upon noticing the bloody traces staining his garments, the survival reflexes of those present were activated immediately.

“An attacker, we have an intruder!”

Living up to their criminal skills, the evildoers threw a flurry of sharp projectiles with astonishing speed.

Clang!

However, none of the projectiles managed to harm the intruder. His dark robes expanded suddenly, constituting a barrier of darkness that repelled every one of the impacts received. It functioned strictly as a defense, not as an attack weapon.

Dale had already established himself in the rank of a fourth-circle sorcerer, and the properties of his magic artifact, the Shadow Cloak, had increased in equal proportion.

“This territory belongs to me,” Dale whispered in a frigid tone, while a dense tide of darkness began to cover the establishment’s floor.

“He is using dark magic!” exclaimed the members of Kaleidoscope, completely stupefied by the situation.

“Finish him off, close the distance, and destroy the mystic!”

Several mid-ranking criminals assessed the landscape instantly and ran at full speed over the dark mantle. However, the entities that remained crouched in the depths of the darkness broke their lethargy.

They were the Shadow Stalkers.

Boom!

In the midst of the aggressors’ advance, some pointed extensions emerged violently from the ground, piercing them vertically from the crotch to the top of the skull. The scene evoked the impaling executions of Vlad the Impaler.

The remains of the assailants remained suspended in the air in a grotesque manner.

“Gah, gah…!”

That manifestation was not limited to a single Shadow Stalker. After having reached the fourth circle, these creatures had undergone remarkable development, becoming much more massive and lethal.

A true environment of infernal thorns was unleashed.

The entities of the penumbra released a storm of spikes that buried the entire refuge under a web of death and darkness.

“Mercy, I beg you!”

“Aaaah!”

The relentless offensive of the Shadow Stalkers showed no mercy to any soul. The bodies ended up fragmented in such a way that they lost their human appearance, leaving biological remains and viscera scattered throughout the perimeter.

In the middle of that environment covered in vital fluids, which seemed taken from a low-budget horror production, Dale averted his gaze.

“Ow…!”

The individual known as the Guild Master, the last high-experience criminal still alive, was shaking uncontrollably.

“For what reason are you slaughtering us in this way?”

Dale continued his advance with a firm step and without flinching. The leader of the organization, reduced to a state of total vulnerability, sobbed while formulating his question. He completely lacked the energy necessary to offer resistance.

The gap in combat potential was immense; they represented absolutely nothing in front of such an adversary.

Immersed in the darkness that covered his base, he could only shudder and beg for mercy, plunged into complete bewilderment.

“Many winters ago, the criminals belonging to your organization entered the frozen domains of Saxon,” declared Dale.

That was an assignment that Kaleidoscope could never erase from its memory, and the leader of the group understood the situation immediately.

“Do you have a connection to the Saxon family…?”

Dale tilted his head slightly and questioned:

“Did the Saxon lineage seem so insignificant to you?”

He was referring to the famous and feared Ducal House of Saxon.

“Is it that the prestige of our lineage was so irrelevant that you thought you could trample it in exchange for a thousand gold pieces?”

Despite the danger it implied, they had accepted the mission due to the greed awakened in them by the offer of a holy knight. At this moment, it was their turn to face the consequences.

“Haha…” The leader of Kaleidoscope shuddered as he let out a laugh devoid of joy.

Indeed, the enemy they were facing was the Ducal House of Saxon, the absolute sovereigns of the desolate territories of the northern region and the leaders of the faction of darkness.

“You should have analyzed the weight of your decisions more prudently.”

“Damned aberration…” sentenced the criminal boss, surrendering completely to resignation.

“Shadow Bullet,” Dale dictated succinctly. An uninterrupted flurry of dark projectiles began to sprout from seven ebony-hued cannons.

That “Black Cannon” operated under a “Gatling style.” To manifest a concept coming from another reality, it did not require excessive adornments or complex flourishes.

After a period of time.

News of the annihilation that occurred at Kaleidoscope reached the ears of the area’s population. The inhabitants were shocked at the description of the Dantesque scene.

At the core of that carnage, a solitary fragment of dark cloth was deposited.

It was the insignia of the Ducal House of Saxon, which sported the embroidered design of a night raven.

In the government facilities of Arte di Calimala.

When Dale made his appearance again in one of the rooms, the leader of the Calimala organization awaited him, backed by the most imposing protection contingent he could summon.

Bearing very much in mind the massacre recently perpetrated against the criminal guild, he understood perfectly the message behind the piece of dark cloth that the young man had left as a signature.

The Night Raven represented the official crest of the Ducal House of Saxon.

“There is no need for you to show such a level of distrust,” expressed Dale, showing a relaxed grimace. “There simply existed an unsettled account that required being settled.”

“An unsettled account that required being settled?” interrogated the leader of Calimala with extreme reserve.

“Just as I exposed to you previously, I consider that I gave you a reasonable period of time to evaluate the terms of my proposal,” mentioned Dale. “However, I understand that for ears outside of our conversation, these details may result a bit disturbing.”

“……”

The leader’s face showed a slight hesitation for an instant. However, in his capacity as the head of Calimala, his political value and influence held no point of comparison with those of a simple low-category thieves’ guild.

“Everyone withdraw, leave us in private,” ordered the head of the organization after reflecting for a few moments. His protectors bowed and left the room.

In the course of that day, acting in his capacity as an emissary of the Saxon lineage, Dale presented the conditions of his deal.

The plan consisted of providing him with the necessary support for him to assume control of the city under the influence of Saxon, receiving in exchange the right to examine the “ledger” of the central administration. The potential losses and gains had already been evaluated with absolute detail.

Finally, the determination taken by the head of Calimala was conclusive.

“Prior to granting my agreement to your terms, I require to pose a question.”

“Proceed.”

“Regarding the accounting document… I assume that both the Saxon lineage and you, my lord, are fully aware of the relevance it possesses.”

He was referring to the city mayor’s financial register.

Said manuscript safeguarded the capital movements of all commercial transactions, both those regulated by law and those clandestine, throughout the entire continental territory. In those pages were listed the aristocrats who maintained financial commitments with the guild city, the exact locations where the armaments were distributed, the destinations planned for future sales, and the origins of the credits requested to acquire them.

With the mere scrutiny of the data contained in that register, it was feasible to anticipate with precision the focuses where the next warlike conflicts would erupt.

The true hegemony of the commercial city resided in the control of that strategic information, and what Dale intended to obtain represented the very core of that power and confidentiality.

“In this existential plane, no benefit is granted for free,” replied Dale, expressing himself as if he were evaluating a matter foreign to his person.

“What is ultimately the goal that the Saxon lineage pursues?”

Upon hearing that question, Dale remained silent temporarily.

“To achieve that the dark factions recover their former glory,” declared Dale after a brief pause. “That constitutes my only longing.”

Again, the environment was submerged in silence. However, it was not perceived as a tension born of confrontation or doubt.

“I consent to support the terms proposed by the Saxon lineage,” announced the leader of Calimala firmly.

“I assure you that there will be no space for regret,” replied Dale, performing a respectful bow with a cheerful gesture on his face. In the domains of the Guild City, his journey to reach absolute control of the spheres of power was just taking its first successful steps.

In order to assume the position of Governor of the City, it is indispensable to count on the approval of a minimum of four of the seven Guild Leaders, there existing an absolute prohibition that prevents casting a vote in favor of oneself. This implies that each leader finds himself in the need to grant his support to any of the other six aspirants.

For this reason, the voting mechanism for the city’s leader is found closely linked to the development of the “black market”…

In said clandestine space converge the emissaries of the most influential lineages of the aristocracy, dedicating their efforts to ensure that the guild leader of their preference assumes control of the mayoralty. It is a silent confrontation that involves cunning, strategy, and political control.

“I have the certainty that I am not the only player on this board.”

Despite this, they were scarce the names that possessed the capacity to compete directly against the prestige of the House of Saxony.

Within the group of rulers with the most influence in the entire extension of the Empire, the total number could be counted using the fingers of a single hand. And from among all of them, the most dangerous competitor was the imperial crown itself.

The structure of the Empire and the figure of the Sovereign, counting on the support of the Red Tower, would undoubtedly dispose of their own envoys operating in the plane of clandestine agreements.

However, that scenario did not represent a source of immediate worry. Distancing himself from the domains of the “city of Calimala,” Dale was already advancing in the direction of the “city of Lana.”

“Arte della Lana.”

It represented one of the seven primordial organizations and one of the seven urban divisions within the City of the Guilds. In that precise emplacement awaited the emblem of the underworld environment.

It was the Fight Club, a coliseum hidden in the depths where the lives of the participants were put into play through bets.

The motive that drove this heir of noble blood to head towards that destination was extremely specific.

In the same way that he had previously exhibited his danger before the Calimala faction through the destruction of Kaleidoscope, validating in a conclusive way the combat capacity of the emissaries in the contention for the mayoralty constituted a fundamental labor.

And no scenario resulted more ideal for effecting said demonstration of force than an underground coliseum free of regulations.

Dale was not the only strategist who shared that line of thought, so the clashes scheduled in the Fight Club would distance themselves enormously from being simple altercations between combatants of low category.

That constituted a concentration of the representatives linked to the most powerful noble houses of the continental mass, convened through the networks of the black market; an ideal combat scenario where it was feasible to deploy the totality of the capabilities that a Circle IV granted. Achieving the submission of these opponents presented itself as the perfect way to exalt the prestige of the House of Sachsen.

This implied subjugating the imperial envoys, weakening the influence of the sovereign… and bending the Red Tower.