Episode 90
Three knocks, a pause, then three more. It was the secret signal that someone had arrived at the Thieves’ Guild, “Kaleidoscope.”
Most likely, they were here to hire their services.
A skilled criminal guild demanded a hefty fee, and for those who couldn’t afford it, smaller guilds like theirs existed.
With that in mind, Baker, a low-ranking thief, went to greet the visitor. Outside stood a man cloaked in black.
“What brings you here?”
“I’m here to hire you.”
Though his face was hidden by the hood, his voice sounded young and somewhat inexperienced.
“Ah, you’ve come to the right place!”
Baker replied with a smile.
“Our ‘Kaleidoscope’ is like a fairy that grants wishes!”
“Can you… kill someone?”
“Of course!”
Baker’s voice rose with enthusiasm.
“From stealing what you desire to eliminating someone, or even extracting information by squeezing their neck!”
All within their capabilities, provided the client could pay the price. As Baker finished his explanation, the cloaked man nodded.
“Once a name is on our hit list, there’s no escape.”
“That’s reassuring.”
The man nodded again and spoke.
“Every member of Kaleidoscope.”
In the stillness of the room, his black robe fluttered.
“That’s the ‘hit list’ I want.”
”…?”
“You owe me a debt.”
Dale spoke without a hint of emotion. Before Baker could fully grasp his words…
Thud!
Something pierced his throat.
“Gah, gah!”
A dark, slender blade shimmered with a deadly gleam. The shadow didn’t stop there. After tearing through his neck, it moved inside him like a living creature.
A shadow parasite.
A scream, otherworldly and inhuman, echoed through the air.
Inside the Thieves’ Guild hideout, a few thieves were drinking when the cloaked man appeared.
“Who is that? How did he get in here…?”
No client should have been able to reach this far. But then they saw the bloodstains on his robe, and their instincts screamed.
“Intruder, intruder!”
The thieves lived up to their name, launching a barrage of weapons with incredible speed.
Clang!
But none of them reached the man. His black robe billowed, forming a dark shield that deflected every attack. It was a shield, not a blade.
Dale had grown to the level of a 4th Circle mage, and his artifact, the Shadow Cloak, was no exception.
“This is my domain.”
Dale murmured coldly, and a lake of darkness spread across the hideout.
“Dark magic!”
The members of Kaleidoscope gasped in shock.
“Kill him, close the distance and kill the mage!”
Several mid-level thieves quickly decided and charged across the dark lake. But the ‘things’ lurking within broke their silence.
Shadow Lurkers.
Thud!
As the thieves charged, spikes shot up from beneath their feet, piercing from groin to skull. It was like Vlad the Impaler’s stakes.
The thieves’ bodies were suspended in mid-air.
“Gah, gah…!”
There wasn’t just one Shadow Lurker. With the growth to the 4th Circle, they had become even larger, mature forms.
A spiky hell.
The lurkers in the shadows unleashed a barrage of spikes, enveloping the entire hideout in darkness.
“Spare me!”
“Aaaah!”
The Shadow Lurkers’ massacre spared no one. Bodies were torn to unrecognizable shreds, limbs and entrails scattered.
Amidst the blood-soaked scene reminiscent of a third-rate splatter film, Dale turned his head.
“Eek…!”
The so-called ‘Guild Master,’ the last surviving senior thief, trembled.
“Why are you doing this to us?”
Dale walked forward, unfazed. The guild master, like a child, whimpered and asked. He had no fight left in him.
The difference in power was overwhelming. He was nothing compared to this formidable opponent.
In the darkness that engulfed the hideout, he could only tremble and beg for his life, not understanding why.
“Years ago, your guild’s thieves ventured to the frozen lands of Saxon.”
”…!”
Dale spoke.
It was a mission that Kaleidoscope could never forget, and the guild master understood immediately.
“Could it be, the Saxon family…?”
Dale tilted his head and asked.
“Did the name Saxon seem so trivial to you?”
The infamous Saxon Ducal House.
“Did our family’s name seem so insignificant that it could be justified by a thousand gold coins?”
Despite their notoriety, they had accepted the mission, blinded by the wealth offered by a holy knight. Now, they were paying the price.
“Haha…”
The master of the Thieves’ Guild, Kaleidoscope, trembled and let out a hollow laugh.
Yes, their opponent was the Saxon Ducal House. The rulers of the northern wastelands, the leaders of the dark clan.
“You should have considered the implications more carefully.”
“Damn monster…”
The guild master cursed in resignation.
“Shadow Bullet.”
Dale muttered briefly. Shadow bullets poured endlessly from seven black barrels.
“Black Barrel,” “Gatling Style.”
In projecting the imagery of another world, no cumbersome embellishments were needed.
Some time later.
The massacre at the Thieves’ Guild, Kaleidoscope, became known to the outside world. People were left speechless by the hellish scene.
Amidst the carnage, a single piece of black cloth lay.
The emblem of the Saxon Ducal House… embroidered with a night raven.
At the city hall of Arte di Calimala.
When Dale reappeared in one of the chambers, the master of the Calimala Guild greeted him with the maximum security force he could muster.
Remembering the recent massacre at the Thieves’ Guild, he knew the significance of the black cloth left behind.
The Night Raven. The emblem of the Saxon Ducal House.
“There’s no need to be so cautious.”
Dale smiled reassuringly.
“They had a debt that needed settling.”
“A debt to be settled?”
The master of the Calimala Guild asked cautiously.
“As I mentioned, I believe I’ve given you ample time to consider my proposal.”
Dale said.
“But for an outsider here, it might be a bit uncomfortable to hear.”
”…”
The guild master’s expression wavered for a moment. But as the master of the Calimala Guild, his value couldn’t be compared to a mere Thieves’ Guild.
“Everyone, leave us.”
After some thought, the guild master ordered. His guards bowed and left the room.
That day, as the representative of the Saxon family, Dale made his proposal.
To support him in becoming the city master in the name of Saxon, in exchange for access to the city master’s ‘ledger.’ The pros and cons had already been meticulously calculated.
And the decision made by the master of the Calimala Guild was clear.
“Before I accept your proposal, I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“The ledger… surely the Saxon family and you, my lord, understand its significance.”
The city master’s ledger.
It contained the flow of legal and illegal business funds across the continent. It listed the nobles indebted to the guild city, where swords were sold, where they were planned to be sold, and where debts were incurred to buy them.
A mere glance at the ledger’s pages could predict where wars would break out.
The true power of the guild city lay in holding that information, and what Dale demanded was the heart of that information and trust.
“Nothing in this world comes for free.”
Dale replied as if it were someone else’s business.
“What exactly is the Saxon family’s goal?”
At that question, Dale paused in silence.
“To make black great again.”
After a moment, Dale answered.
“That’s the only thing I desire.”
Silence followed once more. But it wasn’t a silence of conflict or hesitation.
“I will accept the Saxon family’s proposal.”
With resolve, the master of the Calimala Guild spoke.
“You won’t regret it.”
Dale bowed politely, a smile on his face. In the Guild City, his journey had only just begun to crest a few ridges.
To become the City Master, one must secure the approval of four out of the seven Guild Masters, and voting for oneself is strictly prohibited. This means each Guild Master is obliged to cast their vote for one of the other seven.
Thus, the process of selecting a City Master is intricately tied to the “black market”…
There, the representatives of the great nobles gather, working to ensure that their preferred Guild Master becomes the next City Master. An invisible battle of wits and influence.
“I’m surely not the only one.”
Yet, few could rival the name of the House of Sachsen.
Among the Empire’s most powerful lords, only a handful could be counted on one hand. And among them, the most formidable adversary was the Empire itself.
The Empire and the Emperor, backed by the Red Tower, would undoubtedly have their own “representatives” making secret deals.
But that’s not something to worry about right now. Leaving the “City of Calimala” behind, Dale was already on his way to the “City of Lana.”
“Arte della Lana.”
One of the seven great guilds and one of the seven cities of the Guild City. It was there that the symbol of the underworld awaited.
The Fight Club. An underground arena where lives were wagered.
The reason this noble scion was heading there was singular.
Just as he had once flaunted his notoriety to the Calimala Guild through the “Kaleidoscope,” demonstrating the power of his representatives in the selection of the next City Master was an essential task.
And there was no better place for such a display than the no-holds-barred underground arena.
Dale wasn’t the only one with this thought, and the matches at the Fight Club would be far from mere skirmishes between nobodies.
It was a gathering of the great nobles’ representatives from across the continent, invited by the black market, and a proving ground where the full might of a 4th Circle could be unleashed. Defeating them would be the perfect opportunity to prove the name of the House of Sachsen.
By toppling the representatives of the Empire, the Emperor… and the Red Tower.