72 Epilogue - Door greeter to the First Circle of Hell (2/2)
”Nocturne?” Hena guessed, the 2nd having always having been a stickler for the rules and semi-obsessed with looking as handsome as he could. A fallen angel was quite the improvement from his beak-like nose and watery eyes in his past life. Not that she would say so aloud, the 2nd's status as Daario's chief advisor making him a very bad person to get on the bad side of. How he - as a literal angel - had even made it into the first ring of hell at all baffled her, but knowing Nocturne, Hena guessed he had found some loophole as he almost always did.
Always within the law this one. Yet so damn smart he still got everything he wanted just like Ranarium, if with infuriatingly hard to refute justifications. Then again, a lawyer who specialised in defending Kingpins, Mercenaries and Criminal enterprises from the law and actually succeeded more often than not was bound to be rather exceptional.
”See you, babe,” Ranarium said, licking his lips and winking as he stared openly at her backside. Seeing as Hena hated imposing men above all, she had a damn hard time holding back from teleporting his head into a stinking cesspit and his body to a cold mountain peak.
”That's the look I remember, you haven't changed a bit,” Ranarium taunted, Hena forced to turn away. The bastard wanted her to react and she wouldn't give him the pleasure, not unless she was certain he'd be dead and buried by the end of it.
Entering after Nocturne into a rather crude elevator, she was whisked upward to the current tallest floor. Opening the door she found several more of Gravitas' members strolling about the construction site, a Fae Druid, a Lich armoured in blood ice, and a little ratty boy with several snapping books while being followed by a pair of personal Obsidian Guards.
Past them all was a great terrace, a table raised atop it covered in little coloured pieces and a partially finished map. Daario looked as he always had with neat black hair, a set of sharp brown eyes and hawkish features that made his merest glance make one feel as if he already knew everything there was to know about you. If with devilish features down one side, his right hand now ink black and clawed.
His own suit was made of a fine wine red, with little magical pins filled with intense auras and a fiery quil that floated in the air behind him. The Quil had a little golden eye, which stared at Hena as it's flaming form burst into a brighter inferno of gold, before returning back to its regular cinder red.
”Hena, you took your time. What powers have you obtained, and what news do you bring?” Daario said, raising his chin to look at her as if for this short time not a single other soul existed. Hena's heart skipped a beat, her many stresses and troubles now feeling no heavier than a warm summer's breeze.
”I can make portals, to anywhere given enough mana. But they are easily manipulated by wards, so it would be best to only use them either to remote locations or only after the region has had its portal wards removed. The portal is also far less likely to make a exit underground, the sky, a wall or some other less than ideal location if i've been there before. My apologies for being late, but before I knew of these ward's existence I had the location of my first portal changed to the inside of an Inquisitor's cell.”
Daario nodded, yet made not a sound as he watched several imps appear from shadowy passes to mumble to themselves and move around the pieces on the table. Another with a quil scribbled some additions to the leftmost side of the map, while a third placed delicate rolls of demon leather on a nearby desk.
”And what have you heard on your travels?”
”I've found 18th, 17th, 15th and 11th. 18th is running a 'Hero Farm' to help us gain XP faster, 17th has started his communist state to the east of the Kingdom of Alandria, while 15th has created a Mafia like organisation to collect intelligence, and is challenging 17th for control of the area. 11th meanwhile...well, I heard rumours that he was killed after setting a gigantic wildfire.”
Another pause, Daario just staring at her while those dark eyes filled with a keen intelligence felt like they already knew every damn thing Hena was saying. Scraping her brain for news, she tried desperately to think up something more but knew nothing else with the utter certainty required to report it.
”You've done well, 4th. I'll have work for you to do soon, and this news of yours is appreciated. I'll have agents dispatched soon, so, for now, relieve yourself on such matters until I am ready to hear a more detailed report. Rest assured, Gravitas's time has come, and while we failed in the last world, we will never bow to another power again now that we have been given this second chance.”
Striding to a balcony that overlooked the rapid construction that spread in all direction, and overlooked a great array of demonic infantry. The columns held up crimson flags emblazoned with intertwined arms. One was ink black and ended in claws, the other pale and humanoid. Daario paused as he watched the columns split along several streets, and head to several fronts.
”You did say that 18th had started a 'Hero Farm', did you not?”
”Yes, I thought it was a good idea, and left him behind to continue it. He has the powers to morph into different people, so I assumed it better he ingrain himself in the area and wait for us to return for him,” Hena fiddled with her hands, ”was that the wrong thing to say?”
”Well...no. Your thought process is correct, but there is another problem. For one, 18th has never seemed to be an especially bright person. Not so much as to make so useful a creation as an XP farm.”
”Perhaps he boosted his intelligence with his species or class?” Hena said, waiting for the other shoe to drop and Daario to reveal his deep insight on the matter. Their conversations, while enlightening for Hena, had rarely ended with her getting the upper hand. Few did for that matter.
”Well, 4th, that brings us to the other problem. You see last I knew, 18th had been turned to stone before that machine was activated. So the question is, if 18th never came to this world with us, then who knows enough of our organisation to pretend they are one of ours? Might it be possible, this person does not merely replicate others but can retain their memories too, enough to feign being 18th at least?”
Hena paused, a chill running down her spine. Just what kind of sociopath could have lied right to her face like that, and how many more of them just like that were out there? Another organisation like Gravitas perhaps, 18 more rival criminals?
The possibilities were endless.
Daario nodded grimly.
”It seems we have competition. From now on we'll have to operate with extreme caution, and I'll start by sending out some of our forces to find out just how much of a threat this '18th' might be to our plans.”
End of Volume 1