Capítulo 148: 144th Adversary: Hostile Takeover
Grim Academy.
The news of the grand battle for Miko on the Night Continent naturally made its way here. The amount of people involved was uncountable, so there was no way to contain the news. Naturally it caused a stir, and many talked about it for a while.
Currently, one of the Four Dragon Stars ,Kaido Khan was on the roof of the school building.
"Yeah, It doesn't seem like they're planning on returning to the academy. I believe they'll focus on Tang and Dragon Storm."
(Hm…Tang huh?)
A soothing yet energetic female voice came from the other end of Kaido's call.
(Honestly, I wanted to do business with him but it looks like it was a good thing that we didn't. Otherwise, I'm sure those girls would've killed you back then.)
"Hahaha….I guess you're right."
Kaido felt a chill when he remembered the day Hina and Luka came for him.
"Anyway, Bloom. What should I do now? The plan was to originally help Miko out but the situation has already escalated beyond our control. As a result, we were unable to get him in our debts….Should I return to the Newgate Country for now?"
(….Say, if Miko and Tang fought again who do you think would win?)
"Huh?"
(Just answer.)
Kaido started to think.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. I've never seen Miko go all out before, well that's true for Tang too…"
(Then out of the two who do you think you could defeat?)
"Both."
Kaido answered immediately.
(You sound certain. Why?)
"Well, although I've never defeated Tang, that's because you forbid me from using anything beyond my dragon abilities."
(Then if you were to use your full strength you would be stronger than him?)
"No, we would be equal. Tang is a monster so even if I went all out I would only equal him."
(Doesn't that mean you're a monster too? Anyway, then why are you certain that you can defeat him?)
"Compatibility. It's not by much but Tang is weak against strength-based fighters with high destructive abilities. If I release my most destructive abilities and cause wide spread destruction with a beastly fighting style, then I'll get the advantage."
(I see….Tang is a disciplined martial artist. He's weak against the savage beasts like yourself.)
"Savage Beasts…."
Kaido had a wary smile.
(Then why would you win against Miko?)
"Because I'm far stronger. That's it. Unless, he use techniques I have no way to counter I would win in the straight fist fight."
(Kaido, you should stay and observe Miko and Tang's fight.)
"Why?"
(My gut tells me we'll get see the true extent of Miko's abilities if you do. Also…)
"Also?"
(Also, I think it would be a great learning experience for you.)
Dale Capital City.
There was a high class restaurant that was frequented by the upper class community by the name of White Tiger. This restaurant had three stories and could host 100 customers easy. However, if a customer was rich enough, they could reserve an entire floor and its staff for themselves.
Currently on the third floor, which was the most expensive, there was a man dressed in an expensive suit eating by himself at a table that had a beautiful view of the city. He was rather on the chubby side, had his hair well groomed, and had strong-looking men protecting him.
"Mr. Braun."
One of his guards bowed and whispered something in his ear.
"Someone wants to meet me? If it isn't someone important turn them away. I'm trying to enjoying my meal."
Braun then continued to eat without paying his guard any attention.
"That wouldn't be wise, Gary Braun."
Braun looked up and saw a teen dressed in a azure and black vest suit with a coat and hat. The teen was approaching him with a smile on his face.
"Who are you and how did you get in here when I booked the floor?"
"I think you'll come to learn that I'm a man of many surprises."
Miko laughed.
"Guards, throw him out."
Braun waved his hand and was about continue his meal but he noticed that none of his guards made in any moves.
"What's wrong? I said to throw him out?"
"They can't do that, Gary."
Miko placed his hand on one of the guard's shoulders.
"If they did, they'll never see their love ones again."
Braun's eyes widened. Miko ignored his shock and took a seat in front of him.
"Oh, Beef bourguignon! I haven't had this in ages. Excuse me, waiter!"
A waiter nervously came to the table.
"Could you bring what Gary here is having?"
"Of course, sir. It'll be ready soon. May I offer you some wine while you wait?"
"No, the Beef bourguignon already has enough wine. Bring us a bottle of your finest champagne."
The waiter nodded and left. Braun noticed the waiter was trembling while talking to Miko.
"Oh, about that."
Miko spoke while placing a napkin in his collar.
"I pretty much have all the employees here under my control. Since we're eating, I don't think it'll be good to discuss just how I did it."
"Your meal sir."
The waiter came back and placed Miko's meal in front him.
"Thanks. It looks delicious."
Miko then started to happily eat his meal while the waiter poured champagne for him and Braun.
"You…Who are you?"
"Oh, where's my manners. My name is Mikel Roca. Nice to meet you."
(A fake name.)
Braun frowned.
"Alright, Mr. Roca."
"Please, Gary. Call me Mikel."
"….Alright, Mikel. Could you tell me what business you have with me?"
"I'm here to offer you a proposition. How would you like to become the new Minister of Finance?"
"What?"
"I can make it happen."
Miko had a boyish expression as he enjoyed his food.
"Is this a joke?"
"Do you think I would go through the trouble of doing all this for a prank?"
"Listen, becoming the Minister of Finance isn't easy. There's a lot of-"
"Leave all the complicated stuff to me. I'm just asking if you want to or not?"
"…..I do. But even if that was possible what would you want from me in return?"
"I want to join the Council of Hermès."
"?!"
Braun was visibly shocked by what he heard.
"Are you mad? The Council Of Hermès is a national guild composed of Dale's top businessmen. Just being a member is enough for you to remain rich forever. You'll always be backed by others members, so that you can stay on top in your respective field. Do you think I can put you in there like that? You have to be nominated and then all the current members will vote on whether to let you in or not."
"I know how it goes. I just want you to nominate me."
"My apologizes, but I must ask. Are you insane?"
"My psychologist says that I'm not entitled to answer that."
Braun eyes twitched out of anger. If it wasn't for the fact that all of his guards and the employees here had betrayed him, he would think that everything was a joke.
"You don't take me seriously do you?"
Miko suddenly looked upset, but to Braun he looked like a kid who was pouting.
"Can you blame me? I mean, if you can make me the Minister of finance then you should be able to get in the council pretty easily. Also, why do you want to join the council?"
"I have my reasons."
Miko wiped his mouth and stood up.
"Alright. I'll show you how serious I am. Tomorrow there will be an event that will shake the entire country. I bet you'll take me serious then."
"Huh?"
After saying that Miko left while laughing.
"….Who was that psycho?"
Braun looked at his guards.
"By the way, you're all fired."
A few days later, Braun had forgotten about his meeting with Miko and was having a lunch at a different restaurant. He couldn't trust the old one after they betrayed him after all. It was while he was having his meal that he received a message.
"The First Lady was almost assassinated?!"
Braun couldn't believe the message. He asked for the employees to bring him a tv and surely it was all over every channel on Dale's tv stations. That's when what Miko said popped up in his head.
"Did he do this?"
"That's right."
"?!"
Braun jumped out of his seat when he suddenly saw Miko appear in front of him.
"Where? How?"
"I've always been here. You just didn't notice."
Miko answered.
"You…You tried to kill the First Lady? Are you insane?"
"What do you think? Do I look insane to you?"
This time Braun could see it…
"Heh."
The sinister aura behind that smile. It was as if Miko was starting to show his true colors.
"You…What are you really after? For you to target the First Lady of all people."
"To be honest, even I don't know what I'm doing. But doesn't that make it fun?"
Miko laughed but stopped when he saw Braun's serious expression.
"I said I wanted to show you that I'm serious. Be honest, it left an impression right?"
"But you failed."
"Because I wanted to. I only showed you what I'm capable of. I have no reason to kill the First Lady. I heard she is a nice lady. Her death would only haunt my conscience."
(He's lying. I can tell, he wouldn't feel a thing from kill the First Lady.)
Braun couldn't help but notice the chilling look in Miko's eyes. It was as if there was no warmth left inside him. Just a walking corpse.
"So, Gary…Do you think I'm serious now or do I have to really kill the First Lady?"
"That won't be necessary. I can see that you're a serious person."
Braun was afraid Miko would really kill the First Lady to make a point.
"Mikel, I must ask again. Why do you want to enter the council?"
"Well, I suppose that it won't hurt telling you."
Miko thought about it and then spoke as if he had just decided it on whim.
"I want to topple Dale from within and become its shadow leader…I think. I'm still working out the kinks."
(What the hell?)
Once again Braun was bewildered by the kid in front of him.
"And to do that you need to enter the Council of Hermès?"
Miko nodded.
"Then what makes you believe that I'll assist you?"
"Because you're a smart man. I'm sure you've already noticed it, but Dale and Aloe have been severely weakened by the conflict between Dragon Storm and Renacido. The leaders of the respective countries are currently struggling to rebuild the two nations, but they'll most likely be forced to put the countries in more debt than they already are in. In other words, the countries will continue to deteriorate."
"So you're saying Dale and Aloe are like sinking ships?"
"Correct. Since I'm a benevolent person, I'm willing to patch them up, so that they can sail again, but only where I want them to."
Braun nodded.
"This is the first I've heard you speak so seriously. But I'm curious, how will you be able to do that?"
"Like I said, I'm still working out the kinks."
(So he doesn't want to say.)
"Alright, Mikel. You've shown me how serious you are and just what you're capable of doing, so I'll give you a hand."
(Personality aside, I can see that this kid at least have some powerful backing. If I'm able to use him, I might be able to jump off this sinking boat.)
"I don't think that would be wise, Gary."
Braun looked at Miko's face and saw him smiling brightly.
"I don't mind being used, but I think I should warn you."
His smile turned into a childish grin.
"You might get devoured before you achieve anything."
Suddenly Braun saw the image of himself be bitten to death by a monster.
"?!"
He sprung out of his seat with cold sweat covering his body.
"What's wrong, Gary?"
Miko pointed at his seat with a face full of smiles.
"Please sit back down. You're making a scene."
"….Yeah…My apologizes."
He sat back down while shaking a bit.
"M-Mikel, if you don't mind me asking….What business field are you in?"
"Oh, I currently don't have a business."
"Huh?! You don't have a business but you want to join a council of top businessmen? Are you insane?"
"Aren't you getting tired of asking that now?"
Miko spoke as if he was truly curious.
"Don't worry. I'm in the middle of obtaining a business."
"In the middle? Listen, Mikel unless you're a prominent businessperson, the others won't accept my nomination. They might start looking down on me."
"Don't worry."
A sly smile appeared on Miko's face.
"It's a pretty big business."
Just like any capital city, Dale's capital had its fair share of illegal activities and criminals who either commit or benefit from these acts. Naturally, if there are criminal there will be places where they hang out. One of these places was called Jungle, short for the concrete jungle. This place was occupied by some of Dale's top criminals while also serving as their birthplace. However, this place looked like a scene out of any war movie. The buildings were on fire, bodies laid out in the middle of the road, and blood flowed down the streets.
If you were to follow the trail of bodies and blood ,you would see that they all led to a building on the east end of Jungle. The building itself didn't have any damages, despite everywhere else either being on fire or on the verge of collapsing. Inside the building, you could see even more bodies laying about along with broken weapons.
"Hahaha! Leaving this to me was the best choice Miko could have ever made."
Ishma laughed as she dragged two badly beaten men behind her.
"He left it to the two of us. Also, you weren't suppose to kill anyone."
Regis complained behind her while walking with Tiamat.
"Even after thousands of years, you don't change huh? You always leave a trail of carnage wherever you go."
"Shut it. Miko likes it, so there isn't any problem."
Ishma replied while tossing the men she was dragging through the window.
"Also, I didn't kill anyone. I just made them wish they were dead. Thanks to Miko constantly getting stronger, I'm getting closer and closer to regaining my old strength. I think just a little more and Miko will be able to use my abilities, a downgraded version of course."
"Well, that's good news."
Tiamat said while she avoided getting her clothes dirty with blood.
"Oh, boss found."
Ishma saw a man quivering in a corner while pointing a magic gun at them.
"W-Who sent you?! Was it those bastards in the west?! Name your price and I'll pay you double if spare me!"
"Well, he's quite pathetic. I don't Miko needs this one."
Tiamat said.
"His orders was to keep them alive so that's what I'm going to do."
Ishma said.
"I'm surprised. You have self control."
"Shut up."
Ishma approached the man.
"Don't come any closer! I'll shoot!"
"Go ahead. If you do I'll take that arm of yours as punishment."
A cruel grin appeared on her face. The man's body stiffened.
"What do you want?"
"Your everything."
Her grin became wider was her green eyes started illuminating.
"This is a hostile takeover."
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