บท 140: Arc 8:-136th Adversary: Diasterous Situation!
Dragna City, Dragna Empire. The capital was tense. This was because of the arrival of the Saevus and Flameheart Clan leaders, who came by themselves. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem but in a situation like this where both leaders could be seen as extremely upset, this could lead to a disaster.
Currently, a meeting was being held in the royal palace's throne room. This meeting had all five branch leaders of the Dragna clan, and the previously mentioned Darwin Flameheart, and Markus Saevus. All 7 persons were sitting around a table which was at the center of the room. Every one of them had frowns on their faces as they sat in silence.
"Is anyone going to explain to me how this happened?"
The one who spoke up was Markus.
"I want to know how my grandson was kidnapped when he was in a supposed safe location and was being guarded by Kimiko Mors. I simply can't wrap my head around it."
"Asking how it happened won't make a difference, Markus. What needs to be discussed is how we're going to handle it."
Secundus Branch leader, Rouge spoke up.
"On contrary, I agree with Markus here. We need to look into how this happened."
Darwin said.
"From what I've gathered on my own, it seems that Miko and his gang had been completely and utterly defeated by Dragon Storm. Is there anyone who wishes to deny that?"
Darwin got no reply.
"I see. Then we must also admit we were taken for fools as well."
"I can't allow that one."
Quintus Branch leader, Andreas spoke up.
"Really? Then wasn't it us who allowed Renacido to deal with Dragon Storm on their own? Even though we knew how dangerous they were?"
Darwin asked.
"That is true, but we didn't do anything wrong. Renacido is a part of the Dragna empire, regardless of the fact Miko is its leader and founder. There was nothing wrong with testing how valuable they were as an asset to the empire."
"True, we did nothing wrong. Many others would've done the same thing. But what has that given us in return? Renacido suffered immense damages and its top brass are all missing."
After the Hall of Rebirth was attacked in Nebulous City, the three clans had sent people to aid the survivors and search for the leaders, corpse or alive didn't matter. They just wanted to confirm their status and made their decisions from there. However, forget corpses, not even a strand of hair from them could be found at the site of the attack.
"Layla Song, leader of the Parasite Demons Oden, and NoFace Jason are all missing. Not to mention Miko was kidnapped hours later. Isn't that a huge loss on our part?"
Andreas didn't answer.
"Miko and Renacido weren't the only ones who were completely and utterly defeated. We were too. We lost without throwing a single punch. That's the greatest humiliation one could ever experience."
"We get the point, Darwin."
Quartus Leader Ecko spoke up.
"We lost, but that's why we're here to discuss our next move."
She leaned back in her chair.
"I've already exhausted my connections with organizations across the world. It's only a matter of time before we have a sighting of Dragon Storm."
"I've contacted Krox and he said his people are ready to starting attacking anyone that's associated with Dragon Storm in anyway."
Alexus added.
"That's good. My troops are also ready to go at any time. Just give us a target and we'll wipe it off the earth."
"Are you people stupid?"
Nero spoke for the first time.
"Do you have a problem with what we're doing, Gamiko?"
Andreas asked.
"Of course. Your stupid actions will only make the situation worse."
"What was that?"
Andreas glared at Nero, who didn't seem to care.
"Considering the fact that Miko is your grandson, you seem calm."
Said Darwin.
"Is that how I seem?"
Nero suddenly started laughing.
"You all know what kind of person my wife Kimiko is. She's a strong and elegant woman who can be a bit stubborn at times. She's someone who can struck fear into the heart of the devil himself. A Wonder Woman."
Nero clenched his fists tightly until they started shaking.
"So how did you think I reacted when that same powerful woman called me apologizing over and over again while she cried all alone with no one to console her. That same woman couldn't even bring herself to face her daughter whose son was taken, even though she was there. That same woman had to watch as her flesh and blood be dragged to who knows where and only find out from others that he's constantly on the verge of death."
Nero paused as if to stop his trembling body.
"You all know my daughter Sasha and the love that she has for her child. It was because of the people targeting her child that she matured from her a kindhearted girl to a mercilessly murderer. So how did you think she reacted when she heard that her son was captured and was on the brink of death?"
No one answered, because they already heard and some even saw her themselves.
"When she first heard the news, she fainted. She then stopped eating and drinking, and finally she locked herself away and became bedridden. My beautiful daughter is now skins and bones. And yet, I seem calm to you?"
"....."
"Well, you're right. I'm calm. I'm calm. I'm calm."
He said it three times.
"Do you know why I'm calm? It's because someone's needs to be. And thanks to that, I already know what the enemy will do next."
"You do?"
Nero nodded.
"Let's recap. Currently Miko is unconscious and is a state close to death. This is confirmed not only by the Apostle Crest on his friends, but by the fact that his link with grandma has been cut. Because their link is cut, grandma can't teleport to where he is nor tell where he is either. Also, since she now has a Proxy she can't appear too far away from Miko, which means she can't appear in this world until her link with Miko is restored. Her link with Miko's regalia has been cut simultaneously, so she can't learn more about the situation from her. This is a safety mechanism in the Proxy system to protect her from experiencing pain from their link after all."
"In other words, we're completely cut off from Miko."
Rouge said.
"Not necessarily. Like I said earlier, we know of Miko's dire status through his friends' Apostle Crest. This is most likely within the enemy's calculations. They want us to know that Miko's life is in danger and put pressure on us. Which means they're basically telling us his life is in their hands."
"The fact they didn't kill him means they want to use him for something else. And you know what that is?"
Markus asked.
"If it was you what would you use Miko's life for?"
"Money, resources, power over my enemies."
Nero nodded.
"That's what most people would use it for, but not me."
"What do you have to do with this?"
Ecko asked.
"From all of his previous actions, it's safe to say that Tang Xian and myself have some similarities in the way we think."
"Well, he is a scheming bastard that doesn't seem to follow logic. I mean who would want to pick a fight with us immediately after what we demonstrated? He must be crazy."
Alexus said. The others nodded in agreement.
"He's doing it for the thrill. That's the only explanation. He's an thrill junkie who loves to overcome obstacles when everything is stacked against him."
"…..If you look at it like that then his actions does makes sense."
Darwin mumbled.
"Then his next move will be….?"
"He'll give us a chance to recover Miko. But it won't be easy because thrill seekers like him also enjoy seeing other people trying to overcome a dire situation. Especially in this case where if we do retrieve Miko our next step will be going after him with everything we got. So he'll set up something that will give us a chance at recovering Miko but it will put us at risk as well."
"You know, I'm starting to acknowledge this Tang kid as a very dangerous entity."
Ecko said.
"Someone who doesn't fear death and instead does his best to seek the thrill of it….That's the worst type of enemy to have, because you'll never know what they're thinking."
"Tell me about it."
Nero said. Everyone looked at him and thought the same thing.
(Aren't you the same?)
At that moment, the doors opened and Nova walked in.
"Its just like you predicted, Pops."
"Did they make a move?"
Nova nodded at Nero's question.
"I kept on eye on the black market like you asked and found something."
He took out a picture and lifted it for everyone to see.
"?!"
Everyone except Nero leaped to their feet.
"Miko?!"
In the picture, they could see Miko inside a Capsule-shaped machine.
"He's severely injured as you can see. I believe his body is being preserved in this machine which will prevent him from dying, but he also can't get recover."
"Where is this capsule?"
Rouge asked.
"It's on an uncharted island off the Night Continent. Our troops are preparing to get it."
"Good then let's get going!"
"Wait."
Nero stopped everyone and looked at Nova.
"What's the catch?"
"This photo along with Miko's location has been circulated across the entire dark web. Which means there are countless people who knows where it is."
"And countless enemies who wants to either kill Miko or use him as leverage against us."
Nero stood up with the rest of the leaders. A savage grin appeared on his face.
"Interesting. That island will turn into a battlefield any second now."
"There's no time to lose. The three clans will immediately go and retrieve Miko with full force."
Rouge declared.
"Kill anyone that stands in our way."
******
"What?! They found where Miko is?!"
Hina shouted. She and the others were in Miko's home. The one who told them the news was Leon.
"Yeah, we're getting ready to retrieve right now."
"We're coming too!"
"No. It's too dangerous. We're not the only ones who knows his location. It's spread across the international crime community. It's 100% certain that our enemies are going after him as well. So a lot of people will die."
"We're fine with that! We're Miko's Apostles, people who plead our lives to him! It's normal for us to put our lives on line for him."
"Regardless of your permission, we're going."
"I agree."
The trio faced Leon with determined expressions.
"Let them go."
Aeon, who was leaning on a wall, spoke on the trio's behalf.
"Momo and I will keep an eye on them and protect them if needed. Besides, the Flamehearts will definitely bring Luka, so it would suck if they can't go."
"Ah, Fine."
The sound of a door opening reached their ears. They soon saw Sasha walked in with the twins behind her.
"Sasha, why are you dressed in your battle attire?"
Leon rushed towards her.
"I'm going to collect my child, why else?"
"Not in your condition."
Sasha slapped Leon's hand away.
"I'm fine. Even if I'm like this, I'll be good as new by the time we reach our destination."
"But.."
"Regardless of what you say I'm going."
"...Ah, Fine! Everyone's going!"
Leon shouted.
"But remember to do your best to protect yourselves."
"Yes!"
*******
The news of Miko's location and current state had spread wide and far as Nero had anticipated. Now, all of the world's superpowers were either keeping an eye on the situation or was planning on getting involved. But neither them nor the Dragna clan would expect that someone had already reached Miko.
On the uncharted island, Miko was laid on the beach, still trapped in the capsule. But he wasn't alone.
"Oh? It looks like we're the first ones here."
Two men appeared on the beach and started walking towards Miko. One of them had dark skin, black hair, a tall and lean build, was dressed in a black shirt with the words "Endless Night" written in red on it, wearing a chain with an golden eye pendent, thick golden bracelets on each hand, a black pants with golden eyes on the side, and a pair of black sneakers with gold flame graffiti on the front.
"Well, that just makes us lucky, Nox."
Said the other man.
He had similar features to his comrade with jet black hair and dark skin and eyes. He was wearing a gothic style trench coat, leather pants, spike boots, a choker, and ring made of black stone on his finger.
"I guess you're right, Erebus. Luck is on our side."
The man in the trench coat was the Greek god of primordial darkness, Erebus. The man dressed in the black and gold was his Proxy, Night King, Nox. A divine proxy with a bad reputation.
"So this is the kid that's constantly been the talk of the town for a while now."
Nox approached Miko's capsule and smiled.
"My name will go down in history for killing the Dragna Clan's proxy. They'll sing songs about me and write stories of my glory."
He stretched his hand and then stopped.
"I see that others have started to arrive."
He and Erebus turned and saw a muscular man with brown skin and wild orange hair and beard which reminded one of a lion's mane. He was dress casually in a V-neck sleeveless top, loose pants which resemble pajama bottoms, and a pair of sandals. What caught the two's attention was his eyes. He had golden eyes, but not two but three. The third one was found at the center of his forehead. Looking at it made one feel like they were about to lose their souls.
"A Parasite Demon, and powerful one at that."
This man was Oden.
"Yo, I'll appreciate it if you keep your hands off our boss."
Jason, Layla, and the former Jara guardians all appeared behind him. They all glared at Nox and Erebus with hatred and bloodlust. Nox stepped out and said-
"I came here expecting a fight, so why not?"
He grinned.
"I'll send you freaks to your grave."
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