(A/N: Happy Aid Everyone!)
...
"Are they that desperate?" Damien narrowed his eyes.
Loki shrugged. "Well, we expected something like this. Dian Cecht was the first one we expected would be against us. The fact that he has created his own mock alliance does not surprise me."
Damien waved a hand. "Well, give it no heed. I want the people to know our city is in safe hands. The first thing I want us to do as an official alliance is a clean up."
Hestia tilted her head. "What do you suggest?"
"Exactly what I said. A clean up." Damien's voice was hard. "I heard while I was in the dungeon that Welf's shop was burnt down by some local gangs. Right?"
Hestia nodded. "Yes. I made sure to compensate him. Some precious items were lost, but he is back working now."
"Good. Good." Damien stood up. "Well, I am going to start with that. Every district, and every gang that hides in its shadows... I am going to destroy them all."
He left the meeting.
Loki laughed. "God help those gangsters. Oh wait... we are the gods."
....
The Hearth was busy that evening.
Adventurers crowded the main hall, drinking, eating, sharing stories. The news had spread fast. Damien...the Shadow Monarch himself...had taken Tiona and Tione and gone on a rampage through the city's underworld.
A young adventurer, barely Level Two, slammed his mug on the table. "Did you hear? The White Wolves gang is finished! All of them! Damien crushed their hideout himself!"
Another adventurer nodded eagerly. "I heard he broke their leader's arm with one hand. Didn't even draw his blades."
"Not just the White Wolves," a third added. "The Serpents are gone too. And the Crimson Fists. Anyone who was extorting new adventurers or running fake porter schemes....gone. Just like that."
The first adventurer leaned back, shaking his head in disbelief. "I was robbed by the Serpents two months ago. Lost everything I had saved for a new sword. I thought no one would ever do anything about them."
An older adventurer crossed his arms. "This alliance might actually be something good. If this keeps up, Orario will be safer than it has been in decades."
A skeptical voice cut through the chatter. "And what happens when he decides we are the problem? When the Shadow Monarch turns his eyes on us?"
The table went quiet.
A woman with short brown hair spoke up. "Damien is one of us. He was a new adventurer once. He had to fight his way up just like everyone else. Why would he betray that?"
The skeptic shrugged. "Power gets to the head. You have seen it before. Strong adventurers start thinking they are above the rest. They start taking what they want."
The young adventurer from earlier shook his head. "Not Damien. I saw him at the Denatus celebration. He was talking to everyone....not just the elites. He bought drinks for a group of Level Ones who looked lost and scared. He told them to keep working hard. He was... kind."
Another adventurer nodded. "I heard he refused to let the Guild give him a private booth. He said he wanted to eat with everyone else."
The skeptic grumbled but said nothing more.
The brown-haired woman smiled. "Maybe this is exactly what Orario needed. Someone strong who actually cares."
Chloe watched from across the room.
She balanced a tray on her shoulder, her cat ears twitching as she listened to the conversation. A small smile played on her lips.
She served a group of adventurers their drinks, her movements smooth and practiced.
"Here you go, nya," she said, setting down the mugs.
One of the adventurers...a burly man with a scar across his cheek....looked up at her. "Hey, you work for the Hostess, right? You know Damien personally, don't you?"
Chloe's smile widened. "You could say that, nya."
"What is he really like?" the man asked. "Is he as scary as they say?"
Chloe laughed. "He is scary when he needs to be, nya. But to those he cares about?" She shook her head. "He is the softest man I have ever met, nya."
She thought of the night before. Of his arms around her. Of the way he whispered her name.
"He is going to change this city," she said quietly. "For the better, nya."
She walked away, her tail swishing behind her.
The adventurers watched her go.
The young Level Two raised his mug. "To Damien Ardent. The Shadow Monarch."
Around the table, mugs rose.
"To Damien Ardent."
The Hearth buzzed with conversation, with hope, with the first stirrings of something new.
Outside, the clean up continued.
....
Damien broke through the massive door with a single kick. An adventurer lunged at him. Damien caught his arm and broke it with a sharp twist. The man screamed and crumpled.
He nodded.
Tiona and Tione moved past him like twin whirlwinds. Their fists and feet flew, beating down the remaining members of the weak Familia with brutal efficiency. Bodies hit the floor. Weapons clattered away. Within moments, the main hall was secured.
"Why have you come here, damn it!" The captain of the Familia screamed, his face twisted with rage. "It is true, is it not! You have turned rotten!"
Damien ignored him. His eyes swept the room and found a small, hurt Pallum hiding in the corner. She was trembling, her arms wrapped around her knees, her eyes wide with fear.
He walked toward her.
She flinched as he approached.
"Your name is Liliruca Arde... right?"
She shook upon hearing him speak her name. "I... I... I did not want to rob them. I was forced to. I... They..." She pointed at the captain.
Damien smiled and patted her head gently.
"I do not blame you. You are a victim, as much as everyone affected by the schemes of that man." He pointed at the captain. "I am only here to tell you that you are safe. I am going to free you from this place."
Her eyes filled with tears.
He turned and walked toward the captain.
"You... You are Zenis Lustra. Captain of the Soma Familia." Damien's voice was cold. "You are the rotten one here. Not me."
He punched him—holding back, careful not to destroy his head. Zenis crumpled, whimpering.
Damien grabbed him by the collar and dragged him across the room to a door at the end. He kicked it open.
Inside, a man sat hunched over lab equipment, focused entirely on his work. Damien threw Zenis at his feet.
The man noticed the body and sighed. "What do you want? I am busy."
Damien grabbed a chair, spun it around, and sat down, leaning his arms on the back.
"Soma. You are the god of this Familia. Yet you do not seem to run it."
Soma didn't look up. "I do not care about running the Familia. My purpose is here. Producing my ultimate work."
"Not caring has led your Familia to become a chaotic place." Damien's voice was sharp. "They are robbing and stealing from each other and others. The strong bullying the weak. Is this the Familia a god runs? Or a fool who does not seem to care about anything other than his pathetic wine?"
Soma finally turned.
His hair was overgrown, covering most of his face. His eyes were hollow.
"Pathetic? My wine?" His voice was low, almost a whisper. "My wine is the reason for all of this. Not a single human is able to drink it and stand. To keep their composure. It is the reason for this chaos." He pointed at Damien. "You act high and mighty, but if you drink it... you will be just the same."
Damien raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so? I have drunk Ambrosia—the drink of your kind. It was not that special."
"Do not you dare compare my Soma to the cheap stuff gods drink." Soma grabbed a bottle from his table and threw it to Damien. "This... here... is a masterpiece."
Damien caught it. He examined the dark liquid inside, then pulled the cork and took a slow sip.
"Ahhh... Brilliant." He nodded. "You are right. Ambrosia is cheap in comparison to this."
He tilted his head back and downed the entire bottle.
Soma watched in shock, his mouth hanging open.
"What... Unbelievable... HOW?!"
Damien set the empty bottle down. "It is simple, really. Your members are just pathetic drunkards. If you do not control them from now on, I will." He gestured toward the main hall. "I am going to arrest some of them now. The ones who want to leave....grant them that. I will allow you to keep working, because I know you are not the reason for this Familia's corruption." His voice hardened. "But if you do not control your children from now on, I will come back. And I will send you back to Heaven. You can continue your wine work there."
Soma didn't even seem to care about the threat. His eyes were fixed on Damien with an intensity that bordered on obsession.
"My drinks... I will make more. Better wine that no god can make." He leaned forward. "Will you drink it for me? Tell me your opinion? No one has been able to drink it and be a good judge. But if it is you... I will be able to master my work!"
Damien studied him for a moment.
"Run this Familia well, and I might. Send me a drink or two each month. I like what you make." His eyes narrowed. "But my threat stands. If I hear your Familia is back on the gang side, I will actually destroy it. And YOU."
Soma nodded eagerly. "Understood! I will make sure they are back in form! As long as you drink my work and rate it, I will do whatever you ask!"
"Then we have a deal." Damien turned toward the door. "Oh, and the ones who want to leave.....send them to Miach or Demeter. They will care for them properly."
Soma nodded again.
Damien walked out.
Tiona bounced alongside him as they left the Soma Familia headquarters. "How did you drink that without any pain? I heard his drink is incredibly addictive."
Damien shrugged. "Well, I am immune to all poisons now. Alcohol is part of that. Made by a god or not, he will never be able to make me feel addicted to it."
Tione grinned. "And you did not tell him. Hah. Smart."
Damien smiled. "What you don't know can't hurt you"
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