Blood Pact HQ
The headquarters of the Blood Pact wasn’t a fortress of steel or glass, but a repurposed luxury casino at the city’s edge. Velvet carpets muffled footsteps, chandeliers hung heavy with dust, and broken roulette wheels sat abandoned in corners. Yet the place thrummed with menace, shadows filled with dangerous awakened criminals and unhinged laughter.
At the top floor, Viktor Throne lounged in a leather chair, one leg lazily thrown over the other.
In his hand was a sleek tablet. The image displayed upon it wasn’t a photo but a sketch drawn by hand: a gauntlet of crimson veins, still emanating a sinister aura even in two dimensions.
Viktor tilted his head, lips curling into an amused smile.
"Wouldn’t this artifact fit my style perfectly?" he asked lightly, voice lilting with charm. The tone was playful, almost teasing. But the way his fingers tightened around the tablet betrayed something darker.
Olga stood nearby with arms crossed in front of her chest. She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to, because she knew exactly what that glint in his eyes meant.
If Viktor ever had the chance, he’d rip that gauntlet from Kaiden’s arm without hesitation. Skin, muscle, bone, whatever came along for the ride wouldn’t slow him down. He’d smile while doing it because he was a psycho.
Her silence stretched, and Viktor let out a disappointed sigh. "Boring," he said, shaking his head.
Olga arched a brow. "You call it boring, I call it the glue that keeps this gang of crazed psychos together. Sorry for not being as ’fun’ as some of the others." She released a rather feminine scoff, clearly referencing the other women in the organization.
Viktor chuckled and raised both hands in surrender. "Fine, fine."
He leaned forward now, tablet propped against one knee, eyes sharpening. "So tell me, Miss Glue, what do we know about this kid?"
Olga adjusted her glasses and replied evenly, "He already brushed against our radar once. Remember Theodore? The little meltdown he had on stream, badmouthing the Blood Pact? That was recorded by this Kaiden. But Kaiden never uploaded the footage as a permanent video, so we let it slide."
"Ah..." Viktor stroked his chin, eyes narrowing as memory surfaced. Then his smile widened, wicked and gleeful. "Isn’t he the F-tier who humiliated that S-tier loser?"
Olga’s eyes flickered with disapproval, sharp as a blade. "You shouldn’t call members of your organization ’losers.’"
Viktor waved her off lazily, already uninterested in the reprimand. His attention returned to the tablet, to the sketched gauntlet glowing on the screen. His grin stretched ear to ear, sparkling with mad delight.
"Call the loser in," he said softly, reverently, as though announcing a toast. "I want to have a chat with him. It’s about time I learned more about this wonderboy."
Olga sighed, releasing a long exhale that was both long-suffering and tired, then bowed her head. "As you wish."
Viktor didn’t hear her. His gaze was still locked on the gauntlet, as though it was whispering sweet promises only he could understand.
...
Crimson Dominion Conference Room
The chamber was round, all redwood and stone, more like a hunting lodge than a corporate boardroom. Banners of crimson hung from the rafters, emblazoned with a snarling beast emblem. Its design was very messy, making it look as though no one had ever agreed on what animal it was meant to be.
At the head of the table sat Guildmaster Lazarus Crane, the man the world knew only as "Old Crane." His white beard was unkempt, his robe unbelted, and his chair tilted dangerously back, making it look like the man was desperately trying to fall asleep in his conference room.
He looked like he should’ve been someone’s lazy grandfather, until his red eyes flicked open. One look into them was enough to remind everyone present why Crimson Dominion remained one of the top three guilds of the USA.
Lazarus exhaled while scratching his chest idly. "So we’ve got a dungeon to clear. The old bastard decided it was best if we worked together due to its annoying nature..."
His gaze turned toward Grace, the second most influential member of the Awakened Association, being the chairman’s secretary. After the chairman was first notified of Kaiden’s anomalous existence, Grace was excused from her duties as a secretary, as he told her to watch the boy.
But by now, Kaiden’s existence and his many secrets far outgrew what a single person could effectively monitor.
As such, entire teams were created to help Grace with the endeavor, which in turn allowed her to return to her previous duties, at least partially.
Grace didn’t appreciate the tone or name Lazarus used for the chairman, which was very evident in her icy glare.
But Lazarus wasn’t one to be intimidated by such. He continued, entirely unabashed.
"But I want to talk about something else first. There’s a kid running loose, and little vultures are already circling around him and his new toy. Have you heard about him? I’m somewhat of a fan myself." His tone was light and playful as he glanced toward a specific woman who sported a gorgeous, bright red hair and red suit combo, making her stand out just by existing.
Scarlet, the Flame Monarch.
She was a rather straightforward, no-nonsense woman, known by the masses for being a certified badass who obliterated monsters en masse. She had numerous people looking up to her, especially young girls who dreamed of one day being like her.
"Stop playing games and say what you think clearly."
Lazarus chuckled wryly. "I’m not playing games, miss. There’s a new kid on the block whose rise to fame is happening right as we speak. How come you haven’t heard of him yet? Are you living under a rock?"
Scarlet raised an eyebrow at Lazarus’s words, but didn’t react just yet because her assistant—a sharp-eyed woman in a neat pencil skirt and blazer—wordlessly stepped up and handed her a tablet. Scarlet took it without comment.
She was the only unaffiliated powerhouse in the room, a mercenary who made her living by walking into bloodbaths and walking out the only one still standing. Unlike the others here, she didn’t lead a guild, nor did she command legions of hunters. But she did have an assistant.
The girl had once been a high-priced secretary in a corporate tower, doomed to die during a monster outbreak. Scarlet had burned an entire horde clean to save her, and afterward, the woman had stubbornly refused to leave her side. She begged for the chance to repay the debt by serving her. Scarlet hadn’t regretted it once.
Scarlet tapped open the file.