Chapter 12: The Meeting

[Third Person's Point of View]

The chandelier cast a soft, golden glow over the lavish room as Mauricio opened his eyes. He was sitting on one of the luxurious leather chairs that were dotted around the oval-shaped table made of dark wood, adorned with intricate carvings along its edges and embossed with subtle insignias. The warm light added to the already opulent atmosphere of the room.

"Boss", nodded a bald, middle-aged man as he entered the room, with Mauricio offering a small nod in return.

The scene continued as elegantly dressed men of all ages made their way into the room, each one exchanged greetings and nods with him and his co-partner, Finnley, who was seated beside him, before taking their place at the oval table in the centre of the room.

Some closed their eyes to unwind, others engaged in conversation with their seatmates. Those who were new to this space gazed around in awe at the room's grandeur.

Mauricio fell into the first category; after greeting his subordinates, he closed his eyes briefly and massaged the space between his eyebrows with his fingers.

Finnley quirked an eyebrow at Mauricio. "Do you have a headache?" he asked, sarcasm evident in his tone.

Mauricio noticed a faint bitter smile playing on Finnley's lips along with a subtle hint of concern in his tone.

With a flat expression, he remarked, "Nah, having the best day ever," as he continued to massage his aching temples and let out an exhausted sigh.

His response elicited a brief chuckle, but it quickly faded away. After all, how could they find joy in their current predicament?

Together, he and Finnley poured their blood and sweat into building the RICO gang from scratch. It took them decades of hard work and sacrifices, both personal and from others, to shape the gang into the formidable force it is today.

With their exceptional combat skills and esteemed status as Middle-Class Devils, a rare distinction in the city of Ameing, the RICO gang reigned supreme amongst all other gangs. Only two others--the KRUL gang and the FEMO gang--were able to rival their power and influence.

However, these three gangs never engaged in conflicts with each other over resources or territory. They may have had minor scuffles between their lower-ranked members, but ultimately they were all owned by the same entity.

The Clan Belial of the 72 pillars, ranked prince, may have a gleaming reputation amongst the underworld for their supposed fairness towards lower-ranking devils. However, this was only limited to those within the main house. 

The Belial main house oversaw 14 different branch houses, each responsible for their designated area. 

Ameing was just one of many towns governed by a branch house. They held almost complete power in their respective areas, second only to the main house. It seemed impossible that they would allow a dangerous element like organized crime to slip out of their control.

All of the leaders of major organized crime groups in such areas were accountable to their respective branch houses. This included the leaders of the three 'big' gangs in Ameing.

Suddenly, out of the blue, members of his gang were systematically eliminated, resulting in a decrease in their numbers. This made it challenging for them to maintain control over their territory and protect important resources. 

As if things weren't already tense enough, their longtime rival gang, KRULs, suddenly became interested in taking over some of their resources and territory, sparking the potential of a real gang war between the two groups.

RICO lacked the necessary personnel to maintain its operations, much less protect itself against a formidable rival gang. Therefore, Mauricio and his partner Finnley put aside their egos and reached out for aid from the Belial branch house. They needed help not only in defending against the mounting aggression of the KRUL gang but also in apprehending the elusive perpetrator responsible for the string of murders known as the 'Tarot Killer'.

Imagine their surprise when the Belial branch house refused to get involved and sent a brief message stating, "Resolve it amongst yourselves."

Mauricio and Finnley seethed as they read the message, but they forced themselves to control their anger. Unfortunately, there was little they could do against House Belial.

In hindsight, it made sense, because, even if they were wiped out, Belials wouldn't suffer any loss, just the holder of these resources would change from one party to another. At the end of the day, the owners of these lands were the Belials.

On the flip side, if they truly were to get wiped out, the Belials could save on the investment and opportunities they would otherwise have to give to their gang. Now they have one less expenditure facet, while their income and profit remain the same.

The room was packed with all the top executives seated around an oval table, engaged in discussions while men dressed in black stood behind each leader's chair. These were their most trusted advisors or closest confidants, and even Mauricio and Finnley could recognize a few of their faces.

The table was full, with only one seat left open. It was situated perfectly to the right of Finnley, and they waited for its occupant with only three minutes to spare before the meeting started.

Just then, the door creaked open again, revealing a young man in his early thirties with blond hair. A muscular man with black hair and dark eyes accompanied him.

"What's our current situation, boss?", Trey, the blond-haired man spoke with a serious expression marring his face as he slowly sat down on the chair, while his right-hand man and bodyguard Nikolas stood behind him.

"Straight to the point as always Trey. But...yes, I was hoping to have some good news to share in this meeting, but I'm afraid the Belials have left us to our own devices," Finnley's voice carried a heavy tone as he finished speaking. A frown slowly crept onto his face and soon spread to the rest of the group. Whispers and gasps filled the air as they all tried to process this new information.

Trey also became lost in his thoughts, barely registering the revelation as he murmured to himself absentmindedly.

Mauricio allowed a moment for the others in the room to process the information before he spoke up in a low, commanding tone. "Now that we are all aware of the situation, what suggestions do you have?"

Another round of whispers spread around the room, this time a bit louder.

*****

'Nikolas' looked around the room from the spot he stood, just a step behind Trey.

The meeting has been in progress for thirty minutes, with constant updates, discoveries, and strategies being discussed every minute.

"That's why I told you, we should strike first without giving those KRUL bastards the opportunity to regroup together!", the bald man exclaimed, his words punctuated by spittle flying from his mouth as he slammed his hand on the table for emphasis.

The brown-haired devil, wearing a necktie and looking nervous, started to ask, "But will the Belials sit by and do nothing if we----" before being interrupted again by the bald devil, who clearly held seniority in this place.

"They already have left us to our fate!!! Punishing us because we attacked first would be too shameless! Even for them"

 'Nikolas' half-heartedly listened to the ongoing conversation. The other half of his mind was busy racing ahead, meticulously examining his memory for any slip-ups before arriving at the meeting. He also calculated his next steps in case he had made a mistake and was discovered. On the contrary, he already had a plan for his next set of actions if he managed to avoid detection until the end.

'Nikolas' or Augustus in disguise, devised this infiltration idea while questioning Trey last night. Based on what he learned from Trey, he realized that the abandoned building on the north side of town, where the meeting was set to happen, had tight security. By the time he managed to sneak into the room, those inside would already be aware of any commotion happening outside.

He wasn't scared of facing two well-prepared Middle-class devils and a dozen Low-class ones. No, his main concern was making sure they didn't escape before he could enter the room.

In the event that they chose to confront him directly, there was a high probability that they would inform the town authorities about the presence of the notorious 'Tarot Killer'. This could potentially lead to a confrontation with at least half a dozen Middle-class devils, with the added annoyance of interference from pesky low-class devils.

Neither of these scenarios was ideal for him, so he decided to infiltrate in a different manner.

Browsing through his system [Store], he found two items that were perfect for executing his plan.

Both were sealed artefacts, albeit rather different in their functions.

[Sealed Artefact 3-1340 - Possession Puppeteer's Misfortune Bracelet.]

A delicate silver bracelet, adorned with two thin wires - one vibrant red and the other deep black - that coiled around its slender body like intertwined serpents.

As per the system's explanation, it operated by manipulating the spirit body of its target, turning them into a marionette under the user's control. The primary benefit of this method was that the target would still retain their own memories, making it challenging for outsiders to detect they were being controlled. However, smoothly controlling the target was equally challenging, but Augustus was certain he could handle it with finesse.

However, the artefact had its caveats; it couldn't be utilized if there was a significant difference in power between the user and the target. Additionally, it was ineffective on anyone above sequence 8 or their equivalent in power, meaning high-class beings and above were resistant to its effects.

The only drawback of the item was rather unusual, but not impossible to deal with. If worn for more than 48 hours straight, the bracelet would bring upon its user a streak of misfortune that would last for an equal amount of time.

It cost a decent 4000 System Coins.

The second item, however, was significantly more powerful and had a steeper price tag.

[Sealed Artefact 2-0874 - White Ring of Faceless]

A beautifully crafted white ring with the symbol of a Pupil-less Eye and intricate Contorted Lines etched onto its surface.

It gave the power of shapeshifting to the user. The system instructions described that the user could become anyone at any time with the help of the ring to freely mould their body and flesh, enabling them to perfectly mimic their targets whether it be their face, body, voice, or even their smell within certain restrictions.

These restrictions include height and mass. The user cannot mimic the body proportions of an individual that is too disparate in size from their original body, they can't alter their height to be more than a head taller or shorter than their original body's height.

While it is possible for the user to mimic the facial features and body proportions of someone of the opposite gender, they cannot change their actual physical gender.

While a lot, these restrictions were certainly not deal-breaking.

Being a Grade 2 sealed artefact, its ability and powers were equivalent to a Mid-Sequence Beyonder up to Sequences 5, exceeding which, it won't work.

Of course, being a significantly more potent and costly artefact, it came with its own share of significant downsides.

Prolonged use of this artefact for over a month may result in the user gradually losing the ability to recall their original facial appearance, potentially rendering them unable to return to their original look.

This item set him back another 9000 System Coins.

********************************

Author-san here.

Guess who came close to completing their chapter goal for the first time? Usssss.

Our goal was 45. We got to 44. I'll consider that one done.

Now, 2000+ words for this chapter. Wow, look at me go. Right on the update schedule.

Next chapter we are getting some sweet sweet action.

Now, boys, tomorrow is Saturday, and I only promised 4 chapters a week - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

All delivered to you guyss as promised. Now if you guys want the next chapter tomorrow....

VOTE.

Powerstoness!!!!

We are currently at 44 Powerstones. If we can reach the 75 Powerstone mark within 24 hours, I'll post the next chapter.

Don't forget to comment and leave a review( A 5* rating goes a long way). It helps. Really. Believe me okay?

Okay, Bye.