67 Favoured?

Samara nods, "Lanna, she threw a stone at him and cracked his head. We all ran afterwards, but when we checked the next day his body was still there... Someone had stolen his clothes as well..." she mutters.

Michael begins pacing with a contemplative expression, "So... You guy's have nothing then? Without Lateef paying off the guards, you won't even be able to pickpocket?" he questions and Samara slowly nods.

"We stole from Lateef's home, but we will run out eventually. The others have started fighting each other for it." she admits.

'Damn.' Michael mentally comments, feeling as if his efforts to help these kids out had been utterly counterproductive. Now without Lateef to shield them, they'd slowly get caught and imprisoned, that's not to say he wasn't happy that the fat merchant was dead, but regardless of his intentions, he still helped the orphans out a great deal.

He couldn't even do anything about it since he was leaving tomorrow... If only he knew someone in the city that could take care of. them... "Urgh." Michael groans as he rubs the bridge of his nose. "Hey, Samara, come with me. We'll see if we can't get a better replacement for Lateef." he states, holding the girl's hand as he begins walking back to that 'dreaded place'.

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Michael dragged Samara to Loutiel and quickly explained her situation, ending up having to owe the man yet another favour for him to manage the orphans of Antomiers... The worst part was the fact that the man seemed to have been expecting him to turn up and ask this, as he'd already made plans on how to deal with the problem.

Had Loutiel brought him only to watch the execution? Or had he planned on Michael encountering Samara?... It was impossible to know, but whatever the case was, it worked out in Loutiel's favour in the end.

Loutiel's basic plan was to open a number of businesses in the city and man them with the orphans. He'd buy the burnt buildings cheaply and renovate them for his purposes. Michael suspected that if Loutiel's plans all worked out, he'd soon be the most powerful man in the city, barring the Marquess.

Regardless, his job was done. He'd secured some sort of safety net for the orphans, so he had no regrets in leaving them now. All that was left now was arriving on time to board the airship tomorrow.

But, considering he still had a day to himself, he decided to clear up one last thorn. The Salhope gang's leader. The fact that Samara had nearly been sold to those scumbags had pissed him off more than he'd like to admit, so he'd deal with them before the airship arrives.

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Later that night :

A handsome man with tanned skin and black hair tied up into a ponytail lounge against a pile of silks as he slowly breathes in the air thick with arousing incense. Women lay either side of him, teasingly running their fingers across his muscular body with nothing covering their beautiful forms.

In the room around him, a large orgy was currently occurring. This was a celebration of the execution of Luxuron's rival gang leaders, and once the city had stabilised enough, he'd spread his influence to the other territories that'd previously been difficult to claim.

"Hahaha! What great luck I have! Truly! For all of my greatest enemies to be killed without my intervention!? Grand!" Luxuron laughs, taking a jug of wine at his side and drinking deeply from it.

Unfortunately, this celebration was destined to end badly... The double doors on the opposite end of the room crash open as a sweaty servant trips over himself to get inside. "SIR! AN INTRUDER! R-RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" He shouts, but much to the horror of the orgy, a shadow rushes from the open door and stabs the man through the back with a long sword.

"AAAARRGh!-S-SIR!-HHEL-HKK!" the man begs as the blade is roughly extracted.

"KYYYAAAAAA!!!"

Screams erupt in the room, but Luxuron silences them all as he stands and points at the shadow, "STOP! WHO ARE YOU TO INVADE MY TERRITORY!?"

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Michael smirks with a slight blush under his mask as he observes the room, but stays silent. Killing all the gang members had been far easier than he'd expected. His Essence Shift ability essentially made him a killing machine if there were many weaker opponents. His Agility right now was around Fifty, which, when doubled by his Gandalfr runes, made him so fast that most unskilled opponents couldn't even defend themselves.

He had to use a couple Ether Shocks, of course, the fortifications of Luxuron's base hadn't been anything to scoff at, but most of them were ineffective due to his magic and how fast he was.

Michael glances around the place and nods to himself, deciding to just kill everyone here. These people were either corrupt officials that worked for Salhope, gang members who'd earned Luxuron's favour, or women who'd been enslaved long enough for Stockholm Syndrome to kick in.

It may have been a flimsy excuse, but it was better to leave no survivors than to try and give pity to those that might be complicit with this dirty fucking gang.

To untrained eyes, his form blurred as spurts of blood erupted from the nearby people. Michael rushes past one side of the room while beheading everyone in his path, afterwards trailing back and doing the same to the other half. Some of the men tried to fight back, but they couldn't do anything but watch as their feeble defences were breached, and their necks were cut.

Soon enough, the only person remaining in the room was Luxuron, who at this point looked ready to beg for his life. Despite his previously prideful front.

"P-P-Please! Sir! Allow me to live! I'll pay you anything! SIR!" he begs on his knees, but his position only makes it easier to behead him. Michael flicks the blood from his sword and glances around one last time for any survivors before fleeing from the building, knowing that the guards would soon be upon him.