Syndicate

Miracles never strike twice, reminiscent of lightning. The night the deal was made was the final straw. Some would have called it a miracle, but this miracle only favored criminal intent.

Crime was not common in Seoul, Korea. Its bustling and dynamic nightlife was filled with panoramic neon vistas glorified with local taste. Every corner, every alleyway, and every street awaited a stupifying experience that tourists, locals, and aliens could not miss.

Famous casinos and nightclubs decked the streets with neon advertisements pointing to their establishment's entrance. Street food vendors filled to the brim with succulent meat and vegetables were home to its many attractors. Wherever people went, they had a sense that they belonged there.

The night was crowded with people from multiple generations. Teenagers and delinquents from high school surrounded themselves with their groups to search for enjoyment and fun. Adults searched for bars and nightclubs to indulge themselves with drinks and company. Tourists and aliens purveyed souvenirs to the locals to make a profit. Voices were loud to the point of garbled gibberish if one were to listen closely.

Everyone belonged. Except for one.

A dark-suited slim figure stepped and halted near the entrance of one of the most infamous streets in Seoul. A red-painted horned oni mask shrouded the figure's identity and attracted the gazes of the police and other bystanders confused by its foreign presence.

The figure's slender yet toned body structure indicated the presence of a man hiding strength underneath his royal suit. A cold breath came out of the mouth opening of his mask as he walked through the center of the street.

Many of the bystanders feared the man with the oni mask, as they chose to cover their faces and speed past pretending of his non-existence. As the police officers suspected the man's deviousness, they drew their pistols and hounded the man to cease all movement.

But the man did not. Instead, stealth daggers were tossed through the cold air, which unexpectantly executed the police squadron that remained on patrol. Their bodies collapsed onto rain puddles on the ground, and the man with the oni mask stepped through the blood-soaked waters with his black leather shoes.

Booming techno music echoed through the main establishment the oni-masked man entered. Drunken male and female teenagers and adults crazily danced on neon-lit floor panels, grinding and kissing one another as they stripped down in midnight ecstasy. As the oni-masked man blended through the crowd, he passed through towards the opposite side where two bouncers guarded a set of double doors.

The bouncers noticed the man's suspiciousness and charged at him. Before one of the bouncers could even touch him, the oni-masked man used a hidden knife in his sleeve to plunge through the bouncer's neck. He pulled the knife out and tossed the bouncer's deceased body toward the other, knocking him and his head into the corner of a granite countertop.

The double doors opened with more guards charging at the oni-masked man. Two other dark-suited and masked intruders followed his wake. One of them wore a golden and white jester's mask, cocking back a silenced assault rifle in their possession. The other wore a Chinese lion's mask, holding twin blades that the fabled ninjas of the Japanese era used in the past.

The two of them sliced and blasted through all of the guards as the oni-masked man continued moving at the same pace up a set of maroon stairs with golden-royal trims.

Once the trio pressed through another set of double doors, the entire atmosphere of the nightclub changed. A long hallway was present, and on both sides, lavender curtains obscured multiple orgy parties in progress. They moved through the hallway as they heard certain obscene moaning and clapping sounds. Shadowy silhouettes of the people partaking in the orgies were seen through the thin curtains. The jester-masked assassin giggled as she peeked through one of the curtains to catch a glimpse of the action. She hopped and tip-toed out as she saw her allies advancing.

After passing through the hallway, an orchid-scented master bedroom was presented in front of the masked trio, witnessing a VIP rented-out section in action. Two masked guards stood in front of an oriental master bed with golden beads and red velvet linen and cloth.

They guarded a half-nude pale-skinned and slender female laying back with her hands above her head. Her orchid-colored slender eyes could seduce any man or woman in a matter of seconds. Her short-bobbed silky black hair with cobalt highlights streaked through like a bolt of lightning. Jingling white-fur decorations surrounded the back of her neck and draped down toward her large breasts, adding to her seductive nature.

As the oni-masked man stepped into the room, he paused after sensing the presence of an uncertain surprise. He turned his head and surveyed the sides of the room, seeing intoxicated men built from all sizes knocked unconscious. After observing closer, all of the men had a tattoo on their necks. It resembled the face of a black snake with a small kiss underneath its slithering tongue. After disregarding it, they stepped forward and past the guards surrounding the woman.

"My, my..." The woman's voice nearly melted the unconscious men. She placed her fingertips on her cheeks and touched them delicately, rolling her fingers back repeatedly. "It always entices my heart to see uninvited guests looking for me. But the answer is the same. Either you leave... or you die."

The two guards on the side of the master bedroom approached the masked trio. The lion-masked and jester-masked figures swiftly executed them both as they placed their hands on their shoulders. Blood gushed out of their necks, spraying all over the piled-up unconscious men intoxicated out of their minds. The woman's eyebrows raised at the trio's impressive and mysterious aura. A small and perky grin came out of her mouth.

"Well, now..." The woman's voice rose in pitch, staring directly at the man with the oni mask. "You must be here for another reason, considering your murderous actions have stained my bed. Perhaps you are aware of-"

The lion-masked figure dropped a black and white photograph of a corpse soaked in a riverbank, decomposed to the point of near skeletal remains. The woman gasped at the sight of the photograph, turned away hurriedly, and held in her gag reflex. But she could not. She vomited underneath her nightstand and wiped her mouth immediately after.

"No... what have you done to my Rion?!" The woman asked with despised eyes glaring at the trio in hatred. "You... you must be aware of-"

"Not us," The oni-masked man spoke through a deep voice filter. "Your fiance was the owner of one of Polycyclone's subsidiaries. He decided to dip his toes into the pond seeking money and immortality. He failed."

The jester-masked woman giggled again.

"Then... who did this?" The orchid-eyed woman asked.

"We have leads," The oni-masked man continued. "We, as representatives of Polycyclone under his brother's name, require the assistance of the Seething Vipers monetarily, as well as your secret services. You, as the crime lord and leader of this organization in Korea, will give us your assistance."

"My assistance?" The redefined crime lord asked, tearing the photograph apart into shreds. She then turned her attention to the masks. "Your masks are not from this country. Who are you?"

The oni-masked man was silent for several seconds. "Yakuza." He firmly stated.

"I see..." The woman stood up from her bed, letting her fur decorations plunge from her body to reveal her bare slender, and curvy body. She wrapped her arms around the oni-masked man and slithered around to tease him. "It always pleases me to see a rival syndicate acknowledge the existence of the Seething Vipers. To travel across countries bearing such news... is difficult on its own."

The woman slithered off back into her bed, covering her bare body with her fur decorations once more. She leaned back with her finger on her lipstick-covered lips, piqued by the oni-masked man's mysterious nature. "What services do you require from the Seething Vipers, may I ask?"

The oni-masked man jerked his head toward the lion-masked man as a gesture. He slipped another photograph onto her bed, catching the attention of the crime lord. Her eyelids lowered themselves, hinting at familiarity with the object.

"We are looking for these objects scattered across Aries," The lion-masked man explained. "They are memory fragments, bundles of negative emotion into a single source of energy. We are looking for ones in particular that are... special grade."

"I..." The crime lord stuttered, holding the photograph toward her eye to examine it closely. "I have seen this before. Before he died, Rion told me all about these. I always considered them as sick experiments, but I saw the merit in his goal," She set the photograph down. "Special grade, you say?"

"Rion had possession of a memory fragment, but he destroyed it before he passed," The oni-masked man continued. "We are aware of the existence of a special grade fragment in Aries, under the possession of a little girl."

"Don't be ridiculous," The crime lord said, chuckling. "A little girl in possession of a special grade memory fragment? How can that be?"

The oni-masked man stepped forward and placed his finger on the photograph of the memory fragment. "They are kept inside their heads." He said.

The jester giggled once more, unable to hold in her laughter.

"Inside... their heads?" The crime lord said.

"Using a powerful extractor that Polycyclone has invented, we can extract memory fragments from people's minds," The oni-masked man explained, revealing a claw-like gadget in possession within his palm. "The extractor utilizes energy from an existing memory fragment to absorb another. Once the fragment is extracted, the subject perishes. This little girl owns one, and it is our goal to find her."

"Earlier, you said that you had leads about who murdered my Rion," The crime lord reminded. "What are your leads?"

The lion-masked man stepped forward. "Before your fiance passed, two suspects attacked one of his laboratories and managed to escape, along with one particular individual exhibiting unusual powers," He explained. "They are members of an elite police task force known as Sunlight."

The jester-masked woman chimed in with her high-pitched melodic voice. "What a shame!" She exclaimed. "The Yakuza paid me to do their dirty work and I couldn't even shoot the ones that were fucking responsible! That pretty little girl... she needed to die so badly. I couldn't contain myself!"

The crime lord pieced together their information. "Sunlight... I see. Then, what is it that you need me to do?" She asked.

"Presence of the Seething Vipers are needed in Aries," The oni-masked man explained. "The members of Sunlight will come to the people's aid. Let your voice be heard, and we shall kill them one by one and avenge your fiance. Once we extract the special grade memory fragment from the girl, then our mission is complete."

The crime lord's face was amused, chuckling after hearing the intricate details of their plan. "They killed my Rion," She said. "What makes you think that you can kill Sunlight, let alone one of them?"

Without another word, the jester-masked female approached the dimly lit light shining down upon the female crime lord. She placed both of her hands on the sides of her mask. Steam exuded from its sides, and she lifted the mask off. A single hot-pink hairstreak fluffed down toward her cheek, and the woman's eyes bombarded with amusement and enthusiasm as she grinned with her mouth opened. The crime lord smiled back at her, satisfied with their answer.

"Surprise." The female assassin was introduced with a low tone in her usual high-pitched voice.

"Jester..." The crime lord mentioned. "This is interesting. Very interesting."

"For me, it is as well," Jester said, pacing around the bed while spinning her jester mask around with her index finger. "The little girl in my mind begs me to stop searching for a reason to kill. But I just can't. I've got a job to fulfill. And you, my little hottie," She referred to the crime lord. "Are going to do exactly just that to help me."

"I see..." The crime lord said.

While the oni-masked man intervened, Jester moved toward the side of the room and examined the unconscious bodies on the floor. She pressed her hands on her cheeks and squished them, rambling to herself nonsensically. "Daddy told me yes, daddy told me no, but which one is it? Yes, or no? Stupid bitch can't decide..." She muttered in the side, slamming her fist against her jester mask.

"We have one more piece of evidence to show you," The oni-masked man stated, gesturing at the lion-masked man once more. Another photograph slipped out on the bed. It was a photograph of the little girl's face in the presence of other children in a playground. Her cyan hair was extremely noticeable among the crowd, and her innocence made her an easy target. "This is the girl that owns the special grade memory fragment. The Yakuza tracked her down two months before Rion's death. She commands two machines with the power of her special grade. They were all killed."

"Impossible," The crime lord said. "Is this the true power of a special grade fragment?"

"Yes," The oni-masked man said. "Offer us the assistance of the Seething Vipers to find the girl, and we will avenge your fiance's death. Polycyclone shall endorse and support you with everything that we have."

"And I will kill all those responsible." Jester chimed in.

The crime lord snatched the photographs and examined every single one of them once more. She moved them down toward her lap, revealing an impish evil frown on her face. Her eyes dilated backward in seething hate, tossing the photographs away toward the ground. "Very well," She insisted. "I will offer you my assistance. As payment, bring me the corpses of all those responsible for my Rion's death!"

The oni-masked man kneeled down and gently held the crime lord's slender and soft hands with his own. He rested her palm on his and bowed in respect, gaining her attention and even arousing her slightly and unexpectedly. "As you wish, Demi." He stated.

"Intriguing," The crime lord is known as Demi's heart pounded at the response of the oni-masked man, placing her index finger on her tongue. "You know my name, but I want to know yours. Yet I'll save the secret for much later," Demi said, slipping away. "I must ask though... to make matters easier, what is this little girl's name?"

The oni-masked man stood up from his kneeled position. Jester and the lion-masked man stood beside him.

Starrosa.