Chapter 13: Reflection

The event that took place in the election office in the city of Albaede would come to be known as the Black Jack Massacre.

All of the high-profile members of the council of 10, minus one or two had attended. Due to this, the remaining two gained considerable power on the council.

It was rumored that one or both hired the Black Jack organization to carry out the slaughter. Of course, it was possible a random 3rd party carried out their agenda without having a specific employer out of the two as well.

Unfortunately, despite the amount of investigation on the matter, the deal was seemingly confidential or untraceable back to the two members so the investigation was dropped.

The country of Lubin went wild in a panic during the whole waiting period as the investigation was underway.

The names of Ashur and John quickly spread, since they were the only two to tell the tale of the events.

They weren't suspected of anything, due to Ashur's reputation and their credentials, but it took a while for them to get information. Taking days to try and see if any other details or clues on where they escaped could be discovered. Meaning no proof was ever recovered.

However, the Black Jack Organization, while already having a reward for any of their high-profile member's capture, got their bounty boosted.

Since John heard details about the member Mary encountered, he was identified as Wilson. Being one of the executives in the organization.

His bounty, which was 110,000 Rubies shot up to 330,000 Rubies. Also, the organization as a whole was boosted from a simple city level to a nationwide threat.

If they were to attack a different governmental office they could deal even more damage.

Also, while there were two surviving members of the council, one stepped down, not wanting the level of risk that now could seemingly come with the position. Because of this, the remaining council member, named Mukbak, had all the power.

He reformed the council to function as more of a republic, with him at the head, having advisors and such who could give input but a majority of the power remained with him.

Despite this shift in policy, over the passing months, no drastic changes occurred.

Nothing negative or positive, it was as if everything was how it should've been, even though everyone knew it wasn't.

During this time as well the Adventurer's Guild decided to give out rewards for those who could capture important members of Black Jack or even simple intel on locations of their bases and more.

Furthermore, adventurers started to gain more work as permanent workers in certain places. The reasoning was that they could be a deterrent for organizations such as Black Jack and the Red Sparrow or even simple criminals.

This ended up creating a slight divide in the kinds of Adventurers.

Previously there was a class-like system from the order of highest to lowest; S Rank, A Rank, B Rank, C Rank, and D Rank.

They would all get the same job opportunities based on ranking but now with the prospect of being a permanent worker in a specific place such as a governmental office or being among caravan traders, a new classification was made.

Adventurers who took jobs more permanently were known as Temp. Adventurers while those reporting and working on behalf of the Guild solely were classified as Traditional Adventurers.

To make the classification more official, all with an Adventuring License were required to enter a Guild Hall and get the stamp depending on which avenue they wished to pursue.

"Listen you two. We won't hold you accountable for the tragedy, obviously. you didn't cause it but this is something that should've been avoidable. Next time, weigh your choices; correctly might I add."

And with the lecture done, the two were sent out of the Guild Hall's Office, the door slamming behind them.

The pair of John and Ashur had been held in captivity for about three days, having to answer question upon question on the sequence of events that led to the death and subsequent failure of their mission, which should've been as simple as pie on paper.

Now, both stood outside the Guild Hall's Office. John's head faced the floor. The shame he held in his heart felt suffocating! He wouldn't dare look Ashur in the eye.

Previously, right after the death of Mary, and after Ashur had let out all his emotions he walked out of the building with her held in his arms.

He sat on the steps of the office, along with John, the two of them sharing nothing but silence with each other.

John couldn't so much as look at him. There were two reasons why.

The first was his shame at failing to save her as well as Mr. Meyers while the second was fear of what look would lay on the man's face.

During their whole journey together, Ashur had always appeared strong, never showing weakness, so to look at him at his lowest would have shaken him up far too heavily.

Eventually, after a few minutes of waiting, the authorities showed up. While they wanted all the information the two could give, they permitted her burial and even let a funeral service be held for her.

The whole time Ashur stayed silent, not a single tear falling or a quiver in his lip. His gaze held nothing but fire, a flame of vengeance, determination, and sorrow all in one.

"Hey, John?"

Ashur's voice snapped him out of his recollection of those past events.

John had been thinking of everything the two had gone through but now, after that lecture, he didn't know what to say. So, he simply raised his head, turning toward Ashur.

With a determined expression, Ashur held eye contact with him. He didn't even need to say anything.

John could tell what he was thinking.

He didn't blame him for Mary's death. He wasn't the cause.

Sure he could've been faster getting to her but at the end of the day, Black Jack was to blame.

They were the ones to wound her so badly that she died from her injuries. They were the ones who slaughtered the council and the rest of the innocents in the building.

"If you're willing, I would appreciate your help. I... can't keep living as if nothing happened. Those people are monsters. Not just for killing Mary, the one most precious to me. They also slaughtered children and innocents. They must pay."

He paused, his hand shaking with anger. "Are you with me?"

'Am I with him?' John thought to himself.

He almost scoffed out loud.

After everything they had gone through together, after him promising Laura, Mr. Meyers' daughter that he'd protect him?

He'd failed.

And the only way to correct that mistake was to avenge him by taking down those responsible for his death. So, for his first words to Ashur in days, he said confidently.

"Absolutely. Where do we start?"