Times are Changing

Noah only smiled as he acknowledged Luca's want to help. Even if he had no idea why this hunter was willing to help out a witch, he would just give Luca some faith. Actually, he had always given him that as Luca had always radiated a very pure and innocent aura.

He wasn't tainted like everyone else that Noah had met, and he continued to be pure despite the things happening around him.

However, he didn't say anything anymore in the end.

Luca only accepted that Noah wouldn't accept help so readily. Besides, why would someone rely on magic and demons if he had friends who had treated him well?

…

The morning sun had shone down at Appalachia, and a man in a gray suit sat in his office. The light coming from the glass wall of his office welcomed the sun, but he wasn't paying attention to the shadows it cast.

Soon, footsteps echoed outside his office and stopped at his door. He only breathed in the smoke coming from his cigarette and breathed out a gray cloud.

His sunken eyes didn't even glance in the opposite direction as the door opened. The person who entered didn't knock either, but she was sure that she was welcome to enter.

"Master, there's an emergency." Nene only stood when she was just a meter before the desk separating her and the man. "We lost contact with Charon, Heavycruiser, and Greyhound."

"Is that so? How about Sleepydog? Is he alive?"

Nene's eyes glossed in worry, but she only sighed. "Unfortunately."

The man then looked at her small face and stature. "Any news on Bomberman?"

The small woman shook her head. "He was supposed to be located by the three. Now that they're missing, they probably located him yet unable to report back in. Should I insist on Sleepydog's recall? SCC didn't seem to be cooperative.

"Mr. Cicero is still launching a counterattack. The stocks are falling, and our investors are becoming more and more anxious. If this continues…"

The man only snorted before slamming his fist on his armrest. "Find Charon and Heavycruiser fast. I don't care how you do it. Give them a side request."

Nene swallowed the lump in her throat. "What side request should I give?"

"Neutralize Sleepydog."

"Master, do you really think they can handle that? Sleepydog is… being aided by the Order of Michael and SCC. It would be terribly hard for them to neutralize him." She then took a deep breath. "Their attempts last night proved to be useless. Should we divert his attention instead?

"No matter what happens, SCC is still a social organization. If we could find a sinkhole to trap them or just make them busy, we would buy ourselves more time. Bomberman isn't the end goal." She continued upon receiving the gaze of the man in the suit.

"Grandfather,"—Nene smiled for a split-second—"Noah was right to say that you don't need Bomberman to control the world. There is a higher power in the works. We should try our best to take hold of that."

"Hmph, it's very easy for you to say that, Nene." The man snorted before looking away from her. "Find me that soft soil and start digging a sinkhole."

"Yes, Master." Nene only bowed down and left the room.

The man in the suit only spun to face his desk and pulled out a drawer. He took out a piece of paper with weird symbols on it as he crushed his cigarette on the ashtray.

"I shouldn't have tried to occupy them with Sleepydog. Who knew that bastard was too easy to manipulate? Now, he's asking to serve them.

"Tch, Cicero is currently manufacturing weapons again. More powerful than the last." He flattened the paper on the desk, but he leaned on his chair. With his eyes closed, he whispered, "Please… come…"

A strange gust of wind blew on his face. When his eyes opened, a man was already sitting on the edge of the desk; and his back was facing the man in the suit. The master didn't get mad at all. He even sighed and massaged his forehead.

He murmured, "Tell me you can help me."

"Lawrence Altis, I can help you, but you haven't proven yourself to be enough for the task." The man seemed to be in a black suit, sporting long, dark hair and a strange smile. Moreover, he had horns on the side of his head.

"Mephistopheles, what can you do for me?"

"Oh, nothing really. You already dealt your cards for this round. Let's just see how Cicero would react. Moreover, the coven and the highnesses are actually waiting for a result." Mephisto laughed out. He then got off of the chair and walked behind the man in gray. "Though I must say… with Beelzebub joining the rest, things would get… a bit more chaotic than planned."

Lawrence's eyes widened as he grasped at his chair. "Beelzebub? Like the demon prince?!"

Mephisto was shocked at that reaction. He then laughed out. "Do you not know? You're playing with the demon princes from the very beginning. Ah, did you just realize that your enemies are a bit more than you can handle?"

A fist banged against the armrest again. Lawrence growled as he glared at the man behind him. "You didn't tell me! I thought we're only playing with Cicero and a bunch of witches!"

The demon negotiator only laughed out before walking past him and in front of his desk. He then leaned down with both arms grasping the edges of the desk, his eyes lighting up in red. "Oh, are you scared now? We could stop here and give up, you know? However, you already signed the contract. You will only lose if you quit too early.

"Besides, when I gave you the contract, the highnesses weren't paying attention to us. Their business matters were a lot different from ours. Then again, you got greedy and chose to recruit Bomberman…"

"Was he really that much? He's not even a top-tier witch like what you said!"

"I didn't know any better by then. Times are changing, and that's why gambling is invented." Mephisto only shrugged his shoulder. "It's not my fault that you made the wrong call twice. Then again, maybe third time's the charm. That girl earlier… she looked so capable…"

Lawrence reined in his anger, with the thought of Nene making him less angry. "That's my granddaughter. I would castrate her father when I see him, but I had no choice but to keep the daughter he didn't deserve here when my daughter died. Keep her out of this though.

"Her life is hers. It's not mine to gamble with."

"I know… but she did trick you to not kill a friend of hers. Very ballsy… I like her." Mephisto laughed out again as he pulled away from the desk. "However, I will have to warn you.

"If you insist on letting her on this business, there's a chance that the witches of Satan might get interested. She… seemed to be full of anger…"

The grandfather massaged his forehead again. "It's because of her father.

"Sigh, if she wanted to stray into such a path, I cannot stop her. I can only protect her when she's learning and guide her when she's ready. If she wanted to be a witch, I'll only depend on you to make sure her handler would be the best."

Mephisto blinked and chuckled. "I cannot pre-choose a handler. I can only help her fare better. Then again, I'm awfully full. I can't even juggle my work properly these days."

Lawrence only snorted. "Don't complain to me. I'm not your boss."

"Then, I must take my leave. I'll see what I can do about your blunder."

"Ah, no, no need to think about me. Please make sure Nene could pull off whatever she wanted to do. I don't know if it would coincide with any of your other contracts." Lawrence sighed again.

"I only needed Sleepydog to stop killing Bomberman. I needed him to take control of the world… since times are changing."

Mephisto didn't react too much, but his gaze sharpened. He then turned to the man in the gray suit. "I'll ask you to rethink that scenario one more time, Lawrence. You already made a lot of mistakes just because you are short-sighted and awful in research. However, what can I say?

"Belphegor doesn't even know when Noah is going to give up."

The demon vanished, but his words haunted Lawrence. He continued to babble like he had lost his rationality.

Belphegor? Wasn't he the demon prince of Sloth? What did he mean by that? A demon prince was backing Noah Rocco? How could that make Mephisto ask for his reconsideration?

Lawrence only held onto his head like a madman. He then shook it and sighed. Looking at his workload for today, he decided to keep the paper and started working on the organization's finances.

Even if his business was illegitimate, he should still make sure that his little guns were being paid properly and that their money would be traced by the police.

However, he still stopped and looked out of his glass wall. The forests of Appalachia continued to be free from trouble and thrived the way it should. The greens were still strong even if the winds had gone colder.

Lawrence shivered at the view and at his sudden vision. It was as if the world would end if he kept on making mistakes. He could see the trees getting dyed in red.

END OF VOLUME 1