Remnants of the Assassins Syndicate (4)

I needed Crowley to play an important role in rebuilding the Assassins Syndicate but ofcourse I knew that trusting any regular demon with a task like this would be foolish thing to do.

I needed a demon who could not only look out for himself now but in the future as well, so I planned to test him first... Anyone who is sent to hell will always have the ambition to seize control over it, but only a few will hide that ambition to look at the bigger picture and rise in power silently.

Crowley was one of those demons who managed to hide his ambition and rose in power by disguising himself as a soul supplier. Hiding his real intention behind a mask, he absorbed different types of souls and rose in power secretly.

When I first summoned him, I thought of him as a pathetic demon who didn't have any talent but later, I found out about his nature... I saw the real demon that hid behind that mask of his. That's why I decided to choose him as my replacement who can look after the Assassins Syndicate in my stead.

"That's some demonic training methods you got there, you sure this won't turn those kids into full fledged demons from the get go?" Crowley asked, reading a training book that I wrote myself.

"This much is nothing, Alfred used to train me though harsher methods," I replied, passing a few more books to Crowley.

"Immortals, am I right? Those guys never fail to surprise you," Crowley said, reciving the rest of the books and stacking them up, before he stored them away in his utility belt.

"How much did that cost you? That utility belt," I asked curiously.

"Two demon souls, I got it off cheap," Crowley laughed. "I can get you one for three demon souls if you want."

"I could get one for three million dollars but... Sure," I said. 'I can't find a cheaper one from the market, utility belts are faster to use than commanding Wally. I never bothered to get one but, it would be useful if I don't have Wally around me.

"I will bring you one tomorrow, by the way what if the guy who is watching over them finds out what you are doing? Should I kill him?" Crowley asked, showing bits of killing intent.

"Don't bother, I killed him a long time ago after these guys entered Paragon," I replied.

"Aww, you always take away the fun part of the job, killing people is much easier than teaching a bunch of kids," Crowley groaned.

"Manners maketh a man, a man who doesn't know manners can never learn how to discipline himself. I am assigning this task to you to help you understand about discipline, I know you are strong enough to kill an A rank but... You are not mentally prepared to kill people rationally. When souls transform into demons, they lose their ability to judge right or wrong, call it metacognition if you will," I explained. "You might not understand what I mean now but you will understand what I mean later on."

"You sound like Alfred, right now," Ryuk commented.

"Hey, you bastard! Who the fuck do you think I am? You think I will go on a rampage just because I want to? I can control my bloodlust better than most knights of hell, you don't need to worry about something like that," Crowley said, but his face didn't match his words, he was filled with a bit of self doubt after listening to my words.

"Do what you want, I will leave these kids to you. A teacher can either be a father figure or just a guy trying to benefit off of their students. I wonder... Which one will you choose to be," I smiled, leaving behind Crowley on his own to think though my words.

"Are you trying to be Alfred or something? Why are you acting like him all of a sudden?" Ryuk asked.

"I don't know, maybe I finally understood his words..." I answered while running towards the teleporter at full speed after I turned on my perception deceptor.

Until now, it never once occurred to me of how impactful his words were... but as time went on, I started to realise what they meant.

"You know why I wanted to control the Assassins Syndicate?" I asked, entering the teleportation room.

"Let me guess, since Savitar is a symbol of justice, you want him to be that way but to do the dirty deeds of a villain you need a different identity. An identity that suits a villain, Ryuk," Ryuk answered.

"You are right, it seems that staying with me for so long has indeed made you smarter..."

"I want to create a mask, a facade so that if they try to figure out Ryuk's identity in the future, no one will even think about bringing up my identity. Taking such precautions is the first steps to become a true villain," I explained, stepping out of the teleporter. "Anyone can make a mask but only a few can use it correctly."

Crackle

In a matter of seconds, I reached my room. After phasing through the doors, I saw my doppelganger chatting away with Tommy.

"You were controlling him all this time while we were chatting?" Ryuk frowned.

"Yep, every single one of his actions was controlled by me. It isn't that hard to divide your mind into two parts," I laughed while turning off my perception deceptor and suit, before I put Eobard in my Sage Realm and sat down at his place.

"That's easy for you to say," Ryuk frowned even more.

Crackle

As I turned off my Flashtime, Tommy looked at me for a second and asked, "What did you just do?"

"I just changed my clothes, nothing much," I replied, brushing off his question.

"But you didn't even move?" Tommy looked confused.

"Or did I?" I smiled.

"Whatever, why the hell does my bed smell so much?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know, maybe your dirty attire is the reason your bed smells so much. If I were you, I would get changed before sitting on the bed," I replied, barely holding back my laughter.

"You seem oddly suspicious for some reason... Did you do something to my bed?" Tommy asked suspiciously.

"I would never," I said with a straight face.

"By the way... How did John get hurt so much yesterday?" I asked, turning serious.

"Why are you asking something like that all of a sudden? Did something happen?" Tommy asked, worried about John.

Yes, he might not like any human like species that much but that doesn't mean he would want them to get hurt.

"We... Fought with Headmaster Steve," Tommy revealed. "He ambushed us all of a sudden after we gathered enough points to pass the test. He knocked out John immediately by shooting a beam of aura at his head, before challenging me to a battle. John did get back up but even without aura, Headmaster Steve was a tough match for us. We were defeated quite easily by him..."

"I see..." I replied, showing a bit of rage on the surface. "I got his report from the academy doctor, he said that John has sustained some serious injuries that might have messed with his memories. He might not remember who he was or... Who we are... We can't force him to remember anything. It's best to leave him as he is... When the time comes he will remember everything vividly."

"What a straight faced liar..." Ryuk commented.

"I... I am sorry for that... Is there anything that we can do for him?" Tommy asked.

"Apparently not, if he tries to remember anything, it will only further hurt his brain. It's best to leave him alone for now," I said. "However, Headmaster Steve... I don't plan on leaving him alone after hearing such a thing."

"Don't try anything stupid, he was trying to test us... Maybe he got careless while he was at it," Tommy said, blaming himself for what had happened to his new friend.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything that might harm me in the future, I know my limits," I said.

"You know... I visited his room on my way back to the room, he was chatting with Samuel. He... Looked happy... I always thought that living like a butler didn't suit him. Now that I see it... I feel like he is free, I think it's better to leave him for now," I said.

"With Samuel? He is an otherworlder!" Tommy shouted.

"It's better isn't it? Having one of my people on the enemy side is an advantage for us, once the time comes. He will join our side willingly," I said, calming down Tommy's anger.

"You want to use him as a weapon?" Tommy frowned.

"A deadly and secret weapon," I replied. "Besides it could benifit him as well. Who knows? Maybe being with an otherworlder will help him unlock his potential faster."