Chapter 8: New Business

"So you're telling me, this man was impersonating us?" A guard asked Hado as the impersonating guard was tied up in front of both of them.

"That's right, he doesn't seem to understand the prestige of being an imperial guard, he wanted the glory without putting in any of the work!" Hado said, ending his bullshit spiel with a well-aimed kick to the tied-up man's face.

The prisoner groaned in pain and then started to talk; "I wasn't hurting anyone, please, I have a family to feed."

The other guards chuckled at him, some even slapping their knees after hearing how stupid he sounded talking back.

"'I have a family to feed'" A guard in the corner mocked as he pointed at Hado. "So what should we do with him? If he's got a wife..."

The rest of the guards smiled as the impersonator widened his eyes, fear seizing him as they all laughed and joked.

"Yeah, we can arrest her too," Hado said, nodding as the guards all looked at him.

"Nah, no need to arrest her, she'll be too busy paying off this man's sentence that she'll be reduced to nothing more than a whore on the street trying to make ends meet."

The guards burst out laughing as the man began to cry, the mocking jokes and laughter coming from the guards too much to take.

"Why did I have to act in charge?" He said quietly as Hado kneeled in front of him.

"Do you understand now?" The boy asked, a serious look on his face as he ignored the guards, their words still processing.

Hado was beginning to see a pattern, this world was not friendly, not at all.

"W-What... Wait!" The man shouted, wriggling away from Hado as he screamed at the other guards.

"He's faking too! He told me! I remember!" The man yelled, a vengeful look in his eyes as Hado froze, looking at the man with murderous intent.

"Huh? Is that so..." A guard said, standing behind Hado with his blade in his hands.

"Believing a desperate prisoner? Typical of you weaklings, Mess with me and you risk messing with General Esdeath... My commander," Hado smirked despite his words.

He had sent the wasps to scan the brains of every guard. He didn't realize just how extensive the skill would be, but it proved helpful in this situation.

After doing the same to the impersonating guard, he had wondered if he could do it fully, scanning someone's memories and thoughts completely, and absorbing that information.

The experiment proved successful as the wasps returned to him, giving him all the information they had collected in the ten minutes of being with the guards.

Sayomi waited for him outside, wondering if she should run, or kill herself. The wasp he had used to heal her was doing more than speeding up her cell reproduction, no it now scanned her brain, getting her memories and thoughts as well.

'With this, No information is out of reach," He thought as his head began to ache. There was only so much you could learn at one time without getting a headache.

It was a minor drawback though, so in his eyes, the experiment was a success.

There was something else he wanted to try, but as he gained more understanding of the insects inside of him, and the jeweled wasps themselves, he wasn't sure if it would be smart to try it with so many around.

"Ah..." The guard answered, instantly seeming scared at the mention of General Esdeath. From what Hado could tell, she was the strongest general they had, paired with Lieutenant Najenda, who one of these guards had slept with a few times.

The information was all jumbled together, but he got the gist. Mentioning Esdeath was the best way to get them to not question him.

With a little more information, and knowledge of how to file records, he was sure he could easily make an official document and put him under this prestigious general.

"If you want your freedom, you will do everything we say," Hado said, kicking the man tied up and sending his body crashing to the floor.

Hado had several plans to become the leader, the king, of this entire empire. But he had to start small, and how would he do that? By gaining some small level of people's trust.

The tied-up man looked at Hado's devilish grin with shaky eyes.

"W-What do you want me to do?" He asked, gulping as Hado looked at the guards, who were quiet in his presence after he claimed Esdeath's name.

"Well... You said you had a wife?"

...

Sayomi sat on her knees, closing her eyes as Hado had a hand on her head, smiling down at her as the violent assault on the impersonator guard's wife ensued in the house behind them.

"No please!" The man yelled, tied next to Sayomi as he tried to bang against the door.

"Shh, my playthings are enjoying themselves, why would you ruin the fun?" Hado asked, seeing Sayomi looking at him with hatred in her eyes.

*Slap!*

Sayomi fell to the ground, laid out as a red mark flared up on her cheek, the sharp slap shocking her as Hado glared down.

"What's with the face?" He said, glancing at the tied man, who instantly stopped crying and yelling, deciding it was safer to sit still and keep it down.

"Sayomi, I have been nothing but nice to you, I am just proving a point, a point that I am in control, and this entire damn world is mine to mess around in. Do you understand?" Hado asked, getting in Sayomi's face, looking at her with a strained expression as every single cell in his body ordered him to kill her right then and there.

"I-"

*Slap!*

"Nope, just answer yes or no. I'll ask again, Do. You. Understand?" Hado asked again, holding her chin up so she was forced to face him.

"Yes."

Hado smiled and let go of the girl. "Good."

With that the guards began filing out of the house, fixing their uniforms and attire as satisfied smiles were all you could see from them.

"Hey copycat, your wife worked great, she invited us over for next weekend as well," One of the guards, Saito, mocked as he made an obscene gesture at the quietly crying man.

Saito dropped a small coin sack into Hado's hands. "You should have given it a go haha."

Hado caught a glimpse of the woman, laying on the ground breathing heavily, her legs shaking as her mouth hung open, not a single part of her body left untouched.

Hado turned away, feeling his heart race at the sight. 'Something is wrong with me...' He thought, seeing such a situation made him feel... Powerful.

"Ey, Hado nice to meet you buddy, come get drinks with us after you get situated with your new general!" Saito yelled as they walked off into the night to continue their guard duties.

That was what Hado had said. He was now known as a new recruit under General Esdeath, this way if he got caught with no documents before changing them, he could act just as confused as anyone else would be.

"I wonder what you would look like after something like that Sayomi..." Hado muttered as he untied the man, looking at the wide-eyed girl with a grin as she jumped up.

"Geez, relax..." He finished, letting the man fall to the ground, his eyes were dry, he had been utterly broken, and all because he liked using the guard's name to extort money from random citizens...

Hado gestured for Sayomi to follow him, taking one last glance at the house and the man before walking back to the inn.

'Somethings coming...' He thought as they walked down the streets, the insects inside of him scrambled around in panic. Hado wasn't entirely sure, but it seemed as if they were in fear of a predator.

Coincidentally, General Esdeath rode back into the city...

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Damn, I didn't realize this didn't post earlier, sorry for the late chapter, expect another one in the next 3 hours or so... Also, seems like power stones are useful, As a sage I need those to cultivate... Just something to think about lol.