Chapter 8: The Impotent Crime League

(3 hours ago, more or less)

In the Empire of Loveritia, it was common knowledge that powerful criminal guilds existed hiding in plain sight in the shadows of the nation, controlling organized crime across the country without much opposition.

Perhaps like any other nation on the continent; only these were more secretive than any other, much more organized, and with more taboos within their ranks to ensure the continuity of their dangerous businesses... making them more difficult to discover in the light of the empire compared to any other country more "inferior" in technological and social progress, like the Kingdom of Camelot.

Many of these guilds and evil groups had risen and fallen over the centuries since the founding of this powerful and avant-garde empire.

And some of them—thanks to their solid foundations and meticulous planning—managed to reach such a level that not even the Three Imperial Clans could eliminate them even if they wanted to; something that was already unlikely anyway given the dirty dealings and secret transactions between the aristocracy and even the clergy with these scum of humanity, which allowed them to gather unimaginable influence, connections, and riches within the nation, comparable to the richest nobles.

These powerful shadow guilds handled every dirty thing you could imagine, and also those you couldn't even conceptualize without a proper knowledge base.

Whether it's the narcotics trade to the homeless and addicts, the illegal sale of arcane minerals and magic crystals, human trafficking into slavery, the prostitution of innocent young women and children to perverted old men and women, money laundering for nobles, illegal experimentation on humans and non-humans, etc., etc., the list goes on and gets more disgusting the longer the enumeration goes.

All of this and much more were the disgusting businesses that many of them controlled, and they could constantly be found competing for total monopoly among themselves, maximizing their share of these dark markets; amassing a terrifying power that no one could have threatened except perhaps themselves.

Until now, things had remained relatively balanced between the Great Shadow Guilds and the Powerful Gang Groups that ruled the darkness of the Loveitia Empire; mainly because the superiors of each of them focused on suppressing the others' economic power and political influence without resorting to war that would weaken them to the point where the greedy clutches of other organizations or even the aristocracy itself would pose a serious threat to their profits and power.

They really put their effort into it, their leaders are known as the “Shadow Kings” who control the entire abyss of the hegemonic empire for years while maintaining this disturbing power game between them that can become even more ruthless than that observed among the nobility.

...and yet, one day, that complicated but necessary balance of power between the dark forces suddenly tipped to a point where it was irrevocably destined to change forever.

For the first time in their history, these powerful and unchallenged guilds and criminal groups were threatened by a new player, one that was growing too rapidly and with unstoppable force in the darkest corners of the empire.

At first, their enemy was so insignificant that they could have simply been dismissed as another group of petty criminals whose fate was of no value to be assessed.

Especially since most, if not all, of its subordinate members appeared to be slaves; a tactic used by wealthy individuals who were paranoid and distrustful of other humans that, in the end, would only work against them when they encountered a relatively decent sorcerer who shattered the chains of his spiteful dogs, destroying them with absurd ease due to the retaliation of these former toys; filled with hatred and a thirst for revenge against their former masters.

There were so many examples of such incidents in history that it was ridiculous that anyone else would even consider attempting such a failed strategy.

Therefore, they were considered too insignificant to even be given a glance.

No; even the most insignificant members of these powerful guilds of the criminal underworld scoffed at the idea of ​​even remembering the name of such a silly guild, which in itself was also quite pathetic.

Secret Organization ... a stupid name from someone who didn't even put any energy into the act of properly naming his group, how could something like that be worthy of the attention of those great figures of the abyss?

Not even a small mention in a small section of history would be something they deserved, everyone thought mockingly.

That's how it should have been... That's how it should have been. Such was its insignificance in their arrogant eyes that it was an indisputable and obvious fact, as if there could be no other possibility in their reality...

——But they soon realized they were terribly wrong.

The Secret Organization they so despised began to grow rapidly like a cancer in the abyss of the Loveritian Empire in just two miserable years.

They attacked and took over smaller criminal groups, forcing them into total slavery thanks to a form of sorcery never seen before that even the best Casters in service to the shadow kings could not destroy with their spellcasting skills.

The only thing they managed to extract from them was that they used a new type of sorcery to cast a very powerful magical effect that could strengthen the Enslavement Charm to a level that integrates itself into the essence of a living being, becoming part of it and turning it into an eternal slave to its master; a truly terrifying magical spell that only a truly disgusting individual who views human life as pawns on a chessboard would invent, making anyone who values ​​their free will tremble in fear...

——One that those leaders naturally began to covet before fully realizing the threat of this uncontrolled growth actor.

They, desiring the method that could potentially even give them control over the entire Empire if used well, decided to crusade against the Secret Organization in alliance with the other guilds to gain the knowledge of such sorcery — making false promises and conceptions among themselves — in the hopes of ultimately stabbing each other in the back in anticipation of the inevitable victory.

Weren't they simply a group of slaves huddled together? What threat could they pose if they were destroyed beforehand, before they could grow sufficiently?

They were absolutely certain of victory; their arrogance still lingered after years of unquestioned sovereignty over the imperial shadow, for there was no way for a Lion to take a huge group of ants more seriously than trampling them when they displayed their insolence in front of the true lord of the beasts.

For them, it was natural that upon making a move they would quickly fall helplessly, with minimal losses for each of their organizations.

...Of course, killing a group of slaves wouldn't get them what they wanted, no one was stupid enough to think that, nor did they plan to uselessly chase after an unknown sorcerer capable of such a thing, no.

What they hoped with their actions was that each of them could gather enough bodies in at least thousands for themselves, so that their Casters would continually reverse engineer the enchantment used since the mark of enslavement remains in effect even when they are dead, gathering enough data with which to reconstruct the magical sequences behind the spell and allow them to use it to their advantage.

By then, the Secret Organization would once again be an insignificant group, one they would take down after ensuring they eliminated any competitors who might be as advanced in their research as they were. They were absolutely certain this was how things would turn out…

...Although, of course, nothing went as they expected. And there was a good reason for this shocking truth: they were only able to kill very few of them.

For some reason, many of these 'insignificant slaves' as they were called — even those recently enslaved from other gangs — had excellent combat skills and a good variety of useful traits which, in surprisingly good teamwork, they used to defeat enemies much stronger than themselves, which shook them to the core.

Although much of this is due to the equipment they used.

These slaves possessed incredible armaments with extremely powerful runic enchantments, granting them terrifying power with which they could fight fearlessly behind enemy lines, and these weapons could only be used by those affiliated with the Secret Organization.

Any attempt to take one of these weapons from the dead would end with severe punishment from the weapon in the form of a powerful explosion.

The only information they managed to gather through exhaustive research and the use of divination spells was the fact that the equipment used by the Secret Organization exists solely thanks to the contribution of a talented dwarven runesmith, who possesses superb rune forging and transcription skills that transcend anything they understood.

Nothing more, nothing less. The mere presence of a dwarf with knowledge beyond their comprehension was enough for a band of slaves serving a mysterious wealthy chieftain to withstand the assaults of the Four Great Shadow Guilds with extreme ease.

Even when the scale of those raids was believed, even when they sent their elite Aspirants to finish them off, they could barely do decent damage before other, overly powerful Aspirants appeared and turned the tide, leaving them stunned by their power.

Furthermore, from the few corpses acquired, it was discovered that the power that had strengthened the slave mark to such a terrifying level wasn't even the work of conventional sorcery. Their best sorcerers' best guess was that... it was the work of some kind of runic power.

An unknown, some claimed.

From then on, feeling out of options, the Black Lion Mercenary Guild, the Sky Thieves Guild, the Hidden Terror Guild, and the Prismatic Moneylenders Guild joined together to form a fragile Alliance they would call... The League of Shadows  (Dx).

That was an alliance, not to fight hard to acquire knowledge they could only obtain through means they did not have, but to try to suppress the growth of the mysterious guild, seeing that continuing their previous crusade would only do them more harm than good.

So far, things had remained relatively stable with their joint efforts as the League against the Secret Organization… Or so they liked to believe, but deep down they knew perfectly well that this was just the beginning.

Ah…and recent events had proven how right they were.

♦♦♦♦

Loveritia Empire, near the southern borders. A few hours before Arthur's return to the Great Pendragon Palace.

All the leaders of the 'League of Shadows' — who had gathered in an unexpectedly elegant-looking room and accompanied by strong magical puppets — stared dumbfounded at the horrifying scenes of carnage shown to them on the magic screen projected by the customized Rune Sphere in the center of the table.

The images showed many places they controlled being attacked mercilessly and without any apparent plan by their mysterious enemy…but more than anything, everyone was terribly shocked by the genocide carried out by just two women in a branch of the Black Lion Mercenaries.

They just had a hard time understanding what they were seeing.

The events of a one-sided battle within one of the empire's cities were shown, with information about the location and small details of what was happening, giving several things to understand to the confused.

In the streets of the small district called Lisbeth, one of the poorest areas of the city of Mirwin that belonged to one of the 7 eastern counties of the Empire under the command of Duke Asword, traces could be found of a horrible battlefield that was very close to marking its end.

As a city notorious for its high crime rate even in the “richest and safest” areas, Mirwin was plagued by constant gang conflicts ranging from “minor” clashes to life-or-death battles comparable to small wars.

It was a desperate situation that needed an immediate response from the Territory Lord to finally stop it.

But unfortunately, the head of the House that ruled these chaotic lands didn't really bother to do much for his people, because not only did he not care what would happen to the commoners in these power struggles between gangs — he even considered this as something necessary in order to maintain his many important dealings with the Black Lion Mercenaries — one of the most powerful criminal forces in the country, maximizing his profits through them.

Due to this rampant corruption, living conditions became so poor that many attempted to flee to Draco Silva, a land that promised hope for a better life, and many succeeded.

However, the Count's forces and gangs did not want their victims to gain freedom, so they held them captive and killed those who dared to think of fleeing to the "promised land" that was supposedly Draco Silva.

Thanks to this, they still had enough population to sustain their terrible tyranny and harassment. Naturally, it was inevitable that Mirwin would become known as an ugly, corrupt place, notorious for its crumbling streets and filthy buildings.

But… the escalation of destruction that could be seen from the damage around Mirwin today went beyond the more common skirmishes that had been going on for years since the current Count Musphire came to power.

Many houses and buildings, which had stood the test of time despite the lack of inhabitants to maintain them, were now ruins that spoke nothing of what they once were.

On the district's many cobblestone streets, corpses with various injuries and destruction littered the ground with fresh, black blood that covered almost everything, like puddles of water formed during a rainy day.

Here it was now a common sight to see the severed limbs of what looked like more than two completely different sides, with many internal organs scattered and mangled across the filthy ground, as well as the sad wails of the unfortunate criminals on the verge of death who somehow managed to live a little longer, even after going through this terrible battle... or massacre, only to wait in painful agony for the sweet release offered by the God of Death to their sinful souls, before being finally sent to Hell to pay for their crimes for eternity.

The wind carried the thick smell of blood and smoke from the flames that burned vaguely in some ruins, causing a nauseating sensation in whoever breathed it.

——All this and much more happened because of the actions of just two individuals; both were beautiful women, whose figures would easily attract the male gaze even if their beautiful faces were covered by elegant-looking masks.

These masks, like those of a certain Witch, left only the lower part of their faces exposed, allowing us to see smiles filled with amusement at the slaughter they were carrying out with their own hands.

One of the women was a young girl with poisonous purple hair tied in two pigtails and a slender body.

With relatively decent sized breasts showing through her low-cut clothing and a mark of slavery visible on her beautiful forehead, the girl moved wildly and brutally between several gang members with a burning ferocity and unbridled killing intent that cut them to pieces thanks to the large sword she carried in her hands; visibly a high-quality Item due to its design, which seemed too large for her, but which she used with ease and unquestionable skill.

This fierce woman, for some reason, was wearing a beautiful blue dress with silver embroidery that looked very similar to one that would be worn to a noble gala of some sort, only this one didn't cover her sexy thighs at all, it seemed to have a "wild" style to the design given the places that were quite torn.

But far from being damaged, it gave the impression of being the product of some kind of new fashion among young women.

—Hahaha! You're so pathetic! Just a bunch of low-ranking Aspirants bragging about being the big deal in front of ordinary mortals! Trash, pure trash...! You're better off dead!

Mocking loudly in a slightly distorted voice, the beauty continued her massacre as her weapon released blazing flames to burn to death the pests she felt would persist if she used a normal slash, incinerating them and causing them to let out screams of pain and fear.

—¡¡M-monster!

—Ah! How dare you call me a lowly worm? You dare insult this beauty who is specifically designed to please my beloved Master with your disgusting words!? Unforgivable!

Furious at the insult (?), she exclaimed loudly as she suddenly appeared in front of the person who was shouting at her in fear and panic, mercilessly splitting him in two halves.

Her internal organs could be seen spilling out of her split body with a look of fear on each half of her split face, but the girl just clicked her tongue in disgust to burn it all with the power of her weapon; as if it were the most disgusting thing, before gleefully continuing her vicious slaughter.

Wherever her feet trod, an unfortunate gang member was doomed to suffer harrowing damage to their fragile body from the powerful flame energy the weapon released, killing them horribly, and, not caring or interested in finishing them off if the stronger few survived her more ordinary attacks, the beauty with the madness of a literal berserker would lick her lips before brutally pursuing her next 'prey', causing horror among the pathetic sheep who were not even worthy of the title of 'enemies' in the face of her superior combat power.

For some, the only mercy they might receive from her is a quick glance at her beautiful, perky buttocks before they die of pain on the floor.

The other — a scarlet-haired dwarf with the excellent figure of a mature woman that managed to make her height not diminish her attractiveness in the least — moved gracefully around the “battlefield,” using refined movements that made sure to kill each of her “opponents” with a single blow of her large warhammer (Another weapon that was just too big…) each time.

In one fell swoop, a gangster who could at least boast of being as powerful as an average Saber was annihilated in a manner that would leave even the toughest man traumatized; all with a smile from an aristocratic lady who seemed to find amusement in the pathetic resilience of lesser beings who foolishly dared to fight against those they could never hope to defeat.

Not only were they causing disasters; several dolls (Yes, dolls!) were running wild, killing and tearing humans apart left and right with malice.

Those things were clearly animated by sorcery of some kind, but they acted as if they were living beings; only evil and vicious. The cruelty of those humanoid dolls was chilling to witness, and they seemed to obey the woman with the Claymore.

Such was the completely surreal situation that was happening in Mirwin, where one of the branches of the Black Lion Mercenary Guild was being completely annihilated along with several gangs that secretly controlled it….

And the truth is that it wasn't the only place controlled by criminal guilds that was being attacked by the secret organization, but definitely... This was one, if not the most striking of all!

One of them exclaimed in disbelief, her voice shrill and annoyed, “This is absurd…! How powerful can these girls be to pull off something like this? If they can kill multiple Conteurion-rank members with such ease, doesn’t that mean our enemies have powerful Aspirants of the Episcopi-rank? Why is this damn machine so reluctant to make it clear then? And what about those dolls!?”

The Rune Sphere used there had an Artificial Spirit that could tap into the city's magic scanners, which were able to measure the level of magic power released by an Aspirant and their Aura, allowing them to determine their Rank.

However, the information revealed by the Artificial Spirit in question was completely meaningless, as it constantly changed the parameters and values ​​displayed on the enemy. It's no wonder some dissatisfaction was expressed.

This was further evidenced by the erratic measurement of the aura, which did not give an accurate number no matter how hard one tried.

Even if they were aura users, they couldn't alter the level of aura perceived by these equipment unless the degree of their [Aura Control] skill had reached Master level... and none of the shadow kings wanted to believe that was the case.

They'd rather think those outdated scanners in a backwater city are failing.

—While the data the device displays isn't useful for determining their exact power level since their auras fluctuate too much to make an accurate measurement of their Lains…— The voice of a relatively older man echoed in the room —I can still say that these two women should at least be on the Episcopi stage… at best.

—At best, you say.

—It's the best case scenario, since there's no measurable power signature emanating from them… Still, if this Secret Organization can deploy two high-level Episcopis for such a pointless skirmish in order to ensure their victory… it could mean that higher-level humans might also take their protection…

The Artificial Spirit Master, a sinister-looking old man who was calmly announcing his thoughts aloud, was suddenly interrupted by the blond-haired, black-eyed man who had sarcastically replied to him.

—What nonsense are you spouting, Burthim?! Are you suggesting that the master behind the Secret Organization has Torrius-rank slaves in his service? Those are far too close to humanity's upper elite for a new organization to have such beings in its power, not to mention that it's absurd for mere slaves to have that level of power! Just because they casually send a few Episcopis to fight in their small expansions doesn't mean their power is that great!

Some nodded at the words of the man, who was dressed in rustic-looking clothes that reminded them of a biker in some ways, with golden chains adorning him. He seemed very upset and frustrated, probably because he was the one who had suffered the greatest losses here.

After all, he was the great and powerful current leader of the Black Lion Mercenary Guild.

—It's not like we can rule out that possibility, you know. Especially since they have rune art we can't decipher, it's pretty obvious they're under the control of a bigwig with plenty of resources and the beautiful dream of dominating the entire Abyss Empire entirely under their control. They can even create such strange automatons...

A beautiful and sexy woman with lime-green hair and red lips commented in a tone full of irritation and disdain toward the man, causing him to make a horrible face that she ignored. "It would be very unwise to ignore that possibility and suffer another setback just because we were caught off guard."

—Marian is right… as crazy as it sounds, you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the possibility that they might have Torrius-rank individuals in their ranks. You’ve seen their weapons, right? The astonishing combat prowess of their slaves? These absurdly strong bitches slaughtering all these idiots like they were pigs in a slaughterhouse?! Hell… I’d even believe their leader might be a «Lorius» himself, and that would be quite bad for all of us!

I seriously comment on a strange and suspicious looking man, who some individuals on Earth would claim is disturbingly similar to a mad scientist.

His eyes were covered by strange glasses that looked like mini-glasses that covered his vision, making his ocular organs completely imperceptible thanks to them.

His long black tunic with red buttons reached his knees with equally pitch-black trousers, and although his facial features were relatively normal, his ghostly pale skin made him look very similar to a ghost from a horror story.

Coupled with the sneer on his slightly wrinkled and cracked face and his naturally imposing yet thin stature, he gave off an extremely uneasy feeling, as if facing a cunning demon plotting against you with a smile.

—A “lorius” of all things… Ha! I knew you could talk nonsense, but this is the best part, Lunai! We all know the rarity of Lorius is such that it’s said the only one in this empire is that Amelia Dumbardonnia…

The leader of the Black Lions sneered in disdain as he frowned sharply at the man called Lunai, who only responded with nothing more than a businessman's smile, and the others fell silent in contemplation as they continued to watch the carnage with false calm in their seats.

In this world, a Lorius-ranked Aspirant had enough magical or physical power to pose a threat to several cities in a small nation and still emerge relatively unscathed from any retaliation.

They were truly high-level existences, practically immune to the weapons of mere mortals and beyond. Whether they were humans, elves, dwarves, or any other species, they all possessed a terrifying and hopeless power that only a few could revere.

They didn't even have a single Torrius in their ranks, let alone the hope of a Lorius serving them personally. Those who reach such a level of power are not only rare, but also very arrogant due to their strength…for completely understandable reasons.

Expecting those individuals to serve someone weaker than them without good reason was idiotic, especially since the resources they needed to become stronger could never easily be placed in the hands of criminal organizations like theirs, whether they formed a league or not.

That didn't stop them from dreaming of acquiring a Torrius-class or even a "Lorius" for themselves somehow, but they knew how unrealistic that actually was. Only imperial families could have "Lorius" as loyal servants to protect them, even if it was as top-secret weapons.

None of them wanted to believe that the Secret Organization had something they could never acquire. Even the one who thought so was the same, but as he himself stated, he wouldn't rule it out.

Each and every one of them was an Aspirant to the rank of Episcopi, and just the thought of them facing off against someone with individuals of greater power than their own serving as subordinates was extremely stressful.

—Hey, Ugly Plain Haired Brute, isn't that your guild's branch boss showing up in front of a dilapidated house, yelling nonsense at those high-quality beauties?

A short man with a stylish, slightly plump mustache suddenly asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at him curiously. He was dressed in a refined manner, although his size, which seemed no different from a dwarf's, and his top hat gave him a rather comical appearance.

—Huh? What's this idiot doing right now? I gave them an order to retreat...!

Not seeming the least bit bothered by the insult naturally thrown in his face, the man simply stared dumbfounded at his subordinate, who was about to foolishly confront the two terrible prostitutes who are literally undermining his control over the small town of Mirwin like it's a walk in the park; not that that was such a big deal.

He seemed to clearly remember sending an urgent message to the branch office within the Marhuwn district to quickly withdraw essential personnel from the city. Unless he wanted to be killed for insubordination, that fool should have obeyed...

—Ah… the damn idiot and his disdain for little women… I expected it! To think I'd lose even a useful subordinate because of such a pathetic complex…

—It's a pain to have a strong subordinate whose stupid pride in their gender makes them blind to the bigger picture, isn't it, Aidan?

The “Black Lion” named Aidan clicked his tongue in annoyance when he realized what was happening, and the green-haired beauty casually commented while eating something similar to popcorn, watching as the bald, ape-like idiot angrily approached the girls with murderous intent.

—Are you speaking for yourself, bitch…?

Aidan snapped as he watched with slight bitterness as the dwarf woman lunged at the bald 'stupid ape' at an unprecedented speed that made him widen his eyes in surprise in the middle of her charge, and before he could react, a blow from her large warhammer struck his head; comically easily shattering his skull like a watermelon while scattering his flesh and brains to pieces.

Blood, bits of flesh, and even brain matter covered the weapon for a few seconds before, as if by magic, they began to 'disappear' with the power of the magical light emanating from the enchantments engraved within, leaving it completely clean…

—Killing an Episcopi like Larien so easily... What monstrous bitches!

"Was that an Episcopi?!" the short man exclaimed in surprise, before placing a hand on his chin as cold sweat ran down his face. "I don't like the implications of that at all!"

The others couldn't agree more. The magic scanners had focused on detecting the enemy's power, so when they learned that the guy was also an Episcopi, he still died easily...

Suddenly, the dwarf woman who killed the branch chief looked up at the sky with a smile, seeming to look in Aidan's direction, surprising him, and for some reason began to point in his direction, or so Aidan thought before he saw her hand light up with the unmistakable magical light of the surrounding mana concentrating on her finger.

The girl then began to draw something in the air using that gathered mana as a canvas, creating at incredible speed a perfect circle with a complex formation of what were obviously runes when it suddenly lit up in an almost blinding manner before the next thing they knew... was nothing.

To be clearer... The spy spell they used through the modified rune sphere to see the progression of the attacks on Mirwin was now completely destroyed!

Everyone was speechless!

Absolute silence filled the room where the Abyss leaders were, until a female voice filled with shock finally broke the silence.

“Th… Th-that was… A damn Rune Circle?” Marian exclaimed in shock, her eyes wide open and her body trembling, sweating coldly as she nearly spat while speaking like a mad woman. “No way! This is absurd! What is a damn rune arts user skilled enough to make rune circles doing in such a place, and at such an absurd speed?! Who is it that has enough wealth to make an upstart group of slaves take charge of supporting such an individual even for combat?! What the hell is going on?! Damn it!”

No one had answers for Marian; they too were in shock.

A Rune Artist is a profession that, like the sorcerers of this world—who are in turn divided into Thaumaturges, Alchemists, and Summoners—are divided into Runesmiths, Mystic Painters, and Supernatural Jewelers.

Each of these Rune Artists is fully specialized in crafts of a supernatural nature, with Runesmiths creating magical tools using Rune Carvings with Mana Arts, Mystic Painters creating arcane paintings to draw runes with amplified mystical powers due to the materials used, and Supernatural Jewelers making accessories with runic powers.

Runecraft users with sufficient skill in their mana manipulation, manacraft, and runic knowledge can create complex runecircles for a variety of purposes ranging from supporting their crafting and defending against aggression or failures in their experiments/crafting, to intentional attack, this being its rarest use.

For runesmiths with these skills, creating legendary items is only a matter of time, and there's even the possibility of crafting mystic-level weapons (Grade 25). These are also known as master blacksmiths and are highly sought after by the various powers on the continent. Similarly, supernatural jewelers and mystic painters are highly valued in many kingdoms and empires for the advantages offered by the items they craft.

However, reaching a level where they could be coveted in this way requires not only overwhelming talent, but also overwhelming amounts of resources. Spending tons of money on the training of an average Rune Artist would be enough to impoverish a Baron, and even then it would take centuries to reach the Grandmaster level.

Of course, it would be one thing to have profession-related traits like  Mystic Draftsman   or  Arcane  Perfectionist to aid your advancement, but not many would develop or even be born with such traits even as dwarves. 

Anyway, putting aside the oddity of a high-level rune arts user appearing out of nowhere, Leader Caster of the Prismatic Lenders Guild had never heard of a rune circle blocking a sorcerer's magical observation or observation artifacts.

What kind of runes could be used to block an advanced magical tool that was intended to acquire information through observation and divination sorcery?

It can't be... Are they using lost runes!? Would these people really have the knowledge to recreate lost runes?

It was only natural that the mere thought of them made his whole body freeze.

It was well known that many powers across the supercontinent Centoria coveted the power of the lost runes that had contributed to the power of the ancient dwarven kingdom.

With the knowledge that they could potentially recover from some dwarven ruin, the technological power of any Britannian Kingdom would grow exponentially, and magical engineers would be one step closer to discovering how dwarven technology worked so they could reverse engineer it once and for all.

However, so far there has been no such luck.

After so many years, centuries in fact, the Loveritia Empire and, by extension, the entire continent, had only discovered a single new rune.

That alone really improved magical technology greatly by allowing for the existence of artifacts like the Rune Sphere, as it plays a pivotal role in their construction.

Still, many intellectuals were frustrated by this apparent lack of progress in acquiring new runic knowledge.

Because of this situation, the Tower's wizards have conducted magical research and experiments to create new runes for years, but so far they have only created poor imitations of what the runes truly are; which are mere symbols containing pre-recorded magical sequences with no versatility.

They somehow arrange their sorcery to make it extremely stable, which is certainly useful, but lacks adaptability and pales in comparison to a single royal rune.

Evidently, humanity didn't possess the ability to create entirely new runes as the dwarves did; not without knowledge of how dwarven runes are actually formed in the first place. This is because knowing how to replicate a pre-existing rune was far from enough to understand the magical laws behind them.

It was a total embarrassment, really.

However, if those talented sorcerers were to see right now how the runic knowledge they coveted was being used in criminal wars like this... They would spit blood in anger!

Firstly, the runes had a wonderful power that could be unleashed simply by injecting maryoku into them at will.

Their effects were far-reaching, like a rune that could cause an ordinary human to unleash the physical strength of an elephant; something that could not be imitated with average magecraft, and as such were extremely valuable, especially those with such power that they could even affect the weather using nothing more than the maryoku of a Class 3 spell.

Since runes could provide a power similar to that of sorcery even to those who did not possess powerful magic circuits or excellent spiritual roots, the most basic and common runes were also quite popular among the population versed in the mana arts.

You could almost see any common adventurer using a rune to conjure a simple arrow of arcane energy to kill an unsuspecting and defenseless Gnoll with relative ease, or to conjure a magical barrier to defend against a volley of arrows from an Orc Hunter.

There were also those who manipulated arcane force to move heavy objects with the help of runes in construction or transportation work… although even those things needed a certain level and well-trained skills to implement, but it further demonstrated the role that runes played in human society at large.

There were even expert farmers who used runes to improve the growth of their crops two or three times greater than without runic aid. Combined with the blessing of the gods, the effect is simply incredible.

Runic applications were numerous and it has been used in many modern magical technologies to enhance the power of human nations across the continent.

Even the Kingdom of Camelot, a country that values ​​the power of the Cavalry Classes above all other classes—could not do without runic power at all—which shows how important runic power was to humanity as a whole.

And for wizards, the importance they placed on runes went far beyond what the average citizen would understand, as dwarven runes represented one of the greatest mysteries of this world; something that could very well come close to the truth of the world given their incredible power to reshape it.

It was no exaggeration to say that for them, the dwarven runes contained the essence of the world, and many magical groups dedicated themselves solely to understanding the secrets of the runes in their entirety for their own purposes.

The lost knowledge of the dwarves was the only way to reach the key to the mystery, even though many refused to accept it.

After all, it was the dwarves who knew everything there was to know about the Runes... well, even if it was mainly the runesmiths and several powerful families of the old Norse kingdom that had already fallen into oblivion after the Great Cataclysm.

In any case, the infamous Tower of Sorcery aspired to understand the mysteries of the runes. This was relatively well known as one of its most important missions.

And here... in an underground battle between the small forces of these criminal guilds, completely new runes (possibly) were being used against humanity as if they were nothing more than another tool, rather than extremely valuable ancient knowledge...

All those who value witchcraft as the key to understanding the mysteries of the world would be furious when they found out!

Even Marian, a Caster who treated her sorcery as nothing more than a tool to achieve her goals, felt a vein in her forehead pop at this blatant waste of something incredibly valuable that the guilds that make up the most powerful magical organization on the continent would die to obtain.

Of course, there was the possibility that I was wrong: logically speaking, I couldn't see any runes clearly enough to make such a claim.

His Senses parameters as a Level 54 Episcopi might be incredible by common human standards, but it wasn't even worth talking about if he didn't pay enough attention to those details.

He also didn't have the photographic memory to claim that any brain image he could create was 100% accurate. Not only would that be the height of stupidity, but it would also be pointless. One should at least have an idea of ​​what a rune is for before using it, you know?

It wasn't something as simple as seeing a new dwarven rune from a distance, then saying "The power is in my hands" and injecting your maryoku into an exact replica of that completely unknown rune... one could only say that it would have a rather, rather embarrassing outcome if you did such a thing.

In fact, it wasn't enough to know the shape of the rune and replicate it through observation from a distance; a person had to at least personally experience the power emanating from the rune to gain a vague impression of what it does almost instinctively. This way, if they have the skill, they can draw it and use it whenever they want, or at least simply use a ready-made dwarven rune.

That was true even if you didn't specialize in sorcery beforehand, as the previous examples demonstrated. After all, the ability of adventurers specialized in direct combat to use enchanted weapons has to have an explanation like that, right?

Truly, that was another of the fascinating mysteries of the runes of this world….

♦♦♦♦

The room where the four masters of the empire's criminal underworld had gathered fell silent again after Marian unleashed her outburst.

The flickering light from the personalized rune sphere in the center of the table dimly illuminated their faces, their eyes wide open, some staring at the absurd scene from before that was no longer displayed, and others watching the beautiful sorceress with a slightly sarcastic expression until finally one decided to break that brief silence.

—What's wrong with you, you crazy bitch? To be screaming like that... I know it's not common for rune users to be able to do the same thing as that bitch in tights, but don't act like that all of a sudden!

Aidan grunted in annoyance, even more irritated than before at losing a relatively important subordinate of his guild.

His eyes narrowed dangerously at the holographic mana screen, as if doing so would kill the woman who dared to offend him.

—Shut up! What do you know? Do you even understand what this means? That dwarf just used a never-before-seen rune art to block a damn observation spell like it was nothing! A class 5 observation spell that a mere Episcopi Rank shouldn't be able to detect unless she was an extremely talented Caster... and she was a dwarf!

Dwarves had no magical talents other than rune manipulation or the use of mana arts. Neither of those things should allow them to do what that woman did unless they had a special trick.

And Marian was betting he had some entirely new and valuable runic knowledge in his tiny dwarven hands.

"We can no longer watch you destroy one of my branches in an even more overwhelming manner than the rest of you. If you want to mock that by telling me nonsense, you're not very creative."

—Tsk, I lose valuable brain cells talking to you.

Ignoring their argument, Lunai wiped his strange glasses that he wasn't sure if they were really clean or not with a handkerchief, before looking at the other guild leaders accompanying him and starting to speak in a clear and concise voice out loud to get their attention, "I wonder... Some of you should have already noticed that there's something strange about the way this 'Secret Organization' acts, right?"

-What do you mean?

The short, comically elegant-looking man asked, stroking his mustache in a poor attempt to look like a sophisticated aristocrat, something that was destined to fail even without his slightly squeaky voice.

Paying no attention to that, Lunai quickly answered him while crossing his arms.

—What I'm saying, Mr. Urben, is that no matter how you look at it, even if we try to justify your current actions as retaliation against us for our previous incursions, you have practically nothing to gain from all this senseless destruction you're wreaking on that small town that has no value beyond serving as a drug dealing point... I wouldn't say anything if you were taking over our businesses or even our merchandise... But didn't you also destroy those things like they were nothing more than worthless trash? Does that make sense to you?

—….

—Of course not. It's almost as if they simply wanted to intimidate the other powers of the Abyss with overwhelming force. And in a way, they succeeded. Or they'll deny that the combat strength they possess wouldn't make them back down if they had any other choice!

Burthim answered in Urben's place. The grim-looking old man stroked his chin, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Lunai, who smiled in response in an almost sarcastic manner.

—...Of course you would say that to our faces without caring at all, right?

-naturally.

Burthim was not the leader of any of the four known powers of the Imperial Abyss.

In fact, he was one of many branch masters who were part of a completely neutral organization that spanned the continent since ancient times, offering valuable information in exchange for money to many different clients at the very top of the social ladder of the various ruling powers and, as can be seen, helping certain individuals for a price to observe their enemies and rivals from afar without being able to be directly traced back to them.

A pretty useful service, since no one is stupid enough to mess with these people unless they have the power of a God…one who is willing to help them too.

And, since the organization's cooperative operations with its most valuable clients were kept absolutely secret, they had gained a certain confidence in both the light and darkness of this world.

This is especially true for those who might offer them secrets they themselves don't know.

Sometimes, this organization's best clients are not only very wealthy, but also possess information that even they themselves couldn't easily acquire. To this end, they make sure to protect the information from any international conspiracy they cooperate with, even if they are offered a large sum of money.

This strange organization itself had no official name as far as was currently known, but was widely known privately throughout the various Kingdoms and Empires as the 'Order of Secrets', the largest intelligence-gathering and espionage organization in the empire... no, the entire known supercontinent of Centoria with no other even coming close in terms of seniority, power, or influence.

This luxurious room, with a jet-black semicircular table where each of them sat, was naturally the property of the branch of the Order to which they belonged. After all, how could criminals like them afford to possess such high-level magical technologies, even if they were very rich?

Only Burthim, the lord of the Loveritian branch, could afford to create such a place, given the resources at his disposal, something that the average sufficiently educated citizen would find quite shocking, since normally only the imperial family could afford to have such technologies.

For someone like this old man, the threat to the four major crime guilds of Loveritia was of no importance to the organization he belonged to beyond losing four valuable clients if push came to shove, the only interesting thing about the whole matter was the secret organization itself, and its resources and capabilities that they had just observed right now... and that was surely just the tip of the iceberg.

Despite all their power and efforts, the branch of the Order of Secrets in this country has been unable to trace the origin of this mysterious guild with its rather simple name, nor have they been able to identify its most important members.

As it was just a small-scale organization of a country, no matter how powerful it was, they could not spend more resources than necessary on them, and that is why until now they had no idea that, until now, their targets of interest had such impressive resources, since they had already secured countermeasures to prevent them from being spied on in the past.

Only now it was an exception, and both Lunai and Burthim himself could easily deduce why: the secret organization did not want to hide this because they wanted to overwhelmingly demonstrate that this is not all they had.

It's that simple.

Until now, the only business the secret organization had been seriously involved in was extortion and protection.

Basically, they invaded the shops of small merchants in various towns and cities controlled by aristocratic and imperialist factions, intimidating the merchants into accepting their “protection” in exchange for a small payment to their bodyguards…

This type of “business” was extremely common, and it was usually the Prismatic Moneylenders Guild, currently run by Marian, who controlled such things as one of their main businesses through various puppet gangs.

Therefore, it could rightly be said that Marian held the greatest grudge against them.

However, in recent times, little by little, the Secret Organization also began to involve itself in drug trafficking, slave trafficking, and theft with astonishing ease.

Businesses controlled by Aidan, Lunai and Urben respectively, where the Secret Organization rapidly expanded its influence with extreme ease.

Of course, the League of Shadows had tried to crush them with the natural advantage they had due to their involvement and connections gained over years of dominance, in addition to sabotage, obviously... but none of that helped them in the end.

Their actions only stopped them for a fairly short period of time before the Secret Organization returned with even more ruthless force shortly after, using business methods very different from their own.

Thanks to a secret organization that made massive deals at absurdly low prices, the sale of "Heavenly Dust" - a narcotic with strong hallucinogenic and ecstatic effects - spread uncontrollably among several cities with high crime rates belonging to important nobles of Loveitia, forcing them to put resources in an attempt to counteract the damage this was causing to their lands and more importantly, to their finances.

These cities, although few and small for each of the lords, were in fact the center of illegal activities for the nobles themselves, who through them obtained a lot of additional income without paying any tribute to the crown.

The Secret Organization's outbreak of drug addiction in these areas led to the halting of many clandestine operations due to a lack of available personnel.

It was a terrifying thing, especially since the “Heavenly Powder” was made from rare and extremely strange plants that were difficult to cultivate even with the blessing of a God, so selling this drug at a low price should have been impossible in the first place.

…And naturally, the fact that there were such large stocks of this product reduced the potential profits other groups could make from its sale, especially since the secret organization was a better distributor.

Not only that, the tight control they had over various shops in the various small towns of the empire greatly affected the economy of each territory they invaded as they demanded more than a small payment from the merchants, causing many problems that those aristocrats would never have imagined having due to the decrease in taxes they could acquire.

And since imperial law strictly forbade nobles from squeezing money from commoners who had little on hand, they could not demand more than the merchants could afford according to their financial records without risking imperial judgment from the Solei family.

The Imperial Clan that worships the Sun God took the enforcement of Imperial laws very seriously when they could.

Either way, every attempt at direct retaliation by the affected nobility against the Secret Organization's slaves ends with some punishment that further harms them, indirectly perhaps; but with damage that will only grow over time if left alone.

This is why they had to resort to many secret and underhanded means to keep the Secret Organization under control, which frustrated many political movements by both Duke Cerodian and the nobles who supported the Crown due to the time they had to dedicate to the matter.

But despite their efforts to stop this annoying cancer of the criminal world, they were getting nowhere, no matter what they did.

In fact, it seemed like they were only losing more with each attempt.

And since they couldn't use the power of the "Torrius" Rank without an extremely reasonable justification before the Emperor, even sovereign aristocracy like Dukes and Marquises had their hands tied on how to exterminate their enemy without resorting to further losses for themselves.

Duke Cerodian is said to have been quite furious, as this kept him very busy with territorial management every day, which was a complete disaster at the time; though at least he wasn't alone in his situation.

….The curious thing is that the clergy faction was not safe from the actions of the Secret Organization either.

Many of the people who were turned into slaves or transported to who knows where by this guild were mostly orphans from orphanages under the control of the Diocese of Loveritia, who were naturally destined to be trained as future priests in the service of the clergy, completely loyal to the gods and strengthening their religious organization while taking advantage of the plague of the past to try to strengthen their influence in the Empire gradually through the new generations after that disaster.

Many lost family members due to the mysterious illness of that time, so there were hundreds of orphans who had recently turned 18, the age at which they would be baptized by the Divine Spirit and obtain the power of the gods...

…Until some bandits attacked several churches and took them over in the most conspicuous way possible, easily defeating several paladins.

It was a rather scandalous and shocking situation; a direct insult to their gods. But since no one could point to a culprit beyond some random bandits who were strangely strong and very daring, the Church's higher-ups could only be furious and ashamed at the time.

More than that, they couldn't reveal that news, so they hid it as much as they could from the common people.

To the Abyss Guild, those idiots were crazy. Who does that... and why the hell did they do it in the first place?

Naturally they were puzzled by these actions.

....And one day, those same crazy people suddenly started attacking their smaller branches out of nowhere.

There was no warning sign of such a thing; they simply appeared in the areas each branch controlled and rampaged through everything in their path without saying anything but war cries, killing and destroying everything in sight.

They couldn't even consider retaliation at this point because, firstly, they were minor branches and, more importantly, the secret organization could try to exterminate them with all its might.

One day the entire League of Shadows realized that they could do nothing against them without suffering catastrophically as a result.

And that's why, for now, these people simply decided to gather as much information as possible to plan ahead and take countermeasures before deciding it was time to take them all out at once.

That's why they were here, in a branch of the Order of Secrets to observe the actions of the Secret Organization, avoiding being attacked individually...

To put it bluntly, the four Shadow Guilds that made up the League of Shadows were now like bullied children, powerless against the school's new bully, silently hiding and secretly plotting an ultimate revenge against them... which would probably end very, very badly anyway.

Aside from being furious at this humiliating situation the former guilds they controlled found themselves in, their leaders were very, very confused as to how the Secret Organization's slaves managed to so suddenly attack each of these small branches when this all started, since it was without warning... but if they had the support of a runesmith with never-before-seen runes, then a lot could be explained.

Of course, there was still an explanation to be found as to why the secret organization was attacking those branches in the first place.

It should be known that there was nothing of great value there, and as mentioned before, those slaves were destroying everything in their path, even what had value, as if it had no value in their eyes.

However, someone among them had an idea of ​​what it might be. That was the leader of the Hidden Terror guild, Lunai, who was widely feared for his intelligence and cruelty.

This man, Lunai, had developed with the little time and information acquired in the last few minutes a quite logical and reasonable assumption (in his opinion) as to why the "Secret Organization" was acting in such a strange manner and with a lack of obvious benefits for his guild: it was nothing more than a blatant display of power to force the nobles to give in to them.

With the trouble they have caused to many aristocrats, they have naturally gained many powerful enemies throughout much of the empire who wish to destroy them completely.

However, as all retaliation has failed so far and little success is expected in the future, many nobles would be forced to attempt negotiations with the Secret Organization to resolve the situation once and for all.

Even Duke Cerodian leading the aristocratic faction, even the Marquis serving the Emperor as his most loyal dog, leading the imperial faction in his capacity… each of them would be forced to follow certain demands of the Secret Organization with gritted teeth, making this guild have an even more terrifying influence than ever.

Furthermore, by demonstrating that they were perfectly capable of inflicting severe losses on the most powerful guilds of the Imperial Abyss without incurring massive losses themselves, while also revealing a small portion of the terrifying technological and combat power they possess as an organized group, they would be attracting many neutral noble and bourgeois families interested in their strength to solicit their services.

He didn't doubt it, especially since he was sure they weren't the only ones using remote viewing spells to see what was happening in real time.

Lunai imagined that those noble and bourgeois families with enough capital to have strong Casters on their side would be quite surprised by the fact that, of all things, the secret organization had such a powerful runesmith on their side to aid them.

Someone capable of using rune circles... Who would be foolish enough to ignore someone like that? Especially since she's definitely responsible for every single one of their weapons and enchantments, probably at the level of a master blacksmith.

They would also not ignore the possibility that the power of unknown runes is being used to create a runic art so strange that it is capable of blocking magical surveillance completely.

If they could use the services of such an individual for their own purposes, the nobles would be more than happy to do so.

—They simply allowed us to observe their talents as a direct message to not underestimate them, that they are powerful and unstoppable, making not only nobles fall to their knees and beg them to stop in exchange for ample benefits, but also offering them their services— concluded the wicked guild leader with a serious look after a small explanation of some of his thoughts.

"Services?" Marian raised an eyebrow in response, to which Aidan simply replied in Lunai's place. "Services as hired mercenaries. That's what you mean, isn't it?"

—Of course you can say that, right? And if that happens, they'll easily take over almost the entire mercenary business as well.

The man nodded with a particularly serious expression, to which Aidan immediately snorted in disgust.

Aside from acting as a fairly influential criminal organization, the Black Lion Mercenary Guild was essentially made up of mercenaries, just as the name suggests. If the secret organization also provided mercenary services to nobles and other powers... they would quickly fall far behind.

And that displeased him.

…of course, they are wrong, the secret organization did not attack the branches of the 4 Abyss Guilds as a message to the nobles or whoever.

It was just a random distraction so one particular girl could get what she wanted into her cute little hands with the help of a Chimera she had conveniently followed while on a mission.

Lunai and Burthim were simply overanalyzing things with the little information they had, which is actually one of the reasons the secret organization exists in the first place...

Having no way of realizing this absurd truth, Lunia continued, “Given the strength the secret organization has demonstrated and the obviously powerful master behind them, I highly doubt the nobles and burghers will now want to earn their hostility without a second thought. Instead, trying to get close to them to act as their mercenaries tasked with carrying out their dirty work is definitely a more attractive option.”

As for the runes... The Wizard Tower will probably try to uncover the secrets of this guild to verify whether they have the knowledge of the lost runes or not, but I'm not sure they would try anything serious against the Secret Organization unless you're willing to waste some resources on something that isn't guaranteed.

"Are you underestimating the obsession of those crazy bastards at the Wizarding Tower with any unknown magical knowledge that could change all the established paradigms of sorcery over the past few centuries? Ha!" Marian mocked, crossing her arms over her ample breasts.

As someone who had been part of that organization as an intermediate member of the Thaumaturges Guild, Marian was painfully aware of the unhealthy love many sorcerers show for the opportunity to study something completely new before them.

Whether to get closer to the desired truth or simply to increase the power of their sorcery, these madmen did many horrible things to get what they wanted without regard for the suffering and death they might cause along the way.

Even if there were exceptions, the majority had to be conquered.

Marian may not be a good person no matter how you look at her… But compared to most of the extremely amoral and ruthless sorcerers in the Wizarding Tower, she might as well be a holy virgin.

After all, their business has nothing to do with human experimentation or the sale of dangerous narcotics.

Those things were also beyond his reach... for many personal reasons.

—I can tell you that at the slightest suspicion, these lunatics wanted to get involved in this. And when two lunatic organizations clash... believe me, you don't want to be in the middle.

The voluptuous green-haired woman stated confidently.

Unbeknownst to Marian, her prediction was not only more than accurate, but also foreshadowed the arrival of an event that was drawing ever closer, one in which both a certain Princess and a certain Steward of the Imperial Palace would make their debut as the game's first hidden antagonists….