Loki respected Sasha and even admire her loyalty. And Sasha respected and admire Loki self-sacrifice, and his vision that could see the bigger picture, a better tomorrow
And the other reason is because Loki is Sina beloved. And Sina is her friend. If Loki kill the Broker and take his place, there is no going back
There would be a huge target on his back. he would become a fugitive in every sense of the word.
The infamy is no longer undeserved. It would become real. She knows that Loki wanted to enter the Crime Alliance.
Once he enters that, regardless of the declaration of Death Monarch, the hunt for him would intensify.
Many people died in the Multiversal Convergence. People are angry and they know who to blame. And that anger would explode.
The whole world will be searching and trying to capture him. Because, like Loki said, Azief would not always be in this world.
He would leave. And when he would leave, Pandemonium would have bigger problems to deal with rather than focusing their forces trying to protect Loki
As long as Loki did not enter Pandemonium, there would always be a chance that he could be captured or killed.
Not that it would be easy to capture and kill the Trickster, but the possibility is there. Sasha do not know the right answer.
So, she could only sigh inwardly as Loki keep talking to her as she tries to sort out her messy thoughts
Loki did not know what Sasha is thinking about as he continues talking
'If my brother isn't there, foreign interference would flame more resentment between the forces in Pandemonium and borne more conflicts. We don't know that the next time my brother decided to leave Earth, it might take him a decade to come back'
And then he smiles as he said
'Or maybe he would not even come back. I shudder to think the impact of such long absence would do to the forces inside Pandemonium. Last time is bad enough. The Central Government had cut off contacts with the Three Army. The Three army establishes their own court independent of the Central government'
'If my brother did not return home at that time, and resolve the misunderstanding between the civil officials and the military, then I suspected that the only way to resolve that conflict were for them to kill each other or annihilate each other'
'I don't think it would come to that' Sasha said
But Loki shakes his head
'There were nearly a civil war in this land. All because of the death of some soldiers and ministers. That is how fragile the peace in Pandemonium'
'And that is how easy it was for one person to sow distrust and discord between the forces in Pandemonium. Death Monarch gave us a lot of leeway. That had caused us to do our own things. When he is here, it is easy. Because he is the focal point of our unity. But when he is not there, then we are like lone branches. Easy to break.'
Sasha went silent at this. She also known about that conflict. And she also knows how bad it was. There was the Southern Court and the Eastern court.
The military exercise control over the four corners of Pandemonium while the Central Court governs the administration sending decrees to the city lords.
There was a sense of alienation. There was this feeling of discontent that was about to blow up. And it was all because of one-person scheme. It was Void scheme
One person was all it takes for the government to fragments into pieces.
It tells more about the disunity between the forces of pandemonium rather than highlighting Void scheme
Void scheme was not particularly genius. It was even elementary. It was simple to uncover. But there are some people, in the military, in the court that wanted the conflict to come to a head.
But no one wanted an open all-out war against each other.
At least, it did not reach that point.
At that time, the battle was conducted in the dark. The civilians did not feel the shakings of the political fragmentations.
But for the forces in Pandemonium, the reason they did not touch the civilians or embroiled them in their political struggle is simply because it would then become a justification for the other forces….to attack under the banner of righteousness
And the other reason was that no one would dare to bear the wrath of Death Monarch when he returns if he were to find out that some subordinate forces of him touches the people of Pandemonium.
He might forgive political transgression but he would not forgive involving unaffiliated citizens into the struggles of the powerful
What he said, is his will. And his Will, will be done. Fortunately, the matter was resolved
But what Loki is saying is something that is not out of the possible scenario that could happened.
Loki then said toward Sasha
'If you want Pandemonium to continue existing, then you have to rely on the people here' Then looking left and right, he smirks and said
'It is imperative for you to reduce your enemies, and add more allies. If you were to be distrusted by Death Monarch, that stability would crumble'
'I believe that he would still trust me' But Loki only smiles as he said
'Trust is hard to earn. It took years to build a reputation but it would only take a few second to destroy it. The people, the court, the army always believed that the power of the Shadow Guards come from Death Monarch. But if he even shows even a hint of not believing you, a hint that his trust in you is not as absolute as some people had thought, it is like you are bleeding in the middle of the ocean. And sharks will come. And they will pounce, Sasha. Mark my words'
Sighing, Loki then said
'I propose only the most beneficial ending to what an otherwise a gory conclusion'
Sasha did not say anything.
She knew the risk.
She knew that Death Monarch would not punish her heavily.
But she also knows that if it is revealed that she had been sheltering the founder of the Crime Alliance, Death Monarch reputation as the leading figure against the criminal activity of the Crime Alliance would be questioned.
Because one might ask some uncomfortable question. Like, whether the Crime Alliance was actually a secret force of Pandemonium.
It did not matter that it is not the truth. What matters is what people believed to be the truth. Like the matter with Loki and Death Monarch
Since Loki had admitted that he was the one responsible for the disaster of the Multiversal Convergence, if Death Monarch comes out right now saying he was the one responsible for it, people would only have thought of him as trying to cover up for his little brother.
The same would apply if the world finds out that Sasha was sheltering the founder of the Crime Alliance.
At that time, speculations would be flying left and right. Even if she denied it, even if Pandemonium itself denied it, it would not matter.
People would think that they were just washing off their hands from the responsibilities. Lies travels faster than truth after all
And this is only one of the effect of the fallout if the world knew she harbored one of the most wanted men in the world.
Void is dangerous. But he is not a danger to the world. His powers made him very lethal in one on one combat. But he was never the mastermind.
He did not gather criminals and negotiate their alliances. He was not the one that founded the cornerstone of the Crime Alliance.
The Broker did.
He was the mastermind of one of the most dangerous organization in the world, gathering criminals and misfits, deviants and demons and devils
This infamy…. affects a lot of things.
Especially if it is revealed. If Sasha was not afraid of the bad reputation of the Broker, why would she not reveal it earlier?
As such, the following scenario that Loki had said would not be impossible. Instead, it is the likeliest possibility
Sasha shakes her head and then said
'Then we just have to reveal that the Broker is cooperating with Pandemonium. He had change his ways and is now helping the forces of good. It would not be the first time we launder another person identity. It would be hard, yes, but it could be done. We could tack a few noble achievements under his belt and give him a clean identity' Sasha said trying to persuade Loki
Loki hearing this only chuckles as he has a question of his own.
'Then why didn't you do that in the first place?' Loki said smiling. The reason he asks that question is because he knows the answer
Loki chuckle and then said
'Isn't it because you know that saying it like that, would surely kill him. There is no difference in outing him out and killing him. The Broker knows secrets. The problems about that is that he knows too many secrets. That is not good. That is not good at all'
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