Chapter 357: Black Spiders

Suddenly, a faint noise coming from deeper in the alley reached her ears, causing him to jolt his head and turn his gaze ahead.

Standing in the darkness the silhouette of a robed person could be hazily seen. The figure stood still, unmoving as if it was a statue. Still, there was a sense of dread, an eerie, ominous power that this presence faintly, but continuously emitted.

Immediately, the thin man shivered, automatically turned his head to look behind him. His natural instinct of survival kicked in, he was subconsciously searching the potential escape routes.

Unfortunately for him, as he turned around, he saw a similar scene: A dark-robed figure stood in the way where they came. A thick, long hood was draped over its head, creating a dark shadow that completely hid the figure's features. Just like its partner ahead, there was no movement, but the eerie feeling, the ominous, dreadful aura could be felt from its direction also.

"Calm down. We have arrived." His partner, the bald, stout man's cold tone jolted the lanky cat-like man. He turned around again, focusing his attention on the dark outline of the shady figure ahead with a wary, scared expression on his face.

"B-Brock… Are these people-"

"Yes. Now shut up and stay calm. Let me do that talking." The broad-shouldered bald man, Brock responded with a gruff and stepped forward.

Taking a couple of small steps, he immediately bowed his head and gave a greeting with a respectful, reverential tone.

"This lowly one greets these Masters. We have come on behalf of our boss, Jay Thornton,  the leader of the Sharks. We came to hi-"

He hurriedly blurted out the entire speech he prepared. Still, before he had the chance to finish, the figure suddenly made a movement. Its figure blurred from its place, only to reappear a few steps away from Brock. 

The thin figure, yelped in shock, stumbling backward and almost falling on his butt. Instantly, he turned around, ready to escape, but was startled with yet another surprise. The figure behind them also got closer, standing just as stoically as before, but its powerful aura made sure to freeze the scared figure in place.

"B-brock… W-we… We s-should…" He muttered with a faltering tone, that seemed to be ready to crack up and transform into a desperate cry at any moment.

"S-shut up Bob! Grow a f*cking spine already!" Brock snorted, turning his head slightly to the side, making sure that his eyes didn't wander off from the robed figure in front of them.

Suddenly, the figure ahead spoke again. His cold, insipid voice filled the two thug-like figure's hearts with fear and dread.

"What could such a lowly group of bandits possibly want from us?"

Hearing the question, and the coldness that came with it, Brock seemed to just remember something important. He hurriedly reached for his pockets with both hands, nervously searching for an item.

A moment later, a look of joy flashed through his face as his search yearned the result he hoped for. He pulled out a carefully folded piece of yellowish piece of paper from the depths of his pockets and with shaking hands presented it to the figure in front of him.

"M-Mighty M-m-masters… Please… take this letter. My Boss hopes that you would take a look at it. He said that once y-you see who sent it, you will u-understand…" His voice turned gradually meeker as he spoke, trying to find a change in the figure's state as he spoke. He felt that his words were slightly presumptuous, he was hoping that these Monsters wouldn't take offense… Otherwise, their end would be swift.

There was no immediate response to Brock's words, the air seemed to freeze for a moment. A second later, only a light 'humm' could be heard as the figure's robe rippled slightly, only for the letter to suddenly vanish from the man's hand in the next instant. 

The air distorted, causing the already hazy sight of the silhouette to turn even harder to make out before it slowly calmed down and returned to its 'normal' state.

As the scene returned to its serenity, there was no trace of the letter anymore, it seemed to vanish from existence completely.

Although he couldn't see it, Brock felt that this dreadful Master in front of him no longer focused on them, but was looking at the other Master behind them.

He could hear no words, there was no audible exchange, but still, he had a feeling that the two were conversing about the contents of the letter their boss, Jay the Shark had given to them.

He couldn't help but think back to that scene as he nervously waited for an answer from these monstrous existences of the local underworld. He remembered the heavy look on his usually fearless leader's face as he gave them this task and told them to make sure to deliver it to this group. His voice was heavy, even carrying a hint of fear, uncanny to their boss's fiery, fearless nature. 

Just what was in that letter that caused him to change so much, to suddenly turn from that fearless lion, into a weary man in a moment?

Brock sighed, shaking his head lightly, returning his attention to the present, returning his gaze to the dark outline of the figure that now slowly shifted his attention, looking at the two once again.

"Tell your leader that the Black Spiders accepts the assignment. Three moons from now, we expect the payment from him personally. Also, the price is double the usual. Now go."

He spoke just as coldly as before, as he finished suddenly their figure blurred once again, before turning into smoke and slowly dissipating. The lanky man yelped in fright once again, hurriedly turning around and looking behind them.

Just like the frontal master, the one that stood behind also vanished, only a thick, dark gray smoke could be seen as it slowly dispersing into the air.

Bob, the thin man couldn't take it anymore. Seeing that the exit was once again available, energy instantly returned to his feet, he bolted towards the sunlit, busy street behind them.

Brock frowned for a moment longer, looking at the place where that mysterious Master stood just a moment ago before turning around and following after his partner with swift, hurried steps. Although he showed a stronger facade than his 'friend' Bob, the Mice, to be honest, he was just as scared as him.

'These monsters… Just what the hell is the boss planning? Hiring a group as these is definitely not something we could afford…' He wondered, pondering about the events as his figure left the dark alleyway and rejoined his partner at the bright side. 

A moment later, they turned towards the central area of the city, their figures vanishing amidst the heavy crowd.

—

Somewhere below the surface, in a dark dimly lit chamber, the air suddenly began to buzz, and distort. From the spatial distortion that formed, two robed figures appeared.

Immediately, as they appeared, they went on their right knees and lowered their heads as they greeted with a reverent tone.

"Master, we returned!"

In front of them, sitting on a wooden chair, a figure donning similar attire looked at the two arrivals. 

"What is it?" His guttural, hoarse voice quickly filled the small chamber.

"Master, the fat one has sent us a request."

Although hidden, the frown that appeared on the leader's face came through his disdainful tone as he commented.

"The Leon kid? What does that fat pervert want?"

Instead of responding, the figure on the right stood up and walked closer. From the depths of his robe the light yellow piece of folded paper appeared, he presented it to the leader.

"Master, this is the request he sent."

The Leader reached for the offered paper, unfolded it, and swiftly read it.

"Hmm… Interesting…" He muttered as he finished with it. His tone returned to its neutral state, no emotion was visible in it, making it impossible to make out what he or she could be thinking…

—

"B-Brock, I really thought we gonna die there! I warned you that we shouldn't take this task, this is way above us!" Running in the midst of the crowd, the thin figure cried out after he felt that they had made a considerable distance between them and that dreadful alleyway.

His heart was still pumping chaotically, the air those monsters emitted was way above what his heart could take.

"I already told you to shut up!" His bald partner snorted angrily, masking his own nervousness. "How can someone as weak as you work with the boss, I just can't understand!" 

They continued to bicker with each other as they crossed through the crowd, closing towards the Marketplace. 

Just before the entrance to the most visited place in the city appeared in front of their eyes, they took a left and entered another alleyway. Instantly as they entered, they leaned against the wall heaving heavily. 

Finally, they got away!

Or so they thought…