Chapter 146 - The Red Seals

The street filled with blood and corpses, Achilles and Undrar decided to pay the shop a visit. Staxius had been gone for a while now; also, they needed to inform him about a high paying job offer. "The smell of iron," Undrar mumbled. "All too familiar," Achilles added – they both walked with caution.

A head practically exploded itself on the building across the shop. The brain matter was spread across the wall – it looked disgusting. Scattered from spot to spots, the headless bodies, and top hats laid about. A trail of blood led into the back alley where it then disappeared.

"Why has no one even mentioned this to the guild?" a question worth raising – Achilles stared at Viola in hopes of getting answers. "I don't know,' the voice felt perplexed. Without much thought, Achilles dashed and decided to pile up the bodies. Only dark red-stains were spotted, the bodies were put outback. "Probably hoodlums and extortionists," Undrar figured a guess. "Still, a proper burial should be given," to which both began to work.

"Fine, fine," the voice erratic, Karlson gave, Staxius's aura grew to be dark and murderous. Anything at this point would cause him to pull the trigger, the eyes burnt with hate – hate that the name Staxius was used without reason. A harmless purchase that the dark guild figured not worthy. "Speak then!" the headlock tightened. "-It-it's the s-same gang that attacked the tailor's shop," at that point, he began to choke, the grip grew too much to speak. *Cough,* it lessened, "-are you sure it's them?" he let go.

"Yes, it's probably the on-going thirst for power. Those people were once influential when it came to doing business with god's ale. However, supplies have been running low for a while. There must have been a leak in the information. The amount you pay far exceeded the price of the drug – a single bottle costs about 5 gold, but you paid 100. They must have thought you purchased a stock for reselling," the posture now fatigued and scared.

*Bing,* the sound of something metallic hitting the floor echoed around the now silent room. Staxius dropped the gun and thought. "Where do you tie in, the guy outside is someone from your crew isn't it?" the voice still murderous but calm. "Let me check," Karlson walked over and peeped. "Oh, is that the cause," he smirked, "that's a previous member from the one group you encountered at Claireville Academy. Probably a spy of some sort. I've told you most of the information I know, please – let this fight stop here," eyes lit with fear.

"I beg your pardon," *Woosh,* a pin flew across the room. A muffled yelp later, the door opened. "Spies," he spoke out loud, "-I hate when people try and invade the place I call home. I never asked to be involved with the dark guilds – but today it's about to change." He stood in the now opened doorway, "Is that supposed gang an enemy of yours?" he leaned against the frame, the dead body of the former spy laid on the couch.

"They're not so much an enemy as opposed to a nuisance. The structure of this whole underground organization is filled with confusion, lies, and deception. None knows who they're dealing with apart from a chosen few. However, those guys who call themselves as The Red Seals are a bane to us people who want to try to keep all this in the shadows."

"Consider me an ally but don't you ever think for a second that you'll have an advantage over me," *Snap,* he vanished into a blueish mist.

"An ally," Karlson laughed, "-with pleasure, Staxius – you demon, even I the one who rules over the export of God's ale had to bow down. You made one of the underground bosses tremble and cower with fear," the now relaxed boss rested.

'Where are the bodies,' he materialized in front of the shop. "Master," Achilles called out from behind the alley. "What are you guys doing?" he walked to check out what happened. "Cleaning out the mess you made?" Undrar fired back. "No time for regrets, it was merely self-defense," he spoke in jest. "In what world is self-defense this brutal and deadly," the bodies were put in bags to be cremated. Digging grave now would be detrimental, instead – Viola proposed to use fire magic and laid their souls to rest.

"There's something that requires my attention," he turned around. "You've got a job offer back in the main guild – there's a lot of gold involved," Undrar added to which teleportation was used.

Sat in a room, Avon and Auic spoke with leisure. "Sorry to interrupt," without a second wasted, Staxius teleported inside – took the spirit, and left. "No need to ask questions," they stood atop the shop –"I want you to teleport me to the hideout," Staxius demanded. *Snap,* both vanished yet again; a giant cliff stood in front.

"Thanks for traveling with Avon express," he chuckled and winked. "Head back – I've got things here, your lady awaits," Staxius teased.

The forest felt calm and peaceful, the trees gently swayed with the fresh breeze. The sun atop provided just the right amount of heat – birds chirped. 'What an idyllic scenery,' he thought and breathed. The left eye closed, the Nox's curse activated – the All-seeing eyes got used. From gang member to gang member, a mental map was drawn. The underground hideout compromised of five layers, each one stacked with members and entertainment. The last floor was were the main players remained, all heavily armed – especially the leader.

'Here I come,' *Ancient Magic: Teleportation.* The first floor, without much effort, the recruits were killed with only a dagger found on a table, none could react fast enough. Bodies dropped on after the other like dominos.

The time came for the second floor; they were much more skilled than before. Still, this time the cursed steel sword came out.   Some managed to call for help, but none could hear – this place now was under Staxius's control; a chamber where death reigned supreme.

The third floor arrived, Unleash Aura was used – a few runaway mages and adventurers filled the ranks. The alarm rang at last; all were now on guard. Many asked questions about his identity but no reply ever came. They gave a good enough work out – the fight lasted a few minutes.

It now came time for the fourth floor, they were mercenaries of the highest grade. People that could pass as Bronze rank when it came to combat. As opposed to the previous levels – each one had skills and magical abilities. Enhancement spells, physical augmentation – body transformation – these guys had it all. With that being said, Unleash Aura lowered their overall strength by a good margin – the dense aura limited any acts of recklessness. The mistake became harder to exploit, though it didn't matter. As an homage to Adelana, he took the lightning strike stance – the shadow variant.  The entire base trembled, bodies simply vanished – a faint trace of the Void Flame burnt.

"Who stands there," he teleported into the last floor. "Death," Staxius mumbled. Gunshots, arrows, spells, everything were used – the warriors here could well enough give the silver guardians a run for their money. The time came to go all out – it had been a long time since all the skills acquired over the ages could be used. Not out of necessity, but to see how he stacked up against strong opponents.

The eyes closed, at last, the outline of people made the focus heightened. No unnecessary information was being transmitted, a target and a sword. Gunfire proved to be a challenge, *Death Element: Absolute Barrier,* everything got held in place. *Snap,* it returned to the sender. None died from said attack, the armor held its own. *Slash,* behind the bullets, another force went twice as fast. A second; all that was needed – none could come close to matching that speed.

"Now then," he stared at the leader, "-I've got a big present for you." Blood sprayed; the body beheaded. "You monster." *Bang,* someone out back yelled, without much thought, using Absolute Barrier; the bullet got sent back inside the head of the would-be assaulter. Eyes filled with death lifted, Staxius sat on the leader's chair. "I should have probably asked questions before killing god knows how many people."

Out of curiosity, he walked around and explored quite a bit before getting tired. An inventory of weapons, god's ale, and coins were found. "Don't mind If I do," the face held a smirk. Using teleportation, a portal from here to the shop got opened. One by one, the stuff got carried from one place to another. A vault with god knows how many gold coins remained as the masterpiece. "You sure are ruthless," Adete whispered.

This whole operation took about thirty minutes at most. All the loot got taken back to base. Staxius now stood atop the hideout, *Death Element: Fireball,* on each floor, a fireball the size of a house got conjured. Having no place to go, it exploded and turned everything to dust. "That should keep Claireville Academy safe."

A few hours went by, Staxius now rested. A fair bit of mana was used or rather wasted. The fight could have been more efficient if he went all out from the beginning.  It completely slipped his mind till the door knocked. "We're coming in," Undrar announced herself. "Over here," Staxius called and sat – the clothes covered with bloodstains.

"What is it?" a familiar figure walked in first. "…" her eyes stared unknowing how to react. "If it isn't Aceline, the one who chose music as her weapon." Staxius stood nonchalantly, "-I do apologize for my rather repulsive attire," the tone formal and calm.

"Lady Aceline, we should probably get away; that man only screams of trouble," Scott added with the snobbish accent. "Why are you covered in blood, you left thirty minutes ago," Undrar asked, her face filled with embarrassment. "I said I had a job to take care of which coincidently involved killing a few people," the way it was said implied that taking a life or two was nothing.

"That doesn't matter," Aceline spoke, the glasses got put away. "I've come here to request for your assistance,' the tone polite. "A job I assume?" the arms crossed. Reluctantly, Scott took charge and explained the task and how long it would take.

"I am to act as lady Aceline's bodyguard for the duration of the concert in the main continent?" he summarized all the information. "That is correct," she added. "Sure," weighting in the advantages of working for someone as popular as her would have hidden perks. More people might seek out help from Staxius – it meant more money. "I've but one question before we proceed," the tone mysterious.

"What is it?" Scott asked. "In case of an attack, how do you wish for me to handle the situation. The death of the perpetrator might not suit the image of our idol here," he understood the implication of what death could mean for someone else. "Yes, the preferred way  would be nonlethal, though if her life is at risk – I care not if bodies are left behind." Scott and Staxius were on the same page.

"Please don't resort to senseless killing, I've made it a point to value all life equally. People should learn to be harmonious – like music," she added. "Whatever you say," Staxius bid them farewell.  "Alright," he turned around to face Undrar and Achilles. The idol and her manager left.

"You've heard the details. Things will be in Viola's hand for a week. Nothing major, I do have some new toys in the back as well as a lot of gold coins. If you would, please take it to the bank and keep it safe, that money will be used for establishing a guild." That being said, he headed back into the mini-laboratory.

The official quest would be placed tomorrow at the guild, a task only he could accept. As the day went on, teleportation was used heavily, traveling from places to places in hopes of settling everything before leaving. The potions and scrolls were taken back to Arda using a portal – it required less mana and worked better. This included the research papers and God's ale. It also gave the opportunity to get changed, gather weapons and get prepared – not to mention meeting the lovely Xula.