Chapter 76 - The Darkness of the Night 1

Chapter 76 - The Darkness of the Night 1

Draco walked out of the elevator with a dark and deadly smile. His gait was measured and his breathing was even.

There was a ominous glint in his eye as he walked the hallways of the GloryGore Labs, his strange aura not making anyone stop him although he looked completely out of place with the way he was dressed so casually.

Every step he took was incomparably profound and confusing. They were small and very light, but he would move like he had stretched his legs to the fullest with each step.

It made for a visual dissonance that was hard to comprehend.

Draco exited the labs and stood in front of it. The sky was darkening and it was reaching the close of the day. Draco had spent a long time being refined by his bloodline after all, so it wasn't surprising that the whole day went away.

He looked left and right, seeing that there was a heavy human presence as workers left work to head home. The roads were choked with traffic, meaning that he would be wasting his time by picking a cab.

Draco sighed and passed a hand through his hair.

Since he had both failed and succeeded - but mostly failed - the mission, he would have to find some money for the cancellation costs if he didn't want trouble.

It was still a fact that Bloodline or not, if he faced a league of tanks, helicopters and military grade armed footmen, he would be turned into a honeycomb.

However, that was only concerning the World Council and countries at large. To get a whole country's army to move after him was a bit unrealistic, given his age and his strength.

But for groups like the police force, the criminal gangs and even the mafia? Heh Heh.

Draco realized he had a ton of ways to make money. Since he also needed information in order to find the twins, he had an idea of where to go…

He began walking along the street casually, his aura restrained and his lips curled sightly upwards. When any girl who had hit puberty saw him, her eyes would become fixated and her breathing would slow.

Even some guys had the same reaction, showing that they were treading a different path from usual. There were some females who had no reaction of course, due to being as.e.x.u.a.l (incapable of arousal) or possessing a s.e.x.u.a.l orientation that was not trained towards men.

They still appreciated his beauty, but they didn't make any exaggerated motions, just taking a peek and nodding. After all, Lucifer's handsomeness was built on devilish and seductive charm.

Draco eventually began to step into a different part of the business area, a place much more quiet and eerier. This wasn't part of the low-end district, rather being on the outskirts of the middle-class business district.

The roads were narrow and there were a few residences as well as businesses interspersed on the road. Majority were strange looking banks, barbershops, convenience stores as well as laundromats.

For all intents and purposes, this should be a pretty normal area. Yet, Draco knew that this nice looking zone was the home of all the middle-tier mafia groups and gangs.

Every single one of these legitimate businesses were fronts for their activities. Of course, since that was so, they did not allow even the hair of a dog to be harmed in this area.

It was totally safe to be here, within a certain limit.

Yet still, no one passed this area much.

Draco, who was walking along calmly, seemed particularly conspicuous. A few of the store owners who sat behind counters reached under their desks and began speaking into the air, their words inaudible since they were in an enclosed space.

He stopped at a particular residence that looked a bit high-end. It wasn't large, just a two story house with a well-kept lawn, a playground for kids and a small swimming pool at the back.

It looked completely normal and even a bit homely. One could picture the family that probably lived inside, a family of four. One dad, one mom and two troublesome boys or two cute little girls.

Draco kicked the metal gate down and walked in with his hands behind his back.

The moment he did, it was as if the whole area froze, as not even the crickets dared to make noise. It was as if the very world was watching Draco's calm steps, disbelieving that he would actually do something like this.

However, the world eventually resumed and Draco was halted by a wealth of guns popping out in his face. Majority were automated heat-tracking self-defense turrets that sprung out of different places in the lawn.

Draco could also see a mini-railgun as well as a plasma cannon trained onto him.

Anyone who beheld this would freeze and their hearts would thump faster than their body could handle. Dying from fear wasn't out of the question!

That was because aside from the turrets, the two special guns would rend one apart into nothingness, leaving only ash in its wake. Such a fate was truly terrible.

Yet Draco scoffed and raised his leg once again…

"Do not take another step, Boy! State your name and your purpose!" A gruff voice echoed out from within the house.

Draco ignored the voice and took that step, waking towards the entrance of the house stately.

"Hmph, don't blame me for being wicked then! Die!"

The turrets fired rapidly, aiming to shred Draco into ribbons with sheer force and irrepressible numbers. The railgun and plasma cannon also fired at him.

Even with this terrifying barrage aimed at him, Draco seemed unbothered. In fact, he smiled and maintained his same pace, not even looking like he intended to dodge.

However, one would notice something bizarre. As the bullets and cannon shots entered a certain range around him, they either slowed to a crawl or were diverted ever so slightly.

In fact, it looked like there was some strange barrier around the fellow that prevented him from being soiled by the mortal world, and the displaced air from the attacks made his short and curly hair billow and twist upon his head.

One had to admit, he looked otherworldly in this moment. None of the amazing superhero movies of the past and of the modern age could capture this feeling properly, which was watching a human performing feats of impossibility.

The closer Draco got to the house, the more intense the barrage that was unloaded onto him. Yet, despite the ever increasing intensity, nothing changed. It was like the bullets suddenly lost the will to fight or were scared off.

An impossible feat since they were inanimate, but the thought couldn't help but cross through one's mind.

Draco eventually reached the front door of the house and the barrage immediately stopped, lest it hurt those who were staying inside unduly. Before Draco could even kick this one down, the door opened for him on its own accord.

He entered the house, seeing that it was well-furnished and extremely high end with expensive sofas, rugs and lightings. Draco walked past the entrance hallway and entered what he guessed was the living room.

In there, was a group of men who were casually seated around a table. They were either drinking some alcohol or leaning into their seats languidly. On a central glass coffee table was some cards that were being dealt by some of the men.

On the side was some money, clearly they had been playing betting games.

Majority of the people there were young men, with the rest being as old as their forties. Everyone wore a long suit jacket of different colors, long sleeved t-shirts which were either sealed with a tie or left open, long and slightly baggy suit pants that were also of variant colors from person to person.

Some of them had mustaches, some had goatees, some were handsome and some were ugly. Some were dark-skinned, some were pale-skinned some were smack dab in the middle.

(Author's Note: They are roughly dressed like the Yakuza from Yakuza Kiwami, and their main dressing is a variant of Kiryu's.)

When Draco entered, they all turned to gaze at him with calm expressions, as if a 21 year old fellow who could deflect bullets wasn't a horrifying existence. They continued playing their cards and sipping on their iced alcohol, a few raising drinks up to Draco out of respect.

Draco didn't stand on ceremony and took a glass for himself. He poured a bit of bourbon whiskey and placed a few ice cubes within. One of the fellows passed over a cigarette to him, but Draco waved his hands, signaling that he didn't smoke.

That particular fellow shrugged and lit up the cigarette for himself.

Draco smiled and twirled the drink and ice together in his glass, his eyes taking in the various men in the room, who also didn't hesitate to observe him quietly.

Opposite Draco was a thick and tall man who looked to be at least, 6 foot 5. He had a light bronze skin tone and a very hairy body. His hair was cut short and slicked back, with a full beard that stretched from his side burns to his chin. It was thick and very well kept.

His face was squarish and hard, making him possess a tough demeanor that made one feel hesitant to fool about. He wasn't handsome per se, but he was far from ugly.

He was attractive in a specific way and to a specific type of people, unlike Draco, this f.u.c.kboy, who was handsome to everyone under heaven.

His suit jacket was dark blue in color and his long sleeved shirt was a mixture of green and yellow. His suit pants were also dark blue and he wore black loafers.

On his left wrist was an expensive Rolex 32-I9 which was the latest in fashion and tech, able to perform the functions of the cheapest super computer. His hands were coarse and his skin was rough. He had a cigar in his mouth and a glass of whiskey in his left hand.

He was also watching Draco quietly.

Draco decided not to play around and get to business.

"Hello, Mr Akainu. My name is Draco and I would like to partner with your enterprise."

One would expect the fellows here to pull out guns and load Draco with enough lead to make Superman go blind, but they just looked between each other and sighed with relief.

Akainu, the obvious leader of the group, opened his arms wide. "Why not?"

Draco smiled. This was why he chose Akainu's group over all the others on the street. This particular mafia group were only top-middle grade in terms of strength, as well as possessing a unique disposition that one would only find in novels.

That was brotherhood and trust!

Oh, they were bastards who killed and stole when the need called for it. However, they did not r.a.p.e, they did not harm children or teens and they did not involve non-combatants or the innocent.

They also did not squabble or fight over any loot, rather sharing it equally. Even Akainu received the same as his men. Their closeness was tighter than even legitimate biological brothers.

Draco needed a small group to start out with. The current Cartel was a bit difficult to takeover since it would take time. No amount of pure power would be able to mitigate that. The Cartel was just too huge an organization with too many branches that were decentralized.

Even the current Cartel master could only laugh bitterly if one asked him how well he controlled the Cartel.

In such a situation, Akainu's group, the Sanguigno Brothers, were the best starting place for Draco. He favored them over the rest not only for their character, but their skills!

Just look at that defense array outside this house. Did you really think that just every middle class mafia group could have something like that? Even the Cartel's headquarters might not have such heavy machinery, but much more manpower.

In fact, the only thing preventing The Sanguigno Brothers from being classified as a top class mafia group was their low numbers. They were extremely selective in their hiring.

But every single one of the men here had an absurd level of skill in a myriad array of fields. For example, the one seated on the left of Akainu was a technician of the highest order.

Give him some miscellaneous parts and he could whip up a modified weapon faster than it took Brother Johnny Sins to capture another man's wife!

His name was Sanji, and he was handsome as well as suave. He had dark green hair that was spiky, forming dangerous bangs on his forehead. His skin was incomparably pale and his face was round, but tapered to a point.

His suit was all white, with a red long sleeved shirt and a handkerchief tucked into his front pocket. He wore glasses and had dark brown eyes that were piercing.

When he saw Draco look his way, he smiled and puffed out a ring of smoke from his cigar. Though, his smile looked more like a dangerous smirk that promised retribution and suffering.

No, he wasn't trying to provoke Draco, that was just how he normally smiled…

"So easily? Won't you negotiate terms of our partnership?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

Akainu scratched his head and sighed, puffing out a thick cloud of smoke from his cigar. He leaned forward onto the table and tapped a bit of ash into a prepared smoke tray.

When he looked at Draco, his eyes seemed clear and without anything other than neutrality and calm acceptance.

"Your skills show that we either join you or die. We were fully prepared to have all our resources taken and our lives enslaved, but you promised a partnership. Honestly, I couldn't care what terms you propose, just being alive is the best case scenario for us."

Akainu's words were without ambiguity or malice. This was his honest opinion.

Of course, Draco knew they'd respond like this, but if he didn't question their adaptability, it would seem incomparably strange.

"Oh? You fellows expected death and yet here you sit, so calm and brusque?" Draco's tone had a bit of mocking in it.

Sanji snickered and answered this one. "Brother…?"

"Draco, no last name. Well, none for now."

"Right… Brother Draco. If we're going to die, we'd rather go out as ourselves, rather than groveling beggars or insane kamikaze fools. Entering this field of work, we were long prepared to die! As long as my brothers are with me, anything is okay!"

Sanji's words were met with a resounding cheer from the boys. Even with Draco's presence, they still acted normally and without pretense. If they died, they died! If they lived, they lived!

No matter what, they would be themselves even in the face of death!

As long as their brothers were with them, everything was okay!

The Sanguigno Brothers… even Draco was moved. Even as a hate-filled entity in his past life, these fellows had left a deep impression on him. Now that his mind was clear and his thoughts were more stable, they even invoked feelings from him.

Draco wondered if he could ever find a group of fellows who could become his sworn brothers through life and death…

He shook his head and got down to business.

"Firstly, I need one of you to pay $3,000,000 to Parkins for a cancellation fee on the GloryGore Invasion mission on my behalf. Then, I need you to dig for the location of Parkin's younger sisters within 3 hours."

Draco's tone was not commanding at all, but very soft and amiable, like one would speak to their friend when requesting for help.

This also left an impression on the fellows here. If Draco could fix his terrible fashion sense from this f.u.c.kboy get-up, he would be a perfect fit for their crew!

"Sure. I'll handle the payment right now." One of the fellows offered as he left.

He didn't bother to ask where the money was stashed or the password to the account, showing that they each knew where everything was located. Truly, this level of trust made Draco's heart beat faster.

Nothing was more moving than the unbreakable bond of brotherhood or sisterhood.

"I'll find those two girls for you. Jada and Jade right? It's been years since I last saw those kids." Sanji offered, tapping the side of his glasses as a holo-screen popped up before him.

He began typing away with that scary smirk on his face.

Draco turned to Akainu in the meantime. The fellow was pondering something quietly. When he noticed Draco's attention on him, he smiled and asked a few questions.

"Well, since Brother Draco is now our partner, would it be possible to know your specific skills and any details you feel comfortable sharing? This is so that I can plan what kind of movements we'll be making together, aside from the things you require."

Draco couldn't help but laugh. He really regretted letting a gem like Akainu and his boys go to waste for so long in his past life. Now that he had them this early, his confidence in building an empire in the real world grew.

"Not a problem. The first thing to note is that I am a Control master, and a powerful one. If the average Control master can be described as being at Tier 1, then I am at Tier 3."

This wasn't an exaggeration, after being rebuilt by his bloodline, his Control abilities had climbed from Tier 2 to Tier 3. Of course, there were no official Tiers for Control, but Draco needed to represent his skill in the field somehow.

Akainu's eyes widened as he nodded his head. The other fellows were also startled and very appreciative.

After all, how could they be totally stunned after seeing what Draco did out there?

If he told them that he was a genetically modified superhuman from Area 51, they wouldn't doubt him.