The sound of Marlon's anger shocked all those present, himself included.

He had not expected it to sound so loud!.

His 'anger' intensified the Fear ability of the shroud and in a matter of seconds all the guards present that had encircled him began to shiver in fear. Even the cool headed San Fidwud flinched as his hand shook slightly.

Little did they know that Marlon himself was afraid, for a different reason altogether.

'Master is going to kill me' He thought. He had only called Hal the 'Malevolent one' in the heat of the moment, because that was what he always called him in his mind.

The fear he had felt when Hal had branded him with the Devil mark (which had surprisingly being a pleasurable experience as opposed to the expected painful type) had caused him to view him as such in his mind. In a special corner of his mind where Hal (hopefully) could not view.

However it had been said now and could not be taken back, he would have to stand by his words. At least not until he left this place.

San and his confidante's eyes were narrowed as they worked to control their emotions but Marlon gripped that moment to display as Hal had taught him.

"My master, the Malevolent one has sent me here to help you and this how you repay him, by second guessing all he says" He said in the same booming voice

"How can a 'Malevolent one' helps us with no strings attached. His title literally identifies him as evil. Your whole logic is flawed" San said in slightly shaky voice.

'Damn it. He got me there. Fuck my stupid mouth, why couldn't I call him the Benefactor or something? Fuck me' Marlon thought but when he spoke, his rage seemed to have increased

"Logic?" he moved even closer to San and the guards who were already trembling stepped back

"Logic?" He repeated

"Fuck! Spit it out, or are you just going to keep repeating the word logic?" San's right hand man, Evian snarled

"Well my foul mouthed fellow, my Master, the Malevolent one does not follow rules and if he has decided to bless you with some much needed information, then you will...do...well...to...say...thanks" Marlon said with confidence

"You want us to thank you, for what?" San raised an eyebrow

"For telling you the location of 'The Confluence'" Marlon said and instantly there was complete silence.

After every city held auction, the proceeds would be shared among the Great families, and while the Great families were by default, arrogant, they still took the possible threat of the Plebeians seriously.

Of course they had no choice after some very close calls when the plebeians would wait in ambush.

And so, as the heads of the Each Great family were it's strongest, they of course were never directly involved in the division and instead sent Representatives, the protection of their interest caused them to choose a neutral spot for the division. A spot supposedly only known to the Great families.

A spot called the Confluence.

This was actually a pretty big deal. Knowing the location of the Confluence was the only way they could organize a successful heist, the only way to catch their enemies off guard.

"Tempting as that sounds, I'm not interested. Too much trouble to go through for a little bit of Gold" San said after the long silence

The fog was quiet for a while and then Marlon chuckled

"A little bit of Gold?. Hehe. Okay. You don't have to go after the confluence but I will tell you where it is. Because my Master wants me to. But...just so you know, the Confluence holds a joint vault that belongs to the Great families"

San blinked "That's impossible"

"Hahahaha, you plebeians always claim the Great families are arrogant but you are even worse. You band together as a group, what makes you think the Great families are not the same.

"They are tied together more than you can imagine. Sure they have skirmishes as they battle for who will hold the title of mayor but ultimately, they still have each others backs"

San frowned in confusion and gestured for his guards to step back

"Thank you lord" They all chorused and moved as far away as possible from the fear inducing fog.

The fog however continued after missing a short beat "Have you ever heard in the history books or in present day that a Great family gets annihilated or even slightly impoverished? No, you haven't.

"And It's because the joint vault in the confluence serves as a promise of cooperation as long as it concerns their hegemony and threatens their position as the Most powerful in Salmon city" Marlon said slowly

San's eyes widened in understanding..

"Ahh. Well , if your 'Master' really wants to tell me, go ahead"

"Move closer"

San did as he was asked but he did so cautiously until he was a few inches from the fog, which, now that he was closer seemed even more fearful.

Marlon had to stifle his laughter as he watched San's slow approach.

He passed on every information regarding the confluence and how to get there to the Fidwud family head.

Once he had gotten all the information he could and was sure (After much questioning) that there was nothing else he needed to learn, San signalled to Evian who dashed forward instantly and swung his Cosmic Armament (A flexible looking saber) at the fog...

*Swoosh*

...but it would pass cleanly through the air as the fog had dispersed and reformed behind him with a loud boisterous laughter that filled San's pale face with a flush of embarrassment.

"Hahahaha, you think you can touch the Bogeyman, I am the scourge of your nightmares. KNEEL!" The fog snarled and a pressure mixed with it's fear inducement descended upon Evian...

*Thud*

...and he knelt instantly, his whole body trembling with fear.

That this 'Creature' could cause an Early stage Cosmic Armament cultivator like himself to crumple to his knees with his pressure alone spoke volumes.

*THUD!*

An even louder sound was emmited as all the guards present could no longer stand straight and fell to their knees as well.

The only one left standing whose was now certain he had underestimated his foe.

Marlon on the other hand was wiping off his cold sweat and thanking his master with all his heart for arming him with the Devil shroud. He had made use of it just the right amount and displayed dominance, now it was time to make a much needed break out of this house.

Just as he intended to do so...

San shook his head as though to clear it and nailed the fog with a cold stare before revealing his cultivation base and just as suspected. he was at the peak stage of the Cosmic Armament realm.

The pressure was intimidating but Marlon swallowed his fear...

'Master help!'

...and called for help.

He received no replies to his urgent call, at which point San had summoned his armament as well and was moving ever closer.

San dashed forward so fast that Marlon did not even have any hope of dodging, the Saber was lifted and once again slashed towards the fog when suddenly a voice –different from the one before and commanding more charisma– boomed out of the fog...

"Stand back!"

...along with a strong, sudden wave of fear! directed towards San and San alone.

The voice along with the strong wave of fear did something the Devil shroud had been unable to do till then; it made San Fidwud tremble and his knees shiver until...

*Thud*

They gave out and he knelt before the fog.

The new voice continued...

"Go after the Confluence or not, that's your business, but raise your hand against me again and you will regret it!"

...and then the fog dispersed.

San stared at the spot the fog had been as Evian stood up and walked unsteadily to his Lord's side

"Should we..." He began

"What? Are you actually considering going after it?" San asked in a scalding tone

"No" Evian shook his head vigorously and then said "It's strange though"

"What is?"

"Well, there was once a group in the tavern who were speaking of the coup. The energy they subtly gave off before I and everyone else lost consciousness seems similar to what I felt from the fog" Evian revealed, but San's expression remained the same

"I see" was his only comment

"Will we go after the confluence my lord?" Evian asked

"-sigh- while it does seem suspicious, it remains a fact that the confluence does exists and that our only chance of ever making it in safely would be after the auction, when the dividence begins. So..." San paced forward then dipped his hand into his spatial pouch to retrieve a parchment upon which he wrote a letter

"It all depends on how daring we dare to be. Make sure no one follows you when you deliver this letter to the master"

Evian received the letter, sunk into a deep bow and retreated from the hall. The guards all did the same as well. It was clear to them all that their Lord desired to be alone.

That the fog who identified itself as the 'Malevolent one's representative had chosen to come to him did not surprise him, after all, since the destruction of the Holgers, the Fidwuds were now the next in power after the master.

And as soon as they received said Master's Go-ahead, he would organize a meeting where they would need to fill the other Plebeian families in.

After all the Auction was merely four days away.