Day 4.

“This is an outrage!” The man said emotionally as he slammed his fist on the table. “Your balls have grown to the size of your head if you think this kind of behavior would be tolerated! There are limits that must not be crossed and one among you has crossed the line.”

“Yesterday was certainly an interesting evening. Many poor boys sought my girls for solace, seeking a remedy for sorrows. Aaah, almost every room was filled to capacity. What a passion-filled night indeed,” the woman representing the courtesans said in a playful tone, waving a hand fan in front of her mouth.

“As Lord Homen said, someone must have been feeling ballsy yesterday,” the representative of the smuggling business in Marakkus cast a glance at the man sitting next to him.

“It wasn't us!” The thieves’ spokesman ruefully said to all the seated at the table. “Whoever that masked man was, he has no relation with me or my men. Hell, he even broke the code of no stealing among thieves! The son of a bitch attacked one of my most accomplished members and threw him to the lions! The mob cooked him alive, literally!! Isn't the cut we pay to the city guards precisely for preventing something like this? Where were your men, Homen?”

“Watch your tone, pickpocket. Before I put you in a dungeon so dark you will beg for the sun,” the man called Homen, said with a hard tone.

“...Hmph,” the thieves’ spokesman was cowed and slumped deeper into his chair. “I will make things clear. The guy is not one of ours. My bet is he’s an outsider. Perhaps a big shot wannabe from the gangs?”

“That is also false,” the envoy of the most powerful gangs in Marakkus flatly informed. “My bosses deny having any hand in yesterday’s matter. As a matter of fact, some of them wished to recruit this… bold spirit to their fold.”

“Who among you all have intel on yesterday’s ruffian?” Homen asked. The chief of the city guards exerted influence on this table filled with members of the city’s underworld.

Nobody answered.

“Fine, my turn to ask. The ruffian used the Arte Fade in Shadow. It was clear as day. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Homen went to the heart of the matter. A single person became the center of every eye on the table. A hooded figure who didn't make a peep from the very beginning.

Actually, the representatives also knew about it. But they didn't dare to irk the fearsome killers. They kept their toes in line, letting Homen test the waters first.

Fade in Shadow was the signature Arte of the assassins from the Assassins’ Guild. It allowed them to come and go like ghosts. Tens of adventurers couldn't even glimpse the bandit’s silhouette once he used the Arte. Disappearing like a phantom, wasn't that very similar to the legendary Arte the assassins employed? Under so many eyewitnesses, news spread easily. Those in the know certainly could see the similarities.

“...The man is a stranger and a blasphemer. No one is allowed to desecrate our art, our gift. Chief of the guards, the Ravens will take this matter into our own hands,” the hooded figure spoke with a voice neither male or female.

“A rogue then, very well. Hunt the target as you please but my guards will also investigate from their own ends. Hopefully, the bastard is foolish enough to show up again today. I’ll post my men in the area. In the meantime, I want you all to not stir up the pot any further. Remember, your activities are sanctioned by the city within imposed limits. Those who break it will face severe consequences. That is all.”

Homen left and so did a few others but most of them stayed.

“The chief seemed prickly today. Wouldn't you say, darling?” A stocky man that represented the drug lords said.

“Can't blame him. The Adventurer’s Guild was like a burning beehive. The guild master himself lodged a complaint,” the madam slaver added.

“The blood fanatics are busy doing Goddess knows what, then this little fish suddenly stirs the pond,” the info broker grinned.

“The water is muddied now. Sounds like an opportunity to me, or rather, my bosses. Isn't that right, my fellow upstanding citizens?” The organ dealer sounded excited.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as we suspected, it looks like the powers behind us are not gonna take this lying down. We’ll have a party soon,” the agent of the illegal merchants raised his glass. “To our health… Goddess helps us all.”

***

“Kyah!” A teenage girl was hit by a blast of water. Her fire shield mitigated some of the damage but it aggravated her previous injury. She no longer had the strength to get up.

“Hahaha! Take her stuff!” A thug sneered at her.

“Thanks for the hard work. We’ll take it from here, gyahahah!” Another thug mockingly said.

“Better yet, how about we take all five of them? I promise you all a night to remember, bwahahaha!”

“Ooooh, nice idea. I call dibs on the bunny beastfolk!”

“Then the wolf girl is mine. Her savage eyes are unbearable,” he licked his lips. “I’ll train her well. Changing those rebellious eyes into obedience, nyihihi.”

A group of all-female adventurers was surrounded by multiple scummy thugs. The adventurers were aware of the banditry yesterday so they were on guard but the number of the assailants was enough to overwhelm them.

“Try it, you low-life! I’ll kill you even if it's the last thing I do before I die!” The wolf woman defiantly said.

“Mary, are you okay?” A human with black eyes and black hair applied healing to the fire mage of their group.

“...I’ll manage. What do we do, Rita? At this rate...” Mary said worriedly.

Rita, seeing her comrades’ fear, knew she must make a call as the leader of the group. She threw a satchel at one of the thugs.

“That is what we got from the Biome today. Take it and leave,” Rita said while clenching her fist.

“Heeeh, wise choice. What’s the call, boss?” The thug that had the satchel offered it to a man with a blue mask. It was the same mask like the one who robbed close to twenty adventurers yesterday.

“Take the bunny one and the dog one. The color of their fur is nice. They will fetch a nice price in the slave market,” the boss said without a shred of compassion in his voice.

“Khhh!”

Rita grimaced, so did the rest of her party. As the thugs were approaching them with bestial looks, Rita and the group prepared to make their last stand. The boss watched from the rooftop.

“Hehehe- Urggg!?”

There was a slight pain in his chest. He looked down and saw a sword sprouted there.

“Ghagh...”

The sword was pulled out violently, making blood gush out like a fountain. Next, his neck was chopped off. Like a falling tree, the head fell to the street along with his body making a red sauce splatter on the ground.

“BOSSS!!”

“Holy Shit!”

Rita’s group and the thugs looked at the murderer. It was a he, and he was wearing the same mask as the recently deceased thug boss.

“It’s him, definitely him!”

“Run!”

“The maniac is here!”

The thugs ran to the four winds, Rita’s group and the new arrival did not pursue. The killer looked downwards at the group of adventurers and they did the same. The silent eye contact continued for a few seconds. Rita broke the silence first.

“I and my party thank you for your help. We-”

The man wearing the blue mask left without letting her finish.

“...We’re saved?” A dog beastfolk said.

“Pheeew...” Mary sighed.

“Rita… he took the satchel,” the wolf girl grimaced.

In the end, the girls still lost their loot.

“Damn it all,” Rita cursed.

***

When the sun sets, it was as if the city suddenly became the playground of anarchy. The adventurers that were returning from the Biome delve became the prime targets. Their packs were laden with loot, some of them worked extra hard to offset the robbery they suffered yesterday. The guild assured them that measures had been placed to prevent something like yesterday from happening again.

City guards were patrolling the streets and rooftops. It seemed today would be alright. One or two thieves would be swiftly apprehended.

But what was happening was outside of their prediction. Instead of a couple of daring or desperate thieves, it was as if every criminal in the city was on the move.

Some targeted the adventurers, others broke into stores, robbed people in public places, even banks were attacked. Chaos was on the streets of Marakkus as fighting took place in many places of the city. The high class districts where the rich and powerful resided were mostly untouched. The middle class districts got involved but the damage was not great. The low class districts, however, became an arena for a feeding frenzy.

Adventurers were certainly not a powerless bunch. They were Pathseekers that had faced the monsters beyond the safety of the walls; they fought to protect what was rightfully theirs. Artes flying, metal clashing, and blood spilling on the city grounds.

Not only them, there was fighting everywhere. Store owners defended their shop from violent looters using explosive magical items, an Idler head of a family took up a bat while his door was being broken down, gangs fighting each other for grabs of power, assassination operations launched, bank heists, prison breaks, and many more.

And those were only the visible ones. Who knew what was happening backstage.

The law enforcement officers tried to bring a semblance of order back but they were clearly overwhelmed. It was as if the whole criminal factors were on the move.

Viers who had just dispatched a copycat of him watched the city consumed with violence. People were screaming and fires broke out in multiple parts of the city.

This has nothing to do with me. Yep, nothing whatsoever.