Chapter 78 - Martyr

<---Chapter 77 - Incursion|Table of Contents|Chapter 79 - Nature of Arcia--->

Progress was swift over the next two weeks, with the Aspis Weapons Factory slowly building up their capabilities and expertise. However, the Seven Snakes now faced a serious issue - there were now far more applicants to the housing project than they could employ across all their subsidiaries.

"We're running out of jobs, we'll need to expand even more." Keith explained to Kyle, listing down the expansion plans of each of the businesses. "But with the Ardent Cretins still enforcing an embargo on us, it's hard for us to get any construction projects beyond our influence, and our finances are tight as of now."

The Golden Snakes Construction Company was simply building housing projects now in a never-ending cycle, providing menial jobs for untrained workers to fill by using the dirty money earned from prostitution, alcohol and the sale of addictive potions. However, there would soon come a limit on how much they could build. Furthermore, with the land prices across the districts increasing rapidly, it would be hard to legally purchase the deeds to the buildings.

Their accounts were also running low, most of the expenses pushing advertising and media publications to attract more workers. Niko and his men were turning up more and more pop-up slums around the factory, hidden away in dilapidated housings while the dwellers tried to snatch or steal wages from the workers.

Despite Keith's flustered expression as he poured over the statistics, Kyle was leaning back leisurely, knowing that he was on the verge of attaining a critical mass of population. He looked at the results of the recent population census, an initiative ordered by him to tally up the number of heads he had in the district, along with the economical data. Optimal wages and pricing for various products were calculated as a whole swath of clerks ran number after number in a large human calculator.

It was clear that discontentment was slowly increasing among those who did not manage to get into the housing project, or could find a job. "Perhaps we should allow some of them to stay in the apartments even if we do not have a job to offer them..."

"Out of the question. If you give an inch, they will take a mile." Kyle was laser focused on the balancing act, optimizing for the perfect ratio of good public perception and amount of crime he could get away with. "By the way, I have not heard of anything from Mason nor Bishop Vernette. Where are the enforcers?"

"Word is that they are running low on budgeting, so they are cutting down patrol requirements. Mason told me that the enforcers will stay out of the Seven Snakes district for the time being and let us handle the housing project."

"Hmm..." Kyle was not too concerned whether or not the enforcers were here - as long as the threat of releasing handguns into the general populace hung over their heads, Inquisitor Mason and Bishop Vernette would hardly dare to antagonize him.

"Is it a problem, boss?"

"There are no problems - only opportunities waiting to be exploited. Since the enforcers have pulled out of the districts, we have full control over everything in the district. Have the new recruits act as the policing force, and start expanding all of our businesses. Make as many new branches as possible for the brothel, pubs and casino. After all, there are more than enough willing labour to work there."

"Understood. What about money?"

"Does not matter. Do what we need to expand."

Having too much labour on hand was a happy problem to solve, as long as Kyle could keep them satisified. Public projects such as the cleaning of streets, free soup kitchens as well as the shopping arcade bathhouse helped to raise the standard of living. But with more and more migrants coming into the district, the infrastructure of roads and streets were starting to become more and more congested, severely impacting mobility.

Cobblestone paths were packed to the brim with wagons and carts of all sorts, with the more entrepreneurial residents opening food stalls which severely restricted the flow of traffic even more with their temporary seating arrangements and winding queues. The shopping arcade could only offer so much capacity to feed the residents. Already the Aspis Weapons Factory and trade schools' canteen were crowded, workers crammed like sardines as they shovelled radish stews down for a simple calorie boost.

"Boss, if we expand now, our current financial runway will plummet to three months." Keith pointed out. "And that's not including the salary's cost so far nor the bargaining with land and building owners."

"Do it - the weapons contract in a month's time will make us whole again." Kyle dismissed Keith's concern. "As a temporary boost in the event that we do not make money from the weapons contract, have Reese begin selling the handheld light-capturers and light-throwers en-masse as soon as possible. We've spent long enough gatekeeping to assure the market of our unassailable position. I will work on finding alternate venues of money." Perhaps the creation of a new drug is in order. It's been a while since he made anything new - the Euria-infused potions were getting a bit stale.

Keith complied, quickly relaying the order to Reese and issuing offers to buildings in order to purchase them over. However, the prices that he had been quoted by the various landowners were near exorbitant, more than three times the prevailing market price. Every owner knew that the Seven Snakes had money, and were naturally not going to let go of a potential good deal.

Kyle watched with an amused expression as Keith tried to haggle and threaten the landowner on the other end of the line. "Good sir, your asking price is far too high! No sane gentlemen worth his salt would suggest such a ridiculous price!"

[The bottom line is this - you pay me what I ask, and you will have the land deed. Otherwise, you can forget about it! You're not going to get a better deal anywhere else.] The landowner hung up on him, leaving a frustrated Keith slamming the holster of his chair out of anger, causing Kyle to let out a slight chuckle.

"Look at you, getting so flustered when someone tells you no. Just because we're legal now, doesn't mean we should forget our roots. I'll handle this." Kyle left, heading for another discreet base, a separate location that had been set up to mask the original handgun manufacturing. The exterior had been shaped up to be an ugly concrete building, featuring nearly no windows at all. A simple sign of the Alchemist Guild hung outside, the issued license and expiry date clear for everyone to see.

The building was an empty shell of itself, a former office building that used to be packed with traders and company accountants. Now, nearly every facade of its former business had been wiped clean, saved for the large old mechanical arctech clock that hummed away quietly in an empty courtyard.

Through the winding hallways bereft of any decorations, the once empty maze of office rooms were a sterile clean room, the floor tiles eerily pure white without a single stain. Large fans featured prominently in vast vents layered with multiple layers of sheets, filtering air that came in, their continuous rotation repetitive and soothing. If it weren't for the intermittent hellish screams from the rooms beyond, it might be considered to be a mediation hall of sorts.

Kyle pushed his body past a wall of iron chains, revealing a small chemistry lab, dozens of alchemist apprentices hard at work while Haui relaxed at a corner, sipping on a colorful straw from a quaint little glass bottle, the label of the Seductive Serpent brewery engraved into the surface.

"I must say, you do know how to make these drinks. Give my thanks to Eric, he's as much of an alchemist as I am, though we differ on objectives." Haui smiled as he sipped happily, enjoying the unique fruity taste.

"I need an update on the program. It's been far too long."

"It's only been three months since the war ended, progress cannot be rushed, especially when one seeks to discover the meaning of nature." Haui slowly got up from his reclining chair, heading over to a table and picking up a small little glass bottle, tightly capped.

"Is this it?"

"It's as pure as we could get it."

Kyle held the glass bottle in his hand, the viscous yellow liquid slowly flowing like honey within as he examined it.

"And the tests?"

"See for yourself."

Haui led him down the lab, where muffled screams and cries were the only background noise, drowned out by a uncharacteristically jazzy upbeat tune playing on the arctech speakers installed around. Rows upon rows of solitary cells were filled with humans and goblins, all prisoners who were suffering from severe addiction except for a few who served as a placebo control experiment.

The cells were arranged orderly, a simple slip of paper detailing the parameters of the experiment performed. Some of the cells' occupants were already dead, their body contorted in a violent rush of self-mutilation, their skin ripped raw from their own nails. Kyle and Haui merely observed them, not caring at all for those still suffering.

"We've ran multiple dosages, directly doping their water supply in increasing percentages. The sweet spot is about five parts per hundred."

"Onset time period?"

"Within three days or less, assuming no more consumption, irritability, lethargic movement, and slurred speech will start to kick in. The withdrawal lasts for two weeks before subsiding. Consumption of any portion of Euria Seed, even by smoke inhalation, will lengthen the withdrawal symptoms proportionally."

"Production rate?"

"It's slow. Extraction ratio is 50 to 1 in terms of mass, and the repeated purification cycles will take a week. However, unlike the potions, addiction is guaranteed with this one."

"Hmm..." Kyle swirled the honey-like substance in his hands. "We're the only ones with such a drug on hand? No one else has access to this, correct? I do hope you are not selling it."

"No, this is exclusive for us."

"Good enough for now. But I need you to find other potential avenues of improving the production. It does not need to be pure - a composite will be fine. "

"I have some ideas, I will work on it." Haui agreed, watching Kyle pocket the 100ml bottle of Absolute Euria. "But if you need a lethal poison or a paralyzing potion, I already have them in store. You could just simply purchase them off me instead of wasting time on such a slow acting extract."

"You and I measure effectiveness through different lenses." Kyle replied as he prepared to leave. "You want them dead - but dead men are of no use to me. All life have purpose, and I simply help them to find their full potential, if they are willing."

"And what if they are not willing?"

"I'll make sure to change their minds."

***

Three days later...

"Papa, the water tastes funny." A small kid gagged as he took a sip from the fine glass that twinkled under the chandeliers, his short legs barely reaching the marble floor tiles of the grand dining room. The water in the glass swirled with a tinge of yellowish taint.

"Not now, son, I'm busy." The father at the head of the dining table shooed him off, focusing on reading the newspapers laid out in front of him, pouring through the articles. "Weird, the Sliver Snakes's new handheld light-capturers are a rousing success... despite my misgivings, I must say the product worked just as marketed." He himself possessed a new model of the handheld light-capturer, though he had yet to use it to its full extent. Just as he was about to flip over to the next page, an arctech phone on another table rang.

The father hurriedly reached over to pick it up, earning a complaint from his attention-starved son. "Why do you always respond immediately to the phone, but not to me?"

"Servants! If you could please have my son finish his meal and retire to his room. I'm busy right now." The father paid no heed any longer to the grumbling son, instead listening to the call. "This is Stanley, who's calling?"

[Mr Stanley, how was your discussion with the Seven Snakes?]

"Ah, Mr Gunther! Of course, it went just as you have expected it to."

[Good. When we are all united as one, we shall all earn a bigger slice of the pie. Soon, the Seven Snakes will capitulate to our demands.]

Stanley let out a grin. "Yes, you are right. I can only blame my former short-sighted self for nearly selling it at a small profit."

[Do not understand the power of collective action - it can even force the greatest to crumble. But I must inform you to be wary of your surroundings and person. The Seven Snakes are known to employ treacherous methods to get what they want. Do let me know of any suspicious activities.]

"Speaking of suspicious activities, I've just read about a new line of portable light-capturers and light-throwers being released to the general public for anyone to buy. What does this mean? I originally believed that they were going to continuously corner the market by restricting supply." The actions of the Seven Snakes perplexed him - any self-respecting businessmen would hardly invest additional rakels into a new product line when the old was entrenched well.

[Perhaps they are gathering the resources necessary to comply to our demands! Either way, it is good to keep an eye out for such things. I must go now, we will convene at a later meeting to discuss our next steps.]

"Aha, of course! Why did I not see it that way! I understand now, Mr Gunther, I will remain vigilant."

The warning hardly landed as he put down the phone, the thought of being able to collect a hefty profit from the sale of his property leaving him giddy and light-hearted. "Bring out the wine! Tonight I'm celebrating. Has my wife not yet returned home?"

"Sir, she is still out shopping in the shopping arcade."

"Have her return to the house immediately, with such an important deal on the line, I cannot have her remain an exposed liability. The Seven Snakes may attempt to kidnap her." Stanley ordered.

As he returned to the dining table, he soon spotted the slight yellow tinge in the cup of water that the servants were getting his son to drink, the warning from Mr Gunther raised Stanley's awareness to high heights. "Hold on, what's in the water? Has it not been boiled beforehand?"

"Yes, sir, it has." A meek servant replied, only fueling Stanley's anxiety as his son coughed violently.

"Call the doctor in immediately! Son, are you feeling alright?" He hurriedly ordered, kneeling next to his son who was bewildered at the sudden attention from his dad.

"Sir, I have your wine." Another servant called out, carrying a bottle from Eric Dicar and a thin clear wine glass.

"Are you crazy? Now is not the time for win- hold on, who are you? And you! Who told you to bring out the handheld light-capturer? You're not my servants!"

"Of course not, Mr Stanley. For all men are equal under the Goddess."

Before Stanley could react, the edge of the wine glass was forcibly slammed into his neck, the fragile glass shards lodging themselves deep into the flesh, burrowing into the vocal cords.

Each involuntary breath dragged the glass shards across his throat, ripping apart blood vessels from within as he suffered stab after stab, his limbs flailing wildly in a desparate bid to protect himself. He tried to speak, but the glass shards only dug deeper.

The sudden violence caught the son offguard, his face blank as he watched the stranger stab Stanley repeatedly, Stanley's body convulsing with each strike.

Soon, there was nothing left of the glass, the stranger tossing away the broken handle. "So those above remember their roots."

"So shall they return to dust." The other servants responded immediately, the son frightened out of his mind as he tried to scream, only for the stranger to grab his mouth, caressing the son's hair gently with bloodstained hands.

"Search the house. Everything of value is to be sold for the cause. Arrange the scene."

The servants moved like clockwork, some scouring the house for valuables to pawn off, while others began to thrash the existing decor of the property.

Another two began to tie up Stanley's body, stringing ropes around his wrist before using a kitchen knife to gut his innards out, though taking great care to make sure they remained attached.

The son struggled against the stranger, but his grip was far too strong, the son's head forced to face the brutal treatment of his father's body.

"You are far too young to understand, but yet you represent the original sin. No amount of repentance can cleanse your soul. Be at peace."

The stranger finally let go of the son, the son hurriedly running off, only to be tackled by two servants dressed up as Seven Snakes recruits, their temporary armbands visible with the insignia.

They grabbed the son and blindfolded him, forcing him to kneel on the floor facing the light-capturer.

"Ready."

"Begin."

"You, speak your name. To the light-capturer." One of the fake recruits slapped the son on the head, but the son was too terrified to say anything.

Only the sharp tip of the kitchen knife could prompt the son to begin speaking. "M...my name..."

"Speak up!"

"My... my.. my name is Kelvin of house Roset."

"How old are you?"

"E...eight years old."

"And who is your father?"

"M... my father is dead!" The son burst out crying, his head immediately slammed against the floor, crushing his front teeth inwards.

"Your father, Stanley Roset, is a evil landlord who wishes to gouge the society at large by charging exorbitant rents, living on interest payments! Raising land prices at a time of poverty and exploitation!"

The son couldnt reply, not with his face buried in the floor, tears and blood streaming down his face.

"Let this be known that the Seven Snakes will not tolerate those who work against society, those who prey on the weak and the poor. Not even their offspring will be spared."

The last thing the son could feel was the sharp jolting pain of the knife's blade, slowly carving into his neck before a sense of weightlessness took over, his body no longer attached.

<---Chapter 77 - Incursion|Table of Contents|Chapter 79 - Nature of Arcia--->