Kill The Old Ones!

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[Step 1] Security (cont.)

: The person who will come will have an animal head wearing a suit and tie. Whatever happens DO NOT LOOK INTO THEIR EYES!!!

: Curb your curiosity because I promise you, it is not worth it. The existence before you is no mere human or martial artist. They’re something more. If you don’t want to be haunted by images that will follow you under direct sunlight, DON’T. LOOK. INTO. THEIR. EYES. You have been warned.

Note: They will act polite and subservient towards you. Don’t put on airs or see yourself as someone above them. Trust me, you’re not. In their eyes, you’re a potential client and here on official, albeit slightly dubious, business. Of course they will do their best to sell you something. But that is not an invitation for you to insult them.

Return the politeness they give to you, and state your purpose. Do not dally or make idle talk. The longer you spend in there, the more expensive it gets. If you don’t want this transaction to cost an arm or a leg, or maybe even your soul, get straight to the point.

: You need protection for yourself and your father. You tell them that. They are mercenaries; you’re hiring men to be bodyguards—of course, you require something outside the usual ones.

: The Ironblood Mercenaries don’t exist on paper. Their existence is only passed down by word of blood, and trust me, not even 5% of the overall human population even knew that they existed. Their clientele are far from ordinary people.

: You will be hiring men that are called ’Ironblood Shadow Elites.’ These are men who sold their souls to the devil and had been turned into silent and almost nonexistent entities that follow orders like machines. They are the finest assassins that could blink in and out of existence as they please.

: There’s nothing in the human world they couldn’t infiltrate. Hell, even if one were breathing down your neck, you wouldn’t sense them unless you wanted them to.

: They are bound with strict rules. They are trained to not even think of betrayal because doing so will instantly kill them. They also don’t speak unless you intentionally and verbally ordered them to.

: This doesn’t mean that they’re mindless slaves. Don’t think of them that way. None of this will land this job without fully knowing, understanding, and willingly signing their souls into this line of work.

**

”I see. How many men will you require?”

”Ten, Night Raven. I will need ten men. I have specific...needs, for their talent. How soon can I expect them?” Lily asked.

Night Raven didn’t speak. Instead, he snapped his fingers, and instantly ten shadowy blurs manifested inside the room, which seemingly stepped out of his own shadow.

Before Lily felt the shock, ten Ironblood Shadow Elites were already kneeling before her. They were silent, veiled with a hazy darkness, and didn’t move a single inch.

”Impressive.” Lily let out a breath. ”Check, please.”

Night Raven smoothly handed her a receipt. Lily took it gracefully and inspected it. The price of hiring ten shadow guards almost caused her to make a face, but she suppressed it.

She signed the receipt and paid the price. Marek did say that this was going to be expensive and that she needed to be prepared. He also did say that it will be worth it in the end, and she chose to believe him.

”A pleasure doing business with you, Miss.” Night Raven bowed deeply to her once the transaction was complete.

Lily returned the gesture and said, ”The pleasure is mine, Night Raven.”

She then made her way out of the room. Night Raven held the door for her, and the shadow guards melted into her shadows once she was out of the room.

As she made her way out of the guild, Lily suppressed her pounding heart.

Just this alone opened her eyes to how deep and murky the waters were of this world. Even though she decided to put her trust in Marek, she never truly expected that the mystical forces he told her about actually existed.

If she couldn’t sense the presence of the shadow guards within her own shadow, she would think that her interaction with Night Raven was nothing more than a hazy dream.

Lily made her way back to the Archstone Plaza and decided to finish her daily quota. She could solo up to stage 40 and got stuck there.

With a party, she could reach stage 43.

While most of the people couldn’t sense the existence of the shadow guards, the Archstones could and wouldn’t be fooled. Therefore, she could only register as a party.

Fortunately, she was prepared for this. She already passed party badges to her shadow guards before she declared her intention to go to stage 44.

Once they all arrived there, Lily summoned them.

”Shadows, appear.”

As soon as she gave the command, all ten shadow elites appeared kneeling before her.

”I’d like to see you in action. Loot and clear this dungeon for me.”

With another order passed, the shadow elite promptly disappeared before her.

She couldn’t even sense their movement. They made no noise at all. If Lily never knew about their existence, she would probably be horrified by the way the monsters nearby were just dying left and right without knowing how.

Lily stared at the party inventory being filled up with all sorts of resources. She didn’t even need to lift a muscle to get all of this.

The efficiency of the mute shadow elites was too good. It didn’t even take them 30 minutes to completely snatch every bit of loot they could get in this place and gut every monster they came across.

Honestly, their skills are terrifying. But at the same time, it gave her confidence.

Using the shadow elites, Lily completed her daily quota and recouped some of the credits she used to pay to hire the shadow elites.

Before leaving the dungeon, though, Lily handed a mission to her shadow elites.

”The reason I hired all of you is because I don’t feel safe in my own home.”

”I shall name you Shadow 1 and Shadow 2,” Lily declared to the first two shadows. ”Once I return home, I assign you to guard my father. He’s bedridden with illness right now, and I can’t always be there to guard him. He’s recovering well, but I’m purposefully making him look weak to give my enemies a false sense of security. You two will protect him. If someone comes with ill intent, erase their existence no matter who they are.”

Shadows 1 and 2 bowed deeper to acknowledge her orders.

Lily then turned her attention to the other shadow elites.

”You will be Shadows 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Your task is to investigate my family. I want to know everything that happens inside and outside that’s related to the Heartveils.”

”Every business, partner, deal, promise, plan, agenda...even the most random gossip within the city that’s connected to my family members, including me, I want to know. Everything.”

”You will sort your findings according to their value or importance. I expect daily updates starting tomorrow. Create a secured and private communications hub for this. I’ll leave this to your capable hands.”

The five shadows she just named bowed deeper to acknowledge their orders.

”Shadow 8, 9, and 10, you will accompany me. I’ll give you orders as I see fit, but basically, you will be my bodyguards from now on.”

The last threw shadows and bowed deeper to her, acknowledging their mission.

”I expect great things from all ten of you. Continue clearing this dungeon; once I take you back home, it’s time for me to make changes to the family.”

The shadow elites made no sound, but they did move out.

Lily remained at the safe zone and breathed a sigh of relief.

From what she had seen so far, the prize she paid for these shadow elites had been worth it.

There is a time limit of a year, though. It’s the minimum for Ironblood Mercenaries. But this could be extended longer so long as Lily could pay the price.

She doesn’t need to pay them a salary. They get theirs from the agency. They don’t need to be fed or watered either. They could take care of that on their own. Such is the dedication and guarantee of the Ironblood Shadow Elites.

Lily knew that she wouldn’t be able to rely on them forever, but right now, having them made her feel safe, which is the whole point of why she followed Marek’s advice, after all.

It didn’t take long before her final daily quota was used up. Lily returned to the clan with the shadows and to her room.

She had to endure the looks she was receiving from her own family again, but now, they couldn’t deter her anymore. She still didn’t react to them outwardly so as to not alarm the others, but inside, Lily was looking forward to tomorrow.

Staring today, she’s taking charge of her own life. She was done being a damsel in distress.