Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Life through Destruction

Chapter 64 – Life through Destruction

Having done everything he needed to do in the Outskirts and finding no further reason to stay, Cassius and Océane took the road back, ready for home.

Before coming, they had bought a broken-down carriage from a hopeless, worn-out big man making around a thousand SN a day of full work.

Considering that Desde City was a Tier One City — home to a Tier One Family, more than one Tier Three Family, a Tycoon’s Château headquarter and various high-end commercial buildings — it was exactly the kind of city that asked more from you than you could ever earn.

Living expenses were steep, forcing most ordinary folk to stack odd job upon odd job just to survive a month.

A deep, quiet struggle.

So it was no wonder the man was selling his own carriage. He had asked only fifteen thousand SN, saying it would be more than enough.

But Cassius liked that big brown-skinned man with a strange accent that placed him nowhere near the high cities. Something in him had reminded Cassius of his father back on Earth.

So, caught in a burst of emotion, he paid thirty thousand SN. Océane was shocked.

The man had cried while thanking him.

Cassius had only smiled, feeling a quiet melancholy settle inside him.

Now moving fast and quietly toward the carriage hidden just outside the Outskirts, he ran through everything that had happened, and every error he had made during this one small mission.

First, he had been arrogant enough to walk into this situation with no backup plan. It was stupidity, and it had almost cost him his life.

Never again.

Second, learning about the Fangs and their deep-seated rivalry with the Crimson Daggers had opened a whole new range of possibilities. This was not a small thing. If he combined what he knew about the Crimson Daggers with what Isolde could tell him about the Fangs, he could move pieces in ways that left no fingerprints.

And it seemed he would need exactly that for what was coming.

’I don’t yet know how.’ Cassius mused, his steps steady on the cracked stony floor. ’But I need to shroud anything relating to our family when that event happens. The Hood must not suspect us. Our relationship with them is already strained enough.’

And he didn’t like to admit it, but a worse relationship with the Hood would not serve them. The Hood were a tremendous asset to the Desdemona’s protection.

Those bastards, for all their dysfunction, were loyal to one another the moment an outsider touched their house. They might not like each other. They might even resent each other deeply. But they would never accept harm coming to one of them from outside.

Whether that came from the First Ancestor’s Rules or simply from their own wicked nature — the conviction that only they had the right to destroy each other — it was a useful thing to have.

’Besides, we might not be Hood. But my mother is. And they cannot touch her no matter what she does to them.’

Cassius genuinely held the First Hood Ancestor in high regard. That man had been thoroughly, impressively wicked.

Shaking his head, paying little attention to the squalid surroundings, Océane at his side, he finally allowed himself to read the System notifications.

[NEW ACHIEVEMENT! Blackmail is the One True Path]

[What else is there to say? We are proud to see you acting like a Fated Villain, just as we will be pleased to witness your eventual downfall. As is the natural fate of all villains.

Enjoy your first true victory for you have earned it. You blackmailed a former soldier into your service and extracted crucial information from the man who nearly killed you.

You deserve a reward, Last Born of the Desdemona.]

[Rewards: 10,000 VP; Lucky Lucky Lucky Ticket.]

[Current Possessions: 35,000 VP; VP Boost (x2); Lucky Lucky Lucky Ticket.]

’A Lucky Lucky Lucky Ticket.’ He thought with barely contained excitement, completely ignoring the System’s commentary. ’I knew I was Lady Luck’s favourite. This is absolutely ridiculous.’

If used before the official opening of Saturday’s Origin Store, the ticket would dramatically increase the probability of obtaining something genuinely useful.

And with thirty-five thousand VP and the VP Boost on top of that, Cassius had real hope for the first time.

He suppressed a loud laugh as his footsteps slowed. They had arrived in a deserted alley, the carriage tucked a couple of paces ahead under a canopy of shadow.

He tilted his head upward, white hair falling over his eyes slightly, watching the dark night settle across the sky the world plunged into darkness broken only by the scattered glow of lamps.

’Today is Thursday. In a few hours, it will be Friday.’

Then Saturday’s Origin Store.

He smiled, eager. ’I have time to deal with the Blood Puppet matter with my mother and our household security before Saturday. Then training and planning until the Royal Family Meeting.’

His next steps were clear.

Cassius climbed into the carriage. Océane took the driver’s seat.

”Ready, Young Master?” She asked.

”Yes.” He replied, settling in as comfortably as the worn carriage allowed. ”Lead on.”

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Océane urged the tired horse forward, heading for a spot near home where their own carriage waited to take them the rest of the way.

’I desperately need a long, hot bath after all of this.’ Océane thought, crinkling her nose at her own scent.

’Vorn’s breath!’

...

Back at the Fangs’ hideout, Isolde sat across from Maxim, who had recently regained consciousness.

Aissatou stood behind her, eyes steady. Horus stood beside her as well, arms folded behind his back.

”You failed to protect Base Operation Three.” Isolde said, playing with her phone. ”Making us lose millions of SN in the process. Do you think money grows on trees, you damned fool? That alone earned you the loss of your left arm.”

Maxim clenched his teeth, his eyes darkened by the pain Cassius had put him through. His body was still quivering.

”What do you have to say in your defence?” Isolde asked with a thin smile, her purple eyes glowing.

”N-Nothing, my Lady.”

”Perfect.” She continued. ”And as if that weren’t enough, you failed to kill the man who found the Base Operation. Horus Skygazer. I, Olympias, had to personally locate him and deal with it.”

Maxim shifted his eyes toward Horus. The old man stood upright. Not in chains.

He ducked his head back down, already reading what was coming.

”...Yes, my Lady.” He said, knowing resistance was pointless.

”So you understand you deserve death.”

”Yes, my Lady.”

”But I won’t kill you.”

”Ye—! Huh?” Maxim’s head snapped up in disbelief, finding Isolde’s smile.

”You heard me correctly. I won’t kill you.”

A sliver of hope pierced through the darkness, and his face began to ease.

”But under one condition.” Isolde whispered, leaning forward slightly, raising one slender finger.

”Tell me, my Lady! Please, tell me!” Maxim said, desperate.

He knew Olympias had compromised the sect for a man. But that man was Cassius Desdemona himself, a spawn of that family.

If he ever entertained the thought of moving against Olympias, the Fangs would not protect him now that he had failed them and Cassius knew of their existence. They would sacrifice him without hesitation.

The only way to keep his skin was to become an accomplice. Just like Aissatou and Horus.

”A low-level agent has the right to swear an Oath of Loyalty to a Codenamed Agent.” Isolde said. ”Swear your allegiance to me. Swear an Oath to my name, Olympias of the Fangs.”

She paused, her eyes curving wickedly.

”Do so and you live. And your arm will be healed in time.”

Maxim drew a slow breath, his chest constricting.

She had made it look like a choice. It wasn’t. She had closed every other door first, giving him no other choice but to take her hand.

So he did.

He took the poisoned hand and allowed himself to be led down a road of destruction...because it was the only one left with life at the end of it.

’Life through destruction. That was always the path the moment I stepped onto this road. So why resist? Accept fate before fate drags you by the nose.’

”I... I accept, my Lady.”

Isolde’s smile widened.

”Shall we then?”

—End of Chapter 64—