The Villain's Story

Chapter 991: Demons in Plain Sight.

“The Dragon and his group have left Sacramento.”

A man said, dressed in a wet, dark and dirty robe as he took a seat on the table. His footsteps were light, but his clothing was drenched from rain. His hands were covered in thick scales like that of a reptile, with sharp claws at the tip of his fingers. Uneven claws.

“Clark, What of Jyle? Did the bastard do nothing?”

Another person, a demon at the other end of the table asked. A Pit-fiend, from his large build and the temperature around him, sparks ignited in the air, and the man, Clark, shook his head.

“Nothing of note, it appears Jyle didn’t do much against him. We can assume he sided with the Association.”

“FUCKING COWARD!”

A hand covered in granite, metal, and concrete smashed into the table with enough force to send shockwaves throughout the entire room, rattling everybody present. The people in the room turned to look at the half-monster, Ropo, as he cursed once more.

“FUCKING SKELETON WITH NO GUTS!”

The rest ignored Robo, as one of them smacked him in the back to calm him down. The Pit-Fiend, Kipara, scratched his chin as he muttered.

“So that means Alan Peccator really is SSS-rank… That… complicates things.”

“What do we do?”

A woman, the only one present that was not a demonic human or monstrosity asked. She was a middle-aged woman with bronze hair and a fair amount of makeup hiding the wrinkles of her skin. With a scowl on her face, Clara repeated her words.

“What do we do? When will the dragon reach here?”

Clark shook his head, casting a simple fire spell to remove the moisture on his clothes as he answered.

“If alone, He would already have been here. Apparently, his Teleportation has… no limits, from what I have been able to gather. Since he’s carrying some extra luggage, I suspect a day or two, maybe three if the silk lings with him are especially annoying.”

“So we have time to run?”

“And do what? Leave everything we built to rot? We won’t even be able to get half of our forces out before he reaches here. Heck, if we run by ourselves he’ll find us, no doubt about it. And th-“

“Then, He’ll pick us off one by one, it’ll be as easy as taking candy from a fucking baby for him.”

Kipara interrupted Clark’s words, clicking his tongue and standing up from his seat. He walked around the table as the fire around him started to weaken. A sign of his weakening resolve.

“WE FIGHT!”

The half-monster shouted out, to which Kipara angrily shut him down.

“We can’t, you fucking idiot. We can’t. This is SSS-rank, we can’t do shit to a normal SSS-rank, and an SSS-rank dragon? No fucking chance. We won’t even be able to harm his body. With that mana pool of his, he can kill us all from a thousand miles away and it’ll be a random tuesday for the brat!”

“WE FIGHT!”

The Half-monster was still intent on fighting, a flaw to his… method of advancing ranks was that he became mindless the stronger he got. All the points in Strength, and none in Intelligence.

“Can I ask something?”

Another member, a young man that had only recently advanced into A+ rank raised his hand, looking at the other members of the table as if they were stupid.

“Why are we automatically assuming he’s coming to hunt us? Since he has Amanda Wells with him, and a bunch of silk lings, isn’t he just coming for the monsters beyond the city? Big Bertha and Bobby should keep him occupied, no?”

He took a deep breath, before continuing.

“I mean, if he was coming to hunt us. Wouldn’t Harrison send him alone? Why all the extra baggage?”

Kipara shook his head.

“It isn’t as simple as that. We are allied with the Obelisk, and all of us are criminals. Serious criminals, if that boy wants to rack up some points with the Association President, or improve his… less than stellar reputation, we are the perfect bait.

Even if his mission doesn’t concern us, he has plenty of reasons to come for us. We are free real estate, especially since Terra Damnum was nuked to oblivion, and no news of the Obelisk…”

The young man, Alek, looked at Kipara, who was frantically walking around the table with his hands tied behind his back, as if scrambling for a solution. He sighed, and asked.

“Is SSS-rank really that strong? I mean, I know I’m nothing against him, but the city has a total of four SS-ranks, the leaders of the other settlements. Kipara, If all four of you go against him, don’t we have a chance?”

Kipara shook his head, and just as he was about to explain, he looked around the room. Everyone was looking at him with expectant eyes, it was understandable. He was the oldest one among them, and the only one there that didn’t belong to Earth. He had access to more information than most.

As the leader of the criminal settlement in the ruins of Seattle, he sighed at the expectations placed on him, and shook his head.

“You lot don’t get it. SSS-rank is the gateway to transcendence, to Epic. Every SSS-rank differs in power, even if in the same tier. It’s just… impossible to compare them by normal standards. Alan Peccator is a Dragon, not a draconian, not even a half-dragon, but a pure blooded dragon supported by not one, but apparently, two Supremes. That’s a level of power you can’t even imagine.

Now, I’ll admit it, I don’t know jack shit about Lanesha, Supreme Dragon of Frost and Goddess of Beauty, bu-“

“Is the title really necessary?”

“Yes, it fucking is. They know when their name is called, and I am not risking it. Any mention of them, and they are aware of it. Anyways, as I was saying before this idiot Clara interrupted me… I know of the other Dragon supporting him. Lord Suleras, Supreme Dragon of Chaos and The Lone King is on another level.

Even His Majesty, Lucifer, The King of Hell and Pride Incarnate, does not dare get on that dragon’s bad side. We have no fucking chance. None. Fuck it, I’m willing to bet my entire life savings that not a single person on Earth can beat Alan Peccator in a one versus one. Hell, you could gather all the SSS-ranks on the planet and he’d still escape alive.”

The faces of the others darkened as Kipara finished his explanation.