The Sixfold Helm of Darkness.

They're a mysterious group of six powerful people.

Not even the high-ranking members of the Dark Guild know any details about them. All that is known is that each controls a section of the business, and together they run the entire affairs of the Dark Guild in the Randalorion Kingdom.

As I run through the hallway, slaying all my enemies right and left, I mull over the information I have been given about them.

Normally, not all of them will be in Headquarters at the same time.

However, they all assembled for a secret meeting, the content unknown. If I can nab these guys and have them spill the information that I require, it will be for the best.

Now… I just have to find the secret room!

************

In a vast space underground, filled with darkness and the stench of death, six people sit at a round table, each having various expressions on their diverse faces.

Their appearances, while different from one another, reek of the very same thing—

Chaos… and death!

These six are notorious criminals who have killed several people and ruined the lives of even more. They collectively run the illegal activities of the Dark Guild, individually controlling a facet of the highly chaotic business.

Regardless of gender and disposition, all six of them have now gathered.

One can only guess the reason.

"Jasper… It's been a while, hasn't it?" A muscular man speaks up. Despite looking like a brute, with scars all over his bald face, a glimmer of slyness flashes in his eyes.

He is none other than Dreyfus, head of the Human Trafficking division.

The 'Jasper' he refers to is a lankier man with glasses, having a quiet disposition, while having a notebook right in front of him. He deals with the drug trade and illegal items trafficking.

Since both of them deal with the transport of highly volatile and illegal goods, their relationship should be closer than the rest. However, Jasper simply scoffs at Dreyfus's remarks and doesn't say anything more to the man.

Instead, he looks at the woman right next to him.

"Freya, you conducted the Divination well, right? We're certain this place is safe…?"

Freya, a beautiful woman shrouded in darkness, her face obscured by a veil, glares at Jasper with an arrogant snort. "What do you take me for, some second-rate Diviner? Of course! I also set up an Anti-Divination barrier, so no one will be able to make Divinations about us or this place."

"Good…" Jasper nods.

"You're way too careful. This is why no one likes overthinkers…" Another woman, a fat one with a bright pink dress and heavy makeup, grins at the situation. "We already have precautions put in place to protect this place from intruders. It's also an abandoned wilderness, so no one will think to look for anything here. Besides, the nearest location is known only to a few members of the higher-ups. Other than us, the Boss and his Proxy are the only ones who should know."

The woman speaking is none other than Madame Zema.

She is in charge of all the underground brothels, and her sex trafficking business features aspects of the human and drug trade to sustain itself.

As one can tell from her physique, her business is thriving, and she could perhaps be the most buoyant of the six.

"He doesn't leave his little ivory tower, so you can't blame him for not knowing these little details." A stern-looking man with clean-cut hair and well-trimmed beards sighs, shaking his head as he casts his gaze on every member of the group.

Of everyone here, he is by far the most normal-looking.

That's because, unlike the others, he is still a well-functioning member of society. He is Edrin, a Royal Knight, and the main link that the Dark Guild has to the upper echelon of Randalorion high society. Bribery, corruption, extortion, money laundering, and all kinds of illicit activities involving the upper class are all handled by him.

He had to make up a bogus mission as a reason for attending this meeting, so despite how pleasant it could be to see his colleagues after so long, he isn't too thrilled and has no problem showing it in his demeanor.

"Why don't we just get straight to the point already. We haven't received word from the Boss for a while now, and the Proxy still hasn't responded to our latest reports."

The last person in the group is shrouded completely in all manner of accessories despite being a male. His dark skin is a rare sight in the Randalorion, bordering on the realm of ebony than anything else, and his flashy attire makes him stand out greatly.

Ironically, this man is responsible for the Assassinations business of the Dark Guild.

One would expect him to be more prudent with his choice of wear, but alas!

"Xeno is right…" Dreyfus speaks yet again as he looks at his colleagues one after the other.

Jasper

Freya

Madame Zema

Edrin

Xeno

… And himself, Dreyfus.

These are the heads of the Randalorion branch of the Dark Guild—the Sixfold Helm of Darkness.

But, right now, they all have concerned expressions on their faces.

"Only the boss knows how to contact the other branches, and although business was affected a great deal last year and the year before that, things have finally stabilized, and we're getting a great deal of profit now. Expansion is necessary to increase revenue streams, but we require the go-ahead from the Boss."

"Should we try contacting his Proxy again? His resources are taking up a lot of space in all our branches and even this headquarters. He told us he'd be needing them soon, but we haven't gotten a word from him since…"

"All of this would be easier if we could just visit him. It's not like we don't know his identity, unlike with the Boss."

Sighs and murmurs escape the room, and the members appear dissatisfied.

Who can blame them?

The past few years had been rough for them due to interference from a certain Javier Aditi and his group, the Wandering Nine. However, with the obstruction now out of the way, business has been booming. The biggest problem now is how to maximize profit.

Javier took down a lot of their bases throughout the Kingdom, hence they are short on sites.

Before, with business taking a plummet, they could afford to overlook this.

But now?!

They need more sites—a lot more.

This will not only help with the efficiency of the business, but it will drastically improve the profits they will be able to rake in.

But such a big move isn't for them to make.

Since this is a major decision that concerns the Dark Guild's brand and operation as a whole, it exceeds even their power of mere management.

"As the Boss' Proxy, that rat-faced Count should be able to give the go-ahead. Maybe one of us should visit him and convince him." Dreyfus says, itching his bald head lightly.

"No. You know the rules. Besides, he specifically warned us against doing that. Besides, most of us are hardened criminals notorious in the underworld. It wouldn't make any sense to go see one of the seven Counts of the Kingdom." Jasper shakes his head.

"But Edrin can go. He's a Royal Knight, and since the Count is also in the Royal Faction, it'll make sense and not attract too much suspicion."

"You think it's easy for a Royal Knight to make a move like that?" Edrin groans loudly, shaking his head in disagreement. "I have superiors. My every action is under scrutiny. Even coming here alone is…"

"Edrin, this concerns the Dark Guild as a whole. It's not like you won't benefit as well." Madame Zema frowns at the Royal Knight's behavior.

"Just think of something…" Freya also urges, her eyes flashing with greed.

After casting a quick glance around the room, seeing that all five of his colleagues support the plan, Edrin finally gives in and nods. "Fine… I'll see what I can do."

To be honest, he was also thinking of doing the same.

However, not to seem too eager, he waited for someone else to suggest it. He even showed hesitation for a moment before agreeing.

All of this was calculated so that his next statement would carry more weight.

"I'm taking a risk here by disobeying orders, so I expect to be amply compensated for my troubles. You will all take responsibility for this as well. If you can agree to that, then I'll do my best to meet with the Count and explain the situation."

The remaining members of the Sixfold Helm of Darkness quickly notice what Edrin did, but still agree without hesitation.

In the end, the profits far outweigh the risks.

They are all for it.

"It's not that I don't trust you guys, but I need your word in writing. Let's draft a contract…" Edrin goes on to say, much to everyone's exasperation.

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Fine. Let's get this over with already!"

"Can't believe I came all this way just for this…"

Right as they have this discussion, an alarm blares within the hidden chamber, revealing something astonishing to the Sixfold Helm members.

"We have intruders?!" They all yell, almost at the same time.

"Impossible!"

Freya, in particular, is stunned.

'But I made a Divination and found no problems. Anti Divination is also in effect, so how did they find this place?!' Sweat forms on her face as she tries to make sense of the matter using her expert knowledge on the matter.

This is simply too unbelievable!

"Urgh!" Jasper groans, pinching his nose. "I knew I shouldn't have come. I can't trust you guys…"

"Shut up already! We should retreat. It's not like we don't have hidden networks that lead out of this place from within this underground structure." Madame Zema sighs, groaning at Jasper's evident fickleness.

"Before that, we should have a look at the intruders. The fact that only the hidden sensor was triggered means the sensory networks and communication channels are down—and almost at the same time, too." Xeno quickly speaks up. "Whoever these people are, they're good. They coordinated their attacks in great sync. But how did they find both locations so quickly?"

"Does it matter? We could have a mole, or maybe Freya's Divination failed." Jasper groans louder.

"It didn't!" Freya barks in response.

"No need for arguments. Let's activate all our hidden security detectors and check for the intruder." Edrin sighs, quickly scavenging the situation.

After activating the hidden detectors, these six are met with an even greater shock.

"J-Just one person?!" They exclaim in unison. "That's not possible!"

"Hold on… I recognize that face…"

"Isn't that—?!"

Before long, the group realizes who it is they're dealing with.

—Javier Aditi!

"What is that troublesome bastard doing here? We have to eliminate him."

"I agree. The fact that he's alone also increases our chances."

"But how was he able to make it this far so quickly? Don't you find that suspicious?"

"It is suspicious, but this Javier has done even more amazing things in the past. Compared to those, this isn't too impressive."

"You're right! Didn't he kill that Cadre 5 Magivore?"

"No, you idiot. It was all thanks to one of his teammates being a Druid. But he was also able to kill every single one of the assassins we sent after him, so there's that too."

"Such a cockroach, he just won't go down!"

"But this is our chance! He probably isn't expecting that all six of us will be present today. If we combine our efforts, we'll finally be able to take him down."

"You're right. Killing him means we'll eliminate our biggest obstacle in this Kingdom."

While most of the Sixfold Helm of Darkness members start colluding with his destruction, one of them has a hesitant expression on his face.

'But what if he came here specifically looking for us? Is it a mere coincidence that he found our Headquarters at this particular time, especially after being silent for so long?' Jasper's thoughts are in disarray as he tries to make sense of the situation.

As a naturally cautious person and an overthinker, the present situation terrifies him.

'What should I do? Should I flee, just in case? No… I can't abandon my colleagues, else they'd call my actions a betrayal and kick me out of the group. They could even execute me if it comes down to it, but what if we all perish here from this Javier's attack? No, I can't think that way. If I leave now, my life is officially finished, but there's a chance we can win if we stick together.'

After choosing between the two evils, Jasper finally comes on board alongside the rest of his colleagues.

"But how does he keep vanishing like that? Is he interfering with the secret security systems?"

"Not sure. Maybe he has an Armament that makes them malfunction."

"We also don't have many of them hidden, so it's hard to keep track of his movements."

Amidst this commotion, Edrin sighs and boldly steps forward.

"No need to rush. He's heading towards us anyway. All we have to do is go up to meet him, or lead him to this place, where we'll ambush him. We're prepared for his attack."

"True. Unlike him, who isn't aware of our presence, we are aware of his."

"Yeah!"

"Let's do this!"

In a flash, Edrin unsheathes his Armament, one of the extremely rare B Grade Armaments in the entirety of the Randalorion Kingdom.

Only Royal Knights dare wield such a weapon, and if not for his status among them, how could he have it in his possession? Alongside his high-level C Grade armor and high-level C Grade boots, he is extremely confident in his combat ability.

However, he isn't the only one in the group with trump cards prepared.

Although members of the Sixfold Helm of Darkness are colleagues, in the end, they are criminals.

How can they trust each other so easily?

Although they attended the meeting with friendly intentions, each of them brought means to protect themselves in case things went awry.

Dreyfus has his extremely precious Grade 4 Potion.

Freya has her series of high-level C Grade Defensive Armaments.

Xeno is a Shaman, so he possesses all kinds of Spells to protect himself and also activate powerful offensive maneuvers—he isn't without options.

As a Senior Alchemist, Jasper has all kinds of Potions he can use to grievously wound his opponent or facilitate his escape if the situation calls for it.

And as for Madame Zema… she is by far the most dangerous.

After all, she is a Druid.

With all six of them facing off against a single man, a former Mercenary and current Professor at the Royal Academy, the cause of their confidence is very reasonable.

Their resolve is unshakable.

"Let him come. We'll kill him here, once and for all!"

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