The Scily Island, Western part.

In the center peak and the other side of the plain area, there was a huge and heavily fortified mansion located, five hundred meters away from the cliff and approximately two hundred feet above sea level. It was built by the first founder of the Archnemesis more than eighty years ago. ​​

The long preparation for his travel was now finished. He's ready.

Hermes changed his outfit from his noble attire to ordinary merchant clothes, a white long sleeve covered by a black coat for his upper body and his lower part was covered with black pants and dark leathered shoes. He stroked his hair back when he noticed in the mirror that his hair looked terrifying.

Inside his cabinet, there was a black gas mask when he opened it. While looking at it, he realized that he needed to cover his face for disguise. A bright idea came in. He picked it up and put it inside his chest pocket for future use.

His hand, covered with gloves, opened the door. He went to the hallway and headed down for the exit. Each time he stepped down on the stairs, he carefully fixed the untidy part of his outfit. Then, he clapped his cheeks before he opened the main hall door with open arms.

In front of him, his butler greeted him. He placed a hand on his chest and welcomed him while the upper body bent down, ninety-degrees.

The young Don nodded as a reply, lips pursed.

His eyes captivated when he noticed the car behind his servant. The fantastic structure and wonderful design of the vehicle made him to awe.

Based on his knowledge, the vehicle was based on the same function, vulnerability, and blueprint of the Henry Ford 20th century automobile, albeit there were some specs that different from the original, it had a more complicated and advanced riding system compare to it.

For trivial matter, all of it was just a compound version of his former world from the Victorian era, but the technology here was all advanced platform of the 1930's mafia era. Therefore, he was grateful and appreciated the efforts of his former team for combining these two different eras in one game.

His butler looked at the outfit of his master with a disappointing gaze. He wondered why the young Don opted to wear it. Was he outdated for the new trend here? But he kept his mouth shut and disregarded his negative opinion. He assumed that his liege had a reason for wearing such lame clothes on his journey.

Hermes walked closer to the car's backseat, and he glared at his servant, waiting for him to open the door.

"The vehicle is now prepared, boss. All the preparations are ready, waiting for your next order, sir," said Justin, slowly opening the door for his master. "Good, now let's head to our destination," Hermes said.

The butler waited for him to reach his chair on the backseat beside the right-sided window before he tightly buckled up his boss' seat belt.

The young Don nodded once as a sign of appreciation.

The butler closed the door and to make sure his master's safety, he checked the underneath of the car before he entered the driver's seat.

"By the way, Don Hermes. Where should we headed?" asked Justin. "To the village, Justin. To the village," replied young Don, resting his elbow on the window rest.

"As you wish," Justin, surprised, smiled back. He faced the handle, started the engine, pushed the gas which triggered the wheel to roll.

Whilst on their journey, Hermes was looking at his butler's back, trying to know who he was. He wasn't part of the NPC's they had developed yet he's a devoted attendant of his character since his childhood. Not only that, he had never appeared in the game. Despite the fact as the previous director of the game, he didn't have a single clue about his existence and true origin. Somehow, he recalled reading the proposed storyline of his female junior. She mentioned before that Hermes Archnemesis had always survived from any attempted assassination because of the rumored warring bodyguard, and it won't be defeated by a mere mortal.

He simpered how cute she was whenever she happily discussed it with him. She's a good girl at that time, but after she betrayed him, she's no longer the person he knew all along. He clicked his tongue with bulging eyes after he failed to realize that all of her feelings were fake. She stole everything from him, his position, prestige, and even his entire life.

His eyes opened wide and he placed a hand on his chin when he actually recalled the paper, the unlisted draft page of the devoted bodyguard's details. Here, it mentioned before that he's one of loyal Heavenly Deity of the former Ratican Empire; the most fearsome warrior and respected among his peers, and because of his dreadful reputation as a massive killer, the world bestowed him the title of infamous 'Black Sword Demon'. Unfortunately, this character failed to get a chance to be introduced to gamers because he was illustrated so badly.

Hermes just let out of disbelief; if the rumored bodyguard would be Justin, he would vomit. You know why? He just witnessed how he pathetic, insane devotee, and stupid he was. He heaved a disappointing sigh thereafter.

The butler emphasized his master when he checked him through the front mirror. He wondered why he's looked disappointed. There, his ears moved a little bit closer to know what's he's babbling about.

"I guess, it can't be helped. Time to focus first on my mission," Hermes commented.

'Mission? Oh, don't tell me, he's referring to the village?' Justin said, twitching ears.

"Those bastards, let's see what I can do to fix this. If anyone dares to stop my ambition then, so be it. I'm happy to kill them all," he added.

Justin's eyes opened wide from his declaration.

"Hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe heh. Boss, you said it to yourself. I know you plan to live as a normal child. You just want to make all of your people back to normal," he said, lips upturned.

'You're aiming to destroy the people who are trying to steal your territory, huh. What a wonderful plan,' Justin beamed.

Wrong conclusion. That wasn't what the young Don wanted to happen. But his butler mistakenly thought he's planning it thoroughly like that.

"Hey Justin, you're creeping me out." Hermes kicked his butler's sit, making him lose control of the wheel.

"Hehe hehe hehe hehe, boss," Justin cackled, "I knew you're scheming somethin' today."

Giggled. Cheerful.

The butler truly believed that his master wanted to deceive them all.

"What the fuck are you babbling right now, Justin?" Hermes asked wearily.

Justin's conclusion about his boss's personal agenda became worst. He realized that if he kept terrorizing his village, he won't be able to find out who was trying to convince his people to fight them. There, he would deceive them that he's actually a good guy, a wolf on the sheep outfit. Then, he would order him to massacre them for fun if the plan went south. A terrible and fantastic scheme that no one other than him figured out.

'A brilliant plan, indeed,' he declared, guts pose.

There were the mask and his weird attire would serve as his disguise to hide his identity to the commoners, and he was sure it was a splendid idea to hide his identity after he eradicated his enemies himself, so his master would easily increase his prestige of evildoing, and his bad reputation to the mass would rose up to the great extent of his pleasure. Allowing the other bosses to see and acknowledge his existence that a rookie would topple them down and unite the country as one.

He's really convinced that his master changed the way he talks for his scheme. If you wanted to practice it, then use it to your servant. He bit his lips for his failure to see it through. He deeply apologized inside his mind.

He was correct in his first statement but the others were wrong speculated. Hermes had a great idea to use the village to gather more information about the current updates of this world.

"Well, I didn't realize you're doing it on purpose boss. Well then, I will play along with you too," Justin nodded, lips upturned.

"What the fuck are you murmuring now? Just focus on the fucking road, you moron," Hermes commanded. "Y-yes, boss," his servant gladly followed.

He increased the speed of the car, looking forward to it.

One hour later.

The clouds slowly moved from the east. The temperature was humid albeit it was supposed to be cold in this season.

Hermes and his butler discussed some topics to entertain themselves.

"Say, Justin. Who was the current Godfather of Italia?" asked young Don, hands clasped together. "Hmm, it's still Don Urie Alkaline. Does that ring a bell? Oh, right now, he's not planning anything again. Do you want me to show my skills to him and assassinate him by myself?" Justin stated.

Hermes closed his eyes, placed a hand on his forehead, and heaved a sigh.

"No, don't do anything stupid. We're not that silly to violate the truce with them. We are not warmongers like them. Also, I won't even give a stupid order like that, and I know how pathetic you are, so don't get too conceited, Justin," said Hermes, calmly.

"My apologies, sir. Then, why you're asking who was the current godfather? Are you aware of any odds happening 'there' that I don't?" inquired Justin. "No, but if I know anything, I will quickly tell you everything. Right now, there's nothing to concern about to that place yet," Hermes gravely declared, dimpled grin.

Justin's eyebrows raised up, lips pursed.

"Hmm, are you aware that the situation in Borne was getting worst for the past few months? Haha, the funny thing is the rumor about a civil war will going to spark out there," he jested. Hermes got interested when he heard the name of the city, "Borne, huh? Isn't that the place divided and controlled by four powerful clans that hold the top ten spot in the economy? Which family are facing the civil crisis then?" Hermes inquired.

His butler chuckled.

"Umm, I don't know the exact details. As far as I know, the majority of them were trying to outsmart each other by putting a parasite and spy under their enemy's roof. If we believe the rumor that one of them is on the verge of collapse, then one of its rivals will surely take advantage and destroy them at once. By using the economic crisis to remove their opponents, there's a high chance that a new war will emerge in that area. But unfortunately, it's still uncertain when will it happen," Justin explained.

Hermes folded his arms, lips pursed. His eyes turned sharp as he emphasized it.

"Well yeah, but for me, it will eventually happen," Hermes nodded and agreed. "Why? Look here. There's a high chance for the war to happen. The mistrust and hostile relationship increase the chance for them to blame each other. If one of them realize that there's a mole inside their turf, they would surely use it as an excuse to declare a mafia war against their rival. To prove my basis is the massive amount of immigrants from the central part of Italia coming from there. Maybe, half of the population came from that state. The island is far away from trouble and safe from any kind of disaster despite its poor environment. People are aware of it but they will grab the risk. I'm sure of it. This might be the reason for the other citizens to migrate here in the south. Interesting. To think Borne is properly going in the flow of the plotline is very interesting. Man, players love this event. Defeating your rival in their current state... the easiest way to eliminate them one by one. Oh well, the clan who is silly for unable to fix their problem won't last long," he added.

Justin's lips parted when he mentioned the word, 'Interesting' and 'plotline', but he waited for his boss to finish before he spoke.

"Yeah, you're right, my Don. I can't believe that you're very interested in it. This Justin here is very happy. I thought you're not listening to my lessons about politics, but to think you're this well-informed for the possible scenario is incredibly gratifying. Anyways, if the war is inevitable then I recommend using that moment to create an alliance profitable for us."

Hermes placed a hand on his chin, lips upturned.

'Profit. It means there's a big money there. Interesting,' he said inside his mind.

"We could use this chance to get some money from this war. By supporting the clan that has a hundred percent guarantee of winning, we might be able to increase your prestige through war subsidies. It won't only increase our popularity to the mass but also it would help to improve your status in the world, my Don. This is why I recommend using this for our own benefits," Justin added.

His advice was very impulsive, but the young Don contemplated it deeply. Yes, there's a high chance that they would gain money from it, but the leaders of every organization weren't that silly to form an alliance with a small-time clan like them. Not only that, they were all high ranking organization than them, so they were apathetic to create a ruckus that could destroy their business.

"Justin, listen here. I don't think it is a wise idea to do it. The leaders of every clan aren't dumb to take the risk. Remember, the war won't bring anything good for business," Hermes reminded, eyes closed with demeanor face.

"Good point, my Don. I'm very glad that you understand it very well. Yes, there's a chance that it won't happen yet. But I don't think it's not a bad idea to take advantage of the crisis, sir. As your Consigliere, it shouldn't be a loss if we grab the opportunity and create a path to increase your popularity in the public though," Justin defended.

Hermes shook his head and diverted his gaze at the outside. A plain area and grassy land appeared in his sight.

"Justin, I admit to you that I am a risktaker, but I'm not that stupid enough to put our family into danger. You said to yourself that we would gain something from that event, but please do mind that I mentioned before that I'm still planning to change the organization for good. I want a normal life, quiet and safe from any trouble," he maintained as he addressed it.

"M, my Don, but still. This is your chance to shine in the world," Justin insisted.

The young Don looked at his eyes through the front mirror.

"Justin, don't disappoint me too much. You're my acting adviser and instructor but you fail to see it through, how shameful. Don't you realize that the moment we join indirectly or directly in the war, the Godfather will do everything in his power to intervene? Yes, right. He will. He won't let them commit something that could drag the other families into that. He has some business there that his capos are taking care of. He will surely do anything within his power, dirty and ugly, to stop it. He's aware of it, capiche?" he explained abruptly.

'Oh, my gosh. My Don is truly magnificent. Not only he analyzes the situation, he literally corrects me and explains it properly. This Justin here is very pleased. He's growing,' Justin said inside, lips upturned.

"Good point again, my Don. You're surprisingly surprised me too much. Once the godfather learns about our involvement over there for selling some firearms in those families, he could create a new reason to destroy the truce. Right now, we're not that strong and we lost ninety-nine percent of our strength if they declare war again. I already void our contract with the mercs earlier, so we don't have enough manpower to protect the territory. I don't want to put your life in danger too. I'm so sorry for suggesting it. Forgive me, my Don," bewailed Justin, who promptly felt sad when he recalled the past.

The atmosphere fell silent for one moment. The young Don heaved a sigh when he saw him sulking whilst driving.

"Those who seek victory must make a plan. A plan must take over the enemies' possession without fail. No man can win a battle without proper strategy even they are forming a clan, so the victors will reach the end and look upon the properties of their own they stole from them at all, " Hermes solemnly quoted, making his butler astounded.

"That's a great quote, boss. By the way, what is your plan, my Don?" asked Justin, "My plan? It's a secret. I will tell to you later once I enter the village and analyze my plan thoroughly. You know, if you want to get things on our way, then we should plan it very well. We might possibly get an opportunity to win big and earn a lot of benefits from it. That's why the plan for the State of Borne should be put on hold for now, and let me focus on our first objective. Pouring too much water on the glass would leak out too much on the table. And, I don't want to ruin it," Hermes decided as he clarified the situation.

"I see. Fair point. Impressive. You're truly the rightful Don of our organization. I'm glad that you're thinking about the bright future of our clan. Oh, another thing. There is some news I want to tell you. Do you mind?" Justin faltered. "Sure, proceed," Hermes permitted.

The butler coughed once and tapped his fingers on the handler, lips moving.

"Okay here. One of the spies I sent to the village had reported that our rival clan from the eastern part of the island, the Verdugo crime family, was plotting to occupy our sole territory and violate our hundred-year truce through force. I know it's silly because if they do that stupid thing, the mafia council won't tolerate it and their reputation would be put in shame. That's why I killed the spy for his treacherous biased information. No need to worry, sir. I disposed of his body properly without any witnesses in the forest," he said, calmly.

"Pardon.., w, what did you say?" Hermes shivered with cold sweat, "I killed him because he reported a lie. Anyway, a new opportunity will arise someday. You'll increase your fame without pain. As long as you're alive, everything's under our control," Justin assured, eyes sparkled like a twinkling star.

"W, why do you have to kill him? What if he is telling the truth? This is nuts. If the Verdugo begins to attack it, then I won't be able to accomplish my mission," Hermes shuddered, lips sucked in. "My apologies, my Don. Let me explain it properly. Why don't we calmly thinking it further? Look here. If we let the Verdugo family conquered it, you could use this chance as an excuse to declare a mafia war on that family. The mafia council won't tolerate the war because it's against the rule though. They will take your side and fight alongside you though. Not only that, your reputation will increase and the relationship between the council and you will improve," Justin explained.

"Wait, that's not the point here," Hermes interjected, but he got stopped. "We know that our rival has the eastern side of Scily, and they have been an eyesore for the past decades on this island. Their strength and power are equal with the Corleon, but they lack the qualities to handle their turf though. With the use of the Council troops, we don't need to worry about the money and manpower for that moment because they are mandatorily and required to intervene, sir. This is why I know we have a high chance to win the war. This is your moment to annex the east and unite the island as one state," Justin added.

The young Don's opened wide, pupils trembled. His jaw half dropped. His hands closed tightly after he heard it.

'Optimistic and realistic but lunatic. How ironic. To think this butler has a good plan than I am. He's truly looking forward to that moment. That is every player's wet dream of uniting the Scily island as one under one banner,' he commented.

He covered his eyes in disbelief and he heaved a sigh.

"Seriously, I don't know whether you are a stupid or competent servant of mine. I should probably hire a psychologist to check your brain and fix it properly," Hermes said, abrasively. "Oh, really? I'm honor to get complimented by you, sir. That's that, boss. That's the spirit. Be more sadist and racist," Justin implored, mistakenly believe he's making a joke. But the young Don was serious about his comment.

'Hu… h?' Hermes's eyes turned blank in disgust, lips upturned.

"Shut the fuck up. Just focus on the road, you fucking moron," he commanded, but his abrasive voice didn't scare too much. It only increased his devotion to serving him and looked at him as a God.

Thirty-one minutes and seven seconds later, they were almost two kilometers away from the mansion and they were now entering the last point where the village's border located.

Hermes calmly watched the scenery of the field within his sight. His eyes were astonished after he noticed the dark aura around the topmost part of the forest. After a short review of the forest, he commented that it's not an ordinary aura but a miasma released by The Great Dark Tree located at the center peak of the forbidden forest.

Dark Scily Forest, one of the most important settings of the plot of the twelve female playable characters. Home of all high leveled and dangerous demon monsters of the whole and the origin of the old Republic of Ratica before the capital had been relocated to Romue to form the Ratican Empire a thousand years ago.

He was captivated by the beauty of the place, but he saw something odd in the forest. He slowly slid down the window, and he tucked his head out from the window to see it properly from his position, and his scarlet eyes glistered as he saw a beast behind the two small figures came out from the forest out of the blue too.

"Boss, sit down, and put your head back inside. It's dangerous," Justin grabbed his back, trying to pull him back.

Hermes reluctantly insisted to stay his head out, looked at the two small human figures being chased by the beast.

When the two small figures almost clearly could be identified, he saw a little girl and a young boy carrying a big basket of herbs behind their backs, and they looked terrified and exhausted.

"What the hell are those things behind their backs, herbs?" he murmured.

The huge beast which had been chasing the two children had four legs, huge teeth as size as his arm length, and a wolf as huge as a grizzly bear. Demon wolf, one of the most popular known demon beast. The players used them to earn more experience and money by hunting one of them.

The kids were chased by a hungry wolf. This event was very familiar.

A bright idea appeared inside his head.

The young Don's eyes pupil shook in glister, lips upturned. His face turned dark like a villain found its prey.

The most cliche scenario in every novel had finally come in front of him.

If he wanted to increase his good points to the populace, he needed some people - subject or tools - to become his gateway for his plan; erasing his name from their blacklist was part of his priorities when he wrote his strategy. Therefore, the children were the right people for the job.

Specifically, he read a lot of fantasy action novels about saving villagers' lives against the man-eating monsters, so he wanted to reenact the same style, and for his plan to work out, he should use those children to build up a connection to the village.

He quickly imagined the villagers praised his glorious and heroic standings, rewarding him a lot of their fundings and accepting his apology as a former tyrant master which he truly dreamt of.

"The time has come. I can't believe this opportunity will happen. Justin, stop. I said stop," he demanded. His butler pushed the brake, "Why?" he asked. "Go to that direction," Hermes simpered, pointing his index at the children. Justin took a look, saw the kids and demon beast behind them. "What? But why? For me, we don't have to," Justin justified, gravely. He pushed the clutch, changed the gear from first to neutral, and pulled up the lever before he turned his face at his master.

"See those children? Let's save them!" Hermes insisted, pointing his index three times at the children again."Wait, for what? Boss, I advise you to ignore those insects. It's dangerous. Looking at those worthless lifeforms, they'll surely become a portion of food for that demon wolf. The strong eat the weak. That's common nowadays," Justin replied. He reached the handle, pull down the lever, but he got stopped by his boss before he pushed the accelerator.

Hermes had no other choice but to bluff.

"Have you consider to demonstrate your skills to me? This is the right time to do it," he said.

Justin's eyes opened wide. He placed a hand on his chin as he analyzed what did he meant earlier.

His lips upturned, happily.

"Oooh, why I didn't get it earlier? How dumb I am. My apologies, sir. To show my power that could rival and kill the current Godfather, I must kill that thing then. I have no other choice but to comply. That demon wolf will become a present for you alone. I won't hold back even he's a weak and pathetic animal," he declared with a delightful face.

The butler changed the course of the vehicle. But when he did that, the massive maneuver forced his boss to lose balance, and he inadvertently hit his face on the back of the front seat.

"Gwooob..., ouch, seriously? God damn it, it hurts!" he fumed.

The car's speed increased from 40 kilometers to 200 kilometers per hour. A smoke of dust came out from the ground behind its wheel when the car moved at a high speed.

Hermes saw the little girl slipped her feet in the rock and fell to the ground. The young boy, who appeared the eldest among the two, halt from running, and he assisted her to stand up when her shaking legs crumbled in fear. But it was already too late for them to get away, the monster jumped above them to blocked their path.

The children's brows raised and pulled together with moist eyes. Rictus grin.

The demon wolf's lips upturned, its large teeth with a size of a human hand appeared. Its saliva dropped down on the ground as it approached the children with a gluttonous aura.

It quickly ran towards its targets with an open mouth. The two helpless children embraced each other, closed their eyes as they accepted their fate with regret and pain.

But, the demon beast hit by the vehicle before it could reach them. Its body slammed back and forth to the ground before it landed on the ground ten meters away from the children. It was a surprising and unexpected turn of events for them to witness. For an unknown reason, the vehicle had no scratches nor damages in its front so far when the dust disappeared.

The children opened their eyes and they looked surprised when the vehicle appeared unexpectedly. They turned their wet eyes at the beast who was still unconscious on the ground.

"Brother."

"July."

"We're saved!" they hugged each other, crying.

However, there the cheerful face of relief changed back to fear when they saw the demon wolf move its body.

"Hiiiiiiiiieeee… !" the little girl screamed.

The demon wolf stood up, mad at the people who bumped him.

"Oh my, you're still alive even I hit you so badly. No wonder you're considering a high-class demon." Justin said, removing his hat, jumped out of the car, and landed on the ground smoothly. He then wiped his face and removed the portion of dust from his shoulders with his white handkerchief. After he finished, he then returned the cloth to his chest pocket.

"Grraaawll!" the demon wolf started to show its dark aura.

"Oh my, it's a pleasure to fight with you. I need to prove and demonstrate my whole skills to my boss today. Please, entertain us very well. I'll make sure to put your life in misery." He bowed down and smiled at him, sarcastically.

The children observed the butler who was so confident to fight the huge monster.

"M-M-mister, be careful. That creature is dangerous!" the young boy warned him.

"Yeah, you should run if you still can before he does something to you. Please leave us and save yourself," the little girl said, wiping her eyes.

"Oh my, you commoners don't know the difference between the cockroach and superior being. Well then, I should probably show these kids how to handle this simple event. Forgive me, let's see what you got, doggy," he uttered, inviting the creature to come.