Newgate City. Bloom had returned to the capital after the attack on Romix. She was now sitting on her throne with the members of Silver Crow in front her, expect Jin who stood by her side.

“As you all should know by now, Jin and I led an attack on the traitors gathering in Romix. We were able to deal severe damages to their forces but we also received a lot of damages ourselves. More importantly, we failed to kill any of the two Pillars that were there. This includes the deflected Shòuxìng, formerly known as Kaido, and Miko who popped up unexpectedly. In other words, this war is far from over.”

“I have a question. Why did you attack Romix without us?”

Ryker asked.

“Because it is the opening battle. We needed to leave a lasting expression but that doesn’t mean that we need to show all our cards.”

Jin answered for Bloom.

“What’s our next move, My Queen?”

Chrome asked. She could sense that there was something different about Bloom and felt that addressing in a more formal manner was the best choice.

“From what I’ve seen today, I can predict that this war will definitely go on for a while. The enemies are hard to kill like the cockroaches like they are. Also, it’s highly likely that neither the pillars nor Miko has shown half of their cards. Since I’ve made it clear that I won’t sit back and let those threatening my throne live, the other sides will act cautiously for a while, during that time we will strengthen our forces. In other words, it’s a stalemate.”

“We of Silver Crow are the center of Bloom’s regime. As such, you’re all equivalent to a General. I hope that you try your best to live up to Bloom’s expectations because we can’t win this war with you.”

“Yes!”

The Silver Crow members responded in unison. After a few more words from bloom, they all left except for Jin and Sapphire.

“Well, isn’t it the little girl from back then?”

Bloom said to Sapphire.

“Now that I think about it, everything started to change the moment Jin and I met you. You were able to thaw out our ice-cold hearts.”

“It’s doesn’t sound like you’re praising me though.”

Sapphire said with a smile. Bloom also showed a small smile in response.

“Anyway, you and Jin are my closest allies and I will be relying on you a lot in the future.”

“You can count on me. I’m forever in your debt for helping me back then even if it was just a whim.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Bloom started grinning.

“After all, we’re all going to get busy real soon.”

Bloom suddenly looked like she remembered something.

“Ah, Yes. There’s a task I want you to give to Chrome.”

*********

The Red Light District. It was the day after the battle at Romix, the city was still under the protection of dozens of monsters created by Miko and Hina. Bella, Ace, and Sora returned to this city with an unconscious Miko. Out of the four of them, only Bella returned without any injuries, which was pretty impressive in its own right.

“Is he not up yet?”

Bella had an impatient look on her face as she asked Momo.

“Like I said five minutes ago, no. There’s no telling how long he’ll be out.”

“We’re in the middle of a war you know? What will we do if we’re attacked while he’s out?”

“We’ll have to deal with it ourselves.”

Momo responded.

“But this really is a problem. We may have forced them to submit but if the gangsters here learn that the Don was hurt in the very first battle they might rebel. After all, gangsters naturally only follow the strong, if he’s deemed as the weakest party then they won’t feel secure being under him.”

Edward said.

“If it comes to that then I’ll just take my places until he wakes up.”

Luka stepped out and said.

“…….”

Edward looked at her in silence for a while before shaking his head.

“I know a lot about you, Ms. Flameheart. You’re quite talented and is a dedicated person, but you’re not cut out for the job.”

“…..And why’s that?”

“You’re too honest.”

Edward ignored Luka glaring at him and continued.

“In the underworld, the cruel, merciless, and dishonest rules with an iron fist. The kind-hearted will always be the first to die.”

He pointed at Luka.

“Can you kill an innocent person for your own benefit? Are you willing to kick them into the pits of hell and never turn back? Can you destroy their lives when they haven’t done anything to you?”

Luka didn’t answer but that was all the confirmation Edward needed.

“Well, Miko can do all those things within a heartbeat. Unless you can emulate him, then you won’t be able to lead the scumbags that reside in this city.”

“That is true.”

Bella nodded in agreement.

Luka couldn’t refute what Edward said because she was indeed unable to do the things that Edward mentioned. It just wasn’t in her nature as a human being.

“Hey, Miko?!”

Suddenly they all heard a commotion coming from the room Miko was in.

“Dammit! Hold him down!”

They ran into the room and saw Sora and Kristen trying to stop Miko who was strangling Ace.

“@%*#&?!”

An incomprehensible language came from his mouth while his eyes were black like the night.

“Miko!”

Tia walked into the room and shouted at Miko with a stern tone.

“….Huh?”

Miko suddenly looked like he had just woken up.

“Ah.”

He released Ace who fell started coughing.

“My bad, Ace. Looks like I was still half asleep.”

“Cough! I’m gonna kick your ass for this later. Cough!”

Miko laughed at Ace’s grumbling.

“Miko, what just happen?”

Hina asked.

“Haha, it’s nothing really. I just had a bad dream.”

He looked around with a smile.

“If we’re here then that means that I was defeated as expected.”

“As expected? You knew that you would lose but still went? Why?”

Bella asked.

“To know the difference between myself and the opposition.”

He looked at Ace and Sora.

“So how were Kaido and Jin? Were they strong?”

“Incredibly.”

Sora said.

“That Jin Makoto has a vast amount of battle experience under his belt. He made no unnecessary moves when we were fighting and I could even tell that he was studying my fighting style and testing what was useful against me and make the necessary adjustments.”

“Well, for me it was different. This was my second time fighting Kaido and I’ve confirmed it. He’s like a wild beast when it comes to fighting but one that uses its head to hunt its prey. More than anything, his raw power is top-notch.”

Miko nodded after hearing what they said before looking at everyone else.

“These are the kinds of people we’re up against. Not only that we’ve only met half the Pillars and Bloom has her Silver Crow on standby too.”

A huge grin appeared on Miko’s face.

“Bloom’s power is basically omnipotent, Jin and Kaido have incredible powers that they’ve yet to display, and then there are the Pillars…”

He started laughing.

“Even if you exclude the other three, we don’t even have a single person that can take on Bastian Brant.”

His laugh became more and more hysterical as he covered his face with his hand and looked towards the ceiling.

“Miko?”

Luka wanted to approach Miko but she was held back by Tia, who had a serious look on her face.

“….The link between us has been cut.”

“The situation is so bad that I can’t help but laugh. Hahaha…Haha…Ha…”

Miko stopped laughing and slowly brought his head and hand back down.

“What kind of tasteless joke is this?”

Suddenly everyone could feel the atmosphere in the room become tense. The look in Miko’s eyes was completely different than they were before.

“Miko had his fun so its time for him to take this a lot more seriously.”

He looked at Edward.

“Gather all the residents of this country in front of the former Usurpers’ Villa. Tell them that they have only an hour to be there.”

“I’m on it, Don.”

Edward left immediately with eagerness and excitement.

“Miko…Are you alright?”

Hina asked. Miko looked at her for a bit before turning away.

“I’m fine. There’s no need to worry, I’m just going to start treating this like what it is.”

He turned back looked at everything with an intense glare.

“This is war. The fun and games are over. This is now a battle for survival and I’ll do whatever it takes for you all to survive. That is the least I can do for dragging you into this.”

He walked towards Hina and the others and stopped in front of them.

“From this moment forward I’m going to show bits of what I’m really like, so let me apologize beforehand….Because things are going to get ugly.”

An hour later. Just like Miko ordered the residents of the Red Light District gathered in front of the Usurper’s villa. There was a huge crowd of people and Edward and the others were standing in front of it.

“Look at these numbers.”

Ace said.

“Looks like the fear from witnessing this place getting conquered in one night made them all motivated to come out.”

Bella said with a proud look on her face.

“Where’s Miko?”

She asked Momo.

“He’s over there.”

She pointed to the villa entrance. There Miko was seen sitting on the rubble in his Dark Lord mode.

“Huh? Ah, yeah. I did hear that he had multiple appearances.”

(Not only that….He barely has any presence even though I’m looking directly at him.)

Bella thought. Miko looked at the time on the watch on his wrist and then stood up and walked to the front of the crowd.

“Thank you all for coming out. My appearance might be different but I am Miko.”

He switched between his normal appearance and Dark Lord form to prove his words.

“You all should be aware of this but this country has been infected with the disease known as war. The queen got it, the Pillars got it, and I got it as well.”

He pointed at himself.

“Since I’m a part of this madness, I needed a base of operations and decided to use this city. As it stands, I’m the ruler of this place and you the people here are my subjects. As unfair as it is, that means that you’re all involved in this battle whether you like it or not.”

As expected, Miko’s words caused an uproar.

“Screw you! I’m not throwing my life away for you!”

“You’re not even a part of this country! You’re just an invader!”

“Get out of this country and stop involving us in your battles!”

Miko said nothing as he listened to numerous complaints from the crowd. After they finally died down he spoke with the same calm and emotionless tone as before.

“You people don’t seem to get it. This isn’t a choice, you didn’t have a choice in the first place. The queen and Pillars already see this place as enemy territory and will eventually attack this city. When that happens, they won’t listen to your complaints and will just slaughter you all.”

Miko stretched his hand out towards the crowd.

“Do you idiots finally get it?”

He clenched his fist.

“Your lives no longer belong to you, they are in my hands and I can do with it as I please.”

“D-Don’t fuck with us?!”

The crowd erupted once again. Still, Miko remained unfazed, he even sighed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them with a sharp look.

“SILENCE!”

“?!”

Miko’s voice reverberated through the area like a clap of thunder and instantly silenced the crowd. Even his allies flinched when he shouted.

“I see that you all have objections. That’s fine by me.”

Miko pointed at the spot in front of him.

“Step forward. We’ll settle this with a battle of strength.”

He spread his arms.

“There are no special rules. You can use whatever you want and can gang up on me as much as you like. If you’re able to defeat me this city will be yours. You can give it to the queen or pillars or even rule it yourself. The choice is yours. Oh, don’t worry. This is between me and you. The Dragna clan won't get it involved.”

Those in the crowd started looking at each other in disbelief. Soon, people started stepping forward one by one; it didn’t take long for a large group of people to face Miko carrying all kinds of powerful weapons and some even wearing powersuits.

“Is this everyone? Good.”

A huge savage grin appeared on Miko’s face as his teeth change to fangs and his nails turned into claws.

“Then let’s begin!”

Miko snapped his fingers and a couple of winged monsters landed behind the challengers.

“…Huh?”

They all turned around and froze when they saw the terrifying beasts up and close. Many of them even fell on their butts after losing the strength in their legs.

“Hey, why are you getting distracted?”

A challenger heard Miko’s voice directly behind him and quickly turned around. The moment he did Miko slashed his face with his claws instantly blinding him.

“Ahhh!”

His scream alerted the others of what was going on. They turned and saw Miko holding the man by his head while he slowly ripped off the skin off his face. A sound that was similar to clothing tearing reached their ears mixed with the man’s scream. A chill ran up the spines of all who heard it. The next second the man collapsed to the ground holding his face as he screamed and rolled around.

“This is the first time I’ve ripped someone’s face off.”

Miko started showing off the skin with a smile on his face.

“I must say, the sensation was strangely satisfying.”

He said while holding up the skin up in the light. This scene caused the challengers to stop back in fright.

“Ahhh?!”

Suddenly a scream reverberated which caused them to turn back around.

“?!”

They were greeted with the scene of a man with his entire lower body inside a monster’s mouth. Crunching sounds reached their ears as they witnessed the man’s body being devoured before their eyes. They could see the man’s tear-stained face just before his head was crushed by the monster’s teeth.

“…..This…!”

A challenger looked back at Miko.

“This isn’t fair! You’re using monsters to help!”

“Fair?”

Miko started laughing.

“When have wars ever been fought fair and square? Using the element of surprise to quickly crush your opponents while their guard’s down isn’t fair but it’s praised as being a strategic tactic. Rarely both sides fighting are equal and yet it’s accepted as the norm.”

Miko pointed at the man.

“There are no rules in war, everything goes as long as you win.”

“Ahh?!”

Behind the man, more challengers were being mercilessly devoured by the monsters. They couldn’t even get the chance to attack before dying.

“Besides…”

Miko’s body flickered and he appeared next to the man.

“Those monsters are a part of me so there’s nothing wrong with using them.”

The man opened his mouth to say something but before he could Miko sunk his fangs into his neck.

“Keh?!”

He was unable to scream properly because his windpipe was crushed. Miko lifted his body off the ground using his mouth and then swung him about like a dog playing with his chew toy. After a few seconds the man’s head was separated from his body and fell to the ground. His blood sprayed and stained Miko’s clothes before Miko spat his body to the ground. He smiled and showed off his bloodstained fangs with pieces of flesh still on it.

“Hmm…Human flesh doesn’t taste as bad as I thought it would. I could even get used to this taste.”

He said while licking the blood on his hands. This scene of him even caused his allies to feel immense fear towards him.

“M-Monster!”

The challengers who were nearby all started to flee. Miko’s body flickered again and he appeared above one of the fleeing men. He swung his claws and ripped the man’s head off before pouncing on the nearest challenger and biting his face off and swallowing the skin.

“Ahhh?!”

Meanwhile, the monsters were starting to crush the challengers under their feet before eating their broken corpses.

“Oh? You guys already know how to soften your food?”

Miko ripped out the heart of a challenger before feeding it back to him.

“You’re making me proud.”

“……..”

Meanwhile, the rest of the residents watched on in horror as Miko and his monsters gruesomely tortured, kill and devour the challengers until none were left. When everything was over, Miko was dripping in blood. He slowly walked back to where he stood before the “battle”. The monsters, having eaten their fill, took to the skies.

“Now then, any more objections?”

“……..”

Miko got only silence in response to his question.

“Good. It looks like you’re all finally understanding your positions in all of this.”

The smile immediately left his face and only a deadpan expression remained.

“I need soldiers, people who can help me survive this madness. If you are no use to me in this way then you’ll work just as good as food for my monsters and myself.”

Cold sweat covered everyone from head to toe. There wasn’t even a whimper to be heard unlike before.

“If you understand…”

Miko stretched out his hand and blood dripped from it and stained the ground. The crowd felt like the one who stretched his hand towards them was the very devil himself. However, if they wanted to survive they had to shake hands with this devil who was now showing them a bright smile.

“Welcome to the team.”