The Night Continent.

There was a country known as Riell, it was an extremely large country and was said to have a long history of peace, which was extremely rare on this dangerous continent. However, that country was now in the middle of a war. Everything began when the late king was killed in broad daylight in the streets of the capital. The culprit was none other than the king’s son. Of course, the prince was killed on sight as well. It was after he was killed that a problem arose. The prince was the rightful heir for the throne, now with him dead there was no one to take the open position of king. This caused strife to develop between the several distant relatives of the dead king. A civil war broke out to decide who would become king.

In this hell, a single person walked casually without any tension whatsoever. They were dressed in a black suit, wore white gloves, a silver ring with the word "Joker" engraved on it, and a jester mask with a black spade in the center of the forehead. Their gender was impossible to figure from their physique alone. They walked towards the palace which was currently in flames. The moment they approached the gate, they disappeared and reappeared in the palace.

They past countless burning corpses on the ground as well as people trying to flee the flames. A woman, who was screaming while she was engulfed in flames, ran towards them. She ran and ran until she ran right past them as if they didn’t exist. The person didn’t mind it because they made it that no one could perceive them. They continued to walk until they stood in front of a large door. They pushed it open and entered the room. They saw a man trembling in a corner.

“Duke.”

The person spoke. Their voice was also ambiguous.

“Black Joker!”

When the man saw the person called Black Joker, he immediately got to his feet.

“W-What’s the meaning of this?! Look what happened to my country!”

“I’ve seen it. I can’t believe that such a beautiful country has been reduced to this.”

“Damn you! You’re the one who caused this and now you’re acting like it has nothing to do with you!”

“That’s because it really has nothing to do with me.”

“What?!”

Black Joker shrugged.

“I only did what you told me and killed the king and the prince. I did nothing more. This country's downfall was caused by the incompetence of the people in charge. They got drowned in their own greed and ambitions and it led to their demise.”

“Silence! You knew that this was going to happen yet you disappeared the moment you finished your assassination!”

“You only ordered the king and crown prince’s assassination. You never requested my advice on how to successfully capture the throne. If you had paid extra I would’ve gladly done so. In the end, you can only blame your own stupidity.”

“Y-You!”

The duke was red with anger.

“Enough of that, Duke. I’m here to collect my pay.”

Black Joker stretched out their hand.

“Pay? I’m not paying you a damn thing you demon!”

“Not paying?”

Black Joker brought their hand back to their side.

“Are you serious about that, Duke?”

“Yes! I’m dead serious! Get lost!”

Black Joker stayed quiet for a while before speaking again while waving a finger.

“No, no, no, no, no. That won’t do, Duke. We Juggernauts have a code. We must be paid one way or the other.”

“I said I’m not paying! What legendary mercenaries?! You’re all nothing but a bunch of scums!”

In front of the duke’s insults, Black Joker remained calm and didn’t show any signs of anger.

“I see. You insist on not paying.”

“How many times do I have to say the same thing?!”

“I see….Then I’ll just take the country’s wealth as payment.”

“Eh?”

Before the Duke could react, he was blown away by a powerful gust. When he looked up the roof of the mansion was blown off, he saw Black Joker floating in the sky. Black Joker stretched their palm towards the ground.

A rune suddenly appeared in the center of the country.

“Salvage.”

With a rumbling sound, countless jewels, gold, and other valuables flew out of the fires and gathered around Black Joker.

“Snatch.”

Black Joker closed their hand and the floating treasures vanished into thin air.

“Payment collected.”

Black Joker landed back on the ground and looked at the Duke.

“Well then, Duke. I’ll be on my way. If you have any more jobs you want to be completed feel free to contact us.”

With a small chuckle, they faded into nothingness, leaving the duke on his knees. They reappeared outside of the country, took out a phone, and dialed a number.

“Good work, Boss.”

The moment the call connected, the person on the other side of the phone praised them.

“I take it that you've received the payment.”

Black Joker sat on a nearby boulder.

“Yes. You got the country’s entire wealth just like you said you would. That’s pretty amazing.”

The voice was elated.

“Ah, yes. Boss, it’s about Rihan.”

“Is he dead?”

“No. Why do you two always ask if the other is dead whenever I mention your names?”

“Tsk.”

“Did you just clicked your tongue because your friend and comrade isn’t dead? What’s wrong with you two? Are you really best friends?”

“Yeah. We just made a bet a couple of centuries ago on who’s going to kick the bucket first. The winner will be able to claim the loser’s wealth as well as the right to dance on the other’s grave.”

“Again….Are you two really friends?”

“Never mind that. What about him?”

“He said that he’s going home for a while. Apparently, he was summoned back.”

“Home? Ah, I heard that things got rowdy in his home country. So, what’s the problem?”

“What’s the problem? Did you forget that New Era is coming for our necks? We were supposed to instigate a war between Olympias and Camelot but they leaked our intentions to them first. Now, we have all three organizations hunting us.”

“Oh, I forgot about them. What’s the big deal? We’re not one to cower from anyone. Besides, I owe them for killing Nil…Although, he’s still alive.”

“This isn’t a joke, Boss! We’re facing the biggest human empire, Olympias headed by the Conquering King Guzan, and the military powerhouse nation of Camelot headed by Perfect Queen Maya! It’s Alexander the Great and Arthur Pendragon’s proxies, you know! One wrong move and we all could get wiped out! If one of our leaders leave now, we’ll be at a great disadvantage!”

“Calm down, Eden.”

Black Joker took off his mask and revealed his handsome face and beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair.

“We can handle it ourselves with just the 9 of us. 10 if we make you replace Rihan.”

“That’s impossible. I can’t control Rihan’s Red Order, it would be fine if it was your Black Order.”

“I’ll keep everyone under check, you just need to be yourself. You’re my wife as well as my trump card after all.”

“……….”

Eden didn’t say anything and remained silent.

“Besides, I’m the Warmonger Julian and Loki’s Proxy. Who’s better than me at deception, sabotage, and warfare?”

Julian drew a card from his jacket. It was a card of a black joker. He threw it and it landed on the entrance of Riell.

He smiled mischievously.

“Just sit back and watch. Juggernauts always have the last laugh.”

Renacido.

“To think that you’re the leader of such a heinous group…For some reason, it’s not surprising when you think about.”

Miko and Rihan faced each other.

“You make it sound like I’m an evil person without morals.”

“………”

“Point taken.”

Rihan laughed.

“So, what can the Trumps (Juggernauts) do for you today?”

“You make it sound like a normal business.”

“Because we’re a legitimate business organization. We offer our services for a price and complete tasks given to us. It’s not our fault that all of our customers gave us sketchy jobs.”

“I heard that you guys once kidnapped 3 princesses, sold them to enemies nations, stole them back, and then sold them back to their family….Was that a job?”

“What’s wrong with hustling on the side?”

“……..”

“Don’t act like you’re innocent, Mr. Satan.”

“I was just wondering if this is how people view me.”

“……..”

Meanwhile, Natasa was staring at Rihan with sharp eyes. Rihan glanced at her and waved. He turned back to Miko.

“So what kind of job do you have for us?”

Miko smiled.

“Before that, let me ask if you something, My Omniscient Uncle.”

“Oh? Go ahead.”

Miko’s smile fell from his face and a deadpan expression replaced it.

“Do you think this world can still be saved?"