I kicked the man in the ass again, pushing him forward into the darkness faster.

"Where are we going? Why are we in the Dungeon?!?" He whined.

"You know, I hate people like you. All talk, and swagger, but scare 'em just right, and... !" I shouted, and he screamed, falling into his ass as a wet spot spread down his thigh.

Xavier sniffed, up ahead, and groaned. "Oh come on, Johnny, I need my nose!"

I shrugged and kicked the man again. "Up. Move." He scrambled forward, towards Xavier, who simply glared at him.

We reached what I wanted, and I grinned, looking down into the large room. "See that?" I pointed at the floor, which was moving.

The man gulped and nodded.

" is a . Now. Here's how this works. You give me what I want, and I turn us around, we get lost. You lie, or refuse to answer me..." I held him out over the pit by his collar, covering his mouth. "?" I growled.

He nodded fervently.

I brought him back into the tunnel, and nodded. "Good. So. Start writing. All your girls and employees, and competition as well, names, addresses, ages, descriptions. Go." I handed him a pad of paper and a pen.

He began writing carefully, and filled six pages before he stopped. "That's all of them, I swear!" He handed me the papers.

I nodded and placed them in my pocket. "" I asked, pushing him towards the edge a little.

He nodded, grabbing my shirt to stay standing. "I'm sure!!!"

I nodded. "Okay... and your Club?"

"You can have it! I'll leave the city, I swear! O won't contact anyone from Orario ever again, just pull me up!" He pleaded.

I nodded, and then as soon as he was standing straight, he let go of my shirt, and Xavier kicked him clear across the cavern, where he landed on top of the swarm of giant Ants.

I stayed to make sure he was dead, and then started walking back. "Well, that's done. We got our own house, now! Pretty sweet, huh? How do you feel like opening a Strip Club?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, the girls will need jobs that they're qualified for! No one will touch them, and if they wanna leave, they can! Stripping is better than whoring." I shrugged.

He nodded. "True, I guess. Sure, I'll help. Maybe I'll hire some Cat-Girls, eh? So you're entertained."

I snorted. "Rude. You're gonna hang that over my head forever, aren't you?"

"." He grinned widely.

"I was delusional from blood-loss and . You can't hold a man's dying words over him!" I growled.

"I can and I will." He smirked.

I groaned and walked faster.

---

I stepped through the shredded doorway, and lead Loki and Finn in. "How do you like it?" I asked.

Finn hummed. "This is a... very peculiar place."

"No, no, the bones! The shape! It's a Club! And it's mine, now. It was originally a Brothel, and it still will be, but this is the Club portion." I shrugged.

He blinked. "You plan on continuing that practice?"

"Only the women who want to, of course. The women who were forced will be allowed to leave, or work the stages, or be waitresses, I don't care. There's not much these women are qualified for, you know? Best to keep them employed, so they don't get snatched up by someone offering them money." I sighed, and sat in one of the leather seats.

Loki sat across from me. "That does make sense... but we'll need Level 2 Guards."

"We have 2. From the Ares Familia." I nodded to Otto and James, who were behind the bar, stocking the shelves.

She nodded. "Very nice... and wait-staff?"

"Working on that one. The women we've contacted so far have agreed to work with us under contracts that say they can leave any time they want. They've agreed to be dancers. But we still need a Bartender, some waiters, and a few janitors." I stuck a toothpick between my teeth, chewing on it as I thought.

"I can get you janitors." She smirked evilly.

I sighed. "Lemme guess. Hestia's Level Ones?"

She nodded. "There's two of them."

"They need to be adventuring and leveling up. Don't be cruel. We need non-adventurers, or lots of part-timers." I shook my head.

She pouted, but nodded. "True. Well, that can be done. Why not have Dorian turn a few of Freya's people back into humans, under the condition they work for you?"

I hummed. "I'll ask him about it..."

"Good. And you have actual hookers?"

"A few. I'm making sure each of them has a guard with them to avoid any problems. And I'm looking for performers to sing during the non-strip hours, when this is just a jazz parlor." I nodded.

Loki smiled nostalgically. "Mmmmm, ... something I missed, from Midgard."

I nodded. "And some ballads, but yes, some smooth jazz as well."

"Alright, well, the Apollo Familia might have some musicians for you." She hummed.

I nodded. "Right, and are there any other music-gods in Orario?"

She snorted. "Loads, but most don't have Familia's... let's see... I know that brat Bragi is here, and he has a few brats of his own... and Benzaiten, a Chinese god of music and Art, they have a few members, I think."

"I'll find them. I want this place fixed up and ready to accept customers in less than a week!" I barked out.

The men at the bar nodded. one of them started removing the shards of the door from the frame, while the other began buffing the scratches out of the beautiful hardwood flooring.

"So what did you do with the old owner?" Loki asked.

"I left him in the Dungeon without a weapon." I said simply.

She nodded slowly. "Alright. Don't do that anymore, but well done this time."

"Is that illegal or something?" I asked, scratching my chin.

"Not explicitly... but if you outright kill them, it's a problem. The Guild can revoke your license to enter the Dungeon. And you can't take people who aren't adventures into the Dungeon, either." She shrugged.

I nodded. "No problem. There are other ways to get rid of people."

She glanced at me coolly. "Do you plan on getting rid of the other Pimps?"

"Who can say?" I shrugged carelessly.

Finn sighed. "So both of you are like this... you and your Spawn."

I smirked. "Who, Xavier? Nah. He's not as bad as me. I enjoy this, whereas he just sees it as ."

He hummed, and I looked at Loki. "So what are the rules about killing in self defense? If someone attacks me in an alley, for example... can I kill them?"

She shrugged. "Grey area, really. Killing people is frowned upon, but if they attacked you, it's not your fault. However, if you attack them, that's different. They'll take your license and throw you in jail if you start running around, killing people."

I grinned. "Good deal, then. No worries." With that, I left them, and went searching for a target.

---

I sat in the rafters of the blood-soaked warehouse that I'd purchased after Xavier's plan. It was only about a three minute walk from the edge of Shackletown, so it was worth the 500K Val I paid for it.

Below me, the unconscious forms of 42 different Bosses, 30 Lvl 1 Enforcers, and about twice all that in low-tier thugs who wouldn't be turned, all sprawled out over each other, drugged unconscious. About 200 people, all kidnapped silently, over the course of five days.

I'd left the Lvl 2's and up out of this. I planned on hiring them, after this was done.

I dropped a bag of smelling salts, and it exploded into a large dust-cloud, spreading over the people, and waking them all up slowly.

Another, filled with the mushroom spores I'd used the first time, dropped as soon as they were all awake, shouting at each other.

I stayed in the rafters, and watched as they tore into one another. Blades came out, and I hummed as the room was splatter-painted again.

"Perhaps I should feel some sort of sorrow or disgust, but I really can't muster any feelings for these useless people who have done nothing but hurt others." I hummed.

Bete, sitting nearby, hummed. "Can't say I don't understand culling the weak, sick, and vicious wolves from the Pack, for the good of the whole forest."

"Yes... that is one of my reasons." I nodded.

"And the others?" He asked.

"For . The criminals of this city... they will shrug off a lot of what I would say, because they don't know me... but with an image like this pressed into their minds, and the knowledge that I did it... they will listen. And they will be ."

He raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

"Criminals, as a whole, understand two languages. Death, and Money. I don't have enough money to buy them, but I can create enough death to scare them, which was better anyway."

Finally, after half an hour or so of watching, I dropped into the crowd, because it was simply taking too long for the cowards to kill each other. They were just waving their knives around, warning each other away with empty threats.

I began bleeding them, one by one, painting the most gruesome scene I could, so I could send the most serious message the criminals of this city had ever seen.

I chopped off limbs, beheaded a few people, and gutted more than I could count, ripped out spines. All the while, I had an iron grip on my throat, steeling my stomach to the necessity of what I was doing.

After about another thirty minutes, I stood alone, in a Sea of Gore that would have given Charles Manson nightmares, and shook my sword off, cleaning it on the only patch of my sleeve that wasn't covered as well, then sheathing it.

"Let's go." I waved to Bete, and unlocked the door, walking out, and leaving the doors wide open, so everyone could see if they walked past.

Already, crows were gathering above us, so I dumped a bucket of water over myself, getting the excess blood off of me, then trudging my way towards the Club, to shower and change, then get some sleep.

---

"All in a weeks work." I smiled, leaning back as the musicians from the Apollo Familia took the stage, watching from the balcony.

I hummed in surprise when Alex climbed the steps, and stood in front of the microphone. Xavier looked up from his book. "Oh?"

She breathed deeply, and then opened her mouth.

Beautiful music started in the background, as her voice rolled across the crowd, singing a ballad version of a nice blues song I'd given to the Musicians.

Nora Jones' version of 'Comes Love' sounded like heavens gospel, suddenly, coming from her lips in a sweet melody.

"Comes rain, put your rubber on your feet

Comes a snow, you can get a little heat

Comes love, nothing can be done..."

I chuckled and leaned against the railing, smiling a little.

"Comes a fire, you know what to do

Blow a tire, buy another shoe

Comes love, nothing can be done..."

The dance floor filled slowly, as people began dancing slowly, her voice as powerful as any spell, silencing their voices, healing their worries.

"Don't try hiding, cause there isn't any use

You start sliding when you're heart turns on the juice..."

I smiled as even the working ladies and more boneheaded men stopped, watching her as she gently swayed to the beat.

"Comes a headache, you can lose it in a day

Comes a toothache, see your dentist right away

Comes love, nothing can be done..."

The band knew what was happening, so they gentled their playing, making her voice the star. The cellist began an underlying melody, accentuating every word of the song, adding a soft tenor undertone to Alex's Gentle Alto.

"That all brother, if you've ever been in love

That all brother, you know where I'm speaking of..."

I sighed, and Xavier chuckled quietly. "She's great, isn't she? Should I start leaving flowers on her doorstep for you, or are we going a few centuries after that method?" He grinned.

"Comes a nightmare, you can always stay awake

Comes depression, you may get another break

Comes Love! nothing... can be... done..." she finished with a little flourish.

I slapped Xavier's ear, then began clapping softly, allowing the sound to spread throughout the room as the entire crowd clapped along. I whistled twice, laughing. "Perfetto! Meraviglioso! Impeccabile!"

She blushed and took a little bow, then got off the stage in a hurry.