Midnight Prince: Empire of Sin - Chapter 526: Convincing
While listening to the epic legend of a rather contemporary figure of the olden times was exhilarating no doubt, Adam, as keen as he was, did not miss the mention of Musashi Kaminari, de facto head of the Kaminari clan. Evidently, his biological grandfather was one of the most well-renowned legendary figures in the supernatural world as a whole.
But now was not the time to worry or admire the man who was related to him only by blood and family.
Moriarty, the fourth of his name and line, was certainly quite the tough nut to crack. Adam did not let his recent success make him lose his mind in the vain arrogance of his invincibility.
The chances of him being able to beat a true and taster Director, perhaps one of the best of its line, seemed slim at best. However, it wasn’t like it was completely impossible for him if he were to really put his all into it. As long as they had no way of sealing or containing him by some means, he could potentially fight forever even if he had to die over and over again. His life was endless, the lives of his enemies, however, were limited.
Moreover, due to his traits, the more he died, the greater his resistance to the cause of death, and the whole notion of death as a whole would increase. The resistance would cause his opponent to have fewer and fewer means to dispose of him until they could not dispose of him at all.
So Adam wasn’t quite as scared of Moriarty as he should have been of a top Director-level threat. But, if Moriarty’s intelligence was anywhere close to that of the man he was portrayed to be in the legends, that man would immediately deduce his weakness without much of a struggle and immediately formulate a countermeasure to either contain or nullify him.
‘Why I am thinking that I would be certainly facing that monstrous fellow? Has my mind already given up on the notion of steering clear of trouble?’
Adam sighed and decided that it was better to be safe than to be caught off guard and pay the price for it. Furthermore, they also had their own cards to play should such a dreadful scenario were to unfold.
He alone would definitely be a problem in taking on such a formidable foe but with the aid of Tsubasa, they might really have a serious chance of defeating Moriarty. Elysia also had an angel of unknown power alongside her, guiding and helping her from the shadows. From her position alone, one could make an estimate that the angel would have quite the power. And lastly, Makoto also had a Divine Weapon with her.
If the four of them fought against him and Elysia and Tsubasa used their Phantasm Realm at once while fighting alongside him then even a Director would have to be careful in handling them, right?
Adam visibly shivered when he remembered how his mom basically obliterated him in less than the full completion of a second once she became a bit more serious than her usual self. However, comparing his mother, Cecilia, to any Director-level individual other than the ones with the qualification to touch the heights of Zodiacs seemed like a disservice to anyone involved in the matter.
“Okay. The information is definitely drawing a clearer picture in my mind. So now this Moriarty guy is the top dog in the criminal world, you’ve made that clear. But why have no Zodiacs attacked him yet?”
Rex shrugged his shoulders in response, “Zodiacs don’t care about anything that isn’t a world-ending threat. Moriarty may be a criminal but he brought order in the criminal world of Europe at large and even supernatural forces from beyond the nation don’t make too many waves in this place due to his sheer presence alone. He stopped many crimes against humanity in reality. Calling him a criminal in the truest sense is actually quite a bit of a complicated matter. He is more like a playful man in search of challenges. He rarely committed any heinous crimes.
“In fact, for many who live at the very bottom, such a man is far more welcome than any structure that follows the law, promising many things, veiled and often hypocritical, but ultimately doesn’t change anything. Moriarty makes sure the supernatural creatures don’t do too much damage. Many people think that Moriarty is in reality still working with the FPD but simply used the reputation of his family to control the underworld. They have more or less made themselves believe that this, in fact, is the reason the Association doesn’t clamp down on him.” [1]
“How likely is this theory?”
“Like any consOriginal theory, there is enough logical argument to make a leap. But for us, it doesn’t matter. As long as he continues to support the underworld, then whoever he deals with on his own measure has nothing to do with us.”
A very simple truth, and like all truths Adam had no desire to poke around at it.
“So in a way, Moriarty is the Strongest Mafia Boss in the world, I assume?”
He mused out loud, speaking to no one in particular. This was indeed funny. Not long ago he was also thinking of increasing his criminal empire. Though for now, Pantheon was not even an official organization and he was the only member with the mermaids working under him, he knew that they had the potential to change the whole game, reaching for the top.
After all, even the werewolves were now under his control, and soon Las Vegas would be completely his to rule. If he continued with this momentum, it wouldn’t be impossible to make his dream of becoming the the God of Crime a reality, at least within the borders of America.
‘It would be funny if I could steal some authority related to crimes. Might not be impossible in fact.’
With the people he was about to face, it was certainly not impossible for him to succeed on such an endeavor.
“Very well. Now that you told me everything about Moriarty. I want two more pieces of information and this time, I will pay you handsomely for them.”
Adam snapped his finger and a paper filled with information appeared on his hand. “This paper has the information of a bank account I can fill with my personal funds. This is basically a dummy account but I can use it for you. I just have a few more questions to ask you.”
Adam could have continued to force him but he knew that if he didn’t give some small bonuses at least to make the tongues move more swiftly, he would have to struggle with partial information.
“I will give you one day to get the information I want. Of course, you can inform your boss about everything that happened if you want. I do not care. Just know that if you sell my information to anyone, I will make sure to flatten you and your family without the slightest hesitation. I hate traitors and I make sure to give them a swift yet a very painful end. Understood?”
Rex shook his head, “I understand perfectly. There is no need to warn me. I am not a rooky. But I will be honest now that my position was compromised, I need to move. Otherwise, I will have the department on my ass soon.”
“Compromised?”
Adam smiled and the air around them seemed to disappear and become fuzzy as he snapped his finger.
When Rex came to himself, he found himself in his shop, as if nothing had changed. One look at his clock told him that barely a few minutes went by.
“Find me a place to rest.”
Rex gulped to himself.
Compared to being beaten up… this bizarre experience was on a whole another level altogether.
He understood immediately that this man was certainly not someone he could afford to mess with.
“What kind of information do you want?”
His demeanor changed quickly as he asked while giving Adam a small bow of respect. He did not want to create more problems between them. He certainly did not want to create such an enemy for the Familia.
It was better to simply comply and make sure the man left happy and satisfied.
‘I need to inform the boss.’
Evidently, the big guns were coming and this man might be the first of many more dangerous hunters.
Paris was certainly not safe during the curren chaos and evacuation was perhaps the best thing to consider now.
“I want Information about all the possible hunters who entered Paris lately. Information about how to join the auction and finally…Information about the shadow twin.”
“It will be done.”
[1]: Sometime I hear organized crime brings more order. I don’t know. I never lived in a crime-infested city much less one with organized crime. I don’t know whether this is just romanticization from Mafia movies or actual reality. What I know is that most of the time criminals aren’t anything close to being heroes or protectors. What is here in my story is just a romanticization.
(AN: Guys don’t forget you can join my Patreon and Read SHK as well as my new story Cosmic Fairytales. Currently 6 chapters ahead for CF.)
