"... I don't know."
... What?...
Nicolas was baffled. How could a person go to a funeral he wasn't invited to. Except that it is disrespectful to the dead person's family, how did they know when it would take place?
"You don't know anything?... You've got a whole gang under you. Surely someone must've heard some rumors."
Jacob looked at Nicolas with an uneasy smile playing over his lips.
"... You know something...don't you?"
"...It's a long story, so I'll make it short. For a few months my gang has been attracting unwanted attention from neighboring gangs. The one who appeared to be the most violent resorted to an open conflict. His nickname was Scrooge. Befitting his name, he was the greediest man I knew..."
"And? How is that related at all?"
"... He died a month ago... A man with a revolver attacked them overnight alongside a couple of men armed to the teeth. There were no survivors... That's the man you're looking for."
Nicolas stiffened at the story Jacob told him.
"... How many died?"
"I regret to tell you but...only two of the attackers died. The gang was destroyed since over three hundred of its members died."
Nicolas' jaw dropped. His intense eyes widened just by imagining the difference in firepower. He had never heard of something like this his entire life.
What the fuck... Who are they? Even though I was mostly isolated all this time I still had my phone. The news didn't say anything about something this major?... Weird.
"How the hell don't I know anything about this?"
"... The macho man works for the government... That's all the rumors I could gather. If you dare mess with them it won't end nicely for you. I'm assuming they were searching for you at the funeral."
"That's...right. They killed my family in cold blood, so I'm sure they're after me... They even put the blame of my girlfriend's death on me... This is so infuriating... I'm too powerless to do anything against something like this..."
Nicolas had teared up involuntary. His will was shaken to his core. He had been preparing for three months to exact revenge on them but now, he could do nothing. All the training he underwent, all the blood he spit, all the time he wasted, it was all for nothing.
"...Nicolas, I know this might sound strange to you but can you...create a fire from your hands?"
*
"Since when did you start working as a delivery guy, Nicolas?"
"What do you think? I got bored waiting, so I knocked unconscious the closest delivery man and took his clothes. The next moment I was knocking on your door."
Nicolas and Jacob were walking leisurely down a deep sewer. The filthy stench of the stream flowing right beside them was making Nicolas' nose twitch. The smell was intolerable but Jacob didn't bat an eye.
Nicolas wore a red shirt and a white cap. The newly grown beard and his glasses made him look like an inexperienced professor. He was an unrecognizable version of himself.
"Wow. You're pretty violent. Did you also-"
"I don't have time to waste. Now that I know there are others like me around the country I can't stay still. But I think we're wasting our time. In such a dirty place is your hideout?"
"... The gang conflict didn't happen on the surface. It happened here. That's why the citizens don't know anything. Everything is happening underground. Please trust me, if I was planning to turn you in or kill you I would've done it three months ago. You'll see."
Even though he didn't want to admit it he knew Jacob had many chances to do so. In the end he gave up. The story he learned about was already shocking enough to him.
I can't believe they have been hiding something like this for so long. To think Scrooge could light up his arms and burn everything in his wake... This is really concerning. If he's similar to me then did he also try to commit suicide?... It's so confusing.
"What you need to worry about is if they can connect your current appearance with your old one. We have a lot of time to think."
"What I'm really concerned is about our country's situation. At this rate it'll be a repeat of the last dictatorship. I won't be able to move freely and nor will you be, Jacob."
Right then, they arrived at a huge door on the corner of the sewer. The metal door seemed out of place in the old dirty sewers. The countless voices pouring from behind it was something unimaginable, making Nicolas stop in his tracks. Following that, Jacob knocked on the door multiple times with pauses in between. It was a pattern.
The door swung wide from the inside and revealed a majestic scene. Everywhere, there were people with different nationalities and locals alike. The signs cascading down from the roof displayed words and numbers in many languages.
The ground made of exquisite stone and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling gave off a grand impression. The stench of the sewers disappeared in the blink of an eye, replaced by the scent of flowers and spices.
Without Nicolas noticing, Jacob had opened his arms in an exaggerated manner. His elated voice made Nicolas look at him with a surprised expression.
"Welcome to the underground city, Atlantis!"
*
Forty days ago
"Hahahaha!!! Die you motherfuckers!!!"
The crazed roar of a tall man reverberated throughout the sewage system. His intimidating figure was constantly surrounded by a brilliant yellow fire. The heat was so oppressive that compared to it, the Sahara desert was like a walk in the park.
An innumerable amount of people were falling like flies to the ground. Their bodies, dry of life, were piling up by the second. The cries of people flooded the narrow passage like the purgatory of hell.
Standing in the middle of this, Jacob was looking at the people around him, unable to move a finger as they fell one by one.
No... No. This is madness. We had no chance from the beginning.
Unlike his father, Jacob wasn't a born fighter. He was naturally talented in strategy and his mind was sharper than a knife. But in front of such brute force he couldn't do anything.
The blonde man always took what he wanted. Jacob knew that yet he didn't resign. Now that he had come to claim their lives, Jacob wanted to resist as much as he could, even if it was futile.
"Re...Retreat!!! Everyone move to the next blockade!!! Run!!!