Tibat, Merath, Jorra, Agramormos, and many others could not believe what they were seeing.
No.
It’s not that they couldn’t believe.
They couldn’t understand what they were seeing.
Who were these individuals that were leaping onto the surface of the causeway from below?
They recognized none of these new intruders because the masks they wore were unknown.
They all wore simple masks.
White, black, dirty white, grey, purple, emerald, blue, and so on.
Their masks were different, but they were simple and unknown.
However, the moment Belafar’s roar tore through the air, everybody looked in his direction, and they saw Belafar running toward a demon who was nonchalantly directing and ordering the demons to attack the members of the three gangs.
The demon word a plain brown mask, but on his exposed arms and neck were black tattoos that were familiar to Tibat, Agramormos, Merath, and Jorra.
Akaza!
Tibat could not believe what she was seeing.
How could Akaza be here?
Isn’t he supposed to be far away from here?
’Wait. If Akaza is here, does that mean these are members of the Iron Fangs? But how?’
’How are they here? What is Baddon doing? If they’ve escaped or if there’s a situation, why has he not contacted me?’
’Don’t tell me...is he dead? Or has he been incapacitated?’
Tibat feared the worst, and without hesitation, she reached out to her right hand man- Baddon.
"Are you finally done? What took you guys so long?"
Tibat immediately frowned.
"Done? Akaza is right here! Tell me why I’m looking at him right now when you’re supposed to be watching him!"
She was usually calm and in control of her emotions, but seeing this new and unknown group beating the shit out of her gang members was making her to lose her mind.
She had no idea what the hell was going on!
Meanwhile, Baddon was baffled.
"What do you mean Akaza is there? He’s right here. I can see him right now."
Tibat’s gaze darkened and she growled in anger and frustration.
"Are you calling me a liar, Baddon?! He’s right here! And he’s fighting Belafar and Agramormos as we speak!"
"What the? Hold on. Give me a minute."
"We don’t have a minute!"
"Then give me a fucking second!"
Tibat was even more angry hearing Baddon curse, but before she could give a retort, he cut the call.
"Fuck!" She cursed out loud, and if she had a phone, she would have most likely smashed it on the ground.
She knew that Baddon and the other gang members must have been fooled in some way.
She was watching Agramormos and Belafar fighting the brown masked tattooed demon, and she knew for a fact that he was Akaza.
’Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck is going on!"
Just as she had these thoughts, Baddon called her back and she accepted the call in a heartbeat.
"You’re right, Tibat! Akaza is not here! None of the Iron Fangs are here!"
Tibat ground her teeth in fury and confusion.
"Then what the hell is going on?! Who have you been watching all this while?!"
"Slaves! I don’t know how they did it, but they got slaves to replace the members of the Iron Fangs! The slaves are wearing their masks and clothes! Even Akaza’s famed lion mask is being worn by a slave!"
Tibat’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief at the utterly unbelievable words her right hand man just said.
Slaves?
What?
These fools had been watching a bunch of slaves and they didn’t know?
What in the hell and abyss did she just hear?
Tibat felt something snap within her and she roared in rage.
"YOU FOOLS! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!!!"
Without even waiting for a response from Baddon, she ended the call.
Her breathing was rough and unstable, and the fury in her heart could burn a forest down.
"Fuck!"
She kicked a pebble in anger, causing it to fly and hit an unfortunate member of the Vipers Nest which led to the member failing to react to the attack of a member of the Iron Fangs.
He was beaten by a club.
"I guess you are not like the Iron Fangs. You were fooled and used by him."
Merath’s voice that was filled with dripping mockery and disdain drifted into Tibat’s ears.
Tibat looked at Merath darkly.
"What?"
Merath scoffed. "You still don’t get it?" She shook her head disappointedly.
"You still don’t know who the mastermind of all these is?"
Tibat’s frown deepened since she had this question in her mind.
She had been asking herself if this was really Akaza’s doing.
She knew Akaza, and she knew that he was a good leader in some aspects, but this sort of planning and trickery was something she couldn’t imagine Akaza doing.
When it came to strength and fighting for the Iron Fangs, he was very strong.
But trickery and plans?
No.
She knew that there must be somebody else behind the scenes, but she couldn’t put two and two together to understand who.
The gears in her mind spun wildly as she looked down, and Merath could not help but chuckle.
"Really? Do you have to think so hard before you find the answer?"
Tibat looked at Merath who was shaking her head with a disappointed expression.
She was about to speak, but Merath pointed behind her.
"Don’t bother stressing yourself. The mastermind is approaching us."
Tibat’s brows jumped behind her mask, and she turned, but when she saw who was approaching them, she frowned deeply.
"It can’t be. Him?"
Merath chuckled darkly. "Who else but him? Broken Halo."
Tibat felt like a bomb had just gone off in her head, and though she finally connected the dots, she couldn’t bring herself to completely accept the fact that a slave had gotten the best of here, Agramormos, and Belafar.
However, Merath, Jorra, or Simon cared about their thoughts in the slightest.
Simon stood a few meters in front of Merath, Jorra, and Tibat.
His feline sky blue eyes containing utter indifference while his Broken Smile Mask made his appearance seem even more... unnerving.
He looked at Jorra.
"It seems...I won the bet."