While Levi entered the negotiation discussion with Brahmin to create the most satisfactory contract and result for both parties, the same topic was discussed tens of kilometers away from House Zen’s estate.
Unlike the peaceful, incense-filled halls of the Zen estate, the headquarters of House Targon was designed to represent their core value... or, their founder’s aggressive ambition.
An ancient, cold gothic castle centered on a gigantic maze-like thorny garden... the garden’s walls were made out of midnight-dark roses that bloomed only in the presence of darkness.
At the heart of the castle, in a hidden room behind a bookshelf, a meeting was held... at the head of a circular, stripped, web-like table sat Silas Targon, the founder.
He looked like a man in his late thirties with pale skin and a cold, aristocratic face... He was tall and lean, wearing high-collared robes of midnight silk that hid the more disturbing parts of his biology.
Beneath the fabric, four ethereal, grey, spider-like limbs were folded tightly against his spine, ready to snap out at a moment’s notice.
He had six eyes... four were sealed shut, merging with his pale skin, barely visible... as for his primary eyes, they were soulless grey, displaying not a tint of emotion.
He was draped in high-collared robes of Midnight Stalk-Silk... a fabric that seemed to swallow the light of the room, leaving him a silhouette of oily shadows.
The garment was tailored with a split-seam back, held by magnetic silver clasps that allowed his spider-like limbs to deploy without resistance.
Every inch of the attire spoke of a suffocating, predatory elegance... the wardrobe of a monster masquerading as a nobleman.
"Report," Silas ordered, his voice barely a raspy whisper... and yet, it posessed everyone in the room. "Are there any fluctuations in House Zen’s estate?"
His inner circle... a mix of family members and high-ranking hired elites, exchanged glances.
"The pressure is holding, Father..." one of his sons replied indifferently. "They are bleeding credits nonstop... my projection suggests that Brahmin will start liquidating his significant assets in less than two months if he wants to care for his people’s needs."
"Good... It’s finally happening." Silas cracked a tiny, cold smile.
The rest of the upper echelons shared the same look... they had been patiently planning this conquest for decades, and in less than two months, they were going to claim their rewards.
How could they not be eager?
A green-skinned woman, who resembled a thin ogre, tapped her dimensional screen and shared softly, appearing like she didn’t want to ruin the good mood.
"There was one oddity... a masked customer entered the Zen Relic Store yesterday. He spent a considerable amount of time inside, left, and then returned later. I checked their online store and saw six reinforced artifacts were sold."
The other family members chuckled, not thinking much of it.
"One customer won’t save a sinking ship, Monora..." A man scoffed. "Plus, it was probably one of theirs hired to refresh their store’s activity."
"Most definitely... their reputation has been fully destroyed in the market. No fool will buy from them."
The others nodded in agreement, laughing along the way... however, their laughter died bit by bit after noticing that Silas didn’t join them.
Instead, his ethereal eyes narrowed, and he tapped a finger against the table... the rhythm was fixed, like a clock counting seconds.
"Do not be fools..." Silas said coldly, and the room went dead silent. "We have worked for decades to corner this prey... House Zen is desperate, and desperate people will do anything to survive. If this masked man is a representative of a larger syndicate or a private collector, he might be looking to buy the Relic Store under the table."
Silas had a feeling that the timing of ’a random customer’ was too perfect... he knew that House Zen had activated the Final Demotion Timer, but such news wasn’t common knowledge.
The fact that a mysterious man visited the store right after the rumor was shared in the Black Slime Syndicate made him feel antsy... whenever he felt antsy, he was always, always right.
He was from the Anan’Si Species... a spider-like being with danger senses that put most species to shame.
He looked at Monora and ordered sternly, "Investigate him... I want to know his rank, his race, and who he represents... if he’s looking to buy, we reach out to him. We buy him off, threaten him, or outbid him before Brahmin can sign a single contract... that store is the crown jewel of his estate. I will not have it slipping through our fingers at the finish line."
The family nodded in unison, the weight of his seriousness sinking in at last.
Suddenly, a notification chimed in Monora’s mind and showed automatically in front of her... she glanced at the feed, and her face paled slightly.
"My lord... a report just came in from our spies in House Zen’s estate..."
"Speak."
"The masked man... he was invited to the estate as a guest, and he is currently staying in the Zen estate summit."
The temperature in the room plummeted to the frozen depths of a dead moon... most of the coldness was emitted by Silas himself.
A murderous glint surfaced instantly in his eyes.
He thought of the decades of planning... the assassinations he had orchestrated, the millions of credits spent on extortions and bribes, and the immense political capital he had burned to ensure that their neighbors would turn a blind eye to the conflict.
He had paved the way for this feast with blood and gold.
And now?
"A random nobody thinks he can walk into that temple and snatch the rewards of my labor?" Silas murmured, his voice sounding like wires grinding on each other. "He thinks he can just show up and ruin my ambition of founding the Targon Empire?"
He looked up at his family; his murderous expression made everyone fix their posture, sweating underneath.
"It isn’t happening... prepare the main strike team and have the Soul-Siphon arrays ready... You move at dawn." Silas ordered frigidly. "If Brahmin thinks he found a savior, I’m going to show him that salvation has a very high body count."
"As you wish, Father."
His son confirmed with an indifferent expression... he was the one responsible for hiring and orchestrating the assassination hits. So far, he was nothing short of an ideal leader.
Although he had never stepped inside House Zen’s territory since it meant leaving proof connecting him to the assassinations, his operations always turned out successful.
In his eyes, this one wasn’t different.
...
Sometime later...
Levi was seen sitting in a meditation position on top of the clouds while wearing monk-like attire... Sati was sitting next to him, guiding him through the meditation process at her father’s request.
He had already told her about Levi’s true purpose for his visit... although she was disappointed at losing the commissions, she was delighted to know that someone wanted to help out their family.
Though her reaction might change if she were to find out about the accepted payment for Levi’s services.
After the negotiations were completed, both parties were satisfied with the result and the signed contract.
Only after the contract was signed did Brahmin get somewhat comfortable with Levi, even allowing him to stay as long as he would like in their estate.
Levi already wanted to stick behind... he knew that if his profiling of Silas was correct, he wouldn’t let him leave the estate alive.
As for how he knew that Silas had information about his guest status? Levi was certain that if Silas was able to get Sati’s uncle on their side, he wouldn’t struggle to buy off a couple of spies.
’Now... how is he going to come at me?’ Levi pondered inwardly.