Lowly Ascent

It only took a month for the Obsidian Syndicate to grow to a substantial size. They made money through trafficking and specialty-made drugs, as well as forging rune weapons, which were popular among those who weren't plague bearers.

There were other sources of income, such as information and spying services, but those jobs were rare.

The other crime families and organizations could do nothing but sit back, in fear of the mysterious figure's return. All they could do was watch their business get stolen right from under them.

With the income from the surface and underground, Cain's organization became significantly powerful. At this point, almost everyone in the syndicate was an augmenter. There were even a few grade 1 plague bearers already.

Those in the Merchant group fell below Cain's expectations due to infighting, but those who came out on top proved the infighting was somewhat worth it.

Cain had competent and talented people everywhere, which only boosted his organization's strength further.

Having reached this great milestone, he was going to have his syndicate get rid of the last of the opposition and instill himself as the ruler of the underworld.

At the usual syndicate meeting, all members gathered in a large chamber. They had moved to a bigger one that could accommodate everyone for an effective meeting.

As usual, Cassian walked to an elevated makeshift stage and began to speak.

"We have been doing great work lately, and I'm sure the Lord is pleased with our progress. That said, we still have sector 11 and sect-"

A figure appeared beside Cassian. He didn't realize it until he saw everyone in the crowd abruptly kneeling. He turned his head and his face turned white. Cassian immediately dropped to the ground, kneeling on both knees.

Cain stepped forward, appearing like an indifferent monarch.

He spoke slowly and authoritatively, "You have done well; however, this is not enough. Now is the time to take over the underworld, kill all those who oppose us, and establish a new power base!"

Cain's voice boomed throughout the chamber, he then suddenly vanished after finishing what he wished to say.

Silence filled the room as everyone raised their heads with fervent gazes and wide devilish smiles.

...

Meanwhile, the monthly meeting of underworld organizations was being also being held as usual.

The leaders were still shaken up by the meeting a few months ago, but nothing bad had happened other than profits plummeting. At least they had their lives.

The meeting atmosphere was recovering.

"As usual, our Pinkmen group shall-"

Just as the meeting started, glass shattered everywhere as a few figures swept in from the outside. They were covered in black and wore theater masks on their faces, depicting various emotions.

Seeing that mask again, Grym broke down into hysteria, "Why? Why! We did as you asked, we did as you said! Why are you here!? We did nothing wrong!"

The figures ignored the pleas and began to slaughter everyone in the room.

The cold dead collapsed to the cold ground one after another.

One of the figures walked forward to Grym, bent over, and whispered in his ear. They responded to his question, "Because our God has declared your execution."

That was the last thing Grym heard before he saw his headless body. Realizing he had died, he screamed internally, becoming deranged in those last moments before his inevitable death.

The entire underworld was being purged. Black figures with theater masks ran rampant in the streets, killing everyone belonging to any faction except their own.

And down in the underworld, everyone belonged to somebody. Even above ground, people have their stings strung by someone else.

Even the bowels of the sewers were not safe. It was as if these strange men and women already knew where you were. Hiding was useless, it was best to just kneel and accept fate.

All that echoed in the depths were screams of the unwilling. It was so loud that even those near the drains on the surface could hear them.

That night, many in the city believed that ghosts were real.

Unironically, Cain spent this time relaxing and reading. He planned to meet with the mayor the next day to declare some things and change their prior terms.

By the end of the night, bodies littered the sewers, and a thick stench of blood mixed into the air.

The next day, thousands of bodies were found in the river, almost creating a dam of discarded flesh.

...

Cain walked into the town hall. It was a mess with people running around everywhere. Cain connected this urgency to the buildup of bodies in the river that he read about in the daily newspaper.

He was ignored by everyone and just walked into the mayor's office, opening the doors.

Inside, Lugh was working harder than Cain had ever seen him, which was saying something. Lugh immediately noticed him however and was puzzled.

"Mister Cain? What are you doing here? I can't talk right now because the town hall is facing some difficulties. Please come back later."

Sitting down in a chair, Cain looked at the grizzled mayor and spoke, "I've come to demand some things and change the prior agreement we made."

Lugh stopped what he was doing. Cain looked confident and sinister, which made him put two and two together, he wasn't stupid and understood.

"You dumped those bodies?"

"Oh, not me, but my men. I also have full control of the underworld, which is the reason for this visit."

Lugh's eyes widened as he stared at Cain, who started eating some of the sweets on his desk.

With a mouth full of candy, Cain spoke, "What I mean is, you will now fully support my groups and protect them as if they were your children. In return, I shall turn this city into the jewel of this godforsaken swamp. I will have my subordinate, who is the spokesperson of the underworld, come to you for full details."

Cain got up and walked out, still munching on candy.

Lugh was left there, confused and bewildered. He sat in his office and did nothing for a while before his mind clicked. 'Defiant Slave huh? So you're here? Yes, it was obvious......Well, I'll play your game, but you will pay for it.'

...

Cain returned to his merchant group, which had now become more like a compound. His subordinates had been buying more city space as they grew, and now the headquarters spanned 3 blocks. Everyone who worked for the group lived there, and guards were seen everywhere.

Everything looked to be on lockdown.

'Even we are affected by our actions. Haha!'

Retreating inside to hide from the rain, Cain held a meeting and decided to send out a total of 10 caravans throughout Netherane. He also added some extra 'personnel' to join for other tasks he needed to be done.

Unlike before, he didn't give instructions and instead made those he recognized as talented to lead their caravans. Cain did this without discrimination.

This caused some anger, but since it was only a caravan leader position, not many people cared.

Before the caravans set off, Cain gathered some of the more loyal and zealous syndicate members and gave them missions to expand the syndicate and gather information. He gave them free rein to do whatever they thought was best.

This group consisted mostly of middle-mid-grade augmenters and a few middle-high-grade ones. The group totaled around 180 people and they were all willing to die for the cause.

Cain had them evenly join each caravan and waved them off to accomplish their goals.

Finally, he announced that he was going to spend an extended period of time in his laboratory once more.