*It was the next morning in Bludwood as the whole kingdom was in an uproar. Word of the Syndicate’s attack on the palace had made its way into the streets for everyone to hear about it. Lloyd who had been apprehended at the palace had escaped custody. When the guards had locked him up, he used a piece of Jin’s platinum coin to blast his way out and retreated back to his mansion. Locking himself and any remaining members inside the gates of the mansion for safety. Back in the town area of Bludwood, Ignis and Roman were in their shop waiting for a delivery. With all the commotion going on in town, they decided to close up shop for the day. They were both in the back with Ignis drawing in his book and Roman was bench pressing 400 pounds*
(Roman): 97. 98. 99. 300! HA! Told ya. Three hundred and I haven’t broken a sweat yet.
(Ignis): Amazing as always Roman. But save your strength for what’s to come.
(Roman): Yeah, when is everyone getting here?
(Ignis): I thought for sure they would have been here by now.
*All of a sudden a knock could be heard on the back door. Ignis and Roman gave each other a silent nod and prepared themselves for a possible attack. Positioning themselves on opposite sides of the door, Roman uses the peephole on the door to see who’s outside. When he looks out the hole, he sees seven hooded figures with one of them flashing the Balor Family emblem at the hole. Roman smiles*
(Roman): Haha. It’s them!
*Ignis took a sigh of relief and unlocked the door as Roman moved away. Once Ignis opened the door, one of the hooded figures came rushing in past Ignis and Roman. The figure began looking around frantically but didn’t see what he is looking for. As he continued to look the other six figures entered the store and removed their hoods. The first three were Dante, Jordan, and Lylah. The other three were two females and one male who were all dark elves. The first female had long light blue curly hair and red eyes. The second female had straight medium orange hair with blue eyes. The male had medium-length black hair that resembled seaweed and yellow eyes*
(Roman): Hey guys. Glad you could make it.
(Ignis): Hopefully you didn’t have any trouble getting past the check-in.
(Jordan): A little, but nothing a few credits couldn’t take care of.
(Blue-haired girl): I was so worried they weren’t going to let us in.
(Green-haired man): If you would have let me handle it you would still have a good amount of credits left.
(Orange-haired girl): Your way would have alerted more guards to our location. We’re in enemy territory, try to be tactful, Lamar. Hey there big guy, you get bigger again?
(Roman): Nope, I can still fit my shirts. How have you been, Mona?
(Mona): Delightful. Thanks for asking. Although I would be better if I didn’t have to deal with this guy and battle maniac over there on the trip.
*The last hooded figure who was frantically searching the store removed their hood to reveal a dark elf male. He had black hair tied into a bun and purple eyes*
(Black-haired man): He’s not here. Where is he?
(Ignis): Nice to see you too, Penta.
(Blue-haired girl): Penta, where are your manners? You haven’t greeted Ignis or Roman yet.
(Penta): Nevermind that, Myrtle. Where is he? Where’s the demon?
(Ignis): He’s gone. He and the others cleared out of here a few hours before you arrived.
(Penta): Son of a bitch, we missed him.
(Dante): I warned you he wouldn’t be here when we arrived.
(Penta): Why didn’t you stop him? This was my chance to finally beat him after all these years.
(Lylah): Settle down Penta. Dust left at my request. Besides, we all know the end result would have been your loss.
(Penta): No it wouldn’t. Why would you think that?
(Jordan): I don’t know. Maybe the other 99+ times you fought and he beat you.
*Everybody snickers while Penta slightly blushes in embarrassment*
(Penta): Shut up. Besides, this fight would have been different. I’m a lot stronger than when we last fought.
(Dante): So is he. I daresay he’s a better fighter now than when he was in the clan.
(Lamar): You can discuss your man crush later. We have other things to focus on. Ignis, what’s the situation with the Syndicate?
(Ignis): All Syndicate members have retreated to the Noetia mansion and are held up there. They faced some heavy casualties and lost a good number of their men. Noetia as well as his top officers have sustained some injuries with two of them missing and one locked up.
(Lamar): Interesting. Is there a calculation of how many men are in the mansion?
(Ignis): I say roughly around 150-180.
(Lamar): Impressive. Far less than I originally expected. *Inner thoughts* Balor truly does live up to his rumors.
(Jordan): Awesome. Boss softened them up just like he promised.
(Myrtle): Yes. I’m feeling quite confident. With those numbers. We should have no trouble beating them.
(Mona): Well what are waiting for? Let’s go take out the Syndicate.
(Lylah): Agreed. Lamar, I assume you have a strategy?
(Lamar): Of course, milady.
*Everyone gathered around Lamar as he shared his strategy with everyone*
***
*Inside the mansion, Lloyd’s injuries were being tended to*
(Lloyd): Status report. Now!
(Maven): Sir. All Remaining Syndicate members have returned to the mansion. Our numbers currently total 168 men. Many of us were either injured, lost, or captured last night.
(Lloyd): What’s the situation at the palace?
(Diamanda): They’re still scrambling with injuries of their own.
(Lloyd): Any signs of them preparing to move out?
(Diamanda): No signs of preparing for an offensive strike. They’d be foolish to attack us knowing the number of weapons we keep around.
(Maven): Sir, I believe it’d be wise to retreat from the kingdom while we still can. Garcia has become a broken man and is locked up. There’s no word on the whereabouts of Sae and Gambit. And our numbers have significantly dwindled.
(Lloyd): No. Do you know how much me and my family sacrificed to make the Noetias the number one crime family in this kingdom?
(Maven): Yes. I’m fully aware of your family’s legacy and the sacrifices you have all made.
(Lloyd): Then why the hell would you suggest something so stupid? If we abandon the kingdom, then that’ll be the end of our rule here.
(Maven): But sir, we’ve taken a heavy hit both physically and mentally. I’m sure the royals will demand repercussions for our actions.
(Lloyd): You needn’t worry about those cowards. They know better than to lift a finger against us. In the meantime, we’ll heal up, form a new plan and try to figure out who the royals sold the power core to.
(Diamanda): Yeah, I’m curious about that too. Whoever took that power core knew its value and could do some real damage with it.
***
*Jordan and Roman were standing on one of the rooftops of a building with bows in their hands. They were looking at the fortified gate that led up to the Noetia mansion*
(Jordan): That’s some gate. It’d be a real shame if something bad happened to it. Like say, a lightning blast from yours truly.
*Jordan gets prepared to shoot an arrow and blow up the gate*
(Roman): Wait. Let me do it. I’m feeling extra motivated today.
(Jordan): Boss give you a compliment when you saw him?
*Roman blushed while smiling and brushing the back of his head*
(Jordan): *Chuckles* Alright. Go for it, big guy. It’s all you.
(Roman): Thanks.
*Roman readies his bow which was bigger than Jordan’s bow and made out of metal. He closes his eyes and begins to concentrate. Grey markings begin to appear on his shoulders and arms and a black spike made out of iron sand appears on the bow. Grey markings start to appear on the spike as Roman prepares to fire. Opening his eyes, Roman fires the spike and it flies through the air at top speed. When the spike finally reaches the gate it smashed through it to create an opening for anyone to pass through. Roman lowers his bow and takes a deep breath as the markings on his body disappear and Jordan pats him on the shoulder*
(Jordan): I couldn’t have done it better myself.
*Members of the Syndicate who were on guard duty came out to inspect the gate and figure out what happened. As they were inspecting, one of them looked up and saw a carriage being pulled by Ignis’s speast wolves heading toward them*
(Syndicate grunt): Look out!
*The other five Syndicate members looked up and saw the chariot heading toward them. Everyone quickly dove out of the way as the speasts destroyed or knocked down whatever remained of the gate and continued to the mansion. As the six Syndicate members returned to their feet and were about to pursue the chariot, an arrow landed in the middle of them and released an electric blast that shocked all of them*
(Jordan): Now nobody can say I didn’t contribute. I think the others can handle the rest from you.
(Roman): Yep.
*They stood there silent for a moment*
(Roman): Wanna watch them?
(Jordan): Sure.
***
*Ignis pulled the carriage up to the Noetia mansion just as seven Syndicate members armed with weapons were coming out to face them. As the Syndicate members moved into position, speasts that were bats made out of ice came out of the carriage and began biting the Syndicate members. The bites were cold and hurt the members. Members of the Balor Family jumped out of the carriage with Myrtle being the first one out and walking over to the Syndicate members. In her right arm was a wand. On her left arm was a gauntlet with claws made of ice*
(Myrtle): Disperse.
*The ice bats stopped biting the Syndicate members and flew away. This allowed Myrtle to charge forward and slash her way through members of the syndicate with ease. More members of the Syndicate came out of the side gate to fight and cut off the intruders. However, they were cut off by Ignis’s fire wolves who shot jets of flames from their mouths. The Syndicate members scattered as Myrtle attacked two of them with her claws from behind*
(Ignis): You guys go ahead. We’ll handle things out here.
(Dante): Alright. Stay safe you two.
*Lylah led the way followed by Lamar, Mona, Dante, and Penta. As they entered the mansion and made it to the main hall they were greeted by members of the Syndicate led by Diamanda ready to fight. Dante, Penta, and Mona stepped forward to fight. Drawing their weapons, Dante and Penta charged forward blocking all incoming bullets and magic projectiles. Penta jumped up to the next floor while Dante stayed on the ground level to fight. Using his swords, Dante slashed through member after member of the Syndicate using his speed, agility, and strength. Thanks to the previous battle the night before, many members of the Syndicate went down without much of a fight. Penta was on the upper floor where he too was defeating his enemies with ease*
(Penta): To think I have to substitute you guys for the Demon. At least put up more of a challenge.
*Sheathing his sword while surrounded by Syndicate members trying to rush him, Penta took a breath as a purple aura circle surrounded him*
(Penta): New Dark Style: Simple Annihilation.
*Penta draws his sword and releases several dark magic slashes through the air that strike the Syndicate members to defeat them. Some were injured while others were killed*
(Penta): Too easy.
*All of a sudden a huge member of the Syndicate came crashing through a wall about to tackle Penta. But before he could reach Penta, he was pierced in the head by a sword of ice and fell backward. Penta looked over the floor balcony and saw Dante down below with one spear in his hand*
(Penta): I had that under control.
(Dante): Don’t let your guard down, Penta.
*Just when a Syndicate member was about to strike Dante from behind with a knife, the member was stabbed in the waist area by three daggers and fell to the ground. Dante looked to so the side to see Mona holding a wand and had nine daggers floating around her that had yellow aura around them*
(Mona): You do the same, Dante.
*An ice bullet brushed passed Dante’s head and he looked toward the stairs to spot Diamanda with her umbrella weapon. She fired two more shots at Dante who dodged the bullet and took out another sword to guard against the second bullet. Penta attempted to sneak up from the side, but Diamanda saw it coming and created a wall of ice to block his path. Mona then stepped forward to fight where she called back the three daggers she used earlier. Diamanda saw Mona stepping closer to her and firing off her ice beam. Mona held out her wand and the daggers formed a circle in front of her to create an electric field. The field blocked Diamanda’s ice beam and Mona smiled while Diamanda frowned that her beam was unable to break through the shield*
(Mona): Electrical Beam.
*A beam of electricity shot from Mona’s shield overpowering the ice beam and striking Diamanda to electrocute her. Diamanda let out a scream of pain as she was shocked and fell unconscious*
(Mona): All clear Lady Lylah. Let us continue.
(Lylah): Well done, Mona.
*Mona led the way followed by Lylah, Lamar, Dante, and Penta. They stepped over Diamanda’s body and continued into the mansion where Dante, Mona, and Penta cleared the path. Outside of the mansion, Ignis and Myrtle were finishing up Syndicate members that were still fighting just as Jordan and Roman had arrived. Back in the mansion, the group made it to the fifth floor where Lloyd’s office was located. Standing in their way was none other than Maven and a few other Syndicate members. As Dante and Penta took care of the grunts, Maven charged at Lylah determined to defeat her*
(Lamar): I’ll take care of this, milady.
*Lamar stepped forward to face Maven drawing a spear to fight. He easily blocked all of Maven’s fire attacks and went on the offensive to strike him a couple of times. Thanks to his injuries Maven’s body couldn’t move the way he wanted it to move and was getting pushed back by Lamar. Maven could feel his energy fading from the multiple attacks and fell to one knee. Lamar charged at Maven preparing himself for the finishing blow and thrust his spear forward. Having no other option, Maven put his hands up and allowed them to be pierced by the spear in order to stay alive*
(Lamar): Heh. That won’t do you much good.
*The blade of the spear began to glow black, and a serpent’s head popped out and sunk its fangs into Maven’s neck. After wincing from the bite, the serpent disappeared and Maven could feel his whole body beginning to turn to stone*
(Maven): Forgive me, master Lloyd. Forgiv-
*Maven’s body completely turned to stone and got tipped over by Lamar where it easily shattered from the impact*
(Lamar): Your dedication to your master is admirable. It’s a shame he couldn’t live up to your expectations.
*Lylah continued forward to the end of the hall. When she stood in front of Lloyd’s door, she kicked them open and entered Lloyd’s office. It was decorated nicely with wooden furniture and green carpet flooring. Lloyd was sitting at his desk finishing a drink of bourbon*
(Lloyd): Welcome. I heard you coming down below. If I had known you were coming I would have prepared a better welcoming party.
(Lylah): I do apologize for the sudden intrusion.
(Lloyd): A little late for that. Considering you’ve been intruding on our turf for quite some time now. You know, for a while I wondered who was funding the royals with their research lab. The other surrounding kingdoms aren’t too fond of us so who would be crazy enough to fund their research? Then I thought about who would benefit the most from this. It’s certainly not the royals nor the citizens, it’s the ones who want to get rid of all their competition.
*Lylah smiles*
(Lylah): You’re right. Getting rid of competition is important. However, it’s not the competition we’re trying to eliminate. It’s securing a more cost-efficient route for our goods to pass through without having to worry about Eclipses, raiders in the area, or checkpoints from other kingdoms.
(Lloyd): *Chuckles* My kingdom for a trade route. Does the Coriarty Clan truly think that little of me?
*Lloyd gets up from his chair and walks to the front of his desk*
(Lloyd): It seems I need to remind them just who I am.
*Taking out a silver coin, Lloyd flips it in the air and prepares to fire, but his injured shoulder causes a delay. This delay would be his downfall as Lylah charged at Lloyd with her axes. She used one axe to slash his shooting arm off and then used the second axe to decapitate him. His body fell to the floor as did his head where it rolled for a few seconds before stopping*
(Lylah): In the end, you were a brave man who saw his defeat but instead of running away like a coward choose to stay and fight until the end. A foolish move but one that I respect.
(Lamar): Well done, milady. A victory that will be talked about for ages.
(Dante): The rest of the family should be arriving here shortly. Most of the Syndicate has been defeated and captured.
(Lylah): Good. Show the Syndicate the head of their fallen leader. They can choose to fight and die like him or they can surrender and live.
(Lamar): At once, milady. I’ll also begin working out plans to redecorate this office to your liking.
*Lamar takes Lloyd’s head and leaves with Mona, Dante, and Penta following him. Lylah stays behind in the office and pours herself a drink of bourbon to enjoy*
(Lylah): Here’s to a successful business completion.
***
*Outside of the mansion, a raven flies away to the outskirts of Bludwood where it lands on the arm of Sae and disappears back into her body*
(Gambit): So, is it over?
(Sae): Yes. Lloyd is dead. The Syndicate is over.
*Sae takes out the note Zia left for her*
(Gambit): Just like the Demon predicted in his note.
*Gambit takes out his note which was written by Dust. In it, Dust warned Gambit about the Coriarty Clan attacking them the next day. He told Gambit to leave the kingdom with Sae. Your loyalty is to her, not the Syndicate. If you want to keep her alive then get out of the kingdom while you still can. Gambit was hesitant to believe everything written in the letter but he couldn’t risk Sae’s life so he fled from the kingdom with Sae in the back of a snowmobile he stole from the palace*
(Gambit): Did you want to return and look for survivors?
(Sae): No. I’m sure Maven, Diamanda, and Garcia are dead as well. There’s nothing left for me in this kingdom anymore.
(Gambit): So where will you go now?
(Sae): I’m not sure. I think I’ll head south and see what I can find.
(Gambit): Never been outside the kingdom before. This should be fun.
(Sae): The Syndicate is done. There’s no need for you to stick around with me.
(Gambit): I didn’t stick around because of the Syndicate. I stuck around. . .because I wanted to be with you.
*At first, Sae was confused, but then she quickly processed what Gambit meant by his statement. She blushed a little and smiled*
(Sae): You fool. Let’s go. The world is huge and you’ll have to learn more about it if you wish to earn your keep around me.
(Gambit): Right!
*Gambit and Sae get in the snowmobile with Gambit driving. While Gambit was focusing on driving, Sae looked out the window and every now and then would glance over at Gambit and smile wondering when did he get so big*
Author’s Note: And thus the Noetia Family was brought to an end by the hands of the Coriarty Clan. Hey guys, how it’s going? With this chapter, the Bludwood arc is finally over. All an all a good arc. Looking back, Dust’s betrayal could have been worked better. I admit, I rushed through that part. However, the ending with the Coriarty Clan coming in and taking over was perfect. I got to expand on the Balor Family some more and show off their powers and ruthless nature as they came in to pick the bones of a weakened syndicate. Favorite part being Lloyd’s final gambit. He knows he’s going to die, so he decides to go out betting on himself just like he’s always done. Unfortunately, his string of bad luck continued and ultimately cost him. Having Sae and Gambit be the last survivors was my way of giving them a happy ending. They’ve lost everything but at least they got each other and for Gambit that’s all he wants. Sae on the other hand, isn’t sure where she goes from here and Gambit wants to prove his worth to her and make her that he’s all she needs to survive in the world. Will these two make a comeback down the line? Not sure, but never say never is the motto I’m applying to this novel. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.