Black String of Fate

Back in the orphanage, the director, who was also the leader of a local crime syndicate, was reviewing the income from the recent business deals.

'Finding out about that illegal Mana Crystal mine was a god-sent opportunity for us. The money has tripled, the syndicate is expanding, and our power is growing daily. With this, soon, I'll be able to break through to the fourth tier, joining the ranks of Experts.'

Soon, a knock came to his door, and a man came in without the director even having a chance to reply. His face was white with fear, and he stammered on his words, unable to get over his shock.

"T-t-they,th-t-they-"

"What the hell is up with you? What happened?"

"T-They have come! The lord's knights have raided our base!"

"WHAT?!"

This one sentence was enough to turn the director's world upside down. The knights raiding a small crime syndicate is enough to seal its fate completely. They are the police of the society, having been raised with abundant resources and under the guidance of powerhouses.

The orphanage, on the other hand, existed because of the lord of Grimswald in the first place. Tributes were given just so they wouldn't be eradicated, and this had only changed when the director had heard about the mana crystal mine.

'But why? Isn't the lord of Grimwald scared of the consequences? Doesn't he know that I'll surely survive and expose the Mana Crystal mine? What the fuck happened?'

The director snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the hurried footsteps outside his building.

'This isn't the time to think about it, I need to escape fast!'

"Come on! To the secret tunnel ASAP!" The director yelled at the man, who nodded and followed the director. He was a third-tier Elite Swordsman, someone who was on the higher end of the syndicate's hierarchy.

The director, on his way, saw his men hopelessly trying to fight the knights. It was useless, as how can some low-life criminals match the might of organized high-level Pathwalkers?

Soon, without exposing himself to anyone's eyes, he reached the secret tunnel from which he planned to escape.

'Let's see how he can keep his army when the Secret Service comes for him. I just need to reach my messenger and flee to some other country for now. Lord Grimswald, I'll never forgive you-'

His thoughts came to a halt as he saw a silhouette standing in his way. The director was baffled as he wondered how someone else was there.

"Well well, I thought the lord was just messing with me when I was stationed in this dirty-ass sewer, but who would've thought that the biggest fish would come right into my hands?" The silhouette spoke with an amused voice, which gave the director the creeps.

'H-how?! Nobody besides me knows about this passageway! There can't be any traitors, nor can anyone discover this by coincidence...'

His thoughts came to a halt as the man who was standing came rushing towards him. He did not even attempt to fight back, as he already knew the difference in power between them.

'He's the general of the lord's army, I don't stand a chance against an Advanced Expert.'

The director closed his eyes as a sword came and beheaded him, his final moments tainted with disbelief and confusion about the whole twist in fate.

*********

"I want you to destroy the orphanage. Make sure every one of them dies, except the kids."

Back in the garden, Xavier said to the lord, who made a confused expression.

"Huh? You want me to destroy that orphanage, your own people? Aren't they the ones who raised you? I thought you would ask for more money for the orphanage..." The lord said, and hearing that, Xavier made a disgusted face as he replied,

"Those wretched low-lives are not my people, don't count me among them. They are a tumor to society and a stain that needs to be burned away. I like to think of them as disease-carrying rats instead of humans."

The lord was taken aback at the strong words used by the small child, but he regained his composure as he replied,

"Is that all? That can be done easily. Now, I want you to remove all traces of-"

Xavier giggled, interrupting the lord and said,

"You really think you're getting away that easily? I want 10% of whatever profit you make out of those juicy mines. By the end of every month, the money should be deposited in this bank account." Xavier said as he took out a slip with his bank info and flicked it over.

Hearing that, the lord made an ugly face and exclaimed in an outraged tone,

"That's absurd! It'll really affect our territory. What will you do with all that money anyway? It isn't an amount a single child would be able to spend."

"Well, it's not your problem how I spend that money, and what I think will really affect your territory is Lady Michelle divorcing you and Count Garnelia after your cheating ass." Xavier said with a sly smile, as he stepped towards the lord with confidence.

The lord was completely overtaken by the fierce momentum of the small child, as he subconsciously stepped back, even though he was the stronger party.

"And just so you know, not a Scrap Rouble below 10% will be accepted. You may think you can sneakily pocket some of it just like you laundered some of that black money, but don't think it can escape my eyes. I have ways to count, and if I find something missing, there won't be a confrontation like now, just a direct report from my 'birdie' to the lady."

The Lord looked into the bold and arrogant eyes of the child as he felt really frustrated and helpless. He took deep breaths as he thought about this logically.

'Even though I haven't escaped this blackmail, a single child threatening me is much better than a whole syndicate with this info, but there's just one problem...'

"How will you capture the leader? He must have prepared escape tunnels for situations like these. If he escapes and spreads the news of my mines, I will be in deep trouble."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I know where all the tunnels are located. Do you think I just wasted my time while staying there?"

'I found out about them when I was hounding the director like a dog and leveling the whole place down...'

Xavier pulled a map out of his ragged coat, once again surprising the lord.

'To think he predicted the outcome of this situation to the point of having a map already, I feel like I'm making a deal with the devil...'

********

Back in the present time, Xavier stood on a high hill quite a distance away from the city, seeing all the ruckus unfold. The knights were cleaning up the hidden gangsters and the dead body of the director was being paraded around by a few soldiers as a tactic to kill the morale of the enemy.

'To think the place I escaped from when I was 10 and destroyed when I was 17 was so easily crumbled by a small child, with a bit of wit, lies, and bluffs... It now feels a bit stupid that I took such a long time to end this syndicate in my previous life...

Now, the question remains,

What now?'