"S-so that's what happened, huh?"

Rebal was still recoiling from the words of his son.

What he described wasn't as gory or bloody as what Ralyks had displayed during the Dark Gathering, but something about it felt more twisted.

Far darker.

"The worst part is, I could have sworn that there was a lot of damage during the entire fight, but there's nothing! Nothing at all" Asher replied, still not completely himself.

The honest truth was that he was scared.

Was he in a dream? Was he in reality? What if, just like the Mercenary Gang, he thought he saw something which wasn't real?

Asher didn't know what to believe anymore.

"You just need rest." Rebal smiled at his son, though he too had some rabid fear within himself.

Perhaps they both needed the rest.

"Sir Ralyks he slaughtered all the enemies without mercy. I've never seen a man kill with such lack of remorse."

And so many at once too.

Both Ralyks and his subordinate, Ater, seemed to be cut from the same clothone that even Rebal could not fully comprehend.

"The battle is won, and now it is time for the aftermath." Rebal chuckled, a hint of fear in his eyes.

"What do you mean, father?"

"I mean Sir Ralyks was employed by us to take care of this mess. Now that it is over isn't it time to think about his payment?"

It felt like an absurd thing to say, but they had to face itthe truth that confronted them.

What could they pay such a man?!

"It seems you also need some rest, father." Asher said with a tired smile.

Rebal nodded, returning the exact same expression.

Even though it was nowhere near enough, both father and son decided to consider the horrors they witnessed as a penance for their crimes.

They knew what awaited them if they deviated from their current path.

Certain tragedy, followed by inevitable death.

*********

That night, everything changed.

The world was turned upside down in the span of merely a few hours.

While the denizens of the Capital were fast asleep, oblivious to the events that had transpired within the walls of the massive city, the situation in the Allied Merchant City was completely different.

Scylla's Buildingthe location for the Dark Gatheringwas exposed to the world that very night.

Troops of the Alliance stormed into the building, searching every nook and cranny until they were able to see the horrors for themselves.

Of course, they still required extensive investigations to piece together most of the details, but the core issues did not elude them.

At the very least, they did not elude General Lucy and Councilor Conrad.

They saw for themselves the kind of darkness that had been festering within the haven that the Alliance was supposed to create.

Slave Trade was expected to be vilest thing they would find, but that was hardly the most disgusting thing was seen in their pursuit for the truth.

They saw it all.

The bad, the worse, and the ugly.

All the disgusting truths came to light that night

And then what?

The Black Market was officially disbanded, and the Triumvirate collapsed.

The Criminal Underworld was done for, and while there were bound to be vestiges here and there, those were on borrowed time.

Sooner or later, they too would die.

The world saw, that day, that darkness would ultimately fall and justice would prevail.

Merchants were reminded to remain honest and diligent in their dealings with customers.

And clients knew they had to be fair.

If they weren't, the angel of death could descend upon the land once more and reap justice.

Yes they all felt it.

They heard whispers from the passing soldiers who described the gory sight that the public was not allowed to see.

Most importantly they heard the name.

The name that would go on to be a legend amongst the denizens of the Merchant City and beyond.

The Reaper.

********

'It's been a long night.' Rey smiled to himself as he sat on his bed.

He was in an entirely different outfit, in his real form. His pajamas felt a bit oversized for him, but he didn't mind at all.

In fact, he liked the space.

"I killed even more people. I already knew I would do it, but still"

Rey had steeled his heart. It was one of the reasons he decided not to tell Alicia anything.

He already knew what he was going to do.

However, despite all his planning, there were a lot of things he hadn't accounted for.

One of those was the presence of Adrien Chasehow deep the conspiracy went, and how he had been a puppet on a very loose string all this time.

But more than that

'I didn't expect this world to be so twisted.'

He had always been grateful for the second chance he got to enjoy in H'Trae.

He had overpowered abilities, Allie's who respected him, a loyal subordinate, a lot of money, and plenty of prospects.

Sure, it was a dangerous world, but he was very strong.

'I never thought I would live an easy life here. I already knew I would have to grind and keep getting stronger if I didn't want to get left behind.'

Never once did Rey consider getting comfortable.

'But this world is not what I thought it was.'

Perhaps he had his navet to blame.

He didn't expect the human malice and wickedness of this world to reach such a peak.

'If I had known from the start' Rey narrowed his eyes and let tears flow.

All the tears he saved upthey streamed down his face and dropped to the ground.

"If I had known it was like this I wouldn't have hesitated from the start."

All the wicked humans in this worldpeople like Scylla, and the others on the listdeserved the same fate.

Miserable death.

They weren't worthy of his mercy in the slightest.

The same way he viewed Dragons as scum who toyed with humans, or how he saw Monsters as threats to the safety of people

' That's how I should see those scum!' That was the conclusion Rey reached that night.

And from that point on there was no going back.

*

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Thanks for reading!

As you can see, we're drawing closer to the end of this Arc. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it.

I did tell you it would be the darkest one yet.