Chapter 10

I have no ownership of either world

Mammon was not expecting to meet Squalo's possible recruit so soon. When Squalo had returned two days ago and told them of what he saw she was skeptical. She didn't help in the search (officially) but she was intrigued. A brat smaller than Belphegor had escaped Squalo? It was bound to be worth money , one way or another. So she agreed (privately) that Varia was a good fit for the kid.

This day only brought a different set of surprises through and she just wanted to find the double crossing "client" demand a pay raise, then kill him. Most of the team was keeping the surrounding area cleared as Squalo made the hit. The small fry family attacking wasn't something they considered (but now saw). Squalo had escaped and ran trying to shake his pursuers. At one point any cameras lost him, but since his body wasn't found in the alley with dead sliced bodies, they assumed he was alive. What intrigued all of them was the cards they found. Regular playing cards stuck to the walls covered in blood, some found on the bodies. Maybe Squalo's mysterious brat was real. If that was the case then they were taking the brat with them, this was a prodigy in the making, maybe even rivaling Belphegor. (She hoped the brat was calmer and cause less problems.). They took pictures in case Xanxus demanded an explanation for the 'brat scum'.

Not long after the alley discovery Squalo called her to update on the situation ( and confirming that it was the kid who used the cards) and a guess to where they were hiding out now. Squalo also was willing to pay her to knock out the brat when the brat escaped again. (Wasn't that telling? Squalo's assurance that they would run.)

So here, standing in front of the unresponsive body of Squalo's brat, she faced a dilemma. Mammon had been able to overwhelm them with her illusion, but felt a tingle of something else. Her flames felt a different power and she felt weary to what it could be. Curious. So she reached out again with her flames only to recoil when she felt magic answer her. Fuck. The kid had Cloud flames and magic?!

That was interesting and profitable in the long run. The curse she suffered now had diminished her magic drastically, to the point where she was considered a squib. Looking over the kid wasn't hard. He was in good shape for a street kid, if just a little short. Looking at the face, she didn't recognize the structure but the scar-

Scar.

Fuck. Scar. Lighting Bolt. Magic?

Squalo had just found Cosmo Potter.

And just thinking of it hurt her head. The savior of the magical world, magical England. What the hell is she doing in Italy? Killing? With cards of all things?!

'You know what. This is just going to cause a headache, so I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. I'll ask the kid in private at a later time,' Mammon thought. For now she'll let her displeasure known by increasing her fee.

'Mysterious boy, mou~!' she thought. Then she felt her lips twitch in amusement. Squalo didn't know the name, gender, or importance of this person. Sure it was to the fools in England, but she couldn't wait.

Squalo was certain that the nameless brat was going to run first chance he had. So when he ran after giving him food he only half heartedly followed. Mammon would get him. Serve the brat right.

When he found Mammon standing next to the kid he was startled when she asked

"Do you know the name of the kid?"

"No. Brat didn't give a name we'll call him 'Ace' for now", he said, the twitch of her lips had him feeling as if he was being laughed at by her.

"Oh? Why's that? I would have given the name Joker, Jack, or some other name " she responded. Squalo gave a feral smirk.

"Because the brat literally took out an ace from his sleeve to get rid of the suits" he replied, "Can we leave Venice now or do we wait for the rest of the team to finish to smuggle the brat back to Florence? " he asked.

"We can leave now , they'll meet us back at the Varia Estate" she said as she started to float away, her frog floating above her head like a halo.

Picking up the newly named 'Ace' he followed. He couldn't help but think of how his shitty Boss and shitty brat would get along. He grinned madly, he couldn't wait.