Roman Torchwick was undoubtedly one of the most recognizable and not famous personalities in Vale. The extravagant, loud and sophisticated Crime Lord was undoubtedly something that obviously attracted the interest and attention of both ordinary citizens and law enforcement agencies. It did not, however, change the fact that this man was also among the hundred richest inhabitants of Vale. Criminal activity, although undoubtedly a highly risky practice, is also extremely profitable, which gave Roman the possibility of a luxurious life and the possibility of an extravagant way of acting, while at the same time having access to high-quality items. However, no one would have got that high on the top alone, and without the support of some trusted individual. Yes, he had a loyal and ready-to-do Neo, but that wasn't the only pillar on which his career in the criminal underworld was built.

It all started over thirty years ago, when he and his brother, seven years his junior, were sold by their mother. A little optimistic beginning and in a typical crime film the germ came of revenge, which, however, never took place, all because of the death of the parent of his and his younger brother. Regardless, however, the fact was that both brothers were solely on their own from an early age. Both had to fight hard every day for even the smallest piece of food, and the two made their first killings, even before the age of eighteen. Simply put, their lives were a real hell, but that didn't stop either of them from climbing up the ladder of human society, rung by rung, up and finally reaching a place that both brothers found quite satisfying.

However, where Roman was overly eccentric and sometimes reckless, his younger brother was calculating, sophisticated, but no less eccentric. After all, he did not rest on a group of his own and quite large gang like his older brother, but on the whole mafia, which in its size included thousands of members, pawns, and a network of connections stretched over a large part of the local police and administration. Additionally, Roman's younger brother did not do his audacious and spectacular feats for the thrill or the desire to experience unforgettable moments, but only for the deliberate desire to attract attention and gain a lot of publicity, which was extremely helpful when recruiting new members. Especially in this first stage, when as many members as possible were taken, constituting cannon fodder, who knew little except who the boss was and what the target was. This guaranteed low susceptibility of the organization's structures to faults, and at the same time.

From the current point of view, Roman couldn't be more than proud of his little brother. How he could not be proud of the once hungry and reticent kid who became the leader of a great criminal organization better known as the Rote Kapelle. It was a name, well known not only in Vale itself but also beyond its borders, especially in the poorer parts of the world. Unlike other criminal groups, Rote Kapelle, by the will of the president, did not focus on drugs at all, which was unusual in that it was an extremely profitable business. Instead, Roman's younger brother found a different and even more profitable niche, the arms trade, often quite advanced, and the great black-market interests associated with it. The best example, but not the only one, was the sale of highly advanced rifles to White Fang or other terrorist groups. The river of money that these interests poured into his pockets was immense indeed. However, he was secured by dozens, or even hundreds, of premises, shops, warehouses and restaurants that are under his direct control.

"You had a great time, Erz." Roman whispered happily, while hanging out in one of the more luxurious restaurants in Vale.

It was an extremely expensive place, full of many incredibly influential people from Vale. Businessmen, bankers or senior officials and their families. All of them were well aware of who exactly this red-haired man with a white tunic, makeup on his eyes or an elegant bowler hat on his head, which from time to time shot one of the guests a malicious glance, was. However, none of them, despite their great position in the city, were able to do anything about it and the reason was simple, the restaurant belonged to his younger brother, Erz Torchwick, the self-proclaimed Lord of Rote Kapelle.

"What do you think about this place, Neo?" He asked the girl accompanying him, dressed no less extravagantly than he was, and with different colors of hair and eyes, which was an extremely unique mix.

But instead of responding, a girl in her twenties just shrugged. The reason was not so much the result of her maliciousness, of her inability to express herself at all. Roman's right hand was deprived of the ability to speak from an early age. Nevertheless, it did not prevent her from attracting the attention of the older brother Torchwick, who decided to take her into his care, ensure her safety and raise her to such a high rank among his subordinates.

"You're right, I also prefer somewhat cheaper places where there aren't so many people giving me such long looks." Roman responded to her reaction and decided to take a sip of good red wine from a nearby glass. He quickly tilted the contents and poured it into his mouth, then put it back as he waited for the dinner he had ordered. "On the other hand, maybe it would have been different if I hadn't been responsible for the theft of the banks or the theft of most of these channels."

The Neopolitan chuckled at his words, then took a quick sip from her glass as well. A passion for luxury, extravagance or generally flashy things. Perhaps it was thanks to this that they understood each other without words? It's hard to say, but regardless of that, the fact remained that they formed an extremely harmonious and tactful duo that had many truly spectacular successes, the best examples of which were the majority of joint bank robberies.

As for their stay in this dear place today, it was nevertheless extremely peaceful and uninterrupted, despite the glances cast at them. Their table was big enough to accommodate at least ten people, all because of the suspicion that they would have to deal with quite a lot of people.

The place was called Sweet Fish, and it was not a coincidence, but it genuinely served only sweet and often exclusive fish, which for ordinary bread eaters were simply unattainable.

Looking out of a nearby window, Roman began to look for a limousine that should soon be parked in a nearby parking lot, all because a very special person would come to the premises to spend some time with him and, above all, talk about business. However, the portion of the dinner, reserved for business, would not take place until the next guest arrived, who might even have lived the lives of both brothers. However, this was a topic for a later date.

While waiting for the missing person to arrive, Neo decided to give her friend a very clear look that said something like, "Maybe these people wouldn't blame you so much if you hadn't robbed them first?"

It wasn't long before Roman laughed at her gaze, which caught the attention of several nearby guests who, however, very quickly resumed their meals and conversations.

"You are right, my dear. Perhaps the path of the rule of law would not create so many enemies for me," he replied, with an evidently derisive, ironic tone of voice. Then he put his hand to hers. "Nevertheless, the path of the rule of law would never get me this far and make my luxurious life possible. Besides, maybe I would never even meet you, Neo."

The twenty-something-year-old girl blushed at the words, but it did not turn into embarrassment. Much more sincere joy, resulting directly from emphasizing their romantic relationship. The climax of this moment was the mutual kiss of both adults, which resulted in further consumption of wine. This moment, however, was extremely fleeting, as was the rest of any human life, which only began to end eventually, crumble to dust and matter no more.

After a while, Roman decided to look back towards the parking lot, and this time he smiled at the sight he encountered. Finally, a blood-scarlet limousine arrived at the parking lot, with numerous gold ornaments and a crest on the hood, which showed a spherical crown, with a few clearly outlined rubies. It didn't take long for a slim, tall man in a stylish scarlet suit and glasses with yellow lenses to step out of the driver's seat. After another moment, a woman dressed in black came out of the car, whose bull horns on her head revealed her identity almost immediately, was Faunus. However, her clothes did not indicate a life in poverty, because she was wearing a yellow and extremely stylish jacket with black pants. Her eyes were hidden under black goggles, and her skin was eerily pale. At her side, she wore a rather massive and spiked iron club. However, her presence was only a harbinger of a man who was about to leave the car. Moments later, the Fanus woman opened the back door on the left, and moments later the man Roman had been waiting for all this time left the man who had been several minutes late for these dinners. At first, a black and curved cane with a golden fox-shaped hilt was revealed, touching the parking concrete first. A tall and undoubtedly athletically built young man still left the limousine. He was dressed in black high-heeled shoes with little heels, and looking further up, it was possible to see crimson pants with golden patterns that stretched towards the top until the lower portions of the long and perfectly white fell into the field of view. coat. The aforementioned coat was crowned with a high collar which, however, more than sufficiently made a white tie visible, a shirt of similar color with darker stripes extending downwards, and a dark gray-red waistcoat with gold buttons on which a large T was engraved. absolutely none of those present knew, except Roman, Neo, and Bull's Right Hand, the fact that there was always a dagger and a hidden pistol in the sleeves of his shirt, disguised as gaiters. As for the athletic young man's appearance, he had delicate skin and, unlike his older brother, he did not need any makeup. His red hair, quite long, and the two long curls on the front, adorned and ran down his delicate cheeks, along with a black tattoo whose meaning very few people knew, and one of the chosen ones was Roman. As for the eyes, they are green, and there was undoubtedly the joy of his own Life present in them. Few knew, however, that it was only a very carefully applied mask, which was to hide his true nature, which would terrify even the bravest of men and women.

Erz Torchwick, revealed himself, and with the bull Faunus, headed for the door leading inside the premises while the driver stayed to guard the limo. The latter was one of the typical muscles in his organization, who nevertheless maintained a fairly high overall level.

It wasn't long before the presence of the younger Torchwick sibling was noticed by clients, the vast majority of whom stared at the newly arrived young adult with fear and obvious surprise. For who could have expected that one of the most powerful people in the city would come here without any announcement and in such a relaxed manner? Especially since this man was much more likely to stay at another restaurant for lunch and dinner. Very soon, a discussion began among the guests about the reason for his presence here, and it was directly connected with the presence of the elder of the Torchwick brothers.

Erz himself did not care about the curiosity directed towards him. Instead, he walked completely relaxed, and his black grace with a golden handle elegantly preceded his every step. At the same time, it was an open secret that grace was nothing more than a scabbard for a rapier, which was to serve him both to fight and to move elegantly.

"Roman!" Erz announced in his youthful voice in his half-pleased voice that this contentment seemed to have no other reason other than a comfortable, extravagant, and cheerful life. "How long has it been since we last met and had a family meal !?"

After these words, he began to approach the table a little faster until they both finally shook hands.

"Just a week, Erz." Roman replied impassively as soon as they could finally say hi, like the siblings they were.

It didn't take long for Erz to lean back from his brother, and his polite smile fell on the Neopolitan.

"Neo, good to see you." He also greeted the mute killer, then decided to be somewhat spiteful. "Hope that old bastard and pervert treated you the best."

Neopolitan just smiled and nodded at him, which was supposed to be a message like: Yes, he does. "

"Hi! I'm only thirty years old, little brat. " Roman replied, then leaned forward and whispered in his younger brother's ears. "However, the reason for my willingness to meet is primarily business. Recently, I was contacted by a rather interesting woman who wants to ask for our services."

Erz frowned when he heard this, and at the same time took one of the seats at the table, while his Right Hand sat on his right, as it was easy to guess.

With a distinct scowl on his lips and no light of joy in his eyes, he took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair while the cane rested to his left and rested against the table. For a moment he seemed to be contemplating the whole situation, but Roman knew better. His brother was clearly dissatisfied with something, and the reason was not difficult to guess.

"Are we going to be some mercenaries, Ro?" He asked with what could be described as a degenerate and unidentifiable form of irritation, using the nickname he had given his older brother in the early days of their criminal activities. "I don't like it, and I have mixed feelings about it. After all, it would be foolish not to listen to her suggestion." After these words, his watchful gaze turned to the beech Faunus. "What do you think, Taurus?"

His right hand thought about this for a while, also not impressed by the necessity to act on someone else's service. Basically, it was extremely common for Roman's younger brother to take advice from his coworker and Right Hand. It was not stupidity, however, but common sense. Consulting subordinates was a feature of every good and responsible ruler, because subordinates could know something that the ruler himself was not aware of. Regardless, however, it took a few seconds for her to reply and did so, with her calm voice and elegant accent.

"Well, although it sounds suspicious at least, this kind of offer would never have been made to us if the woman had not had the means to pay us for our services."

"Exactly." Roman cut in, and his urge to see what the mysterious woman actually had to offer was almost palpable, and was actually dreaming in his keen eyes. "First of all, I am curious about the identity of this woman's secret employer, or the size of her assets, if she actually has the resources to pay us. After all, I suggest you wait and listen to the offer. After all, we didn't have a very good streak with the last one. "

"Unfortunately that's true Ro." Erz reluctantly admitted, but faced with the hard and unpleasant facts, he had nothing to say about it. "This female dog from the Arc family was responsible for frustrating some of my fairly significant investments and assets. While this is only temporary and my main sources of income and power, the arms trade and new technologies are still intact, it all overshadows my reputation. "

"Unfortunately for me it is similar, Erz." Roman replied dissatisfied, and he slapped his tongue menacingly while the light flashed menacingly in his eyes. "The same woman, Celeste Arc, foiled several seizures my people were carrying out. As in your case, this is nothing serious, just quite a handicap that only slightly damages my reputation. After all, I'm still hungry for adventure, like when we were just entering the criminal path. "

"So you didn't do it because of your little brother?" The seemingly wounded Erz asked, but all this was in fact a perfect display of his acting skills. Basically, it was one of the many things the younger Torchwick brothers had mastered over the years. Additionally, after a while he put his hands on his head in a dramatic gesture, "I am really so hurt and unhappy!"

"No you're not." Roman replied softly, so no one heard him except Neo, who was also aware of the dark and twisted side of the younger brother. "Regardless, she should be here in a few ..."

He broke off as, looking towards the stairs leading to this floor of the place, I saw a group of two women and one man who was probably close to his younger brother's age. Erz saw where his eyes were now turned, so he turned and saw the same. A woman in an elegant dress, with heels, long black hair, and amber eyes of great intensity. The second, very scantily clad in a top that was a mixture of white and olive. Her complexion was darker than that of an elegant woman, her eyes were dark red, and her hair was aquamarine, straight and with two long curls. The last one was gray haired, pale and muscular young man with gray eyes. He was also wearing a gray and black jacket and shoulder pads. The group, although it did not fit in with this place, was probably walking towards the table, occupied by the four criminals. At the same time, there was not even the slightest risk that any of the clients would report this meeting, because they had too much to lose and were already too closely associated with the Rote Kapelle.

"Hello, can we sit down at the table?" The elegantly dressed woman asked, throwing a firm look mixed with a smirk at them on this occasion.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen, come to the table." Roman spoke, with a smile and open arms that left no room for understatement.

But as the newcomer trio began to draw closer, Erz neatly stood up and took the leader's hand gently and sensitively. All of this, with a smile on his lips that perfectly concealed everything underneath it.

"It is a great pleasure for me, ma'am. You probably already know my name, but I'll introduce myself to such a beauty anyway. I am Erz Torchwick, also known as Incognito, and the humble owner of many warehouses, premises and even a few factories in Vale. " Then he placed a gentle kiss on her hands, to which the only reaction was a malicious smile. "I cordially invite you."

Then, he walked over to the other girl and repeated the same process. However, this girl was clearly embarrassed by such a level of sophistication and elegance that she blushed, much to the amusement of the only man in the trio. After all this awkward interaction, additionally being watched by everyone around him, Erz returned to his seat and the trio sat on the other side of the table, next to each other.

"Now ..." The younger brother, Torchwick, spoke again, to the great annoyance of the older brother, who wanted to say something a moment ago, but once again did not have the opportunity to do so. "That good gentleman ..." Erz gestured to himself, much to Neo's amusement, while Taurus covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. "... wants to know the identity, two beautiful ladies and a brave gentleman."

Now the whole trio was quite embarrassed, and the exception was not even the subdued and elegant girl. Undoubtedly, the exaggerated elegance and pomposity on Erz's part worked extremely well on them. They seemed to be dealing with a gallant gentleman who liked to embarrass and amuse his guests, or rather the people staying with him. While the appearance and façade in this case were extremely strong, enough to conceal its true form, it did not in the least change the fact that it was still just an attractive lie, which in fact concealed a truly dark and distorted form. It was a form that, although more than real, seemed in fact to be a more realistic figment of human imagination, and which apparently should not even exist ...

"I am Cinder." The elegant girl replied, once she had mastered all her emotions, her demeanor more irritated than embarrassed. This was at the same time discovered by Erz, who had already decided to forgo being overly charming and to limit himself only to the kindness that was his trademark, literally, whatever the situation.

"Cinder Fall." She repeated, this time adding her name as well. Then she started pointing to her accomplices, first it was the second girl, then the boy. "These two are my partners, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. They are both involved with me in an operation for which they also need your help and assets. "

Before anything could continue, however, a waiter approached the table to collect orders from new arrivals. Only later were they able to return to the conversation. Regardless, however, there was a clash when placing orders. Simply put, one of Cinder's subordinates expressed some doubts on his part in financial matters.

"We have enough Lien to pay for dinner at this luxury restaurant?" Emerald asked, a bit worried, because indeed they might not have had enough with them. Especially since the prices in this place were really astronomical.

Roman just chuckled in response, as did New and Taurus. The whole trio began to giggle, to a fairly large surprise from Cinder and her subordinates. Erz also added his own, smiling knowingly at the latest arrivals.

"You don't have to worry about that." He announced, to even more confusion, but Cinder seemed to understand the implications. Nevertheless, the girl with amber eyes decided to remain silent for the moment and waited for an answer, which happened a few moments later. "This is one of my places and half of the people staying here are in my pocket. One word of mine and their lives will change forever. "

The sinister note with which he uttered those last words sent a shiver down the spine of Emerald, Mercury, and even Cinder to some extent. Although Erz's voice was not wizarding or hypnotic, it became persuasive for that brief moment and seemed completely out of place with his smile, which only made it even scarier. It would seem that it was nothing more than a game, the main goal of which was to literally punch into the souls of the interlocutors, which ultimately brought a fairly moderate effect.

"Good to know that." Cinder replied as soon as she managed to contain her emotions and return to the mask of the calm and haughty lady who always seemed to have an advantage over her interlocutors. At this point, however, this advantage was illusory to say the least. "I hope we can talk completely free about business here."

Erz just laughed softly in response, much to Emerald's shudder. Meanwhile, Roman and Neo could only sigh at the antics and the intimidation attempt by the younger of the Torchwick brothers who seemed to ignore them at all.

"As I said before, but you may not understand it, so I will repeat it again." He stated after a short while, when in his eyes there was a certain sinister and incomprehensible flash at the same time. The horror was compounded by the fact that his smile did not disappear even for a short moment. "The people sitting here are on my extremely short leash and they dare not do anything against us. Each of them realizes that if they reveal about an encounter taking place here, their head will be separated from the rest of their body sooner rather than later. In short, we can speak calmly, but first ... "

It was then that a group of waiters approached with trays, carrying the fish they had ordered. Overall, they were people dressed elegantly and in a way that fit perfectly with the blue and white theme that is ubiquitous here. As for the orders, these were all kinds of fish found on Remnant. Although the served species were really diverse, all of them were connected by one feature, preparation in such a way that they were perfectly sweet. What none of those present here knew was the fact that Erz once wanted to kill all the staff of the place and burn the place down, because back then he sincerely hated fish as a form of a meal, all until he tasted the sweet delicacies of the seas for the first time. and lakes he liked. Following this event, Erz changed his plans regarding the fate of this exclusive venue. He only killed the previous owner, took possession of the place, left the rest of the old staff and hired a suitable manager to manage the place and keep it profitable for him.

It didn't take long for the seven gathered here to start consuming, and only after a few moments, when they had made sure that no one was coming here any time soon, the group of people gathered here decided to move on to business.

"It makes no sense to bother with a dramatic or ambiguous introduction, so I'll get straight to the point." The elegant beauty began calmly and glared at everyone with an icy, seemingly emotionless glare. "I am going to hire you on behalf of my lady to carry out several missions that will be essential for the next phases of our plan."

"You risk a lot by revealing some fairly important facts to us." Erz broke nonchalantly as he seemed to literally hammer Cinder's soul, but she showed no signs of affection and only looked back coldly. "After all, what is your ultimate plan?"

Mercury's muscular boyfriend snorted as soon as he heard a question from the Crime Lord. "You do not know yet what will be the purpose of the task entrusted to you and you are already starting to ask questions?"

Erz, however, remained adamant, and flashed him a sinister smile enough to make him literally flinch at the mere sight of it. "Only in these specific situations when I don't trust my interlocutors too much. I hope you understand it completely, beautiful ladies and gentlemen. "

"Absolutely." Cinder almost rolled her eyes at his repeated antics until she decided to let them know the details. "I need you and some of your assets to carry out robberies and robberies with the sole purpose of stealing as much Dust as possible. No matter where or how exactly, I just care about getting as much of this resource as possible. Of course, everything will be stored in one of your warehouses. "

Roman nodded and spoke before his younger brother could say anything. "Dust storage space will not be the slightest problem. However, the manpower required to carry out so many robberies can prove to be quite problematic. "

"Don't worry about that, Roman." She replied with a haughty and small smile, Cider, which interested the Torchwick brothers. "I have someone at my disposal who can help tremendously with this operation and provide manpower. Do you know the name Adam Taurus? "

"Of course." Erz replied impassively, then fully relaxed, leaned back in his chair. "He is one of my clients when it comes to trading in weapons or certain technologies. Admittedly, I shouldn't say that, but he usually pays me either with services, Dust, or sometimes even with gold and Lien. "

This seemed to get Emerald's attention. "Are you doing business with someone who participates in a great terrorist organization with the ultimate goal of exterminating people?"

"As long as his organization and he live up to their commitments, I am more than willing to supply them with weapons." Erz replied imperturbably. "Their increasingly brutal modus operandi is leading to the formation of other terrorist groups, which only increases the demand for Rote Kapelle products. I will say more, now it even supplies several groups that in their assumptions want to either exterminate Faunus or reduce them to the status of slaves. "

"You've got it all well thought out, Erz." Mercury Black put in, a sly smile on his face. "You supply people and Faunus with weapons, and this leads to more and more violence and an increase in the demand for your products. However, isn't sponsoring anti-Faunus groups an exaggeration? After all, you have one of them with you, so I suspect you have more of these employees who may have some reservations about that. "

"It wasn't meant to be a conversation about my business or my worldview, but I will satisfy your curiosity anyway, Little Blacky." Erz spoke, and the timbre of his voice took on an evidently mocking undertone that only led to another smile from Mercury. The younger of the Torchwick brothers then took on a somewhat philosophical and instructive tone of voice. "Well, this is a business, and there's no room for sentiment or ideology in this area, boy. The only thing that matters is that the person is able to pay or provide me with some favorable services to compensate for it. Faunus working for me are more than aware of this principle, and my clients are not stupid enough to try to do anything with my employees. "

After his words, there was a brief silence until Erz spoke once more and turned to Cinder. "Now, however, I propose to return to the original topic of our discussion, because we have strayed too much to a different track. First of all, I want to know who I work for and what can I gain from completing this assignment? "

The elegant woman smiled at this question, then took something from under the dress that had not been identified at the moment and put it on the table. Upon closer inspection, Roman and Erz realized that the woman had placed four bars of pure gold in front of them. The younger brother decided to make sure that his eyes did not fail him and that he did not make a mistake in his judgment, and Cinder's next words only confirmed it all.

"We pay for your thieving services with pure gold." She stated. "In addition to the fee for your services, you will also gain the gratitude of our lady. I assure you that it will be more than desirable and perhaps even extremely helpful in your future criminal activity. Besides, we are able to offer you possible support and assistance, in case of any complications. "

Erz's eyes literally flashed with understanding as Cinder finished making the offer. As a man already quite experienced, he was aware of what her words really meant.

"It sounds like an offer to draw us into the sphere of influence of your mystery lady." He guessed her far-reaching intentions without the slightest intellectual effort, much to the dismay of Cinder's companions, but the leader of the trio remained adamant and did not react to this provocation. "I would prefer it to be said straightforward rather than hiding it under a robbery order. Regardless, however, I don't mind working together, as long as it's on a reasonable partnership basis."

At his words, Cinder's two companions almost gasped at the fear. Yet the elegant woman held her own temper in check very well. Both Cinder and Erz engaged in a fairly intense exchange of glances for a while. Both of them tried to evaluate each other as closely as possible to who they really are. In fact, this intense exchange can simply be described as trying to pierce the facade that each of the two was getting. They both understood something about each other then, because the eyes were in fact a window to souls. Er, he saw a young girl who, once powerless and basically enslaved, eventually began to desire to possess and accumulate as much power as possible. However, Cinder saw something very different from herself that was disturbing at best. She saw a man who, all his youth, could always rely on his older brother who loved him, who always tried to give them both a bit of happiness in their hard lives. She also saw a man who, under the influence of harsh conditions and the desire to ensure his own and his brother's survival, began to become more and more ruthless, cold and inhuman, in the full sense of the latter. In fact, all these changes were a rational adaptation to the harsh and difficult living conditions. It was terrifying to see that beneath the façade of elegance, extravagance, and kindness, there was one great void, with no real feeling or any other sign of humanity. For me, Cinder did not even flinch and decided to respond to the earlier words of their new 'ally'.

"Of course." She replied without hesitation in the timbre of her voice, which only gave it quite a lot of credibility. "That was the original idea to treat you as miserable partners. You may have doubts about it or even disbelieve our assurance, but it is. Regardless, however, the purpose of your first mission remains unchanged so far. You are to steal as much Dust as possible. Once this is achieved, we will be able to safely move on to the next phase of the plan. "

After these words, Cinder decided to skip the meal and got up, and her companions with her. It became clear that this was the end of trying to convince the brothers of this offer and that the rest was up to them.

"Think about it if you are interested in working together to develop your criminal empire." She stated, but before she could say anything, Roman decided to speak.

"We are taking this assignment and we will be happy to work with your mystery lady." His words were really smooth and in his style. Nevertheless, there was still a specific note to it. "I do not hide, I am honestly curious about the direction in which this adventure will lead us."

"Nice to hear it." Cinder replied, then her gaze shifted to Erz. "However, I am not sure about your younger brother's decisions and position, Roman."

"I will take this assignment too, Cindy." Incognito responded, giving Emerald a pretty caressing nickname that almost made Emerald chuckle and chuckle. "After all, I'm his little brother, and I have to keep this cheeky megalomaniac keeping a little sane."

"I'm not a megalomaniac and I don't need your care." Roman replied, feigning indignation, but then laughed coarsely. Nevertheless, he quickly recovered when Neo plunged her heel into his foot. "You already have the answer to that question, ma'am Fall. I think this meeting is over."

"I think so too, dear colleagues." Cinder nodded then. Before she could finish anything, however, Erz rose from his seat and began to put on his white cloak.

"In fact, this meeting is over, and there is no need for me to stay here any longer than is necessary." After his statement, Taurus, so far quiet and practically distant from the conversation, also began to get ready to leave the premises.

"Won't you stay with us any longer, Erz?" Roman asked, half surprised and half disappointed. Although he had told him outright that it was a purely business meeting, he still hoped to spend some time with his younger brother.

"It was a purely business meeting." Erz replied imperturbably, not even glancing at his older brother, his tone cool and balanced at the same time. It was surprising that it sounded much less ominous than his earlier elegant and laughing timbre. "And since the business was over and successful, I don't see any rational reason to be here any longer."

Roman just mumbled a few words under his breath while Neo tried to comfort him. Meanwhile, Erz made his way to the stairs to the lower floor, and Taurus with him. However, when it seemed that Incognito would leave the premises without major incident from one of the tables.

"At least it's the Faunus animal coming out of here, and we won't have to sit around that carcass anymore." One of the customers grunted too loudly. He was a slim man in his thirties with distinct dark circles under his eyes. In fact, he was one of the senior officials who was known for his hard work and determination, which enabled him to become someone of fairly high position at such a young age. After all, the sharp tongue and the sometimes fiery temperament were definitely not his forte, as this example showed.

"Be silent!" The furious woman who sat across from him at their table growled. She appeared to be not much younger than him and was dressed in white, rather conservative gowns. However, the woman's most prominent feature was her large and prominent belly. It quickly became clear that the woman was heavily pregnant. "You keep silence and we save our lives."

But it was too late, for Erz heard him and turned to the official who was one of the few who was not corrupt. To the horror of the vast majority of those in attendance, his eyesight or expression were blank, as devoid of feelings or life as much as possible.

A chill ran down Roman's spine, as was the case with Neo. It was always like this when the younger of the Torchwick brothers sheds his mask of a warm and smiling man, leaving the place empty, with no heat or even cold. Just nothing. Even Cinder flinched at the sight, let alone her companions.

"What did you say, dear mister." Erz started politely enough, but his tone was not even the least warm. On the contrary, this choice of words and his tone of voice made many of the guests take a deep and often nervous breath. Tension increased further as Incognito began to slowly approach the clerk, and he made it with a slow and strangely calm pace. "I think you got a bit of a headache and insulted my close associate."

The clerk, stupid or brave, rose from his seat without the slightest trace of fear and looked straight into the eyes of the younger Torchwick brothers. The challenging world did it. "If you stand up for this animal, then I have no intention of apologizing! Faunus should be exterminated and removed from the face of this world. These cattle are just ..."

He had no way to finish, because grace, or more precisely the handle, collided brutally and quickly with the jaw of the official, which resulted in intense bleeding and dirt on the floor beneath him.

"Ouro!" A terrified woman screamed, then got up from her seat and approached quickly the beaten partner and the father of their child. When it became clear how severe the bleeding was, she decided to turn to her attacker and bowed to him as much as her current state allowed. "I am so sorry for my husband's behavior and insulting your coworker. Please at least accept our sincerest apologies and let us go."

Erz raised his eyebrows at her comment, but not so much from surprise as from the stupidity of this woman, who still dared to delude herself that she had the nerve to beg her for anything after something like this. This level of insolence almost made the younger Torchwick brothers laugh, but he nevertheless remained cool.

"It's too late, ma'am." He replied blankly, then took out his sabers, revealing that the staff was, in fact, only a scabbard. "Your friend and father of your child made a mistake, and now he has to face the consequences of his insolence." Moments later, he pointed to her husband with his saber, who in the meantime managed to rise from the ground, and Erz's focused eyes showed his intention clearly. "I am not going to give up my intention of punishing him and setting an example for you, because apparently the officials and other representatives of this social group have become too bold."

Then, the woman did something that no one expected. With her pregnant belly, she stood in front of her husband and tried to shield him. It was evidence of undoubted loyalty, especially in the face of carrying life in her own womb. Nevertheless, nothing could change anything anymore, it only added another existence that will now be taken away.

"As you wish." It was all Erz said before tightening his grip on the saber. At this point, it is worth paying attention to the fact that it was not an ordinary saber made of steel. In fact, the steel was first and foremost a shield that was supposed to cover the numerous generators present there, the circuits connected to the frame. The saber was actually a vibroblade, the iron bezel of which was heated to red a few moments after being activated.

"It will be short and quick." Erz added a moment later, and before anyone could react, his blade pierced through the white robe and the woman's heart like butter, and went even further into the heart of the man the woman was trying to protect with her own body.

Both a pregnant woman and a man of extremely weak temperament fell to the ground a moment later like marionettes without strings. Blood poured out from the wounds inflicted on them, and it was especially noticeable in the example of the woman's white dress, which was very quickly stained with blood red and continued to spill in all directions. While the man lost his will and consciousness very quickly, his life ended, his wife tried to fight, even for one more small breath of air. From his perspective, Erz showed no signs of affection and merely stared coldly at his victims. This was undoubtedly the most terrifying for the guests who expected some kind of reaction from him, even mad laughter. Failure to do so only scared them even more.

Even Cinder was on the verge of fear when she fully grasped who she was dealing with at the moment. Although she did meet a mentally unstable madman like Tyrian Callows who did not hesitate to do the worst of things with his lopsided smile. Now, however, young Fall did not even know how to act, for she had met a man who seemed to be, in fact, only an empty shell, whose motivation simply no one can guess. It was the most terrifying thing for Cinder to meet someone whose personality is so confusing and twisted that it is beyond her cognitive abilities. In fact, at that moment she remembered the stories she had read some time ago about people who were confronted by powerful and basically divine beings who were so incomprehensible to ordinary and powerless people that sooner or later it drives them crazy. Erz seemed to be something similar. Something that, despite being a human being, appeared to have a mind that went far beyond all human conceptions or understanding. In this case, however, Cinder had no intention of succumbing to madness in the face of the unknown. On the contrary, she promised her mistress that she would be able to bring him to their side and make the man a useful tool for her future plans.

As for Roman's reaction, he could only sigh. It was not indifference or malice, however, but rather disappointment.

"If only I could do something for him early enough." He whispered to himself softly enough that only a Neopolitan could hear him.

For her part, Neo, decided to wrap him around his neck for comfort. However, Roman continued to remain depressed, and he had a reason to do so. He had seen clearly over the years what his brother was slowly turning into. While this may seem impossible or even ridiculous to some, Erz was not always like that. Once upon a time, he was cheerful and ready to do anything or give any possible help to his older brother that he only asked for. Objectively, the older Torchwick brother was not initially pleased with his younger brother's involvement in these matters, but ultimately there was little choice in the matter and he was reluctant to do so in order for their duo to survive. Over time, however, Erz began to change more and more into what he was today. It was difficult, however, to indicate this moment, because there was a lot of it. Perhaps what drove the younger of the Torchwick brothers into this state was his first homicide? Perhaps it was a matter of living hard and simply adjusting to the conditions in which Erz had to live? Or perhaps it was more a matter of destiny and something that just had to happen sooner or later. There were many possibilities, but Roman could not answer this simple question. What could he do for the younger brother he was responsible for?

However, returning to the younger brother, passively and with an empty expression on his face and eyes, he stared at the dying woman with the baby in her womb as if it was nothing extraordinary or terrifying for him. In fact, living in the Vale slums of the past, he has seen many such sights and heard of situations where a pregnant woman died with her child in the womb, or was brutally murdered, which also resulted in the death of the child. That was reality, and luckily for him, his mind didn't drive him mad, and instead it allowed him to adapt to the situation, to evolve. From the perspective of a normal person, this person's mind appeared distorted and twisted, as simply sick. But how can you call a mentally ill man whose mind has simply adjusted to extreme realities as much as possible?

It didn't take long for the last remnants of the spark of life to leave the pregnant woman's body, while Erz briefly continued to stare into her eyes, which were still open. This once again frightened the witnesses of this crime even more, and the more fear I would be, the more a person had the opportunity to see the eyes and expression of this man, or rather the lack of these feelings, complete emptiness. Regardless of the feelings of the people around him, however, Erz slowly withdrew from the bodies of the dead people for a few paces, then decided to speak to the crowd.

"No one will call for medical help, I have nothing else to do here." He commanded, and his hollow tone seemed to be worse than any scream or words filled with the worst possible insults.

One of the other guests present, however, still had enough courage to speak to Incognito, but still with evident trembling in his voice. He was a squat man, quite fluffy and with a huge mustache, bald and clad in a black suit with a red vest underneath it. His name, Iisperi Viol, one of the most corrupt and therefore most trusted of Erz, the senior officials of Vale. In fact, at first he was still only a minor clerk who could hardly earn his way to feed his large family after his wife died. However, his disastrous situation dramatically improved as Erz and his Rote Kapelle began to come to de facto power in the city. For his part, the younger of the Torchwick brothers liked the man for reasons he knew only, and wished Iisperi to become one of the top officials as soon as possible. It was hard to pinpoint the factor behind such a decision, especially in the face of an unreadable mind, but it undoubtedly turned out to be a good long-term investment.

"But, Mr. Torchwick, they're both already dead." He tried to pay attention to this small detail in an extremely shy way, and out of fear, he missed one quite important element that was pointed out to him very quickly and emphatically.

"The baby, most likely close to the day it would normally be born, is still in the womb of its dead mother." Erz replied, without even the slightest consideration or glance at the man. Although Incognito felt no need to explain himself to any of his decisions, he nevertheless decided to explain the reason for doing so. "It is enough that both his parents are dead and the child will spend all his life alone. There is no need to punish them additionally by taking their life. I can be firm and brutal, but I am not cruel and I do not enjoy taking life unnecessarily. "

And then without further words he left, and Taurus followed right behind him. Nobody had the slightest doubt that Erz could be punished. After all, it was this man who had a large part of the police, prosecution and so-called justice in his pocket. There have been occasions when the younger brother, Torchwick, went to court and personally dictated to the judge what the sentence was to be in some cases. All this happened completely legally and was often broadcast later, initially a big scandal, and with time it became part of the boring prose of life. Nevertheless, it was a clear signal that it was the Rote Kapelle and Erz Torchwick who held the real power in this city and that they made the law here.

As for Roman and Neo, they, too, decided to leave the place, because the police might soon be here, and there was no guarantee that they would not be arrested by some overzealous officer who was not in their pocket at the time.

Meanwhile, Cinder and her companions stared at the dead bodies for a few more moments before they decided to hurriedly leave the premises, and until recently the girl is in full control of her emotions, she almost lost her glass slippers. Two of her subordinates had similar experiences.

"What the hell was that?" Emerald asked the question as they were in one of the side streets of Vale and on their way to the hotel where they were staying for the recruiting mission. The dark-skinned woman was more than frightened and on the verge of panic, and her companion, Mercury, was in little better emotional state. "What were we just dealing with? What monster appeared to us that night? "

"It was a man." Mercury replied, though the mere necessity of granting such an incomprehensible essence a humanity had caused him great fear and made him tremble in his usually confident voice. "Nothing more and nothing less."

"Man?" Emerald asked again, almost mockingly and evidently not taking her friend's words seriously. "It is something in a human's skin that does not resemble a human in the slightest degree. I'll say more, when I saw him for the first time, I felt nervous chills. To tell the truth, I am not able to define what it actually is. "

Cinder had been utterly silent throughout their conversation as she thought carefully about what she had actually witnessed. At first, at first glance, and despite his empty eyes, he appeared to be the type of overly elegant gentleman who is, in fact, an aggressive and psychopathic sadist. However, what she witnessed exceeded her wildest expectations, in the full sense of the word. The mask turned out to be a very effective dummy, perfectly concealing everything that was hidden underneath. In fact, after everything Cinder had seen and heard in her entire life, it was more than an accomplishment to shock her in any way. She will definitely remember this moment as one of the most intense moments of her life.

"It doesn't matter who he really is." She replied Cinder to her companions while attempting to pose as confident and unwavering at the same time. It brought the desired effect, because both of her companions were able to calm down, control their emotions. "All that matters is that the Torchwick brothers have been successfully recruited. Now, there are still other elements of the plan to be implemented. "

Mercury and Emerald nodded at it, and they never touched on it again when the trio disappeared in one of Vale's numerous alleys.

But when Cinder and members of her group disappeared from the public eye and the sight of onlookers, at the same time Erz was on his way back to his luxurious villa, located in a neighborhood where only the richest members of society could afford a home.

Inside, the limousine was equipped quite well and luxurious, which is exactly what was expected from a vehicle of this type. Apart from the comfortable scarlet-stained leather armchairs, there was also a small table with two glasses and a bottle of soda pop. It was prepared especially for Erz and Taurus, who consumed drinks very often, after meetings or inspections in places that belonged to the Rote Kapelle. Both had always found it quite a nice way to spend time on their way back to the villa known as Crimson Dawn, which also served as the unofficial headquarters of the Erz's organization.

"It was quite a refreshing experience, my lord." She noted a smiling Taurus as she took a sip of the drink, but after that, her smile definitely faded. "After all, did you have to kill this official and his wife? Now their child, if he survives what is not guaranteed, will be forced to grow up alone, without parents, without the love they need. In the worst case, he will end up joining the Rote Kapella later or sooner, possibly dying early, like many street children. "

"This is life in this world, and there is little I can do about it." Erz just shrugged, completely uninterested in the polemics. His words, however, were devoid of any signs of malice or arrogance, and full of the emotional emptiness typical of him, which could not be read in the slightest degree, at least not by humans.

"I was a street kid too, at least for a while. Regardless of my background, however, this child will either be able to adapt to his situation or he will die and no trace of him will remain in this world. "

"Do you have to be so cruel?" Taurus Faunus asked with a heavy sigh, for although her past was difficult, she wished no one a fate like her own.

"Cruel?" Erz almost sneered at her comment, but his eyes showed no sign of emotion, even the faintest trace of it. In fact, the younger of the Torchwick brothers did everything in his power not to reveal his true feelings about the question. "I am first and foremost a realist and I try to see the whole world realistically for what it is. I do not intend to embellish anything or look at the brutal and dirty world through the prism of some imaginary ideals that have absolutely nothing to do with reality. Either you are strong enough to ensure well-being and security for yourself and your family, or you and they die, the middle option simply does not exist. "

"Really?" Now it was Taurus who almost snorted with amusement at his words, which she did not find in the least sincere. "If that were the case, you would never take any Faunus personally, as often extremely important members of the Rote Kapelle."

"You, like everyone else of your kind, have been selected by me as part of this organization because of your abilities." He replied calmly to her quasi accusation, without showing the slightest semblance of nostalgia or sentiment, all despite the fact that many Faunus do idolize him for the sake of giving them a chance in his own criminal organization. This was so famous that some even went so far as to make jokes whereby Erz had come to power Vale on Faunus' back. "Perhaps allowing hundreds of your kind to participate in the Rote Kapelle has saved several hundred families from extreme poverty. However, this does not change the fact that I have always done it for pragmatic reasons, which I probably do not need to remind you."

After these words, he took a long sip from his glass, and then looked straight into the eyes of the bull Faunus. In less than a few seconds, the same elegant and polite smile appeared on his lips again. "After all, I am somewhat unique compared to many other people in power, all because of the adoration and practically worship I have among Faunus."

It was also at this point, Taurus, once again noticing a distinctive and remarkably distinctive trait that Erz had practically always had. This man, apparently completely devoid of empathy, pity or even the smallest signs of compassion, but still seemed to understand perfectly well that people have such features that they sometimes even expect it and repeatedly used it to achieve his own goals, such as improving his image in in the eyes of the public. Taurus did not even have the slightest doubt that in this particular case, the incident of the murder of these two people after one of them had used an insult to her, would be used as a manifestation of his concern for the welfare and respect of Faunus among the people. In fact, from what the boo woman knew, even some of the more progressive men seemed to love Erz's extremely tolerant attitude towards Faunus. It was so ironic that Incognito was still a gangster, head of a powerful criminal empire, and basically quite a brutal man, assuming he had any remnants of his humanity. Even so, Taursa was not surprised that some loved Erz so much. In fact, she had already understood when she was a child that the world is in fact a chaotic set of beliefs and individualities over which no one really fully controls, the purest possible stupidity is an asset here and arrogance the greatest virtue. In her opinion, whoever grasped this simple rule will not be surprised in this world anymore.

"And if I told you that you are thanks to all that you have done for us, Faunus, have you become a good man?" He asked out of sheer curiosity, wanting to know his answer. Of course, such a thesis was more than ridiculous and could not even have the slightest support in reality, considering what Erz was.

The aforementioned teenager was now completely unable to suppress a snort and almost cried out laughing. After all, his eyes no longer expressed pure emptiness, but something akin to melancholy.

"I would tell you in response that you are crazy and apparently I am a fool, because for my right arm and a trusted member of the organization I took a madwoman." After these words, his smile faded until the tiniest, tiniest trace of it remained, while Erz hung his head limply and put down his glass of the sweet soda that he personally liked to eat at times. "Personally, I think that I stand above issues such as moral principles, morality itself, law, justice or even customs, because all this is in fact only a poor element of existing social structures. It doesn't even matter, because it might as well have become something completely different in the process of shaping modern society, perhaps even much more destructive and illogical. "

"You don't believe in any values?" She asked, and although she already knew the answer to that question, she was unable to resist the urge to tease him to a great extent. "I have always believed that literally every human being has an inner need to believe in any values."

"So you were thinking really bad, my dear." He replied as soon as he regained full control of his emotions, his expression empty again. "I think this is the curse of intelligent people like me who were able to see the whole truth about the world around them. Regardless, however, the fact is that any higher values or ideas are only lies that civilization or people impose upon each other to give their worthless lives any appearance of meaning. "

"You called your discovery about lies and values a curse." Taurusa raised her eyebrows as soon as she began making these specific statements, for she had never heard anything like this from his lips before. This was probably the first time Incognito had confided to her to such an extent, at least in terms of his personal thoughts. "Why?"

"Because the dark mob who have the dubious pleasure of believing all the lies presented to them without even wondering if the people who preach them actually believe the nonsense. A common crowd will take literally whatever content and ideas are convenient for them at the moment, without thinking about the deeper implications of the ideas that are served them by false prophets with power or money being their sole purpose. "

"It's extremely cynical." She stated Taurus in response, then giggled maliciously. "If this is your way of portraying a fraction of what you are under this mask of an elegant but essentially emotionally empty human being, then this is not the best way to start."

"I don't need to introduce myself to anyone, my dear." Erz replied, completely unfazed by her comment. "I am only answering your question and therefore presenting you the world exactly as it is, no more and no less."

"I see." She replied sullenly the bull Faunus before her eyes rested on a nearby window and looked out over the streets of Vale, illuminated at night by the many street lamps. In addition, a certain specificity of the district through which they were passing now, meant that she was able to quickly find out about their current whereabouts. "It looks like we've almost made it to our headquarters, my lord."

"Indeed." Erz summed it up briefly as he also looked out the window outside and realized that at that moment they were driving into his Rote Kapelle residence and headquarters.

The protection of this place was considerable and considerable, and the first line of defense was the guard outside the fence and security cameras. Here, however, they were only lightly armed observers, whose only job was to look out for any people who might be targeted at attacking the mansion. Only inside, in the large garden around the villa, the guards were armed with rifles or blades of much more serious caliber, and some even had night vision and infrared scanners. However, their attire, although undoubtedly elegant and with a predominant scarlet color, was only a leather short, hats or goggles. Red suits, and more sophisticated clothing in general, were reserved exclusively for the sergeants or lieutenants of the Rote Kapelle. In addition, the protection and armed arm of this organization were characterized by a high level of discipline, which was firmly upheld by the wolf Faunus, Herr Wolfram, also known as the Captain, by other bodyguards and 'soldiers' of the Rote Kapelle.

The villa itself was quite an aesthetic and spacious place, which in its bowels housed over one hundred and fifty rooms, several bathrooms, a large kitchen and an even larger pantry, which contained over a thousand bottles of various types of wine and of various years. In addition, the building had an aesthetic that skillfully mixed red, white and gold, creating something very attractive to the eye. Additionally, inside, Erz at one point placed over four hundred paintings and twice as many sculptures. However, they were not recognized works of art, but instead portraits and likenesses portrayed in various situations by the younger of the Torchwick brothers. The main motivation for such interior decoration was the willingness to exert some kind of psychological pressure on the people who entered the interior. There were some exceptions to this rule that successfully resisted such influence, one of which was Incognito's older brother, who repeatedly ridiculed such an absurd number of self-portraits and sculptures. In fact, the ridicule about it often caused very little banter between the two brothers, and Erz had the opportunity to express the remnants of his own humanity.

Soon, the limousine pulled to a stop in front of the steps that led directly to the villa. This time Incognito opened the door himself and rushed inside, while the guards guarding the door nodded obediently to the county. Very quickly, he saw the same and extremely large main hall, complete with a huge staircase leading to the first floor and thus to his office, where he headed as quickly as possible. Inside, the maids, butlers, cleaners and guards, both humans and Faunus, bowed respectfully and some even saluted. The influence that Erz had on all of them and the vast majority of the members of the Rote Kapelle was visible here. The previous words of the bull Faunus were thus confirmed, as she stated that while Erz does not have too many typically human features and he does not show greater humanity, his understanding of human behavior and feelings is more than correct. In fact, a large number of members of the organization, especially the younger ones, received from Incognito a chance to live a dignified life and earn money from criminal activity, for which they had endless gratitude and great respect towards their boss.

Regardless, however, Erz quite quickly and briskly reached his office, located on the first floor of the luxury villa and in the right wing, and as soon as possible sat down at a luxurious black marble desk, on a leather and swivel armchair, which was It was colored strongly scarlet and with golden patterns on the backs.

For a brief moment, Incognito was able to lean back in his seat and breathe after a busy day, and analyze these situations. In fact, Roman, he, and Rote Kapelle were currently working for this mysterious woman, Cinder Fall, who, along with her subordinates, was working for someone even more mysterious. After all, Erz knew what type of person a raven haired woman was, for he had met this type of person many times in his life and her eyes told absolutely everything, the whole story of her life. These were people who spent their childhood being dumped and eventually their resentment turned into an almost obsessive thirst for power. Erz understood such people perfectly well, because the temptation to be the one who oppresses others and is not the oppressed, was natural for the vast majority of living and intelligent organisms, there was no doubt about it. However, the use of such people for their own purposes was, contrary to appearances, quite simple, because it was enough only to give such people a substitute of real power and promise more, and such a person was ready to carry out literally every order. Erz repeatedly abused such people until they became genuinely obedient and addicted to him, so he had no doubts that Cinder's relationship with her mistress was similar, or maybe even exactly the same. Regardless, however, Erz resolved to stop deliberating on this little thing he thought, and patiently waited a moment for the arrival of two, the two of which arrived at his oval office moments later.

The first to enter was the Taurus, with a smile typical of her face that, combined with her goggles, was difficult to unambiguously assess and interpret. Much more interesting, however, was the tall man Faunus who followed a few steps behind her. The best telltale sign that he was not human was a pair of wolf ears, which, however, were well hidden between the disheveled strands of platinum gray hair and masked these ears perfectly. His eyes were a crimson color and extremely rare, while the strong and expressive cheekbones perfectly matched the rest of his physical features and made him look menacing. The man wore a long leather and crimson crimson pattern with black patterns that did not even tell the slightest hint that he was not wearing a jacket or even a shirt. At the belt, in leather holsters, there are his main weapons, two long-barreled submachine guns in a metallic color and with Fire Dust as ammunition.

"You summoned me, my lord?" Asked the wolf Faunus, whose name is Herr Wolfram, also known to many simply as the Captain.

"Indeed." Erz replied calmly, then gestured smoothly to the two vacant armchairs in front of the desk. "Sit down, I have quite a lot to say with you, and I trust Taurusa has informed you of the commission given to us, Herr."

"She did, my lord." The Captain nodded at that question without thinking, then he and Taurus took their seats. "But I have to say I'm more than surprised by this turn of events."

As these words left the wolf's mouth Fanus, he focused his gaze on the bull's colleague and basically superior, whose authority was second only to Incognito himself. "We didn't have to get involved in this woman's commission, so why?"

"Because it serves someone powerful enough that he decided to contact us with a commission." Erz replied, without hesitation or thought.

"With all due respect, where exactly this assumption comes from, it might as well be a bluff and some provocation." Herr replied, completely unconvinced about the version presented to him by his boss. Basically, he was not surprised, especially since, as a former member of White Fang, he had a fairly good understanding of the underground activities and how the police functioned.

"Nothing escapes your attention, Captain." Erz replied, a charming smile on his lips, then proceeded to explain in detail. "It wasn't a bluff, I could read it from her extremely relaxed expression and the haughty smile she was throwing at us. No one I have met so far would be able to behave so freely, knowing that his real resources would not be able to threaten the interlocutor even in the slightest degree. "

"Perhaps you have finally encountered someone like this, my lord?" Herr shrugged, but didn't have a smile or even a half smile on his face, and instead kept his stoic and utterly serious expression. It was this sharp and at the same time unshakable attitude that earned him the title of the Captain. "Ultimately, the world is a big place and full of all kinds of people whose motivations and methods are extremely varied."

"In this particular case, I have no doubts, believe me." Erz dismissed his doubts very quickly, heavily influenced by his self-preservation instinct that made him keep his deal with this mystery woman and her overlord, whoever she really was. "I already have a plan for the first robbery in my head, which will allow us to get many tons of Dust, straight from the universally hated SDC. One of the coastal warehouses has stockpiled for literally dozens of stores, so it will be a great loot."

Once again, Herr did not seem particularly convinced of it and did not fail to express his doubts. "A large operation that requires the involvement of at least a few dozen of my boys and a few Dust specialists to oversee these operations and loading."

"I realize that, Herr." Incognito replied, then smiled, staring straight into the wolf Faunus' watchful eyes. "Therefore I will personally be in charge of this operation from the front line with my Henchmen."

Bull Faunus's eyes practically popped out of their sockets as his statements reached the brain through the sense of hearing and then through the nerves. "Is this really sensible, my lord?"

"There it is, my dear." Erz replied without the slightest thought, for he already had a firm resolve in this regard. "I intend to personally lead this operation, but will not bring any of the old and experienced members with me. I think it will be the perfect test for a young guard who has yet to demonstrate anything special."

"I have a lot of concerns about this, given the high risk of failure of the entire operation." Herr replied with a sigh that came a few moments later. "Nice to see you, do we have any chance of persuading you to give up this venture?"

"Not." Erz replied briefly and succinctly, smiling sly and maliciously at the same time. "After all, I do not intend to go there without having a sufficiently large reserve body."

The Captain raised an eyebrow at his words, for he knew perfectly well what it meant, and before he could say anything, Incognito spoke once more.

"Prepare some of your experienced boys, preferably snipers and someone for close combat. Their task will be to secure our assault from a safe position from which they can adequately in the event of any unforeseen circumstances." After these words, the three began to plan the upcoming mission in detail, which was to begin in a few days.

XXX

Erz Torchwick, he had been waiting for this moment with quite a lot of enthusiasm and kept a smile on his lips even now, as he stood in a dark alley very close to the warehouse located on Invincible Seven Street, and which he had chosen as the first target of the mass theft of Dust, on the commission of Cinder's mysterious superior to him. In the back, further down the alley, there were about forty members of the Rote Kapelle, most of whom were mere clumps and cannon fodder, as evidenced by their clothing. They were not all members of this quasi-assault group, however, for many were still in the crimson vans, also located in one and the same bend. Three more groups took up positions in several other dark and well-concealed locations near the warehouse. In total, it was over two hundred people and twenty vans, which, after the work was done, were to be taken as soon as possible to a safe place where the stolen Dust would be unloaded. This safe place was another warehouse, directly indicated by Cinder.

At one point, and as Erz glanced at his watch, he realized very quickly that it was after ten in the morning and that the seizure was about to begin right there. One of the nearby Henchmen decided to approach Incognito.

"We should start this operation by now, sir." He whispered in his ear softly enough for no one else to hear.

"I know, but I'm still waiting for a signal from the infiltration team." Erz replied, then peered around the corner of the brick building and his eyes fell on the warehouse, which was essentially a simple building made almost entirely of reinforced concrete. In particular, it focused on the checkpoint that led directly to the very center of the warehouse.

Normally, a guard booth would have two employees inside, while there would be about twenty more inside, and in most cases just scattered across the warehouse, their absence from their posts was a clear sign that the infiltration group was able to perform their assigned task and overwhelmed them. guards. While it may have been strange, especially in the light of his murder of a pregnant woman and her husband, that someone like Erz ordered the guards to be overpowered and not executed immediately, there was a rational reason for this, and it was a desire not to attract undue attention from the police or Hunters. The murder of the official and his wife was blamed on someone else, thanks to the silence of all witnesses of the crime. Meanwhile, here, everything would be blamed on Rote Kapelle and Erz himself, as the independent leader of this organization. It was clear that in such a case it could mean the involvement of Hunters in the fight against the Rote Kapelle. Hunters, who because of the power of this organization and the small number of deaths on the side of law enforcement, did not find it necessary to engage in a war with one of the most powerful criminal organizations in all of Remnant. At worst, Hunters' intervention could end in a war with the Rote Kapelle, something neither side could afford.

Soon, after about a few seconds, the pre-arranged light signal came from the guard booth, a few blinks of a scarlet-glass flashlight, which gave the light that color.

"Pretty good for newbies." Erz complimented it softly, then turned to the feline Faunus in a suit, hat, and sunglasses standing next to him. "Give the group a message that we can start the warehouse and Dust loading, let the Fir action begin."

"Yes, sir," Henchmen replied shortly, who a moment later grabbed the scroll that the organization had given him for the operation, and then sent an appropriate message to the leaders of the other two groups. "The weeds have been torn out, the fir can now flourish."

At this signal, scarlet-clad men and Faunus poured out from all the alleys into the streets, and in the blink of an eye they moved towards the warehouse, intending to secure this building and what was stored inside and basically waiting to be taken. The trucks started moments later and rolled in as soon as the gates were opened and there was a possibility of parking inside.

The few civilians and bystanders who were still strolling along the dark streets of Vale, illuminated by numerous street lamps, parted in panic as soon as they realized who they were dealing with here. The vast majority of them began to run away, and only a few were brave enough to remain in place and silently observe what was happening in front of their eyes, because they were well aware that until they interfered with it, no one would meet them. a form of repression by members of a criminal organization. Regardless of their attitude, however, no one was going to call the police, let alone make the robbery of this place difficult. There were, however, a few exceptions, two to be precise. The first was a young woman wearing a gray jacket, long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and glasses. However, what revealed her exact affiliation was a police badge, hidden in the inside pocket of the jacket, and two pistols, which were hidden in two holsters at the waist. The other woman, or actually just a teenage girl at the moment, was a red-haired beauty with unusually long hair that reached down to the back, emerald eyes, and fairly immodest clothes, which consisted largely of elements of armor, a small skirt, gloves and a brown corset . Meanwhile, on her back hung her weapon, a metal spear with red colored elements, and a round shield of the same element. Both weapons were known as Miló and Akoúo̱, and were the hallmarks of the teenager. Both of them began to slowly and unnoticeably sneak into the warehouse, from two different directions, without being aware of their presence and thus without even the slightest coordination between them.

Erz entered the warehouse quickly with his cane-saber in his right hand, while the rest of his qusai soldiers had already taken strategic positions to defend themselves, the infiltration team had begun to support security, and all the trucks were parked, which meant that the robbery could definitely begin within a few moments later. In fact, all those present were fully committed to their tasks and performed them as well and with as much efficiency as possible.

"You will load this Dust asap and hurry up, gentlemen and ladies." Erz told them, urging them to work more efficiently. "Even though I have the vast majority of the city's police and administration in my pocket, I cannot afford to wait too long. The last thing he needs is to engage in a fight with some Hunters, of whom there are quite a few in the city. "

"Yes sir!" The vast majority of them answered unanimously, while Erz smiled proudly at their declarations. None of them had ever dared to call him a boss, because they were all always reprimanded, basically from the first day they belonged to the Rote Kapelle, they were intensely inculcated that they should say 'sir' to Incognito, and people from his personal circle 'my lord' '.,?,

"That's the spirit, gentlemans!" He replied them. "Now get back to work, time is short."

There was no need to repeat the command twice, because no one had the slightest desire to oppose the head of the organization for which they worked eagerly, and to which they took a really long time to get into, and twice as much effort.

While overseeing the loading of the stolen Dust, Incognito did not even have the slightest opportunity to notice that on one of the scaffolding, two of his Henchmen had just been incapacitated. The responsibility for this lies with the blonde-haired woman and the red-haired teenager, who previously had no intention of acting like the rest of the crowd and turning a blind eye to the robbery that was practically taking place in front of them. It also didn't take long for the two to collide, to a two-sided surprise.

"Who are you?" The redhead asked as soon as she was sure that the bandits were completely overwhelmed and unconscious.

"I should be asking this question, young lady." The blonde woman replied, having both guns ready and removed. "I'm Inspector Celeste Arc. Are you one of the Hunters in training?"

"Not exactly, Inspector." The redhead replied, but the blonde couldn't say anything. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos, until this year, I will be attending Beacon Academy to train as Hunter, ma'am."

"Got it, now get out of here!" Celeste nodded and hissed as softly as possible. "Merely in the middle of a heist by the largest and most powerful criminal organization in Vale, this is no place for anyone even as gifted as you are."

But Pyrrha had no intention of letting go and surrendering. "If you know who I am and know my achievements, then you should know that I am more than capable of dealing with these criminals."

"I know about your achievements, and your numerous successes at four of the Mistral Regional Tournaments. This is an extraordinary achievement that proves your great skill." Celeste decided to persuade her point differently, without having to resort to raising her voice. "All the more so, I can't let you get into a fight with the members of this organization, the risk of your death is just too great, and I have no intention of wasting a child with great potential on such a thing."

However, her words did not even have the slightest opportunity to sound, for a moment later, Erz spoke to all his people present here.

"You'll load the trucks to the brim, we'll need it badly, or so I think!" Incognito declared, and with these words it became clear that his Henchmen had finished halfway through the load. "And get your explosives ready, because I have a great desire to shake the overly stable economy of Vale a bit. Ultimately, my new black market Dust smuggling and distribution division needs some help, like a child who is just learning to walk."

"Yes sir!" The people gathered here repelled as if they were one, after which some specialists in elegant suits began to obey his order and place explosives on the containers deep inside the warehouse, which could be activated remotely when they managed to safely exit the warehouse.

Celeste and Pyrrha looked into each other's eyes, and it took no words to understand that now the young Inspector would need literally any help if he had a chance to deactivate the charges and prevent detonation.

"Okay, you're on board." Celeste hissed dissatisfied with this, but before her reluctant companion could say anything, Inspector spoke once more. "But you have to be extremely careful when taking this action. If we are detected too soon, we may lose our chance to stop this act of banditry. Not to mention the presence of ..."

"Erz Torchwick, also known simply as Incognito." Pyrrha interrupted her, smoothly but frowning, while her lips formed a moment later into an obvious grimace and the reason was not hard to guess. "Leader of Rote Kapelle, one of the largest criminal organizations in all of Remnant, and perhaps even the most powerful. A man responsible for multiple murders, financial embezzlement, illicit arms trafficking, illegal human experimentation, assaults, extortion, corruption and much more."

Then she looked straight into the eyes of the speechless Inspector, who definitely expected little or no knowledge of the subject on her part. Meanwhile, a young and aspiring Hunter turned out to be very knowledgeable about one of the most influential criminals in Vale.

"I also know that you have frustrated many of the actions by the Torchwick brothers in recent months, which have been reported in the newspapers on numerous occasions." She continued, ignoring the sentence of her interim partner for the duration of this escapade. "I also know perfectly well who we are dealing with here, but it will not stop me from doing the right thing, stopping these criminals and the man who, after arrest and trial, will not come out of prison for the rest of his life."

"I see." Celeste nodded understandingly, despite the fact that she had other and far less heroic intentions towards Erz, all because Incognito had in his own pocket not only a good chunk of the Vale police, but judges and prosecutors as well, which in the past, it has enabled him to draw his own people many times, especially long-time members of the Rote Kapelle. Simply put, this man was, in her opinion, too dangerous to allow him to live and continue this criminal activity. "So let's do our best, I'll take care of the ones on the right and you take the ones on the left. Not to mention the fact that we have to free the imprisoned warehouse guards. "

It was then that their eyes fell on a group of twenty people bound together, fifteen men and five women, who had undoubtedly been hired beforehand to guard the place. It was more than clear that they had not done their job in the slightest, the best proof of which was their present and uncomfortable situation.

For a redhead teen and a blonde woman, it became clear that they had to deal with this as quickly as possible and first defuse the bombs, incapacitate the explosives specialists and free the guards. Only after they had done all three of these things could they begin to deal with the rest, which would undoubtedly be a challenge given the enormous numbers of all these Henchmen, but worrying so early could not do any good, which both of the fair sex were well aware of. .

"Go ahead, we don't have much time before they realize there's someone else here and have knocked out two of them!" Celeste hissed softly but firmly, so there was not even the slightest need to say it again, for the stake had reached them fully.

Both ladies, almost at the same time, set off in their assigned directions to clear selected places of remote bombs and possibly explosives specialists. Celeste was lucky on this point, as all three bombs planted there had already been installed and the Henchmen simply left that area, which was basically fairly well hidden between the crates and Dust containers that couldn't be loaded into the trucks. It was a bit more difficult with the red-haired teenager, because a group of six specialists in elegant costumes gathered and began to exchange opinions about the placement of explosives. They did not say anything significant, so Pyrrha decided to immediately proceed to silently neutralizing these people, and for this purpose she attacked them so quickly and with such a level of efficiency that they had not the slightest possibility to react to it, and surprise effectively dissuaded them from lifting them up. alarm. With the help of her shield, the unstoppable girl overpowered all three, and the sounds of rushing loading and talking effectively camouflaged these actions.

Pyrrha wasted no time, and as soon as the last of the specialists was dead, she immediately moved towards the presumably bomb sites, and very quickly got a fruitful result when she hit the first charge. She once underwent training in the use and disarming of such materials, just in case, so she had no problems with disarming a plastic box, the interior of which was filled not only with plastic and white explosives, but also with Fire Dust, which was undoubtedly to intensify the effect of a potential explosion and ensure that all kinds of Dusts around them are finally detonated.

It didn't take long for Pyrrha to determine that the plastic box with the electronic screen contained a fairly specific and slightly more expensive type of explosive, known as safe bomb or controlled detonation, all due to the fuses installed inside to ensure that the only option to carry out detonation, it is activated remotely by an appropriate detonator or an electrical device designed for it, most often adapted to this Scroll. Naturally, this type of bomb was more expensive than ordinary bombs, but at the same time guaranteed a much greater level of security, so the sight of something like this in a well-organized criminal group like the Rote Kapelle was not surprising. Regardless of all this, the red-haired teen knew how to effectively defuse this type of bomb, and almost immediately began searching for an antenna that was found very quickly, under a small entrance, and Pyrrha was able to remove it very quickly. The same happened with the other two bombs, which were quickly, remarkably and easily disarmed by a red-haired teenager, but then an unforeseen problem arose.

"Sir!" One of his henchmen shouted to Erz, which drew the attention of everyone in the warehouse, she took some of the others off the loading, and the woman began reporting her observations very quickly, which were to become a catalyst for the next events. "I just read the reading from my remote detonator! The bombs were defused a few moments ago and three of the six people responsible for placing them did not report back! "

"Attention, stop loading immediately, we have company!" Erz announced calmly, to all the people gathered here who did not take it as calmly as the boss did. "Finish loading immediately and we're out of here as soon as possible. We have company and I have no intention of getting caught, even if I was released on the same night or day. "

"Yes sir!" They almost replied as if they were one, then moved on to end the attack as quickly as possible.

Specialists began to get into the trucks as quickly as possible, while the infiltration team had long since left the warehouse, and its members evacuated towards a specially designated assembly point. The Henchmans loading the Dust tanks and crates, meanwhile, immediately took as much as they could to the almost fully loaded trucks, and then some of them went inside.

Seeing how much the situation had changed, Celeste decided to take action immediately, without asking for the opinion of her interim partner. Inspector immediately removed a pair of modern Lightning Dust pistols from their inner holsters, then popped out from behind one of the larger container losses and launched an unexpected and utterly unexpected fire at the four closest members of the Rote Kapelle, who were nothing but insignificant guards, and electrocuted immediately knocked them out.

Pyrrha had no intention of staying behind, and inspired by what Celeste was able to do, the young teenager also jumped out from between the sparkles. In this case, however, three Henchmans armed with rifles noticed her quickly and opened fire. The red-haired teenager, however, successfully blocked the incoming fire with her round and strong shield, so that her Aura was not even scratched. So she quickly moved forward, and the first two bandits were knocked down by her very quickly, while the third tried to engage her in hand-to-hand combat using a large cleaver. It turned out that the man was quite skilled in close combat, but he had no chance against the amazing skill of Pyrrh, who hit him in the head with his own shield and shortly thereafter, the henchmen with quite a thud, fell unconscious to the ground.

The red-haired teenager and the blonde-haired woman at one point looked at each other and decided to merge as quickly as possible, on the way overpowering another five henchmans, who, however, were able to put up quite a decent resistance for a moment, but faced with two skilled enemies, they were doomed to failure. The five henchmans were knocked down without much trouble, and shortly thereafter they lay unconscious on the ground.

Pyrrha and Celeste then managed to merge and form the only option at this point in formations, first a shield and spear, and a few steps behind the guns. In front of them, the red-haired boss of Rote Kapelle, smiling and unmoved by the whole scene, appeared.

"It should be quite interesting." He stated out loud, without losing his relaxed smile and empty expression in his eyes, then his gaze fell on all the henchmans who were standing behind him and still awake. "We will evacuate from this place immediately and with what we have collected. I will take care of these two personally, no worries."

After his words, the rest of his men began to evacuate as quickly as possible. The first truck was moved from here as quickly as possible, and moments later the others moved as well.

Meanwhile, Erz took a few more steps forward, and his smile grew sly, and acted on the two in front of him like a cloth for a bull.

"Lady Celeste!" He screamed mockingly and with theatrical pomp, straight towards the Inspector of Vale Police Department, which gave an audible grunt of irritation in response. "I wasn't expecting to see you on this dark but majestic night, my dear."

"I can only assume, criminal." Celeste replied, who was able to remain calm and not succumb to emotions, despite her extremely negative feelings towards the red-haired man. "But there is only one way this night can end."

"Of course, my dear." He stated in response, and his smile only widened. "I will leave this place unscathed and with what I came here for, regardless of the whim of a spoiled policewoman and accompanying teenage girl who obviously has quite a bit of trouble with her own hormones if she decides to go into confrontation against me."

Both of the fair sex gave a muffled growl in the face of his taunts, while he was actually trying not so much to provoke the two beauties, but rather to buy time with the Dust truck, one after the other leaving the warehouse.

"Well, I would like to say that the presence of two and beautiful women in this place is a pleasant surprise. However, it is neither a surprise nor all the more pleasant." He gave them one more smile, which was replaced by the quickly present grimace on his lips. "Well, I'm obviously pretty pragmatic, aren't I?"

"Quite." This time it came from the mouth of Pyrrh, who very quickly realized the intentions of the leader of the Rote Kapelle, and immediately prepared to attack. "Nevertheless, do not be under the illusion that we will let you go, criminals!"

"Pyrrha, no!" Celeste screamed at her just as she realized the intentions of her temporary partner, who soon began to attack, shield in front of her and a spear at the ready.

"Predictable but still quite surprising." Incognito muttered, then took a combat stance with a cane ready to repel any potential attack. "Still, confronting someone with your abilities can be quite interesting."

As Pyrrha attempted to strike him with her shield, Erz just deftly dodged the attack and successfully deflected the spear stabbing attempt at him, then proceeded to counterattack. The effort of the leader of the Rote Kapelle, however, was thwarted by the great defense of the red-haired teenager, whose shield always blocked Incognito attacks in time. At the same time, Celeste also entered the fight and launched an intense fire at the enemy.

Seeing that his position had become embarrassing at this point and prevented him from any potential counterattack. Consequently, he decided to take a risk, do something unexpected and put it all on one card. Instead of backing off and taking a safer position, Erz decided to push the redheaded teen aside first, and then quickly sprint towards the Inspector, who was surprised by the move exactly as Incognito expected it to be.

Regardless of the initial shock, however, Celeste restrained her emotions and resumed the fire, which several times proved successful and hit the Crimson Aura. Erz, however, remained completely unfazed and continued to charge towards the Inspector. As the Dust supply ran out, Celeste made the decision to change tactics, and immediately switched her weapon from pistol mode to shock baton mode. When the process of transformation was complete, she headed straight for the enemy.

Seeing the changing conditions, Erz decided to adapt to it and took his sabers from its scabbard before proceeding to attack. Vibroblade met the sticks, which led to a few sparks and a short-term attempt to gain a physical advantage over the opponent, which, given the good position of the two, was extremely close. After a few moments, however, Celeste was the first to try to gain the upper hand with one of her mallets, while the other was to restrain the vibroblade.

Seeing this attempt, Erz decided to take one step back to be able to take two steps forward in return, and retreated, and a rather long, hidden blade slipped from his left hand. At this point, too, Incognito, confident in over one hundred percent of his chances, rushed to attack as quickly as possible.

Seeing what he was up to, Pyrrha jumped up and tried to charge at the opponent's back. It became clear that his attempt to gain the upper hand and defeat his opponent would ultimately fail.

Despite realizing that the plan could not be implemented, Erz did not stop and exchanged a few blows with Celeste, as a result of which he pushed his opponent several meters away. It gave him the room for maneuver that he needed at the moment, and in the face of the enemy approaching from behind, he had no qualms about using it to exit this fight, at least as invincible.

Incognito turned quickly, then his response turned out to be a charge towards the opponent.

Seeing the opponent's move, Pyrrha decided to do the most sensible thing at the moment and stopped, took a defensive stance, then began to fend off Incognito's concentrated and well-coordinated attacks. Faced with these developments, the aspiring Hunter could not help but ask herself a certain but valid question. Who was she actually fighting at that moment? Pyrrha was not stupid and was fully aware that she was currently confronting a powerful criminal and leader of a powerful criminal empire who had no qualms about killing in order to get what she wanted. But seeing his blank expression, she couldn't help but reflect; who is he really? What was his path to becoming a powerful crime lord? Has life changed him into this empty shell, devoid of genuine feelings and at the same time completely incomprehensible to the vast majority of other people?

Regardless of the questions forming in her head, however, she had to remain focused on fighting an enemy whose skills were definitely on par with her own.

At the same time, however, the Inspector of Vale Police Department did not remain idle and decided to approach the opponent from behind to end the fight as quickly as possible and do exactly what she should have done when confronted with this man for the first time. As soon as she got close enough, she immediately tried to strike the leader of the Rote Kapelle, who at that point was busy countering a quite successful counterattack by Pyrrh.

Erz, however, seemed to either have a sixth sense and anticipated her attack, or just good enough hearing to hear it and good enough reflexes. His blade, usually hidden in the left sleeve, and now used in combat, successfully blocked the incoming attack. While Erz was successfully blocking all attempts to attack at this point, it did not in the least change the fact that he was now fighting on two fronts, which simply could not have ended victorious for him, not under these specific circumstances.

Looking left and right, Erz saw two determined enemies who were more than ready to attack, as evidenced by the fire in their eyes. Still, there was a certain and definite difference in their attitudes, which Erz could see without the slightest problem. If there was one thing Incognito was able to master, it was undoubtedly the reading and manipulation of human emotions that enabled him to understand the two. The famous Pyrrha, multiple champion and one of the most promising future Hunters who clearly just wanted to defeat and arrest Erz. There was no sheer hatred or malice here, just something like a willingness to fulfill a duty to humanity. However, Incognito could not say the same about her temporary partner, whose eyes had practically leaked hatred, and Erz was not particularly surprised, as he himself was personally responsible for the killings of several of her good friends from the service, who either disappeared permanently or after some time. time their bodies were found in local rivers, with concrete boots on their feet; and they were also very often people with a long history of damaging the interests of the Rote Kapelle as a whole. Fire in Celeste's eyes, therefore, not only seemed to be her personal vengeance for the deaths of her friends, but her body also seemed to be a tool for all the souls Erz had taken over the decades now seeking vengeance. and the death of whoever was responsible for their end in this world.

As for himself, Incognito personally did not feel the slightest remorse for causing their death. At the same time, however, the redheaded young adult felt no pleasure in their death. For all these people were only obstacles for him that simply had to be removed as soon as possible for his plans to be realized, nothing more and nothing less. In fact, from a certain point in his own life, he had not even the slightest resistance to defying any moral principles; for how could he be faithful to morality if life had taught him that it was only a luxury that depended most on perspective?

However, his indifference to human suffering and death did not obscure the fact that his chances of defeating his opponents had dropped drastically, from the beginning they were not particularly great, and now, in the face of being surrounded, they have reached zero.

"I can't win it." Erz admitted softly when the facts began to be much more than obvious to him and he could not deny them in any way. Circumstances left him with no choice at this point but to put everything on one card again and risk it. However, despite the unfavorable situation, he has not lost the sense of humor or relatively good mood that he used to present to the whole world around him.

"Well, it looks like there is no point in further fighting at this point." He announced loudly, to the surprise of his opponents, and at the same time he retracted his sabers back into the scabbard that had so far been attached to his belt. "I think at this point we can end it and go home as good friends."

His statement was shocked by sheer disbelief on the part of Pyrrh, and a narrowing of the eyes of Celeste, who no doubt began to look for a trick on his part and had no intention of letting him go.

"No way, Erz!" The Inspector of Vale Police Department snarled in response, her eyes flashing with a dangerous and even more intense flame than anyone had ever imagined. "I am not going to release someone as dangerous as you alive from this warehouse! You are responsible for a lot of blood shed, for taking the lives of many of my friends and for innocent people, so you must face the consequences and justice must be done!"

While her speech literally radiated pure heat, there was still one key statement in it that immediately caught and disturbed Pyrrh. The reason turned out to be more than antiquated and fun for Incognito, but at the same time one that brought back many good memories from a time when his activity was not that great and his influence was not as powerful as it is now.

"Are you going to kill him !?" Pyrrha shouted, disturbed by this fact and did not even let the blonde-haired Inspector speak. "Yes, this man is a criminal, but like everyone else, he deserves a fair trial!"

Erz found her words amusing and thought of performing a comedy sketch, but he became much more interested in developing the situation than in trying to be funny or theatrical.

"You don't understand who we're dealing with right now!" Celeste snarled loudly and with a pure expression of irritation in response. "He's Erz Torchwick, Incognito, arguably the most powerful and dangerous criminal in all of Vale's known history. He has a large chunk of police, politicians, officials and judges in his pocket. He's just too dangerous to let him live!"

At this point, the two temporary partners fully engaged in this exchange of words, and they did not pay the slightest attention to the humble criminal who decided to take advantage of this moment now. Especially since all the trucks have already managed to leave the warehouse, as well as his henchmans and specialists. It was the perfect time to end everything, and for this very reason, Erz reached into one of his own pants' back pockets, where he had a surprise ready just in case.

"Well, your argument is undoubtedly cute, but I'm not going to let you catch or kill me." Before any of them had a chance to react, Erz took a surprise out of his pocket and it was quickly revealed that it was a larger than average Fire Dust crystal that he had thrown near one of the heaps of crates and containers, so Incognito's further intentions did not were at that moment even the slightest mystery. "See you if you survive this, my dear ladies!"

Erz wasted no time, and as soon as the last words left his mouth, immediately a quite large barrel slipped from his right sleeve, which in fact belonged to his personal and hidden submachine gun. Incognito then fired a few accurate shots at the ejected crystal, and a moment later, real all hell broke loose in the warehouse.


AN: And here it is, my first job in the RWBY universe. Please tell me what you think about it and let some reviews.