Chapter 51: Diamonds in the Rough

A stone gargoyle sat crouched on a towering marble obelisk, its maw open to the world below. Once upon a time, it had guarded a gorgeous alabaster chapel, one that became flooded with patrons every single day. Now, the inanimate creature overlooked a dilapidated field of weathered gravel and rotting wooden crosses. Moonlight now beat down upon its lichen-encrusted skin, uninhibited by even a single cloud in the shimmering sky above. To the right, a solemn figure rested their back on the gargoyle's wing, their arms crossed as they reflected on today's progress.

'This is going to be much harder than I thought. And I already knew this was going to be a challenge...' After a full day of skulking, stalking, lurking, and even slinking, Hit was no closer to finding his prey. This was, once again, largely attributed to his inability to use ki in this new life. Seeking out specific individuals was far, far more difficult when one could not detect their distinctive ki signatures: energy wavelengths that could be used to determine a surprisingly vast swath of information regarding a living organism, not limited to its height, build, and strength. If the signature was powerful enough, a master ki user could even picture the target's location within their mind's eye, making espionage and hunting one's prey a cakewalk, and faraway fights far more entertaining to watch. No, Hit's current task was not an easy one and, unfortunately, his interrogation of Olivia had not facilitated matters in the slightest.

'I'm no closer to finding Naga, Sicho, Finks, or Ripper… This entire region is filled to the brim with clandestine activities and obvious felons... It's like trying to find a specific drop of water in an ocean…' Hit had trawled through a decent chunk of Daedalus Street, revealing a myriad of rival gangs, drug traffickers, human traffickers, prostitution rings, and contraband fences. However, this was still only the surface level and solely comprised a small fraction of the entire region's surface area, which extended underground in some cases. Expectedly, the inhabitants of Daedalus Street were tightly knit, which included its criminal organisations. Hit had observed several gangs exchanging stolen goods within their inner sanctums, and even caught a glimpse of their early warning system. Here, civilians and undercover gang members were used as 'canaries', alerting currently acting lawbreakers to the presence and movements of any law enforcement that dared to encroach here. Daedalus Street was simultaneously a well-oiled machine, and an inseparable cancer that was deeply embedded into Orario's core, slowly metastasizing throughout its entire region during the city's bleakest points in history. If Hit was to find a specific target here, then he was going to have to devote years to studying this region's precise inner workings… However, there was another option, one that only someone incredibly tenacious or foolhardy would even dare to attempt.

'If I'm to find out where these rats are hiding, then I'll have to force the entire populace to act in a predictable manner. Yes… Time to disrupt the status quo here and dredge out every secret I can. Either that, or I'll have to spend the rest of my pitiful lifespan combing through this entire hovel. I will also not rely on mere luck to come across them.'

Thanks to Hit's photographic memory, he had memorised a decent portion of 'Bounties of Orario'; however, he would need to revisit the Guild's library again tomorrow to gain an extensive understanding of his secondary targets: Daedalus' entire criminal population. Yes, Hit was on a mission, and he was going to find the four 'needles' in this 'haystack' of felons, even if he had to pluck away every fibre to reach them.

*Patter* *Patter* *Patter*

In fact, Hit was currently putting this newly acquired knowledge to good use and had successfully tailed a group of runaways to this very location. He now overlooked three members of a well-known band of jewellery thieves known as the Ivory Needles. The group was comprised of three men: a bulky redheaded Dwarf and two blond humans: twins. The two brothers were currently laughing as they breathed heavily, twirling heavy sacks of unknown goods in their hands.

"I swear this gets easier every time, boss! Those guys suck at their job!", one twin began as he came to a spinning stop.

"Yeah! That elephant faced prick can go fuck himself!", bleated his accomplice as he ran in circles, high on adrenaline.

Their dwarven commander guffawed at their athletics and halted under a magic stone-powered streetlight, his pearly whites shining in its bluish glow. "HAHA! Yep, like taking candy from a baby! That reminds me; I'll have to thank our buddies at the Demon elephants for keeping those flat-footed Ganesha morons busy… That's over 100,000 valis in gems, so we'll be eating well for quite some time, lads!"

The first brother wiped his brow and placed his canvas bag on the ground, before sitting down on the immense sack. It appeared that the 'seat' was quite uncomfortable as the boy winced and shot back into a standing position. "Ouch! That smarts… G-Good think Shakti wasn't there, though. That guard rota intel that we 'bought' was super useful!"

The second brother flung his own bag at his twin, forcing the shocked boy to catch it and fall back down onto his uncomfortable seat with a pained squeak. "Hehe! Those pillocks can't even keep their own members from blabbing! I mean, all we did was steal his dog for a few hours… what a wuss!"

The trio's leader drew his young wards into a hug and ruffled their blond locks. "Heh! Everyone has their price laddies, remember tha…"

*CRASH*

The three's hearts nearly exploded as the crystalline streetlight above them shattered, sending azure splinters raining down from the heavens like streaking comets. The Ivory Needles stared upwards and readied themselves for battle as darkness fell upon them, their teeth chattering at the sudden turn of events.

The dwarven leader sweated, darting his eyes ahead as his vision struggled to adjust to the sudden murkiness. "W-What in the hell was th-!?"

*BAM* *BAM* *BAM*

He was cut short in his stupefaction as three powerful clobbers somehow emerged out of nowhere and struck the three ruffian's necks, causing them to splutter and collapse onto the pavement below, unconscious.

Their unseen attacker stowed his fists away, looking down on his most recent quarry in slight bemusement. "Hmph. I cannot exactly disagree with their statements. Regardless, you're coming with me." With that, Hit hoisted the two humans under one arm and stowed the stocky dwarf under the other and leapt away into the night.

Hit had always been an honourable combatant, revealing himself to his targets during every battle; however, he had no intention of fighting any of these vermin. This was a cleanup operation, and he was going to treat these criminals like the refuse that they truly were.

There was a slight pep in Hit's step as he re-entered Theseus Parade, now devoid of any living cargo. He had expertly hauled his unconscious colleagues, and their stolen goods, halfway across Orario without alerting even one of the city's night watchmen during his multiple trips. His heading had been the Ganesha Familia's headquarters, known as the… "I am Ganesha" building. Expectedly, Hit had nearly retched as he read the utterly ridiculous plaque of the establishment, which, in all the literature he perused, was simply referred to as the Ganesha Headquarters, likely to hide its incredibly embarrassing title. Hit's mortification did not end here, as the building's entryway was solely a titanic statue of their God: the elephant-masked deity Ganesha in all his glory. Hit had momentarily grimaced at the incredibly lifelike privates the statue sported; hurriedly written out a 'kind' note to the building's inhabitants; and attached it to one of his unconscious buddies. He then hurled the three bodies through the statue's legs, and scuttled back the way he came to perform a similar routine with the bags of gemstones the kleptomaniacs had stolen.

The familiar scent of neglect and decay now surrounded Hit as he rounded a corner into his final destination for the day. Crimson eyes glowed in the darkness as they perpetually surveyed their surroundings, and finally came to a stop on a familiar hastily made "bed" comprised of stacked cardboard sheets and sodden cloths. Hit carefully uncovered the rotting structure to reveal a shivering boy, the very same lad that he had promised to return to several hours prior. The poor creature quaked in the cold air, teeth chattering as he rolled himself into a tight ball. Crusted tears shone down his cheeks, suggesting that the child had lost all hope of salvation as he waited for a father that never came. Hit scooped the precious parcel into his firm grasp and made his way to the northeast, towards a location that he was incredibly surprised to stumble upon during his recent perusal of Daedalus Street.

It was an orphanage: a stone block building with an uncanny resemblance to Hit's first ever home in this world. Surprisingly, Hit had stumbled upon the structure purely by chance while jumping from one roof to another during his secret operation. The leaping man had nearly crashed into a clock tower when he spied the oddly placed structure, which caused a flood of cherished memories to surge forth from the confines of his mind. Dozens of small children could be seen playing in a surprisingly spacious courtyard, each laughing as they raced around a beaten track, or kicked a leather ball across a field. The picturesque scene was incredibly nostalgic for Hit, surprising as the events that he was reminded of had only occurred a little over a month ago. Not only that, but he vehemently avoided interacting with any of the playing children during his brief stay in the nameless village. Perhaps, it was merely their connection to Mary that evoked these feelings from Hit…

After a few minutes of spying, a doting woman, who was previously sitting on a nearby wooden bench, rang a bell and escorted the little tykes back into the safe confines of their home. Hit quickly identified her as the orphanage director, based on the grey and white uniform that she wore: a vestment that was an intermediary between a nun's and a maid's outfit. The director had long, flowing brown hair and pale green eyes that betrayed a deep sadness, one that was hidden behind her ever-present light smile. For reasons unknown to Hit, her face arose feelings of familiarity and comfort from him…

Back to the present, Hit carefully bounded past the building's stone fence and dashed to its northern wall, where a flickering light could be seen moving from window to window. Hit placed the boy on the ground and slowly inched to the right. A quick dart to the side, under time skip, was all Hit needed to see to make his decision. The brief snapshot in time offered Hit a view of the director tucking dozens of children into bed, kissing one on his forehead as she went. The small beings yawned and grinned as they celebrated yet another finale to their perfect day, one filled with ample play, learning, and rest. Hit returned to reality and nodded with conviction, before picking the homeless boy up and trudging to the orphanage's front door. Glancing at the door, he could see that a bronze sword and shield acted as its knocker, with a silver plaque identifying the establishment as 'Maria's Orphanage'. After a few quick clacks, Hit placed the boy on the stone floor, and darted away to a nearby tree, blending into the foliage perfectly.

.

..

…

"H-Hello? Is anybody there…?" Hit did not have to wait long as the matron, supposedly Maria, unbolted the door and creaked it open, ensuring that the barrier could be swiftly flung shut in case she was walking into a trap. She gulped and creaked the barrier open further, holding a candle to illuminate the darkness before her.

"Goodness!" The woman's green eyes widened as she stared at a shivering boy lying a few metres from her doorstep. She quickly cast caution to the wind and placed her candle on the porch, before hurrying to the child's side. "What are you doing out here, deary?" The matron kneeled down and scooped the boy into her arms, looking him over for any injuries.

The nameless child coughed and finally woke up with a start, gasping as he was faced with a complete stranger. "H-Huh? Where's my Papa? W-Who…"

The boy's worries were cut short as the matron hugged him tightly to her bosom and carried him back into her humble home, preparing to welcome another lamb into her flock. "Shush now, little one. Everything's going to be fine."

'Saintly' was the correct term for the matron: only someone with an unwavering soul such as hers could ever hope to create this patch of paradise within the dingy depths of Daedalus.

Hit nodded contentedly. 'Hmph. Well, that's that issue resolved.' The austere man could not stop a warmth from welling up within him as he watched a candle's light dance along the orphanage's corridors, signifying the rescue of a pure soul from their undeserved anguish. However, strangely, the weight that dwelled within Hit's heart was still present, only slightly lessened by his recent act of kindness. 'What is this sentiment? Is this what it means to be… a human?' He shook his head. 'No. That was merely a promise that I chose to keep, nothing more. However, what of the others? They are an… eyesore.' Hit thought back to the tens of children that still resided on Daedalus' streets, either listlessly wandering the dark alleys or acting as fodder within the schemes of criminal gangs. For some reason, he could not stop an unfamiliar rage from burning within his soul as he passed the poor creatures.

Hit smirked as a plan dawned upon him, one that slotted perfectly with his current machinations. 'If I stem the flow of vulnerable younglings into human trafficking and grooming gangs, then that should weaken the network of this hellhole even further. Those rats will have no choice but to panic and scuttle to their typical haunts.'

The millennium assassin was used to frequenting a universe that lived in perpetual fear of galaxy-destroying emperors and millennium assassins. These mortals were different: they were assured of their safety and had grown fat on their own avarice, leading tactics and routines that were alien to Hit. Hit would show them the truth: that danger lay in wait on every corner of this universe. He would ingrain the true meaning of fear into them and pulverise their spirits beyond repair.

Author's Notes

This tactic is quite rash and overly bold for someone like Hit, but he has absolutely nothing to work with here. All he knows is that these four people are somewhere in Daedalus: a maddening region that he surmises also runs underground. Ordinarily, he would revise and study his foes and proceed directly to them based on the intel and their ki signature (unless undetectable). However, there is nothing too specific written about Naga nor the rest. Also, having him question people isn't anywhere near as fun to write and would obviously arouse suspicion that someone was searching for Naga etc. This strategy ensures that they believe they're merely a single sheep in a flock being slaughtered and will follow the rest for safety. Also, I obviously have no idea how assassins operate in the real world. I'm just some rando who writes stories, so take the realism with a mountain of salt.