Before long, the blackened iron gates parted, revealing a long table occupied by four councilmen engulfed in an invisible aura of might and dread. Even though Mia's eyes could not detect any semblance of this seemingly magical energy, her body reacted immediately. In less than a heartbeat, the Asian woman's skin crawled, marked by an uncountable number of goosebumps. This reaction was so severe that it rooted her in place, physically preventing Tayaki from moving forward even an inch. All she could do was stare at these individuals who – in the majority – terrified her.

"Ah, marvellous timing," Miss Tepes commented openly, turning towards Mia and Lucifer. "My fellow councilmen, let me briefly introduce you to the newcomers," she continued, excessively gesturing towards them. "I believe some of you might already know Lucifer. He is the first of the Reapers; many consider him their leader."

"We heard of him," Frederich replied reservedly, folding his hands on the table's face. "However, I'm far more interested in this young woman accompanying him. Who is she?" he questioned, fixing his gaze upon Mia and analysing her.

"She is my assistant," the council's leader replied vaguely. "Her name is Mia Tayaki."

"So … she's either your cattle or whore, or perhaps both," Arthur snarled, clearly bored. "Though … I need to admit she looks delectable," he added, allowing the tip of his tongue to outline his lips.

"What's she doing here?" Sabine inquired, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"Please, consider her a middleman," Akali nonchalantly shrugged. "As I already mentioned, I can not personally continue leading this investigation; henceforth, I selected Lucifer as my permanent replacement," she continued slowly, picking her words rather carefully. "As this incident will mostly likely keep him in the field for the most part, I need someone capable of dealing with all the bureaucracy and never-ending flood of documents. After all, we usually use all sorts of grand words in the reports only to make the description as shallow as possible. If possible, I would want to avoid this; I want everything accounted for, no matter how ugly the truth is," Akali said coldly. "Other than that, I would like her to attend our usual sessions, making her a reliable connection between us and the team investigating the case," she concluded, annoyingly slowly marching back towards her seat at the table's helm.

"I'll support this decision," the man with an ashen complexion remarked. "However, I have a few questions… perhaps we could address them during our next meeting, Akali?" he followed up immediately.

"I have no quarrel with that," the council's leader retorted after a few moments of pause. "I will have my schedule shared with you," she added, still carefully considering the man's words and the unspoken meaning sealed behind them.

"I'll be waiting to hear from you," Frederich commented, nodding diligently.

"What about you two?" the white-haired vampire addressed the remaining councilmen.

"I don't fucking care," Arthur replied immediately, eagerly standing up. "All of this feels like a fucking scam," he snarled at Miss Tepes. "Play whatever game you want, Tepes, but don't you dare to bore me with the details. When you have something interesting to share or discuss, you know where to find me," he continued, visibly irritated.

"As you wish."

"I want one of my agents included in this investigation," Sabine said flatly.

"Anyone particular?" Miss Tepes questioned, folding her hands on the table's face as she watched the rather impulsive councilman leave, wordlessly passing by Mia and Lucifer, which amused her.

"I have a few candidates worthy of this spot in mind," the golden-eyed woman responded dismissively. "That being said, my decision is hardly final," she added with a nasty smirk playing on her plump, reddish lips.

"As long as your candidate is someone capable of cooperation, I have no problem with that," the council's leader retorted slowly, trying to recall everyone Sabine could have had in mind quickly. "But … I expect you to discuss the details before optimistically inserting one of your 'hounds' into the team," she commented, snapping her attention fully towards the red-lipped vampire. "I might lead this investigation no more, yet I will still keep my eyes and ears peered. So … please, do not squander my goodwill."

"But of course, Miss Tepes," Sabine chuckled, unsuccessfully trying to hide her clear disdain for the leader. "I wouldn't do anything as brazen as this. I feel offended; who do you think I am … Arthur?" she continued faking.

"No … Arthur, with all his brazen recklessness and impatience, would be far easier to predict and control," the silver-haired woman said coldly. "I know exactly who you are, Sabine Inneth … and I recommend you never forget that."

Even though the anger visibly rampaged inside Inneth, she stood up wordlessly, bidding her farewell with a simple and slight nod. Then, with diligence and grace – she was known for – she strode away, leaving the hall through a side exit that had been prepared explicitly for her. She resembled a big cat ready to pounce at a moment's notice to vent off irritation and frustration.

Mia found herself lost in the grand scheme of this strangely chaotic yet seemingly planned meeting. The more she thought about the exchanges she heard, the more she believed Miss Tepes used them as bait to get the upper hand against her fellow councilmen. After all, all their presence here did was avert attention from the council's leader for a few moments. Tayaki expected a never-ending stream of uncomfortable questions, yet the reality left her wanting. Akali announced her decision loud and clear – something she could have very well done without their participation. Yet … perhaps all that was needed of them was to be there. Still … all of this felt rather surprising and made little to no sense. Or, she – not for the first time – overcomplicated the matter in her mind.

"Is this council concluded?" Friderich asked after a while. "Or … you want to discuss some other matters, Akali?"

"The answer solely depends on you," Miss Tepes replied politely, slowly rising from her seat. If you so wish, we can immediately start our next meeting," she offered, approaching Mia and Lucifer. "Or perhaps you have some questions for them?"

"No … perhaps in the future I'll have some," the man with an ashen complexion responded. "Then, there's nothing left for than to bid you farewell," he added, standing up and bowing diligently.

"I hope our next meeting will be pleasant for a change," Akali retorted. "But … at least for now, farewell," she added, gesturing towards the Reaper and her assistant, urging them to follow her.

Abaddon reached across the table, picking up a thin slice of pinkish meat in his chopsticks before drowning it entirely in a spicy liquid filling the closer side of the hot pot. The furniture was neatly set, with numerous bowls and plates containing various delicacies. Still, the masked man had hardly touched anything throughout the meeting, allowing his business partner to consume as much as he wanted.

Astor Trief was a relatively tall man with an impressive physique. Like many other dark-skinned people scattered throughout the country, sport was simultaneously his passion and work in his youth. As a boxer, he had achieved quite a lot, but due to many injuries, his career ended prematurely. That being said, with all his experience and muscles, shifting into a criminal was far too easy. It was clear that he had never grown accustomed to luxuries as his eating habits were lacking, to say the least, slowly irritating the masked man. But … instead of addressing the issue, Abaddon remained silent, only partially focusing on Trief, as most of his attention was glued to the slowly bubbling liquid and the slice soaked in it.

In the meantime, Astor continued stuffing his mouth full, making rather unpleasant noises. As his strong jaws kept working, munching the bits of food into a fine paste, a few scars covering the man's cheeks became visible. Some were nothing more than a faint line of white; others were so deep that it appeared only a thin, semi-transparent membrane was keeping muscles together. If Abaddon were to guess, the latter were remnants of a few nasty yet clumsy knife fights, but he cared too little to verify his speculation.

Trief's skull was slightly disfigured, irregular, perfectly shaved and marked with a few pinkish burns. No … it was not shaved; his hair was burnt, the masked man corrected himself. Underneath a set of lush brows, two greenish and lively orbs were socketed, currently wholly preoccupied with a seemingly endless amount of food on the table.

"Astor, I think you might like this," Abaddon finally spoke up, retrieving the slice from the hot pot and carefully placing it on a small plate before passing it to his business partner. "If you fancy something spicy, I would put some of this paste on," he advised, gesturing towards a decently sized bowl filled with some orange substance of solid consistency.

"I'll sure do," Trief replied with food still inside his mouth. "I wonder, though, what's the deal with this voice filter?" he asked a moment later after swallowing and accepting the offered plate. "I mean … it's cool to some degree, but at the same time, creepy."

"Oh," the masked man fake gasped. "My vocal cords were damaged in the past, leaving me with no other option but to use masks with filters," he explained.

"Bullshit," Aston commented, dipping the meat into the paste. "With all the money and contacts you have, there's nothing you can't have," he added, chewing the slice with visible enjoyment. "I mean … aside from influencing the council," he corrected himself.

"There are things no money can get you," Abaddon slowly remarked. "But … you are partially correct. I can access many things because of all this money and contacts," he added, leaning in. "That being said … how was it?"

"Freaking delicious," the ex-boxer retorted happily. "Abaddon, man, tell me your secrets. What was it? I'd appreciate it if you could share your cook's number. Damn … all of this was mind-blowing," he continued.

"Hm, let me think about it for a moment," the masked man replied quietly, putting his right hand on his mask as if trying to cup his jaw. "Ah … I remember. It was a particular order," he added vaguely.

"Was it chicken, pork, lamb, something else?"

"Oh, the meat came from John Mitch," Abaddon whispered.

"Wait … say it again," Aston mumbled, shocked.

"Oh, I think you heard me," the filtered voice replied immediately. "You know how it is in this line of business, right? You take a wrong step, and you are disposed of."

"Have you fed me human flesh?!" the criminal shouted, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. "Are you insane?!"

"Actually, most of the dishes on this table were made of your men," the masked man responded nonchalantly.

Before Trief could stand up, his head was locked in a tight grip, preventing him from moving an inch. He wanted to scream, but it was too late. Whoever stood behind him had already pressed a sharp knife to the ex-boxer's throat, slicing it open with one seemingly effortless move. Aston Trief did not suffer; there was no choking on his own blood, no slow, painful, yet inevitable wait for death to embrace him. No … the man's head was momentarily severed, quickening up the process. As the blood abundantly spilt, tainting the table and nearby carpet, Abaddon slowly stood up, cleaning his hands with a snowy handkerchief.

"Clean up the mess," he immediately commanded, heading towards the ajar door.

"What about the body?" a quiet man's voice questioned.

"Throw it to Cerberus," Abaddon replied, slowly strolling away. "This suit looks nice, Morgul," he commented, waving awkwardly with his right hand.

"Pff," Morgul scoffed. "I thought you wanted me to handle something important," he complained. "When you called me in, I thought I would be handling a lethal mission, not disposing of a piece of trash like this thing," he continued, pointing at the corpse.

"In due time, friend, in due time."

For Mia, the next day did not start as she had anticipated. All the young woman expected or wished for was answers to questions that began piling up in the depths of her mind. But … to her utmost discontent, Akali had provided her little, if any, leaving her with Lucifer shortly after the council's meeting concluded. As if this was not bad enough, the moment the Asian woman stepped into her usual office space, someone was already waiting for her. And … Sabine Inneth paced around the room, clearly irritated.

"You're finally here," the vampire's voice was cold and demanding. "I have questions, and you'll provide me with answers."

Knowing full well that declining was not an option, Tayaki slowly nodded, approached her desk, and prepared herself for the unforeseen confrontation.

Author's notes section:

The main focus for me remains the rewriting of "My home is where my heart lies". That being said, I know fully well that this process will be long and painful for me, so in the meantime, I will be dropping smaller updates of various stories.

Hey, here's the preview of the next chapter. I hope I can do this chapter a little justice.

It's done. Though ... I think it could have been a bit longer. I don't know how I will manage the writing schedule in the next couple of weeks, but I will try to post as often as possible. Till then, thank you and enjoy.

Please note that the dialogues written in italics are thoughts.

As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)

Changelog:
[2024-12-02] - A preview was released.
[2024-12-08] - A major update applied and the final revision released.

References:
- Yakuza 0 - Judgement
- Bonnie Tyler - Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)

End of the author's notes section.