In My Second Life, I Rule from the Shadows

Chapter 5: NOX (3)

“Master. It’s been a while.”

Six looked at Carl with a clearly delighted expression.

It was their first meeting since his return, as he had been on a long-term external mission for several months.

“……”

Seven stood there with his usual blank expression.

“Ahem. Now that the Master is here, let’s begin the briefing.”

At Nine’s words, which brought the situation to order, the members of Black Label stopped their antics and took their seats.

Creak.

Carl did the same.

He sat in the highest seat prepared for him, and Nine manipulated a magic tool to project a screen onto the wall.

“Our current base is located on the outskirts of northwestern Polfoardel. It’s a slum called Delling, and NOX has completed its full occupation.”

“For something that took years of effort, progress sure is sluggish.”

Queen spoke with a disinterested expression.

Nine gave a slightly awkward smile but answered with a helpless look.

“The original plan was the northern region. We had been laying the foundation step by step for the past five years, but a year ago, the Imperial Royal Family suddenly announced a redevelopment project for underdeveloped areas, and we had no choice but to cancel all plans.”

“Hmph.”

Queen, being a key member of NOX, was already aware of the circumstances.

But bringing it up again was clearly an intention to criticize their mistakes and failures.

“……The place we changed to was the Delling slum. This area holds no developmental value. It has been abandoned for decades, so the chance of the royal family intervening is extremely low.”

“It belongs to the Western Third Commercial District. What about the local powers there?”

At Second’s question, Nine flipped the screen.

「Merbo」

「Birterso」

「Coxi」

「Lahan」

They were the local powers of the Western Third Commercial District, each commanding hundreds of members.

“The weakest among them is Merbo. However, due to the complex web of checks and balances, even stronger factions find it difficult to attack others easily.”

“Like a tangled web of threads?”

At Six’s remark, Nine nodded.

“Originally, we would’ve spent another year or two assessing the situation before moving in, but since the Master personally stepped forward, we completely revised the plan.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Carl.

He was the master of NOX; they merely acted according to his will.

“Master, then which group shall we strike first?”

Queen leaned on the round table with a seductive smile.

If he gave the order, she was ready to wipe out all four leaders at once.

“……”

He knew it was still too early to clash with the forces in the capital’s underworld.

Not because those names were intimidating, but because touching them would inevitably drag out other monsters as well.

Just like the Central Plains, Polfoardel was entangled with countless powers.

‘This place is my new Central Plains now.’

Carl spoke with a faint smile.

“Our first target is……”

Polfoardel, Western Third Commercial District.

「Birterso」 was a traditional organization with a fifty-year history.

Their main businesses were slave trade and contract killings, but like most underworld organizations, they had their hands in countless other areas.

“……That concludes the situation report.”

“Ha!”

***

Bicain, the head of Birterso, scoffed as he rubbed his eyelid in response to his subordinate’s report.

“Bold bastards. After getting their asses handed to them in the North, they should’ve packed up and gone back home. And yet they dare crawl into this place?”

Bicain believed that the capital wasn’t a playground for country bumpkins.

“What are those bastards called?”

“NOX.”

“Night, huh. How grandiose. That’s what happens when fools try to act big……”

Even those who dominated the provinces would get swept away by the harsh tides here.

The underworld of Polfoardel, the capital, was already a solid and unified structure.

If you disturbed the fragile balance, the price would be paid in blood.

“I’m curious how that lunatic Merbo will react. If he snaps, he’ll flip everything upside down.”

News that NOX was targeting Merbo had already spread like wildfire overnight.

For internal operations to leak so easily—

You could guess the leader’s level of competence.

Click.

When the curtain was pulled open, the view of the underworld came into sight.

The city’s night was still bright—no matter how much darkness tried to descend.

“We’re closely monitoring the situation too. If any variables arise, be ready to respond immediately……”

Rat-a-tat!

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps from outside cut Bicain off.

Immediately after, the office door burst open, and a subordinate drenched in sweat gasped for breath as he shouted.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

“……What?”

Bicain jumped to his feet.

Why were they under attack all of a sudden?

His mind was about to explode with confusion before it quickly snapped into clarity.

The conclusion he reached was…

“These crazy bastards.”

Did they skip over Merbo and come straight for him?

It was no different from saying they wanted to die.

Bicain immediately raised his head and shouted.

“Gather all available personnel now! Minimize the damage, no matter what……!”

Crash!

Before he could even finish speaking, the window shattered, and a fist-sized object rolled into the office.

Boom! Boom!

The object that crashed through the window exploded, filling the office with thick smoke.

“……Kgh.”

Bicain quickly covered his nose and mouth.

His skin stung—it seemed the smoke was laced with poison.

‘First, I need to regroup.’

It might be chaotic for now, but once the members gathered here, these brats would be crushed within a single night.

What came after could be dealt with later.

For now, the priority was putting out the fire at his feet.

“……Kgh!”

“Boss…!”

Bicain witnessed the shadow that had surged in from the darkness cut down the two men standing before him.

If he had wanted, he could’ve crushed the intruder with one hand, but he chose to escape the area first.

Crash!

He cloaked his body in magic and hurled himself toward the wall.

That section had been intentionally weakened in preparation for emergencies like this, to connect directly to the hallway.

As he escaped the thick smoke and got back on his feet, a sharp scent of blood hit his nose.

“……These damned bastards!”

It seemed the enemy had concentrated their full force on his location.

Just as he was about to dash outside, Bicain spotted a woman slowly approaching from the end of the hallway.

“Oh my.”

Her violet hair fluttered gently.

She walked with only a short dagger in her hand, but she was clearly not ordinary.

A black mask, and at its edge—the symbol of 『Q』.

There was no doubt she was one of NOX’s elites—either Black Label or whatever they were called.

“You!”

Bicain immediately turned into a streak of light and launched himself forward.

Queen raised a faint smile, sharpening her killing intent over her dagger, but soon scoffed as he kicked off the wall and instantly changed direction.

Crash!

In the end, he bypassed Queen, smashed through the window at the end of the hallway, and leapt outside.

Thud.

Landing amidst a cloud of dust, Bicain immediately prepared for another attack.

Any fool could predict he’d try to escape, so the area was likely surrounded.

But unexpectedly, only one person emerged from the shadows.

“……Hah.”

Bicain let out a short sigh.

He had hoped a few of their troops would charge him instead.

If it had been some mediocre opponent, he would’ve slaughtered them and broken through the encirclement in one strike—but the fact that only one person awaited him meant they had sent a top-tier fighter.

While measuring his opponent and trying to gauge their level, Bicain narrowed his eyes.

“……A golden crescent moon on Black Label. Are you the master of NOX?”

He slowly drew his sword and spoke.

It wasn’t a matter of being surrounded or not—if he couldn’t surpass this man, there would be no escape.

Click.

Carl released the lock on his mask and revealed one of his eyes to the outside.

The signature red eye of the Leipzig bloodline radiated a piercing crimson glow through the darkness as it fixed on Bicain.

“Honestly, I was looking forward to this a bit.”

“……What?”

“I heard your group was famous even in the capital, so I made thorough preparations.”

He couldn't suppress the laughter leaking out.

“But in reality, you’re nothing special.”

Screeeech!

Before Carl finished speaking, Bicain launched himself forward.

As expected of a group leader, his strike carried a deadly sharpness.

“……”

The shadows surrounding Carl quivered.

His subordinates, hidden in the dark, were ready to leap out and tear Bicain apart.

But Carl gave a slight shake of his head and reached toward the sword at his waist.

“Opportunities to stake one’s life in a fight with such an entertaining opponent are rare.”

Even though his mind was that of a seasoned assassin, his young body had not yet fully adapted to the instincts of killing.

So, when the opportunity arose, it was only right to strike and hone it to the fullest.

Flash!

With a dazzling burst of light, their figures crossed paths.

More precisely, Bicain’s figure, which had rushed in with lightning speed, came to a stop behind Carl.

“……”

In Carl’s hand was a sword—no one could tell when he had drawn it.

Drip, drip.

Bright red blood slid down the blade.

He spun the sword in a graceful arc to fling off the blood, then sheathed it as if nothing had happened.

Shlick. Click.

The sound of the sword sliding into its scabbard echoed—at the same time, a fountain of blood erupted from Bicain’s chest.

More precisely, the area where his heart was had been shredded and now gushed blood.

Bicain collapsed without even managing a death cry and died just like that.

“Hm.”

Carl looked down at his hand.

The Primordial Unity Divine Art always produced power beyond expectations.

Even now, he had only used a small portion of his true energy, yet the resulting strike had been this fast and devastating.

‘It’s called a divine art for a reason.’

Ordering his subordinates to clean up the corpse, Carl slowly walked into the Birterso building.

“……He’s always so beautiful.”

Leaning against the window, gazing out, Queen smirked.

How many among Black Label could’ve followed his movements just now with their eyes?

“King, that old man could probably keep up easily, and maybe Joker and Ace could barely see it too.”

The rest were all so-so—it was hard to say.

“……Ah.”

Realizing Carl had entered the building, Queen immediately leapt to her feet and ran over.

After all, the only one who suited him was herself.

Meanwhile, the same situation was unfolding at the other organization, 「Merbo」.

Second, Five, Six, and Seven—

These four numbered Black Labels had used the distraction of Carl’s attack on Birterso to launch a surprise assault on Merbo.

Naturally, they crushed them with overwhelming force, subduing Merbo even more ruthlessly than Carl’s own team.

“Send word to the Master. Tell him the occupation of Merbo is complete.”

Second gave the order while holding Merbo’s leader by the hair.

“……Even after this…”

“You think you’ll get away with it?”

Second interrupted with a crooked grin.

“Plenty of people have said the same thing to me.”

“……”

Merbo’s leader’s face twisted in horror.

He realized he was dealing with a lunatic who couldn’t be reasoned with.

“……You—”

Crunch.

She didn’t give him a chance to finish his last words.

With a firm grip, she snapped his neck and tossed him onto the mountain of corpses made up of Merbo’s fallen members.

“No big deal.”

Second shrugged and threw out a final remark that would never reach him, then turned her back.