Damian’s eyes widened slightly, surprised by her aggressive stance and her choice of language.
But clearly, Luna wasn’t done yet.
"I’m not asking for your permission, Damian. I’m informing you that I will be attending Stormhold Academy. I will be training as a combatant. And I will be strong enough that you never have to worry about being used against you."
She turned toward the door.
"Now co outside and eat your dinner before it gets cold. Mother’s been keeping it warm for you."
BANG
She left without waiting for a response, the door closing behind her with more force than necessary.
Damian sat alone in the training room, Kuro still on the floor beside him, both of them processing what had just happened.
Soon... a small smile crossed his face despite everything.
’She’s grown up I guess. The gentle girl who needed protection doesn’t exist anymore.
It’s still terrifying to think about her in danger, but maybe... maybe she’s right. Maybe I am underestimating her.’
He sighed heavily and stood, heading toward the door.
"Co on, Kuro. Let’s go eat sothing."
****
[An Abandoned Warehouse - Northern Region]
Nine n sat around a table in what had once been a storage facility, now converted into a makeshift eting space.
Marcus Feng. Isaac Reeves. Thomas Kane. And six others who’d survived the portal alongside Damian.
All of them were looking at Brian Oleaf with expressions mixing curiosity and concern.
The man who’d called this eting was different from the person they rembered when they saw him after coming out of the portal as part of formal procedures.
Brian’s eyes were cold and his posture was rigid.
His voice carried none of the warmth and idealism that had always been present.
This was soone who’d been broken and rebuilt into sothing harder.
"Thank you all for coming."
Brian’s voice was flat, professional.
"I know so of you traveled significant distances to be here. I appreciate the effort."
Marcus leaned forward slightly.
"You said this was important. That it involved Damian. Is he alright?"
"Damian is fine. This eting isn’t about his wellbeing. It’s about an opportunity."
Brian stood up, beginning to pace slowly.
"All of you survived two months in a hostile portal dinsion. Watched friends die. Fought enemies that should have killed you and ca back changed."
Heads nodded around the table.
"You must have tried returning to your old lives, your old jobs and your old routines. And found out that they don’t fit anymore, haven’t you?"
More nods followed, this ti accompanied by troubled expressions.
"Because you can’t unknow what you learned in that portal. Can’t unsee what you witnessed. Can’t return to being the people you were before."
Brian stopped pacing, his hands resting on the table.
"I’m proposing we build sothing new. A Northern Region branch of the Mafia."
Complete silence.
Thomas Kane, the forr SFD officer, spoke first.
"The Mafia? Damian’s organization? Did he send you to recruit us?"
"No."
Brian’s response was imdiate.
"Damian doesn’t know about this eting. I’ll inform him after we’ve established the foundation. This is my initiative."
Isaac Reeves, the construction worker who’d proven surprisingly capable in combat, looked skeptical.
"Why would we join a criminal organization? Most of us have legitimate careers and families. Lives that don’t involve breaking the law."
"Do you?"
Brian’s cold look made Isaac pause.
"Do you really still have those lives? Or are you just going through motions, pretending everything is normal while knowing you’ve fundantally changed?"
He gestured around the table.
"Marcus, you went back to your corporate job and lasted three weeks before the pointlessness of it made you quit. Isaac, you’re working construction but spending your nights training obsessively because you can’t stand feeling weak. Thomas, you’re still working for the Federation as a police officer after quitting SFD, but you’ve noticed the corruption, haven’t you? The way the system protects the powerful and exploits the weak?"
Each man flinched as Brian called out their situations with uncomfortable accuracy.
"...You are right. We’re not the sa people who entered that portal... Pretending otherwise is just lying to ourselves."
Marcus’s business mind was working through implications.
"Even if we agreed in principle, we’re not strong enough to operate independently. We don’t have resources or connections or infrastructure.
We got to know about the Mafia from Damian during the last few days inside the portal. The Mafia in the Central Region has all of the resources because they’ve been building for months. We’d be starting from nothing."
"The Mafia has resources."
Brian’s response was confident.
"Damian built an organization designed to expand. Once I inform him we’ve established a Northern Branch, support will follow. Money, equipnt and connections with the other branch. We won’t be operating in isolation."
"And strength?"
Thomas asked quietly.
"You’re right but most of us are relatively low-ranked. How do we handle threats when we’re facing organizations with veteran fighters?"
Brian’s smile was cold.
"I’m an A rank forr SFD officer with fifteen years of combat and investigative experience. I can guide your training, teach you techniques and help you advance faster than normal progression would allow."
He leaned forward, his presence suddenly more intense.
"I know how to build operational security. How to gather intelligence. How to identify targets and eliminate them efficiently. Everything I learned serving a corrupt system can be repurposed to serve sothing actually worthwhile."
Marcus studied Brian’s face carefully.
"...What’s the goal? If we establish this Northern Branch, what are we actually trying to accomplish?"
Brian’s expression went completely empty, his voice dropping to sothing barely above a whisper.
"Shadow Council."
The two words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"The terrorist organization that’s been escalating attacks across the entire Northern Region. The group responsible for bombings, assassinations, and civilian casualties. The enemy the SFD claims to be fighting but sohow never manages to actually eliminate."
His hands clenched on the table.
"We’re going to destroy them! Completely! Every mber! Every supporter! Every contact! Until the Shadow Council is nothing but a mory and a warning."
The survivors exchanged glances, seeing sothing in Brian’s intensity that spoke of personal motivation beyond simple justice.
Before anyone could ask about it, Brian shifted topics.
"There were ten survivors who ca out of that portal, correct? Why are only nine of you here?"
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