Chapter 141: Shadows of the Parent
Raven endured the pain as the knife penetrated deep into his thigh and spat in the waiter's face.
"You think I'll tell you?"
"You will!" the waiter said as he pulled out the knife.
"The moment you learn about the 'Sparrows,' your fate is already sealed. Tell me now, where did you see the golden jar?" As the waiter spoke, he stabbed directly into Raven's stomach.
"Argh!" Raven let out a painful groan and forced a smile.
"Ha, I only know of the Golden Jar through the images in the Legacy News. But what I didn't expect was that the Sparrows and Vipers are related." Raven paused for a moment and then asked,
"The drug you fed me earlier. It's 'Miraclo,' right?"
The waiter's face froze.
Although many people knew of the drug 'Miraclo,' not even wizards could identify it once it was added to food.
The moment it mixes into food, it becomes more like an invisible poison. That's why it's so hard to detect.
"Who are you?" the waiter asked, pulling the knife from Raven's abdomen and giving him a sharp look.
"Heh, let's make a deal," Raven said.
"Why should I make a deal with a dead man?" The waiter furrowed his brows, confused by Raven's scheming words.
"You've nothing to lose. You've already drugged me and wounded my right thigh and abdomen. I've already lost too much blood and can't even move without someone's help. There's no way I'll survive unless you show mercy." He paused for a moment and let out a chuckle.
"But I don't see that happening. What I want is simple. I want to satisfy my curiosity. Once I know the truth, I can die peacefully." A bitter smile appeared on his face as he touched the wounded abdomen, then placed his hand on the waiter's chest.
"Blood Bond," he muttered, startling the waiter.
The next second, a drop of blood came out of his fingertip, shot toward the waiter's chest, and entered his heart.
Before the waiter could react, the blood droplet mixed with his blood and spread throughout his body.
A wave of dizziness hit him, and he stumbled.
It only lasted a moment before everything returned to normal.
"W-What did you do?" The waiter, sensing something was wrong, asked warily.
Meanwhile, Raven activated regeneration to heal his wounds at a visible speed and slowly stood up.
"Nothing. I just put a slave mark in your heart," he said, then added,
"My first order: do not try to kill yourself."
As soon as Raven spoke, the waiter felt an overwhelming compulsion to obey.
Raven quietly took the knife from the waiter's hand and muttered,
"If you try anything funny, I'll slit your throat right away."
The waiter felt as though an invisible force had frozen his entire body.
"W-What did you do to me?" Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
Raven ignored the waiter's panic and asked,
"What is the aim of Sparrow and Viper?"
As though under the command of a superior, the waiter began to speak truthfully.
"I'm not high-ranking enough to know the organization's objective, but I know we're planning to take over the Empire from the inside—Sh*t! How? Why did I say that?" He stepped back in fear.
Controlling someone's mind wasn't something even the higher-ups in his organization could do easily.
The waiter asked in a panicked tone,
"Who are you?"
Raven shook his head.
"I'll tell you my name at the end. But I'll give you a chance to satisfy your curiosity."
The waiter stared at him in surprise.
'I don't know how long he can control my mind, but this ability is dangerous. I need to find a way to escape and alert the higher-ups.'
"How did you know the drug in the food was 'Miraclo'?"
"I've tasted the drug once in a very high quantity. I experienced similar hallucinations and lost my critical thinking for a moment. There aren't many drugs available that cause that dull and hallucinatory state. It was an obvious guess," Raven answered calmly, then asked,
"What is your organization's relationship with the Falcons?"
"Falconcrest?" The waiter pondered for a moment and spoke.
"They help distribute drugs throughout the Empire. Although most of them were wiped out by the Royal City's police in 1403, remnants are still active in various places."
"I asked about 'Falcons,' not Falconcrest. Tell me the roles of these three organizations," Raven said.
In truth, he had always thought the Falcons and Falconcrest were the same. Even when he asked Franco, he was only told about Falconcrest.
But after discovering that the Vipers and Sparrows were linked, he had another thought.
'What if Vipers, Sparrows, and Falcons are all working together?'
Meanwhile, wariness and panic appeared on the waiter's face.
"Ha, you really know a lot about us, huh? Yes, Falcons, Sparrows, and Vipers are all working together. We, the Sparrows, gather information through merchandise. The Falcons manage the underworld and control all the black markets. They're also responsible for illegal activities like kidnapping, theft, blackmail, and money laundering. And the Vipers Syndicate isn't just a drug-selling group; they're also an assassination organization. I heard from a higher-up that they were the ones responsible for the recent assassination of the Crown Prince. That's why the Royal Family has been targeting the Vipers more aggressively."
'Oh? Information gathering, underworld businesses, assassinations, drug dealing… surprisingly, all of them seem connected. It's like—'
Raven's eyes narrowed as clarity struck him.
"…It's like watching different insects working for the same hive."
The waiter blinked in confusion. "W-What?"
Raven took a slow breath, ignoring the blood still trickling from his side.
"Have you ever seen a wasp nest? There are gatherers, guards, builders, scouts… each doing separate tasks but serving the same queen."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Sparrows, Vipers, Falcons… different species, same nest. Different colors, same blood."
The waiter's expression twitched.
Raven continued, now more certain than ever.
"You gather information under the guise of merchants. Vipers carry out the assassinations and poison the minds of nobles and rebels alike. Falcons maintain the chaos in the underworld. But none of you are the true controllers. You're workers. Puppets. Tools."
He paused, then muttered thoughtfully,
"…You're all drones feeding a parent organization."
A shiver ran down the waiter's spine.
Raven gave a chilling smile.
"Tell me. Who is the one pulling your strings?"
At that moment, the waiter felt his entire body and even his mind urging him to answer.
He opened his mouth and spoke.
"A—"
But before he could finish the word, his head exploded like a watermelon!
The headless body danced on the alley road for a second before collapsing with a thud.
"What the f*ck?" Raven stared at the headless corpse, deeply startled.
"He didn't say the word on purpose. They must've put a restriction on him without his knowledge." But thanks to the waiter's reaction, Raven confirmed that there was a parent organization behind the three.
[I don't think these three are the only ones. There might be more.] Zera said in his mind.
"Ha, I also wanted to ask how they're related to the Viser Kingdom, but I didn't expect him to die like this." Raven shook his head and decided to leave.
Before that, he changed his blood-soaked shirt and coat, then covered his head with a bowler hat.
'I should rent a room in another inn and rest.'
All of a sudden, his expression froze.
The golden spell model in his Mind Space flickered intensely.
A vague sense of calling came from the eastern direction.
He quickly left the alley and moved toward the carriage parked a few dozen meters away.
"Where do you want to go, lad?" the old carriage driver asked, glancing at Raven's pale face.
"The Eastern Gate," Raven answered curtly.
Zera's voice echoed in his mind, tinged with worry.
[Why the Eastern Gate? You're not planning to leave the city already, are you?]
Raven remained silent as he stepped inside the carriage and sat.
As the carriage started to move, the cold night air seeped in through the wooden slats in the walls.
The city was too quiet for this hour. Too still. As if it were holding its breath.
Soon, the carriage slowed as it neared the massive structure of the Eastern Gate. The driver tugged on the reins, and the horses came to a soft halt.
"That'll be four silvers," the driver muttered, half-asleep.
Raven reached into his coat, pulled out four worn silver coins, and placed them in the man's hand without a word. As he stepped down, his eyes darted toward the gate. It was already shut, its towering iron frame locked tight for the night.
Guards patrolled lazily near the edges with torches, their faces hidden beneath dark helms.
But Raven didn't head for the gate.
Instead, he walked quietly along the inner side of the city wall, slipping through the shadows. After a few dozen meters, he found a section slightly overgrown with ivy and moss—an area rarely patrolled. He glanced over his shoulder.
'No one is watching.'
He extended his hand and activated a spell.
"Shadow Teleportation."
His entire form flickered, stretched, and melted into darkness. A second later, he vanished from the city's interior.
Only silence remained.
Outside the city wall, a gust of cool wind swept across the dew-laced grass.
Near a crumbled section of the outer rampart, Raven's shadow pulled itself free from the stone and solidified into human form once more.
He exhaled sharply, placing a hand against the wall to steady himself.
"Outside… finally," he whispered.
[What is your plan?] Zera asked.
'Agith Ruins.'
[I'm telling you. It's too dangerous. Why not just hire mercenaries?]
'I have a vague feeling I need to go there personally.'
[Fortuitous Finder spell?] Zera asked.
Unlike other spells, Raven couldn't activate this one willingly. To activate the spell, certain conditions had to be met.
'Yes. That's why I left the city in a hurry.' Raven said as he started walking towards the outskirts of the city.
…