The Nova Family's hideout was the deepest part of the battlefield, hidden within the darkness of the Platinum Grill.
The dim space reeked of blood and sweat, like an iron fortress.
The flicker of a lamp swayed like the afterglow of war.
"Darmaine! This is our boss, Nova-sama."
The lamp-man's voice was the signal cannon of battle.
Darmaine's eyes went wide in a daze, then he burst out laughing clutching his stomach.
"Gyahahahaha! This brat's the boss!? You guys serve under such a kid? What a joke!!"
That laughter was the fuse thrown into the battlefield.
In an instant, the air of the mafia turned into the blade of killing intent.
"I'll kill this brat and take over as boss of the Nova Family myself!!"
Darmaine's roar was the thunder of a tank's charge.
He rushed straight at Nova, fist raised.
But Nova's counter high-kick exploded like lightning.
It struck Darmaine's face head-on, blowing his huge body away and slamming him against the wall.
The sound of concrete shattering was the impact of a shell's landing.
"Don't underestimate me, you pig."
Nova's voice was as cold as a freezing blade scraping bone.
Darmaine dropped to his knees, pressed his forehead to the ground, and instantly kowtowed.
"M-my deepest apologies! An unforgivable discourtesy… please forgive me!!"
That plea was the wheeze of a fallen soldier before the enemy.
But the mafia men mercilessly radiated killing intent.
"Hey, let's just kill this guy."
"Yeah. Anyone who raises a hand to the boss can't be allowed to live."
Their rage was a storm of gunfire covering the battlefield.
Darmaine hurriedly babbled:
"N-no, you don't understand! I didn't really want to do this! It was only because Rose ordered me to…"
"Rose? You mean that spoiled prince?"
Nova's question was a sharp blow of warning on the battlefield.
Darmaine rattled on.
"Y-yeah… I got captured by the Nakatam army for various reasons. I was supposed to be executed, but Rose said if I brought back a mafia boss's head, he'd pardon me…"
"I don't think that prince would give an order like that to an idiot like you."
Nova's gaze was cold, like a sniper aiming for a vital point.
Darmaine shouted:
"It's true! Please… shelter me! I'll do anything, just let me join the Nova Family!!"
That cry was the wail of a loser begging for his life on the battlefield.
The mafia men shouted in anger.
"Don't spew such crap, bastard!"
"You mocking us!?"
Their rage was like a flamethrower scorching the battlefield.
Nova spoke quietly:
"You'll do anything, huh?"
"Y-yes…"
"Then go assassinate the Three Generals. If you can do that, I'll make you an executive."
That impossible task was like being told to stop a nuclear warhead from being dropped on the battlefield.
The mafia sneered, like the sound of war boots trampling the weak.
Darmaine forced down his agitation and lifted his face.
"You can do it, can't you?"
Nova's eyes were sharp as a spear piercing an enemy on the battlefield.
Darmaine answered:
"Yes, I can."
His eyes blazed with the fire of a soldier vowing to rise again.
Suddenly, the lights snapped on.
All of them squinted at the brightness, like the moment a flash grenade exploded on the battlefield.
"Darmaine~, betrayal's not good, you know?"
Rose's voice rang from the entrance, a mercenary's provocation crashing into the battlefield.
Endi followed behind him.
"Hey Darmaine, we heard everything!"
Endi spoke with a voice mixed with anger and exasperation.
Darmaine flinched for an instant, but then twisted a smile like a viper.
"Heh… Endi, you don't understand a thing, do you? They say if you're gonna fool your enemies, you start with your allies. Prince Rose! That brat over there is Nova, the boss! I even tracked down this hideout myself! That's a huge achievement, isn't it!?"
His tongue was vivid, like arrows of poison shot across the battlefield.
Rose smirked.
"Good work, Darmaine. Not bad at all."
That praise was like winning a little award.
Darmaine scurried to hide behind Rose and Endi—like a fox borrowing the power of a tiger.
With Rose's appearance, the mafia grew flustered, like soldiers who'd lost their retreat on the battlefield.
"Who would've thought you were using an unused room of the Platinum Grill as a hideout. I'll give you credit for that."
Rose's words were like a knife striking an enemy's weak point.
But Nova replied with a composed smile.
"My, my, Prince Rose. What brings you to such a filthy dump?"
"Isn't it obvious? We came to deal with you since you've been up to some shady moves. Still, I'm surprised. You wouldn't show yourself even to Number 3 Jessica, yet you stand here before your underlings."
"Hmph. I knew that woman was your planted spy from the start. I just let her swim free so I could use her instead."
Nova's words were a counter blade slashing across the battlefield.
Rose laughed, almost innocently.
"Haha, scary kid, aren't ya."
That laugh was the spirit of a warrior taunting his foe on the battlefield.
The mafia drew their guns.
Like mercenaries storming into the battlefield.
"Stop. Fire here and you might hit civilians."
Nova's command was like that of a general ruling the battlefield.
His obedient subordinates immediately lowered their guns.
Endi looked surprised at Rose's statement—like a rookie seeing an unexpected move on the battlefield.
"Hey, what are you mafia guys buying weapons from Old Doal's army for?"
Right after Endi's question, Nova grinned.
"Revenge. And now, the time is ripe."
That word was the spark igniting the battlefield's gunpowder.
Nova darted at them with lightning speed and sprayed tear gas.
Scorching poison burned their eyes, and the three collapsed like defeated soldiers on the battlefield.
Nova and his men fled, vanishing into the smoke of war.
All that remained was the scorched stench of tears.