An Assassin's Adventure: The Great Conjunction

Chapter 52: Culling

Daedalus Street had stood for hundreds of years as a sanctuary for the lowest of criminals on the entire planet. It was a safe haven for the most wretched dregs of society and allowed them to carry out their dirty work unabated. As a result, the city's most vulnerable mortals were sentenced to a life of servitude and despair, acting as mere playthings in their sinister machinations. Despite Orario's law enforcement possessing multiple first-class adventurers, they could never quite catch their quarry, owed to the region's perfected defence systems and maddening nexuses of hidden territories and migratory patterns.

Unexpectedly, this safety net had been utterly obliterated over the past four nights by an unknown third party. An alpha predator walked amongst Daedalus' alleys and sent shivers up even the most hardened criminal's spines. Day after day, the broken bodies of wanted thieves; rapists; fraudsters; loan sharks; child traffickers; and serial killers were flung all across the "I am Ganesha" building and its grounds, along with bags of narcotics and stolen goods. It was a public relations disaster for the Ganesha Familia, who had absolutely no idea who the culprit, or culprits, were. Each 'present' that they were forced to house was affixed with a written note, referring to their establishment in quite the unsavoury manner. It seems that whoever was hurling criminals into and onto their grounds had quite a poor view of their Familia, who were referred to as 'idle dullards' and 'self-conceited worms' on multiple occasions.

The issue was further convoluted, as each note was addressed to them by seemingly random criminal gangs, which had the secondary effect of causing relations within Daedalus Street to break down completely. No soul could be trusted and Orario's criminal underworld was currently in hiding or at each other's throats.

Expectedly, the Ganesha Familia was in an uproar and had called a hastily organized strategy meeting to order on the fifth morning of their humiliation. We now find ourselves within the inner chambers of the Ganesha Familia headquarters: a spacious, dimly lit room filled with nervous adventurers. Various sacred artifacts and tapestries adorned the shadowy space, each revering a specific aspect of the Hindu pantheon. The Familia's Captain, Vice-Captain, and their God Ganesha were currently seated around an immense round table, deliberating over a pile of notes they had been ever so graciously gifted. The company was surrounded by most of the Familia's high-class forces, who were looking on in worry and fright as their Familia captain trembled in her seat.

Shakti Varma was an absolute wreck: her dark blue hair lay loose and frayed; her precious orange and gold battledress was left crumpled and dirtied; and her face was twisted into a pained scowl. The poor woman had been on guard duty at Orario's outer edges when she received news of the newest thorn in her Familia's side, and had been completely blindsided. Not a wink of sleep had blessed her in days, mostly due to the constant human bombardment that their home had suffered throughout the entire four nights. Infuriatingly, every search for the culprits had been utterly pointless: no matter how well they combed the perimeter, they could not spot their recent rabble-rousers. It was if ghosts were haunting the Ganesha headquarters, waving the executive's failures in their faces.

"DAMN IT ALL!!!" Shakti picked up a flier and tore it to shreds, beating her fists on the table and reducing it to splinters. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT THERE!? I AM SICK AND TIRED OF HAVING TO WAKE UP TO CLEANING BODIES EVERY SINGLE FLAMING DAY! I EVEN HAD ONE OF THOSE BASTARDS THROWN THROUGH MY WINDOW FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!"

Her colleagues were utterly mortified at her current condition and took several steps back from the powerhouse. They had never seen the stoic woman's mask shatter so completely, including their God, who gaped at his child's fury. Even in the most chaotic situations, Shakti had always remained calm and collected, regardless of who or what she faced. Waking up to crashes and tremors, and being forced to incessantly race across the entirety of Orario, had brought the commander to her wit's end. The constant beratement from Orario's civilians and fellow adventurers also drove her towards her current madness.