The Eminence in Smartphone

VIII The Great Duke's rage, and the Eminence's indifference

Yulong, once a powerful country, has fallen after the invasion of the extra dimensional life form known as Phrase. All nations knew what happened that fateful day and how the Great Duke of Brunhild saved the world. But the survivors of Yulong, especially the last of Yulong's nobility, blamed the Duke for what happened. And then there was another group who blamed him, and those were the members of Qulau, the ancient order of assassins at the service of the Imperial Family.

In the narrative they have created, Touya has used a strange magic to summon the beasts known as the Phrase and destroy their country. Or, well, it may be true that Touya wasn't the one who provoked the disaster, but if he had handled his giant soldiers when the Emperor demanded it, the monsters would have never destroyed Yulong.

And as time passed, Qulau was the last remnant of what Yulong used to be. Reduced to a group of soldiers of fortune who sold their services to several nations to do their dirty work. And only because they wanted to get resources to be able to get revenge on Brunhild and Touya. But it was a dream far from becoming a reality.

And then they came. A group of people in black robes started to attack their hideout with overwhelming power.

"Were you sent by those dogs from Brunhild?! Well, they can try to destroy us, but we'll raise from the ashes as many times we need until we get our revenge!"

The leader of the men in black robes put his sword away. "No need to worry. We just wanted to test your abilities. Making sure you live up to your reputation."

The leader of Qulau put away his own sword. "All this mess because you're clients testing our strength?"

"And also showing ours so you understand what would happen to you if you dare to go against us."

With that, the leader of Qulau laughed. "I can't say I don't understand that. So, we passed? Are you going to hire us?"

The man nodded. "Yes. Mochizuki Touya stuck his nose where he shouldn't. He will regret the day he joined forces with Shadow Garden."

"Oh, please! We have been trying to put Touya in his place for a while now. Do you think we would have destroyed him by now if we could? He is too powerful. No matter how many agents we send to Brunhild, they are all destroyed without mercy. He is an opponent too dangerous to face now."

The men checked inside their robes and offered them a flask of red pills. "Use this. This is the power of Diabolos, and it will give you a temporary boost."

The members of Qulau took the flasks. "So, we use this to exterminate Touya."

"No, even with the power of our Cult, that wouldn't be a good idea. We want two of his wives. If you create a distraction for us to capture them, Touya would think twice before keeping supporting Shadow and his followers."

"I see! The princess of Regulus, or Belfast?"

"We want the fairy and the demonkin. If you can capture any of the others for yourselves, be my guess. But give us our prayers, and you'll get your payment. We can include a few more Tears of Diabolos as a bonus."

The leader of Qualau thought about it for a few minutes and nodded. "So, you are giving us this, which will give us more power, and you'll also be paying us to make Touya pay. You have a deal."

They both shared a handshake.

"We'll go right away."

"No, no. We have to create a distraction before you make your next move. We need to lure Shadow away first, even if we have to sacrifice another facility."

"Who is Shadow?"

"He is our problem. You take care of your missing, and we'll take care of our own."

***