NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: Increasing influence!
Increasing influence!
Chapter 30:guess what the black smoke is?
{Stage error: Vira is lost in melancholy, and Silas is ready to bite the author, so there will be no talking—just the author running away from an oversized magical snake.}
After hearing his promise, Vira did not say much. He simply wrote something in a notebook and sent it to Peter, using one of the crows to deliver it.
Then, he just stayed in the room. For Nicolas, it was about spending time in a place where his granddaughter had spent most of her life. Although it made him more and more depressed, he had something to look forward to, so I doubt it mattered much.
But for Vira, something else seemed to be happening. Naturally, he lingered in the memories of his friends, recalling every moment they had shared in this room. Yet, there was something more—something was keeping him from leaving. And something was seeping into him. He could not see it, but from the very moment he arrived, a black, smoke-like figure had been slowly entering his body. Neither Vira, Viper, nor Nicolas could perceive it, but it was there—diminishing at a rapid pace as it merged with him.
It is unknown what that black smoke was, but one thing I do know is how much better of a leader Nicolas was compared to Vira or Peter.
Since the day they met, when Vira ordered Peter through a letter to come here and let Nicolas take over the now fit and mentally stable soldiers, Nicolas had led them straight to the man who had plotted and killed his son and daughter. He then executed him and his entire family with ease.
By this point, Vira's forces had grown strong enough to completely control the city's underworld and even hold significant influence over its political and administrative scene. There were a few, like that man, who, while not openly opposing him, had been testing their luck and remaining neutral.
So, you could say that this time, Peter pulled everyone from the group together to ensure they followed Vira's orders while also crushing any lingering hopes among the neutral forces in the city.
A hundred armed men against the twelve guards of the man. There was no other possible outcome. The politician's guards had surrendered the moment they arrived, fleeing in fear. The police were either bribed or their own people, so there was no chance they would go against a full platoon for the sake of a politician with little influence.
With the defenses crumbling and nowhere left to hide or run in a city controlled by an overbearing outlaw, Robert, a member of the Leicester City Council, was killed by 52-year-old Nicolas—avenging his son and daughter-in-law.
If you think about it, this scene should have happened much, much sooner. But due to unforeseen circumstances, the young child who had been in the same car as her parents had survived. A three-year-old had lived through a car accident that killed two 27-year-old adults, survived until the age of ten, and, in doing so, had also extended the life of an old man by seven years—and now even longer.
Truthfully, just like anyone who has taken revenge, Nicolas's heart felt empty. If things had gone the way he originally thought, once he succeeded in killing his enemy, he would have gone ahead to accompany his granddaughter and son. He had hoped that his years of saving countless lives as a doctor and a vet would be enough to wash away the sins he had committed later in life.
But life was full of surprises. A few words from a kid who wasn't even a quarter of his age had become his reason to live—a motivation to keep going. It wasn't the prospect of power or an easy path to revenge that made him agree to work for him. No, he hadn't wanted to harm Luna's friend for the sake of his revenge, nor had he been seeking power one last time before the end of his life.
All it took for him to dedicate himself until his dying breath were the words:
"I don't know whether or not Luna would blame you for dying, but I know for sure she would blame you for refusing to help me."
These words kept him alive, driving him to make Vira's force as strong as possible. And in just half a year, he had accomplished more than anyone could have expected.
Not to say he expanded the force and conquered the entire country—that would be too absurd. But unlike Peter, who was born and raised in a slum and managed to lead and manipulate the force purely through talent, Nicolas was an accomplished politician in his later years and a skilled doctor with remarkable communication abilities.
He had managed to align the interests of political and administrative forces. While gang affairs were still handled by Peter, all external influence was now managed by Nicolas. Before his arrival, the members of the council only supported Vira's gang out of fear or financial gain. But Nicolas had changed that—he had tied their interests directly to the gang, ensuring that as long as the gang rose, they would remain in power, and if it fell, they would sink with it.
Of course, this strategy came at a cost to Vira's organization, even drawing complaints from some of the lower-ranking leaders. But in the grand scheme of things, it solidified their control more than ever before.
Vira, for some reason, seemed to have a sense of trust and even a bit of affection for this old man. Perhaps it was because Nicolas had transferred all his affection for Luna onto him, or maybe something had changed in him when the black smoke entered his body. He had become more humane—not toward everyone, but the old man was one of the few exceptions.
Because of this, Vira had shown his support for Nicolas, ensuring that no one interrupted him. Even as the gang grew in scale, Vira's word remained absolute. The grassroots members of the gang were treated the same as before, as all three leaders were—at their core—mostly selfless.
Nicolas had no desire for power or wealth. Vira never cared what those he took under his wing thought, and he simply took whatever he wanted, never once pausing to consider the consequences. And Peter—at least for now—remained as innocent and selfless as the day he first started working for Vira. While I can't say he would stay the same as he got older, power had not corrupted him yet.
With none of the leaders hoarding the gang's income for themselves, the grassroots members earned enough to live well. Aside from the lower-ranking leaders, who had to sacrifice some of their personal interests for the sake of solidifying the force and fortifying the town, no one else seemed to care much.
Everything was fine. Even Vira had started traveling around the world during this half a year. Although it feels strange to say it, the death of Luna had made him feel freer. For the entire four years prior, he had never left the city. His routine was simple: eat, go to Luna, eat, wander around at night, play with his friends—and that was all. But now, he wandered around the entire country and sometimes even beyond.
Also, due to legal issues when traveling to the next country, he had asked Nicolas to forge a new identity for him.
And because Vira couldn't choose a name, Nicolas took the liberty of giving him one: "Orion Seraphis."
Speaking of Nicolas naming Vira, it's worth mentioning that he probably thought longer about this name than when he named Luna. After all, he had a happy time with his family, especially when, aside from his wife who had passed away years ago, he had his son, his gentle wife, and most importantly, the child in her womb. There had been some friction because his son had brought his pregnant wife to parties, and Nicolas didn't like that at all. But when little Luna was handed to him, all that friction faded, and naming her was simple—he gave her the name of his late wife.
But now, his son and daughter had been gone for years, and his granddaughter had gone to heaven. When it came to naming the last connection she left for him, he thought for a long time. Most of his work was slowly being handed back to the talented Peter, so he had all the time to think about it. After careful consideration, he chose two words: "Orion," meaning hunter, as Vira was when he eliminated anyone who stood in his way, and "Seraphis," as his surname, like the angel vira was to his animals, nicolas himself, and the countless children and adults he had shrouded in light.