is it wrong to try to build a criminal Empire?

Liliruca Arde couldn't quite piece together how she'd ended up here.

The last thing she remembered was being double-crossed by her clients, moments away from death at their hands. And yet…she was alive.

Slowly, she pushed herself upright, taking in her surroundings. She was in a simple room, possibly a basement, judging from the narrow staircase leading up. There was a bed, a small hearth, a closet, and the couch she was currently lying on.

Her mind spun with questions.

Did someone save her? But who?

As footsteps sounded from the stairs, she instinctively tensed, bracing herself for whoever might appear. But instead of a threat, a girl with twin-tails descended—a goddess, she realized.

The goddess met Lili's gaze with a warm smile and hurried over. "You're finally awake! Are you alright? No headache?" she asked, her voice brimming with concern.

Lili blinked, momentarily thrown off by the goddess's concerned questions. She hesitated, managing only a faint, "I'm… fine." Her voice was weak, tinged with lingering confusion.

The goddess's face lit up even more and smiled. "You must be confused! My Bell-kun brought you here. He was so worried about you—he'll be happy to know you're okay!" she said brightly.

Bell-kun? That must be....Bell-sama!

A chill ran down her spine, Her heart raced a little, he was alive....

what will he do to her after she betrayed him like this!?

she also felt extremely guilty, and a new question took hold of her line of thought: why had bell-sama saved her, after what she'd done?

She was only after her selfish needs, but he saved her anyway.

The conflict in Lili's eyes didn't go unnoticed. The goddess faltered for a moment, uncertain how to respond to Lili's evident turmoil. "H-hey, we're about to have breakfast! Bell-kun wasn't in the mood for fried potatoes, so he went out to get eggs to boil!" she added with a chuckle, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Just as Lili was about to respond, footsteps sounded from the stairs again. Her breath caught in her throat.

It's Bell-sama!

How could she face him?

After she'd nearly caused his death, he had still saved her. The weight of her guilt seemed to grow with every approaching footstep.

Bell appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and the moment he saw her awake, his face softened into a warm smile as he approached.

"Are you alright, Miss Arde?" he asked gently, his politeness unaffected by anything she'd done.

Lili couldn't lift her gaze to meet his, shame pressing down like a heavy stone in her chest.

Sensing the tension, Hestia wisely decided to get out of here, "I'll give you two a moment," Hestia said, before adding, "and besides, those eggs aren't going to boil themselves! I'll go get some water from the well!" She moved to the stairs, leaving the two of them alone.

Lili's face remained downcast, her voice unable to justify herself.

Bell gave her a reassuring smile, his expression bright. "It's alright, Miss Arde," he said softly. "Whatever happened is behind us. The important thing is… you're safe now." he said with a lighthearted chuckle. "We can't change what's already happened, but we can still make things better from here on out." he reassuringly said.

The warmth in his words brought a flicker of hope to Lili's face, and despite her shame, she felt herself wanting to believe him.

Lili's head lifted slowly, her eyes meeting his. The warmth in his gaze, the sincerity of his smile. He really means it…

Her vision blurred with tears, her voice barely a whisper as she choked out, "Lili is… Lili is sorry."

Bell's response was simple but reassuring. "It's okay," he said gently.

The kindness in his words hit her harder than any punishment.

And in her raw moment of vulnerability, she failed to notice the smirk that crossed All For One's lips.

'That was almost too easy,' he thought in amusement.

---

Asfi Al Andromeda was having a very boring time.

The sun was setting and She was on a 'mission' per Hermes-sama's instructions, tasked with re-establishing contact with one of their informants who had suddenly gone silent.

Why did Hermes-sama send her of all people to this grimy part of town!? She was the captain of the familia! She had more important duties than this! He could've sent Lulune, who was doing nothing but lazing around.

On second thought...maybe it was for the best to send her, Lulune can be a little too....clumsy.

Asfi was dressed in her usual attire, and Being a Level 4 adventurer didn't make her the ideal candidate for these types of tasks, but she'll manage.

Arriving at her destination—a dingy bar in the western end of Daedalus Street.

Steeling herself, she stepped inside, ignoring the rowdy shouts from the few patrons scattered around, and made her way to the back. She spotted her contact, Albert, sitting at a table with another figure—a young man with white hair.

Great. Just the right moment for this useless task to become even more complicated.

She sighed again. 'Let's just get this over with' she thought, heading toward them.

As she approached, she caught snippets of their conversation.

"—ave that kind of information. Can't help ya with that. Sorry," Albert was saying in his usual lazy, disinterested tone.

The young man reached into his bag and pulled out a pouch that jingled, likely full of valis.

Albert's disinterest instantly melted into greed. "Now we're speaking," he said with a grin. But before he could continue, his eyes landed on her.

"Perseus, what are you doing here?" Albert asked, clearly annoyed.

Quickly Handing a slip of paper to the white-haired man, he muttered, "That'll have everything you need." The young man nodded and stood up, heading for the exit without another glance.

Asfi watched him leave before turning back to Albert, who looked irritated at her interruption.

"Who was that?" she asked, intrigued by the interaction.

"None of your business," he said dismissively, taking a sip of his drink. "Now, why are you here? I thought I sent my report yesterday."

She sat down, fixing him with a serious look. "You haven't sent any reports for the last month. Communication problem, Albert?"

He looked genuinely confused. "Communication problem? I sent it the usual way. That chienthrope girl was supposed to deliver it to Hermes yesterday," he said, taking another leisurely sip.

chienthrope girl? That must be... Lulune!

That idiot! She'll make sure she doesn't slack on the reports ever again!

This whole trip had been a waste of time!

Thankfully, she hid the irritation on her face very well as she sighed. "Seems like the problem was on our end. Sorry to bother you." She made a move to stand, but Albert stopped her with a hand.

"While you're here, I've got fresh info regarding 'them,'" he said, his tone suddenly serious.

Asfi's expression hardened. 'So they're getting bolder,' she thought.

Hermes-sama had ordered her to investigate this particular group for a while now, though she still hadn't encountered a solid lead on their operations.

"Wait here," Albert said, getting up and disappearing into a back room. The perks of owning the place.

likely the best way to gather intel from adventurers was to let them have a drink first.

---

"Fireball," All For One muttered, watching the paper from the broker burn to ash.

It had been a week since the attempt on his life, and he was slowly piecing together information about his mysterious attackers, all while continuing his dungeon dives with Welf.

Welf had recovered remarkably quickly and knocked on their door within two days to thank him for saving his life.

Luckily, the little supporter wasn't around at the time—keeping up his image in Welf's mind would have been much harder with their betrayer there.

The information this broker provided was useful to finish his conclusion; he now had a clearer understanding of his foes.

The Anansi Familia—a rumored former member of a dark faction calling themselves Evilus, which in his Always correct opinion, was an utterly laughable name, almost as childish as Tomura's "League of Villains."

The Anansi familia had around fifteen members, and he'd already dispatched four of them if the Ronin's claims of his fireball being formerly owned by one of their members was correct.

Amusingly, This familia was like a candy basket: he could pluck a piece whenever he wanted, the piece being one of their Members abilities.

For now, it wasn't a problem he couldn't handle. Most of their members were Level Ones, with the only real threat being their Level 4 captain—a second-class adventurer whose prowess might require some caution.

Setting those thoughts aside, he turned his focus to his newest pawn.

little supporter was slowly proving to be an excellent investment.

She had begun sharing valuable information about her familia's hierarchy, information he'd drawn out through a innocent inquiry during a recent "checking on her" visit that raised no suspicions.

It was only a matter of time before he could act on this intel.

His "ever-so-kind and polite Bell-sama" Facade was working wonders on her.

He should head to the church now; Hestia would be waiting.

---

"I can't wait for Asfi-chan to return; this paperwork is unbearable," Hermes muttered irritably, sorting through the endless stack of paperwork, This particular one he is dealing with is a report regarding logistics issues related to the familia's food supplies.

The door creaked open, and his mood instantly brightned when he saw the person walking in. "Welcome back, Asfi-chan!" he called out cheerfully to his favorite person, who responded with a scowl.

Hermes felt a twinge of worry.

"That 'mission' you assigned to me—the "captain" of the familia" Her tone made it clear she didn't find his little prank amusing. Hermes gulped. "Turned out to be a waste of time. Someone's been slacking on the job." Her expression promised retribution for that someone.

'Best not to let her anger turn toward me' Hermes wisely thought.

He attempted to turn back to his work, hoping she'd forget about him and go, but Asfi continued, her tone growing serious.

"While I was there, I got some new information on the group you wanted me to watch," she said.

Hermes's expression shifted as he mirrored her seriousness. "What did you find out?"

"Albert managed to pick up some details from one of their drunken member. Apparently, they are targeting a Level One adventurer who's been causing trouble for their captain," she reported, sounding slightly uncertain about the reliability.

after All, what can a lone level one do to earn their full attention?

"A Level One? Why would Ortiz be interested in a low-level adventurer? They must have got bigger issues to deal with," he muttered, troubled.

He focused on Asfi again "For now, keep an eye out for anything else, and try Revealing this Level Ones identity," Hermes instructed. "I'd like to know what's so special about them."

Asfi nodded. "Yes, Hermes-sama." She turned and left.

Hermes's gaze returned to the stack of paperwork. "Wait! Asfi-chan, I was wondering if you could hel—" he began, only to be cut off by the sound of the office door slamming shut.

There goes his ticket to freedom.

With no escape, he resigned himself to finishing the work as quickly as possible.

---

Black lightning engulfed him, enhancing his speed, his senses heightened and his strength doubled. With these combined Advantages, All For One rocketed toward his prey—a Trio of orcs.

These pig-faced brutes first appear on the dungeon's 10th floor. Their thick skin and massive frames made them formidable foes for the average adventurer, and the clubs they wielded—crudely torn from dungeon grown trees—often sapped whatever morale remained in their opponents. After all how could someone defeat a Massive monster holding a weapon?

Pathetic.

He reached the first orc in a flash. With lightning still crackling around him, he delivered a precise slash to its leg, causing the beast to stagger. Another slash to its arm left it defenseless, its club clattering to the ground. In one fluid motion, he thrust his blade through its eye, and it vanished in a burst of black dust, leaving behind only its magic stone.

The two Remaining orcs charged him, bellowing with rage as they raised their crude clubs. He dodged the first strike, moving in close to slash at the orc's stomach, spilling dark blood. Before it could recover, he quickly jumped to its head finishing it with another effective stab to the head.

One orc remained, a fireball was sufficient enough to end this fight quickly.

Two new orcs had emerged from the mist and charged him with primal Rage. All For One grinned, gripping his sword tightly as he sprinted forward. He feigned a low strike, baiting the nearest orc to swing down in defense, then leapt up, vaulting over the creature and delivering a powerful slash across its neck mid-air. The orc crumpled, vanishing like the rest.

The other orc roared and swung wildly, trying to catch him off guard. He sidestepped the blow, closing the gap instantly, and with one swift, powerful stab to its fat chest, the blade sinking deep, the orc dissolved into black dust, its magic stone clinking to the floor.

He barely had a moment to catch his breath before a group of imps leapt out from the misty atmosphere, attempting to surround him, their sharp teeth bared. Moments later, a swarm of Bad Bats descended from above, their wings fluttering noisily as they joined the assault.

A nuisance, but nothing he can't handle,

his body tensing as he readied himself for the next onslaught.

With a burst of speed, he lunged into the group of imps, his blade a blur as he cut through them. In one fluid motion, he dispatched half their numbers, his sword leaving black dust in its trail from its fallen foes. Durak'gor was proving to be an incredibly useful skill—his enhanced strength made slicing through them easy as if they were paper.

The remaining imps, realizing the danger, began retreating into the mist, but he wasn't about to let them escape. He raised his hand, channeling his energy into a highly concentrated fireball that hovered above his palm. With a flick of his wrist, the fireball flew after them, incinerating the cowardly monsters in a bright, fiery burst.

He turned his attention to the Bad Bats, preparing to unleash another fireball, but Welf beat him to it. With a quick flick of his wrist, Welf aimed a small repeating crossbow at the swarm and fired, bolts piercing several of the creatures. The remaining bats shrieked and fluttered back, running to avoid the same fate of their kin.

This floor have unusual amount of cowardly monsters.

As the last bat turned wings to run, Welf let out a whistle, grinning as he wiped sweat from his brow. "Damn, you're a beast! At this rate, I'll end up being the junior," he said with a hearty laugh.

All For One responded with a faint smile. "I think you're improving just as much as I am. You're nearing a rank-up, right?" he said, a note of encouragement woven into his voice.

Welf nodded, looking pleased but slightly reserved. "Yeah, my latest status update was promising. But I'm not quite there yet," he admitted, his smile faltering just a bit.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get there soon." All For One's words were casual.

Though he was already taking assessments on the usefulness of a Level Two blacksmith to him.

The reminder of Welf's proficient prompted another thought. "Welf, are my orders ready?" he asked, crouching to collect the magic stones scattered around them.

Welf picked up a few stones himself before responding. "Not yet. The armor is nearly finished. After that, I'll start on the blades. Give me three days—a week at most—and everything will be ready."

All For One nodded. That timeline was acceptable. His current equipment was barely holding up against this floors monsters, so the upgraded armor would give him the edge he needed to venture deeper.

"Shall we continue?" he asked, glancing down the corridor toward the eleventh floor.

Welf considered it, wiping a bit of grime from his brow. "No, we've had a good run today. Let's cash in the stones."

All For One considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

He did have some other matters to attend to—particularly with Miss Lia.

---

The end

---

AN: They say when in doubt, do a time skip.

about the wait for this chapter; I kinda had a very stressful week, my work is getting annoyingly demanding and thinking of an actual plot is getting harder and harder with the stress.

I don't want to publish half-baked chapters so updating times are gonna be random, I hope this chapter was up to your standards, readers.