Season 3 chapter 45
The Inner Perimeter
Leon kept his hands casually stuffed in his coat pockets as he strolled past the dead bodies in the bushes. He walked directly toward the glass doors of the main building, completely relaxed.
Standing just inside the lobby, a second group of security guards spotted him coming through the courtyard. They immediately reached for their weapons, banging on the glass.
"Hey! Hey, stop! Stop right there!" the lead guard yelled, pushing the door open and stepping out. "Hey, man! Hey, you fucking idiot, I'm talking to you! Asshole, stop right there and identify yourself!"
Leon didn't slow down. He didn't even blink. He just kept walking at the exact same, casual pace.
Before the screaming guards could even raise their guns, the shadows around Leon moved. His royal guards blurred into action. In a matter of milliseconds, the same brutal trick was repeated.
Chemical-soaked cloths were slapped over the screaming guards' mouths. The sharp, hollow needles pierced their necks. The guards' eyes rolled back, and they collapsed onto the expensive marble steps without making another sound.
Leon simply stepped over their bodies and walked right through the front doors.
The Late-Night Shift
It was 1 a.m., so the Bribe-45 headquarters was mostly empty. The massive, overly decorated lobby was quiet, lit only by a few dim chandeliers.
Leon was not alone. Walking closely behind him was his royal financial analyst, Clist, holding a neat leather briefcase as if he were just arriving for a normal business meeting. A few other high-ranking members of the royal family trailed behind them, flanked by the deadly shadow-guards.
As they walked across the lobby, three late-night party members walked out of a nearby hallway, holding coffee cups. They froze when they saw the strange group of men.
"Hey," one of the politicians snapped, looking offended. "Who are you guys? Who gave you the permission to enter this building?"
Leon didn't stop walking. He didn't even look at them.
With absolute, terrifying ease, Leon casually pulled a sleek, silenced pistol from his coat. Without breaking his stride, he raised his arm and fired three times.
Pew. Pew. Pew.
The three party members dropped dead to the floor in a fraction of a second, their coffee spilling across the polished marble. Leon smoothly slipped the gun back into his pocket like he had just checked his watch, not even bothering to see if the bodies hit the floor.
The Beautiful Talk
Leon walked straight down the main corridor and stopped in front of the largest set of double doors. He pushed them open and strolled right into the office.
Sitting behind a massive wooden desk was Kywon Hadous. Right now, he was just a highly ambitious member of the Bribe-45 party, surrounded by four of his closest cronies, reviewing some late-night paperwork.
When the doors swung open and Leon walked in, the room instantly erupted into chaos.
"Hey, hey!" Kywon yelled, jumping out of his chair. "Who are you?! How did you even manage to enter this floor?!"
One of Kywon's loyal party members puffed out his chest, trying to act tough. He marched right up to Leon, raising his hands. "Hey, stop! You cannot enter here—"
The man tried to shove Leon backward.
He didn't even get to touch him. One of the royal shadow-guards stepped forward, grabbed the man's arm, and violently snapped his neck. The loud CRACK echoed in the room. The party member dropped dead onto the expensive carpet in a single millisecond.
The rest of Kywon's men froze in pure, unadulterated terror. Kywon turned totally pale, his hands shaking as he stared at the dead body on his floor.
The Harbinger's Offer
Leon gently dusted off his coat, looking around the office with a friendly, highly relaxed smile.
"Calm down for a second, gentlemen," Leon smiled, his voice totally smooth and joking, as if he were greeting an old friend at a bar. "We are just here for some talk. You don't need to be worried or intimidated by us. It's a really, really small and beautiful talk. What do you say about this?"
Kywon swallowed hard, sweating profusely. He tried to maintain his political composure, but his voice was shaking.
"What... what kind of talk do you want?" Kywon stammered, stepping back against his desk and completely dropping the previous mention of 'work'. "Why did you kill my guy? Who are you? Identify yourself!"
Leon let out a soft, amused chuckle. He stepped over the dead body and walked closer to Kywon's desk, looking him dead in the eyes with a terrifying, playful calmness.
"Me?" Leon smiled warmly. "You can call me a Harbinger."
Leon leaned over the desk, resting his hands on the wood.
"I am that kind of guy," Leon continued softly, his voice dripping with pure, villainous ease. "And I am here to help you around with the thing you have been focusing on for a really long period of time. You know, the national elections are coming up in a few years. And I know you really, really want to become the President."
Leon tilted his head, giving Kywon a bright, completely psychotic smile.
"So," Leon whispered playfully. "We just want to have a beautiful talk about helping you out with that. Think about how good that is going to be."
The Rusty Nails
Kywon Hadous stood behind his massive wooden desk, his heart hammering against his ribs. The dead body of his party member was still bleeding into the expensive carpet. Despite the sheer, terrifying presence of the royal heir standing in his office, Kywon's political ego stubbornly refused to back down.
"Listen to me," Kywon stammered, trying to inject some authority into his shaking voice. "I don't know who you are, or what the hell you are talking about. You walk into my office, kill my man, and call yourself a 'Harbinger'? I am not going to listen to a fucking lunatic. Get out."
Leon simply smiled, completely unbothered by the rejection.
"Don't worry, my friend," Leon replied, his voice silky and reassuring. "I want you to become the President of this Republic. It would be incredibly beneficial for both of us. There is just one, very small thing that you have to do to make that happen. You just have to follow our exact plan."
"I am not following shit!" Kywon shouted, pointing a trembling finger at the door. "I am not cooperating with a crew of murderers! My party is not for sale to ghosts!"
While Leon was smiling at Kywon, one of Kywon's surviving cronies made a desperate, incredibly foolish calculation. Thinking Leon was distracted, the burly politician grabbed a heavy, glass-topped side table and violently hurled it directly at the back of Leon's head.
Leon didn't even turn around.
Clist, the royal financial analyst, stepped forward. He didn't even drop his neat leather briefcase. With blinding, terrifying speed, Clist swung his leg upward in a flawless, hyper-lethal arc. His polished dress shoe smashed directly through the flying table, shattering the thick glass and splintering the wood into pieces.
Before the crony could even process the destruction of the table, Clist closed the distance. The analyst grabbed the man by the lapels and brutally drove his knee straight up into the politician's face, crushing his skull with a sickening crunch. The crony dropped dead instantly.
"I don't want any more of these useless party workers in the room," Leon sighed softly, clearly annoyed by the interruption. "Clear them out."
The last remaining politician in the room let out a terrified scream and sprinted for the open double doors, desperate to save his own life.
He barely made it three steps into the hallway.
Pew.
A suppressed gunshot echoed from one of the shadow-guards standing by the door. The politician collapsed face-first onto the marble floor, a single bullet hole in the back of his head.
The office went completely, terrifyingly silent, save for Kywon's heavy, panicked breathing. He was now entirely alone with the deadliest men in the Republic.
Leon casually brushed a stray piece of shattered glass off the sleeve of his coat.
"I really despise unnecessary violence, Kywon," Leon said quietly, sounding genuinely disappointed. "I didn't want to do that in the first place. But your members forced my hand with their terrible manners. We are simply removing some of the rusty nails from our path."
"Rusty nails?!" Kywon yelled, completely losing his mind. "What the fuck are you really talking about?! Do you think my loyal party members are just nails to your plan?! You just slaughtered my entire inner circle!"
"They were completely disposable," Leon corrected smoothly. "And they needed to be removed. Now, we can finally have a direct, private talk amongst ourselves. A talk that will definitively help you win the upcoming elections."
"I don't give a single fuck about your plan!" Kywon screamed, hyperventilating as he backed himself into the corner of the room. "Just get the fuck out of this building before I call the Federal Guards!"
Leon's warm, polite smile slowly faded. His eyes went incredibly dark, radiating the absolute, chilling authority of the royal bloodline.
"I thought you might say that," Leon whispered, his voice dropping to a lethal, freezing register. "I didn't think you would accept my terms and conditions so easily. So... let me gently remind you of a certain someone."
Leon took a slow step toward Kywon, leaning in close.
"A person who is really, really special to your life," Leon purred maliciously. "A beautiful woman whose name begins with the letter 'R'. I am quite certain you know exactly who I am talking about. If you continue to be this stubborn... I think she might be permanently removed from this world."
Kywon completely froze. The color entirely drained from his face. The political ego, the ambition, the anger—it all completely evaporated, replaced by pure, paralyzing horror.
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait!" Kywon begged, raising his shaking hands in total surrender. "Okay! Okay, I'm sorry! Don't do anything to her! Please, do not touch her! I will do whatever you want! I am going to cooperate with you!"
Kywon swallowed hard, his voice dropping to a defeated whisper. "What... what is your plan?"
Leon's bright, friendly smile instantly returned. He clapped his hands together once, looking absolutely delighted.
"Excellent," Leon beamed. "Now we have finally gotten to the right point. I am really happy with this progress."
Leon turned to his sharply dressed, incredibly lethal analyst.
"Clist," Leon ordered smoothly. "Tell our future President the exact plan. I have other matters to attend to."
Without waiting for a response, Leon turned on his heel and casually strolled out of the blood-soaked office, disappearing into the dark hallway.