Chaos. That’s what reigned in this universe. Or at least, that’s what the books said. Personally, he didn’t care for it.

Order. That was his calling. The arena where he thrived. When it came to choosing between order and chaos, order triumphed for him every time. He craved order, especially in this new world where chaos reigned supreme.

This latest conundrum had all the signs of being a very chaotic event indeed. For a person as obsessed with control and details as him, these latest events were nothing short of a puzzle to which he had lost all the pieces. It put him out of sorts, not having all the information in his hands that is. He hated knowing that there might be a new variable out there that he hadn’t yet discovered.

He was broken out of his reverie by a voice that demanded his immediate attention.

“Jordan. I have been calling you for the last five minutes. What has gotten you so worried, mate?”

Looking up he saw his closest aide, Scott looking down at him in concern. Gathering his bearings, Jordan said, “Oh sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. I was just thinking about this recent disappearance. Can you repeat what you said?”

Scott just shook his head as he said, “There’s no sign of Scarlet Emperor to be found anywhere. I had his house searched and sent a few people to his usual watering holes as well. No sign of him anywhere. It’s like he vanished into thin air.”

Jordan could only grit his teeth at that piece of information before coming to a decision to find out who or what was behind this. People don’t just disappear off the face of the earth for no apparent reason. Especially people who were known to be close to him and under his protection, the leader of one of the top three guilds in the nation. Something diabolical was going on behind the scenes, something he wasn’t aware of. He vowed to get to the bottom of this whole affair.

“Bring Raven and DeathLord before me. This has gone on long enough. If they can’t even keep track of the whereabouts of their own guild’s leader, then perhaps I was premature to hand them the responsibility to establish their own feeder guild.”

Scott nodded as he said, “I will get to it right away. You don’t think this is a cause for concern, do you?”

“I don’t know yet, Scott, I just can't figure it out. ScarletEmperor was strong and sensible enough to not seek out something above his current reach. He was also kind and compassionate. Which makes his supposed disappearance even more mystifying.”

Scott turned around to carry out Jordan’s instructions when Jordan called him back.

“Scott, do one more thing. Put out notices stating that any information on the whereabouts of ScarletEmperor will be rewarded handsomely. I want him found as soon as possible. I just can’t shake this feeling that something dreadful has happened to our friend.”

Jordan just looked out of the window of his office as Scott walked out of his room. If something had happened to ScarletEmperor, there would be hell to pay for whoever was behind it.

 

 

 

Scott couldn’t help but marvel at the efficiency of money. Even in this new world, the inherent nature of human beings shone through. Money reigned supreme. It had been less than two hours since he had posted a notice regarding the reward for finding ScarletEmperor’s whereabouts and he already had a solid lead.

Scott looked at the man in front of him, his name having something to do with crows. He honestly didn’t remember nor did he care enough for it. He was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things after all, just like most of the population.

“So, you say you have ScarletEmperor?”

The man fumbled for a bit before replying, the action irritating Scott more than he would care to admit. “Yes, sir. I keep in touch with every message passed down by this guild’s hierarchy, seeing as I want to be an officer in this guild someday.”

This rambling was beginning to get on his nerves, so he interjected, “ScarletEmperor?”

“Yes, sir, sorry. I found him in the rat cave. You know, the one which beginner groups like to venture into and try their luck in. I have to warn you, sir, the state of his body isn’t pleasant to behold at all.”

Scott merely nodded at the man before saying, “That will do. Your reward will be forwarded to you later today at the office.”

Just as the man was about to leave though, Scott said, “By the way, good job. Our guild could always use more people like you.” The man smiled back at him, seemingly pleased with the compliment. It was important to scatter little crumbs of appreciation every now and then, just so they could herd the mindless sheep. The things he had to do for the guild!

 

 

Scott assembled a few of the lower rung members for scouting out the provided location. The eager to please members were all too happy to follow Scott’s every whim and desire. Pretty soon they reached their destination where Scott asked a random member of their group to enter the cave first. He, after all, had no intention of facing whatever it was that had led to ScarletEmperor’s demise. ScarletEmperor had been strong, not as strong as him, of course, but strong enough that whatever killed him could do serious damage to Scott.

Except the member returned, alive and unscathed, reporting that the cavern only housed measly rats, as it had always done. That report surprised Scott, to say the least. A group of mere rats killing one of his guild’s stronger members wasn’t something he thought possible.

He led the group into the cavern and was almost immediately assaulted by some sort of lingering smell that stung his nose. A smell he thought he should be able to recognise but couldn’t quite place yet. Looking around, he saw that the others in the group didn’t show any indication of having experienced the same smell like him.

Scott looked towards the member who had entered the cavern ahead of them and asked, “So, where is the corpse?” The member promptly led him to the location of the dead body. The sight that welcomed them was gruesome, to say the least. More than one member rushed to find some corner to empty out their stomach.

Scott ignored all of this in favour of examining the body and looking around to find something that would give any sort of a clue as to what had occurred here. The smell seemed much more prevalent in this area and that was enough for Scott to realise what odour he was picking up.

‘Berserker’s sweat.’

That realisation gave him pause as he realised that this was no mere accident. This whole ordeal was a product of the machinations of an individual or a group who targeted ScarletEmperor with the intention to kill him.

Berserker’s sweat was a potion that was enough to drive any sort of monster crazy with bloodlust. A faint whiff of it and the creature would lose all sense of control for a few hours. This was accompanied by a temporary boost in strength.

The potion, while not illegal or even monitored by the various guilds, was extremely rare to come across. The mere thought of ravenous rats that had been artificially powered up was enough to send a shudder down Scott’s spine. He had to admit that even he would struggle against such an opposition.

Examining the corpse itself, he realised that it was missing a few of its limbs. And the separation didn’t seem like something the rats would be capable of, no matter their temporary boost in strength.

The whole situation was quite clear to him now. ScarletEmperor had been the target of an ambush, plain and simple. Someone had clearly targeted ScarletEmperor with the sole intention of killing him. His watch was also missing, possibly in the possession of his killers.

Scott could only sigh as he realised that the task of getting to the bottom of this would probably fall at his feet.

Why couldn’t things ever be simple?

 

 

 

Scott made his way back to the headquarters after his investigation of the cavern was over. Entering Jordan’s office, he saw that DeathLord, the best friend of the now confirmed dead ScarletEmperor was being interviewed by Jordan. Jordan looked impassive while DeathLord looked intimidated, probably wondering about the repercussions of ScarletEmperor’s disappearance.

Jordan addressed Scott as soon as he saw Scott entering the room, “Ah, Prometheus. You are back. What did you find out about our mutual friend’s disappearance?”

Scott replied, his gaze now focussed on ScarletEmperor, replied, “The only thing I found were the bones of ScarletEmperor, I am afraid. And it was no accident, Atlas.”

Atlas and Prometheus. Those were the names chosen by Jordan and Scott for this system and they were particularly proud of it. After all, they hoped to represent the same prowess that their namesake titans possessed.

That news made DeathLord pale significantly. His whole face took on a vacant expression as if he could see the reaper staring back at him. He stuttered over his words as he said, “I a-am af-afraid I don’t know anything about that, leader. Just yesterday, we were supposed to be having a meeting but ScarletEmperor never showed up.”

Jordan’s expression didn’t change as he asked, “And who was supposed to be present at this meeting?”

“Sir, it was supposed to be me, Raven and ScarletEmperor. We were supposed to discuss our recruiting strategies and decide on potential members of the new guild you asked us to form.”

All he received in reply was a nod before Scott asked him, “And why didn’t Raven turn up here when we specifically asked for both of you to show up?”

DeathLord replied, acutely aware of his own heartbeat, “I don’t know. I just saw your message and hurried over here, fearing that this summon was of utmost importance. I didn’t think of checking up on Raven.”

Jordan took the lead once more as he told Scott, “Prometheus, go to Raven’s residence. Take DeathLord with you. Bring Raven to me, dragging and kicking if you have to. I will get to the bottom of this whole matter as soon as possible. If a few heads have to roll for that to happen, then so be it.” The last words were said while Jordan was directing a glare towards DeathLord, which made the recipient of the glare almost pass out from the fear.

Jordan looked contemplatively at the backs of Scott and DeathLord as they exited the building, failing to shake off the feeling that, as dire as all this seemed, it was merely the calm before the storm.

 

 

It was two hours before Scott finally returned from Raven’s house, his expression even grimmer than the one he had worn when he was walking out. Jordan asked him, almost dreading what he was about to hear, “So, any reason Raven isn’t with you?”

“I think being dead is a pretty good reason.”

Jordan took a moment to absorb that fact before asking, “Another dead member. You think this is a concerted attack against us and our guild?”

Scott nodded his head in the negative as he said, “No, I don’t think so. Look what I found at Raven’s apartment.”

Saying that he passed over a piece of paper to Jordan. Jordan quickly read through the note which simply said,

‘The Bounty Hunter always has his due.’

“The Bounty Hunter? What’s this new mess?”, Jordan asked, perplexed at this new turn of events.

“From what I have been able to gather, this is an individual who is offering his services in exchange for payment. I am forwarding you his payment. Tell me what you think.”

Jordan quickly opened the link, which was to The Bounty Hunter’s advertisement.

“Want to rid this world of annoying pests that exist only to hinder your plans and ruin your life? Look no further. Contact the Bounty Hunter and he will get rid of anyone for you. For the right price, of course.

* Watches retrieved by the Bounty Hunter on his bounties become the sole property of the Bounty Hunter

**Prices depend on the task involved, the number of people to be killed, and other factors. Discussions in personal messages only.”

Jordan’s perplexity only grew as he finished reading the advertisement. He asked with a slight chuckle, “Is this some sort of a joke? A scam? I don’t fully comprehend what I am seeing here.”

Scott though wasn’t laughing when he replied, “No, Jordan. From what I have been able to understand, this whole deal is completely serious. With real ramifications. And I think Raven got in this individual’s crosshairs.”

“How did he manage to do that?”

Scott hesitated for a second before he replied, “I can think of only one scenario. Looking at the note left in Raven’s apartment, I think Raven employed The Bounty Hunter for some purpose. And then failed to pay him for his services. Which led to his own gruesome end.”

Jordan could only shake his head as he said, “What could Raven possibly want with such an individual?”

This time Scott took even more time to answer as he said, “You may not like what I am to tell you right now. But it’s the only thing that makes sense to me right now.” He then paused, looking at Jordan’s face to see if there was any negative reaction.

Jordan couldn’t take it any longer as he said, “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What is it?”

“I think Raven hired The Bounty Hunter to assassinate ScarletEmperor. I think he was miffed when you offered ScarletEmperor the responsibility and power to form the new guild, overlooking him. He probably wanted the resources and prestige for himself.”

That threw Jordan for a loop. He was dumbstruck, wondering if Scott’s theory held any merit. He just couldn’t fathom the thought of his inner circle turning on each other.

Silence permeated the room for a few minutes before Jordan said, “I want to find out the truth of this whole matter.”

Scott wasn’t optimistic when he replied, “And how do you propose we do that? In case you missed it, the only person who knew anything about it is dead.”

Jordan was quick to reply, “That may be true. The employer is dead, sure. But the employee isn’t. I will have an answer. One way or the other. I also want a message sent. That whoever targets even the lowliest member of this guild should prepare for the inevitable ramifications.”

Scott nodded at that and got up to leave the room, all the while wondering if they weren’t getting into a storm more perilous than the one they were currently in.

 

 

 

The next day news rippled through the entire country of a new wanted poster that had been posted on the forums at midnight. By one of the top three guilds of the region. ‘The RoaringDragons’, themselves/

‘Wanted: Alive.

The Bounty Hunter

Rewards: 100,000 gold.

A rare set of equipment.

Any information regarding The Bounty Hunter will be rewarded with 5000 gold.’