Art by Fulminaire

General Breach stood alone at the podium on stage. Sitting in the crowd were over ten thousand of the Central Peace private army. This included almost every squad from their new Fiend division. In total there were over 100 Lesser Fiends present, and 3 regular Fiends. There were more Fiends now under the CPs employ, but they were deemed either too inexperienced or not suited for this operation. Since Fiends were so scarce, they couldn’t risk sending them all out at once.

The auditorium was on floor -91 of the CP headquarters, so deep in the underground that it was practically tickling Rathe’s hard mantle. The lowest floors were dedicated to the military and the science divisions since that’s where the most vital secrets were kept.

General Breach was nearing the end of his briefing. It had already gone on for over an hour, covering such vital information as the location, timing, strategy, reasoning, and objective of the operation. It was a lot of information for the soldiers to absorb at once, but all of it was necessary. This was likely the most important, and most dangerous operation the CP military had orchestrated since its inception. All that was left was to cover the known information on their enemy.

“The Fiends For Hire have grown considerably in number in the past few months,” Breach stated to the crowd. “It is hard for us to give an estimate of their exact numbers, but our scouts have done their best to provide us with the most accurate and up to date information possible.”

Breach then went through a rundown of all the known new members of the Fiends For Hire. The description of each was pretty brief, saying just their name and a list of their skills, and powers if applicable, as a picture of each individual flashed up on the stage. “It would take too long to go into every minute detail of each of these members, but you will find much more detailed information in the mission briefings that have been distributed.”

“You would find it wise to use as much remaining time as you can before the mission to study through it,” General Breach stressed. “Just because they are not as well known, it doesn’t make them any less dangerous. Never let your guard down for a single moment during this operation. It could mean your life. However, you must be especially wary when confronted with any of the following, the eight Generals of the Fiends For Hire, along with all of their known aliases.”

“These eight are the highest ranking among them for a reason, from their powers, to their experience and importance in the group. If you are human, do not confront any of them under any circumstance unless you are given no other choice. Leave them solely to the Fiends and Lesser Fiend squadrons. As stated before, all of the enemies are preferred to be captured alive, especially these eight. However, even among them, there is a priority of capture that we will get to momentarily after you’ve been briefed.”

The first picture flashed onto the screen. It was actually several photos, all different variations of the same person. “The first and newest General: The Reborn Royal, The Phoenix Prince(ss), The Sparkling Scholar, Crowned Princess of Archlave, Feyjrusa Sulatrieve.”

“The current form of The Royal is unknown. They are no longer bound to their three month restriction of rebirth. It is currently unconfirmed why, but it is suspected to be tied to the powers of one of the other members. The Royal is the information hub of the entire operation. Their wealth of knowledge is limitless, and there is nothing they can’t discover.”

“In terms of power, The Royal is best to never be faced in a 1-on-1 fight, due to their ability to read and adapt to any situation. They have the ability to process information at a lightning fast speed with incredible reflexes to match. A surprise attack is best, but you’ll only get one shot before you’ll never escape The Royal’s focus, and they’ll have your fighting skills completely analyzed. If that fails, the only other conceivable way to defeat them is by sheer force of numbers or overwhelming firepower.”

The second image flashed on the screen: what looked like a pair of sisters, but one significantly older than the other. “The Widdle Witch, The Deadpan Dissector, Ahvra Metissa Zalksin. Little is known about her purpose among the group, other than that she is a scientist assisting in their research. However, thanks to a noble sacrifice by one of our agents, we have a deep understanding of her powers.”

“Up until now, The Witch has been strictly non-combatant. We also suspect that she will not play an active role in this operation. However, do not take her lightly. Under no circumstances must you antagonize her, and strictly leave any confrontation to the Fiends and Lessers. It is without question that she is the strongest Fiend, no, being in this entire world. She can end your life on a whim without warning.”

The third picture flashed: a platinum haired young male, his dark skin made even darker by the grease he was covered in. “The Enigmatic Engineer, The Impossible Inventor, The Apocalypse Architect, Nathym Cyper. Once formerly blacklisted in the scientific community, but since his reveal as The Engineer, his status has been reinstated with the entire community dying for the chance to work with him.”

“With the ability to create nearly anything, he is the main reason our attempts to capture or hamper the Fiends’ efforts have proved fruitless in the past. Like The Witch, The Engineer has been entirely non-combative, but he should not be taken lightly either. We have no idea what weapons or devices he may have on hand. Additionally, it is believed that The Engineer has a vault of unreleased prototypes in his workshop.”

The fourth image flashed: a classily dressed woman, whom many would confuse to be a man at first glance. “The Jumbled Jackal, The Terrifying Temp, named The Bullying Butler internally by our agents, Mallea Dulip. She isn’t a Fiend, but might as well be; a product of Pimitrad experimentation before their extinction.”

“Anything you can do, she can do too, and perfectly every time without fault. The ideal soldier in every way, with uncompromisable loyalty to the Drazahs. Even though she’s the weakest, she’s the most ruthless of the bunch, and should be feared just as much as any of them. It is unlikely she will be on the front lines, unless given a direct order by the Drazahs, but watch your backs.”

“That ends the supporting generals, now onto the headliners,” Breach cleared his throat after talking so much, then flipped to the next slide to continue. A red-headed boy in what looked like a superhero suit flashed onto the screen. “The Altruistic Artillery, The Glittering Gallant, The Vixen’s Vigilante, Xard Randex. The main powerhouse of the Fiends For Hire with the most destructive potential by far.”

“The Artillery lives up to the title and is a one man walking military. Almost all conventional weapons are useless against him, with only early prototype energy weapons showing any results. The more you attack him, the more you give him to retaliate with. If confronted by him, use restraint tactics only.”

The sixth picture flashed: a blue-haired girl who looked more ready for a day at the beach than a fight. “The Melting Mermaid, The Scantily-Clad Siren, The Beach Bum, The Award-Winning Author, Kada Susten. The honestly most annoying of the group. Her powers can leave you defenseless in a second, with nothing but what Cosmos gave you to fight with.”

“Because of her, we’ve had to spend a fortune randomizing the materials and metals in every piece of clothing, weapon, and bullet; Multiplying our military deficit all on her own. Additionally, it doesn’t make them any more useful against her, it’ll just keep you from screwing over your comrades if she touches you. However, you have each been given a single clip of experimental ammo, and your knives have all been coated in living fibers, to give you a fighting chance.”

The seventh picture: a white haired woman with a gleefully evil grin stretched across her face. “The Vivacious Vixen, The Cosdamned Cheater, The… The uhh…” General Breach struggled to say her last alias seriously. “The Surprisingly Sexy Sociopath, Phon Drazah. She is the public face of the Fiends For Hire, a face impossible not to know since it is so strikingly similar to her late mother’s.”

“I’m sure many of you are wondering why we are sending so many non-Fiend, non-Special-ops soldiers on this operation. First, you should not discount your own skills, even normal humans have proven to be able to give Fiends a challenge. But specifically as to why so many, The Vixen is the reason.”

“To put it bluntly, we need bodies. The more people there are in a condensed area, the weaker The Vixen’s power becomes. Without you all, this operation would be dead from the start. She’d be able to teleport our soldiers far away, or to somewhere they’d never be heard from again. Just by being there, you’re giving us a chance.”

General Breach began the last introduction without yet changing the slide. “Lastly, The Silent Slayer, The Black Botanist, The Thorned Tyrant, Drim Drazah.” The last picture then flashed. The entire auditorium drew deadly silent as a pair of fierce green eyes burned on the screen, staring directly at them.

Thousands of photos had been taken of The Slayer since his debut as a Drazah by the scouts. Quite a few of them were as expected, The Slayer killing a monster or chatting with one of his companions. But whenever he was alone or unoccupied, no every single time, he’d stare directly into the camera.

It didn’t matter where the scout was, or what The Slayer was doing, even if his back was turned. The moment just before the shutter clicked, before the scouts could even notice or react, he’d stare them down, but return to his normal state before they could check the photo. Even times where he was supposed to be sleeping, or it should have been impossible to notice, he’d glare his burning eyes at them without fail.

There had been a committee meeting to decide which pictures to use for this briefing. Overall, the committee wanted them to be as informative as possible; showing as much information about the targets and maybe a little personality, to help the troops really know who they were up against.

However, for The Slayer, General Breach had insisted that they use the most intense photo possible. The reason was simple, fear. Breach was absolutely terrified of Drim Drazah, more than anyone else in the world, even more than he’d ever feared Eleen Drazah, and he wanted to instill that fear to the rest of the army as a motivator. It had come to the point that Breach even had dreams about him. It was astounding that a mere 19 year-old boy could rattle his world so much.

General Breach couldn’t really pin down why he was so shaken by The Slayer. Sure, he was skilled, but power wise he wasn’t overbearing. He had undeniable physical strength, but there were monsters that far outclassed him. His Curse wasn’t all that strong either, most likely considered on the lower end of their strength and absurdity. It was certainly useful, but rather limiting comparatively to some of the god-like abilities of the other Fiends.

Most importantly, The Slayer could be killed, or at least all the data and simulations said so; something that had much higher odds than the rest of his companions. Despite all this, General Breach still feared him the most, for reasons he couldn’t quite put into words. He’d mulled it over a lot—forced to since it was causing him to lose sleep.

The best reason General Breach could come up with was that The Slayer was a hunter.

‘The World’s Greatest Hunter,’ was what most would actually say. However, that title was not so easily obtained. It required skill, strength, knowledge, and an iron will. But there was something more that it needed, to be the true top of the food-chain, the real alpha that stood atop the pack of humanity. No matter what, they could never let themself be the prey.

After a few deep breaths for the audience to calm down, General Breach resumed his report. “While previously believed to be his sister’s position, we now have confirmed reports that Drim Drazah is in fact the leader and mastermind behind the Fiends For Hire. Needless to say, you must always be at full-alert around him.”

“A master of his Curse, and fighting in general, he can counter anything you throw at him in ways unimaginable. Never assume that you have the advantage. On top of that, it has also been confirmed that he possesses the same manipulation power as his mother. However, he most likely will not use it, even if backed into a corner, of that I am confident.”

“Now, to reiterate, the parameter of this operation is a raid of the Fiends For Hire compound in Bisomote. The primary objectives are the capture of The Witch, Ahvra Metissa Zalksin, The Slayer, Drim Drazah, and The Engineer, Nathym Cyper, in that order. However, if any of these three are captured, the mission will be considered a success. Capture of any other member would be welcomed, praised, and ripe for promotion, but not crucial at this juncture.”

“Secondary objectives include securing the contents of the vault in The Engineer’s workshop, the destruction of their shield generator beyond repair, and gathering any intel of their plans. Additionally, The Warden has offered up a bounty from her personal funds for the capture of The Jackal, Mallea Dulip.”

“If you have any further questions, please refer to your mission briefings, or reach out to your superior officer. Now, I’ll turn over the final words of this briefing to the commanding officer of this operation, The Pr- The Paladin, Captain Luciri.” General Breach almost choked, not daring to say the full alliteration of her title. He quickly vacated the stage, not wanting to cross paths with her after that hiccup.

A young woman stepped up to the podium, an obvious Fiend from a single glace. “Thank you, General Breach. I want to say that I have full pride and confidence in the skills of everyone here, and I fully believe that we will make this a successful operation… but I want to make one thing clear.”

“No matter what you’ve heard, no matter what orders you’re given, there is one rule you must abide by.” She paused for a moment as her eyes started to boil. “Drim Drazah is mine!”

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