God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

Marcus headed towards the elevator, pressing the twentieth, since he had shifted his office again. The elevator door opened, the metal screeching in its wake. He saw his secretary working, nodding at her, then headed inside his office.

Nova was patiently waiting inside, shaking his right foot violently. You could feel the uneasy tension that he felt, every single second that he didn't see Marcus, since Marcus meant that Elesch and Adam were rescued and in the infirmary.

As Marcus opened the door, Nova stopped shaking and sharply turned his glance at him, which made Marcus slightly taken aback, since the seriousness of Nova's face was enough to even devour him.

"They are safe and alive, don't worry," Marcus spoke up, closing the door behind him and closing the blinds. He then sat on his seat, as Nova took a long, deep breath, inhaling and exhaling from his nose, composing himself. "They will recover according to the doctor overnight, since even healing can't restock their energy."

"I don't care about that, as long as they are within these walls and alive, I'm fine with them taking as long as they want in healing themselves. That is irrelevant to me." Nova said, his voice softening, as he kept meditating to destress himself.

"While we're on this topic," Marcus said seriously, his earlier smirks and smiles fading away. "I know for a fact Cain isn't responsible for something like this. He may be evil, but as my best friend, he would never touch a child, not even if the very deity he worships commanded it."

Nova comprehended what Marcus said, thinking that now there was an even bigger issue to resolve, while trying to eradicate TNT. "So, that means that his own people have started to rebel against him. The only reasons they would do this are for money, or they think that he has gone too soft. This will be an even bigger issue than handling Cain itself. Now that we are fighting two enemies at once."

"Of course," Marcus said. "There are always complications. But the two halves still make a whole, and that whole is TNT. So, if we are to strike anyone, we should focus on destroying the core of TNT itself. Which will automatically trigger for the two factions to sink deeper and even potentially kill each other in the process, for who gets the remaining resources."

But for that to happen, Nova thought to himself, splitting from reality, entering his mind space. I need to make sure I'm strong enough to defend the people I care about while bringing down the syndicate. I like the Saint, but even that doesn't faze me if I have to kill her husband in front of her and her daughter.

"I need to get stronger faster. I'm only E-rank, while he is probably an evolved Adventurer. The gap between us is too thick for my comfort." Then he looked up at Marcus, his eyes filled with determination. "I would need your help to get stronger, Marcus. Would you assist me with my future mission and bring down this fucking syndicate, before Elesch gets hurt again?"

"I thought you never ask," Marcus smirked at him, and both of them smiled, their intense aura suffocating the entire building.

---

The world's most dangerous syndicate sat in the middle of North Reach, a place where governments had long abandoned control, and only power and fear dictated survival. Their stronghold was no ordinary hideout; it was a fortress disguised as a city.

From above, it looked like scattered settlements stitched together by dirt roads and warehouses, but beneath the surface, it was a machine. Hidden tunnels connected compounds, safehouses were embedded in nearby villages, and airstrips carved out of jungle clearings allowed for more silent arrivals and departures under the moonlight.

On the outside, it seemed like chaos, but every part of it was built with intention: surveillance towers kept watch, encrypted radio towers lined commanders, and squads of enforcers patrolled with military focus.

At the center of the shadow city was the heart of TNT, the core Marcus had spoken of, a heavily fortified compound where decisions were made and lives were gambled away like poker chips. It was worse than any cartel.

It wasn't luxury that defined it, but control. Leaders lived in power, surrounded by loyal lieutenants and mercenaries trained to kill without hesitation. Further out were the outer layers, the smuggling crews, the debtors, the expendables who carried TNT's dirty work.

Within these walls, even whispers of betrayal were silenced before they reached the air. The syndicate wasn't just a criminal empire; it was a nation built on fear, wealth, and brutality. To strike here meant war against something larger than any one man.

And inside one of the rooms, in the heart of TNT, stood Cain, smirking demonically at a particular batch of TNT's frontline. Next to Cain was his butler and his left-hand man, both of whom had known him since he was a child.

Then, after the silence deafened everyone long enough to even irate Cain, he spoke up maliciously, with a powerful aura that was suffocating everyone in North Reach, except for his right- and left-hand men, not because they were stronger, only because he trusted them enough not to betray him.

"I've been hearing about some sort of rebellion against me." He said, voice low, but guttural, craving for some blood. "The very face that protects and drives TNT. And yet, a fucking foolish group in this very room dares to oppose me."

He laughed maniacally, scaring everyone. Then abruptly stopped, looking at the group with wide eyes that seemed to have tightened in rage.

"Everyone knows that I don't order any of my men to kidnap children, or even threaten a kid. But, according to the latest news, three members with the TNT exclusive tattoo nearly committed the very thing I told them not to."

Everyone gulped simultaneously, feeling their brains ache, as if it was going to explode.

"If anyone speaks up now, stitching on who ordered such a vile thing. I will let you go," Cain said with a grin. "So, speak up now, or die trying."

No one spoke up, not even a single mutter came out. Cain's grin faded into anger; he became more irate, more impatient.

"Every well then, I guess, everyone dies today. My wolves have been very hungry recently." He said, summoning two wolves, who lunged at the group.

The group tried their best to defeat the wolves, but not even an evolved Adventurer was able to leave a scratch. And soon after, the wolves left nothing behind but some bones and rotten flesh, with disgusting penis in the mix.

He turned to his most trusted butlers, ordering them harshly: "Find anyone and everyone part of this rebellion and feed them to my wolves. They are still very much hungry."