[Later That Night]
"So, how did the meeting go?"
Felicia and her friends—Byron, Lyvia, Devin, and Cayden—sat and discussed in her room, as they often did at this point. As the leader of the deserted Otherworlders, she had pretty much made her place of rest their hideout of sorts, albeit a temporary one.
Their stay in the Royal Estate was limited, so they wouldn't be here for long.
Still, at least for the moment, they were privy to the facilities of the Estate—as esteemed personnel of the highly regarded Nobles. Their rooms weren't as fancy as that of the Otherworlders, but it was certainly much better than their abode in the houses of the Nobles they worked for.
It just went to show the disparity in wealth and power that the Royal Council had—or perhaps how well the latter was willing to treat their guests.
Regardless, that wasn't the topic for discussion. It was something else.
"You mean the meeting with our new backer? Yes, it's going well. The Reaper Group has decided to fund our new venture."
As soon as she said this, the teenagers practically fist bumped and leapt for joy. As everyone in the Alliance knew at this point, The Reaper Group was the hot new stuff around. They held so much financial influence, but were also politically relevant.
Not only did they personally supply the Royal Council with Items—thus contributing to the war against the Dragons—but they had managed to make connections with practically every Noble that the group knew.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})They had their reach in every facet of the Nation at some point, which made Felicia suspicious.
"It's a good thing I acted on my instincts and confronted that worker of theirs—who eventually spilled everything after just a kiss." Licking her lips, Felicia grinned widely.
The honest truth was that the Reaper Group was looking to take over the Alliance as well, and since they had a much better plan and more influence than the Nobles who were greedily eyeing the position of the Royal Council, the Reaper Group was a much much better group to latch onto.
"Those old farts lack the resolve. Plus, they're too stupid and entitled to come up with a coherent plan to take over anything." Lyvia said with a brutal smile on her face.
Despite having a gentle face, everyone knew just how blunt and harsh she could be.
"Right? If the Reaper Group is our sponsor, we can be sure to have both the financial and political help to achieve our goals." Devin added.
Everyone in the group nodded at this.
"The most important thing is that the Group has the trust of the Royal Council. Vida and Conrad don't trust the Nobles, but since they've kept the Reaper Group close, they won't expect treachery from them."
The intricate web of connections that the Reaper Group had managed to establish that this plan of theirs must have taken them a long time to make.
By subsidizing the weapons sold to the Royal Council, while also bearing construction costs for the Capital, they already knew what their actions would get them.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})What were the chances that they were the top business in the Alliance, despite only surfacing only some months ago? No… the Group was certainly run with agendas in mind, and one constructed by a rather intelligent leader.
"So, did you meet the leader of the Reaper Group, or just an affiliate?" Byron asked, chuckling excitedly as he wanted to know more.
"You idiot! You think the leader would easily reveal himself like that? They've been planning this for so long. Of course, they'd opt to remain hidden."
Rebal was merely the outward leader of the Reaper Group, serving to conceal the true mastermind who ran everything from the shadows. He was the one she had a meeting with.
"Within a week, we'll make our move. The Reaper Group is already amassing their resources, and they've also managed to enslave two Dragons who will assist us in our endeavor."
"T-two what?!"
"D-Dragons?! Are you serious?!"
Cayden looked a little worried as he stared at Felicia, but she shrugged everything off and smiled.
"Relax. I kissed him and confirmed the effects of my Skill. He was telling the truth, and they have the Dragons under their control." Her tone was casual, laced with so much pride and power, that her followers had to believe and trust her.
"During our next meeting, the Dragons will show up and we'll further discuss the details of the plan."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})If all worked well, the Dragons would get blamed for the chaos that would ensue in the City—including the demise, or at least permanent incapacitation of the Otherworlders.
"Once the dust settles, we will rise and become the new heroes of the people. During this process, we have to eliminate Conrad and Vida. Since we are Otherworlders, the Curse won't activate if we do the job. We could also use the Dragons to do it."
The previous plan with the Nobles had them taking on the more gruesome roles due to their strength and nature as Otherworlders, but with the Reaper Group's involvement, there wasn't even a need to stain their hands.
"What of our classmates?" Cayden asked with a raised brow. "What do you plan on doing with Justin and the rest?"
"Hmm… do you think we should bring them on our side?" Lyvia asked. "They could be useful to us."
Everyone knew Lyvia was saying this because she had a crush on Justin, but no one said anything to imply their knowledge. Instead, Felicia rubbed her chin and creased her brow for a moment. Then, she spoke.
"Having them on our side will indeed be beneficial. It's not like I'm a heartless monster that wants to see her classmates die or something."
In fact, she would have preferred it if no one had to die, but the Reaper Group was pretty insistent on the calamity that had to be wrought upon the Capital in order to ensure a proper transition to their rule.
"It's crazy how they helped develop the City, only to desire its destruction once again…" Devin chuckled.
The rest of the teenagers laughed at this, with Felicia smiling the brightest.
"Don't worry, guys. This alliance with them is also temporary. All we need is their assistance, and once we get what we want…" They all nodded in agreement and steeled their hearts.
"The Reaper Group will be under our control as well."
