A/N: Look, Oren does actually know how to do non-lethal! Who could have guessed?

  Sophia is VERY impressed.

  -x-X-x-

  "R-Right this way. We're almost there."

  It's funny, Oren hasn't had much opportunity to… hold back since being summoned to this universe. Back at the start he'd always given his all against Raythe because if he didn't, the other man would trounce him. And even when he did, the other man STILL trounced him. Oren now knew that was because Raythe was a god of course. And not just a god, but a Void God who had been imprisoned by Law for thousands of years.

  After training with Raythe for years, Oren hadn't held back when he'd been sent to the Heavens either, mostly because he'd thought he was besieging the Demon King's fortress all by his lonesome and he couldn't afford to hesitate or slow down or show a single ounce of mercy. To be fair, if he had hesitated, the Gods and Goddesses of the Heavens might have managed to kill him, so it wasn't like he was entirely wrong there.

  Finally, after Law broke him free of the Void Gods' illusion, Oren had escaped to the Mortal Pnes, where he once again hadn't run into very many opportunities to hold back. Not when everyone he was running into wanted a piece of him, or eventually Sophia after they joined up.

  All of this was to say… it'd been a rather novel experience putting the 'honorable' thugs who'd tried to rob them in their pce without just straight up killing them or even doing permanent damage. Well, not quite permanent damage.

  Of the four men who attempted to shake them down for everything they were worth, two are sporting bck eyes and busted lips along with a whole lot of facial swelling, while another is cradling his broken fingers and trying not to whimper overly much from the pain.

  Only the fourth man, the one who'd done all the talking so far, looks like he's emerged from all of this unscathed. But then, looks can be deceiving. He's definitely going to have several bruised ribs for the next few days and Oren can tell that every breath is a spasm of pain that reminds the thug exactly what he did to earn such punishment.

  Once Oren had shown the four just how outcssed they really were, their tune had changed quite quickly. Now here they were, having moved underground at the guidance of the lead thug into a network of tunnels that the organized crime of Skycastle were clearly using to keep their activities as cndestine as possible.

  Thankfully, the tunnels and the sewers of Skycastle had barely any overp, so the underground journey wasn't nearly as offensive to the nostrils as the one they'd been through back in Goldriver what feels like a lifetime ago.

  Now, it was just as the lead thug had said. They were almost there and Oren's jaw clenches slightly as they step out into a rge underground cavern filled to the brim with people. He'd wondered just why there were some parts of the slums that felt downright abandoned and empty up top, especially when there were so many refugees camped out around Skycastle.

  Well, it seemed that the less fortunate of Skycastle had banded together with the criminals to take advantage of the massive hill that the city was built on. They'd dug down and carved themselves out their own pce underground, making a clear discrepancy between what the God Hunters' information about the city's popution was and how many were ACTUALLY living on the surface at any given time.

  It's not just thieves and ne'er dowels down here, though everyone looks at least a little shady. The pce has its own ecosystem, with market stalls and kids running around and everyone hustling to and fro.

  Of course, the deeper that they get into the cavern, the more it becomes obvious that the Thieves' Guild or whatever the local equivalent is has as much of a presence here as the God Hunters have up top. Oren takes note as he and Sophia find themselves surrounded by more and more obvious criminals, thugs just like the ones currently escorting the two of them.

  He waits for the inevitable betrayal, anticipation thrumming as he rests his hand on the pommel of his sword. It was one thing to lead the two of them down here after he beat the four thugs bck and blue, but now that they're surrounded by many more men and women…

  "Kreeg. What's this exactly?"

  The lead thug, who Oren now knows is named Kreeg, swallows as he's stopped by someone who definitely radiates more authority than most others. Oren tenses up and feels Sophia do the same at his side, both of them ready for a fight.

  "Ah… got a new mercenary for the boss. He's good Of. Real good."

  Oren blinks, caught a little off guard even as Of looks past Kreeg and stares him down for a long moment. He wasn't expecting the thug to actually have any sort of honor now that they were in the heart of his organization's power. And yet, it would seem Kreeg the Criminal was more honorable and worthy of respect than any of the God Hunters they'd faced in the past few months.

  "Huh. He don't look like much."

  Ouch. Still, Oren knows he looks young. He's in his early twenties at this point and the less said about his baby face, the better. Kreeg though…

  "Heh, yeah I know. But looks can be deceptive. This one took me and the boys down like we were nothing. And he did it while barely spilling a drop of our blood. Broke Clive's fingers to disarm him instead of just running him through, even. Figure that earns him some good will."

  Once again, Oren is a little nonplussed. Was this what having street cred was like? He shares a quick gnce with Sophia, only to be drawn back when Of lets out another grunt.

  "Earned him some good will with you and your boys, sure. But with the rest of us? You know it don't work that way Kreeg. You don't just get a meeting with the Big Man right off the bat."

  Shifting his eyes over to Oren, Of reaches up and picks at his ear for a moment.

  "If Kreeg is willing to vouch for you, then we can take you on. Give you some work. Let you prove yourself. But it'll take time. Still, it's better than joining the God Hunters and wiling away your days up on the damn wall for barely any pay. What do ya say?"

  As Kreeg looks back at him and shrugs helplessly, Oren finally realizes why the other man is acting the way he is. The thug always knew that he wouldn't be able to get Oren an audience with the Kingpin. But rather than tell Oren as much back up on the street where it might upset him, he'd brought the two of them down here and 'tried his darnedest' to hold up his end of their admittedly one-sided bargain.

  Now it was Of who was the 'bad guy'. It was Of who was the one in Oren's way. Honestly, it was pretty clever thinking on Kreeg's part. And in any other circumstances, maybe Oren would have even been willing to go along with this shit. Join the organization. Prove himself quickly. Within a week, he bet he could get a meeting with the King Pin solely on his own merits as an Otherworlder with enhanced abilities.

  … The problem was, they might not have a week. Tyranos could finish working his way through the Ancient Gods of the Mortal Pnes any day now. And then what? Well, most likely he'd move onto the final phase of his pn, which involved finally revealing himself and taking over everything.

  And that would mean shutting certain things down and tying up any remaining loose ends. If the God of Forges were still alive, he probably wouldn't remain that way for very long after Tyranos finally truly 'won'. And if there really was an entrance to the Void here in Skycastle, it would almost certainly be closed once Tyranos finished solidifying his victory.

  They were on a strict timetable. A week was too long. Even a fucking day felt like it might be too long at this point.

  Stepping forward, Oren doesn't so much as flinch when everyone around them tenses up and shifts into combat postures, looking ready to fight back in the event that he attacks. He just stares Of evenly in the eye and smiles thinly.

  "And what if I said I already had some work? I've got a job for the Kingpin… the biggest job any of you, including him, will ever have even heard of let alone tried to pull off. The biggest score of your lives. Are you just going to let that slip through your fingers?"

  Silence falls as Oren stares Of down. All eyes are on Oren, dozens of intense gazes fixated on the Otherworlder as he just smirks with a casual confidence born of faith in his own skills… and faith in Sophia.

  See, it's good that everyone is looking at him. After all, the most important part of a magic trick… is the misdirection. The thieves and thugs surrounding them are so focused on Oren that they don't even see Sophia twitch her fingers in Of's direction… and hit the big man with a subtle application of Folly.

  Because the truth is, as confident as Oren is and as much as he's presenting the persona of someone who knows EXACTLY what he's doing… the smart thing would still be to shut him down and send him away. After all, the kind of big score that Oren is talking about can only come at one group's expense in a city like Skycastle. The God Hunters.

  These criminals are unlikely to want to fight the God Hunters or risk pissing them off and starting some sort of purge or crackdown. But that's where Sophia comes in. With just a little bit of Folly…

  "Tch. Fine, come with me."

  Of crumbles. The man jerks his head and turns to take them down a tunnel behind him that seems to lead elsewhere. Oren exchanges a gnce with Sophia before the two of them follow him back. As they walk, he reaches out and finds Sophia's hand, sliding his fingers between hers and squeezing gently in a way that has her squeezing back.

  The trip down the tunnel is short and as they approach a rge door; Oren can hear voices on the other side thanks to his enhanced senses.

  "S-Sir, we've lost contact with another one of the surface gangs. W-Word on the street is that-!"

  "Let me guess. The God Hunters came out of nowhere, raided their hideout, and rounded them all up to make examples of them."

  "Ah… y-yes sir."

  "Tch. It would seem our friends up top are enjoying squeezing us more and more tightly. This wasn't the deal. Perhaps-!"

  But whatever else the second voice might have said is interrupted by Of reaching the door and knocking on it hard with his fist. After a moment, the second voice calls out with an authoritative 'Enter!' and they walk in.

  As he and Sophia file into the room behind Of, Oren studies the two men already in the room. One is somewhat mousy and reedy and after getting a look at them, quickly ducks his head and scurries out of the room wordlessly.

  The other man though… he has a certain aura about him. Standing behind a desk is a somewhat aristocratic-looking individual. He wears a red cape but under it has on leather armor dyed pitch bck. His beard is salt and pepper, and his eyes are like flint as he takes them in with a frown.

  "Of? Who are these two, exactly?"

  Still holding hands with Sophia, Oren blinks when he feels her suddenly squeezing down with a sense of urgency even as Of steps forward.

  "These two ran afoul of Kreeg and his boys up top sir. They spared them and Kreeg brought them down to us in repayment. The man says that he has a job for us. Called it… the biggest score of our lives."

  Oren looks to Sophia as Of is speaking, only for her to lean forward and gesture for him to lean down so she can whisper in his ear. Once he does so…

  "Oren! The Kingpin is no mortal man. Its like… its like no longer being bound has pulled a veil off of my senses. I can taste his divinity in the air!"

  Eyes widening, Oren looks back to the Kingpin stood behind his desk, gazing at him in an entirely new light. Because… a god masquerading as a King of Thieves would never in a million years be tied to a physical concept. And with the Heavens sughtered, this god can only come from one pce… the Void.

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: Yep, the Kingpin is a Void God.

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