亚洲综合中美

Without much hassle, the party joined up – the spirit had to use teleportation a fair bit. Staxius grew to abuse how easy it became to travel from places to place in a heartbeat. Nothing exciting happened, not till they reached Timothy’s tavern. The other bars felt too formal and calm to be enjoyable. “Aye Staxius,” time was close to eleven. “Lovely night now isn’t it Tim,” the party took a seat at one of the only circular tables at the back. “I guess it’s da usual?” he asked to which Staxius replied enthusiastically with, “double it for tonight,” a smirk told all. The other people who frequented said place was also of the same mindset. Drinks after drinks, they got drunk without a drop being lost.

Drinks arrived at Staxius’s table, a barrel of ale, a few bottles of wine, and others. “Pretty hardcore for tonight, well enjoy, – we are open till the day comes and all are blackout drunk,” with a casual laugh, Timothy left.

“Before we begin, I know that you three are already tipsy. Therefore, I’d like to say what I can whilst I’m my own self,” Staxius spoke, the tone felt somewhat serious. “-the day isn’t long till our guild is officially recognized. I’ve already begun working on financial trouble. Word can’t express how much gratitude I feel to have such lovely partners besides me. Long ago, I had the same sort of feeling with another bunch of friends. Sadly, time stops for no one, only Viola remains from that crew. Despite this, I’d like to say, with Avon and Achilles here, the same feeling of nostalgia overwhelms the mundane nature of life in general. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for sticking by my side. Let us all drink to a fruitful future – our journey has only begun,” the ale filled mug raised.

*Cling,* all cheered with mugs in hand. In a fail swoop, the drinks were refilled again. “I’d like to add something to what Master said,” Avon coughed and spoke. “I know not when I was created or how I came into existence. All that is apparent is that I’m a spirit who’s a bit overpowered. From being trapped in a car to being released and given a new life, I’m also grateful to be able to enjoy this time in a good company. I’m confident that our time together isn’t ending yet, Staxius is immortal, Viola is a demi-goddess and Achilles an ancient hero. I dare anyone to find a party any stronger than this,” to that, many laughed and the mugs were filled again.

“My turn,” Achilles spoke, a few hiccups later, “honestly, I’m the same as Avon. Imprisoned and calmly resting in the afterlife until someone decided to revive my soul. I was shocked to see that my memories remained fresh and intact – so was the skill and power bestowed. To that, I’m happy to be of use; though this realm fills lackluster. The only opponent I can dream of fighting is Master Staxius – though my weakness is already known. Despite this, it’s much more fun,” she sighed then continued, “-I’m fully aware that the self-righteous nature of mine isn’t perfect for the heir to the god of death. Still, thank you for accepting me in this closed group of friends,” she ended. This sort of behavior was normal, alcohol brought out people’s deepest thoughts and emotions. More often than not, if one went out drinking with someone special – both would usually speak about how much they cared for one another.

Another mug, another refill, *cough,* Undrar spoke, “I’d just like to say, screw you Staxius,” her mug emptied and slammed onto the table. “Screw you for leaving me alone for all these years. Don’t you think it’s a bit uncalled for to forget the person YOU rudely took from the hall of rebirth to go on an adventure? What is done is done, the sixteen years felt like months if I’m being honest. Seeing Eira grow into the person she is now made it worth it. Nevertheless, something came to my attention – I spoke to Eira a few nights ago,” the eyes turned fearless, “-tell me why,” the eyebrows raised, “-tell me why the news about Staxius Haggard being married to the QUEEN of Arda HASN’T BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION?” a slam on the table rattled the overall loud and noisy chatter.

.....

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Staxius chuckled and continued to drink. “You casually forgot?” her cheeks flushed, she stood -“y-yes,” Staxius gulped. “Whatever,” her stance went back to relaxed, “-you’ll never change. Just inform everybody back in Dorchester sometime soon,” yawns were seen across the flushed and tired faces of the party members.

‘Dorchester,’ he wondered, ‘-should pay them a visit soon. I did somewhat vanish without saying anything,’ at this point only Staxius drank. The others were passed out and laid to rest on the seats. “Timothy,” Staxius called, the stance reverted to sober, “how can I help?” he rushed over. “Is that thing opened at this hour?” both whispered to one another. “Meeting with those guys right now is possible, however, it’s a death sentence – do you really wish to meet the traffickers?” the voice now nearly silent.

“Nothing excites me more than a bunch of ruffians and some low-key work,” the index finger brushed against the nose, Staxius remain confident. “Alright, follow me then,” the path led into the toilet. There, behind one of the urinals, a button got pressed; revealing a secret door behind the mirror. “Good luck, I can’t follow anyone inside – your funeral.” The barkeeper stopped. “Don’t worry about the cash, ask the blond-headed girl – she’ll pay once awake,” the door closed behind.

A neon sign provided the only source of light, *The Twin Jellyfish Bar.* Unimpressed, the walk continued inside. From the painful silence to slight murmurs and whispers, the carved-out pathway slowly reached a secret hidden by many. The place was home to the Dark-guilds members who met to discuss business and have a bit of fun.

Amidst the darkness, a faint red light marked where the bar was. He stepped in; the place was dimly lit on purpose. It helped in safeguarding the identity of many who knew of this place. Though it wasn’t necessary – the atmosphere of secrecy it provided added to its charm. To the right, a bar with a counter reaching half-way into the room. Behind said counter, glass displays with bottles from expensive and exquisite brands from renowned brewing companies. Further down the right side, an area reserved for business talk and other activities meant for the eyes of the participants only. In the top left corner, poles and a stage. Women, what was to be expected, dressed in nothing more than underwear. Some were fully naked, the man who sat underneath all the action drank and remained relatively quiet. Moans and screams were heard from opposite the counter, a corridor led to another room. *Playthings for sale,* was written in bold atop.

‘Looks like fun,’ sarcasm overwhelmed the mind. To the eyes of someone normal and average, this place could be seen as heaven or hell – it depended. *BANG,* a man walked out with blood all over the face, “the whore didn’t obey, so I shot her,” he proclaimed to the group of friends sitting near the podium. They all laughed, “there’s a rule to not kill the merchandise.” The barkeeper yelled from across, “cheer up, she was only a demi. There are no rules against those slaves are there?” the man fired back with the tone pretty arrogant. “Fair enough,” the barkeeper went back to mixing drinks.

‘Thank god the others aren’t here to see this,’ Staxius approached the barkeeper. “Good evening,” the barkeeper spoke, Jason was written on a name tag. “Good evening,” Staxius replied, the people sat next to him all turned, the gazes could be felt. “Jason, this guy isn’t a regular,” the closest person spoke out. A shot of whiskey got placed in front of Staxius. It took a few seconds before Jason yelled, “INTRUDER,” the lights turned on – new faces weren’t welcomed in this place.

“Hey ponytailed bitch, who the fuck are you?” they wore top hats, guns were pulled and aimed. “A guy looking for business,” without a care in the world, Staxius delicately drank and admired the whiskey. “You better say who you are,” the man who called him out spoke with a menacing tone.

“Can’t we all be civil,” Staxius asked, the glass got emptied. “He’s trying to act civil here,” they mocked and laughed. “Well we don’t care about courtesy here, princess,” the same man spat at his feet. “And neither do I,” the voice calm and unfaltering, the man who spat fell, a fork embedded itself into the neck. “Shit, my hands must have slipped,” casually, the hands clapped and rubbed against one another. The latter was dirtied by blood, Staxius’s face changed.

“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?” all who sat now stood, someone got killed right before their eyes. Most of the noncombatants screamed and ran inside the changing rooms. “Who the hell is making all that noise?” coming out of the private room, a heavily tattooed man. *Bang, bang,* without another warning, guns were shot. ‘Time to test out this new spell combination,’ *Death Element: Absolute Barrier,* all bullets stopped. “WHAT IS HAPPENING?” they yelled, another barrage of bullets got fired. An invisible wall was conjured, using the dense mana he naturally had. A moment of inspiration whilst in Clarity triggered this new spell. A wall made of mana that compressed air into something unbreakable.

“Are we done playing?” Staxius asked with the tone now cold and merciless. *Snap,* the levitating bullets turned and shot back at one man only. “The whore didn’t obey, so I shot him,” a bit of retribution – Staxius killed the guy who bragged about slaying a demi-human. A single bullet sufficed, though it kept on impaling the man even after death. The body broke bit by bit until it was reduced to only holes and bones.

“ALRIGHT, CALM DOWN STAXIUS,” the old man yelled. “Hey, it’s you from earlier,” Staxius waved with a cavalier behavior. Most were shocked and traumatized by how brutal someone could be. “A fucking demon,” everyone looked at one another.

“AUSTIN,” Jason yelled, he didn’t look bothered either. “-We’ve got another body, please send the cleaning crew.” Another drink got placed on the bloodied counter, the body with a fork inside leaned over. Blood dripped; the glass turned red. “Thanks for the drink,” another sip was taken. “You demon,” Jason added in jest, “-go speak to the old man. He’s the one you want to see if there is business to be discussed. Don’t worry about these idiots, they’re run-of-the-mill thugs.”

“Over here,” the old man yelled in urgency -“coming,” Staxius replied. “Thanks for the drinks, you’ve got talent,” a smile later, they now sat in the private room.

“I didn’t expect this visit so early,” the room rather small but comfy, a picture of a naked girl rested behind the tattooed man. “I’m Karlson,” he spoke, “-let’s get right to business,” the atmosphere felt relaxed. “Nicely met,” Staxius fired back. “I want information and a lot of them. Also, there’s a deal I’m willing to consider.”

“Alright,” Karlson straightened the posture and placed a revolver onto the table. “Before we get started,” Staxius quickly grabbed the gun and fired. “Trigger happy much?” he asked; the bullet went straight past the head. “Well, I figured that this conversation would be better if only we knew about it.”

“We’re alone, aren’t we?” Karlson added in a smug tone. “Yes, now we are,” a gentle smile later, the conversation began.

“I want information about the band of people who launched an attack on a tailor shop earlier this week. I’ve already got their location, and it will not take less than a few hours to exterminate them. Therefore, I’d like to know who is in charge, having more bodies to clean up is a drag,” Staxius leaned forward.

“I understand, though that gang is out of my range. They operate underneath the other leaders of which I can’t give out any more details. I’m but a pawn in this organization, the dark guilds have more influence than you can ever think,” the answer firm and direct.

“Well then,” the badge of Alchemist was placed onto the table, “-I’d like to speak about the God’s ale,” he smirked.