Criminals tend to be quite vigorous in their work. That was due to their clear sense of purpose and the awareness that their evil deeds weren’t going to cover themselves.
Armed with the knowledge from his past experiences, Zig quickly made his move.
He headed to the location Kirk’s messenger had told him about, which was a vacant house in a corner of the pleasure district. It was quite a bold move. A forest was the best place to hide a tree, but hiding right beneath the mafia’s nose might be pushing their luck.
The messenger said that reinforcements were on the way, but speed was of the essence. Zig doubted he would be able to enjoy their help.
“My guys have surrounded the place,” Katia said, proud of her prep work. “We’re not letting a single rat escape.”
Zig had originally planned on going alone, but Katia insisted on coming with him after hearing about the suspect’s hideout. She sent a bruised Schillaci to tell Vanno what was going on and ordered Leda to assemble the troops. Under Katia’s lead, they wasted no time in surrounding the building.
Katia glared at the house, veins threatening to pop.
“These bastards got some nerve!”
She did not take kindly to her territory being infiltrated and used as a hideaway—and without her permission, at that.
“Careful,” Zig warned her as he stepped forward. “We don’t know how good these guys are.”
The fact that they had remained hidden from the mafia meant there hadn’t been many of them. He doubted that these few remaining agents were as competent as the assassins who attacked him the other day, but it was best to be safe.
“My job is to capture them,” Zig said, subtly telling Katia not to rely on outside help.
It calmed her down a little.
“I know. I don’t want my guys to die needless deaths too. We’re counting on you, mercenary.”
The big man wasn’t a fiend, but he could be ruthless. Katia understood that he wouldn’t help her if circumstances shifted his priorities. She felt reassured as she watched him walk toward the house.
She didn’t know who these idiots who thought it was a good idea to stir up trouble in this city were, but they were done for. As strong as they were, there was no absolute certainty when it came to combat.
As soon as he entered, a blade came to greet him.
A short sword flew at him from his left and he stepped back, dodging it while still holding on to the doorknob.
“Huh…? Urgh!”
The door closed on the man, pushing him outside as he lost his balance. Zig planted his foot firmly in the man’s back, causing him to tumble onto the ground. His cheap short sword clattered to the ground as it slid away from him.
“You can have this one.”
Katia and the others were stunned at the display but quickly regained their senses and jumped him.
“Well, well, what have we here!”
“Get him!”
“Gyaa! St-stop…” the man cried pitifully as Zig made his next move.
He stepped closer, remembering the room’s layout.
“I think it was around here…”
Zig stood about a meter to the right of the door and clenched his fist.
“Hmph!” He grunted as he unleashed a powerful punch. The fierce right blew a hole through the wooden wall like it was a cookie cutter.
“Wh-what?!”
Zig grinned after hearing the surprised yelp from behind the wall, knowing that he had made the right decision. His right arm reached out, successfully grabbing his target’s neck. He squeezed harder, dragging his opponent’s head and forcing it through the hole he just made.
Chaos erupted in the building. The others inside were shocked at their comrade being pulled by a disembodied hand, which meant they couldn’t react fast enough. Meanwhile, their friend was slowly but surely getting dragged through the wall.
“Eeegh! No! H-help… Someone help!”
The men could do nothing but watch in terror, cold sweat running down their faces.
“Here’s another one.”
His first victim had stopped moving, so Zig threw another one to replace it.
However, the mobsters were ready this time. One of them quickly disarmed the man before the rest began stomping on him. At this point, the differences in individual strength didn’t matter. The violence of sheer numbers overwhelmed it.
“That’s it for the ambush.”
Two had been incapacitated, but Zig no longer had the element of surprise. He had expected that the enemy would hunker down in response to his attack.
It was only a matter of time before they noticed they were surrounded by the mafia. Even taking that risk into account, he knew he made the right decision by letting Katia and her men accompany him.
“Well then…”
Kick the door down or slash it down? Zig thought about his options, but the enemy was already making their move.
A pungent smell rose in the air along with rising bloodlust. Zig knew in an instant what was coming. He bent his knees and leaped high into the air.
The door exploded as a blast of flame gushed out of it. It was probably a combination of wind and fire magic. The heat was so intense that anyone caught in it would be instantly incinerated.
“Did that do it?!”
“Never mind that, we need to put out the fire!”
Even if the spell had hit its target, a fire was still a fire.
One of the men looked out the now empty door frame and threw a bucket of water on the fire.
The big man was gone. All that was left were a bunch of mobsters who were frozen in their tracks.
“Heh… Ha ha ha! There’s not even a trace of him—”
Those were his last words.
Zig had been hanging from the entrance with his twinblade. He fell upon the man, splitting him in two.