“Now, the second head…”
After taking a deep breath, she continued detailing the team led by the second head, which was also involved in illegal trade. Unlike the first team, however, this one dealt not in goods, but in lives.
“That scum will do anything from poaching to abducting and even murder.”
They not only poached endangered and protected animals, but would harm Sacred and Spectral Beasts, and obviously humans too.
They had no respect for wildlife sanctuaries and disregarded all of the preservation laws put in place by the Three Gods Countries. They also had no qualms about abducting children, and they would slaughter the parents if they got in the way.
And to really drive ho how little they thought of human lives, if they were unable to sell their prey, they would rcilessly kill it.
“Hmm… That’s just pure evil…”
Mira winced with disgust hearing everything Alma told her. Sotis the young Sacred Beasts they would poach would get injured in the process, becoming worthless in the market, also leading to their unnecessary death. There were also countless children who had been taken away from their parents by that team. All they left behind was anguish and tragedy.
“But I can actually give so good news about them too.” With that, Alma added, “What you did a while back dealt a pretty big blow to them,” grinning a little.
“A while back…? Did I do anything like that?” Mira just tilted her head in confusion, trying to understand what Alma was referring to. Eventually, she clarified that it was about Chira Clauzen.
“You see, this team was closely tied to Chira Clauzen, since they also sold a bunch of spirits.”
The destruction of Chira Clauzen had also extended into that organization. As the Fifty Bells went around crushing any remnants of Chira Clauzen, they also gained information about their associates, like that team.
The Fifty Bells also had excellent thods of interrogation, so it did not take long before they were tearing quite deep into that team.
Sensing their impending destruction, that team decided to cast off a large number of mbers and bases, cutting ties from Ira Muerte to spare the rest of the organization. So while they were being hunted down by the Fifty Bells from one side, their lifeline was also cut on the other side.
“Ohh, I hadn’t thought of that. At least my hard work paid off then.”
Mira was rather pleased with herself hearing that her work had such an effect sowhere else.
Following Chira Clauzen’s destruction, they had no one to sell spirits to anymore, and the follow-up investigations also destroyed their ability to sell other beings.
It was almost shocking how quickly the number of intruders in sanctuaries and the casualties amongst Sacred Beasts had decreased. The sa applied to human trafficking, with numbers decreasing so suddenly it was almost like sothing else had happened.
With all that combined, Alma thought it was safe to assu that everyone in that team was standing on hot water.
“Now, the third head’s team is actually the one you’ll be dealing with, Grandpa…”
Moving along, Alma detailed the team led by the third head of Ira Muerte.
That third team was deeply linked to the previous two.
Naly, they were in charge of distribution and transport. They would collect the weapons and items from the first team, as well as the animals and hostages from the second, and distribute them across the continent. He Who Commands the Dark Routes, August Gradin, was also the leader of that whole team.
“Ah, and this August is also a really ssed up individual.”
August was also one of the few people aware of the existence of the Oracle, and Esralda stepped in to talk about him.
As his nickna suggested, he was the person controlling most of the underground trading routes across the continent. He had established them to transport illegal goods, which most bandits and evildoers relied on. That also ant that he oversaw any major trade deal that happened.
Everyone in the blackmarket knew about him, and that also ant that he oversaw Chira Clauzen’s business deals.
“And you see, you’re not the only one who’s been hard at work, Grandpa. Keep this between us, but my army has actually managed to seize most of the underground trade routes he controlled.”
Alma looked almost smug about it, clearly glad of how much she had accomplished already. But what she had said would require an imnse amount of effort to accomplish.
“…You say it like it was no big deal…but did you actually do that?”
Mira could not help but ask that, seeing Alma’s attitude. But that doubt was understandable, as so far it had been established that Ira Muerte was one of the biggest underground organizations, with connections all across the continent. And yet, Alma claid to have seized almost all of their trade routes.
That equated to cutting their lifeline, as no matter how much of their wicked rchandise they gathered, it was useless if they could not sell it.
Mira could not comprehend how sothing like that was even possible.
“Mhm, it’s all true. By now I’ve probably ruined about…five hundred billion Rils worth of trade for them. And that’s where you co into the picture, Grandpa.”
Alma reaffird her claim, even ntioning an unimaginable sum of money, before she finally began talking about her request for Mira to guard the Oracle. After all, it was only thanks to the Oracle’s powers that Alma had been able to cripple Ira Muerte so much.
“You’ve heard she has the power to see the future, but that’s not very accurate. There’s clear limits and restrictions to her power, and it’s not like she can predict earthquakes or major disasters like that. To put it simply, her power…”
The Oracle’s power worked only on other people, greatly limiting the scope of her ability. On top of that, it was not as much of seeing the future, but more like seeing what the person was currently doing, *or what they were about to do*. That was the real power of the Oracle.
“And there’s one condition to activate that power in the first place. The Oracle needs to touch a prized possession of the target, or a piece of their hair or nails. Once one of those is secured, she can repeatedly use her power as many tis as she wants. So…in other words, August is compromised and can’t do anything at all for the organization, or know anything about it anymore.”
Nirvana had been fighting against Ira Muerte for many years now, and a few months prior they had managed to find one of their bases, thanks to the efforts of many spies and soldiers. When they investigated the place, they were able to collect a vital item, a strand of hair from August.
“The benefit of that ability is that it works repeatedly. Once the Oracle touched the hair, and continued to touch it, she could tell what August was doing and planning, everything. So as long as we have the hair and the Oracle, he can’t do any work for Ira Muerte.”
Saying that, Alma’s eyes seed to fill with pride. She was proud from the bottom of her heart about those serving her, whose continuous efforts had allowed her to deal such a major blow to Ira Muerte.
“I see… He knew about all the business conducted by the organization, so the Oracle’s power beca his greatest weakness.”
August controlled the underground trade routes, used by Ira Muerte and many others, and all the information he obtained was channeled straight to the Oracle.
That ant that Nirvana also learned about other clients of August’s, who were also prosecuted and imprisoned, greatly decreasing August’s reputation and credibility. And whenever he tried to co up with counterasures, Nirvana imdiately knew about them.
The Oracle had left one of the biggest leaders of the organization hamstrung, leaving a devastating effect on everyone else.
Having heard that much, Mira understood why they had such a grudge against the Oracle, and was not surprised that they had sent assassins, it was almost expected at that point.
“By the way, there’s sothing I still don’t understand. Earlier you said only a handful of high ranking officers *and* August know about the Oracle.”
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