Huh?!
Where's Lord Luther?!!
"This is bad—!!"
"Lord Luther's vanished!!"
The Wizards' eyes and tongues practically leapt out of their heads as they shouted in unison.
Only now did these clueless dolts finally catch on.
"Damn it! He saw things going south and slipped away!!"
"Waaah… we've been abandoned?!"
"No, we were used! That jerk knew we couldn't win, so he stirred us up to buy time for his escape…"
"Despicable bastard!!"
The more they talked, the angrier they felt, until curses and accusations spewed into thin air.
"Oh my, oh my—"
"Looks like your leader ditched you!"
"Whatever will you do now?"
Weston eyed the sorry bunch at leisure, a wicked grin curling his lips.
His gaze made their scalps crawl: "Wh-what do you want from us??"
"If you're after the Dark Night Scorpions, go for our guild master and the six branch heads. We only joined because we couldn't scrape a living anymore…"
"Bullshit!"
Weston snorted. "Do I look stupid enough to swallow that?"
Unlike the rest of the City of Outlaws, these men weren't ex-army or assassins.
They'd been Dark Guild riff-raff who learned a bit of magic, then ran around the kingdom bullying the weak and enslaving towns.
In short, much like Blue Skull.
Later the Second Prince, and maybe the First, bought them with favors, dragged them into the war, and after defeat they'd ended up here.
Just then Precht walked in.
"Weston!"
"What's up?"
"The bandit chief from before is back."
"Mm… I'll take a look."
The bandit leader hadn't returned alone.
Behind him trailed seven or eight men who looked like 'Generals'.
After a brief chat Weston learned they'd once served the First or Second Prince.
Though fallen from grace, each still commanded a hundred-odd soldier and all were willing to surrender those troops to Weston's banner.
"In that case…"
"Here's your first mission: raze the City of Outlaws and round up everyone."
"Common criminals go to the nearest town for forced labor under local officers; Wizards go to the Council for the Enforcement Squad to judge!"
"Yes, sir!!"
"Precht, go with them. If they meet someone too tough, handle it."
"…Understood."
Soon Precht led the soldiers into action.
A thousand armed veterans plus a powerhouse Wizard like Precht made arrests swift and smooth.
A handful who'd heard the Fairy Commander was coming escaped early, but most couldn't outrun fate.
Two hours later two familiar figures were dragged before Weston.
One was the punk who'd smashed up the Seven-Legged Serpent; the other was Luther, who'd urged his men to die while he slipped away.
"Lord Weston, both are branch heads of the Dark Night Scorpions. They resisted arrest, but Mr. Precht subdued them."
"How shall we deal with them?"
Weston studied the pair: whip welts, magic-blade cuts, floor-and-wall bruises covered them.
Clearly Precht's 'help' had been… enthusiastic.
"W-We surrender, my lord!"
"Yes, yes… we'll tell you where the guild master and the rest are hiding, please let us atone!"
Please spare us!"
The two captives knelt, noses swollen and bleeding, begging Weston frantically.
Dark Guild Wizards band together for profit, not friendship; betraying pals or the guild itself means zero guilt.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Weston gazed at them, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Nice idea, but I loathe nothing more than traitors to guild and comrades."
"Drag them away and send them to the Council for trial!"
"Yes, sir!!"
The soldiers hauled the sobbing Wizards off.
Precht glanced at Weston. "You're ignoring their intel, how will you find the rest?"
Weston shook his head. "No need to search. We wait right here."
"They'll come back on their own."
…Night fell.
Several silhouettes belatedly returned to the City of Outlaws.
"Hey, hey…"
"What the hell happened here?!"
Mark, guild master of the Dark Night Scorpions, froze at the sight of the empty town.
He couldn't grasp how the City of Outlaws had become a ghost town in a single day.
"Will someone tell me what went on?!"
"Damn it!"
"Where is everyone?! Did they all drop dead?!"
Veins bulging, Mark roared at the sky.
Yet no answer came.
By daylight Weston and Precht, leading those soldiers, had captured, expelled, or scattered every last resident.
Now the town was a hollow shell.
The branch heads behind Mark gaped and muttered in shock.
"Did we take a wrong turn?"
"Is this really our guild, our City of Outlaws?"
"It's a ruin!"
"Someone trashed the place, sure, but for the whole town to empty? That's bizarre."
"Council Enforcement Squad? Or some Official Guild?"
"Impossible."
"The war's left the Council barely able to protect itself, they've got no time for us."
"And what Official Guild in Fiore could wipe out the entire City of Outlaws in one day?!"
"Then… is some group like 'that organization' lurking inside Fiore?"