Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 325: Flashback

Chapter 325: Flashback

April 8th, 177 HE.

Two days ago, shortly after the fake nun healed him, Dasha met up with Daughter. Hardly an hour had passed since the fresh killings of the Monster Hunters. Daughter claimed to have the headquarters be closely watched by the Whispers and her Hieracosphinx. She promised that the massacre would remain a secret until they decided otherwise.

’...three spoons, four spoons, five spoons, six spoons, seven spoons...’ Dasha counted them all, unable to help himself. To think a floating spoon would be less astonishing than mere sugar. Drinking tea with Daughter was certainly an interesting experience. She struggled to sit in one spot and instead lied down and had the contents of the cup telekinetically fall into her mouth.

"The news will spread," Dasha announced, sipping with proper posture.

"By the way, what is this?" Daughter asked.

"Baimudan white tea."

"I like it." Daughter let out a sigh as she downed the white tea like a waterfall. "So. Worried about the Big Three dispatching an investigator?"

"The Yngling will plead for Marshal Roland Blackwood. If the council denies it, they will request a warrior from Spectre 1."

The Big Three Council, a semi-formal meeting that occurred whenever trepid news occurred. The loss of a huge guild and a former Yngling member, one of the Great Noble Families, was sufficient to call for them.

"Will they? Hmm, maybe." Daughter thought about it some more. She agreed. "Probably. Spectre 1 is number one for a reason. He leads by example and his underlings follow that example. Very level-headed people in that guild. And Marshal Blackwood is as you know him. It won’t take long for him to figure out what happened. If he investigates, he might even be able to lead you."

"No."

"No?"

"We must ensure it is Blackwood that investigates this. No one else."

Daughter turned, hair sprawling. "Ho? Do you have dirt on him?"

Dasha sipped on his tea. "How long do you believe it would take for him to lead back to me? To here?"

"Let’s see...as a Special Class Investigator, he is privy to full authority of any and all Territories. Besides, say, the Dark Tower and the Underground. No matter what has occured, the fighters of the Underground would never succumb to the authority of the surface dwellers." Inhale, exhale. "Most of all, he’s the genius Marshal of the Templar Order. Assuming we bribe all witnesses and adjust the body to the best of our abilities, that stunt of yours with the carriage was foolish and he may be able to lead us back to us in a matter of two months."

"Even foolish acts can be planned." Daughter’s blinked, curiousity piqued. Dasha continued, "Roland Blackwood and I have an arrangement. He will see me and he will end the investigation immediately."

"Just what kind of dirt do you have on him? Haha, this is hilarious. He won’t do anything? Are you sure? Roland Blackwood, the hyper analytical Templar?"

"Yes."

"So that’s the reason you were so eager and bold." Daughter laughed. "I’m glad you planned ahead of time."

"You kept the corpses?"

"My Hieracosphinxes kept them, yes."

"Then let us arrange the bodies to suit our needs. We should make the journal the center of attention. Make it appear that the deaths were done to each other."

"Roland Blackwood won’t be fooled."

"He won’t. You have other targets, yes? Use them. Frame them. If he’s every bit as good as he is, then he will follow every piece of evidence we have laid and eliminate a target for you."

Daughter cackled. "You’re a bad, bad man. Getting a Marshal to do our dirty work for us is bold. Can you guarantee that he won’t ravage our place in the end? I would prefer not to have the Templars breathing down my neck."

"I guarantee it." He sipped on his tea. "All that is left is you, Daughter. Pick a target to frame."

"Ooh, this is fun. It’s like Mehan." Daughter rubbed her hands together and grinned. "I’ve been wanting to piss on the Thunderstrike Brotherhood. The Sector Chief here has been getting particularly annoying with us too. Always hiring us to keep watch on buildings with an electrical system, time their light usage, and also find out how they are cheapening the monthly cost."

Dasha lent a measured response. "The Thunderstrike Brotherhood has been growing exponentially since the Second Heavenly War. The flaws of these types of organizations is their tunnel vision toward sustaining that growth."

"Meaning...?"

"We can take advantage of their ideals and desperation. We may be able to take out the Sector Chief and replace him with one of your own."

"Ha...hahaha! Looks like you’ve been reading my mind! Yes, I’ve been planning for a Whisper to become a Sector Chief for a long time. Took much trial and error. The Brotherhood runs more like a business so getting someone planted relied on me finding someone of supreme knowledge. Initiate, Conductor, Engineer, Master Engineer, and then, Pulse Overseer. Took ten years for a Whisper to get there. The original plan was to assassinate the Sector Chief in two years but I don’t mind accelerating the plan. I’m sure our fair engineering lady will be pleased with this development too."

Perfect.

"So she works alongside one of the Sector Chiefs. Which one?"

"The Recreation Sector Chief. I’ll need to somehow get her transferred here, or rather, get her promoted here. A transfer followed by a promotion would be suspicious."

’Agreed.’

Daughter sat up straight and thought about it deeper. "The Pulse Overseer is effectively the right-hand of the Sector Chief. Their responsibilities ensure the stability and continued success of their products. It’s a technical job in nature. You need intimate knowledge of their technology and a keen business sense."

"The Sector Chief is largely business-oriented," Dasha stated.

"Yep. The Chief Sectors make up half of the Council of Storms. If anyone is going to be a Sector Chief, it will be another Storm Council member."

Daughter’s comparison to a business was accurate. The Brotherhood functioned with profit in mind, having a hierarchy and, in a manner of speaking, a board of directors. The Councils of Storms were aware of the Brotherhood’s operations on a deep level though not on a technical level. All they cared about was the bigger picture. The money, the abstract, the bigger picture, the broad technology, but never the technology in of itself or its construction.

"Unless the Overseer can promote something new in the Dark Sector."

"Like what? More models of their Lightning Lamps? More Lightning Bulbs?" Daughter joked.

"I’ll need a bit of time, but yes, something like that."

"Then by all means, do your best."

That was the plan. On the surface, it could be divided into three primary steps. First, push Roland Blackwood into being the Special Investigator. Second, rearrange the crime scenes to first trick the Marshal into thinking it was a planned murder and lead him to the Sector Chief. Third, after framing the Sector Chief and doing away with him, install a secret Whisper as the Sector Chief.

That was why, more than ever, Dasha needed a deep understanding and study of magic. To be promoted, the Whisper was going to need to prove themselves.