Chapter 16: Consequences
Ardito saw this scene and realized that the mysterious man in front of him is the real deal. He had heard the term "Curtained World" for some time after his influence had reached a significant level. To the point that he thinks no one in this city would be able to trouble him.
But then he got an introduction/warning letter from the "Syndicate Union", the Union that consists of the people who work in the underworld such as crime syndicates and assassin organizations.
The letter talked about the existence of the "Curtained world" telling him that all of the gods and monsters in the myth had existed since the beginning of human history, but there is a reason that the people with true power need to conceal this fact which is unknown to them and they don't want to know either.
In the letter, they mention the most powerful human organization within the curtained world that always keeps the balance check with those monsters such as vampires, werewolves and the like are The Mages. They are the ones who hold the true power in the curtained world in general when it comes to the human domain. Many big families and clans such as the royalty and the truly powerful conglomerate all have Mages in their payroll or leading them.
And the letter also warned him that these mages always see normal people or people outside of the Curtained World as ants or the resource for them to exploit. So, they warned him to beware of these people and to not offend them, and always respect them.
After Ardito recalled the content of the letter he got a few years back and thought back to a few minutes ago when his head guard Eddy rushed into the meeting room while he was in the middle of closing the deal with the triad who came to invest in this city.
The moment he knew that his son had pissed off a mage who came to visit him unannounced was nearly causing him to have a heart attack even though he didn't have a heart problem.
When he rushes outside and sees that he lost nearly half of his men shocked him and then he sees the strange magic item the mage uses that didn't even have a scratch after getting hit by that rain of bullets nearly making him shit his pants.
He always knew that this mage must be strong, but he never thought that he would be this strong! It's like putting a group of rabbits to fight with a seasoned hunter who arms to the teeth in a fighting ring!
Ardito tried to keep a brave front as he gulped down his saliva in nervousness and walked toward the mage in front of him.
—
After Daniel put the Blade Walls and the Metal Scarabs that are defending his body in his pocket. Ardito strode toward him with a humble smile. He ignored his son's pleading eyes that kept turning toward him.
"May I ask on what business you come here to my humble estate?" Ardito asks.
Daniel said nothing, just looking at the three young men still hanging in the air by a group of his Metal Scarab. He waved his hand, controlling the Metal Scarabs to drop the three young men on the ground and put the Metal Scarabs in the pocket, ending his hostility.
Seeing the sign of peace from the mage, Ardito let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh! Where is my manner? Annie!" Ardito called out a maid who served Daniel in the small guest house.
"Yes!" The blonde maid replied, dressed in French maid's clothes, and quickly ran toward her boss from her hiding place near the small guest house.
"Take this gentleman to our VIP guest room. He is the VVIP of our Veneziale family. I will follow you quickly after I take care of something here." Said Ardito to the maid, who nodded nervously at him.
Daniel wants to refuse but then he remembers that now he is acting as the mysterious mage from The Curtained World and he also has the initiative in whatever negotiation after this as Ardito seems to want to talk to him and his men had offended him. It's the negotiation he has an overwhelming advantage and he planned to take advantage of that.
"I'll be waiting, Mr.Veneziale. Please don't take too long, We have a lot of things to discuss." Daniel instructs and follows the maid toward the VIP guest room.
After Daniel went with the maid, Ardito ordered his men to clear out the corpses and wreckage and call his contact to handle the police in case someone heard the gunfire and called them to check up on his estate.
Then, He shifts his attention toward his son and the two young men who are likely to be the culprit of this conflict.
When Russo felt his father's gaze that was staring straight at him and his friend, he felt shivers run down his spine and his two friends were even worse than him as they were shaking in fear. They know full well how bad it is when Ardito Veneziale was angry, and they knew that their father, who is the Capos in the Veneziale family, can not protect them from what they did.
They knew that the consequence of their action caused the family to lose nearly 50% of the family made-men, Not including the future problem that might occur after the family gains the ire of that powerful and mysterious man. The loss was more than their young master can shoulder as it involved the family interest.
Ardito gazes at the three with his unfeeling eyes while his men are clearing the debris and the corpses in the background. One of his men brings a chair to him, Ardito slowly sits on that chair and continues staring at the three young men.
A few moments pass and Ardito is still silent, not saying anything toward the three young men, allowing them to calm their nerves. When Ardito felt that the three young men had calmed enough for them to speak properly, He started the conversation.
"I'll not judge you right now as I want to listen to your side of the story. Even if his excellency is powerful but at the end of the day, he is still not the Veneziale. If what has happened is not your fault, I'll try my best to protect you. So… tell me what happened, truthfully." Ardito emphasizes the "truthfully" part ิbecause what he hated the most is a liar.
The three young men looked at each other before telling the truth to Ardito while trying to sugarcoat their actions as much as possible.
After hearing what the three young men said, Ardito let out a long sigh at the recklessness of his own son. From what he heard, his son was the mastermind who led his friends to attack that mage while fully aware that he had heard the term "The Curtained World" before from somewhere but still chose to ignore it.
Then it comes to the son of his capo who tries to use violence against the mage. He doesn't know what he should do with this boy. Usually, if this were to happen with his other VIP guests, he would try to appease them while on the other hand trying to pressure them using the context that they are in his territory and he will owe them a favor.
But he knew that this tactic does not work with the mage and it might even worsen his current situation. If he were to foolishly threaten that mage his entire gang might be completely wiped out tonight! He saw what that mage can do so he's not optimistic about his chance.
"Boy… Do you know what you have done? Do you know what The Curtained World means?" Ardito wearily asks his son as he also doesn't know what will happen to him and his men when he meets with the mage.
The Veneziale heir didn't say anything, he just stared at the ground silently repenting of what he had done. Russo might be arrogant and self-conceited but he was never a fool. He knew when to step back and knew how to contemplate on his mistake and would try to clean up his mess when he was able to.
"Dad, If my life will guarantee the safety of the family, please… do not hesitate if that mage were to ask for my life." The young Veneziale said sincerely.
Ardito Veneziale can only let out a long sigh as this is completely out of his control. If the mage didn't forgive them, in the worst case he would push the alarm and let everyone escape from here to save themselves and never look back.
—
In the VIP guest room, Daniel is still enjoying the animal documentary while munching on the top-grade cookies he got from the maid as he checks the time on the clock from time to time.
After half an hour, Ardito Veneziale along with his son and the two other young men who attack him with some of his men who look to be in middle age walk into the VIP guest room with sullen faces.
Ardito didn't say anything, he stood not far from his men and opened the way for his men to come forward.
The three young men quickly knelt down while the two middle-aged men who seemed to have a connection with the young men started to sweat as their faces grew paler and paler by the moment they stood behind those young men, they didn't even dare to look at Daniel's face like the commoners who didn't dare to look at their sovereign faces.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone