Chapter 53: Those who hide within darkness
"They are someone who is hiding themselves from the world. Operating everything from within the darkness..."
His lips were left gaping as he listened attentively to what Aliana was saying. The details she was going to provide him with seemed to be worth his concentration.
Adrienne always believed that no matter who his enemies were, they wouldn't be able to defeat him easily. That was his inducement until the moment he was outsmarted by the bunch he had come across the last time.
"Who exactly are they?"
The people who were behind all of his sufferings, those who were still trying to steal someone precious to him, and the ones whom he considered enemies. Adrienne couldn't help but grow impatient while listening to Aliana talk about the said bunch.
The curiosity that had been killing him for a while settled down as he listened to Aliana's words. What remained in his veins was blood boiling with rage.
"They are called..."
Terminus Consortium. An organisation that operated its schemes covertly, concealing themselves from the scrutiny of the outside world. Their motives, goals, or something related? Uncertain.
The only thing Aliana was aware of about the group was that they were always deeply involved with incidents relating to demons. The chaos and disarray that spread throughout the places wherever they happened to set their sights were just as famous.
The Terminus Consortium was actually divided into two different assortments. The first one was the 'trumps' and the second one was the 'zodiacs'.
The 'trumps' were further branched into 4 groups. The top two groups were called 'primes' and 'shapes', respectively. And the last two were 'probables' and 'numbers'.
The 'primes' consisting of 'King' and 'Queen' stood at the top of the organisation's ruling chain. The 'shapes' were made up of 'spade', 'diamond', 'heart', and 'club'. These six individuals had the highest ranking.
The probables were simply the people who happened to possess odd yet remarkable abilities. This was the branch containing some crazy bastards like 'Ace', 'Jack', and 'Knight'.
The last group was the least significant of them. The cannonfodder, which existed solely for the sake of erasing obstacles by sacrificing themselves if needed. That was the so-called 'numbers', which were almost replaceable.
"Ace?"
Adrienne's right eye glowed amber-gold, along with the veins that popped out from near his pupil. The drops of blood trickled down his fists due to the nails digging into both of his palms.
That wasn't the only red liquid dripping. He brushed off his hand on his red lips, which had become even more reddish. Bitting onto his lips was the only thing he could think of to settle down his fury.
Despite what Adrienne did and mumbled to himself, Aliana continued to explain to him what he should be aware of. Whatever he did wasn't any of her business.
"That was all I knew about the 'trumps'..."
Even after spending three whole years dedicating herself to knowing more about the shady group, Aliana failed to acquire any information aside from the group's composition. The structure of the 'trumps' was a bit more complicated than the 'zodiacs'.
"And about the 'zodiacs'..."
The 'zodiacs' were a group of individuals representing all 12 zodiac signs that happened to come together because of countless ups and downs. Each of them possessed powers even more odd and unnatural than those of 'trumps'.
The individuals that were part of that branch were Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. That still left behind one question.
Who was actually at the top of the organisation? If it were an organisation, wouldn't there be someone who founded or formed it?
There was a person like that, because of whom the group came into existence. None of the members had ever met him personally. And once all the members were gathered, the creator vanished into thin air.
But among those power-hungry people, who would care about such matters? All they focused on was coveting the position of the leader by contributing more to the organisation.
"Is there anything else that you know about them?"
Adrienne's eyebrows frowned, taking in the bits of information Aliana told him. He had managed to draw a proper conclusion out of it.
Even a tiny bit of information about his enemies might've been able to provide him with a huge advantage. The possibility of such was shallow, but it definitely did exist.
"No... That was all of it."
As disappointing as it was, Adrienne couldn't show it on his face. The data he managed to find out thanks to Aliana was far too great. The saying he once heard from Sierra came to his mind at that moment.
-It's better to have something than just nothing at all.
The amount of insight that looked trivial at some point might be quite useful in the near future. That was the only thing he was wishing for from the bottom of his heart.
"Wait. There is something else."
Aliana was good at noticing others's hidden emotions, and she managed to discover his disappointment. That was the reason she forced herself to remember anything else related to the group.
Adrienne's darkened eyes gleaned with a pinch of hope. It was unexpected that she still had more intel on them, yet he was glad.
"What is it?"
His expectant gaze was matching his tone of speaking. Aliana was the only one who was aware of how useful the last bit of information was going to prove for him.
Why was it so, you ask? That's because that piece of information was something that said so itself.
"The 'trumps' and 'zodiacs' don't get along."
The struggle to rise to power was real between the two parties. The 'trumps' used to interfere with 'zodiacs' assigned tasks quite often, and vice versa.
Of course, Adrienne, who was yet to understand how beneficial that minor-looking fact was, couldn't help but feel disappointed again.
Aliana had already provided him with all the knowledge she could. The details took her about an hour to finish explaining to Adrienne.
"Anyway, that was that... I need to leave soon."
The sun that had risen above the horizon was too clear now. The clouds surrounding it had also moved further away from it.
Her eyes felt the warmth before feeling a cold sensation as she ended up pressing her index and middle fingers against her eyeballs to massage them.
"I'll be counting on you with 'it'."
Adrienne knew what she was talking about instinctively. He had received the compensation he wished for as a joke.
Snap
That sound fell on his ears when he was blinking his eyes. The next thing he knew was that Aliana had already disappeared from his sight.
------------------
-At some other place-
Bzzzzzt
"It seems like 'Pollux' and 'Castor' are already done with their mission."
The faces of the people talking were partially hidden under the blurry blue surface of the huge crystal sphere. Their voice was far audible compared to the weird sounds being made every time they spoke.
The device they were using to communicate at the moment allowed them to partake in the meeting even when they were staying in a faraway place. That was an invention that a certain someone had come up with a long time ago.
Despite their expressions being well hidden, they could tell that the man speaking right now was actually snickering. His words continued along with the extended, blurry white teeth of his.
"This time, 'someone' might just end up failing."
These words were definitely his, but the laughter that emerged out of nowhere belonged to the woman. The six people other than the woman flinched with surprise.
That was the creepiest laughter of the woman they had heard after quite a while. The last time she laughed like that, it was a long time ago.
"You seem to be getting better with your 'jokes', 'Jack'."
The tone in which she spoke was definitely filled with intentions to mock him. 'Jack' gritted his teeth at the distasteful view of being treated like that.
Funnily enough, he wasn't the only one who was pissed off by her actions. Two more people had a bit of similar reactions to 'Jack'.
"You are the only person we think of as a 'joke', 'Queen'."
The sound of a kid in his teenage years cackled into laughter after saying that. He showed no signs of fear despite talking to an individual in the higher ranks of the Terminus Consortium.
"That's right! That's right!"
The boy wasn't the only fearless person there. There was the girl who sounded haughty while agreeing to his disrespectful words.
The other two people, aside from these four, swallowed their own saliva nervously. The intense pressure they felt in the atmosphere made them feel a suffocating sensation.
"My, my. 'Diamond' and 'Heart' are getting quite full of themselves, I see."
The voice of 'Queen' reverberated through the heavy silence that spread across the group upon hearing the two kids speak. They dared to make fun of 'Queen' who happened to be of the highest rank.
They could feel their lungs choking on the air when they tried to look closely at 'Queen' who said that. Even though her expression wasn't visible, they knew what a scary face she was making right now.
"I'll let it slide this time, I suppose."
Those words were the source of relief for the two, who got to take proper breaths after the pressure they felt was lifted from their shoulders. Those people were higher-ups for a certain reason.
When it came to undermining others, they didn't hesitate a bit before ganging up on the individual. That was the reason they had forgotten in whose presence they were.
'Heart' and 'Diamond' were definitely below the ranking of 'Queen'. Yet they dared to insult her while speaking in a rude manner.
Thankfully, 'Queen' had let it pass for a certain reason. What might that reason be for her to let aside such a grave mistake?
"If 'Ace' or 'King' were here, things might've been different."
There were only two individuals not attending the meeting. One was 'Ace', who happened to be currently busy with something urgent. And second was 'King', who rarely attended the said randomly organised meetings.
None of them knew what 'Ace' was up to, but they could tell that it had something to do with what they had discussed previously. About 'King', they didn't dare imagine a thing.
'King' was a person who rarely showed up for meetings. No one aside from 'Queen' had ever seen the face of 'King'. The only mysterious being among them.
"I... don't think... brother 'Ace'... will fail..."
BANG
As one of the two silent people spoke, a loud sound of something breaking from the Queen's side was audible to everyone. The girl who was stuttering faded away from the crystal screen right after that.
The sound was so scary that she cut off her connection with them. She had the habit of panicking at every little thing that happened.
"He 'will' definitely fail."
The cold sound of 'Queen' made 'Jack' grin with nervousness. Maybe that was the first time he had such an entertaining and thrilling experience in his life.
He covered his mouth with his red hand with the purpose of hiding the grin. The feeling of the blood gushing through the veins of his face was clear to him.
Luckily, the cheeks that blushed red weren't visible to others. He should've felt relieved because of that, but on the other hand, he was laughing from inside like a maniac.
'How two-faced of her... Ah... I hope I get to see something entertaining very soon.'
As his thoughts came to an end, the huge crystal that glowed blue became colorless. Since all the entertainment was too much for him, he had cut off the connection.
Now what remained behind was the long-lasting silence within the shadows. The white smile of 'Jack' was faintly visible before finally getting devoured by the darkness of that place.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AbyssKun00
AbyssKun00 Jaden's training arc is going to start soon.
Weekly Power Status
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