44 Crimson Tyranny

"Are you sure all I need to do is get the three big guilds on my side?" Hans inquired, trying to grasp Garrison's plan.

Garrison answered, "You see, the association wants to adopt something similiar to a political approach, which is why all the changes in power within it must follow the republican procedure. This means, one person is not allowed to decide something by themselves, even if they are the branch leader, except for some extreme situations."

"The votes aren't only cast by the officials of the association but also by the guild leaders involved in the decision. For instance, since the security department holds the authority to make decisions in all of Chicago and its outskirts, all the major guilds in the city will be called to vote, it might be in favor or contrary to your proposal of changing his position. And just like in politics, having a simple majority of 50% isn't enough to attain a direct result without a major vote; you need 70% for a definitive result."

"Bringing the three big guilds on your side should sway the votes of all the other guilds to probably align with them."

"Plus, most of the association officials are corrupt, so you can simply pay them more than Logan does and they'll easily take your side. As for those that are rightful in the association, you won't even need to pay them, they for themself will vote for you, knowing the atrocious acts he has committed. With their support, you could secure 100% of the votes, thereby discreetly closing the matter."

"But if you fail to convince even one of the three guilds, it might complicate the matter as the small guilds that wouldn't dare to speak up to a branch leader could take the sides of the major guilds to express their opinions, thereby giving that guild even more powerful standing."

"Do you think I'll be able to win them all over to my side?" Hans questioned.

Garrison took a moment to think it through before answering, "Honestly speaking, you have about a 50% chance of getting Vortex on your side, as for Blaze, I think the probability won't be more than 25%, but talking about Asura, the chance is around 1% that is if luck is on your side."

"Is it that bad??" Hans couldn't help but stare at Garrison with a blank face.

"It is. Of the three, the Asura guild was the one to be founded the latest. It was created by the current guild master four years ago."

"How?"

"You ask how they were able to climb up the ladder and become one of the three major guilds in just four years. It's simple, they relied on two main factors."

"First of all, their vice guild master is a rare-class mage, he is currently a fifth-circle mage, but with his class being rare, his skills are probably on par with an A-Rank mage, granting the guild the power of two A-Ranks after adding the guild master himself."

"And because of their higher power, they could impose their ideas among the smaller guilds, destroying them and absorbing them until becoming big enough to rival the other two major ones."

"Secondly, more than a guild, it would be better to call them as a den of criminals. Not a single member of that guild is innocent."

"You see this?" Garrison then took up the information about Logan's wrongdoings and waved it before Hans.

"There are at least ten people in that guild who have done the same things as him, if not worse. And they need to rely on Logan to cover for them, they can't simply trust the first guy that approaches them. After all, it could cost them some heavy penalties."

"If that's the case, why hasn't anyone tried to take them down or expose them? Are people unaware of their crimes?"

"No, they're not," Garrison shook his head and let out a sigh.

Hans jumped from the chair and stared deep into Garrison's eyes and asked, "Then you, who knew about them and what they were doing, why haven't you done anything? Just what kind of association branch leader are you, you have done nothing to prevent their crimes. The same goes for Logan, you used the association's higher-ups as a justification last time, what excuse do you have this time?"

"Hans, sit down, I can understand what it seems like, but this time, my EXCUSE is more serious. I planned to tell you this right before your election as the branch leader to protect you from danger."

Hans settled back into his chair, actually concerned about what Garrison was about to reveal.

'Something capable of killing me? Maybe they have connections with the government or something,' Hans wondered.

"The Crimson Tyranny. I guess you must've heard about them. There are rumors saying they have the backs of the Asura Guild's bastards."

"F*ck!!"

Hans' speech differed significantly from normal guys. Even when unperturbed, he rarely resorted to using profane words simply because he found them unnecessary to use in normal circumstances. However, when he did use such language, it assumed a special meaning, it signified that the situation was truly exceptional and unexpected or dire.

And this time, it certainly denoted something bad.

The Crimson Tyranny– an association populated by entities that were better described as evil beasts than considered human beings.

Within its ranks, strength was the sole determinant of status and all the members thought they could get whatever they desired through the use of their strength.

_____

When the catastrophe first broke out, the world was plunged into chaos. With the deaths of countless people, poverty proliferated everywhere, to levels that far exceeded before, it was to the extent that out of five only one could afford to live in a shelter.

It took almost five years for humanity to rebuild its cities and take control of the situation. Yet, even now, certain countries succumb to waves of monsters, rendering hell on earth for the people who would even dream of returning.

During those five years, especially in impoverished regions such as most of Africa, parts of South America, some regions of Russia, and Southern Asia, crime rates skyrocketed.

Even those once known as totally clean and regulated cities became lawless territories where the right to live solely belonged to the strongest.

With the absence of any authorities or any controls and intervention from such people, who were preoccupied with their own survival, awakened became the rulers of the underworld.

Even after most of the world was fixed and the situation had almost returned to stability, many of these figures sought to hold their authority, declaring themselves public enemies of the Awakened Association.

However, their ends didn't turn out happy, one after the other, these small associations fell and most of them were put in jails, restricted for life, or even met their demise.

When all they had created started to crumble, quickly becoming nothing more than dust and ruin, they coalesced under a single clan.

Leading them was a tyrant and all they aspired to was achieved through the spilling of other's blood, earning them the title of the "Crimson Tyranny", a title they welcomed with open arms and embraced as their name.

The man known as the tyrant was the epitome of evil known to mankind and was a being who surpassed S-Rank, standing at the same level as Elijah and other world leaders.

He was the reason which prevented the association from barging into the Crimson clan and razing it to the ground.

Little was known about him– his visage, age, physical appearance, or even his class.

The only certainty about him was his incredible strength and the fact that he was merciless, to the point of making even the most evil and formidable awakened tremble in his presence.

With someone of such caliber backing the Asura guild, provoking them under the name of the Awakened Association could do nothing but provoke something more than a bloody skirmish among guilds; it could even possibly turn into a disaster for the entire world.