Villain: The Play of Destiny

Inside a Royal-blue colored Rolls Royce Phantom, two young men sat in the back seat, silently going through some files.

The girl driving the car was solely focused on her job, wearing no expressions on her face. Right behind their Car was an Audi, which belonged to her, but was currently occupied by two other guards of her Master.

"Good job!" Keith handed back the files to Sebastian, who carefully put them inside a briefcase along with some envelopes.

"Young Master, Gouzo is not a man who can be intimidated." Sebastian reminded him.

"Every man with a weakness can be intimidated, Sebs." He chuckled at the words of the young man and put the shades back on his eyes. "You just have to know how to exploit it to get what you require."

"We are here, Master." Yingying said as soon as they entered the Gates of Meladona Prime, one of the most expensive Nightclubs in Netheria and even in all of the world. It was the heart of the Meladona Nightclub Chain, which had two other venues in the city of Sameran, one of which was near the Entertainment Plaza Keith planned on making.

The guards at the backdoor were already waiting for them, and the Manager of the Nightclub hurriedly stepped forward to greet Keith.

"Welcome to the Meladona, Young Master Demiliore!" A tall man in his late forties with short black hair and a robust physique greeted him. "I am Trevor, the Manager of the Meladona Prime."

"I hope Mr Gouzo is in the house." Keith nodded at him and asked.

"He is expecting you in his office." The manager, who had a distinctive red scar on his left cheek smiled at him.

"Lead the way."

Keith followed the man whose steps were quite calculated, evidence to the fact that he was someone possessing quite the skills. Of course, Keith knew the history of Trevor, an ex soldier, who later became a feared gangster before coming clean along with his Master.

Sebastian was walking side by side with Keith, paying attention to their surroundings, and behind them was Yingying, who was wearing her favourite Jian Sword on her back. Right behind her were Victor and Ryouta, who were silent and on high-alert.

Even if they all knew that odds of them getting harmed here were close to none, it was their job to always stay sharp to protect Keith, and they would not slack on it. It was especially the case with Victor, who was quite scared of what Lady Demiliore would do to him if Keith got injured again.

The group were led inside an office, where an aged man in his late fifties, who was deceivingly fit for his age, stood up and came forward to greet Keith.

"Welcome to my venue, Young Master Demiliore!" He smiled and greeted him in a gruff voice, and despite his sincere smile, everyone could see that he was not excited to meet Keith.

"It's a pleasure, Mr Gouzo." Keith smiled and shook hands with the man before he and Sebs took their seats at his desk.

"The pleasure is all mine, but I am curious. To what do I owe this pleasure, Young Demiliore?" Gouzo got straight to the point and asked.

He was a seasoned man, a powerful man of Great Strength, but he was quite restless inside his heart because Keith had brought four people with him, three of whom were just as strong as him if not more powerful. And his instincts were telling him that Keith did not have good intentions towards him.

"We will get to that, eventually." Keith chuckled and looked the old man in his dark eyes which had lost their luster over time. "But first I would like to confirm something."

"Please say." Gouzo interestedly raised his brow.

"I learned about a story recently, and I would like to know how much of it is true." He devilishly smiled, and Gouzo felt his heart constrict for some reason. "Correct me if I have got anything wrong."

Seeing that he had all of Gouzo's attention and also that of all the people in the room, he began with his story.

"Years ago, there was an old man, a powerul man who held a prominent position in the military of his country. Everyone respected him, and admired him for his work ethic, however, the old man hid a secret in his heart that probably no one knew. He did not really have any love for his country."

Gouzo felt goosebumps all over his body just by hearing those words, however, he stayed silent and waited for Keith to continue with his story.

"When he finally took retirement after a disagreement over an operation that concerned a country where he was born, he secluded himself from the world, arriving inside a small town to live peacefully..."

"One day, when he was walking past an orphanage, he came across a boy with dark eyes, which lacked the sparkle of innocence, and took a fancy to him, accepting him as his disciple for reasons only he knew. But I think that the reason he accepted the boy as his disciple was because they both shared the same heritage." Keith chuckled when he saw Gouzo narrowing his eyes at him. "The old man raised his disciple with care and great effort, instilling into him his beliefs and managed to get him into the Army to continue his legacy. However, something terrible happened to the young man, and he was kicked out of the National Forces because of a crime he committed. The life of a solider was simply not suited for him."

"The old man was raged, mad about how his disciple had thrown away all his efforts and ruined his future, but the young man was not really bothered and left to prove himself to the old man."

"The young man arrived at a city called Delvon, which was at that time infested with underground forces. At first, the young man wanted to exorcise the city of this filth, but soon he found himself captivated by the allure and power of the Underworld. And his goal changed. Now, he wanted to rule the city."

"His dream was short-lived as he was handed his first defeat at the hands of a local mafia boss, who later invited him to become part of his organisation. The young man accepted the offer and worked under the new Boss, who had started considering him as a son. He made lots of friends, and found people whom he could trust and call brothers..."

"Things were going smoothly for him, but as the death of the Old man neared, the fight for succession ensued..."

"Much to the dismay of the once young man, who was now a man in his forties, the Boss nominated his biological son as his successor and asked him to protect his brother... He promised the old man that he would protect his brother, but inside his heart a devious plan took root."

"Three days after the death of the Boss, his successor was ambushed and killed right in the middle of a bustling street. And his corpse stayed unattended on the road for hours..."

"The city was in chaos, and the middle-aged man stepped forward under the guise of avenging his late brother, eliminating all their enemies. When in truth, he was the one who had killed his brother... Such a devious man." Keith chuckled. "He even accepted the wife of his brother as his wife, and raised his niece as his stepdaughter... Such an honourable man." He chuckled some more as if mocking the man he was talking about.

Gouzo's body was lightly trembling now, his face getting red in raging emotions.

"The man succeeded in his plans, acheived something that even his Boss could never achieve in his life. He unified the Underworld forces of Delvon, and became its sole King. But unbeknownst to him, Retribution was on its way..."

"A few years later, one night, his wife mysteriously passed away, leaving his distraught and innocent step-daughter in his arms. How could she have known that the man she was holding onto was not a hero that she adored in her heart but the murderer of her parents. The innocent her eventually fell into his clutches, giving him what his heart now desired the most now; Her!"

"But what goes around comes around. And just like he had betrayed his brother, one of his most-trusted betrayed him, abducting his innocent step-daughter, who was secretly his lover now. And for the first time in his life, the Mafia King of Delvon felt ridiculously weak. He found out that he had actually fallen in love with the girl, and his mind could not bear the thought of never seeing her again..."

"Days later, when he knew that it was either she died or he died, he approched the old man who had raised him, falling onto his knees and begging him to help save the little girl..."

"His Master rebuffed him at first, but then decided to help him out, however, his happiness was to never return to him..."

"A battle took place, where he managed to kill all his enemies, but suffered a grivious injury at a very delicate place, which left him infertile for the rest of his life. But it was not what hurt him the most, but that he had failed to save his love..."

"His Master left him drowning in his grief, and the King of Delvon even started hating the sight and smell of the city he was in. And so, he decided to leave the place and start a new life someplace else..."

"For years he worked hard to a mostly clean life, established a flourishing business with his own ability, earning enough that he would never again have to touch the money stained by blood that he still had buried in the depths of the Delvon City..."

"Time passed, the man grew weak as he did not have any desire to cultivate anymore, and over two decades later, all that has remained is a shadow of a man he once used to be. And now, he finally understands why his old Boss had chosen his biological son over him. Because now, he could not have a child of his own. He realizes noe that it is a blessing that only a parent could ever comprehend the bliss of... How much he wishes he could have a family of his own, but the fate is ruthless."

"And one day, on just another normal day, a young man with his powerful guards arrived at his office, looking at him with a mischievous smile, telling him his own story. A story that should have been a secret. The former King of Delvon wanted nothing more than to shred the young man into pieces for ripping the scabs over his wounded heart, but unfortunately for him, it was someone even he did not dare to provoke..."

As soon as his words fell, his guards broke out of the trance and stood up, drawing their weapons.

All of Gouzo's man were incapacitated in no time, and Sebastian had his Desert Eagle pointing right between the eyes of the Old man.

Yingying was coldly looking at everyone, and it was clear from her expressions that one naive move would be akin to asking her to stain her blade in their blood.

"At ease!" Keith lightly waved his hand, and Sebastian withdrew his Pistol, but still stayed vigilant.

Victor too calmed down, however, Ryouta and Yingying kept their blades drawn.

"What do you want, Heir Demiliore?" Gouzo grimly asked, and his bloodshot eyes were glaring at him.

"The Meladona Nightclub chain, The Helga's Kitchen chain, Nightingale Auditorium and Opera House, The Golden Plaza, The Pacific Oriental, and all your private properties in Sameran. In short, I want everything that you own in Sameran." Keith said and smiled. "I am even willing to offer a price for your nearly two Billion Neris Business and Properties in Sameran. How about a 100 Million Neris?" He devishly grinned.

"Even men much braver and far wiser than you have never dared to threaten me, Young Demiliore." Gouzo madly cackled. "You are provoking an enemy who has nothing to lose!"

He was confident that Keith would not kill him here. Even the all powerul families of Sameran could not blatantly kill someone so openly.

"Oh, you are right." Keith feigned surprise. "Well, then that means that we just have to give you something that you can't afford to lose. Isn't that right?" He chuckled and gestured to Sebastian, who opened the briefcase and handed Gouzo an envelope.

The old man curiously opened the envelope and took out the photos that were inside it.

Silence reigned in the office as everyone watched Gouzo's ever-changing reactions. In the end, his body was trembling uncontrollably, but it was not in rage this time as his eyes that had been dry for years were sheding tears of pain as he stared at the image of a middle-aged woman in her mid forties, holding a little baby in her arms, surrounded by what looked like her family.

"Your stepdaughter Melerie goes by a new name now. Allison Baker, wife to a white-collar worker, and mother to a young man and a younger daughter. She recently became a grandmother." Keith brightly smiled at him.

"Is it really her?" Gouzo asked in a pained voice, and heard Keith laughing lightly.

The laugh sounded like a devil's hymm to their ears, enchanting yet sending chills up their spines.