Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The screen showed an alleyway adjacent to their headquarters. Filling the alley was a massive burning pile of something and the words "Coming Soon" written on the wall with spray paint.

"We found this in an area where our surveillance was destroyed. When we went to check we found this massive pile of feces and the message on the wall. We believe it is a message from Minas Mar."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Are you saying they left a burning pile of shit on our doorstep to tell us that they are here?" the massive man in a suit asked, one of his eyes twitching.

"How...childish," the handsome young man said in a calm voice and his usual relaxed face, yet his knuckles were white from clenching his fist. He knew this was a childish provocation, incredibly so. Yet, he couldn't help that it irritated him immensely, nonetheless.

This was serious business. He was working on creating a Utopia. Minas Mar was the last obstacle on Urth he had to overcome and he intended to do it in a perfect and domination way. One could say he regarded Minas Mar highly, as his last stepping stone. The respect and image he had come up with in his mind were shattered at the sight of such childish disrespect.

Having been stopped by this kind of people irked him more than the act itself. What did it say about them, if this was the quality of their last big hurdle?! This was all happening under the calm surface he showed on the outside.

"Then let us prepare them a warm welcome..." he said, a dangerous threat swinging in his voice.

The people around the table nodded grimly. It was finally time to reap the fruits of their plans and rise to the top.

…

All preparations were finished, and everyone was in position. Seth had decided to enter the headquarters of the Scene alone while Mina, Fin, and the others insisted to stay close by as backup in case something unforeseen happened.

Expecting that this was a trap, Seth had made his own preparations to catch the scene by surprise. One could say that the little graffiti was not the only thing he had done yesterday. The reason he still had to enter, was to make sure that the Scene and their leader were really inside.

It would have been a shame to reveal his best trump card here, only for the upper echelon to be sitting in some save bunker somewhere in the middle of nowhere. In case this was just some killer trap, Seth decided to go alone.

Thus, the day after the graffiti, a man wearing dark armor, looking like a glimpse at an ancient beast, walked up to the headquarters of the Scene. The streets were empty because of the enforced curfew, so nobody was there to see him, except the surveillance system observing everything that was happening around the building.

Confidently, he walked into the lobby of the skyscraper and came over to the reception. The receptionist eyed him vigilantly, apart from him there was nobody else in the lobby. There were also no traps activated, although Seth knew that they were there.

"Hello, Is this the Spire of Evil? I was invited by the Screen to have a meeting," Seth spoke sarcastically, leaning against the reception.

"There is no such organization in this establishment." the receptionist answered professionally.

"Are you sure? I might have gotten the name wrong. It might have been something similar, like the Spleen, or was it about a milieu or a tantrum?" he pondered, jokingly trying to remember the name.

"You can stop now," a hologram appeared. It was a handsome, slender man with long blonde locks. There was a small orb, like a fish eyes camera, in the corners of the room. It was this small device that projected the shape of the man into the room.

At the hologram's signal, the receptionist nodded and left the lobby through a side now. Now Seth was alone, only accompanied by the hologram. The projected man leisurely sat on the reception counter before he spoke up.

"You must be Seth Smith, I suppose. To think the Tower Master of Minas Mar would come alone." he pondered forlornly.

"Then am I talking to the leader of the scene?" Seth guessed, observing the hologram. The other nodded at his words, a slight smile playing around his luscious lips.

"You can call me Gray, not that you will get another chance to meet me," he said magnanimously.

"So you won't greet me face to face? I thought I would get to punch the face of the guy who kept annoying me for the past months in person." Seth complained.

"If someone was being annoyed over the past year, it's undoubtedly me. And no, I don't intend to even give you the chance to hurt me. I know too little about you, but taking into account the Dragos vanished after talking of confronting you, it might be a hard struggle. So-"

Suddenly, the blacksmith squinted as he felt his connection to the golems and the preparations outside become distorted and suddenly growing faint. It was like he had suddenly traveled hundreds of kilometers in a moment.

"A teleportation trap? Now, that's annoying."

"It's more than that. Do you know how much effort it takes to transport the whole lobby away? It's regrettable you came alone. Just you is a little disappointing when we aimed to get rid of at least a full party in here. " the hologram lamented. "But I guess losing their leader will be enough of a hit on their morale."

Seth could guess that the whole lobby was moved, but he had no idea how far. When he tried to use Home Call, he found it was also blocked. This was actually smart, even if it could kill Seth, he had nothing that could stop him from being teleported against his will. Depending on where he was when he got home call to get working, he would be gone for some time.

"You are underestimating my people when you think me not being there will have an effect on them. Do you know why?"

"Oh, I have an idea about how strong they are. But even then, the loss of their leader won't be without effects."

Seth listened to the man in confusion.

"...I wasn't going to talk about their strength. It's me! It's because they know I am way to too strong to die to some stupid scheme. They know that you can't come up with something that could kill me," Seth said confidently, even when it was half-played.

"I just have to get out of the range of the space lock and return with Home Call. Then-"

"It's good that I won't be the one facing you. There are some people outside that wish to talk with you. Even if you don't fall, by the time you return, I will already have razed Minas Mar to the ground!"

he ended with a maniacal laugh and the hologram vanished.

"This guy really just said wanted he wanted to say and ran away..."

Seth was only slightly worried about his last words. It was true that he didn't know what exactly made Gray so confident, but Seth knew what was waiting for him in the Tree Stations.

"Let's see what surprise he prepared for me."

…

"Good, that guy is gone."

After his talk was over, the leader turned off the hologram scanner and called his subordinates.

"We will begin the attack. Now that we cut off the head, the snake can only struggle. Also, lock down on Y-City, and crack down on the System Church. I'm sure his allies will be there."