MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin



[K-Town; Wild Hunt]

Yui was still fidgeting in her seat while listening to some relaxing music, trying to take her mind off whatever was currently happening.

Thankfully, she did not have to wait for long before finally getting an update on the situation.

Both her and Mammoth's communicators lit up at the same time as they were sent an encrypted video.

The two watched the video received in silence, up until the very end of the video where the member of her group finally reached Adam, where he was sitting with a group of hunters kneeling in front of him in obvious submission.

When the screen finally went dark and the video was erased from all databases, both Yui and Mammoth looked at each other. Their eyes had a mixture of awe, surprise and at the same time — worry.

"Boss…I must say. Adam is really strong."

Mammoth started off hesitantly. Strong was an understatement. Mammoth was without a doubt the strongest executive under Yui's order. He was once a Gold rank hunter and was even officially part of a powerful guild in the past as well as a member of a special army.

Even then, if he fought Adam, from what the boy showed, Mammoth did not think he could win. At least not without sacrificing everything.

Having someone as strong as Adam was a boon that would greatly increase their powers. There was no doubt.

But…"Is he alright?"

The Adam he remembered was a somewhat sassy and brash young man who was willing to work hard in order to get money and sustain himself. He was just a normal young boy.

But what he had just witnessed was not something even a professional killer would do. There was a certain and absolute desire to bring the greatest amount of mental pain that could be observed.

Mammoth had seen many people who enjoyed giving pain to others and enjoyed the feeling of superiority this gave them.

But Adam showed no such thing either. In the video, it was easy to see that Adam seemed to show no sign of happiness or sadness in this situation. Just an apathetic indifference.

He had been torturing them…For no reason? This was pretty gruesome. A little too much even then.

Mammoth wasn't the only one who was worrying. Yui was wondering if Adam's mental state was deteriorating.

It was hard to be happy about the result of the mission if that only resulted in Adam walking further in the path of madness.

But there was nothing she could do about it. This was the path Adam chose to walk out of his own volition. All she could do was assist him as much as she could to make sure he did not lose himself.

"Let's not focus on the bad side. At the very least, this has proven that Adam is more than capable to defend his new position. Even if I name him as my future successor, there will be no backslash from them. Now all we have to do is to spread the news."

As gruesome as it was, people who were able to reconstruct the scene would understand that this message and words would spread. She just needed to contain the effect to not startle the snakes. As long as they believed that she was only focusing on internal matters it would be great.

"Speaking of, what is that idiot brother of mine doing? Did he really enter into contact with Boris? Did grandfather allow it?"

Mammoth shook his head, "The old leader is not particularly against the trade of drugs. But even he balks at the introduction of this new one. The psychedelic effects are too powerful and the addictiveness is unprecedented. From what I understood, once you sniff it, you are able to create an entire dream world inside your mind."

Mammoth grimaced, "One man imagined his life with his relative who died not long ago. Another one created a life where he is rich and happy and so on. This is getting out of hand."

Yui sighed, she could understand the draw of this drug. The effect was simply too potent.

This wasn't just some random high. But the potential to truly live the kind of lives you could have never imagined having. Passing time with loved ones, becoming rich and popular, obtaining your wildest desire.

When this happened once…How many would resist trying to get it a second time? Then a third?

Every time this happens, you would be able to live the perfect life in your dream. Then you would wake up, only to realize how shitty reality is. So you would seek even more drugs until eventually you completely destroyed yourself.

"Very well. Let's see what the old man does. I am sure he understands that if he really lets my stupid brother deal with this shit, once the LAPPD gets a whiff of this news, they will come and crush us."

Fairies were an endangered species and getting the dust from the wings of a fairy was not something easy.

This made these drugs doubly or triply illegal. At least illegal enough that even the LAPPD that usually closes one eye would not hesitate to act.

Yui sighed but then suddenly received a message. She recognized the number as it was one she had saved.

Hae-Won.

Yui's expression grew strange. It was Hae-Won asking for another meeting and wondering if she could request another VIP room for her to meet Adam or rather Cinder.

'In a way…Couldn't it be said I am also selling drugs?'

She was selling dreams to those who could not face reality. To poor women who only wished to be loved; Nothing more nothing less. The money she made depended on how desperate and dependent on her they were.

She chuckled at the irony of the situation and perhaps hypocrisy. But she accepted and recognized her double standard.

In the end, she gave a simple answer about having to wait the weekend and the eventual meeting in the VIP room would depend on Cinder's decision.

If she had to be honest, she did not wish for Adam to become too close to any of the clients as it could spell disaster. But she didn't really have a choice. What she could do now was raise Adam's worth as much as possible.

—---

[K-Town.]

A few kilometers away from Yui's bar, sitting in her bedroom, once again alone, Hae-Won, looked at the message she received with a dazed expression.

All this time, ever since she had that first magical night with her prince, she had been feeling absent-minded and weak.

She wished for nothing more than to call him, but she didn't want to bother him either. She had heard that clingy women annoyed their partners rather fast.

She stood up and advanced to the window. There, on the other side, she could see her five-year-old son, reading and studying even though it was so late in the night.

A boy his age should have been sleeping by now, preparing for the fun of tomorrow. But because of how strict her husband was, such a thing was impossible.

All he wanted was excellence and he wished to show off his son as proof of their fake gods in the new cult he had created.

'I am tired.'

Hae-Won sighed and closed her eyes. All she wanted to do now was to wait and meet him again.

She wished for nothing more than to escape this terrible reality and Adam was the way for her to do so.

No…Not only that. It was so much more.

She was only in her early 30's. But for years, she had felt like she was already in her forty or 50. She had been constantly worried, constantly stressed, and wondering if she was walking the right way.

She had acted like a good and submissive wife for years and all the reward she had obtained was disdain and disregard.

With Adam though…She felt wanted and appreciated. She felt like someone was finally looking at her for who she was and not simply seeing her as a naive and stupid woman.

'Perhaps I should give him a gift?'

She opened her phone and started looking at different things on the internet. She was wondering if she should give him a car. But it might be a little too visible.

'Perhaps a watch? or a new suit?'

She groaned, unable to decide what she should do in this situation. What if he didn't like the model she bought? She didn't know enough about him yet.

In the end, she decided to go for quantity and quality. The price mattered not. What did she care if a watch cost a thousand dollars? As long as it looked good it was enough.

She began toggling different watches and jewelry she thought he might like and only stopped when the price reached around 30K dollars.

'This should be enough, right?'

What if she rented a house for them to meet? This could even become their private nest. Rather than going to a bar or a hotel, they could meet there and have fun.

Her eyes shone as she thought of the different possibilities. [1]

[1]: Some of you guys might think I am exaggerating. But see, in Japan for example, the most expensive Gigolo is called Hikaru Aizawa (I laughed when I saw his name. Really a coincidence I swear). Anyway, Hikaru Aizawa basically costs between $180K to $200K a night. Here a short summary of an interview with him: —> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHHpjjKzZTU

For those who can't copy-paste, the name of the video is: A Night With Japan's Highest-Paid Male Gigolo. The dude received one watch that was about $50K as a gift once. Another woman bought a $70K bottle of alcohol for him just because he said he liked the look. She said she didn't even get a taste of said alcohol.

(AN: Don't forget to follow my Twitch channel guy, https://m.twitch.tv/hikaru_genji9/home or just search Hikaru_Genji9)