This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

It wasn't difficult for Kain and the to locate their target Roman Silverhart. He apparently spent all of his time at a local club.

The club is situated at the edge of Fallingstar City's thriving entertainment district, the entrance is hidden behind a dark archway illuminated by flickering red lights and a simple red light-up sign with a red flower its name—the Red Magnolia.

The exterior was unassuming, but the muffled bass of music and the faint scent of something floral teased that there was more than met the eye.

Kain, Serena, and Lina stepped through a pair of heavy velvet curtains, finding themselves bathed in dim red lighting. The atmosphere was suffocating yet hypnotic, the air thick with a faint, sweet haze that seemed to cling to their skin.

The source of the haze became apparent almost immediately: a towering flower dominating the center of the club that was the club's signature feature and the source of its name. Explore more adventures at empire

Its petals glistened as if coated in dew, the deep red was only slightly more vivid and bright than blood. Periodically, it pulsed, releasing another wave of the crimson mist that swirled lazily around the room, sinking into the lungs of everyone breathing.

The moment he stepped in, Kain was immediately able to feel something trying to eat away at his sanity and manipulate him mentally, therefore he swiftly directed Bea to infect not only himself, but Serena and Lina with a split.

Almost immediately, the flower was no longer able to affect them, and they were able to calmly take in the scene of depravity around them.

The music was an intoxicating blend of bass-heavy beats and sensual melodies, resonating so deeply that it felt like an extension of the flower's spell. The patrons moved with languid, sensual movements, many of them without even key private body parts covered.

Everyone's faces including Kain and the others were obscured by masks either obtained from the front desk or brought on their own. The masks ranged from elegant to grotesque, but the aesthetics of the mask didn't matter, they only served to obscure identities. The guarantee of their anonymity encouraged acts they wouldn't dare do in the daylight.

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Kain's gaze swept the room, not sure how to feel that among the numerous unidentified liquids and substances, his bottles of spiritual beer were the most common beverages being served.

'Tsk tsk…looks like I'm going to have to deal with one of my most loyal customers…'

In this club, Kain's spiritual beer was practically used as water, as people used it between breaks of harder liquors. Some that Kain recognized, he knew were only slightly better than directly ingesting poison.

Tables were lined with exotic fruits and bottles of hard glowing spiritual liquors catered to patrons who lounged carelessly on plush cushions or draped themselves over one another.

A businessman in a crisp suit reclined with a glass of neon-blue liquid, his tie undone and a woman on each arm.

Across the way, a celebrity whose face was unmistakable despite the mask, leaned over to whisper something to a local politician, her hand resting far too familiarly on his thigh.

In the shadows near the back, one particularly round man, his wealth evident in the heavy gold chains and rings he wore, sauntered toward a series of darkened doorways, flanked by four young and beautiful women who giggled and clung to him. The door he opened offered a fleeting glimpse of a room bathed in scarlet light, with only a single large bed and various interesting "devices" hung up on the wall that Kain had only seen in some 18+ movies back on earth.

There were over a dozen of doors in that area, and Kain suspected that all of them had a similar setup and were currently home to various…" group bonding activities."

As they ventured further in, the oppressive influence of the red haze became more apparent. Patrons seemed less like individuals and more like animals acting on primal instincts.

A couple openly embraced on a corner couch, their actions far beyond the bounds of public decency. Nearby, two men argued, their voices growing louder before one of them smashed a glass against the table, shattering it. No one intervened—most didn't even notice.

"This place is…" Lina hesitated, her normally pale face tinged slightly red, whether from embarrassment or the haze itself, Kain couldn't tell. She stayed close to them, her eyes darting nervously.

"Disgusting," Serena finished for her, her tone clipped. Her hand rested on her weapon, fingers twitching as though she was considering drawing it if anyone got too close to her.

"But profitable—both financially and socially," Kain said. "Roman owns part of this place and out of all of his business, this is the only one that can somewhat see the light. This is due to it catering to the whims of high-profile patrons. For added insurance, I'm sure many of those backrooms also possess recording devices to film any of the less savoury acts performed by any of the visiting men in power, thus ensuring that none in power would dare shut it down. In case those images leak."

They moved toward the bar, keeping their heads low as they scanned the room. The bartender, a tall man with sharp eyes, prepared drinks with practiced ease, his movements unhurried despite the chaos around him.

To avoid standing out too much, they all ordered bottles of Kain's spiritual beers—might as well support his own business.

"Roman Silverhart is over there," Serena said quietly, her eyes following a man seated at a secluded booth near the far end of the room. His features were partially hidden by a mask, but his confident posture and the entourage surrounding him left no doubt.

Kain nodded slightly, before they as a group tried to seem as though they were just so happening to wander in Roman's direction.

However, just when one of Bea's threads, under the cover of the hazy lighting and inhibited senses of the patrons, was just about to make contact, she realized that there were various high-level pieces of enchanted equipment to prevent their approach.

'Looks like they learned from their mistakes with Heather, likely suspecting that her mind was read and/or controlled at some point. Or maybe they just valued Roman more to begin with…'

Kain explained the situation to Serena and Lina via their connection with Bea's split.

They would need to find a way to infect him that would bypass the guards of the enchanted equipment. Thankfully, Kain just so happened to have experience with doing just that from his first black mission.

'We will need to get him to ingest one of Bea's splits in a manner that doesn't raise his guard…' Kain transmitted this thought to the others.

'How do we do that?' replied Lina mentally.

Instead of answering, Kain just looked with some guilt and hesitation at the stunning figure who, even despite wearing a mask, stood out like she had her own personal spotlight in this dimly lit club.

Sensing his gaze, Serena's blue eyes filled with resistance, looked as though she was contemplating how to dispose of Kain's body after murdering him…