Le Masque Noir. The deadliest task force that worked under Xan during the Hundred-Year War. All eleven members were the most lethal warriors and assassins Xan had during his conquest of the Realms. Belial leaned forward in his seat at the table with what remained of Xan’s most effective task force. He looked around at them as they ate and talked, powerful of course, but weakened. For eleven years they had recovered from their last stand. Their final battle at Yhor’Dheel. Their defeat at the hands of their enemy. A task force made in response to them: the Red Mask, led by Kito Tiko. Belial’s lip curled at the thought. His strongest allies and subordinates had been killed that day. At least, those that hadn’t left after their defeat. He did have some amount of resentment towards Nero for that, though he couldn’t exactly hold it against him. Lying, bleeding out on the battlefield tends to have quite the effect. Enough to break trust for a group, with some people at least. The four that had returned when he’d asked clearly had a respectable level of loyalty. Even if they only seemed enthusiastic about it when he’d mentioned it was to kill Kito and the other remaining members of the Red Mask. Eleven down to five. Belial sighed and sat back in his seat.

The castle was dark and damp, Belial could clearly hear dripping coming from one of the corners, and there was a draught coming from somewhere. It was cold, though he didn’t mind that too much. He did mind that they had to hide out in an ancient, ruined castle off the coast of Volaire. Chased into the shadows by the Rebellia and their damn generals. Their time was limited though. All he would need to do is destroy Kito and the remaining members of the Red Mask. Everything would follow from there. Belial sighed, letting the annoyance subside.

“What’s wrong?” A giant, armoured man sitting at the far end of the table said.

“Nothing wrong,” Belial kept his gaze fixed on the table, “It’s frustrating that it took this long to find a good time for an assault.”

“I still don’t get why we couldn’t attack earlier,” A tall hooded man said, seated to Belial’s right, “We’ve had reports that Tiko is heavily weakened.”

“We don’t know how exaggerated those rumours are.” Said a small girl seated opposite the hooded man.

“Not to mention,” Another woman said, “General Ni was able to single-handedly kill ten purple-eyed demons.”

“A mix of blue and purple,” Belial corrected, “No less impressive a feat, but one I could do as well.”

“We’re not all red-eyed demons,” The smaller girl said, crossing her arms, “I personally wouldn’t want to tangle with the General. And if Kito hasn’t lost as much of his powers as we’ve been led to believe, it would’ve been a mistake. All he would have to do is hold us off long enough for reinforcements to arrive. His mansion is situated very close to Rebellia headquarters after all.”

“Which is why we’re attacking when they leave.” Belial shrugged, gaze rising once again.

“How do we know Tiko will even leave?” The tall man asked, throwing his arms up in frustration. Understandable, there was no guarantee, to be fair.

“We don’t,” Belial admitted, “This was already a plan B. I hoped to have more men, that we could reliably attack the mansion and kill him quickly, so if he doesn’t accept the mission he’s to be approached with - or if they don’t approach him with the mission at all - we move to plan C.”

“What would plan C be?” The tall woman asked.

Belial smiled slightly, “We wait a little longer. Bolster our forces, and we destroy Kito, general Ni and their mansion along with them. Then disappear into the night.”

“I like that plan,” The armoured man grunted, “Though I don’t like waiting. I hope they leave. I would much like to try my blade against the general again. See how much she has improved.”

“I bet you would,” The girl said quietly, “I’d rather just slit their throats and be done with it.”

“We can’t rush in too hastily. Remember, all they would need is a split-second advantage to get away.” Belial smiled, despite himself, “They’ve done it before. Always had a knack for escaping the jaws of death right as they close.”

“With no possible chance of escape,” The other woman’s voice was strained, like she was gritting her teeth, “Yes. They are consistently annoying in that respect.”

“No need to worry,” Belial assured them, “It may take some time, and some trial and error, but we’ll get them. We’ll kill them all.” His red eyes stared at the ceiling as he leaned his head back into his hands, smiling as he ran through the thoughts in his head. He was positive the alliance would go to Kito with the news of what had happened to his father. It was just a matter of waiting, and then Kito would be on the road. Vulnerable, emotional no doubt. He was the only one the alliance would trust with such a mission after all. He was the only one who could carry out the task. It was perfect, it would work. All according to the plan.